Abstract: Literary dialect is commonly believed to be a challenge in translation. Translation studies seldom pay attention to the translation of dialects, with even rarer studies focusing on the translation of Chinese literary dialects. This paper analyzes and compares the translation approaches in two English versions(Hu Zhihui's and Bret Sparling and Yin Chi's) of Li Jieren's Si Shui Wei Lan, a novel featuring literary dialects. The analysis reveals that in Hu's version, most dialects and language variations were put into formal and standard English,and only a small part of dialect was translated into vernacular or colloquial expressions. In the Sparling and Yin's version, the translators largely retained the dialectal elements and language variations in the original work by using Afro-American English expressions and nicknames. Dialects in literary works are a unique feature of Chinese literature. In tune with overseas promotion of Chinese literature works, more investigations and translation practices need to be conducted to shed light on the translation of Chinese dialect literatures.

Key words: literary dialect, Si Shui Wei Lan, language variation, dialect translation, language feature