This essay provides a comprehensive and concise overview of the history of translation in Russia: Russian written translations began in the Kievan Rus' era, when religious subjects were the main focus of translations, especially the Bible, which was translated from Greek. Religious translations continued to flourish under the Moscow principality, represented by Maxim Gleick (МаксимГрек). At the same time, the national character of Russian translations began to emerge, and the languages of translation expanded from Greek to Latin, German and West Slavic, and the subjects covered included Western chivalric fiction, geographical literature, alchemy and medicine. In the eighteenth century, Peter the Great introduced a number of measures to focus on translation, making this period a turning point in the history of Russian translation. The proliferation of specialised translations (e.g. of legal texts) was the main feature of translation activity in the early eighteenth century. After this period Russian translators began to translate literary works, particularly French poetry. The main translators were Lomonosov (М.В. Ломоносов) and Tretyakovsky (V.K. Тредьяковский). In the second half of the eighteenth century, translation was given greater importance in Russia, and the Society for the Translation of Foreign Books was founded by Ekaterina II, in which a large number of outstanding translators emerged. The nineteenth century was a golden period in the history of Russian translation. Karamzin (Н.М.Карамзин) and Zhukovsky (В.А.Жуковский) both produced many excellent translations. Pushkin (A.С.Пушкин) and Lermontov (M.Ю.Лермонтов) contributed greatly to the development of Russian literature in translation, while Fetter concentrated on love poetry. In the twentieth century, the Russian translation community made significant achievements in theoretical translation studies. In particular, the rapid development of the philological school and the debate between the literary and philological schools made Soviet translation theory one of the leading theories of translation in the world.

1. Translation theories from Kievan Rus to the end of the eighteenth century.

2. Theoretical ideas on translation by 19th century writers

2.1 The first half of the 19th century.

2.2 The second half of the 19th century

3. Translation theory at the turn of the century

Conclusion

References

6 殷美达

Hist_Trans_Theo_EN_6

7 尹媛 A Brief Introduction of Contemporary American Translation Theory——Examplified mainly by Nida

Hist_Trans_Theo_EN_8

1 Abstract

The contemporary American translation theory mainly consists of American structural school of translation theory, communicative theory school, and social semiotics translation school. American structural school of translation theory is based on the thoughts of American structuralist school; Nida, as the representative of Communicative theory school, thinks that translating is the a manner of communication and must regard the readers as the service object from the view of Social linguistics and communicative function of language; social semiotics translation school views language as a symbol phenomenon that cannot be ignored when it is explained and translated. Nida is the theorist who experienced these three periods and its theory and ideas saturate with a strong sense of their influence, therefore, this paper gives a brief introduction of the history of the contemporary American translation theory as exemplified by Nida's theory and other translators' theory.

2 Key words

History of American Translation Theories, Nida, American structural school of translation theory, communicative theory school, a social semiotics translation school

3 Introduction

The contemporary American translation theory mainly consists of American structural school of translation theory, communicative theory school, and social semiotics translation school. American structural school of translation theory is based on the thoughts of American structuralist school; Nida, as the representative of Communicative theory school, thinks that translating is the a manner of communication and must regard the readers as the service object from the view of Social linguistics and communicative function of language; social semiotics translation school views language as a symbol phenomenon that cannot be ignored when it is explained and translated. As is known to all, in China, Nida's translation theory is the most widely known and deeply impressed among contemporary Western translation theories. Professor Tan Jinxi rightly classifies Nida's translation thought into three different stages: first, descriptive linguistics. Second, the stage of communication theory. Third, the stage of social semiotics (Tan,132). Generally speaking, we can summarize Nida's linguistic thoughts and translation thoughts as follows :(1) Nida is a universalist of language, who insists that all languages are equally expressive. What is expressed in one language can be said in another. (2) Nida's translation theory has undergone a transition from the tendency that translation is science to that translation is art. (3) Nida's basic translation thoughts can be summed up in the following three sentences: Translation is a communicative activity. Translation is to translate connotation. In order to translate meaning, it is necessary to change the form of language expression. (4) When it coms to the nature of translation, Nida proposed the famous concept of "dynamic equivalence", which was later renamed as "functional equivalence". Nida is the theorist who experienced these three periods and its theory and ideas saturate with a strong sense of their influence, therefore, this paper gives a brief introduction of the history of the contemporary American translation theory as exemplified by Nida's theory and other translators' theory.

4 The Characteristics of American translation theory

There are some mainly characteristics in the contemporary American translation theory. First of all, serialization and systematization of literary translation is the distinct feature of theory. After the World War II, lots of books of translation emerged in many countries. In terms of the whole western translation industry, the scope, forms, scale and achievements of translation after the Second World War are unmatched in any period in the history of western translation. German translation theorist P. W. Jumpelt called the 20th century "The Age of Translation"(Tan Zaixi, 113). Research institutions and publishing houses vigorously made full use of human and material resources to translate, edit and publish various series of books, so as to compile and systematize the translation and publishing of western classics. Secondly, the scale of professional translation is unprecedented. Although western literary translation continued to flourish in the decades after the second World War, the 20th century has come to be known as the "Age of Translation" mainly because of its expansion into other fields. Thirdly, the translation organizations are everywhere. After the end of world War II, translators in western countries had mushroomed to establish various translation associations and set up various translation publications. Each association had its own purpose and purpose to carry out its work effectively. There were more translators' organizations in the United States than in any other western country. There were thirty organizations of translators of all sizes, among which the most well-known are the American Society of Translators, the American Federation of Linguists and the American Association of Literary Translators. Besides, machine translation developed rapidly during these years. The advent and development of machine translation is a remarkable event in the field of modern translation. The last one is that the translation works appeared one by one endlessly. As mentioned above, one of the major features of modern western translation studies is to bring translation issues into the field of linguistic research. Translation theorists, under the influence of the structural theory, transformation theory, function theory, discourse theory and information theory of modern linguistics, from the perspectives of comparative linguistics, applied linguistics, sociolinguistics, semantics, semiotics, logic, anthropology and philosophy, this paper tries to give new meanings and new contents to the ancient subject of translation studies, to propose new research methods, theoretical models and translation skills.

5 The development of Nida's translation theory

It could be said that Eugene Nida is well known in the field of translation studies and linguistics in China, because his translation theory is the translation theory of contemporary foreigners introduced earlier after the opening of China's academic portal to the outside world, his translation view is also widely criticized by the domestic translation circle. During his academic career, Nida has worked in linguistics, semantics, anthropology, communication engineering, and other fields,also in Bible translation work. He is proficient in many languages, investigated more than 100 languages, especially some minority languages in Africa and Latin America. From 1945 to 1997, he has published more than 200 articles and nearly 40 books, both co-edited and co-edited. Among them, there are about 20 monographs on language and translation theory, and a collection of theses has been published. Eugene Nida, the famous American linguist and translation theorist, proposed the concepts of "formal equivalence" and "dynamic equivalence" in his book Toward a Science of Translating (4th issue) in 1964. Later, in order to emphasize the communicative function of translation and to instruct translation practice better, Mr. Nida perfected and integrated the two concepts into the theory of "functional equivalence". As Eugene A. Nida defines, “Translation consists in reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent of the source language, first in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of style.” Nida's definition of translation indicates that translation is not only lexical equivalence, but also semantic equivalence, stylistic equivalence and stylistic equivalence. The equivalence in "dynamic equivalence" includes four aspects: lexical equivalence, syntactic equivalence, text equivalence, style equivalence. Of these four aspects, Nida believes that meaning equivalence is the most important and form equivalence the second. (Nida, 2002:168) It is worth mentioning that this initiative is not to encourage students to focus on content and ignore form, but to pursue formal equivalence on the basis of content. The information conveyed by translation includes both lexical information on the surface and deep cultural information. “Functional equivalence” pursues the consistency of readers’ mental responses, that is, the psychological reactions caused by the target text to the target audience should be equivalent to the psychological response resulted from the original text to the target text audience, which is the highest level of functional equivalence and the essence of this theory. Only if the reader of the target text can understand and appreciate the translated text in the same way as the reader of the original text can the target text achieve the lowest level of equivalence, which is the minimum standard required for translation. It is generally known in the translation field that the best translation version should be like the original work, but not the translation text. For the purpose of functional equivalence between the source text and the target text and avoid “translationese” as much as possible, the translator needs to break the barriers of language structure and made a breakthrough in shackles of corresponding form between two languages, no matter in literary translation or scientific translation. From Nida’s point of view, the first problem that should be considered about to measure a translation version is to predict the readers’ reactions, and then to compare the responses of the readers and the original readers. In the Language, Translation and Culture, “functional equivalence” is defined as: the target language readers should be able to understand the translation in the same way as the source language readers. In this definition, it underlines the fairly similar feelings of the target language readers and the source language readers. The translators can find equivalence, restructuring forms and semantic deconstruction to achieve it, which involves “closeness”, “naturalness” and “equivalence”.

1）Early period—translation theory in a linguistic stage with distinct structural overtones

2) Middle period—Translation science theory and translation communication theory

3）Important Stage—Functional Equivalence and Functional theory of translation

4) Late period—sociosemiotic approach

6 Other translators' contributions

7 Conclusion

9 李双 History of translation theory of France from 20th century to the present

Hist_Trans_Theo_EN_9

Abstract

 Translation activities have a long history in France and its theories occupy an important position in the West. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the emancipation of the mind, the progress of science and technology and the transformation of society have reinvigorated the study of French translation theory and entered its heyday. This paper first summarizes the development of French translation studies from the 20th century to the present, then discusses the main translation theories of this period from the perspectives of translation and interpretation, and analyzes the influence of the society and other disciplines on the formation of the theories. Finally, it aims to have a clearer and comprehensive understanding of the development of contemporary French translation theories.

Key word

Introduction

1.Development of Translation studies in France from the 20th century to the present

2.Principle theories of written translation

2.1Philological school

2.2Linguistic school

2.3Poetic theory

2.4Cultural school

3.Principle theory of interpretation

Conlusion

References

10 杨堃 Translation Theories of modern China---from 1840 to 1949

Hist_Trans_Theo_EN_10

Abstract

Key words

Translation theories;the Westernization Group;the Reformation Group;the Revolution of 1911;the May fourth Movement

Introduction

1.Translation theories of the Westernization Group and the principal people.

2.Translation theories of the Reformation Group and the principal people.

3.Translation theories of the period of Revolution of 1911 and the principal people.

4.Translation theories of the period of the May fourth Movement and the principal people.

Conclusion

References

11 刘运心= History of Translation Theories in Ancient Rome

Hist_Trans_Theo_EN_11

11.1 Abstract

11.2 Introduction

11.3 Cultural and Historical Background

11.4 Translation theories

11.4.1 Translation Theories Originated from Translation Practices of Greek Classics

11.4.1.1 Marcus Tullius Cicero

11.4.1.2 Quintus Horatius Flaccus

11.4.2 Translation Theories Originated from Practices of Bible Translation

11.4.2.1 St. Jerome

11.5 Influences on Later Translation Theories

11.6 Conclusion

11.7 References

12 魏兆妍 The Development of Humanism Trend in Western Translation Theory

Hist_Trans_Theo_EN_12

Abstract

(I'd like to write this when I finished the whole writing.)

Key words

Western translation theory, Humanism trend, Poetics of translation

1. Introduction

From the 14th century, Europe began to enter the Renaissance. Dante, the last poet in the middle ages, completed The Divine Comedy in 1321. In Dante's mind, all human life experience, including life and death, must be explained by Christian faith in order to show its meaning and significance. This Christian worldview gradually degenerated with the emergence of individualism-centered humanism. All beings who submit to God are regarded as rational, unique and creative individuals. In the past years, translators were servants attached to God. Now they have shifted from God to focusing on the translator. Personal development has become the goal and value of life. Although humanist thinkers, writers and translators still maintain the Christian faith, they put more emphasis on personal creative potential and give full play to people's strengths. The focus of translation activities in this period also shifted from the classics of the Christian Church to the translation of more secular humanistic works.

With the invention of printing in the 15th century, education and schools began to be open to the public. Reading translated works from different countries is no longer a noble enjoyment. Through the wings of translation, words and information are transmitted in all directions and more quickly. For example, Marco Polo (1254-1324) told the story of his travels in China, which spread all over the European continent through printed words. The invention of printing not only brought about a cultural revolution, but also a sharp increase in the number of translations. With the emergence of new disciplines, great changes have taken place in the function of translation. Translation is known as the forerunner of the Renaissance. It can be said that without translation, there would be no European Renaissance and humanistic thought. Take the role of translation in English literature for example: "Translation played a great role in the British Renaissance: first, as a pioneer, it was countless translated works that first caused the mental climate of humanism. Second, translation was still active in the era of the restoration of the king's government, but attention has turned to French works. In the intervening years, that is, in the half century from 1558 to 1603 when Queen Elizabeth was in office, translation activities were more frequent, and famous translations also appeared the most frequently, which constituted a translation climax in the whole history of English literature. " （王佐良、何其莘。英国文艺复兴时期文学史。北京：外语教学与研究出版社，1996年，第72页）In the Queen Elizabeth era, translation reached an unprecedented prosperity, and good translations of famous works continued to emerge. In the following 17th to 18th centuries, neoclassical literary translation surpassed the previous stage. Translation is particularly important to the development of modern English language, literature and culture.

In Europe, the writers, thinkers and scholars in this period were translators who knew several languages, translation and creation were closely linked. A large number of scholars and poets have expressed their opinions on translation. From the 14th to the 16th century, the most representative was Dante's "untranslatability of literature" in Italy (1265-1321); Erasmus of the Netherlands (1466 - 1536) relied on the translator's language knowledge in the translation of The Bible; The translation of German Luther (1482 - 1546) must adopt the language of the people; The translators in Dore’s mind (1509-1546) in France must understand the original content, be proficient in two languages, avoid word for word translation, adopt popular form and pay attention to the "five translation principles" of beautiful style; Poetry translation in English Chapman's(1559-1634) mind can not be stiff translation, and the poetry translation method of "rebuilding a new image" can be used.

From the 17th to the 19th century, the representative figures were as follows. Abranco of France: the translation method of “the beautiful unfaithful ones” which emphasized literariness and readability; Bartow (1731-1780) : accurate translation view of "the author is the master and the translator is the servant"; Dryden (1747-1841) of England: three translation principles of "literal translation, free translation and imitation translation"; Tytler (1747-1814): three translation principles of "the translation must completely reproduce the thought of the original work: the style and tone of the translation must be consistent with the characteristics of the original; the translation must be as smooth as the original." ; Humanistic thinker Herder (1744-1830) of German Romanticism: made a pioneering thinking on the language, nationality and the characteristics of relativism in translation. Goethe (1749-1832) of German: called the translator as "the prophet of the people"; Humboldt (1767-1835): expressed the views on translatability and untranslatability which had a great impact on the 20th century. The foreignization translation method of Schleiermacher (1768-1834) in the later stage has influenced the deconstructive translation theory of the 20th century. For the above representative figures and different translation views, due to the limitation of the length of the article, this paper will discuss some of the representatives according to the development sequence of the history of translation theory.

2. The "Rebels" Who Change the Traditional Concept of Translation

2.1 Etiene Dolet and Five Principles of Translation

2.2 Martin Luther and the Tongue of the Common Man

2.3 A Man Who Has Dedicated His Life to Translation

3. The Embodiment of Muse: Poetics of Translation

3.1 George Chapman: Decorate the Translation with Beautiful Words

3.2 John Denham: Fluent Poetry Translation

3.3 John Dryden's Three Principles of Translation

3.4 Alexander Pope's Translation of Homer Epic

4. The National and World Visions of Translation

4.1 Language Shapes the National Identity: Johann Gottfried Herder and Wilhelm von Humboldt

4.2 The Soaring Literary Translation: Johann Wolfgang Goethe and Friedrich Holdern

5. Conclusion

References

13 吴婧悦 History of Translation Theories in the Soviet Union

Hist_Trans_Theo_EN_13

Abstract

Key words

Translation theories, Western translation theories, Soviet Translation theories

Introduction

1. The evolution of Translation Theories in the Soviet Union.

2. The specific genre of the Soviet Translation Theories.

3. The famous Soviet translators.

3.1 TheTranslation Theories of S. G. Balkhdarov

3.2 The Translation Theories of E. A. Kashkin

Conclusion

References

14 杨爱江 History of Chinese Translation Theories in the Republic of China

Hist_Trans_Theo_EN_14

Abstract

Before and after the May Fourth Movement, there is an unprecedented cultural revolution in the field of ideology and culture, the New Culture Movement. The main purpose of this movement is to enlighten the public and spread advanced idea and culture. They translate many books which are written in foreign countries. The translation theories are developed gradually in this process. The aim of this paper is to give a systematic description and analysis about the translation theories raised by those famous writers, such as Lu Xun and Hu Shi. Then we will have a comprehensive understanding about the translation theories from 1911 to 1949.

Key words

Translation theories, the Republic of China, Translators

1. Introduction

The New Culture Movement is also an important milestone in the history of Chinese literature. The literature changes greatly from form to content in this period, surpassing the literary changes of any past era.With the vigorous development of the New Literature Movement, literary translation has also entered the most glorious period in the history of translation. The journal “New Youth” which was founded by Chen Duxiu translated and introduced many foreign literature works, so did other associations and journals.

During this period, literary translation had two significant characteristics: First, the May Fourth New Literature translation was another translation climax following the climax of translating Western works. In Comparison with the climax of translating Western works, fundamental changes have taken place in the number of translation works as well as the quality of these works. The important sign is that the leading forces of translation in this period are revolutionary writers such as Lu Xun and Guo Moruo, who are first-rate literary translators. Under the active advocacy and hard work of these people, Chinese literary translation has achieved extensive and in-depth development, forming a positive translation style. At the same time, a large number of outstanding professional translators emerged, such as Zhu Shenghao and Fu Lei. Second, in comparison with translation of other foreign countries’ literature works, Russian literature works’ translation dominates in the society. In addition, translating works about Marxism is another important aspect in that period.

2. Some Debates in this Period

The prosperity of translation in the New Culture Movement brought about the vitality of translation theory, which made new advances on the translation work. Different translation methods were raised by different scholars. During this period, the vigorous literary revolution and the development of the vernacular literature movement promoted a thorough transformation of the translation style, boosting the transition of the traditional translation theories.

2.1 Literal Translation and Free Translation

The language structure and stylistic structure of English and Chinese have the same side. When translating the source texts, we can translate it according to the structure of the original text, which is the so-called "literal translation". The content of the original text is put in the first place, faithful to the original text the second. The smoothness of the target text is of the least importance of all. It is not only faithful to the original content, but also in line with the language and stylistic structure of the original text. On the contrary, free translation emphasizes that the content of the source text should be in the first place. What matters most is to express the meaning of the source text faithfully. Besides, the translator can be free from restriction of the form of the source language. But the target translation is required to be natural and smooth.

The first problem encountered in the development of the translation theory is the relationship between vernacular, classical Chinese, literal translation and free translation. Some thinks that literal translation should be used in vernacular, while free translation should be in classical Chinese. Using classical Chinese in free translation can reveal the beauty of Chinese to the most. Others deem that literal translation and free translation should be in vernacular. While the third view is that literal translation or free translation has nothing to do with vernacular or classical Chinese.

The common method in the translation process is to combine literal translation with free translation. Any good translation work will not just use a single translation method throughout the whole passgae. And the two translation methods are used together in the same translation work to maintain the accuracy of the original content and avoid ambiguity.