1. 研究目的与意义
Traditional translation theories maintained that the quality of translation is measured by whether it is consistent with the original text and the original author''s writing purpose and intention, which degraded translators to a subordinate and marginal position. With “the cultural turn” researches in 1970s, TL-oriented studies entered the stage. The position of translators have been elevating since then. Gradually, the translator''s subjectivity is gaining more and more significance in translation studies.
Translator''s subjectivity plays an important role in translation studies. It gives us a glimpse into the evolution of translation theory and promote better understanding of the overall framework of Western translation researches in modern society. The understanding and translation of literary works has always been the focal point of translation studies. In view of the particularity of literary works, different translators presents different translations, and their translations often have their personal colors. Therefore, translators play a crucial role in the process of literature translation. The translator is the crux to successful translations, and only it is given proper attention can we solve miscellaneous problems and explore more translation skills. Currently, Many scholars researched the subjectivity of translators, but few people considered it in the situation of literature translation. What''s more, The Color Purple is a book with distinctive literary characteristics.
This thesis will systematically probe into the translator''s subjectivity in the process of literature translation and how some related factors affect the function of subjectivity so as to again shed light on the importance of the translator’s subjectivity in literary translation, enriching researches in this field and helping translators to seek balance under these influencing factors. What’s more, the thesis is aimed to promote the recognition of the significance of translators’ subjectivity in translation practices.
2. 研究内容和预期目标
The thesis will discuss and probe into the manifestation of translator’s subjectivity by analyzing the two Chinese versions of The Color Purple so as to trigger some inspirations for further translation practices.
The first part of the thesis is aimed to give an introduction and lay a foundation for the thesis. It will introduce the background of the translator’s subjectivity and its development. Then, the book The Color Purple and its writer as well as its translators will be briefly introduced. After that, The thesis will take two Chinese versions of the novel The Color Purple as an example to study and analyze the specific embodiment of the transistor''s subjectivity in the translation process from four different perspectives, which not only contributes to the study of the translator''s subjectivity, but also enriches the study of Alice Walker''s works.
3. 国内外研究现状
Traditional translation theories believe that translation is a matter of language. Dryden thinks that the translator is the slave of the original author, and the slave can only work in other people''s manor, but the wine produced belongs to the master.(Tan Zaixi, 1991). Such images as “a servant”, “a piece of transparent glass” or “an invisible person” demean translators as faithful servants of his two masters, namely the original author and the target reader. All the images described above are the embodiment of the traditional translation view.
The “cultural return” occurred in the 1970s, which laid stress on the translator’s subjectivity. After that more and more scholars began to pay attention to the targeted text and translators. Generally, the translator''s subjectivity refers to the translator''s subjective initiative in the process of translation in order to achieve the purpose of translation on the premise of respecting the target of translation. (Zha Jianming amp; Tian yu, 2003)
In Robinson''s book, translation is like driving. The translator is the driver, holding the steering wheel and driving to the destination. (Robinson, 1991) In 2004, she published a book named Who Translate(2004), and systematically analyzed her opinions on the subjectivity of translators. Benjamin was the first to question the principle of faithfulness in traditional theories. He believes that translation could not blindly pursue the similarity with the original. Translation is the continuation of the original life, which he compares to the afterlife. He believes that the translator''s task is to release the pure language which is confined in the original. (Benjamin, 1992) Bassnett believes that Translation is cultural rewriting, that is, manipulation. She highlights the translator''s understanding, interpretation, decision-making and manipulation in the process of translation, thus liberating the translator.(Bassnett, 1994) Lefevere believes that translation is a rewriting of the original and Susan Bassnett believes that translation is the process in which the translator manipulates the text. (Yuan Li, 1996) Venuti believed that the strategy of confrontation helps the target language to maintain the cultural differences, so as to draw the boundaries of the dominant value of the source culture and avoid forced domestication. (Venuti, 1992) However, although the translator is the focus element in the process of translation and plays a central role in the basic principles and procedures of translation, so far many scholars have focused on the comparison between the original and the translated works.
In China, Yuan Li(1996) also commented that the translator is the center of the translation cycle and the only subjective element, shedding light on the opinion of the subjectivity of translators. Xu Yun(2003) summed up four points of view. First, the translator is the subject. Second, the original author and translator are the subjects. Third, translators and readers are the main body of translation. Fourth, the author, the reader and the translator are all the subjects. According to Yang Wuneng, the main body of literary translation is still human beings. Both the original and the translation are just tools and carriers of Ideological and emotional exchange, and both are created by translators. In the whole process, the translator is at the center.（Yang Wuneng, 2002）Chen Daliang(2004) further analyzed the connotation of the subject of translation, denied that the original author is the subject of translation and holds that the translator is the only subject of translation. Zhu Xianlong believes that the translator''s cultural form, aesthetic standard, cultural value orientation, personal aesthetic, literary temperament and cognitive ability all label the translation as re creation. Each translator starts from his own views and it is difficult to achieve synchronization with the author. (Zhu Xianlong, 2003) Zhao Xia believes that in the process of translation, the translator should not only express the basic information conveyed by the original text, but also convey the aesthetic and cultural meaning of the original text, and reproduce the ideological information, aesthetic information and language style characteristics of the original text.(Zhao Xia, 2009) Lan Hongjun thinks that the subject of translation has different performances in different historical contexts. Now with the development of science and technology, the translator''s subjectivity has been restrained by the industrial intelligent translation. At the same time, the translator''s subjectivity has gained a new development platform, and the translator''s subjectivity has been highlighted unprecedentedly. (Lan Hongjun, 2017)
As for The Color Purple, it has received many criticism worldwide since its publication. Few scholars ever analyzed this book from the perspective of translator’s subjectivity. Many of them started from the specific perspective of gender, or Feminism. However, few scholars analyzed the translation of this book from the perspective of the whole translator''s subjectivity. Hu pan’s(2010) thesis is the most famous one.
Based on these researchers’ previous studies on the subjectivity of translators, this thesis will focus on the manifestation of the subjectivity of translators through a comparative study on different versions of The Color Purple.
4. 计划与进度安排
1.Introduction
2.General introduction of The Color Purple and Its Two Chinese Versions
3.Manifestation of The Translator’s Subjectivity in the Two Chinese Versions
3.1. Selection of the Source Text
3.1.1. Tao jie’s subjectivity
3.1.2. Yang Renjing’s subjectivity
3.2. Cultural Misunderstandings
3.3. Selection of translation strategies
3.4. Characteristics of Words
3.4.1. The Euphemism of Words
3.4.2. Emotional Expression of Words
3.4.3. The Cultural Color of Words
4. Conclusion
5. 参考文献
Bassnett, S. (1994). The Visible Translator. In other Words, 4:11-15.
Benjamin, W. (1992). The Task of the Translator. Chicago:The University of Chicago Press, 73-81.
Robinson, D. (1991). The Translator’s Turn. Baltimore:Johns Hopkins University Press, x-xvi, 261.
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