On Translator's Role In Fiction Translation From The Perspective Of Narratology

The present study attempts to apply some concepts of narratology, namely, implied author, implied reader and narrator to fiction translation practice and translation criticism. Through the analysis of the relationship between the translator and the above roles who play a significant part in the interpretation of the source text and the production of the translation text for the translator, it further explores the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that affect the translator's choice which will offer a comparatively objective criterion to fiction translation criticism.Modern narrative theory derived from France in 1960s and grew rapidly after that. One of its notable features is that it focuses on the text level, such as the structure, devices and rules of narrative works, mainly of fictions, rather than some external factors such as readers, political environment and ideology, therefore, it is instructive to the text-centered translation study.In the West, narrative theory has passed through two stages:classical narratology and post-classical narratology, while in China, narratology is a combination of traditional Chinese literary theory and the Western theoretical sources. This thesis will give a brief introduction to Narratology including its definitions and study categories, as well as some related concepts such as real author and implied author, real reader and implied reader, narrator. Then it will further explore the differences, similarities and relationships among them.The implied author, the author's "second self", is an ideal, literary, created substitute of the author, the sum of his own choosing, with a stable and unified image easier for the translator to grasp than the complex characters and views of the real author. The implied reader is an ideal reader conceived by the author. He can not only accurately understand the contents and connotations of the work, but also shares fully the same thoughts, feelings and values in the text with the real author. An ideal translator in the real author's mind should first be an implied reader with the purpose of a faithful reproduction of the meaning, style, emotions and values.Narrator, put simply, is the one who tells the story in the text. Each narrating act involves at least a narrator and a narratee who listens to the former in the same story level. Distinguishing narrator and implied author is beneficial for the translator to the understanding of the implied author's intention.As the diagram illustrates in the thesis, the translation process involves not only two main factors:the author and the translator as traditional opinion, moreover, some roles, namely, implied author, implied reader and narrators also take part in the communication channel, though have not called sufficient attention. The communication virtually happens between the implied author and the implied reader.As a literary type, fiction is rich in narrative features such as the narrative type, narrative elements and narrative style. Moreover, the author of fiction usually delivers its aesthetics, ethics and values in a subtle way. In the interpretation of the source text, in order to grasp the author's narrative skills, reproduce the original narrative features, and deliver the author's values, the translator should fully understand the implied author and the narrators'true intentions, put himself in the position of an implied reader. Thereby, during the translation process, an ideal translator should try to keep his implied author in the translated text and the implied author in the source text as close as possible. However, in practice, the translator often cannot achieve it which results in different extents of deviation of his implied author from the implied author in the source text.For the translator, implied author and implied reader are of the same crucial significance. The translator should pay attention to the uniqueness of the narrative style and rhetorical device so as to convey them accurately. Furthermore, it is essential to dig out the ideological and cultural contents deep in the text, to keep close to the implied reader of the real author. The source language text orientation leads the translator to approach to the implied reader of the original text; therefore the translation is close to the source text; if source language text orientation is not kept while the translator approaches to his own implied reader, deviations from the original occur inevitably. The distance from the implied author and the implied reader determines the fidelity of the translated product:in meaning, culture and values, etc..As a reader of the original text and an author of the translated text, how the translator chooses a position in the translation and why he makes such choices?However, it is rough to put a label "qualified" or "unqualified" on a translation just according to the distance from the implied author and the implied reader of the translator in translation criticism. Except for the translator's bilingual capability translator and culture literacy, the translator's internal motivations, the external factors and readership of the translation should be taken into consideration to make a comprehensive evaluation.In the case of Chinese classical novel Hongloumeng, its two full English versions translated by the Chinese translators Yang Xianyi and Gladys Yang, and the British Sinologist David Hawkes are praised as milestones in Chinese-English translation. Due to the distinctions in motivation, cultural concepts, patronage, etc. between them, the Yangs stand closer than Hawkes to the implied author of Hongloumeng. The Yangs'version, comparatively speaking, represents the implied author's real intention which is helpful to the spread of Chinese cultural and social features. As to Hawkes, he meets the real readers'-common English readers'needs when he deviate from the implied author of the original text. As it has proved that the two versions are unreplaceable.Therefore, the introduction of narratological theory to fiction translation study provides translation criticism with new criteria in the the textual level which is useful to avoid an impressionistic or subjective tendency to fiction translation criticism.