Marais, K.Ma, Y.Fang, Chen-Shu2016-11-252016-11-252016-01http://hdl.handle.net/11660/4811English: Aristotle and Confucius were influential philosophers in the Western and Eastern world respectively. Both of their rhetoric also made the literature of their cultures flourish. One of Confucius’ famous works, the Analects, has influenced the values, philosophy, morality and even rhetoric of Chinese people since ancient times. This study focuses on rhetoric from the point of view of metadiscourse, and by considering its function in different genres and in the successfulness of writing, it confirms that metadiscourse is one of the factors that made Aristotle’s and Confucius’ work so influential. The existence of the relationship between Aristotle’s ethos and metadiscourse was proved by Crismore and Farnsworth (1989). In other words, Aristotle’s rhetorical strategy is regarded as one of the facets of metadiscourse. The study takes this assertion and applies it to Confucius’ rhetoric, further proving that Confucian rhetoric also falls under the theory of metadiscourse. The Analects has been translated into other languages since the 17th century. These translations were completed by many different agents from different times and cultural backgrounds. These differences influenced their motivations for doing the translations and also resulted in different translation strategies. The study investigates selected rhetorical devices of the Analects and four translations of these devices from the point of view of metadiscourse and culture, and proves that the translators’ cultural contexts influenced their particular translation preferences when they dealt with these rhetorical devices. The results of the study will hopefully make modern scholars or translators more aware of the influences of cultural issues on their motivations and their translations, as well as of the potential metadiscoursal aspects of which translators make use. Moreover, this research endeavours to shift people’s focus from the correctness of a translation to the suitability thereof. It aims to broaden the scope of research for scholars who wish to study the various issues related to the process of translating the Analects.Afrikaans: Aristoteles en Confucius was albei invloedryke filosowe in onderskeidelik die Weste en die Ooste. Albei se retoriek het ook die literatuur van hulle kulture laat floreer. Een van Confucius se beroemde werke, die Analekte, het sedert antieke tye die waardes, filosofie, moraliteit en selfs retoriek van Chinese mense beïnvloed. Hierdie studie fokus op retoriek vanuit die oogpunt van metadiskoers. Deur die funksie van metadiskoers in verskillende genres en in die geslaagdheid van skryfwerk te oorweeg, bevestig die studie dat dit een van die faktore is wat Aristoteles en Confucius se werk so invloedryk gemaak het. Die verhouding tussen Aristoteles se etos en sy retoriese strategie is deur Crismore en Farnsworth (1989) aangetoon. Met ander woorde, Aristoteles se retoriese strategie word as een van die fasette van metadiskoers beskou. Hierdie studie pas die voorgenoemde stelling op Confucius se retoriek toe en argumenteer verder dat die Confuciaanse retoriek ook onder die teorie van metadiskoers val. Die Analekte is al sedert die 17de eeu in ander tale vertaal. Hierdie vertalings is deur baie verskillende agente vanuit verskillende tye en kulturele agtergronde voltooi. Die verskille tussen hulle het hulle motiverings oor hoekom hulle die vertalings gedoen het, beïnvloed, en het ook tot verskillende vertaalstrategieë gelei. Hierdie studie ondersoek geselekteerde retoriese meganismes in die Analekte en vier vertalings daarvan uit die oogpunt van metadiskoers en kultuur, en toon aan dat die vertalers se kulturele kontekste hulle bepaalde vertaalvoorkeure beïnvloed het toe hulle hierdie retoriese meganismes vertaal het. Die studie se resultate sal hopelik moderne akademici of vertalers meer bewus maak van die invloed van kultuurkwessies op hulle motiverings en hulle vertalings, asook van die potensiële aspekte van metadiskoers waarvan vertalers gebruik maak. Verder probeer hierdie navorsing om mense se fokus van die korrektheid van ’n vertaling na die die gepastheid daarvan te verskuif. Dit poog om die omvang van navorsing te verbreed vir akademici wat die verskeie kwessies in verband met die vertaling van die Analekte wil bestudeer.enDissertation (M.A. (Linguistics and Language Practice))--University of the Free State, 2016ConfuciusDiscourse analysisRhetoricDissertationUniversity of the Free State