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【Abstract】On the basis of the three major rules of Skopos theory， the author of this thesis makes great efforts to make a contrastive study on the two Chinese versions of the famous novel Anne of Green Gables， illustrating mainly from the perspectives of rhetoric.
【Key words】Skopos theory； contrastive study； rhetoric
1.A Brief Introduction to the Skopos Theory
The word “Skopos” is a Greek word for “purpose”.Generally speaking， Skopos theory mainly consists of three rules， namely， the Skopos rule， coherence rule and fidelity rule.
Skopos rule， the top-ranking rule for any translation， says that a translational action is determined by its Skopos； that is “the end justifies the means” （Nord， 2001：29）.
Coherence rule， or in Vermeer’s terminology， the standard of “intra-textual coherence”， elaborates that a translation should be acceptable and be coherent with the receiver’s situation in a sense.（Nord， 2001：32）.
In Skopos theory， it is not enough to be only coherent with the target situation.There is still something to be done with the source text.Because a translation is an offer of information about a preceding offer of information， it is expected to bear some kind of relationship with the corresponding source text.This is postulated as a further principle， namely， the “fidelity rule”.
2.A Brief Introduction to the Book
Anne of Green Gables， as the representative works and the first and most famous novel of Lucy Maud Montgomery， was written in 1904 and published in 1908.It was written as fiction for readers of all ages， but in recent decades has been considered a children’s book.Nearly a century since its first appearance， it has become an immediate best-seller， and has brought Montgomery lasting fame and has continued to appeal to readers in different countries all over the world.Mark Twain speaks very highly of the book： “In Anne of Green Gables， you will find the dearest and most moving and delightful child since the immortal Alice.” He also calls it “the sweetest creation of child life yet written” （cited Montgomery， 1987）.
3.Rhetoric
Rhetoric or figure of speech in a narrow sense refers to Chinese word rhetoric.That is to say， it is a sort of language activity that people use all kinds of means to achieve as good as expressive effect in the process of language use or in communication.More common rhetorical devices including simile， personification， exaggeration and so on， frequently appear in many kinds of literature， of course， an interesting and effective rhetoric device is indispensable for children literature.And at the same time， they are also important and necessary factors in terms of creating special humorous， fantastic and delightful atmosphere. 3.1 Simile.Simile is a figure of speech which makes a comparison between two unlike elements that share at least one quality or characteristic in common.Usually， simile consists of a tenor and a vehicle and is an important part in literature.
She is such a perfect housekeeper and fancy what she must have thought of us.Marilla turned red as fire but she never said a word—then.（Montgomery， 2010：142）
Version 1： 她是个出色的管家婆，你可以想想她一定把我们想象成什么样的人了。玛丽拉的脸涨得通红，但是她没有说一句话—我是指当时。（Ma：150）
Version 2： 她是个非常非常出色的家庭主妇，想想看，她会怎么评价我们。玛瑞拉的脸红得像火烧一样，可是她一个字也没说—当时。（Ren：127）
Firstly， let’s look at Ren’s translation.She translates “Marilla turned red as fire” into “脸红得像火烧一样”.Here the red face of Marilla is compared to fire， which is evidently a simile， while in Ma’s version， she just translates the sentence into “脸涨得通红”， which is not simile but just ordinary expression.The author has mentioned before that the main function of simile is to achieve special expressive effect.Ren’s description of the face of Marilla emphasizes the color of fire.Thus， Marilla’s embarrassment or even shame is well depicted， leaving an enduring impression on readers.And in the meantime through using lively and vivid simile， it is easier to inspire children readers’ rich imagination.And simile is also a helpful and powerful means for children to understand the works.Thus it will arouse their interest in reading and create a positive atmosphere.Although Ma’s translation is not vivid， in accordance with her translation purpose introducing the famous novel to Chinese readers， she achieves her desired purpose.
3.2 Metaphor.Unlike simile， “like” or “as” does not appear in the comparison.So it is also called the contracted simile.The difference between simile and metaphor may be even more clearly shown by the two sentences given below.“The soldiers are as brave as lions in the battle” and “The soldiers are lions in the battle”.For example：
Privately she was of the opinion that Marilla Cuthbert swept that yard as often as she swept her house.One could have eaten a meal off the ground without overbrimming the proverbial peck of dirt. （Montgomery， 2010：4）
Version 1： 她（雷切尔太太）暗自点头，认为玛丽拉·卡思伯特打扫院子同她自己打扫屋子一样勤快。 （Ma：4）
Version 2： 她（雷切尔太太）私下里猜测玛瑞拉·卡斯伯特打扫她的院子就像打扫房间一样勤。院子里干净得连米粒大的灰尘也没有。（Ren：4）
Montgomery uses “One could have eaten a meal off the ground without overbrimming the proverbial peck of dirt.” to describe “very neat and precise was that yard.” and the character of diligence of Marilla at the same time.Ma’s version directly omits the sentence without giving any translation.As a result， her version just tells the readers the yard is very neat and precise， but how neat and tidy？ She fails to give the target readers a vivid image and especially as for children readers， they may have no exact idea of the neatness and tidiness of the yard.But according to Skopos theory， translators can make some changes for the sake of addressee， if necessary.That is to say， some changes can be made to provide children with a better rendering.Therefore， in Ren’s version， she seeks help from metaphor.By using metaphor， a clear image forms and accordingly leaves a vivid impression on the target readers.Ren uses a metaphor comparing with the original and she translates it as “米粒大的灰尘也没有”， which is a familiar and concrete thing to children.When reading this， the readers， particularly children readers cannot help thinking of the rice in reality and then the dust， size of a rice grain.Naturally， the exact idea that how neat and tidy that yard is becomes clear to the readers.Through the analysis made above， the author can safely conclude that Ren’s version is better in that it shows children a very concrete idea about how neat and tidy the yard is. 3.3 Personification.Personification is a type of figurative language and it is a figure of speech （generally considered a type of metaphor） in which abstraction or an inanimate object is endowed with human characteristics， abilities or qualities， or a thing or abstraction is represented as a person.
The night was clear and frosty， all ebony of shadow and silver of snowy slope； big star were shining over the silent fields； （Montgomery， 2010：161）
Version 1： 夜晚明净多霜，到处是漆黑的阴影和银白色的雪坡；大星星在静寂的田野上空闪闪发光； （Ma：170）
Version 2： 空旷寒冷的夜色里，白雪皑皑的斜坡上泛着银光；寂静的田野上空，有无数的星星在冲她们调皮地眨眼睛；（Ren：144）
“star” is an inanimate object that can not do or feel anything like a person.However， Ren translates “shining” into“调皮地眨眼睛”，which is obvious a personification.Therefore in this way， the author not only personifies the stars， shows a vivid picture to readers but also opens up the imagination of readers， giving an aesthetic enjoyment to her target receivers.Ma translates “shining” into “闪闪发光”， which is the basic meaning of this word “shining”.Though Ma’s translation is not so impressive as Ren’s， she achieves the communicative purpose of her own.
Anne had gone home in the wonderful， white-frosted winter morning， heavy-eyed from loss of sleep， but still talking unweariedly to Matthew… （Montgomery， 2010：163）
Version 1： 冬天的清晨，白霜如雪，景色瑰丽，安妮走在回家的路上。尽管她因缺乏睡眠而眼皮沉重，…… 她还是不知疲倦地向马修讲个不停。（Ma：173）
Version 2： 在冬日霜雪飘飞的清晨，安妮回家了，由于睡眠不足，眼皮困得直打架，…… 她还是不知疲倦地和马修说个没完。 （Ren：146）
Ren’s translation “眼皮困得直打架” is another lively personification.Ma follows the semantic meaning and translates it into “因缺乏睡眠而眼皮沉重”.By contrast， readers may see that Ren’s translation is much more vivid and lively than Ma’s.By using personification， the language in Ren’s version is more casual， courteous and close to our life.The author not only describes how sleepy Anne is in vivid expression but also produces the special effect after personification.Therefore， by using personification， it is much easier to vividly conjure up a picture in the mind， thus the children readers may like it better.
3.4 Exaggeration.Exaggeration is a representation of something in an excessive manner， which is also a figure of speech in which one uses rich imagination to enlarge or diminish the characteristics of things on purpose based on reality.Words or expressions associated with exaggeration include hyperbole， maximization， overstating and so forth.
“Yes， yes， run along，” said Marilla indulgently.“Anne Shirley—are you crazy？ Come back this instant and put something on you.I might as well call to the wind.（Montgomery， 2010：165） Version 1： “好吧，好吧，快去吧。”玛丽拉宽容地说，“安妮·雪莉——你疯了吗？赶快回来穿点衣服。我说了也是白搭。…… （Ma：175）
Version 2： “好了，好了，你去吧，”玛瑞拉疼爱地说，“安妮·雪莉——你疯了吗？马上给我回来戴围巾。我还不如去跟风说话。…… （Ren：148）
Compared with Ma’s translation “我说了也是白搭” ， “I might as well call to the wind” is translated into “我还不如去跟风说话” in Ren’s version， which is the application of rhetoric device—exaggeration.Exaggeration is one of the necessary methods to manifest the fantasies and the major function of exaggeration is to emphasize something or some feature， expand the reader’s imagination and strike a responsive chord in the hearts of its readers， thus it will leave a clear and strong emotional impression on the readers.Through the picture， it seems that Anne is running past as fast as the wind and it vividly describes Anne’s eagerness to go out to meet her friend.In terms of Skopos rule， the translation method should be determined by the Skopos or purpose of the target text.Therefore， Ren’s translation tends to be vivid and lively and Ma pays attention to transfer messages in the novel to Chinese readers.
参考文献：
[1]Nord， Christiane： Translating as a Purposeful Activity： Functionalist Approaches Explained.Shanghai： Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press， April， 2001.
[2]马爱农译.绿山墙的安妮[M].中国少年儿童出版社，2006.
[3]蒙哥马利（加拿大）.绿山墙的安妮（英文）[M].上海世界图书出版公司，2010.
[4]任姗姗译.绿山墙的安妮[M].华文出版社，2005.
【Key words】Skopos theory； contrastive study； rhetoric
1.A Brief Introduction to the Skopos Theory
The word “Skopos” is a Greek word for “purpose”.Generally speaking， Skopos theory mainly consists of three rules， namely， the Skopos rule， coherence rule and fidelity rule.
Skopos rule， the top-ranking rule for any translation， says that a translational action is determined by its Skopos； that is “the end justifies the means” （Nord， 2001：29）.
Coherence rule， or in Vermeer’s terminology， the standard of “intra-textual coherence”， elaborates that a translation should be acceptable and be coherent with the receiver’s situation in a sense.（Nord， 2001：32）.
In Skopos theory， it is not enough to be only coherent with the target situation.There is still something to be done with the source text.Because a translation is an offer of information about a preceding offer of information， it is expected to bear some kind of relationship with the corresponding source text.This is postulated as a further principle， namely， the “fidelity rule”.
2.A Brief Introduction to the Book
Anne of Green Gables， as the representative works and the first and most famous novel of Lucy Maud Montgomery， was written in 1904 and published in 1908.It was written as fiction for readers of all ages， but in recent decades has been considered a children’s book.Nearly a century since its first appearance， it has become an immediate best-seller， and has brought Montgomery lasting fame and has continued to appeal to readers in different countries all over the world.Mark Twain speaks very highly of the book： “In Anne of Green Gables， you will find the dearest and most moving and delightful child since the immortal Alice.” He also calls it “the sweetest creation of child life yet written” （cited Montgomery， 1987）.
3.Rhetoric
Rhetoric or figure of speech in a narrow sense refers to Chinese word rhetoric.That is to say， it is a sort of language activity that people use all kinds of means to achieve as good as expressive effect in the process of language use or in communication.More common rhetorical devices including simile， personification， exaggeration and so on， frequently appear in many kinds of literature， of course， an interesting and effective rhetoric device is indispensable for children literature.And at the same time， they are also important and necessary factors in terms of creating special humorous， fantastic and delightful atmosphere. 3.1 Simile.Simile is a figure of speech which makes a comparison between two unlike elements that share at least one quality or characteristic in common.Usually， simile consists of a tenor and a vehicle and is an important part in literature.
She is such a perfect housekeeper and fancy what she must have thought of us.Marilla turned red as fire but she never said a word—then.（Montgomery， 2010：142）
Version 1： 她是个出色的管家婆，你可以想想她一定把我们想象成什么样的人了。玛丽拉的脸涨得通红，但是她没有说一句话—我是指当时。（Ma：150）
Version 2： 她是个非常非常出色的家庭主妇，想想看，她会怎么评价我们。玛瑞拉的脸红得像火烧一样，可是她一个字也没说—当时。（Ren：127）
Firstly， let’s look at Ren’s translation.She translates “Marilla turned red as fire” into “脸红得像火烧一样”.Here the red face of Marilla is compared to fire， which is evidently a simile， while in Ma’s version， she just translates the sentence into “脸涨得通红”， which is not simile but just ordinary expression.The author has mentioned before that the main function of simile is to achieve special expressive effect.Ren’s description of the face of Marilla emphasizes the color of fire.Thus， Marilla’s embarrassment or even shame is well depicted， leaving an enduring impression on readers.And in the meantime through using lively and vivid simile， it is easier to inspire children readers’ rich imagination.And simile is also a helpful and powerful means for children to understand the works.Thus it will arouse their interest in reading and create a positive atmosphere.Although Ma’s translation is not vivid， in accordance with her translation purpose introducing the famous novel to Chinese readers， she achieves her desired purpose.
3.2 Metaphor.Unlike simile， “like” or “as” does not appear in the comparison.So it is also called the contracted simile.The difference between simile and metaphor may be even more clearly shown by the two sentences given below.“The soldiers are as brave as lions in the battle” and “The soldiers are lions in the battle”.For example：
Privately she was of the opinion that Marilla Cuthbert swept that yard as often as she swept her house.One could have eaten a meal off the ground without overbrimming the proverbial peck of dirt. （Montgomery， 2010：4）
Version 1： 她（雷切尔太太）暗自点头，认为玛丽拉·卡思伯特打扫院子同她自己打扫屋子一样勤快。 （Ma：4）
Version 2： 她（雷切尔太太）私下里猜测玛瑞拉·卡斯伯特打扫她的院子就像打扫房间一样勤。院子里干净得连米粒大的灰尘也没有。（Ren：4）
Montgomery uses “One could have eaten a meal off the ground without overbrimming the proverbial peck of dirt.” to describe “very neat and precise was that yard.” and the character of diligence of Marilla at the same time.Ma’s version directly omits the sentence without giving any translation.As a result， her version just tells the readers the yard is very neat and precise， but how neat and tidy？ She fails to give the target readers a vivid image and especially as for children readers， they may have no exact idea of the neatness and tidiness of the yard.But according to Skopos theory， translators can make some changes for the sake of addressee， if necessary.That is to say， some changes can be made to provide children with a better rendering.Therefore， in Ren’s version， she seeks help from metaphor.By using metaphor， a clear image forms and accordingly leaves a vivid impression on the target readers.Ren uses a metaphor comparing with the original and she translates it as “米粒大的灰尘也没有”， which is a familiar and concrete thing to children.When reading this， the readers， particularly children readers cannot help thinking of the rice in reality and then the dust， size of a rice grain.Naturally， the exact idea that how neat and tidy that yard is becomes clear to the readers.Through the analysis made above， the author can safely conclude that Ren’s version is better in that it shows children a very concrete idea about how neat and tidy the yard is. 3.3 Personification.Personification is a type of figurative language and it is a figure of speech （generally considered a type of metaphor） in which abstraction or an inanimate object is endowed with human characteristics， abilities or qualities， or a thing or abstraction is represented as a person.
The night was clear and frosty， all ebony of shadow and silver of snowy slope； big star were shining over the silent fields； （Montgomery， 2010：161）
Version 1： 夜晚明净多霜，到处是漆黑的阴影和银白色的雪坡；大星星在静寂的田野上空闪闪发光； （Ma：170）
Version 2： 空旷寒冷的夜色里，白雪皑皑的斜坡上泛着银光；寂静的田野上空，有无数的星星在冲她们调皮地眨眼睛；（Ren：144）
“star” is an inanimate object that can not do or feel anything like a person.However， Ren translates “shining” into“调皮地眨眼睛”，which is obvious a personification.Therefore in this way， the author not only personifies the stars， shows a vivid picture to readers but also opens up the imagination of readers， giving an aesthetic enjoyment to her target receivers.Ma translates “shining” into “闪闪发光”， which is the basic meaning of this word “shining”.Though Ma’s translation is not so impressive as Ren’s， she achieves the communicative purpose of her own.
Anne had gone home in the wonderful， white-frosted winter morning， heavy-eyed from loss of sleep， but still talking unweariedly to Matthew… （Montgomery， 2010：163）
Version 1： 冬天的清晨，白霜如雪，景色瑰丽，安妮走在回家的路上。尽管她因缺乏睡眠而眼皮沉重，…… 她还是不知疲倦地向马修讲个不停。（Ma：173）
Version 2： 在冬日霜雪飘飞的清晨，安妮回家了，由于睡眠不足，眼皮困得直打架，…… 她还是不知疲倦地和马修说个没完。 （Ren：146）
Ren’s translation “眼皮困得直打架” is another lively personification.Ma follows the semantic meaning and translates it into “因缺乏睡眠而眼皮沉重”.By contrast， readers may see that Ren’s translation is much more vivid and lively than Ma’s.By using personification， the language in Ren’s version is more casual， courteous and close to our life.The author not only describes how sleepy Anne is in vivid expression but also produces the special effect after personification.Therefore， by using personification， it is much easier to vividly conjure up a picture in the mind， thus the children readers may like it better.
3.4 Exaggeration.Exaggeration is a representation of something in an excessive manner， which is also a figure of speech in which one uses rich imagination to enlarge or diminish the characteristics of things on purpose based on reality.Words or expressions associated with exaggeration include hyperbole， maximization， overstating and so forth.
“Yes， yes， run along，” said Marilla indulgently.“Anne Shirley—are you crazy？ Come back this instant and put something on you.I might as well call to the wind.（Montgomery， 2010：165） Version 1： “好吧，好吧，快去吧。”玛丽拉宽容地说，“安妮·雪莉——你疯了吗？赶快回来穿点衣服。我说了也是白搭。…… （Ma：175）
Version 2： “好了，好了，你去吧，”玛瑞拉疼爱地说，“安妮·雪莉——你疯了吗？马上给我回来戴围巾。我还不如去跟风说话。…… （Ren：148）
Compared with Ma’s translation “我说了也是白搭” ， “I might as well call to the wind” is translated into “我还不如去跟风说话” in Ren’s version， which is the application of rhetoric device—exaggeration.Exaggeration is one of the necessary methods to manifest the fantasies and the major function of exaggeration is to emphasize something or some feature， expand the reader’s imagination and strike a responsive chord in the hearts of its readers， thus it will leave a clear and strong emotional impression on the readers.Through the picture， it seems that Anne is running past as fast as the wind and it vividly describes Anne’s eagerness to go out to meet her friend.In terms of Skopos rule， the translation method should be determined by the Skopos or purpose of the target text.Therefore， Ren’s translation tends to be vivid and lively and Ma pays attention to transfer messages in the novel to Chinese readers.
参考文献：
[1]Nord， Christiane： Translating as a Purposeful Activity： Functionalist Approaches Explained.Shanghai： Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press， April， 2001.
[2]马爱农译.绿山墙的安妮[M].中国少年儿童出版社，2006.
[3]蒙哥马利（加拿大）.绿山墙的安妮（英文）[M].上海世界图书出版公司，2010.
[4]任姗姗译.绿山墙的安妮[M].华文出版社，2005.