On Self-translator’s Initiatives From The Perspective Of Deconstruction

Self-translation is the act of the original author translating his own works, which isa far cry from traditional translation practices. Consequently, it challenges manystereotyped opinions on translation and evokes many arguments and disputes over theinnate characteristics of translation. So the study of self-translation has drawn wideattention in the academic circles.The role played by a self-translator is distinct from the function of either theauthor or the translator. Firstly, self-translators can translate their own works in theircapacity as both the translator and the original author. Therefore, they can take theirown initiatives in deconstructing the source text. Secondly, self-translators can alsoplay a vital role in language and culture. In this regard, they try to bring the differencesbetween two cultures into harmony. From the perspective of deconstructionismtranslation theories, self-translators are endowed with great initiatives, and the processof self-translation can also be deemed as a deconstruction of the source text and areconstruction of the target text.A case study of Lin Yutang’s self-translation from English into Chinese revealsthat his initiatives are reflected on three different levels, that is, vocabulary, syntax andcultural information. On the vocabulary level, Lin bravely uses a lot of Chinese idiomsand expressions to achieve a more comprehensible translation for the reader.Syntactically, a large number of changes are made to the original sentence patterns,resulting in a more understandable translation with pure Chinese syntax characteristics. In terms of culture, out of the need for a more tangible cultural atmosphere, Lin alsoboldly alters and omits part of the source text which might lead to culturalmisunderstanding, and resorts to a great number of culture-loaded expressions andeven vulgar expressions. He even goes so far as to replace the original western culturalphenomena with Chinese ones. In a word, Lin’s translation works, in which varioustranslation strategies are made use of, embody the initiatives of self-translators.