Title: Accuracy and Readability: On the Translation of Narrative Term “Unnatural”

Abstract: As a term in narratology, “unnatural” is widely studied. The current translation of “unnatural” by the Chinese scholars is非自然, but the author of this paper holds that this translation is not proper. Then in what aspect is the translation problematic and what should be the more appropriate one? This paper begins with a view of definitions of the word in dictionaries, and then analyzes its theoretical application in narratology, followed by the principles of technical terms translation, namely, accuracy and readability. Basing on all the above discussion, the author suggests that the appropriate translation should be 反常的or 反常规的, and makes a comparison between the two translations as well.

Keywords: narratology, “unnatural”, technical term translation, unnatural narrative

Authors: Liqun Hao, Associate Professor, School of International Studies, Dalian University of Foreign Languages, Dalian, Liaoning, China; Wentie Chen, Professor, School of Foreign Languages, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian, Liaoning, China.