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[Abstract] Iconicity， a widely-discussed concept in cognitive linguistics， refers to the analogical relation between form and meaning. This iconic force also exists between the form （both narrative and linguistic form） and the meaning （fictional theme） of a literary text. By taking William Faulkner’s Light in August and Lan Renzhe’s Chinese version of the novel as a case study， this paper forms an attempt to demonstrate how iconicity functions in the theme representation of a novel， and how it can shed light on fictional translation studies.
[Key Words] Iconicity； fictional translation； Light in August； the closed community
中圖分类号：H059
1. Iconicity and Fictional Translation
Besides F. de Saussure’s principle of arbitrariness， iconicity is another important notion concerning the relationship between the form and the meaning of a sign. Iconicity， “as a semiotic notion refers to a natural resemblance or analogy between the form of a sign （‘the signifier’， be it a letter or sound， a word， a structure of words， or even the absence of a sign） and the object or concept （‘the signified’） it refers to in the world or rather in our perception of the world.” [1]
Iconicity has secured its position in linguistic and literary studies， but it has hardly been applied to translation studies. In fact， translation can be studied from a semiotic perspective with an iconic approach. As for how iconicity works in translation， a figure （Fig 1-1） which is used to demonstrate how a message is transferred from an addresser to an addressee is borrowed from Leech and Short. Zhao Xinxin （2008） has used the same figure to illustrate how iconicity functions in writing and reading processes.
Fig 1-1：
Fig 1-2： Iconicity in Writing， Reading & Translating Processes
Fig 1-2 is the modified version to explain the way iconicity functions in the writing， reading and translating processes of fictions.
According to Leech and Short， the level of semantics， as is literally understood， is related to the meaning of language. The syntactic level is the level of lexico-grammatical form which mediates between the levels of sound and meaning， and thus includes both “lexical choice- choice of words from the vocabulary of the language- and the grammatical choices involved in combining these words into sentences” （120）. The level of graphology concerns such matters as spelling， capitalization， hyphenation， italicization and paragraphing （131）. Leech and Short illustrate their model with English language as their major concern. However， it can also be applied to the Chinese language. Languages are alike in terms of the similar iconic relationship between their forms and meanings. One of their differences lies in how their forms resemble the meanings. Back to Fig 1-2， both the fiction （text） and its target text mimic the model of reality through language. As a result， once the meaning （the model of reality） infused by the author into his/her fiction is perceived through its form of expression， the thus produced target text can be utmost faithful to the source text.
2. Iconicity in Light in August and its Translation
Light in August is mainly set in Jefferson County， Mississippi. Some people insist that the tragedies happened in Jefferson “originate with outsiders”， while some others believe that “it is precisely in terms of its capacity to cope with disruptive elements， both from without and from within” and this is the way that any community should be judged （Millgate 2007： 44）. Countless hard facts， linguistic or narrative， indicate that Faulkner intends to show to the readers a community that fails to offer all its members， locals or outsiders， a community that fails to step out of its backward past， out of its biased social and racial attitudes and rigid religious beliefs.
In accordance with the iconicity model （Fig 1-2）， sufficient examples taken from Light in August will be used to demonstrate how iconicity functions to guide translation.
2.1 Iconicity on the Semantic Level
Semantic iconicity embodies two kinds of metaphor， cognitive metaphor and grammatical metaphor. Grammatical metaphor will not be discussed here. Cognitive metaphor is usually an analogy between two items that both exist in the context of usage， or between one existing item and another one that is supposed to exist.
In Light in August， it is observed that the wheel metaphor runs through the whole text. This wheel metaphor is also an illustration of the cognitive metaphor. The author establishes a link between the “wheel” and the “closed community” -- the theme that he tries to reveal.
Example：
（1） Thinking begins to slow now. / It slows like a wheel beginning to run in sand， the axle， the vehicle， the power which propels it not yet aware. / …The wheel of thinking slows； the axle knows it now but the vehicle itself is still unaware. /…The wheel whirls on. / It is going fast and smooth now， because it is freed now of burden， of vehicle， axle， all. /… The wheel turns on. / It spins now， fading， without progress， as though turned by that final flood which had rushed out of him， leaving his body empty and lighter than a forgotten leaf and even more trivial than flotsam lying spent and still upon the window ledge which has no solidity beneath hands that have no weight； so that it can be now Now （Faulkner， 1987： 538-543， slashes added） （1a） 這时思维开始慢下来，像车轮开始驶进沙地，而推动它的车轴，车辆，推动车辆前进的力量还没意识到逐渐缓慢下来的变化。/…… 思维的车轮慢了下来，现在车轴已经知道速度在减慢，可是车辆本身却仍然没有意识到。/……车轮旋转起来，现在运转得既快又顺当，因为它已经释去了重负，脱离了车辆、车轴以及别的一切。/……车轮还在转。/ 现在它开始旋动，愈来愈慢，似乎不再前进，它像是靠着身上最后流出的血在推动，血渐渐流光了，他的身体比一片遗忘的落叶更轻，比飘浮在水面的渣滓更无价值，他颓然不动地倚在窗边，胳膊下没有实感，双手也失去了重量；这可能是完结的时候了，就在此刻 （Lan Renzhe， 2008：328- 331， slashes added）
Here Hightower’s flow of thought is compared to a running wheel. Cognitive metaphor like this helps to enhance the understanding of both certain concept and some implicit message the author tries to convey. Like a running wheel， Hightower’s thinking runs for some time and comes to a final stop. After reading the whole process， the reader gets the impression that it is unavoidable that the wheel will stop， and this motionless image lasts forever. This effect is partly achieved through the length of sentences. The progression of sentence lengths in words is： 5-22-17-4-18-4-60. Placing such a long sentence at the end certainly helps to lengthen the time of the end. It forces the reader to read at one go and have possible experience of getting out of breath like Hightower.
The translator may have noticed this when doing his work， since the last long sentence is not cut into short sentences. The progression of sentence lengths in Chinese characters is： 50-36-39-5-105. After a careful examination of this extract of the source text， one may notice that all the “action” clauses are in short sentences， such as “Thinking begins to slow now”， “the wheel of thinking slows” and so on. This form might create a powerful effect that actions change in a twinkle of an eye， while the last step- the state of death is forever. Hence， it is recommended that the first two sentences not be weaved into one.
2.2 Iconicity on the Syntactic Level
Syntactic iconicity can be termed as a fully-developed branch in iconicity studies. The translator can have a better idea of what the author of the text tries to express by adopting the syntactic forms， and with this message in mind， he will produce a more faithful translation. Syntactic iconicity mainly involves sentences with distinctive structure or grammar. Two types of syntactic iconicity – sequential iconicity and quantitative iconicity will be focused here.
2.2.1 Sequential Iconicity and Translation
In many languages， the sequence of clauses corresponds to the occurrence of events. This is known as the sequential iconicity. Sequential iconicity refers mainly to the principle of temporal sequence which is explained as follows： “The relative word order between two syntactic units is determined by the temporal order of the states which they present in the conceptual world” （Haiman， 1985： 236）. Look at the following example： （2） …And so the time come and one night Milly waked me and told me it had started and I dressed and told Eupheus to go for the doctor and he dressed and went out. And I got everything ready and we waited and the time when Eupheus and the doctor should have got back home and passed and Eupheus wasn’t back neither and I waited until the doctor would have to get there pretty soon and then I went to the front porch to look and I saw Eupheus setting on the top step with the shortgun across his lap and he said ‘Get back into that house， whore’s dam’ and I said ‘Eupheus’ and he raised the shortgun and said ‘Get back into that house. Let the devil gather his own crop： he was the one that laid it by.’ … （Faulkner， 1987： 417， my emphasis）
In this paragraph， Mrs. Eupheus is telling the story of her daughter Milly and her new-born baby. The order of the clauses corresponds to the sequential order of the whole event. Firstly， it connects a series of events naturally and signifies the transition of action and the flow of stream of conscious. Secondly， such a plain way of speech and a seemingly plain tone of her speech turn out to be in great contrast with the misery befalling Milly. Milly is the sacrificial lamb of her father and also that of the backward community which still upholds race discrimination. Thirdly， several clauses are connected by some “ands” to form a long sentence. It mimics and reveals the fluid flow of thinking Mrs. Eupheus is having. Her fluency in recalling the story also reflects the strong impression Milly’s death has left her. Consequently it is quite evident for us to conclude that such a dense use of the conjunction “and” carries certain message for the author. Examine the Chinese translation of this paragraph：
（2a） 就這样，米莉的时间到了，一天夜里她叫醒我，告诉我她发作了，我连忙穿衣，叫尤菲斯去请医生，他穿好衣服便去了。我把样样东西都准备停当，我们等着，等到尤菲斯和医生该回来的时间到了又过了，可尤菲斯还没有个影儿，等到医生该赶到门口的时候，我到前门去看，原来尤菲斯却坐在台阶顶头的第一级，膝头上放着一支猎枪，他说：‘滚回屋里去，养娼妇的鬼老婆子。’我恳求地叫他，‘尤菲斯，’他却举起猎枪对准我说：‘滚回屋去。让魔鬼去收获它自己的作物：这是它播的种。’（Lan Renzhe，2008：254）
After reading this translated text， one may first of all notice that the “and” effect created in the source text is missing. Actually， in daily life， Chinese people now and then use “然后” （meaning “and then”） to link their speech. “然后” can be seen as an equivalence to the conjunction “and” in English. But in Chinese， when telling a story one is normally not allowed to use too many “然后” to connect the story. So if we add one “然后” to the beginning of almost every clause， the reader will definitely notice the unusual use of it. By doing so， one can achieve the original effect that the author tries to achieve. 2.2.2 Quantitative Iconicity and Translation
Quantitative iconicity refers to the phenomenon that the large quantity of linguistic items may reveal the similarly large amount of meaning. Repetition is the most typical rhetorical device demonstrating the quantitative iconicity principle.
For the demonstration of sequential iconicity in the above example， the large quantity of the conjunction markers “and” easily arouses the reader’s attention. It can be analyzed with quantitative iconicity principle as well. More forms imply more meanings， so the large quantity of “and”s carries some specific intentions of the author. The “and”s signify the flow of Mrs. Eupheus’ stream of conscious， present her plain and colloquial way of speech， in such a way foreground the cruelty， craziness and insanity of Eupheus， and further expose the backwardness and blindness of the community.
2.3 Iconicity on the Graphological Level
In linguistics， graphology is the study of written and printed symbols and that of the writing systems. It mainly concerns such matters as spelling， capitalization， hyphenation， italicization and paragraphing.
Frequently writers use capitalized words or italic words for foregrounding and other stylistic effects. Capitalization only exists in languages like English that have “letters”. When it is rendered into languages like Chinese， the original effect may disappear if the translator fails to do any compensation for it.
（3） …and that all the time he could look down at himself breathing， at his chest， and see no movement at all， like when dynamite first begins， gathers itself for the now Now NOW， … （Faulkner， 1987： 460）
（3a） ……同時他一直埋头看着自己呼吸，看着胸部，却看不见任何动静，这情景像炸药引信开始点燃，愈燃愈近 要爆，要爆，爆！……（Lan Renzhe，2008：280）
In Example （3）， Faulkner uses capitalization to intensify the upcoming moment. The first “now” is followed with one that has a capitalized letter “N” （Now）， and this second one is followed with one that is wholly capitalized （NOW）. The three “now”s， listed in an expanding size， looks like an expanding mushroom cloud after the explosion of a bomb. Byron here is struggling with the decision of helping Lena find her lover， and it is the moment when he finally makes up his mind. The capitalization employed here is a great visual shock to readers， and it mimics the countdown of his moment for making the decision.
Lan’s version is also quite interesting. He makes compensation for the loss of the original visual effect. The three adverbs of time have been rendered into verbs that describe a process for something to happen- from “要爆” （going to explode） to “爆” （explode） -- which ends with an exclamatory mark. On the whole， the original effect is kept through this. 3. Conclusion
Through a systematic examination on both the source text and the target text of Light in August on the three linguistic levels， viz. semantic， syntactic and graphological level， this paper shows how iconicity works in translation and in unveiling the theme of the literary text.
After all the linguistic analyses， one may have a clearer idea of the community that Faulkner tries to reveal to the reader： a community that’s closed to itself， and that refuses to embrace outsiders and break down the prejudice against women and the black people. Furthermore， some evaluation has been made on Lan Renzhe’s Chinese version of Light in August so as to demonstrate how the iconicity framework functions and how a translator can produce more faithful translation in light of the iconicity theory.
Notes：
[1] This is the definition given by the home site of the International “Iconicity in Language and Literature” Symposium （http：//es-dev.uzh.ch）.
References：
[1] Faulkner， William. Light in August[M]. New York： Vintage Books， 1987.
[2] Haiman， John. Iconicity in Syntax[M]. Amsterdam： John Benjamins， 1985.
[3] Lan， Renzhe. Bayue Zhi Guang （Light in August） [M]. Shanghai： Shanghai Yiwen Chubanshe （Shanghai Translation Publishing House）， 2008.
[4] Leech， Geoffrey N.， and Michael H. Short. Style in Fiction： A Linguistic Introduction to English Fictional Prose[M]. Beijing： Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press， 2001.
[5] Millgate， M. New Essays on Light in August[M]. Beijing： Beijing University Press， 2007.
[6] Zhao， Xinxin. A Burning World of War – How Iconicity Works in Constructing the Fictional World View in A Farewell to Arms[D]. Guangdong University of Foreign Studies， 2008.
[Key Words] Iconicity； fictional translation； Light in August； the closed community
中圖分类号：H059
1. Iconicity and Fictional Translation
Besides F. de Saussure’s principle of arbitrariness， iconicity is another important notion concerning the relationship between the form and the meaning of a sign. Iconicity， “as a semiotic notion refers to a natural resemblance or analogy between the form of a sign （‘the signifier’， be it a letter or sound， a word， a structure of words， or even the absence of a sign） and the object or concept （‘the signified’） it refers to in the world or rather in our perception of the world.” [1]
Iconicity has secured its position in linguistic and literary studies， but it has hardly been applied to translation studies. In fact， translation can be studied from a semiotic perspective with an iconic approach. As for how iconicity works in translation， a figure （Fig 1-1） which is used to demonstrate how a message is transferred from an addresser to an addressee is borrowed from Leech and Short. Zhao Xinxin （2008） has used the same figure to illustrate how iconicity functions in writing and reading processes.
Fig 1-1：
Fig 1-2： Iconicity in Writing， Reading & Translating Processes
Fig 1-2 is the modified version to explain the way iconicity functions in the writing， reading and translating processes of fictions.
According to Leech and Short， the level of semantics， as is literally understood， is related to the meaning of language. The syntactic level is the level of lexico-grammatical form which mediates between the levels of sound and meaning， and thus includes both “lexical choice- choice of words from the vocabulary of the language- and the grammatical choices involved in combining these words into sentences” （120）. The level of graphology concerns such matters as spelling， capitalization， hyphenation， italicization and paragraphing （131）. Leech and Short illustrate their model with English language as their major concern. However， it can also be applied to the Chinese language. Languages are alike in terms of the similar iconic relationship between their forms and meanings. One of their differences lies in how their forms resemble the meanings. Back to Fig 1-2， both the fiction （text） and its target text mimic the model of reality through language. As a result， once the meaning （the model of reality） infused by the author into his/her fiction is perceived through its form of expression， the thus produced target text can be utmost faithful to the source text.
2. Iconicity in Light in August and its Translation
Light in August is mainly set in Jefferson County， Mississippi. Some people insist that the tragedies happened in Jefferson “originate with outsiders”， while some others believe that “it is precisely in terms of its capacity to cope with disruptive elements， both from without and from within” and this is the way that any community should be judged （Millgate 2007： 44）. Countless hard facts， linguistic or narrative， indicate that Faulkner intends to show to the readers a community that fails to offer all its members， locals or outsiders， a community that fails to step out of its backward past， out of its biased social and racial attitudes and rigid religious beliefs.
In accordance with the iconicity model （Fig 1-2）， sufficient examples taken from Light in August will be used to demonstrate how iconicity functions to guide translation.
2.1 Iconicity on the Semantic Level
Semantic iconicity embodies two kinds of metaphor， cognitive metaphor and grammatical metaphor. Grammatical metaphor will not be discussed here. Cognitive metaphor is usually an analogy between two items that both exist in the context of usage， or between one existing item and another one that is supposed to exist.
In Light in August， it is observed that the wheel metaphor runs through the whole text. This wheel metaphor is also an illustration of the cognitive metaphor. The author establishes a link between the “wheel” and the “closed community” -- the theme that he tries to reveal.
Example：
（1） Thinking begins to slow now. / It slows like a wheel beginning to run in sand， the axle， the vehicle， the power which propels it not yet aware. / …The wheel of thinking slows； the axle knows it now but the vehicle itself is still unaware. /…The wheel whirls on. / It is going fast and smooth now， because it is freed now of burden， of vehicle， axle， all. /… The wheel turns on. / It spins now， fading， without progress， as though turned by that final flood which had rushed out of him， leaving his body empty and lighter than a forgotten leaf and even more trivial than flotsam lying spent and still upon the window ledge which has no solidity beneath hands that have no weight； so that it can be now Now （Faulkner， 1987： 538-543， slashes added） （1a） 這时思维开始慢下来，像车轮开始驶进沙地，而推动它的车轴，车辆，推动车辆前进的力量还没意识到逐渐缓慢下来的变化。/…… 思维的车轮慢了下来，现在车轴已经知道速度在减慢，可是车辆本身却仍然没有意识到。/……车轮旋转起来，现在运转得既快又顺当，因为它已经释去了重负，脱离了车辆、车轴以及别的一切。/……车轮还在转。/ 现在它开始旋动，愈来愈慢，似乎不再前进，它像是靠着身上最后流出的血在推动，血渐渐流光了，他的身体比一片遗忘的落叶更轻，比飘浮在水面的渣滓更无价值，他颓然不动地倚在窗边，胳膊下没有实感，双手也失去了重量；这可能是完结的时候了，就在此刻 （Lan Renzhe， 2008：328- 331， slashes added）
Here Hightower’s flow of thought is compared to a running wheel. Cognitive metaphor like this helps to enhance the understanding of both certain concept and some implicit message the author tries to convey. Like a running wheel， Hightower’s thinking runs for some time and comes to a final stop. After reading the whole process， the reader gets the impression that it is unavoidable that the wheel will stop， and this motionless image lasts forever. This effect is partly achieved through the length of sentences. The progression of sentence lengths in words is： 5-22-17-4-18-4-60. Placing such a long sentence at the end certainly helps to lengthen the time of the end. It forces the reader to read at one go and have possible experience of getting out of breath like Hightower.
The translator may have noticed this when doing his work， since the last long sentence is not cut into short sentences. The progression of sentence lengths in Chinese characters is： 50-36-39-5-105. After a careful examination of this extract of the source text， one may notice that all the “action” clauses are in short sentences， such as “Thinking begins to slow now”， “the wheel of thinking slows” and so on. This form might create a powerful effect that actions change in a twinkle of an eye， while the last step- the state of death is forever. Hence， it is recommended that the first two sentences not be weaved into one.
2.2 Iconicity on the Syntactic Level
Syntactic iconicity can be termed as a fully-developed branch in iconicity studies. The translator can have a better idea of what the author of the text tries to express by adopting the syntactic forms， and with this message in mind， he will produce a more faithful translation. Syntactic iconicity mainly involves sentences with distinctive structure or grammar. Two types of syntactic iconicity – sequential iconicity and quantitative iconicity will be focused here.
2.2.1 Sequential Iconicity and Translation
In many languages， the sequence of clauses corresponds to the occurrence of events. This is known as the sequential iconicity. Sequential iconicity refers mainly to the principle of temporal sequence which is explained as follows： “The relative word order between two syntactic units is determined by the temporal order of the states which they present in the conceptual world” （Haiman， 1985： 236）. Look at the following example： （2） …And so the time come and one night Milly waked me and told me it had started and I dressed and told Eupheus to go for the doctor and he dressed and went out. And I got everything ready and we waited and the time when Eupheus and the doctor should have got back home and passed and Eupheus wasn’t back neither and I waited until the doctor would have to get there pretty soon and then I went to the front porch to look and I saw Eupheus setting on the top step with the shortgun across his lap and he said ‘Get back into that house， whore’s dam’ and I said ‘Eupheus’ and he raised the shortgun and said ‘Get back into that house. Let the devil gather his own crop： he was the one that laid it by.’ … （Faulkner， 1987： 417， my emphasis）
In this paragraph， Mrs. Eupheus is telling the story of her daughter Milly and her new-born baby. The order of the clauses corresponds to the sequential order of the whole event. Firstly， it connects a series of events naturally and signifies the transition of action and the flow of stream of conscious. Secondly， such a plain way of speech and a seemingly plain tone of her speech turn out to be in great contrast with the misery befalling Milly. Milly is the sacrificial lamb of her father and also that of the backward community which still upholds race discrimination. Thirdly， several clauses are connected by some “ands” to form a long sentence. It mimics and reveals the fluid flow of thinking Mrs. Eupheus is having. Her fluency in recalling the story also reflects the strong impression Milly’s death has left her. Consequently it is quite evident for us to conclude that such a dense use of the conjunction “and” carries certain message for the author. Examine the Chinese translation of this paragraph：
（2a） 就這样，米莉的时间到了，一天夜里她叫醒我，告诉我她发作了，我连忙穿衣，叫尤菲斯去请医生，他穿好衣服便去了。我把样样东西都准备停当，我们等着，等到尤菲斯和医生该回来的时间到了又过了，可尤菲斯还没有个影儿，等到医生该赶到门口的时候，我到前门去看，原来尤菲斯却坐在台阶顶头的第一级，膝头上放着一支猎枪，他说：‘滚回屋里去，养娼妇的鬼老婆子。’我恳求地叫他，‘尤菲斯，’他却举起猎枪对准我说：‘滚回屋去。让魔鬼去收获它自己的作物：这是它播的种。’（Lan Renzhe，2008：254）
After reading this translated text， one may first of all notice that the “and” effect created in the source text is missing. Actually， in daily life， Chinese people now and then use “然后” （meaning “and then”） to link their speech. “然后” can be seen as an equivalence to the conjunction “and” in English. But in Chinese， when telling a story one is normally not allowed to use too many “然后” to connect the story. So if we add one “然后” to the beginning of almost every clause， the reader will definitely notice the unusual use of it. By doing so， one can achieve the original effect that the author tries to achieve. 2.2.2 Quantitative Iconicity and Translation
Quantitative iconicity refers to the phenomenon that the large quantity of linguistic items may reveal the similarly large amount of meaning. Repetition is the most typical rhetorical device demonstrating the quantitative iconicity principle.
For the demonstration of sequential iconicity in the above example， the large quantity of the conjunction markers “and” easily arouses the reader’s attention. It can be analyzed with quantitative iconicity principle as well. More forms imply more meanings， so the large quantity of “and”s carries some specific intentions of the author. The “and”s signify the flow of Mrs. Eupheus’ stream of conscious， present her plain and colloquial way of speech， in such a way foreground the cruelty， craziness and insanity of Eupheus， and further expose the backwardness and blindness of the community.
2.3 Iconicity on the Graphological Level
In linguistics， graphology is the study of written and printed symbols and that of the writing systems. It mainly concerns such matters as spelling， capitalization， hyphenation， italicization and paragraphing.
Frequently writers use capitalized words or italic words for foregrounding and other stylistic effects. Capitalization only exists in languages like English that have “letters”. When it is rendered into languages like Chinese， the original effect may disappear if the translator fails to do any compensation for it.
（3） …and that all the time he could look down at himself breathing， at his chest， and see no movement at all， like when dynamite first begins， gathers itself for the now Now NOW， … （Faulkner， 1987： 460）
（3a） ……同時他一直埋头看着自己呼吸，看着胸部，却看不见任何动静，这情景像炸药引信开始点燃，愈燃愈近 要爆，要爆，爆！……（Lan Renzhe，2008：280）
In Example （3）， Faulkner uses capitalization to intensify the upcoming moment. The first “now” is followed with one that has a capitalized letter “N” （Now）， and this second one is followed with one that is wholly capitalized （NOW）. The three “now”s， listed in an expanding size， looks like an expanding mushroom cloud after the explosion of a bomb. Byron here is struggling with the decision of helping Lena find her lover， and it is the moment when he finally makes up his mind. The capitalization employed here is a great visual shock to readers， and it mimics the countdown of his moment for making the decision.
Lan’s version is also quite interesting. He makes compensation for the loss of the original visual effect. The three adverbs of time have been rendered into verbs that describe a process for something to happen- from “要爆” （going to explode） to “爆” （explode） -- which ends with an exclamatory mark. On the whole， the original effect is kept through this. 3. Conclusion
Through a systematic examination on both the source text and the target text of Light in August on the three linguistic levels， viz. semantic， syntactic and graphological level， this paper shows how iconicity works in translation and in unveiling the theme of the literary text.
After all the linguistic analyses， one may have a clearer idea of the community that Faulkner tries to reveal to the reader： a community that’s closed to itself， and that refuses to embrace outsiders and break down the prejudice against women and the black people. Furthermore， some evaluation has been made on Lan Renzhe’s Chinese version of Light in August so as to demonstrate how the iconicity framework functions and how a translator can produce more faithful translation in light of the iconicity theory.
Notes：
[1] This is the definition given by the home site of the International “Iconicity in Language and Literature” Symposium （http：//es-dev.uzh.ch）.
References：
[1] Faulkner， William. Light in August[M]. New York： Vintage Books， 1987.
[2] Haiman， John. Iconicity in Syntax[M]. Amsterdam： John Benjamins， 1985.
[3] Lan， Renzhe. Bayue Zhi Guang （Light in August） [M]. Shanghai： Shanghai Yiwen Chubanshe （Shanghai Translation Publishing House）， 2008.
[4] Leech， Geoffrey N.， and Michael H. Short. Style in Fiction： A Linguistic Introduction to English Fictional Prose[M]. Beijing： Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press， 2001.
[5] Millgate， M. New Essays on Light in August[M]. Beijing： Beijing University Press， 2007.
[6] Zhao， Xinxin. A Burning World of War – How Iconicity Works in Constructing the Fictional World View in A Farewell to Arms[D]. Guangdong University of Foreign Studies， 2008.