Some Problems On Translation And Retranslation

The retranslation of western classics into Chinese has been very prosperous in China since the 1980s. Many publishing houses have offered different versions for readers at different educational levels. By a comparative analysis of different versions, we can find the problems we are facing now.This thesis falls into four parts. Chapter One serves as an introduction, which includes a brief review of comparative studies of different versions of Pride and Prejudice in recent years; the task this thesis attempts to accomplish and its research methodology; a survey of the literary characteristics of Pride and Prejudice.Chapter Two is a literature review. It discusses some unsolved problems in translation and retranslation studies: translation criteria; translation strategies; the translator's subjectivity; the translator's sense of self-restraint and creativity; difficulties of retranslation and the necessity of retranslation. We believe that a translator's first duty is to be faithful to the source text, even though we are fully aware that absolute fidelity is never attainable. At the linguistic level, the degree of domestication may go to a larger extent so as to make the version conform to the modes of the target language, whereas at the cultural level, the degree of foreignization should go to a larger extent in order to retain the foreign cultural flavor as much as possible. Translator's subjectivity has been acknowledged, but the translator should be faithful to both the author and the reader, and should not express his/her own subjective ideas and intentions in translation. Translation should aim at a dialectical unity of "faithfulness" and "beautifulness". To achieve this, the translator should have both a sense of self-restraint and a sense of creativity.Chapter Three makes a comparative analysis of the five Chinese versions of the novel from the perspectives of the representation of original style, recreating the aesthetic effect and proper transfer of cultural elements.We find Wang Keyi's version is faithful to the source text and he domesticates not only in language but in culture. Sun Zhili's strategies of foreignization and domestication make his version succeed in retaining foreignness of the source and conveying aesthetic beauty thoughhe slips occasionally in dealing with cultural elements. Zhang Yang and Zhang Ling's version remedies the formers' in terms of culture, but does not surpass them in language. Lei Limei's version can use four-character compounds properly and avoids the culture traps, but he ignores the style of the source text. Zhang Jinghao's version tends to be misleading and can not be regarded as a success.In conclusion, this thesis makes some suggestions on how to choose appropriate translation strategies and how to retranslate. The author finally points out the limitations of this thesis.