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Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science

ISSN Print: 2576-0556 Downloads: 476184 Total View: 3647445
Frequency: monthly ISSN Online: 2576-0548 CODEN: JHASAY
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Article Open Access http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2024.11.024

Bourdieu’s Capitals in Translation: A Case Study on the English Reception of Happy Dreams

Zhenni Ma1,*, Xi Cao2

1School of Foreign Languages, Xinjiang Normal University, Urumqi 830010, Xinjiang, China.

2School of English Studies, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai 200083, China.

*Corresponding author: Zhenni Ma

Published: December 18,2024

Abstract

This paper presents a case study of Happy Dreams, a rural novel by the acclaimed Chinese writer Jia Pingwa, which has gained significant attention in the English-speaking world through its translation by Nicky Harman. The study delves into the factors influencing the acceptance of the English version of Happy Dreams by examining the roles of three major cultural active agents: the author, the translator, and the publisher. It commences with a close examination of reviews, and sales figures on Amazon and Goodreads to observe how these three agents leverage their respective capitals to enhance the international recognition of Happy Dreams. Based on the data, the paper employs descriptive analysis to detail the agents’ contributions and explanatory methods to uncover the underlying mechanisms that lead to the novel’s international recognition. This study aims to shed light on the interplay between the capitals of the author, the translator, and the publisher, highlighting how their collective efforts promote the novel’s international recognition and by extension, Chinese contemporary literature.

References

Bourdieu, P. (1986). The Forms of Capital. Translated by Richard Nice. In Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education, edited by John Richardson (pp. 241-258). Westport: Greenwood.

Marin-Lacarta, M. (2019). Characteristics of a digital literary translation publisher: revisiting Bourdieu’s mapping of the publishing field, Translator, 1, 27-41.

Martinez, N. (2024). Translation and the acquisition of symbolic capital: The Blueberry Western series in the field of American comic books. Perspective studies in Translation Theory and Practice, 1, 119-133.

Peng, Q. (2020). Power and Symbolic Capital in Literature: Mo Yan in Italy. Comparative Literature in China, 3, 105-120.

Pingwa, J. (2017). Happy Dreams. Translated by Nicky Harman. Amazon Crossing.

Pingwo J. (2015). Gao Xing. Nan Jing: Yi Lin Press.

Sapiro, G. (2017). The Role of Publishers in the Making of World Literature: The Case of Gallimard. Letteratura e Letterature, 11, 81-94.

How to cite this paper

Bourdieu's Capitals in Translation: A Case Study on the English Reception of Happy Dreams

How to cite this paper: Zhenni Ma, Xi Cao. (2024) Bourdieu's Capitals in Translation: A Case Study on the English Reception of Happy Dreams. Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science8(11), 2605-2610.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2024.11.024