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Uncovering gender differences in translating the second sex: A corpus-assisted analysis perspective
Author(s)
Date Issued
2025
Publisher
Hong Kong: Hong Kong Shue Yan University
Description
88 pages
Type
Thesis
Programme
Master of Philosophy in English
Abstract
This study conducts a comparative analysis of gendered verb choices in two Chinese translations of Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex, using syntactic dependency relations as the analytical framework. Verbs were extracted from subject-verb and verb-object dependencies involving gendered referents in the translations by Zheng Kelu (鄭克魯) and Qiu Ruiluan (邱瑞鑾). A corpus-based approach identified statistically salient verbs associated with male and female referents, along with notable divergences between the two translations. These quantitative findings are complemented by qualitative analysis, which reveals that Zheng’s translation often links female referents with passivity and emotionality, while male referents are associated with agency and dominance. In contrast, Qiu’s translation presents more empowered and diverse representations of both genders, particularly portraying male referents with emotional complexity and female referents with autonomy. These findings highlight the translator’s mediating role in feminist texts and contribute to broader discussions on gender representation in translation.
File(s)
Name
232701M.pdf
Size
1.25 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum
(not present)
(MD5):f25700f3c6012673a60ef74082bce49e
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