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Illocutionary Force and Translation: A Case Study of Chinese Renditions of The Merry Wives of Windsor



Author(s)

GUAN Xing-zhong

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DOI:10.17265/1539-8072/2015.05.006

Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing, China

This research seeks to contribute to translation studies by examining the illocutionary force of the speech act theory. It identifies two senses of illocutionary force: The active function of language is defined as IF1 and the varying degrees of the strength of the speech act are defined as IF2. The implications of the two senses of illocutionary force for translation studies are discussed in a case study of the translation of directives in Chinese versions of Shakespeare’s play, The Merry Wives of Windsor. Translation shifts in transferring IF2, as manifested in pragmatic duality features of directness/ indirectness, tone articles, repetition of verbs, action measure verbs, upgrader “给我” and honorific addressing terms and vocatives are discussed. The notion’s potential as a criterion to evaluate translation quality is also explored.

illocutionary force, speech act theory, directives, Chinese versions of The Merry Wives of Windsor, Shakespeare