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Translation Studies
A Review and Reflection of Holmes and Toury’s Descriptive Translation Studies 曾雁湖 Zeng Yanhu
Foreignizing Tanslation and National Culture Development 邓锦霞 Deng Jinxia
Abstract
In the context of economic and social globalization, human civilization in the 20th century is developing towards diversification. In the process of multicultural exchanges, the impact of translation on local national culture has become a new topic of discussion. Foreignizing translation takes the source language as its destination and can retain the cultural characteristics of the source language to the greatest extent, which has gradually attracted the attention of contemporary translators. This chapter discusses the relationship between foreignizing translation and national culture from three perspectives: the necessity of foreignizing translation, the limitations of foreignizing translation and the influence of foreignizing translation on national culture.
Key words
foreignizing translation; national culture
摘要
在经济与社会全球化发展的背景下,20世纪的人类文明正在向多元化发展。在多元文化交流的过程中,翻译作品对本土民族文化的影响成为新的讨论话题。异化翻译以源语言为归宿,能够最大限度地保留源语言文化特色,逐渐受到当代翻译家的重视。本文章从异化翻译的必要性,异化翻译的局限性以及异化翻译对民族文化的影响三个角度出发,讨论异化翻译与民族文化发展的关系。
关键词
异化翻译:民族文化
1.Introduction
The debate between domesticating translation and foreignizing translation has a long history. When contemporary translators choose translation strategies, domesticating translation is the dominant one, for the translated text will be more easily accepted by the target language readers. Although this may attract more target language readers, in the translation process of "domestication", we allow the source language culture to adapt to the target language culture, and even replace the source language culture with the target one. Such translations cannot truly achieve the purpose of cross-cultural communication and dissemination. As far as the quality of cultural production and transformation is concerned, this is likely to cause the development of the homogeneity of the cultures of various ethnic groups, and this does not conform to the general trend of cultural globalization, and is not conducive to maintaining the cultural uniqueness of various ethnic groups. A typical domesticated translation in Chinese-English translation is David Hawkes's translation of "red" in The Dream of the Red Chamber. Considering the different understanding of red in Chinese and Western cultures, he translated "怡红公子" as "green boy". Although this translation is conducive to the understanding of western readers, it also loses the cultural connotation of Chinese red. In the context of Chinese culture, "red" mostly symbolizes auspiciousness and joy. With such kind of domesticating translation, western readers can never really understand the real Chinese culture. Compared with domesticated translation, source-oriented foreignizing translation has better retention of the original text in terms of language and culture.
2.The Evolution of Foreignizing Translation
The concept of foreignization translation in the West can be traced back to the word-for-word translation discussed by Cicero, Horace and St.Jerome in ancient Rome, which is the embryonic form of literal translation. The most famous translator in the early Middle Ages, Manlius Boethius, had a rich view of literal translation as (1) Content and style are hostile to each other, either paying attention to style or preserving content, neither can be achieved. (2) Translation is centered on objective things, and translators should give up subjective judgments. During the Renaissance, the famous German poet and translator Sebastian Brant substituted the concept of literal translation into poetry translation and proposed a verbatim translation method. In modern times, the dispute between literal translation and free translation has evolved into a dispute between the Old School and the New School. Bachet de Meziriae puts forward three principles that translators must follow: (1) Do not stuff the original text with private goods (2) Do not add or delete the original text (3) Do not make changes that are detrimental to the original intent. Translation critic Daniel Huet believes that the best translation method is for the translator to follow the original author's meaning ; if possible, follow his words closely, and finally reproduce his character as much as possible. Charles Batteux believes that the first translation rule is to preserve the original word order as much as possible.
From a diachronic point of view, the concept of literal translation has become deeper and more specific, and its connotation has become more and more abundant. However, the concept of literal translation in this period still remained at the level of language meaning, content and formal style. The development in culture, poetics, society, ethics and ideology has gradually extended and developed literal translation, which is the basis of Western foreignizing translation ideas.
Friedrich Schleiermacher put forward two very different translation methods in his famous speech entitled "On Different Translation Methods": the translator should either keep the original author as still as possible and make the reader close to the original author; or let the reader as much as possible stay still and make the original author approach the reader. He advocated that the first translation method, the foreignizing translation method, is the real translation method, allowing readers to appreciate foreign customs and respecting language and cultural differences.
Walter Benjamin's thought of foreignization is reflected in his view of language. He believes that all languages convey themselves in themselves, so language itself is translation. Benjamin emphasized the directness of language and intended to subvert the bourgeois instrumental language view. The translation goal of pure language makes Benjamin tend to use the foreignizing translation method, retaining the language form of the original text, that is, the difference in the way of meaning. In other words, Benjamin's foreignizing translation method is not to translate the meaning of the original text, but to convey the language expression of the original text to the target language. It is to achieve the ultimate goal of pure language human salvation.
Antoine Berman puts forward the concept of "translation ethics" in the book "The Test of Difference" in response to the traditional translation thought centered on "the transmission of meaning" that has long dominated the western translation world. The translation ethics advocated by Berman is to respect the original work and respect the language and cultural differences in the original work. To this end, he advocates foreignizing translation, implements foreignizing translation through the translation strategy of translated text, enriches himself through the introduction of "others", in order to achieve his goal of translation ethics.
Although the idea of foreignizing translation has existed for a long time, the concept and terminology of "foreignizing translation" have not been promoted to the agenda of translation studies until 1995, when Lawrence Venuti published his famous book "The Invisibility of the Translator-A History of Translation". Venuti’s concept of foreignizing translation puts traditional literal translation on the local cultural and political agenda, and links translation with culture, political ethics, and ideology. Its rich connotations can be summarized in the following five points: differences in material selection, language Differences with culture, readers and translation ethics. The core of Venuti's foreignizing translation is to practice differentiated ethical propositions to resist the mainstream values of the target language culture, thereby highlighting the language and cultural differences of foreign languages. In other words, Venuti’s translation ethics emphasizes the absorption and acceptance of the “other” as the “other”. On the one hand, it respects the language and cultural differences of the foreign other, and on the other hand, it can be used to challenge the culture of the target language. Mainstream values
3.The Necessity of Foreignizing Translation
Translation circles have different definitions of foreignizing translation, but generally believe that foreignizing translation is a translation strategy that preserves the characteristics of the source language, which will help readers get closer to the author. Although the background and purpose of different theorists’ perspectives on foreignizing translation are different, we should uphold the attitude of foreignizing translation as a translation strategy, and treat the role of foreignizing translation in the development of national culture objectively.
3.1.The Need of Language Development
As the carrier of culture, language has never been self-sufficient and isolated from external factors. On the contrary, it is an open system with strong tolerance and attractiveness. With the deepening of exchanges among countries and ethnic groups, various languages are now enriched in varying degrees. The foreignizing translation played a very important role in this process. The change of language is firstly reflected at the lexical level. Some vocabulary did not exist in the target country, but through the translator's foreignizing translation, a large number of words with foreign cultural customs were gradually accepted by people. And it can be widely disseminated and used in popular culture. For example: "honeymoon" (蜜月), this word had no corresponding expression in Chinese at the time, and its meaning (the first month of the wedding) did not exist in Chinese at that time. It was Lin Shu's method of alienation. The two parts of the compound word are translated and arranged together according to their literal meanings (honey "蜜", moon "月") to form the word "蜜月". This undoubtedly injected fresh blood into Chinese at that time and developed modern Chinese. There are also many other words, such as "咖啡(coffee)", "丁克(DINK)", and "可乐(cola)", which have been understood and accepted by Chinese readers. Words such as "Jiaozi(饺子)", "tofu(豆腐)", "Kungfu(功夫)" originated from Chinese have also entered the English thesaurus and have become part of the English family. The inclusiveness of language is evident. Once these foreign words are accepted by the society,they are established by convention and become new members when they are added to the traditional language and culture. As a result, they will inevitably enrich the way of language expression, promote language proximity and communication, and enhance the vitality of language. In a sense, the process of language development is also a process of language alienation. The alienation of language is the general trend, and it cannot be blocked by manpower. The translator's use of foreignizing method actually follows the universal law of language development.
The influence of foreignizing translation is not limited to the lexical level, but also to the syntactic level (Wang Kefei, 2002:458). When Liang Qichao investigated the translation of Buddhist scriptures, he discussed a dozen of foriegnizing translation of syntaxes. Facts have proved that the foreignized syntax of these Buddhist translations took root in Chinese with the widespread spread of Buddhism and became the origin of the Chinese vernacular. Modern Chinese is also influenced by Western languages, and the frequency and scope of passive voice use have expanded. Passive form was used as early as in ancient Chinese, but it is rare, and it is generally used to express misfortune or unpleasant experience. Affected by the translation of Western languages, the passive form in modern Chinese can also express pleasant things. It means that the syntax of source language in foreignizing translation can be accepted as a part of the target language.
It can be seen that the use of foreignization translation method can enrich and expand the vocabulary and syntax of the target language, which is beneficial to the maturity and perfection of the target language. Around the 19th century, when German romantic writers and translators were translating foreign works, they paid great attention to absorbing some vocabulary and special expressions from foreign literary works to enrich the German language. In their view, the development of German is not yet perfect, and it is necessary to enrich and expand the German language through translation. Under the guidance of this kind of thinking, they showed great importance to the language form of the original text.
In China, Mr. Lu Xun has always advocated foreignization translation for the purpose of importing new expressions to develop vernacular Chinese. "Chinese are too imprecise...To solve this problem, I thought I had to endure a little bitterness one after another and put in strange, ancient, foreign syntax. Then we could take it as ourselves." (Chen Fukang, 1992:298). In the fifteen or sixteen years after the May Fourth Movement, many writers and translators consciously adopted the foreignization translation method under the advocacy of Lu Xun, Qu Qiubai and others. Their works not only absorbed a large number of Western vocabulary, but also used some syntactic structures of Western languages, which gradually overcomed the lack of vocabulary and thin sentence structure of ancient Chinese, and promoted the final development and maturity of the vernacular.
3.2.The Need of Culture Communication
Each country and nation has its own unique culture, which all have contributed to the development of world civilization. The prosperity and development of world culture depends more on the further development of these cultures in their own fields rather than extinction. The existence of translation problems actually defaults to the existence of cultural diversity. If there is only one language and one culture in the world, there will naturally be no translation problems.
Lu Xun advocated foreignizing translation, believing that it can import new content and new expressions. The French philosopher Derrida believes that "translation is to play with similarities and differences in endless analysis." Through translation, we can achieve a deeper and more accurate understanding of the differences between cultures and the specific expressions of various ethnic languages.
In the process of cultural input, foreignizing translation is essential if we want to understand the most authentic and essential source language culture. Correct cultural cognition is a prerequisite for cultural exchange. For example, most Westerners believe in Christianity, and they believe that God is the only savior of the world. Westerners' ideology, value system, religious beliefs, ethics, and even behaviors and behaviors are all derived from Christian culture. As the carrier of culture, language is also influenced by religious culture. For this kind of proverb, if you blindly adopt the domestication translation method, translate "God help those who help themselves" as "自助者天助", and translate "The mills of God grind slowly but sure" as "天网恢恢 疏而不漏". Then, for most Chinese readers, they may never understand the true religious culture of the West.
Goethe pointed out that everything has a beginning, and readers will eventually become accustomed to it. In short, readers' approval should be viewed from the perspective of development, not confined to temporary choices. This is the only way to multiculturalism. When the phrase "Praise is not pudding" is translated into "赞美不能当饭吃", it is certainly conducive to readers' understanding. But the cultural connotation of pudding for Westerners is completely concealed. The translation of "赞美不能当布丁吃" highlights the importance of pudding in the translation. Another example is the proverb "Unkissed, unkind". If it is translated as "不作揖,不友善" by using domesticating translation method, although such a translation fully conforms to the thinking and habits of the Chinese people, it also causes a lack of the original culture. Therefore, using foreignizing translation method, "不亲吻,不友善" can make readers understand the difference between Western etiquette and Chinese, and will not cause obstacles in cultural exchanges.
The Limitations of Foreignizing Translation
The Influence of Foreignizing Translation
Conclusion
Work Cited
Analysis on the Key problems in Chinese-English Translation and Corresponding Solutions ----- Based on Contrastive English-Chinese Studies and Chinese-English Translation 姜好 Jiang Hao
A Comparative Study of Chinese Versions of Uncle Tom’s Cabin: From the Perspective of Hermeneutics 管钦清 Guan Qinqing
解释学视角下Uncle Tom’s Cabin译本的对比研究
ABSTRACT
Hermeneutics is a discipline that studies understanding and interpretation, and its development is inseparable from translation. Both literary translation and non-literary translation are inseparable from the understanding and interpretation of the original text. The nature of translation determines that the relationship between hermeneutic theory and translation studies is extremely close. This article is guided by Gadamer's hermeneutics. Based on the core concepts of historical understanding, prejudice, and fusion of horizons, this article will discuss how these related factors, such as historical ideology, translator's attitude, language fusion, cultural filtering, and translator's subjectivity, work and embody in the Chinese versions of Uncle Tom's cabin. This article first explains Gadamer's hermeneutics. Then the author and translator of Uncle Tom’s Cabin are introduced. Under the guidance of the above theory, the different translation strategies adopted by different Chinese versions and their reasons are analyzed from different perspectives. Through the above analysis, I draw some inspiration from it: the existence of multiple translation versions and the retranslation of literary works are reasonable. Translation works from different historical contexts can reflect the spirit of a particular era. And hermeneutics can provide reasonable explanations for some translation phenomena that are influenced and determined by the context of social culture and history, and it is very suitable for studying translation works that appeared in different periods.
Key words: Hermeneutics; Uncle Tom’s Cabin; historicity of understanding; fusion of horizons; effective history
摘 要
解释学是一门研究理解和解释的学科,其发展与翻译密不可分。无论是文学翻译还是非文学翻译,都离不开原文的理解和解释,翻译的这种性质决定了解释学理论与翻译研究之间的关系是极其密 切的。本文主要是从伽达默尔的解释学角度出发,根据理解的历史性、偏见和视域融合这几个核心概念,论述历史意识形态、译者态度、语言融合、文化过滤以及译者主体性等相关因素在斯托夫 人的Uncle Tom’s Cabin中译本中的体现及作用。本文首先对伽达默尔的解释学进行了阐述。随后介绍了Uncle Tom’s Cabin的原文作者以及译者,并在以上理论基础的指导下,从不同的角度对 译本所采取的不同的翻译策略及其原因进行了分析。通过以上分析,笔者从中得出启示:多个译本同时存在以及文学名著重译现象的存在是合理的。产生于不同历史环境的译作,能够反映特定的 时代精神。而解释学能为一些由社会文化历史语境影响和决定的翻译现象提供合理的解释,并且十分适用于研究不同时期出现的译作。
关键词:解释学;Uncle Tom’s Cabin;理解的历史性;视域融合;效果历史
Introduction
Uncle Tom’s Cabin is a novel against slavery published by American writer Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852. The novel's views on African-Americans and American slavery have had far-reaching influences, and to some extent intensified local conflicts that led to the American Civil War. The novel was the best-selling novel of the 19th century (and the second best-selling book, second only to the best-selling book, the Bible), and was considered a major reason for the rise of abolitionism in the 1850s. In the first year of its publication, it sold 300,000 copies in the United States. The impact of Uncle Tom’s Cabin on American society was so great that during the early days of the Civil War, when Lincoln met Mrs. Stowe, he said, "You are the little woman who caused a great war."
The influence of Uncle Tom’s Cabin on the Chinese translation industry is self-evident. As the first American novel was translated into Chinese, this novel first appeared in China in the form of classical Chinese in 1901. Its name was《黑奴吁天录》 and translated by translators Lin Shu and Wei Yi. After the publication of《黑奴吁天录》, it caused a strong response from readers and caused a certain impact on the consciousness of Chinese readers. The second version of Uncle Tom’s Cabin in China was translated by Mr. Huang Jizhong, entitled 《汤姆大伯的小屋》 and published in 1982. A major feature of Huang Jizhong's Uncle Tom's Cabin was its fidelity to the original text. The translation was very popular once it was launched. 59,000 copies were printed in the first edition, and another 30,000 copies were soon printed, all sold out. These two translation works had different production time and different translation methods, but they both enduring have many readers. Why can a foreign novel be retranslated many times in China, and all kinds of completely different translation works can enjoy their respective reputations, and have been sought after by readers of different times? Why these two very different translation methods so successful? The above issues aroused my attention.
Hermeneutics is a philosophical theory that explains and understands text. For the first time in the 20th century, translation theorist George Steiner put translation into hermeneutics and pointed out that language is constantly changing. With the continuous development of hermeneutics, the German philosopher Gadamer established a systematic philosophical hermeneutics and put forward the three principles of "history of understanding", "fusion of horizons", and "history of effects" in his works. These three principles can be used to explain many translation phenomena and translation theories in the history of Chinese and foreign translation, and have high reference value. In view of this, the author decided to use Gadamer's hermeneutics as a theoretical guide. Focusing on the analysis of the two versions of Uncle Tom's Cabin, I will research and discuss the issues raised above, and draw inspiration from them to provide a way for literary translation.
1.Literature Review
This chapter will give a brief introduction to hermeneutics from three aspects: the development of hermeneutics, Gadamer's Philosophical Hermeneutics, and Hermeneutics' Guide to Translation Studies.
1.1. Development of Hermeneutics
Hermeneutics has a profound historical origin and is an ancient and well-established science. Traditional hermeneutics is not a specific philosophical school, but a philosophical theory of meaning, understanding, and interpretation. Its history can be traced back to ancient Greece. The term Hemeneutics is the name of Hemes, the messenger of the Greek gods. He accepted the will of Zeus and explained it to human beings, and also passed on the human claims to Zeus and the gods. The core of hermeneutics is the "interpretation" of problem. The academic community generally believes that hermeneutics can be divided into three stages: classical hermeneutics, modern hermeneutics and philosophical hermeneutics(郑立平,易新奇,2015:101-104).
The core of classical hermeneutics is theological hermeneutics, which mainly involves the translation and understanding of the Bible. As a translator, the interpreter must explain the ambiguous and vague words that appear in the Bible. Therefore, classical hermeneutics is mainly a technique to convert hidden divinity into a language understandable to ordinary people, which mainly serves the spread of religion and promotes the promotion of the Bible and its teachings. With the continuous secularization of religious classics, hermeneutics has evolved from a single interpretation of the Bible into an interpretation of classic literary works. After the introduction of literary research, it gradually became a research method that pursued objectivity and tried to get rid of subjective will. Both F. Schleier-macher and W. Dilthey were deeply influenced by this methodological consciousness, and continuously promoted the development of hermeneutics, making hermeneutics a subject of interpretive methods. Modern hermeneutics began at the end of the 19th century, and its representative was Dilthey. Dilthey put forward the hermeneutics of "historical rational critique", concerned about how the hermeneutics in a specific historical context can objectively understand other historical performances. Hermeneutics is no longer considered as an inquiry into the author's psychological intentions, but rather as an interpretation of the world of existence shown in the text.
Philosophical hermeneutics, represented by German philosophers Heidegger and Gadamer, is a fundamental change in hermeneutics. They changed the ontology of philosophical hermeneutics, so they are called philosophical hermeneutics. “Unlike previous practical philosophy, this type of hermeneutics as a dual task of theory and practice lies in restoring Aristotle's concept of practical wisdom” (洪汉鼎,2010:459).And this article uses Gadamer's philosophical hermeneutics as a theoretical guide to analyze the translation.
1.2. Gadamer's Philosophical Hermeneutics
Gadamer always believed that the term "Hermeneutics" came from Hermes "Hermes", one of the twelve main gods of ancient Greece, so he believed that the interpretation must include the acceptance and performance of the recipient, that is, understanding and explaining. On the basis of inheriting Heidegger's thought, Gadamer deepened his thought of understanding. He further developed hermeneutics into philosophical hermeneutics, and pushed hermeneutics to prosperity. Gadamer opposed the hermeneutics that stood before him in an objective position. He believed that understanding is not an act of reproduction, but should be an act of creation. He believed that the author's "intent" does not exist, and the search for the author's "intent" is also futile.
As mentioned earlier, Gadamer's hermeneutics has three main principles: historicity of understanding, fusion of horizons, and history of effects. From the "historicity of understanding", Gadamer believed that understanding is historical, and the history of understanding constitutes the bias of understanding, which determines the creativity and generation of understanding. Gadamer believed that the historicity of understanding will inevitably lead to prejudice, but the existence of such prejudice is reasonable. The second is the principle of horizon fusion. Gadamer believed that understanding is the way of existence of history, so both the subject and the object of understanding are the existence of history, and both have their own horizons. In the process of understanding, the translator should be as close as possible to the original horizon of the original author to achieve a fusion of horizons. The last principle is effect history. The effect history principle emphasizes understanding the work from the effect history of the work, which closely links history with the present and fully affirms the significance of ancient texts to contemporary society. Understanding Gadamer's history of effects helps us understand the need to retranslate a classic. These three principles of Gadamer provided an important theoretical basis for us to understand and explain some long-running issues in translation theory and translation practice.
1.3. Hermeneutics' Guide to Translation Studies
As mentioned earlier, literary translation and hermeneutical theory are inseparable. Essentially, literary translation is an art of understanding and expressing meaning. It is a process of re-creation through interpretation. At present, hermeneutics is recognized as a valid theory for translation studies. Translation studies based on hermeneutics have broken the traditional inherent understanding of traditional translation theory on some issues, and raised questions and challenges to traditional translation theory. Among them, the guidance of hermeneutics on translation studies is mainly reflected in the following aspects.
First: the historical nature of understanding explained the misreading phenomenon. The historical nature of understanding means that the specific historical environment, historical status, and historical conditions of the translator are different from the object of understanding. Readers always have historical prejudice in the process of understanding the original text, because they cannot transcend historical space and time to objectively understand the original text. Hermeneutics' re-understanding and definition of this prejudice also provides a philosophical basis for the translator's subjectivity and the rationality of creative treason in the field of translation studies. Gadamer believed that there is no so-called normative interpretation of a text(章启群,2002:77). And this prejudice is a positive factor formed in history and tradition. Scholars should treat this existence correctly and should not regard it as a part that should be eliminated.
Second: The principle of fusion of horizons explains the phenomenon of cultural filtering. The principle of horizon fusion theoretically confirms the historical roots of cultural filtering phenomenon in translation and the inevitable existence of cultural filtering phenomenon. Although the translator should strive to approach the original vision of the original author and understand the author's original intention, in fact, the translator always inevitably brings the world he is familiar with into the strange world of the original text.
Third:The principle of effective history explains the multiple translation versions of famous works. Gadamer believed that the text is open and its meaning is never endless. The text goes beyond the historical era in which it was created. This provides the possibility for people of different ages to understand the same text differently. Human beings are constantly developing. In the process of development, they constantly surpass themselves, renew their history, and rethink themselves and their culture. This provides a reasonable explanation for the phenomenon of retranslation of famous works.
2.A Brief Introduction of the Original Author and Two Translators
This chapter will give a brief introduction to the original author and two translators to strengthen your understanding of the background of the original text and the two translation versions.
2.1. Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe is an American writer. She was born on June 14, 1811 in a well-known pastor family in North America, and died in 1896. The American Civil War was fought in the 1860s. But since the 1920s, the issue of abolition of slaves has become a central issue in American progressive opinion. At that time, many famous American writers were on the side of abolishing slaves, calling for the liberation of slaves. Mrs. Stowe was one of the most outstanding among these slave writers.
Mrs. Stowe has been influenced by theology since she was a child, and she has spent her entire life in a religious atmosphere. When Mrs. Stowe was fourteen, their entire family has moved to Boston and has moved to Cincinnati a few years later. At the time, the outskirts of Cincinnati were dotted with large serf farms. It was one of the centers of the abolitionist movement in North America then, and heated speeches against slavery were often heard in urban areas. Mrs. Stowe had fugitive slaves in her home, which gave her the opportunity to hear the tragic experience of fugitive slaves. After that, Mrs. Stowe got another chance to visit several plantations in Maysville, Kentucky with her friends, and witnessed the tragic situation of slaves. Those plantations were the prototype of the Shelby plantation in Uncle Tom's Cabin. This novel extensively describes the brutal oppression and exploitation of slaves by slave owners throughout the southern United States, and portrays the cruelty of slaves in various forms. The novel also describes different types of slave images. Once Uncle Tom's cabin came out, it attracted great attention and response at home and abroad. When the former President of the United States Lincoln met Mrs. Stowe, he jokingly called her “a little woman who brought a war". This joke also fully reflects the huge influence of Uncle Tom's cabin.
2.2. Lin Shu
Lin Shu, a famous writer and translator in modern China, has made outstanding contributions to the translation of Chinese literature. Lin Shu had a profound and solid knowledge of ancient writing. But he did not understand foreign languages, and his translations were all done in cooperation with others. In cooperation with others, Lin Shu has translated 246 works involving 107 writers in 11 countries, and made indelible contributions to the introduction of Western literature. Uncle Tom's Cabin was Lin Shu's second translation work, and it was also a popular work translated at the peak of his translation career. This translation work can reflect Lin Shu's translation technique and his characteristics.
At that time, China was facing aggression by the Allied Forces of the Eight Kingdoms, and the Qing government signed the Peace Protocol of 1901. In this context, Lin Shu's enthusiasm for anti-imperialist and national salvation was stirred. He wanted to translate some works that can open up people's wisdom and inspire them. So Lin Shu and Wei Yi co-translated Mrs. Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. Both of them had a strong sense of political mission in translating this work. After the publication of 《黑奴吁天录》, it caused a great response among the readers at that time. Translator Lin Shu ’s anti-imperialist thoughts in his translation work resonate emotionally with readers, directly stimulating readers’ anti-imperialist consciousness. In the treatment of the original works, Lin Shu made conscious cuts. Most of the unfaithful parts of his translations have adopted translation strategies of amplification and omission. From the perspective of traditional linguistic translation theories, Lin Shu may not be a successful translator. But from the perspective of hermeneutics and culture, the existence of Lin Shu's translation method is reasonable.《黑奴吁天录》was Lin Shu's representative translation, which can fully reflect Lin Shu's translation style. Far from Lin Shu's translation style was Huang Jizhong's Unc《汤姆大伯的小屋》,and I will elaborate on the translator Huang Jizhong below.
2.3. Huang Jizhong
Huang Jizhong was born on September 28, 1923 in a literary family in Ji'an, Jiangxi. He lost his father in his early years, and he followed his grandfather studying in Shanghai since childhood. He is good at Chinese and English and loves literary translation. In addition to teaching related courses, he has devoted himself to the translation of famous books for many years. As early as 1956, Huang Jizhong accepted the invitation of Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House to translate Uncle Tom's Cabin. His original plan was to complete the translation work in two years, but due to external shocks, it could not be published as scheduled. Later, this novel was retranslated in 1982 and published by Shanghai Translation Publishing House. Once this edition of Uncle Tom's Cabin was published, it was warmly welcomed by readers. A major feature of Huang Jizhong's《汤姆大伯的小屋》 was its faithfulness to the original text, and another feature was the use of translation method of foreignization. The translation style of Uncle Tom's Cabin in Huang Jizhong's version was very different from Lin Shu's version, which was of great research value. Therefore, I chose the translated versions of Huang Jizhong and Lin Shu for comparative research.
3. A Comparison of Two Chinese Versions from Gadamer's Hermeneutics
The professor of Poetics and Comparative Literature Gideon Toury once said that translation is inevitably involves at least two languages and two cultural traditions (Toury, 2001:56). Professor Chen Hongwei of China also said that translation involves not only language conversion, but also cultural translation(陈宏薇,2004:24). Therefore, in the following chapter, the two translation works will be analyzed from a cultural and linguistic perspective.
3.1. Comparative Analysis from a Linguistic Perspective
The two translators use different languages because they are in different eras. Lin Shu used classical Chinese, while Huang Jizhong used vernacular Chinese. Then they must have many differences in translation. Next, under the guidance of hermeneutics, we will analyze the differences between the two translation works from a linguistic perspective in three aspects.
3.1.1. Contrastive Discourse Analysis
Since the two translators come from different historical times, the translation methods adopted by the two translators are also different. In terms of translation methods, Lin Shu adopted intercompilation while Huang Jizhong adopted complete translation. Examples are as follows:
1. “Here the door opened, and a small quadroon boy, between four and five years of age, entered the room. There was something in his appearance remarkably beautiful and engaging. His black hair, fine as floss silk, hung in glossy curls about his round, dimpled face, while a pair of large dark eyes, full of fire and softness, looked out from beneath the rich, long lashes, as he peered curiously into the apartment. A gay robe of scarlet and yellow plaid, carefully made and neatly fitted, set off to advantage the dark and rich style of his beauty; and a certain comic air of assurance, blended with bashfulness, showed that he had been not unused to being petted and noticed by his master.”(Stowe, 2011:3)
林译:语至此,门辟,陡入一稚子,约四五岁,貌绝慧黠,雏发未燥,笑处辄动微涡,两目精光耿然。见海留,意殊骇。海留见其服饰之善,心知此奴必为主人主妇所厚昵者。(林纾&魏易,1981:4)
黄译:正在这当儿,房门开了。一个四、五岁左右的第二代混血男孩走了进来。这孩子相貌长得分外清秀,特别逗人喜爱。圆圆的脸蛋上有一对酒窝,头上覆盖着一圈圈光滑、鬈曲、细如绢丝的黑头发;一双又大又黑、柔和而炯炯有光的眼睛,从两道浓浓的长睫毛下面好奇地向屋内张望着。他身穿一件黄格子花呢的罩衫;手工精制,剪裁合身,越发衬托出这孩子黝黑、浓郁的俊秀劲儿;那种悠然自得、滑稽有趣而又略带羞涩的神态,表明他惯常得到东家的青睐和宠爱。(黄继忠,1993:3)
This paragraph comes from the first chapter of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, where the original book vividly describes the cute image of the son of the slave Eliza who owned by Shelby. Comparing the two translations, Lin Shu's translation is in classical Chinese, and in his character description, Lin Shu used a compilation method,omitting many details. However, Huang Jizhong's translation is in vernacular form, and every detail of the original text has been translated in detail by Huang Jizhong. The original text of this paragraph consists of 122 words. Lin Shu's translation is only 62 words, while Huang Jizhong's translation is as many as 183 words. Before the New Culture Movement in the late Qing Dynasty, vernacular Chinese were not welcomed by literati and intellectuals, let alone let them write or translate in vernacular Chinese. The specific society in which Lin Shu lived formed his inherent horizon, which also determined his choice to translate in classical Chinese. In the era of Huang Jizhong, vernacular Chinese have been popular throughout the country, and have become popular in all classes. Therefore, Huang Jizhong must also translate in vernacular texts. According to hermeneutics, translating a work is a process in which the translator brings his own specific horizon into the historical horizon of the text. It is not a process of letting the interpreter abandon his own horizon, nor is it a horizon replacement. In this example, two translators both are in their own specific field of horizon and try to merge with the field of horizon of the original author, resulting in different translated texts. Gadamer's view of the fusion of the two horizons, to a certain extent, shows the essence of translation, especially literary translation. (谢天振,2000:204) "Fusion of Horizons " overcomes the time gap and historical gap between the text and the interpreter, and the infinite process of understanding and discovery of text meaning is also achieved through " Fusion of Horizons ".
3.1.2. Contrastive Study of Lexicon
Literary translation is an aesthetic re-creation process that is completed through interpretation, that is, the process of including the translator's acceptance and release of information. Lin Shu was proficient in Chinese, and he regarded translation as a creative process. Therefore, in the process of releasing the information, he incorporated his own opinions and adopted the translation strategies of amplification and revision. However, Huang Jizhong's horizon is different from Lin Shu's, so his method of receiving and releasing information was also different. For examples:
2. “I’m sorry to say that I am,” said Mr. Shelby. “I’ve agreed to sell Tom” (Stowe, 2011:44)
林译:解而培忸怩久之,曰:“吾已署券卖汤姆矣!” (林纾&魏易,1981:14)
黄译:“很抱歉,”谢尔贝先生答道,“我已经答应把汤姆卖给他了。” (黄继忠,1993:30)
This example is from Chapter 5 of the original text. In this case, Lin Shu added the word "忸怩久之", showing Shelby's entangled heart and the fear of her wife's blame. Looking back at the original text, there is no word in the original text that can express the meaning of "忸怩". However, Huang Jizhong was faithful to the original text here, and didn’t add or subtract words from the original text. In Gadamer's hermeneutic theory, there is the concept of "pre-understanding". Pre-understanding refers to the fact that people are influenced by the specific historical environment, historical conditions, historical status, etc. they are in when they understand texts or recognize things. People always carry certain subjective consciousness elements such as emotion, knowledge, and will when they observe and recognize external things. The word "忸怩" added by Lin Shu here embodies the concept of "pre-understanding",and shows that Lin Shu brought his emotions into his translation work.It's“Rather, we stand always within tradition, and this is no objectifying process, ie we do not conceive of what tradition says as something other, something alien. It is always part of us, a model or exemplar, a recognition of ourselves which our later historical judgment would hardly see as a kind of knowledge, but as the simplest preservation of tradition.” (Gadamer H, 1999:250) Gadamer believes that every interpretation is based on a pre-existing basis. In order to understand something, we must first have it. We cannot understand something that is not part of our overall world. Our understanding of things is based on our own existing knowledge system. That is, we rely on our existing knowledge and experience to understand and explain phenomena and things. Therefore, translators must have their own "pre-understanding" in the process of understanding and translating the source text.
3. But real gentlemen, such as I hopes you’ll be, never let fall no words that isn’t respectful to their parents. (Stowe, 2011:132)
林译:盖极望吾小主为一代伟人,万勿肆口出言,以逢二亲之怒。(林纾&魏易,1981:45)
黄译:我希望你将来做个正人君子,而一个正人君子是决不会说一句不尊敬父母的话的。(黄继忠,1993:94)
When Uncle Tom said goodbye to his little master George, he expressed his expectations for the little master ---- be a real gentleman. Lin Shu translated this as "一代伟人", thereby expressing his strong desire to change the status quo. Huang Jizhong translated it as "正人君子". "正人君子" used to refer to people with good conduct. It was the ultimate goal of ancient China and had a profound influence in Chinese history. Lin Yupeng, a translator born after the two translators, translated this as "真正的绅士". It can be seen from this that translators in different eras are very different in the translation of the same word due to the influence of the era at that time. In addition, there are some examples in the text, such as "married" and "my wife" were translated by two translators as "出阁", "结婚" and "吾妻", "内人" respectively. These are the two concepts of hermeneutics---"effective history" and "pre-understanding". The so-called effect history means that history produces effects by restricting our historical understanding. Here, the translation of the same text by the two translators is consistent with their own social and historical environment. The social environment and social development of the era in which the two translators lived both affected and restricted the two translators' understanding of the original text. During the translation process, the translator will let his pre-understanding and experience come into play, thus forming different understanding and expression of the same text. Because of this, there will be different versions of the same literary work in the same era, and different versions of the same literary work will appear in different times. Therefore, the co-existence of the two versions of Uncle Tom's cabin in completely different styles is reasonable from the point of view of Gadamer's hermeneutics. Similarly, the retranslation of other literary texts and the existence of multiple versions of translation works are also reasonable.
3.1.3. Contrastive Study of Syntax
4.“But why, of all others, choose these?” said Mrs. Shelby. “Why sell them, of all on the place, if you must sell at all.” (Stowe, 2011:44)
林译:爱密柳曰:“君既欲卖,胡不再谋,而必卖此二人?尔知汤姆为极忠挚义之人,小海雷又意里赛独子,尔何忍心鬻此二人?纵为势所迫,亦何必属之此伧?” (林纾&魏易,1981:14)
黄译:“可是为什么偏偏要挑这两个呢?”谢尔贝太太问道:“即使非买不可,在园上这么些黑人,为什么一定要卖他们呢?” (黄继忠,1993:30)
In this example, Lin Shu added “尔知汤姆为极忠挚义之人,小海雷又意里赛独子,尔何忍心鬻此二人?纵为势所迫,亦何必属之此伧?” to express the anger of Shelby's wife and her extreme disapproval of Shelby's behavior. On the whole, Lin Shu adopted the strategy of free translation here, while Huang Jizhong's translation was quite consistent with the original text, using the strategy of literal translation.
According to Gadamer's hermeneutics, as special readers, translators selectively accept textual information due to historical factors of their own understanding ,and incorporate their own aesthetic concepts into their translation works. Therefore, their translation methods will also be different. The interpretation of artistic works is closely related to the translator's understanding and expression of the source text in the translation process. “Translation is a dynamic process from understanding to expression, and the master of this process is the translator.” ( 柳晓辉, 2010: 125 )Translators cross the barriers of different languages and cultures and build a bridge between the source language and the target text. However, as Gadamer emphasizes, the text is open to all ages and enters into the field of meaning of the understander, so the translator's interpretation will inevitably conflict with the objective existence. To this end, translators must play an active and subjective role and adopt different strategies for selection and adaptation. Here, Lin Shu integrated his own aesthetic concepts into his translation work and exerted his own subjectivity, thus forming a different translation version from Huang Jizhong. This also further reveals that the interpretation of text in the translation process from the perspective of hermeneutics can reveal the process and mechanism of translator's understanding of text in translation activities.
5. …and the arrangements of the house, and the general air of the housekeeping, indicated easy, and even opulent circumstances. (Stowe, 2011: 2)
林纾:其一人文秀,家亦少康,名解而培。(林纾&魏易,1981:3)
黄继忠:跟他一起谈话的那位谢尔贝先生倒是个绅士模样的人;屋子里的陈设和气派都说明此人家道小康,甚至可以说得上颇为富裕。(黄继忠,1993:1)
This example comes from the first chapter of the novel. At the beginning of the article, the author introduces the characters of the novel. Comparing the translations of the two translators, we can see that Lin Shu's translation should be more concise and refined. The original author's description of the environment has been deleted in Lin Shu's translation. It may be that the translator believed that this was not important for the development of the novel. This long sentence of the original text was simplified by Lin Shu to four words "家亦少康", while the translation version of Huang Jizhong almost matched the original content. In the translation of this sentence, the translation methods adopted by the two translators are also completely different.
In the field of translation, people often liken translators to shackled dancers. This metaphor vividly describes that while the translator is restricted by the original author and the original text during the translation process, he must use his subjective initiative to reshape the work. Traditional translation theory values the author and the original text, treats the original as authority, and treats "faithfulness" as the highest standard of translation. Hermeneutics redefines the "prejudice" caused by the historicity of understanding, and provides an effective basis for the translator's subjectivity and the rationality of creative treason in the field of translation studies. In the above two examples, the two translators, while being influenced by the historical society in which they are located, also gave full play to their subjectivity, especially Lin Shu. This also tells us that the translator's subjectivity plays an important role in literary translation.
3.2. Comparative Analysis from A Cultural Perspective
British anthropologist Taylor believes that culture is "a complex whole including knowledge, beliefs, arts, morals, laws, customs, and other abilities and habits learned by people as members of society".(Hebding&Glick,1992:37) Language is the carrier of culture. A text is generated from a specific cultural context, and it must also include the characteristics of the culture. When translators translate one text into another language,the translator must bring the characteristics of his own culture when reading and interpreting the source text because the translator's language and culture are different from the original author's culture.
3.2.1. Analysis from A Religious Perspective
A major feature of Uncle Tom’s Cabin is that it contains a lot of religious elements. In translating this religious content, the two translators took radically different approaches. That is, Lin Shu's selective translation of religious content, most of which is carried over or not translated directly. However, Huang Jizhong conveyed the Western religious intentions to his readers at that time. For example:
6. “…, but I didn’t think any Christian legislature would pass it!” (Stowe, 2011: 95)
林纾:吾思文明之国,法当不如此。 (林纾&魏易,1981:34)
黄继忠:但是我相信任何一个基督教国家的立法机关都不会通过这种法令的。(黄继忠,1993:72)
In the above example, "Christian" is an exact word for Christ. In the translations of the two translators, Lin Shu chose to omit it, while Huang Jizhong chose the method of literal translation. This was not only related to the era in which the two lived, but the play of the two translators ’subjectivity also played a great role. In the era which Lin Shu was, although Christianity had begun to spread on the land of China, the public acceptance rate was still low. Therefore, Lin Shu omitted the relevant words or used some words with Chinese culture to replace them. By the time Huang Jizhong was in, people's acceptance of these words had greatly increased. Therefore, it is appropriate to choose the method of literal translation.
This difference stems from the historical environment and historical status of the two translators being different from the object of understanding, which is the historicity of understanding. Translators and readers will always incorporate what belongs to their time in the process of understanding the original text, and that is what we called historicity. The purpose of translation is not limited to conveying the original intention of the original author, which reasonably explains the "misreading" phenomenon in translation. Lin Shu's downplay of religious content in the original work is an interesting phenomenon of "misreading". This "misreading" also gives us a good explanation of why the same religious content can be understood and interpreted in two different ways.
7.There were others,which made incessant mention of “Jordan’s bank”,and “Canaan’s field”, and the “New Jerusalem”. (Stowe, 2011: 46) In the above example, there are many religious words, such as "Jordan ’s bank", "Canaan ’s field", and "New Jerusalem". Lin Shu chose to omit them, while Huang Jizhong chose to translate them literally, translating them into “约旦河岸”、“迦南战场”and“新耶路撒冷”. These words are all from Bible and contain a wealth of referential meanings. The development of Christianity in China in the two eras was different, which was the key reason for the difference in translation between the two translators. Lin Shu's translation version is related to his era, and is closely connected with his own translation purpose. The different translation versions of the two translators are in line with their own horizons and knowledge structure, and they can also meet the readers' expectations. The different treatment methods for the religious content appearing in the original text fully reflect the translator's subjectivity and creativity. Both translators have contributed wonderful translation versions to readers of different eras.
From a perspective fusion perspective, Gadamer believes that "the horizon is the area of view, and this area encompasses everything that can be seen from a certain standpoint." Understanding is to place yourself in the traditional process, to make the past and the present continually merge. The so-called translation is that in a cross-cultural historical context, a historic translator blends his horizon with the horizon of the original text to form a new horizon, and the process of re-fixing the new horizon to form a new text with language symbols infiltrating the target language culture. (朱健平,2006:69-74)The main body of understanding (translator or reader) and the author of the original text have their own unique horizons. When the original works cross different nationalities, languages, and eras, and enter a completely strange social and cultural context, translators can only play creatively to make his own views closing to the horizon and historical environment of the original author. However, no matter how hard the translator tries to enter the thoughts and feelings of the original author or imagine himself as the original author, he cannot completely get rid of the original vision, nor can he really enter the author's vision. Therefore, the translator has to form a new horizon between the horizon of the strange original author and the horizon of his own. Creative treason is a necessity in understanding. The generation of meaning requires creative thinking and moderate treason under normative constraints.
3.2.2. Analysis from Cultural Image
Gadamer pointed out in Truth and Method that understanding is not a process of reproduction, but a process of creation. It can also be said that as long as people are thinking, different understandings will arise. For some cultural images in the original work, the translations of the two translators are also different. For example:
8. As a fire in her bones, the thought of the pursuer urged her on.(Stowe, 2011:73)
林译:而意里赛此时,心绪兔起鹘。(林纾&魏易,1981:25)
黄译:一想起后面的追兵,她就五内如焚。急着想向前逃命。(黄继忠,1993:49)
The word "fire" was used to describe Eliza's internal fear and anxiety while she was trying to save her son when the disaster came. Here, Lin Shu replaced “fire” with two animals, rabbit and falcon. In traditional Chinese culture, rabbits are docile and fragile, just like Eliza; and falcons are agile and fierce birds, just like black slave traders. Huang Jizhong translated “fire” into “五内如焚”, which vividly reproduced Eliza's anxious heart at the time. Lin Shu used domestication here, while Huang Jizhong used alienation.
In the above example, the horizon of the two translators and the original author merged in different forms, thus forming two different translation versions. While the translator strives to get closer to the original author's horizon, the two translators also strive to integrate with the horizon of the readers of their time, so they adopted a more acceptable expression for the target reader of the time. The language used in China in Lin Shu ’s time was classical Chinese, and the expression was more obscure, so Lin Shu replaced “fire” with two animals to reflect the characters in the text. In the era of Huang Jizhong, literature has further developed, and the official language used in China has also become vernacular, so he used the four-word "五内如焚" to translate. The reason why two different translation methods can be accepted by the target readers of the era is that the translator tried hard to integrate with the reader's horizon.
From the perspective of hermeneutics, the text is only a semi-finished product, which is in the process of understanding. The meaning of the text and the translator's understanding are in a constantly changing process, and they are constantly evolving. Understanding is not a one-time act, but an endless process of integration between the "Horizon" of original text and the translator’s "Horizon". Each understanding is a process of generating textual meaning. The possibilities of textual meaning are endless, and textual meaning is a source of endless meaning.
9. The married couple were enjoying their honeymoon.(Stowe, 2011:215)
林译:彼夫妇在蜜月期内,……(蜜月者,西人娶妇时,即挟其妇游历,经月而归)。(林纾&魏易,1981:75)
黄译:正值新婚夫妇在……欢度蜜月,……(黄继忠,1993:143)
A text is generated from a specific cultural context, and it must also include the characteristics of the culture(李磊,2008).In the above example, Lin Shu used the method of literal translation and annotation when translating the word "honeymoon", so that the readers at the time could understand it. At that time, there was little cultural exchange between China and the West, so if Lin Shu used the literal translation method, it may cause readers to be unable to understand the word. Here Lin Shu adopted the method of annotation to translate the word, which is also a reflection of his efforts to integrate with the reader's horizon. Huang Jizhong directly adopted the literal translation method to convey the original imagery. Both the original text and the translated text exist in their respective historical conditions and horizons. Even if the translator tries his best to enter the world of the meaning of the original text and try to understand the intention of the original author, it will inevitably impose her own ideas and purposes. Coupled with the different historical environments of the two translators, the translation strategies used by them are certainly different.
From the perspective of hermeneutics, literary translation is actually a process of interaction between text and readers. Because readers of different times are constrained by their own experience, intelligence, and aesthetic tastes, they have different expectations and evaluations of the translated text. The Reception Aesthetic theory pays much attention to the reader and emphasis on the uncertainty of the text, which have brought about a diversity of values and an open way of thinking. (邹广胜,2001,(4):2) . Understanding of the text is inseparable from the initiative of the reader. The translated text must also exist in the creativity and participation of readers. Readers of different ages have different understandings of the same cultural image. Therefore, in the process of translation, the translator should not only merge with the horizon of the original text, but also the horizon of the readers that the translation work is aimed at. Only in this way, the works translated by the translator can be understood by the readers of the time, and can be admired by the readers. The majority of our translators can draw enlightenment: when translating, while observing the principles of "faithfulness, elegance, and elegance", we must also take into account the reader's understanding.
Conclusion
In the above, under the guidance of hermeneutics, we have conducted a comparative analysis of the two Chinese versions. Through the above analysis, the three major concepts contained in hermeneutics—historicity of understanding, fusion of horizons, and effective history have brought us some inspirations: 1.The existence of multiple translations is reasonable. Translation is a special interpretative act, which is based on the translator's own understanding, so it will inevitably carry the personal trace of the translator. Based on their different experiences and views, translators make different interpretations of the same text in the process of translating, resulting in different translation works. 2. Creative treason is inevitable. A correct understanding of "creative treason" will help translators to bravely accept the challenges and find the correct solutions when facing translation difficulties caused by cultural differences between China and the West. 3. The changes of translation works can reflect social change. On the whole, hermeneutics can effectively explain some translation phenomena and provide a new perspective for translation studies.
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A Comparative Study of Two Chinese Versions of The Moon and Sixpence from the Perstive of Functional Equivalence Theory 彭丹 Peng Dan
功能对等理论视角下《月亮与六便士》的两个汉译本对比研究
摘 要
随着各国文化交流的发展,越来越多的名著,小说亦或者影视作品被译成若多版本供人们欣赏。如何完美的展现原著的风采成为众多译者头疼的事情。1969年,美国著名翻译理论学家尤金.奈达,提出了功能对等理论,着重实现不同文化,语言之间的沟通对等,并且侧重于读者的反映。本文通过功能对等理论对比研究傅惟慈和李继宏两人关于英国著名小说家毛姆的《月亮与六便士》的两个中文译本,总结出,在小说翻译的过程中,译者如何实现单词,句子,语义和文化的对等以及如何实现读者的反映。再完美的东西总会有那么一点缺陷,有学者认为功能对等理论忽略了形式的对等以及原著的文体。但是功能对等理论是源于实践,它的成果有目共睹并且其为翻译界做出了巨大贡献。本文会提及译者在翻译的过程中忽略的形式对等,但是并不影响读者对原著的理解。本文更加侧重描写功能对等理论在这两本译文中的应用,详细描写它如何实现意思的对等,形式的对等以及文化的对等。本文使用的方法有文献研究,对比研究,个案分析,经验总结以及内容总结等方法。最后我也会给出自己关于功能对等理论的见解,并评判出我认为更加适合读者的译本。
关键词:功能对等,沟通对等,读者反映
A Comparative Study of Two Chinese Versions of The Moon and Sixpence from the perspective of Functional Equivalence Theory
ABSTRACT
With the development of cultural exchanges among all countries, more and more famous works, novels and films have been translated into many versions for people to enjoy. It has become a headache for many translators to realize the original style. In 1969, Eugene Nida, a famous American translation theorist, put forward the theory of functional equivalence, which focusing on the realization of communication between different cultures and languages. This thesis through compares Fu Weici’s and Li Jihong’s two Chinese versions of The Moon and Sixpence, which written by England famous novelist Maugham, on perspective of the functional equivalence theory. Summing up that how to realize the equivalence of words, sentences and semantic during the translation and how to present the readers’ response. There are always some defects in any perfect things. Some scholars think that the functional equivalence theory ignores the equivalence of form and the style of the original work. However, the theory of functional equivalence is derived from practice, and its achievements are obvious to translation and it makes great contribution for translation. In this paper, I will refer to the form equivalence in the process of translation which not affects the reader's understanding of the original work. This paper focuses on the application of functional equivalence theory in the two versions and describes the translators how to realize the equivalence of meaning, form and cultural equivalence. The paper’s researching ways include literature research, comparative research, example-analysis, summarize experience and content analysis. In the end, I will give my own opinion on the theory of functional equivalence and judge the version which I think is more suitable for readers. KEY WORDS: Functional Equivalence, Formal Equivalence, Reader’s Response
Introduction
Research Background: Coincident with the development of the cultural globalization has been realization more and more foreign literary works are translated Chinese literary works for China domestic people to read and appreciate. Whereas after reading the original works which are translated frequently, we possibly feel that most works still have many regrets. On the one hand, if the translators only quest the corresponding words, this may limit the reader’s thought in a large aspect that the readers couldn’t deeply understand the emotion what the authors want to express. On the other hand, if the translators only pursue the semantic and thought, these probably not reflect the profound meaning of a word which the author wants to express. Furthermore, there are many differences between eastern and western cultures and everyone has their own style of expression. If a translator who has polarity style for the original author to translate his works, the difference between the two may be obvious. In order to show the original works better and reduce the difference between source language and target language. Eugene Nida according to the nature of translation put forward the famous Functional Equivalence Theory. It states that translation is not only the equivalence of words, but also the equivalence of style, semantic and type of writing. The information are conveyed by translation includes not only the surface information but also the deeper culture information.
Literature Review: In 1969, Eugene Nida put forward the functional equivalence theory. In 1986, he published a book which called From One Language to Another. This work is a representative in his theoretical pursuit of translation. He also made numerous amendments and supplements according with his previous translation theories. He used the “functional equivalence” to replace the “dynamic equivalence”. From nearly five years of development at home and abroad, we can see that the functional equivalence theory not only involves the translation of novels but also the news, politics, traditional Chinese medical name, the loaded culture words, the road science and technology, drama and other related aspects of text translation and film translation etc.. After searching the published papers, we could find some papers which use the perspective of functional equivalence theory. Such as Zhou Xiaohui’s “Translating Strategies of Movie and TV Scripts from English to Chinese from the Perspective of Functionalist Equivalence: as Shown in the Translation of the Script of Crash”, published in Beijing Foreign Studies University. And Chen Anqi’s “Applying Nida’s Functional Equivalence to the Translation of the Non-Technical Part of Sci-tech Texts”, published in Beijing Foreign Studies University and etc.. In 1919, Maugham's The Moon and Sixpence was published which described a British painter went to south Pacific Tahiti and had the primitive life with the Indigenous people here. And ultimately he became the successful painter. In China, there are numerous translation versions about The Moon and Sixpence. In this thesis, I want to introduce Fu Weici’s translation version and Li Jihong’s tra versions in particular and compare these two Chinese versions.
Research Methodology: 1. Literature study: in order to get the first-hand information about the functional equivalence theory, it is necessary to read many literature such as taking the thesis and journals in the CNKI or VIP. Through these materials we can learn a lot of knowledge that we do not know so that we can complete the thesis more fully. 2. Example-analysis: through this thesis I will list a majority of examples. These examples are classified on words, sentences and semantics etc.. At the same time, this thesis also will illustrate some examples which do not seem to achieve the functional equivalence. Through these examples we can get a better understanding of the functional equivalence theory and its characteristic during application. 3. Comparative study: in this thesis, I will chose the Fu Weici’s and Li Jihong’s Chinese versions to make comparison through words, style, culture and semantics. By comparing some difference of the two Chinese versions that we can have deeper understood about the functional equivalence theory in the application. 4. Summarize experience: This thesis will take the summarize experience of two Chinese versions to show the relation with functional equivalence or the difference with it. This thesis also will list some summarize experience which maybe not be suitable for translation.
Chapter 1 The functional equivalence theory
1.1 Introduction of Eugene Nida Eugene Nida is an outstanding theorist about translation in American. And his translation theory has larger influence on the translation works in both foreign countries and inland. His theory on the translation is a landmark of studies about the modern translation. Moreover, in contrast to contemporary theorists, he is evaluated the most noted theorist. Eugene Nida was born in a city of Oklahoma on the November 11, 1914. He went to university in Los Angeles where he elected the Greek as the major degree and he found that he liked the Bible. Then he created the outstanding academic records during the university. Afterwards, he got master’s degree about Greek new translation at Southern California. In 1943 that he got his doctor degree after graduated from master. Then he was employed by American Bible Society and his duty is to check and estimate the publications of Bibles. He needed to provide the services for the missionary translators and given the advices to them about how to translate better. For helping the translator to solve the questions about translation and different culture he went to 85 countries and experienced the various aspects of culture and language. In 1970, Eugene Nida was elected as the coordinator for the translations research in United Bible Society. His responsibility is to write the translators handbooks and prepare the materials for teaching the translators and test them. After long, there were many new versions about the bible were sold well all around the world. These new versions about the bible all translated by guidance of the Nida’s dynamic equivalence. Eugene Nida has devoted decades for bible translation and he has contributed to the flourishing of the bible translation in twentieth century.
1.2 Nida’s Functional Equivalence Theory In the early period of Nida’s essays, he emphasized that there were not complete equivalence between two languages so that there were no absolute translation. Subsequently, he devoted to finding the closest equivalence about the nature, on the basis of that, he developed three translation theories which were the formal equivalence theory, the dynamic equivalence theory and the functional equivalence theory. The formal equivalence that mainly emphasizes the equivalence of language’s formal and content. Therefore, in the translation process, the translators often due to excessively focus the grammatical structure of the source language, word’s coherence and interior literal meaning so that neglect the target language reader’s response, the different culture is the ascribed leads to the target language readers couldn’t understand the original meaning. But it also has its own strength like Kelly said it could indicate how the meaning was expressed in original works, preserving un-translated idiom and rhetorical. The dynamic equivalence theory has no essential difference with functional equivalence theory and it develops form the formal equivalence. For avoiding it often is misunderstood that Nida uses the expression of functional equivalence to describe the accuracy of the translation. The former emphasizes the importance of formal and content, the latter more emphasizes the communication with the language and cultural. The functional equivalence is defined as “a term referring to the type of equivalence reflected in a target text which seeks to adapt the functional of the original to suit the specific context in and for which it was produced” in the dictionary. From this definition it indicated functional equivalence not only emphasizes the linguistics and form but also emphasizes the communication of different background. Such as we could translate the “white as frost” to replace the “white as snow” if there isn’t snow this word. If both of them are impracticable we could translate into “very very white”. Form this example we could deeply understand the definition of the functional equivalence about communication. This theory pays attention to the target language reads’ response under the different cultural and language. So he used “the functional equivalence” to replace “the dynamic equivalence” in the year of 1969. The functional equivalence had made a great contribution for translation field. But there are also some critics about it by some translation scholars with different perspectives. First some scholars think it pays too attention about readers’ repose that neglects the authority of text. They point out that sometimes the reader’s response is subjective so it impossible to realize the equivalence of target language according to the readers’ response. Secondly some scholars it is the superior to the form equivalence. Therefore it has litter emphasis on the form. As we all known that different countries have the different cultures and there are also great difference on the people’s abilities about learning. So it means that it is not necessary to reduce much original difficulty to realize the communicative purpose. Although there are many critics about it, his theories come from the practice and these theories had strong guiding for our translation. What’s more, the functional equivalence had solved the long-standing argument between the “literal translation” and the “liberal translation”.
1.3 Research of Functional Equivalence at Home and Abroad Presently at home and abroad, the functional equivalence theory’s research is mainly focused on the study of translation’s guidance of literary works. As opposed to business letters and legal materials, the functional equivalence theory is more inclined to convey the original works’ content and connotation rather than grammatical forms. Currently there are majority researches on the versions about The Moon and Sixpence at home and aboard. However most of them are analyzing the protagonist’s characteristic or the author’s background and living condition. There are few researches that are about the compassion-studying and analyzing The Moon and sixpence from the perspective of the functional equivalence theory of Nida.
Chapter 2 Introduction of The Moon and Sixpence and Its Two Chinese versions
2.1 Brief Introduction of The Moon and sixpence The moon and sixpence is one of the great works of William Somerset Maugham, a British novelist, written in 1919. The book is sold subject to the condition that is shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition. First it published in Great Britain by William Heinemann in 1919. In this novel, Maugham tells the whole story in the first person narrative. This book is based on the French impressionist painter Gauguin's life who originally is a securities broker at the middle-aged. However he gave up everything to the South Pacific island of Tahiti and lived with the indigenous people. Finally he got inspiration and created many masterpieces of art. This novel became popular in the twentieth Century and it revealed the theme of escaping the reality. The work relates the content by the first person perspective. The protagonist is a writer who knows about Charles Strickland’s family. The family looked happiness and perfectly satisfactory, however, Charles Strickland was always lacking in energy. After long, he left home to Paris that to decide look for his own art. The protagonist goes to aboard and founds the Charles Strickland who denotes to struggle out of this life which he couldn’t drawing absolutely obey his own heart. He firmly left his wife and children with nothing left. Fortunately, his wife found the skills to live well with the children. After five years, the protagonist met Charles Strickland in Paris that he lived in poverty and no friends with him but he still immersed his dream and never felt regret. His talent increasingly got the recognition during the progress of quest the art.
Latterly he decided to abandon the civilized life to the original islands in the South Pacific island of Tahiti where the protagonist met by chance. Charles Strickland married a native girl and had three children, spending three years short of happiness.
Finally the children died and he also had leprosy. Eventually, he finished a piece of work on the wall when he was blind. The native wife buried him, according to his wishes, destroyed his work on the wall which makes the protagonist feel regret. However the protagonist understood his pursuit in his paintings. After the publishing of The Moon and Sixpence, it attracts the readers by the plots and profound words and it makes a noise in the world.
2.2 The Characteristics of the language Maugham is recognized the British with deeply influence of French literary. The largest characteristic of his work is that the language is humorous and interesting for readers. This mainly comes down to the fact that he is good at conceiving and telling stories. What’s more it also in addition to what he often shows in his novels. Maugham's text is not tense and there are always cold tone of a British style detached from outside the novels and readers. His works inevitably have some acrimonious words which could accurately describe the social reality by he own sees and hears. For in The Moon and Sixpence when he describes the success of the Charles Strickland that he write “I do not speak of that greatness which is achieved by the fortunate politician or the successful soldier; that is a quality which belongs to the place he occupies rather than to the man; and a change of circumstance reduces it to very discreet proportions. The prime Minister out of office is seen, too often, to have been but a pompous rhetorician, and the General without an army is but the tame hero of a market town. The greatness of Charles Strickland was authentic. It may be that you do not like his art, but at all events you can hardly refuse it the tribute of your interest. He disturbs and arrests.” By these sentences we can know about the success clearly of the Charles Strickland by comparison. It may be that these languages are too direct to attack politicians and generals, but we can't deny the fact. Maugham’s writing style is short and humorous and we can see the reality of society quickly by his text. The novel describes Charles Strickland’s feeling with three different women's. These three women basically represent the characteristics of the world most women. The first woman is most common who quest the materialistic, selfish, good face, and with a direct survival instinct. The second women considers the love is supremacy and she is weak and locking the ability to survive. The most pure is his third women. Maybe we couldn’t define her feeling to Charles Strickland. Their marriage is like a merger of similar items, she lived just for him and she has been with him together. In my opinion, these three women are sympathy-worthy and pitiful. Since if eventually Charles Strickland said “Women are strange little beasts. You can treat them like dogs, you can beat them till your arm aches, and still they love you.” These sentences are very simple neither too many gorgeous words nor long winded repetition words. However it is always able to impress deeply you from the heart and it can let you know what the emotion the author wants to express. Likely these instances, Charles Strickland took keen to pursuit his own dream and he does not care these things around him so that he can't understand why women will follow him without any condition. He thinks they are sympathy-worthy and stupid. In order to vividly embody this feeling, the woman is compared to a dog. Even though you treat them as the dog, they still do not abandon you and love you as before. Through these words I believe that although you haven’t read this book you could also understand the meaning which the author wants to express. Charles Strickland hates the limit of loving and family and he also couldn’t feel the women’s feeling. Charles Strickland shrugged his shoulders and said “Of course, it is one of the most absurd illusions of Christianity that they have souls.” This sentence through the description of that they have the soul reflected that the pure in his heart. And he pitied them only because he thinks people have more important things to pursue and the people should follow their own heart to do what they want to do. He thinks women have souls, but they don't realize what they really want to do. Maugham's character and the inner world of the characters reflected in the simple humorous sentences have to admit that a simple sentence has a huge amount of information.
2.3 Introduction of Fu Weici’s and Li Jihong’s Chinese Versions Fu Weici was born in Harbin in 1923. He is the remarkable translator of modern literary. Fu Weici worked in western language and literature respectively in the Fu Jen Catholic University, Zhejiang University and Peking University. He graduated from Peking University in 1950 and worked in Tsinghua University and Peking University for the job of Chinese teaching. Eventually he died in March 16, 2014 at the age of 91. As far as I am concerned and researching from computer, Fu Weici’ version is more simple and there are a lot of language are very straightforward and particularly close to the social situation at that time. There are even a lot of vernacular and dialect. But this version is more close to the original so that the story does not seem boring. Li Jihong was born in 1980 and his native is Guangdong, now resides in Shanghai. He is also remarkable translator but younger than Fu Weici. His publication has millions of best-selling translation of Kite Runne , conversations with God, the great Gatsby, the little prince and so on. His contributions are covering novels, prose, translations of sociology, economics, philosophy and religion etc. Comparing Fu Weici’s version, Li Jihong’ version is more close to people's voice habits and there are many languages are very smooth and complete, giving people a sense of comfort and in the language it has also increased a lot of modern elements. The specific differences of the two translations will be put forward in the following article.
Chapter 3 A Comparative Study of The Moon and Sixpence’s Two Chinese versions
3.1 A comparative Study on the meaning 3.1.1 A Comparative Study on the Designative Meaning The designative meaning refers to referents in the realistic world. It is mainly based on observation of world’s objects and experience and it is objective and easy to understand. The translators are easy to achievement equivalence of expression in another language to translate the word’s designative meaning.
There are some instances of the two versions of The Moon and Sixpence following.
Example 1: “All we know is that the blackguard gone to Paris.” Fu Weici’s version: “我们只知道那个流氓跑到巴黎去了。” Li Jihong’s version: “我们只知道那混蛋去了巴黎。” In this word, we can see that either 流氓 Or混蛋 are all to describe Charles Strickland and expresses the people’s resentful to him. In the original work the author uses blackguard to describe Charles Strickland. The most meaning of this word is 流氓 and there is rarely 混蛋 this meaning on the Internet. If we translate it into 流氓 that we could understand that this people are homeless and are derelict in duty and run irrelevant business. And this people show low-down means or break the law and so on. Another if we translate into 混蛋 that expresses this person are unreasonable and are impervious to reason. In the original work the Charles Strickland abandon his wife and children without leaving anything and there are not any wrongs with his wife. We can learn from the post that he just to pursuit his dream and he considers the loving is the obstacle for him. The people around his wife all mostly think that he had mistress and he is heartless. From this we can see that he did not do the heinous thing or violate the law, merely because what he has done attracted people's discontent. Therefore I consist it is more appropriated to translate the blackguard into 混蛋. The 流氓just release the equivalence of meaning. However the 混蛋 release the equivalence of functuionsal. Example 2: “It was about five years after this.” Fu Weici’s version: “这件事过去大约五年之后” Li JIhong’s version: “大概过了五年” The after five years it has happened a important thing and it points the Charles Strickland abandon his wife and children with nothing to left. The author mostly emphasize the protagonist had underwent this thing and it had influenced him. Moreover the main plot of this article is to express Charles Strickland’s experience and his life of persuading his dream. In first version Fu Weici points this thing but it doesn’t be referred in Li Jihong’s. So I think when the translators translating this sentence they need translate this thing. Example 3: “The satyr in him suddenly took possession, and he was powerless in the grip of an instinct which had all the strength of the primitive forces of nature.” Fu Weici’s version: “他内心深处的那个半人半兽的东西把他捉到手里,在这种具有大自然的原始力量的天性的掌心里他完全无能威力。” Li Jihong’s version: “他内心的兽欲猝然发难,而他根本无力摆脱那种本能的操控。” The satyr of this sentence points to thought that he does not want love and he hasn’t time for it but he is a man and sometimes he wants a woman. He hates this state but he couldn’t control himself. By comparing the two versions, I think Li Jihong’s translation is better than Fu Weici’s. In the dictionary the satyr points a man who has strong sexual desire and is amorist. And in the Myths of Greece and Rome it points the God of half man and half beast. The first version reflects the equivalence of words’ meaning. And later he used the power of nature to indicate this power. We can see that he mostly translates by word to word and it closes to the original’s language characteristic. The second translators pay more attention to cultural equivalence and the influence of modern elements. Li Jihong translates the satyr into sexual desire and he describes this power is the instinct of the people. As far as I am concerned, the satyr points the sexual desire and it is the instinct which people couldn’t control.
3.1.2 A Comparative Study on the Associative Meaning The associative meaning is an expression of the speakers by individual mental understandings. Sometimes the correct and faithful translation needs correct translating of designative Meaning and it is basis of language. However the associative meaning also is very important. There are different associative meanings though the terms have the same images. Because with the different culture and language that the readers have the different understanding. A closest equivalence of natural translation requires the target readers to fully and positively appreciate corresponding message of source text. For translating the source language’s associative meaning, the translators need figure out correct associative meaning’s expression. And they need do proper responses to original readers that can get from source text. Eventually the translators make the equivalence between the source text readers and target text readers. Example 1: “Yes, she hadn’t a drop of white blood in her.” Fu Weici’s version: “是的,一滴白人的血液也没有。” Li Jihong’s version: “是的,她的身上没有半滴白人的血。” It’s about the last journey of Strickland’s life, he met his wife who was indigent and without a drop of white. This sentence emphasizes she is born at here and she doesn’t touch the white at all. In the Fu Weici’s version, he translates a drop of white into 一滴白人的血,however in Li Jihong’s, it is translated 半滴白人的血. Comparing to the original description of a drop of a blood, the later more reflects the equivalence of associative meaning and more vividly describing that she was native. 半滴 always is translated into half a drop in English. Although the translation here uses a half drop instead of a drop, I still don’t think there is any not equivalence. There is not much difference between a drop and a half drop in the number, but in the degree of modification the half a drop more deeply to embody the noting. And the half drop is more strengthening the tone. From without a drop or a half drop of white to describe she is native, which indicates the equivalence of associative meaning. As far as I concerned, in this sentence, Li Jihong’s version is better than Fu Weici’s version. Example 2: “Strickland had burst the bonds that hitherto had held him” Fu Weici’s version: “思特里克兰德已经把那一直束缚着的桎梏打碎了。” Li Jihong’s version: “思特里克兰已经打破了禁锢他的桎梏。”
“桎梏” is instruments of torture in ancient China and it is called “桎” when is worn on hand, on the contrast, it is called “梏” when is worn on foot. This thing usually used to punish the people who had committed a crime. In this part, the original work used the bonds to describe “桎梏”. In the dictionary the bonds point to imprison or confine somebody to do something and make people not free. Foreigners who don’t understand the Chinese culture maybe can’t understand what the shackles are. However in China, almost every reader knows it and the meaning what it wants to express if they know the shackles is instruments of torture. In original work, the author wants to express Strickland had burst the bonds of thought that hitherto had held him. In the version of Fu Weici and Li Jihong, they both translate the Strickland broke the shackles which always constrained him on the thought. As we all know, thought is a thing which we could not see and grasp, and it is impossible for us to restrain a thing which is not exist with instruments of torture. Yet the translators translate that the shackles that constrain the thought. From using a real thing to show a thing which is not existing, we could deeply feel the thing that does not exist as if it were real. Although the shackles are different with bonds in the surface meaning, they both express the confine of thought and they are equivalence in associative meaning.
3.2 A Comparative Study on the Level of Style 3.2.1 A Comparative Study on the Metaphor or Simile Example 1: “He reminded you of a frightened sheep running aimlessly hither and thither.” Fu Weici’s version: “像一只受了惊的小羊,没有目的地东跑西窜,张皇失措,晕头转向。” Li Jihong’s version: “他像慌不择路、到处乱跑的绵羊。” The “小羊” refers to the sheep which small and relating thin, it does not specifically what kind of sheep. By comparing it the “绵羊” is more specific. When it comes to “绵羊”, the first impression is timid and easily bullied. In the original work, the author described him like a frightened sheep. He did not point which kind of sheep but we could feel the sheep’s fear and weak. Even more we could fell the sheep is timid and fearsome. Fu weici describes the sheep is little sheep. From little sheep we also could feel the meaning what the author wants to express. In Li jiong’s version, he translates the sheep into Bujumbura. From Bujumbura we could know the sheep’s character. Nowadays, when we express one person is timid and obedient. Usually we could use the Bujumbura. From sheep to little sheep or Bujumbura, we all were able to realize the Strickland’s friend respects him and cherishes his talent. When he met Strickland’s work he felt that he was a clown. He wanted to destroy it but he is afraid. He loved his work and talent from the heart. From this sentence we know that the author and translators all use the way of metaphor. They compared Strickland friend to frightened sheep running aimlessly hither and thither. In my opinion, I more like the Li Jihong’s version because the jumbuck is more closed to our modern life. Although the original work doesn’t show the kind of sheep however through metaphor we could realize the degree of the people’s fear. Example 2: “She was desire.” Fu Weici’s version: “成了欲念的化身” Li Jihong’s version: “她变成了欲望的化身。 The author uses the rhetorical devices of simile in the sentence. He is desire that the two translators both compared him to the embodiment of desire. There aren’t essential difference between the “欲念” and “欲望”. They both express the desire for getting something. The former most points the desire of getting something in thought. The latter more inclined to express the desire for a specific thing. In original work, the author describes Strickland just pursuit the satisfaction of physiology. He only uses women to satisfy his desire and not really love them. He hated the woman just pursuit the love in life especially when he met the second woman. He didn’t give her any more birthright and he didn’t get married with her. He just wanted her to satisfy his desire of physiology. So when he was asked why he was with her he said that he just wanted her. The two translators both realize the equivalence of simile through compare him to the embodiment of desire. Example 3: “I don’t disapprove of the boa-constrictor; on the contrary, I’m interested in his mental processes.” Fu Weici’s version: “我对蟒蛇的习性并不反对,相反我对它的心理活动倒很感兴趣。” Li Jihong’s version: “我并不鄙视毒蛇,恰恰相反,我对他的思维过程很有兴趣。” The main features of “蟒蛇” is thick and long and it is the largest snakes compared to more primitive snakes in the world. “毒蛇” refers to the snakes which could secrete special venom. They are found of using stratagem to attract the vicious. They are beautiful animals, but also the embodiment of evil. In the original work, the author wants to express the protagonist’s dissatisfaction with his action. He abandoned his wife and two lovely children with leaving nothing. Even more he didn’t feel this mistake and he had no need to take responsibility for them. In the eyes of ordinary people this is totally inconsistent with common sense. The true husband should love his wife and take care of the family. So many people think he is cold-bloode and the protagonist is no exception. The author uses the boa to describe. The Strickland’s action calls the opposition from the people. Fu Weici translates the boa into the “蟒蛇”. According to the introduction of the python, we can see that the boa is larger and they are carnivores. But these maybe the result of natural selection and these are not their nature is bad. On the contrary, the “毒蛇” are different and they are the real bad guys and they are devil incarnate. Through the description of the original text, we can know that the hero complained that he abandoned his family and he was not human. So I think compare him to “毒蛇” is more appropriate. It reflects his cold-bloodedness and unfeeling.
3.2.2 A Comparative Study on the Repetition Example 2: “I will never have him in my house-never.” Fu Weici’s version: “我永远也不让他进咱们的家门-永远也不让。” Li Jihong’s version: “我绝不让他踏进我的家-绝不。”
Never and absolutely not both describe the no. However the latter tone is more serious. Repetition is to emphasize a certain meaning and it is to highlight a certain emotion. Especially when using some certain repetition of words, sentences or paragraphs. Through this chapter, we can see that Strickland is ill, however, Mrs. Stroeve against him to move to her home. She says “I will never have him in my house-never”. Two repetition of “never” shows the Mrs. Stroeve’s firm attitude. After reading, we can know the reason why she firmly opposed because she did not want to admit that she was falling in love with a penniless pauper, and he does not have what advantage. She was afraid to see him because she was afraid that it would come true. So we can know that she is very reluctant Strickland to come to her house for recuperating. The repetition of never and absolutely not both could reflect this feeling.
3.3 A Comparative Study on the Cultural Transmission 3.3.1 The Culture, language and Translation The culture is very complicated and it refers to the entire way of life in the society. It involves many aspects that knowledge, art, law, translation and other habits in the society. Eugene Nida depicts the relationship between the culture and language in the translating practice like that in whole translating and interpreting, the source language and the target language should be implicitly or explicitly compared, but all such interlinguas communication extend far beyond the mechanizes of linguistic similarities and difference. The main reason is that the meaning of verbal symbols on every level depends on the communication of culture and language. The language also is a part of culture, and it is the most complicated part of the habits comparing the other culture factors. Language provides access to the culture, reflects culture and in the some aspects it constitutes a model of culture. Eugene Nida also indicates that if there were not so many misunderstandings about the language and the function within a society relation between the culture and the language couldn’t constitute such difficulties for intersecting culture understanding. In Eugene Nida’s perspective, the language and the culture are closely related. He thinks the words should denote to show the corresponding culture. The language is loaded by culture and the culture is expressed, transmitted, preserved and promoted by language. Thus the translator should take considerable account of the culture factors in their translation. That means the translators should try to find the closed equivalence in the translation of the culture connotation. The translation couldn’t beyond the target language readers’ acceptance or give them a distorted understanding. On the contrast, the translators need make sure their translations can enable the target language readers to accurately and adequately understand the source texts. “Eugene Nida considers culture as the totality of the beliefs and practices of a society, and classifies culture into five categories: ecological culture, material culture, social culture, religious culture and linguistic culture.” (Nida 1964:91)
Chapter 4 Conclusion
4.1 Evaluation of the Two Chinese Versions Through the comparison of the two papers, I prefer to Li Jihong’s version. It is more closed to modern reading habits. In this version, functional equivalence is used in many place, which not only the pursuit of literal meaning but the pursuit of the original expression of emotion. By comparing Li Jihong’s version, the Fu Weici’s version is more reflecting the equivalence of the meaning and sometimes pursuit the equivalence of words. On the other hand, the two versions differ 19 years. With the change of time, cultural background and the reader’s preferences also changed. By comparing, the latter’s translation is more closed to modern readers’ reading habit. More accurately, the latter is more in line with my reading habits. To summarize, the author hopes that this study may contribute a little to the research field of The Moon and Six-pence and its translation. What is done in this thesis is just an elementary study concerning translation strategy. There are much more needed to be explored in this field.
4.2 The Limitation of Present Study
As all above, this thesis has studied the translation of The Moon and Sixpence on the aspects on meaning, study and culture. Some examples are analyzed under each type of device to evaluate the two versions of translation based on the functional equivalence theory. However there are too much pages of these two translations, and just some parts of them are taken as examples to discuss in the study in the chapter three of this paper. Therefore, this study may not be comprehensive and it has to be confined due to the author’s personal perspective and the limitation of research material and time.
Acknowledgments
At the completion of this thesis, first of all, I would like to deepest thank my thesis advisor Zhang Bo, without his encouragement and guidance, my thesis couldn’t be completed. He has helped me via all the stages of writing of this thesis. If without his consistent and illuminating instruction, the thesis couldn’t have reached the present form. Finally, under his guidance, I finished my thesis. Secondly, I also want to thank my classmates and teachers who have taught me for two years in the Foreign Languages Department. Thanking for their company and encouragement for me, I could finish academic happily. Eventually I want to gratitude my family’s considerations in me all through these years and their supports for me. Without their encouragement and support, I would not have been able to finish my studies.
Bibliography
[1] W.Somerset Maugham. The Moon and Sixpence[M].England: Vintage Classics Press, 2008-5-1. [2] Halliday, M.A.K. Language Structure and Language Function[M].Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 2008. [3]Nida, Eugene. On Translation[M]. Beijing: China Translation & Publishing Cooperation, 1984. [4]Nida, Eugene. Toward a Science of Translating[M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 2001. [5]Halliday, M.A.K. An Introduction to Function Grammar [M]. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 2008. [6]Nida, Eugene.A. & Jan De Ward. From One Language to Another[M]. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Inc, 1986. [7]Nida, Eugene.A. Language, Culture and Translating[M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 1993. [8]Ma Huijuan. A Study on Nida’s Translation Thery[M]. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 2003. [9]傅惟慈.月亮与六便士[M].上海:上海译文出版社,1994. [10]李继宏.月亮与六便士[M].天津:天津人民出版社,2015. [11]张东东,姜立维.功能翻译理论与应用笔译研究[M].黑龙江:哈尔滨工程大学出版社,2015-5. [12]郭晓玲.从功能对等角度看《红楼梦》金陵判词的英译--比较三个译本[D].北京:北京外国语大学,2014. [13]曹菁.“功能对等”理论在文学翻译中的应用--以小说《浮世浅游》的中译本为例[D].北京:北京外国语大学,2013. [14]刘琼.“功能对等理论”指导下文化负载词的翻译--以《金翅雀》为例[D].北京:北京外国语大学,2016. [15]孙致礼.关于我国翻译理论建设的几点思考[J]. 中国翻译, 2(1997). [16]刘宓庆.当代翻译理论[M].北京: 中国对外翻译出版社, 2005. [17]顾维勇.实用文体翻译[M].北京: 国防工业出版社, 2005. [18]陈安琪.用奈达功能对等理论指导当代科技文本非技术部分的翻译[D].北京:北京外国语学院,2014. [19]王佳.从功能对等理论看《爱玛》的翻译[J]. 2014(10):31-33. [20]赵丹丹.浅论奈达的功能对等理论[J]. 2011(03):54-55. [21]王德春.语言学概论[M].上海: 上海外语教育出版, 1997. [22]马会娟.奈达翻译理论研究[M].北京: 中国对外翻译出版社,2003.
On Subtitle Translation of Why Women Kill from the Perspective of Functional Equivalence Theory 唐铭 Tang Ming
The Breakthrough and Innovation of Dong Qiusi’s Translation Thoughts 娄灿灿 Lou Cancan
Translation Criticism
On Translation Criticism-based on back-translationTranslation 丁代凤 Ding Daifeng
Analysis of Liang Shiqiu's domestication and Foreignization translation strategies on the Shakespeare's plays. 苏琳 Su Lin
A Brief Introduction to Deconstruction and Venuti's Translation Strategy of Foreignization 徐佳 Xu Jia
Contrast between literal translation and free translation 刘艺 Liu Yi
Cultural Differences
The Translation of English and Chinese Idioms from the Perspective of Cultural Differences 李凌月 Li Lingyue
Cultural Differences On English Interpretation And The Coping Strategies 马娟 Ma Juan
Abstract
English interpretation as a cross-cultural social activity refers to the cultural differences between English and Chinese. Because of cultural differences in these asapects such as historical background , customs, religion and the way of thinking, English interpretation is necessary to take all of these influences into consideration and the interpreter must have a penetrating mind of the cultural differences.When the interpreter does English interpretation, he must know the coping strategies to grapple with these problems caused by cultural differnences so as to transmit the proper,correct and decent information to the target audiences.
Key words
Cultural differences; English interpratation; Coping strategies;
摘要
关键词
Introduction
The Several Aspects of Cultural Differences Between Chinese and English
The Influences of The Several Aspects of Cultural Differnences On English Interpretation
The Coping Strategies of The Influence
Conclusion
Bibliography
Polysystem Theory and Cultural Turn 吴琪 Wu Qi
Abstract
Even Zohar took the lead in putting forward polysystem theory, which was further developed in the descriptive translation studies put forward by his student Gideon Toury. On this basis, Susan Bassnett and André Lefevere first put forward the concept of cultural turn. Now, the issue of cultural factors in translation studies has received considerable scholarly attention. This paper sorts out several reasons why translation studies turn from linguistic studies to cultural studies bascically in chronological order. By revealing the role of cultural factors in translation, their influence on translation strategies and translation studies are objectively analyzed. Finally, it looks forward to how translators can better spread Chinese culture with the help of the cultural turn that has not disappeared.
Key words
Polysystem theory, Cultural turn, Translation studies
摘要
伊文·佐哈尔率先提出了多元系统理论,并在他的学生吉迪恩·图里提出的描述性翻译研究中得到进一步发展。在此基础上,苏珊·巴斯内特和安德烈·勒弗维尔首次提出了文化转向的概念。目前,翻译研究中的文化因素问题已经引起了学术界的广泛关注。本文基本按时间顺序梳理了翻译研究从语言学研究转向文化研究的几个原因。通过揭示文化因素在翻译中的作用,客观地分析了文化因素对翻译策略和翻译研究的影响。最后,展望了译者如何借助尚未消失的文化转向之风更好地传播中国文化。
关键字
多元系统理论,文化转向,翻译研究
1. Introduction
The overall structure of the study takes the form of five chapters. Chapter I will systematically contextualize the research by introducing the historical background and ideological resources of polysystem theory;Chapter II will deal with the research carried out mainly by Zohar and Toury to develop polysystem theory and its application in translation practice; Chapter III will review the studies related to cultural turn; Chapter IV will clarify advantages and disadvantages of scholars’views on the role of cultural issues in translation studies;Chapter V will give a brief look forward to future research trends.
2. Development of polysystem theory
2. 1 Research Background
2. 1. 1 Historical Background
The representatives of Polysystem theory are Israelite scholars Zohar and Toury. Israel is an emerging country established after World War II. and there are almost no native cultures and literary works. The development of its own culture can only rely on absorbing the excellent cultures of other countries. In this context, Zohar can only focus on translated works.
2. 1. 2 Influence of ideological sources
Russian formalism prevailed in the 1920s, and the goal of Russian formalism theory was to improve the status of literature in society. Formalist scholars believed that "literary works should be regarded as a part of the whole literary system instead of being an independent research object", and they also put forward the concepts of "defamiliarization" and "literariness", aiming at establishing a research field for literature and distinguishing it from other disciplines. Zohar studied Russian formalism and Czech structuralism for many years, on the basis of which, in the 1970s, he put forward a new Polysystem theory to guide translation studies. Polysystem theory was proposed by Itamar Even Zohar.
2. 2 From Linguistic-centered to Cultural-centered
Chomsky put forward transformational generative grammar in the mid-late 1950s, which deeply influenced a group of linguists and translators and changed the position of structural linguistics established by Saussure. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Science of Translation, also known as the Linguistic Approach, emerged with Nida, Jacobson, Newmark, and so on as its representatives. They maintained that translation studies were regarded as a subsidiary discipline of linguistics. They also proposed that the task of translation was to achieve functional equivalence, that is, translating should consist in reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent of the source language message first in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of style. Gradually, translation studies were restricted to the micro-linguistic level, with emphasis on the text, and the subjective initiative of translation was ignored. Translation studies focused on discussing the differences and discovering the laws between languages, then, a set of mechanical rules that could guide translation were summarized, translation studies were treated as a "science" with a complete theoretical system. This also formed a mindset, which narrowed the translator's eyes to the information level of the original text, ignoring the influence of wider culture and these factors on the generation and acceptance of the translation.
Also, in the 1970s, Zohar put forward Polysystem theory based on Russian formalism, and he thought that the process of studying translation is also the process of studying the target language culture. Polysystem theory studies literature from multiple perspectives, not just in the field of literature, but through the study of other extension factors, it studies literary translation more comprehensively and deeply.
Toury, a student of Zohar, put forward Descriptive Translation Studies (DTS) and translational norms, which provide a more perfect research idea for cultural studies. The International Association for comparative literature held a seminar about polysystem theory which allowed more scholars to study Polysystem theory and descriptive translation(张素文, 2019).
By the mid-1990s, the cultural turn completely broke the situation that translation studies were confined to micro-linguistics. At that time, translators have shifted their focus from the micro-linguistic level to the macro-cultural level. Scholars, such as Susan Bassnett, Lefevere, and Venuti, began to pay attention to other factors outside the source text such as culture, philosophy, politics, poetics, and so on. Thanks to the efforts of these scholars, more intellectuals have been influenced by developments in cultural studies. They believed that because the source text is produced placed in the specific context of the cultural environment, the target text should not be regarded as a simple transformation between languages(曾文雄, 2006). Of course, in the process of translation studies, translators are most concerned about disciplines across the cultural spectrum. The emergence of cultural studies opened a new door for closed translation studies at that time. This new paradigm broadened the scope of translation studies and played a vital role in the construction of translation studies.
2. 3 Representatives of Polysystem Theory
2. 3. 1 Main points of Zohar
In order to better explain the theoretical core of the Polysystem system, I would like to roughly explain several basic concepts of the Polysystem system. First, what is the definition of Polysystem systems? Zohar generalized it as follows: The social symbol system is multiple and dynamic,which is composed of several different systems (such as culture, language, literature, society). Because the various systems interact and connect with each other, the status of each system is not equal,some subsystems are at the center, but some are at the edge. Second, what does the polysystem theory refer to? It points out that in different periods, the culture of a certain society may be superior or inferior to another culture. In different historical contexts, translators will choose different translation strategies. Translators' choice of strategies will change in diverse situations, thus forms a dynamic translation study. Third, how are the levels in the Polysystem system classified? Zohar locates his translation studies in a Polysystem system of literature and classifies them according to the scale of their scopes. For example, the first layer is distinguished by country, the second layer is classified by literary type, the third layer is distinguished by whether it is translation literature, and the fourth layer is classified according to which country the original text comes from. Zohar was the first to uncover the status of translated literature and point out that translation literature can be a major role in the cultural system. For example, the three translation climaxes in Chinese history have functioned as a key element of the formation and development of Chinese culture.
He stated that, in three cases, the system of translated literature will be at the center.
①. When a polysystem has not yet been crystallized, that is to say, when a literature is"young," in the process of being established(Gillespie & Even-Zohar, 1994); Take Israeli literature as an example, Israel was established after the second world war. The original Hebrew cultural tradition is very weak. So it is necessary for this country to introduce advanced literature from western countries and translate classical literature from other countries so that they can provide new thoughts and skills for the local country.
②. When a literature is either“peripheral”(with in a large group of correlated literatures) or “weak,” or both. when a literature is either “peripheral”, it will approach mainstream literature. The best way to approach it is to learn its techniques and skills by translated literature which can provide samples for imitation.
③. When there are turning points, crises, or literary vacuums in a literature. For instance, after WWII, the vibrant American literature in the past two decades end abruptly and experienced a period of stagnation, because the existing literary model can no longer arouse the creative enthusiasm of a new generation of writers.
When it comes to the position of literature, notice that,firstly,the innovation of the “weak” literary system is much lower than that of the center literary system. But we still have to affirm its function to spur it. Second, some literary systems are relatively strong when they are formed, and their own literary systems are often in the central position and are not easily influenced by other systems. Therefore, when the translated literature system is at the marginal position, in most cases, literary translation is required (sometimes even necessary) to use words close to the target language as much as possible, so that the source language culture can be integrated into the target language culture and the target language readers can accept it more easily, which creates contradictions, because, by introducing excellent works from other regions into the target language, It should be aimed at absorbing the high-quality culture of other countries, but if all the cultural features, new ideas, and expressions of the source language are eliminated in translation, then the translated literature will always be in a marginal state. in such a system.
2. 3. 2 Main Points of Toury
Based on Zohar's theory, Toury made the following efforts to establish a generalized and authoritative theory to describe translation. Above all, he proposed that the methodology of translation should be divided into three steps. First, the source text should be evaluated in the target cultural context to analyze its significance and acceptability; Second, the target language should be considered according to the target language environment; Third, a comparative analysis should be made between the source language and the target language, so as to identify the translation transformation between the two texts, and then the translation is constantly improved and perfected. This can be used to explain the factors that influence or determine translation quality; Besides, it is convenient to guide the translation practice of different topics by establishing relevant corpora. With the continuous advancement of translation and the accumulation of a large number of materials, different translation models can be concluded by conclusions, and finally, the universal rules for describing translation can be drawn, which is part of Toury's description translation theory. Moreover, Toury put forward the concept of translation norms, which he thought were generally accepted and used by translators in the process of translation. These norms are social and cultural restrictions on specific times, and people need to comprehend them through the necessary process of education and socialization. This is a powerful regulation,which means once they are established and recognized, translators must strictly abide by them, just like social legal documents. It can be seen that Toury's theory is also based on the specific social and cultural context, and especially pays attention to the descriptive research of translation. His translation research method can be generalized as follow: before the research, a pre-set standard should be established, and then verified step by step in the process of translation research. Finally, the target text and the original text are compared, and the governing standards of the translated works are analyzed. Toury further suggested that translators can classify themselves into different standards, including source language standards, target language standards, and so on.
Toury's theories also attract more and more scholars to study translation from a cultural perspective. Likewise, Andrew Chesterman put forward new translational norms based on those of Toury's. He holds that the most important norm is "expectation norm", that is, readers' expectation of the influence and communication power of translated works, and other norms are restricted by this "expectation". It can be said that these two viewpoints provide the initial inspiration and theoretical basis for "cultural turn”(吴际, 2018).
2. 4 Polysystem Theory’s Influence on Translation Strategy
Zohar discusses the translator's choice of different translation strategies for foreignization and domestication when the translation literature system is at the center or marginal state of the polysystem. Foreignization and domestication were put forward by American translation theorist Lawrence Venuti in 1995 in The Translator's Invisibility. Historically, foreignization and domestication can be regarded as extensions of literal translation and free translation, but they are not completely equivalent terms. The core issue of literal translation and free translation is how to deal with form and meaning from the micro-linguistic level. Domestication refers to the translation strategy of adopting a transparent and fluent style in translation to minimize the strangeness of the original text. Foreignization refers to the translation that deviates from the local mainstream values, preserves the linguistic and cultural differences of the original text, and brings readers into foreign contexts. In other words, foreignization translation requires the translator to be close to the source text and adopt the expressions to convey the original content. It can be seen that literal translation and free translation are mainly limited to the language level, while foreignization and domestication are based on the cultural context. The differences between them are obvious and cannot be confused.
In translation practice, translators often choose the appropriate strategies according to the specific status the target culture places in the multicultural context. If the source text plays a central role in the whole language communication, the translator is more inclined to not be limited by the language model of the target text and can restore the content of the source text to the maximum extent, which can introduce a new language mode from the source text to the target language. If the source text plays a secondary role in the cultural system, usually, the translator will integrate the source text into the target language context to enrich the target language color.
For example, before the May Fourth Movement, translated literature was at the edge of the literary polysystem. Translators tend to adopt domestication translation strategies. Influenced by the Chinese literary tradition, Lin Shu adopted domestication in order to meet the needs of readers. Therefore, his translation works were restricted by the target language, and he translated the western source text into familiar ancient classical Chinese language, so that readers can more accept and recognize this translation activity.
For example:
Source text: I’ll fight for my liberty to the last breath I breathe. You say your fathers did it; if it was right for them. It is right for me(BEECHER & DAVID).
Target text: 盖吾之自由,必与持压力者抵死争之,必胜而后已。该美国之自由,美国同英伦力争而得。今吾之自由,必当力与美人争之(斯托, 林纾, & 魏易, 1981)。
However, situations are not always the same. Liang Shiqiu began to translate Shakespeare's plays in the early 1930s.Here, the number of translated literary texts was in a growth trend. At the time of the translation of A Midsummer Night's Dream, China was eager to rejuvenate the country by absorbing foreign cultures. Translated literature had a higher position in the pluralistic system of Chinese literature. Fang Ping's translation began in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Literary and artistic creation at this time emphasized the socialist characteristics of literature, and a lot of socialism excellent literature swarmed. Affected by ideology, China was resistant to the literary works of capitalist countries. When translating and researching with a strong color of ideology and class struggle. It can be seen that when Fang Ping translated and introduced A Midsummer Night’s Dream, translated literature was not at the center of the literary polysystem.
According to the polysystem theory, Liang Shiqiu should adopt foreignization and Fang Ping's translation strategy should accept domestication. However, in the practice of translating A Midsummer Night's Dream, this is not the case. Here are examples.
Source text: “By’r lakin, a parlous fear(William).
Liang’s version:天啊, 是可怕的紧。
Fang’s version:我的圣母娘娘,这可不是跟你闹着玩的事啊。
the translation strategy Liang adopted is foreignization, while Fang Ping used the translation strategy of "domestication." The above application gives us inspiration, that is, in specific translation activities, the cultural exchange between the source language and the target language is complicated, which leads to the diverse choices of translation strategies. Therefore, translators can give full play to their subjectivity and choose appropriate translation strategies based on their knowledge and personal understanding. Not strictly abide by a certain theory, because translation is a process of dynamic communication and re-creation, and it is not rigid and static. In the process of translation, only combined with specific cultural context and personal understanding, can translators figure out the best translation strategies and methods. Only by combining scientific theory with translator's subjectivity can we accomplish every translation activity best.
3. Development of Cultural Turn
The view of "cultural turn" was formally put forward by Bassnett and Lefevere in the book Translation, History and Culture: A Sourcebook in the 1990s. The cultural turn mainly depends on the scholars of cultural approach, who actively advocate translators to shift their eyes on translation studies from the text itself to the cultural context outside the text, so as to change the long-standing existence of translation studies as the "vassal" of literature and art, and promote translation studies to become an independent discipline. Among them, Bassnett is one of the leaders, and her works often reveal the importance attached to the cultural background in translation studies(Bassnett, 1995). Translation has indeed become an independent discipline with its own characteristics under the active propaganda of the cultural approach, which has also become the basis of extensive research on cultural turn in translation studies. Bassnett also has a famous metaphor about culture and language, which also expresses her emphasis on culture. She points out that culture is compared to the human body, and language is the heart of this body. Only when the heart and body interact can human vitality continue; Therefore, surgeons can't ignore the whole body that bears the heart when performing the ng surgery on the heart, similarly,it is dangerous for translators to treat the text isolated from culture(Bassnett, 1995).
The concept “cultural turn” was put forward by Bassnett and Lefevere inheriting Zohar's polysystem theory, which has attracted many scholars to discuss the phenomenon of "cultural turn" in translation. This theory examines translation activities from a macro perspective, that is, it puts translation in the context of culture, instead of exploring translation in a vacuum separated from culture and context. Using Zohar's polysystem theory, the cultural school holds that culture has a restrictive effect on translation, and shifts the focus of translation studies from the original to the target text, from the author of the original to the translator of the target text, from the source language culture to the target language culture, and has a deeper understanding of the position and role of the target text. At the same time, it is noteworthy that Jacques Derrida, a famous philosopher, put forward the theory of "deconstructionism", which holds that the meaning of words is not only restrained within the source text but also multiple factors can influence it. He also points out that the original author is not the only creator, which also inspires scholars of cultural school to think about the role of translation and enhances the social status of translated works.
Chinese traditional translation theory is influenced by the thought of cultural turn, and the cultural turn has occurred in history. Xuan Huifang (轩慧芳, 2019)mentioned that the cultural turn of Chinese traditional translation theory can be regarded started from the scientific and technological translation in the late Ming Dynasty. Chinese translators, such as Xu Guangqi, Li Zhizao and Yang Yanjun, were the first to advocate transferring translation from religion to natural science. They also jumped out of the linguistic category of contrast between the source language and target language and directly introduced Chinese traditional translation theory into the social and cultural background concerned by the cultural school. At that time, translation theories began to focus on how to use translation as a tool to stimulate national consciousness. China lagged behind the West in terms of science and technology and ideas. Therefore, the purpose of translation was to absorb the essence of Western culture and arouse the learning enthusiasm of the Chinese. Only by learning the strengths of others can we surpass others. The function of translation is to convey new knowledge and ideas. As to the type of the source text, they tend to choose the technology that is closely related to people's lives and most urgently needed by the country, such as western astronomy, meteorology, machinery and land construction, and other related books. According to Lefevere, translators at that time were sponsors of translation activities, and they regarded translation as a way to maintain feudal autocratic rule, so the scope of attention was very narrow, and the cultural turn at this time was not obvious.
Only later on, especially in the late Qing Dynasty, the feudal rulers adopted a policy of seclusion, which hampered China's progress and its exchanges with the outside world. That state was completely broken by the Opium War, which also crushed the illusion that many people thought the Qing Dynasty was powerful and stimulated many literati to "opening the eyes to observe the world". Many translators have translated a wide range of foreign newspapers, histories, geography, and other books, not just scientific texts. Many defeats pushed more Chinese people to recognize the deficiencies of their own and the strength of the West. Although they were not direct translators, they acted as sponsors, which was the main reason for the abundance of translated works and the rapid development of cultural turn at that time. However, it didn't take long for the Westernization Movement to fail, which inspired some elites to realize that China's backwardness was not in technology at all, but in its feudal autocratic system. The reformists, represented by Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao, have become new sponsors. In this short period of only ten years, a large number of excellent translators have appeared, such as Yan Fu and Lin Shu. Lin Shu, in particular, did not understand any foreign language but translated a lot of works, like la Dame aux Camelias,Uncle Tom's cabin and David Copperfield, etc. Dictated by others, he translated in classical style. Such kind of translation to some extent can be said to be no respect to the original text. This also reflects that the purpose of translation at that time was not to highly restore the thoughts and styles of the original text, but to convey conducive information part of the original text to the target readers. This period was also the development period of the cultural shift of Chinese translation theory.
Developing to the May Fourth Movement, the ideological emancipation of Chinese intellectuals was more extensive. During that period, the translation mainly focuses on how to transform Chinese traditional culture benefiting from western culture and make the Chinese nation rejuvenate. The translation is regarded as an important tool to promote social change. Some scholars believe that the transmission of western new ideas is also to import new expression methods, and at the same time, in order to break the feudal traditional ideas, more intellectuals began to call for the use of vernacular Chinese. For example, Lu Xun and Qu Qiubai, who are well known to us, are representative figures. However, not everyone supports this idea. Mei Guangdi proposes that while introducing western culture, we should also carry forward the traditional culture. Western advanced ideas and technologies are needed to be absorbed, but it does not mean that our own language form, Classical Chinese, should be abandoned. But it can be seen that their ideas have not been widely supported. Just like Gu Zhengkun's viewpoint, unlike the cultural turn that emerged more than 100 years later in the West, cultural translation and translation studies in China at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century has presented its obvious characteristics of subjectivity.
4. Judgement
Since both the polysystem theory and cultural turn are not universal, so they have both advantages and disadvantages at the same time. We should keep rational and critical thinking when studying these theories, and treat their influence on translation studies objectively and dialectically.
4. 1 Advantages
Polysystem theory makes translation studies no longer an isolated linguistic study, but brings descriptive translation studies and cultural turn to translation studies. Linguistic schools tend to pay too much attention to static semantic contrast, focusing on language patterns or underdeveloped literary theories, while the polysystem system combines translation with many factors such as the cultural context, social conditions and politics, especially affecting translation studies at the political level, such as post-colonial translation studies, feminist translation studies and cannibalistic translation studies derived from historical events. Generally speaking, these theories have opened up a wide research field for translation studies, which makes translation studies no longer in a vacuum environment, and opens up a way for translation studies to finally get out of the prescribed aesthetic limitations. To enable people to look at translation from a broader perspective and grasp its true nature, people will not be limited on the equivalence between the source text and the target text, but also regard the target text as an entity in the target system to study its various properties. This is the very point that developed into Toury's "Target-oriented approach". Since the translation is not only selected from several existing linguistic models but restricted by various systems, we can understand the translation phenomenon from the perspective of wider inter-system transmission. After fully understanding this phenomenon, it can also be used to guide us on how to better promote our own culture through translation, which is an unprecedented opportunity for translation studies. At the same time, according to Zohar's theory, we can also know that only with a higher level of research can we better convey our own culture and contribute to our translation studies.
4. 2 Disadvantages
Polysystem theory and the view of cultural turn neglect the translator's subjectivity, and the principle of choosing original texts is determined by the situation that dominates the (native) polysystem: which means that texts are chosen because they are consistent with the new methods of target literature, and also because of their possible innovative role in target literature. However, the choice of the target text is not only determined by the polysystem, but also by the translator's subjectivity. Translators will try their best to choose texts or familiar genres consistent with their own styles to give full play to their advantages and improve the quality of translations.
Although the linguistic school pays too much attention to the micro-level of translation studies, which limits the development of translation studies, scholars such as Nida and Newmark put forward a series of scientific theories to study translation by studying syntax and vocabulary, which has merits. However, the attitude of the cultural school towards the linguistic school is to completely negate and abandon it. According to the cultural school, before putting forward the theory of cultural turn, translation studies lacked a set of macroscopic theories to guide them and did not form a theoretical system to guide translation practice, which is undesirable. At the same time, the cultural school's eyes are completely detached from the text, exaggerating the influence of macro factors other than the text, which has been criticized by later generations.
5. Conclusion
The following conclusions can be drawn from the present study. Taken together, these findings suggest a role for cultural elements in promoting translation studies. Up to now, polysystem theory and cultural turn still have a wide influence on translation studies, and cultural factors are still important factors that must be considered in translation activities(韩雪, 2019). The findings reported here also shed new light on the responsibilities of today’s translators. When the earth is like a "village", our cultural exchanges with other countries are getting closer and closer. It is necessary for contemporary translators to think about how to maintain cultural confidence through translation and effectively convey excellent culture to other countries. In the process of translation, translators should not only pay attention to linguistic equivalence, but also change their attitudes, think from the perspective of cultural exchange. They should explore a way to combine the inspiration of the polysystem theory and cultural turn, give full play to their subjectivities, and make efforts to tell Chinese stories well and build China's translation system in the world.
6. References
Bassnett, S. (1995). Comparative literature : a critical introduction: Blackwell.
BEECHER, S. H., & DAVID, B. UNCLE TOM'S CABIN: Harvard University Press.
Gillespie, G., & Even-Zohar, I. (1994). Polysystem Studies. Comparative Literature, 45(4), 374.
William, S. A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Yale University Press.
曾文雄. (2006). 翻译学“语用学转向”:“语言学转向”与“文化转向”的终结. 社会科学家(05), 193-197.
韩雪. (2019). 多元系统翻译论本土化策略及其创新性研究. 福建茶叶, 41(02), 137-138.
斯托, 林纾, & 魏易. (1981). 黑奴吁天录: 商务印书馆.
吴际. (2018). 翻译学中“文化转向”的前世今生. 校园英语(10), 205-206.
轩慧芳. (2019). 中国传统译论中的“文化转向”. 延安大学学报(社会科学版), 41(03), 92-96.
张素文. (2019). 探析多元系统论的理论构建. 文理导航(上旬)(03), 93+95.
The influence of cultural differences on translation methods 姚佳 Yao Jia
Abstract
key words
摘要
Introduction
The long-term transmission of culture must depend on language. Language has always been an important basis for cultural inheritance. And it is also one of the tools used by different cultures in communication. The exchanges between different countries and regions have deepened in recent years. The demand for translation activities has been increasing, and the requirement for translation quality has also been gradually improved. Translation is a cultural communication activity between different countries. It is not only the conversion of two sets of language symbols. In a sense, translation has gone beyond language and become the cultural transmission between countries. There are some differences between Chinese and Western social values and ways of thinking. So it is easy to make mistakes in English translation if many words are simply understood from the expression. In addition, different nationalities are often influenced by their own cultures in the process of historical development, which will also lead to mistakes in Chinese and English translation. In the face of cultural differences, we should choose appropriate translation methods to achieve the purpose of communication. In recent years, the focus of translators has gradually shifted from language level to cultural level. They began to study translation methods from a cultural perspective.
The Main Aspects of Cultural Differences in Translation
Translation is the process of transforming a relatively unfamiliar expression into a relatively familiar one. Wang Zuoliang, a famous translator and linguist, once said that translators are dealing with individual words, but they are facing with two large cultures.(42) Therefore, translation should include not only language but also culture. The development of each country's language has gone through a long process of cultural accumulation and it is influenced by its own history, culture, ethics and many other aspects. The differences between English and Chinese are mainly reflected in the following aspects: historical background, way of thinking, and social customs.
2.1 The Historical Background
2.2 The Thinking Mode
2.3 The Social Customs
Influences of cultural differences on translation
3.1 Lexical gap
3.2 Semantic conflict
3.3 Use specific translation methods from the perspective of cultural differences
The skills to choose the proper translation methods from the perspective of cultural differences
4.1 Focus on the work itself
4.2 Focus on the reader
4.3 Focus on the dynamic equivalence of translation
Conclusion
Work Cited
Study of Domestication and Foreignization in Cross—Culture Translation 李海泉 Li Haiquan
Characteristics of Cultural Differences in Interpreting and Corresponding 吴琼 Wu Qiong
The Translation of Cultural Elements in Tourism Promotional Materials Under Skopos Theory 杨子泠 Yang Ziling
Abstract Abstract: As China has become an increasingly large inbound tourism country, efforts are put in the promotion of supporting facilities, among which promotion service, especially Tourism Promotional Materials (TMP), is the main way to introduce to not only Chinese tourists themselves but also the great number of foreign travelers, China’s scenic spots, natural resources and culture, and thereby arouse their interest in the landscapes and ancient cultural relics. Therefore, the translation of TMP is of vital importance in the publicity. Based on Skopostheory, this paper first introduces TPMs, then compares cultural differences in TPM translation. Finally it concludes some strategies and techniques used in TPM translation under the framework of Skopostheory. The author deems it that TPM translation should stand on the side of foreigners, meanwhile revealing the main idea of Chinese original sources.
Key Words: TPM translation cultural differences Skopostheory
摘要:中国已经成为了一个旅游大国,政府开始大力完善旅游配套设施,其中旅游宣传服务,特别是旅游宣传资料是向中外游客介绍中国旅游景点,自然资源以及文化的最主要方式,从而激起他们对自然风光和古文物的兴趣。因此,旅游宣传资料对宣传工作十分重要。文章从目的论的角度出发,首先介绍了旅游宣传资料,然后对比了宣传资料中中西方的文化差异。最后基于目的论,文章总结出几种实际可行的翻译策略和技巧。作者认为旅游宣传资料的翻译应该站在外国游客的立场来传达中文素材的主要信息。
关键词:旅游宣传资料翻译 文化差异 目的论
I. Introduction China is a large tourism country with rapid development of tourism industry. Tourism has become increasingly more an entertainment enriching people’s spiritual life. Serving as promotional materials and advertisements, Tourism Promotional Material(hereafter referred to as TPM) plays increasingly important role in introducing China’s specialty to the world. With the development, more and more TPMs have been translated into English in recent years. Indeed, some good translation materials leave a strong impression on travelers to China, especially those from English speaking countries. It is truly a better way to attract more visitors across the world, to introduce famous scenic spots, tourist attractions and food specialties and to promote the development of international tourism and cultural communication. TPM, to a certain degree, is a trademark and an external promotion work of tourism destinations, revealing the first image of the tourist attractions, landscapes and the surrounding environments. A good translation is of great significance in the first impression it leaves on potential visitors. Since TPM has a strong effect on the image of tourist attractions in domestic tourism industry, the study of it is of great importance. Mr. Liu Fagong (2012:70) once said, “some translation errors seem to be very slight, but it can reflect the international communicative competence of a certain area or a certain enterprise”. Inappropriate translation will not only lead to cultural misunderstanding, but also result in barriers in the development of international tourism as a whole. This thesis focuses on the possible strategies to improve the quality of TMP by comparing Chinese and western cultural differences. To guide the practice of Chinese TPM translation, various theories have been adopted and used, among which Skopostheory is going to be testified. The merits of it and the awareness of cultural differences are to be revealed. Therefore, it first introduces the definition and features of TPM. Then it reveals the difficulties in the translation of TPM caused by cultural differences. After that, the framework of Skopostheory is introduced and the methods and strategies of cultural translation in TPM is discussed under the framework of Skopostheory.
II. Literature Review
III. Difficulties in The Translation of TPM Caused by Cultural Differences
IV. Tourism Text Sources Translation Under Skopos Rules
V. The Translation of Cultural Elements in TPM Under Skopostheory
VI. Conclusion
References
Functional Equivalence
On the study and analysis of three kinds of beauty and transformation in the mid autumn festival prelude to water melody under the guidance of functional equivalence 林敏 Lin Min
Research on C-E Translation of Corporate Publicity Texts from the Perspective of Functional Equivalence 彭锐宏 Peng Ruihong
摘 要:随着全球经济一体化进程的不断发展,越来越多的中国企业开始走向全球市场,企业外宣文本的英译文本成为了国内企业与国外客户联系的桥梁。查阅我国企业外宣文本的英译本,其中不乏大量优秀译作;但同时,也有不少企业外宣英译文本的质量有待提高。在翻译企业外宣文本实践中,奈达的功能对等理论能够很好地指导企业外宣资料的翻译。因此本文将中外外宣文本进行对比,并对中外企业外宣文本的英译做深入的分析探讨。
关键词:功能对等理论;企业外宣文本;翻译方法
Abstract: With the further deepening of global economic integration, more and more Chinese enterprises are going to the global market and the English translation of enterprise publicity text becomes the bridge between domestic enterprises and foreign customers. The English translation of the publicity texts of Chinese enterprises includes a large number of excellent translations; But at the same time, there are many enterprises publicity English translation with bad quality. In the practice of translation of publicity texts of enterprises, Nida’s functional equivalence theory can well guide the translation of publicity materials of enterprises. Therefore, this paper compares China’s corporate publicity texts with foreign corporate publicity texts and makes deep discussion and exploration in C-E translation of corporate publicity texts.
Key Words: corporate promotional materials; Functional equivalence; translation methods--Peng Ruihong (talk) 03:12, 30 October 2020 (UTC)
A study of Functional Equivalence in Translating the Prose——A Case Study on Cong Cong 汤伊然 Tang Yiran
Functional Equivalence Theory and Functional Translation in Translation Studies 阳慧 Yang Hui
A Study of Functional Equivalence in Translating Children's Literature---A Case Study on The Lion King 刘智伟 Liu Zhiwei
摘要:儿童期是人生发育最重要的阶段,而儿童文学对于儿童的教育影响处于前位且是第一性的。儿童文学特别要求通俗易懂,生动活泼,这也就要求儿童文学翻译作品应根据儿童心理发展特点、基于功能对等翻译理调整翻译策略。本文主要是通过儿童特点、儿童文学特点,同时结合《狮子王》翻译策略与方法,对翻译对等理论进行更加深刻的解析。
Abstract: Childhood is the most important stage of life development, and the influence of children's literature on children's education is in the first place. Children's literature is particularly required to be vivid and easy to understand, which requires that translation strategies should be adjusted according to the characteristics of children's psychological development and on the basis of functional equivalence translation theory. Based on the characteristics of children and children's literature, and combined with the translation strategies and methods of Lion King, the thesis makes a more profound analysis of translation equivalence theory.
Key Words: Children's Psychological Characters, Children's Literature, Equivalence Theory --Liu Zhiwei (talk) 01:59, 1 November 2020 (UTC)