A Study on Translation of Children’s Oral Literature: Taking the English Translation of Cantonese Nursery Rhymes as Examples

Abstract

The translation of children’s oral literature, which can be regarded as a way to spread local culture and customs, has been neglected, though a number of translation theories have been applied for literature translation. To fill this gap, this paper is to build up a workable theoretical framework for the translation of children’s oral literature in an integral approach involving strategies with the consideration of linguistic, functional and cultural theories. The English translation samples of two Cantonese nursery rhymes will serve to illustrate the strategies in a comprehensive way.