A Study Of The Translator’s Subjectivity From Yu Guangzhong’s Chinese Versions Of The Old Man And The Sea

As Hemingway’s masterpiece,The Old Man and the Sea has more than 20 Chinese versions that are collected in the National Library of China.Translators,in the different social status or from different social periods,can understand the original works from different perspectives,so the translation versions may be distinctive as well.In this case,Yu Guangzhong,who translates The Old Man and the Sea twice,has become one of the most representative translators.His first version was translated in 1957 when Yu Guangzhong graduated from the university in Taiwan,and the second version was published after five decades in Mainland China with more than one thousand different points from his first version.Thus,it can be seen that the translator’s subjectivity cannot be ignored in the translating process.The translator’s subjectivity refers to a kind of subjective initiative of the translators influenced by external environment and their own vision in order to meet the needs of the target language culture in the translation activity.With the “culture turn” in the western translation field,the status of translators comes to be noticed.In the meanwhile,scholars from different fields focus on the subjectivities of the translators.Under this circumstance,Chinese scholars also focus on the identity of the translator’s subjectivity and the application in the translation practice.This thesis aims to make an analytical study on the translator’s subjectivity in the two versions of The Old Man and the Sea translated by Yu Guangzhong based on George Steiner’s fourfold translation motion which includes trust,aggression,incorporation and compensation.In each of the stages,the author selects some particular characteristics to probe to the manifestation of Yu Guangzhong’s subjectivity in his two versions through a comparative analysis.The purpose is to illustrate the embodiment of Yu’s translator’s subjectivity not only in his translation thoughts,but also in his translation practice.Yu’s versions have been characterized both in the source language and the target language.The first version is similar in form to the original text with Yu Guangzhong’s own poetical words.Fifty years later,Yu pays more attention to the meaning and style of his new version that became much more smooth and concise to conform to the target language characteristics and close to the writing style and culture of the original.The second version on the basis of the first one is more vivid and easier to be understood by the target language readers.Hence,the role of Yu’s translator’s subjectivity can be seen obviously.In conclusion,the emergences of different versions aim to adapt the different social background in their own periods.Under the sociocultural circumstance,every version can be the proper one to the target readers at the time.Along with the progress of the society,the cultural changes and the development of the translator’s own language skills,the translator’s subjectivity has played a more important role in the process of translation,and the translation version also becomes more acceptable and popular.