A Hermeneutics Study On The Translator’s Subjectivity In Advertising Translation

This thesis explores the translator’s subjectivity in advertising translation from the perspective of Hermeneutics. Author, translator and reader are closely related throughout the whole translation process. The translator has his/her own subjectivity, not a mechanical mouthpiece with no soul, but mostly we focus on author and the original works only and ignore the existence of the translator. Along with new translation methods, the translator’s subjectivity has received widespread attention and discussion as a hot topic in translation research. Hermeneutics is an artistic philosophy and science to expound the text meaning. The kernel of Hermeneutics is interpreting which makes those hidden behind the text apparent. Different scholars have different opinions on translation studies from the perspective of Hermeneutics. Although every scholar sticks to his/her own view, one idea is for certain: The common features between Hermeneutics and translation lie in understanding and interpreting, and Hermeneutics provides a new perspective for translation study.The advertising translation studies have made certain progress in the non-literary translation fields. And the studies on the translator’s subjectivity from Hermeneutics perspective are just purely theoretical studies or mainly focus on literary translation. It is a bold idea to make a study of the translator’s subjectivity in advertising translation from the perspective of Hermeneutics. Plenty of relevant articles and advertising cases show the similarities and interconnections in subjectivity between the literary translator and the advertising translator as well as the differences because of the characteristics of advertising style. For example, no matter literary translation or advertising translation, they both go through a complete translation process including selecting the text, understanding the text, transforming the language and generating the translation. While the purposiveness and effectiveness of advertising require the translator to pay more attention to the mandator and customers and some other factors. The interconnections confirm the rationality and feasibility of this thesis, and the differences extend the methods and scope of studies on the translator’s subjectivity, which has certain degree of innovation. This thesis makes an analysis on how the translator’s subjectivity impacts translation process with the CALIFORNIA PRUNE brand translation and some specific advertising translation cases in the light of George Steiner’s Fourfold Hermeneutics Motion. By detailed illustration of “Trust”(initiative trust), “Aggression”(understanding with “prejudice”), “Incorporation”(language transformation) and “Compensation”(keeping balance) these four stages, it is easy to find the translator’s subjectivity in every translation step and its influence runs through the whole translation process.