On The Translator's Subjectivity In Literary Translation: A Study Of Nickname Translation Of Shuihuzhuan

Through a case study of four English versions of nicknames in Heroes of the Marshes (Shuihuzhuan), this thesis attempts to investigate translators'subjectivity in literary translation according to hermeneutics and the aesthetic theory of reception. Furthermore, the thesis discusses some manipulation factors such as special social history, ideology, and ethics, etc. that constrain a translator's subjectivity.Hermeneutics is a term which, in its broadest sense, describing the interpretation of meanings—explication, analysis, commentary. There is no absolutely objective understanding of a text. For translators, meaning is always codetermined. The translators have certain freedom to recreate, so there may be different versions to a single source text. The aesthetic theory of reception insists on the construction of subjectivity in literature, which provides new methodological basis for literary translation. Some significant concepts in Reception Theory, such as"horizons of expectations"and"fusion of horizons", make people begin to view literary translation from an entirely new angle. The Horizon of Expectations refers to the range of values—aesthetics, economics, moral, religions, society, symbols, etc., which readers will encounter in an artwork according to the anticipation of a given audience. A fusion of horizons provides a more accurate picture of what happens in every transmission of meaning. The readers do not obtain the total meaning of a text until the achievement of"a fusion of horizons"between the text and the reader.Translators'subjectivity actually refers to their interpretative activity during their translation. Translators'subjectivity can be expressed in the following two ways: 1) Choosing an original text subjectively. 2) Actively participating in his interpretation of a text because of the presupposition existing in a translator.More attention to translators'subjectivity in translation study and practice, not only help improve the development of Chinese translation cause, produce more good translations, but also improve cultural communications and exchanges among different nations. Thus some translators of historical responsibility sense introduce and produce more translations of classical works. This research makes us think further how to judge the translator and his or her translation works from an objective, fair and comprehensive angle.