Normalization or creation? A corpus-based study of normalization in the Chinese translation of English children’s literature
Abstract Based on the English-Chinese Parallel Corpus of Children’s Literature and the Corpus of Chinese Children’s Literature, this study investigates the feature of normalization in the Chinese translation of English children’s literature. Normalization refers to the adaptation of foreign features...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Springer Nature
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05379-6 |
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| author | Yang Han |
| author_facet | Yang Han |
| author_sort | Yang Han |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Based on the English-Chinese Parallel Corpus of Children’s Literature and the Corpus of Chinese Children’s Literature, this study investigates the feature of normalization in the Chinese translation of English children’s literature. Normalization refers to the adaptation of foreign features in the source text to comply with the cultural and linguistic norms of the target culture. The study analyzes both macro and micro levels of language features in translated children’s literature, comparing them with original Chinese and English texts. The findings reveal a clear trend towards normalization, evidenced by shorter sentences, increased repetition of high-frequency words, a lower frequency of hapax legomena, and a higher textual readability in translated Chinese versions. Furthermore, linguistic structures such as reduplication, modal particles, “把” (BA), and “得” (DE) constructions are found to occur at rates comparable to or significantly higher than those in the original Chinese corpus. This paper argues that normalization is a creative outcome, molded by translators aligning with reader expectations, conscientiously considering the psychological characteristics of child readers, and adapting to social, cultural, and market influences. The study contributes to understanding linguistic features of translated children’s literature, sheds light on translation universals, and underscores the dynamic interplay between normalization and translator creativity. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a14eb4b63d7d44308e42c228f490ca2d |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2662-9992 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Springer Nature |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-a14eb4b63d7d44308e42c228f490ca2d2025-08-20T03:04:22ZengSpringer NatureHumanities & Social Sciences Communications2662-99922025-07-0112111310.1057/s41599-025-05379-6Normalization or creation? A corpus-based study of normalization in the Chinese translation of English children’s literatureYang Han0University of Shanghai for Science and TechnologyAbstract Based on the English-Chinese Parallel Corpus of Children’s Literature and the Corpus of Chinese Children’s Literature, this study investigates the feature of normalization in the Chinese translation of English children’s literature. Normalization refers to the adaptation of foreign features in the source text to comply with the cultural and linguistic norms of the target culture. The study analyzes both macro and micro levels of language features in translated children’s literature, comparing them with original Chinese and English texts. The findings reveal a clear trend towards normalization, evidenced by shorter sentences, increased repetition of high-frequency words, a lower frequency of hapax legomena, and a higher textual readability in translated Chinese versions. Furthermore, linguistic structures such as reduplication, modal particles, “把” (BA), and “得” (DE) constructions are found to occur at rates comparable to or significantly higher than those in the original Chinese corpus. This paper argues that normalization is a creative outcome, molded by translators aligning with reader expectations, conscientiously considering the psychological characteristics of child readers, and adapting to social, cultural, and market influences. The study contributes to understanding linguistic features of translated children’s literature, sheds light on translation universals, and underscores the dynamic interplay between normalization and translator creativity.https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05379-6 |
| spellingShingle | Yang Han Normalization or creation? A corpus-based study of normalization in the Chinese translation of English children’s literature Humanities & Social Sciences Communications |
| title | Normalization or creation? A corpus-based study of normalization in the Chinese translation of English children’s literature |
| title_full | Normalization or creation? A corpus-based study of normalization in the Chinese translation of English children’s literature |
| title_fullStr | Normalization or creation? A corpus-based study of normalization in the Chinese translation of English children’s literature |
| title_full_unstemmed | Normalization or creation? A corpus-based study of normalization in the Chinese translation of English children’s literature |
| title_short | Normalization or creation? A corpus-based study of normalization in the Chinese translation of English children’s literature |
| title_sort | normalization or creation a corpus based study of normalization in the chinese translation of english children s literature |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05379-6 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT yanghan normalizationorcreationacorpusbasedstudyofnormalizationinthechinesetranslationofenglishchildrensliterature |