Abstract:
The study is a comparison of four English translations of a Chinese Chan Buddhist
text, the Platform Sutra. It investigates translators’ choices on the level of lexico-grammar, the
semantic consequences of such choices as the image of Huineng and the underlying contextual
factors contributing to the variations among translations. Interpersonal system of SysFan, a
computational tool specialized in systemic functional analysis, is used and choices in terms of
SUBJECT PERSON, MODALITY and MOOD TYPE are analyzed and compared. It is demonstrated
that in translation, lexico-grammatical choices will lead to variation in meanings, and there
tend to be contextual motivations for the seemingly unconscious choices.
