A Functional linguistic approach to the study of simplified versions of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Authors

  • Huang Guowen South China Agricultural University
  • Chen Yumin Sun Yat-sen University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/lhs.35733

Keywords:

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll, simplified, linguistic analysis, text

Abstract

There are a large number of well-known literary writings which have corresponding simplified or adapted versions in the market, mainly designed for different groups of readers, and Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is one of such writings. The paper attempts to conduct functional linguistic analyses of the beginning paragraphs of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and the corresponding simplified versions. It is found that the simplified versions are not necessarily shorter than the original in terms of the length of the passage and the number of words. The simplification of the original text is not merely concerned with the idea but also with the language expressions. It shows how linguistic analysis can help the reader to better understand the underlying meanings of such re-writings.

Author Biographies

  • Huang Guowen, South China Agricultural University

    Huang Guowen is a professor of functional linguistics and ecolinguistics and the Dean of the School of Foreign Studies at South China Agricultural University in China, and he is also a scholar of translation studies. During 2011-2014 he was the Chair of the Executive Committee of the InternationalSystemic Functional Linguistics Association (www.isfla.org/) and he co-edits two international journals, Journal of World Languages (http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rwol20) and Functional Linguistics (www.functionallinguistics.com). With regard to his education abroad, he received two PhD degrees, respectively from the University of Edinburgh, UK (1992: applied linguistics), and Cardiff University,UK (1995: functional linguistics).

  • Chen Yumin, Sun Yat-sen University

    Chen Yumin is a professor of linguistics in School of Foreign Languages, Sun Yat-sen University. She received her PhD degrees in linguistics from the University of Sydney in 2009 (cotelle program with Sun Yat-sen University). Her research interests include functional linguistics, discourse analysis and social semiotics. Her recent publications include research articles in the international journals Semiotica, Social Semiotics, Discourse & Communication, Visual Communication and Linguistics and Education, and review papers in Language in Society and Discourse & Society.

References

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Published

2018-06-15

Issue

Vol. 11 No. 2-3

Section

Articles

License

© Equinox Publishing Ltd.

For information regarding our Open Access policy, click here.

How to Cite

Guowen, H., & Yumin, C. (2018). A Functional linguistic approach to the study of simplified versions of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Linguistics and the Human Sciences, 11(2-3), 236-249. https://doi.org/10.1558/lhs.35733

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