Visualizing Chinese nursery rhymes in contemporary picturebooks: a multimodal perspective

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Published: Apr 28, 2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.6035/MonTI.2022.14.04
Keywords:
Chinese nursery rhyme, Picture book, Intralingual translation, Intersemiotic translation, Multimodality

Main Article Content

Xi Chen
Macau University of Science and Technology
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8057-4623

Abstract

This study investigates how Chinese nursery rhymes are visualized in contemporary picturebooks from a multimodal perspective. The data for case analysis are selected from three Chinese rhyming picturebooks. Based on Jakobson’s (1959) typology of translation, this study regards picturebooks as multimodal texts and examines the adaptation of Chinese nursery rhymes into contemporary picturebooks as a process of intralingual and intersemiotic translations. It first analyzes the modern adaptations of traditional Chinese nursery rhymes in the verbal texts and then discusses the text-image interactions in picturebooks to explore the intersemiotic translation from the verbal to the visual. The research results indicate that the didactical function or political implication of traditional Chinese nursery rhymes is usually weakened or omitted in the intralingual translation, while more creative and amusing narrative rhymes are adapted to tailor for contemporary children’s hobbies and lifestyle. Besides, in the intersemiotic translation between texts and images in picturebooks, flexible and varied methods are employed according to different text-image interplays.

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How to Cite
Chen, X. (2022). Visualizing Chinese nursery rhymes in contemporary picturebooks: a multimodal perspective. MonTI. Monographs in Translation and Interpreting, (14), 119–148. https://doi.org/10.6035/MonTI.2022.14.04
Issue
No. 14 (2022): Translation and intermediality in children’s and young adults’ literature: origins, development and new trends
Section
Articles

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