Metadiscourse in literary prose translation from english to Chinese: A preliminary study

Abstract

Metadiscourse, defined as "discourse about the evolving discourse" (Adel, 2006), plays a crucial role in guiding readers' understanding, interpretation, and evaluation of textual content (Hyland, 2005). This study investigates the function of metadiscourse in conveying authorial intent and its contribution to preserving literary qualities during translation. Specifically, it examines the first two paragraphs of Aldo Leopold's personal essay "Great Possessions" and three Chinese translations, applying Hyland's (2005) interpersonal model of metadiscourse. The analysis reveals that the strategic interplay of interactive and interactional markers in the source text contributes significantly to its persuasive effect, a key aspect of Leopold's intended literariness. However, the three Chinese translations fail to reconstruct this coherent metadiscourse resources, resulting in a loss of the original's literary qualities. The study concludes that constructing metadiscourse coherence is essential not only for accurately interpreting the source text's intended meanings but also for preserving its literariness in the target text. This research has implications for translation practice and theory, highlighting the importance of metadiscourse analysis in literary prose translation.