Toward A More Justified Gender Conscious Translation Criticism

Since the 1980s, with an increasing interest in gender studies, some scholars have consciously introduced the idea of gender into translation studies. Four fields of enquiry in translation studies have thus been gendered in varying degrees, including translation theory, translation history, translation practice, and translation criticism (Flotow 2004: 13). As early as in 1983, the American philosopher Margaret A. Simons criticized the English translation of Simone de Beauvoir's Le Deuxieme Sexe, with a special focus on gender issues. This symbolizes a new perspective on translation criticism. Other scholars in the West have since followed suit and contributed to the creation of a new discourse on translation criticism.It is not difficult to find, however, there are some weaknesses with most gender conscious translation criticisms. With a view to making it more justified and more extensively recognized, my study takes up the task to propose certain methodologies after a critical analysis of the collected examples.The study then proceeds to criticize from the gender perspective Prof. Howard Goldblatt's translation of Ji'er de Nu'er by Hong Ying, following the proposed methodologies that, hopefully, are to be supported by this case study.Despite the fact that most gender conscious translation criticisms are flawed, it is an important critical perspective, as it reveals much about the gender aspects involved in translation and the gendered nature of translation (Lotbiniere-Harwood 1991). Gender conscious translation criticism, as a potential field of enquiry, remains largely unexplored.