Translator Subjectivity From A Gendered Perspective

In traditional translation studies, "fidelity" and "equivalence" are regarded as translation standards to judge the quality of a translation. Translator subjectivity is suppressed under the domination of source-text-oriented approach to translation studies. Translators lose their voices in the text and become invisible. However, with the "cultural turn" in translation studies, more and more attention is paid to the political, economical, cultural and ideological factors in translation activity. Traditional translation concepts and standards are challenged and questioned. The original/author is no longer superior to the translation/translator. During this process, translator subjectivity is gradually recognized and justified.Feminist translation theory is the result of the latest development of translation studies and feminist movement, broadening the realm of translation studies and providing a unique perspective—gender perspective—to translation studies and especially the study of translator subjectivity. Taking "translator subjectivity from a gendered perspective" as its point of entry, this research tries to explore the foregrounding of translator subjectivity by feminist translation theory in terms of its theory and its practices. Firstly, in theory, feminist translation theory refuses to accept the traditional original/author-centered concepts. Instead, it emphasizes the equal status between the translator and the author. It reinterprets "fidelity" from a feminist perspective and argues that "fidelity" should be directed towards the writing project instead of the author or the reader. It regards translation as rewriting and a political act to foreground the female subjectivity. Secondly, in practice, feminist translators transgress the traditional bound of "invisibility" by their conscious choice of text and...