L-motif TTR for Authorship Identification in Hongloumeng and Its Translation
Yu Fang · 2017
Previous studies have found that different authors have different writing styles, which can be shown in vocabulary richness. However, little research has focused on whether such differences are shown in corresponding translations. In the present study, Hongloumeng and its two translations by Hawkes and Yang Xianyi are selected as the study object. L-motif TTR is used to reevaluate the authors of Hongloumeng through 15 selected chapters from the first 80 chapters and 15 selected chapters from the rest 40 chapters. Results show that significant differences exist in vocabulary richness between the two parts, suggesting that the two parts were written by two authors. Furthermore, we also evaluate the quality of different translations: (a) both translators choose nearly the same word to express the story; (b) Yang uses more varied words to avoid repetition, whereas Hawkes prefers more simplified words; (c) In translating culture-loaded words, Hawkes favors equal words in Western culture, while Yang translates those words literally.