A content analysis of English-to-Chinese translated picture storybooks from Taiwan

Abstract

This doctoral study aimed to research the origins and languages from which the picture storybooks were translated and published in Taiwan in year 2001, to identify the major themes and genres of those translated picture storybooks, and also to examine the language and cultural suitability of a small number of translated picture storybooks. A two-step research design of content analysis was applied as research methodology, and two sets of research questions were asked. The subject that was investigated in the study was English-to-Chinese picture storybooks from Taiwan. Step one was to survey the picture storybooks in Chinese translation in aspects of country of origin, language, publishers, themes, and genre. A total of 276 children's picture storybooks in Chinese translation were included for examination. Step two was to analyze the translations of 13 books through a content analysis. The in-depth content analysis tried to answer the question: What are patterns in the changes made in the Chinese translation of picture storybooks at the lexical, semantic, aesthetic and cultural levels? The findings of the broad survey showed that the picture storybooks that publishers in Taiwan selected for translation and publication in year 2001 were mostly imported from English speaking countries (the United States and Great Britain), Japan and German speaking countries (Austria, Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland). English, German and Japanese were the three predominant languages from which the Chinese versions of the stories were translated. A wide range of themes were found in the stories, and fantasy and realistic fiction were the two major genre identified. It was found in the study that the majority of the books selected to be translated and published in Taiwan in 2001 were universal books, rather than culturally specific books. This study concluded that no mistranslation was found in the 13 books in the in-depth content analysis. The conclusion was drawn based on the analysis of changes made by translators in the aspects of book title, word replacement, sentence and paragraph organization, translation of expressions and cultural concepts and text and illustration relationship.