On Annotation In Literary Translation From The Perspective Of Thick Translation

This report is based on the translation practice of American writer Mary Gordon’s prose Home:What It Means and Why It Matters(Chapter 2)under the framework of the theory of thick translation to discuss the application of annotations in literary translation.Thick translation,a concept proposed by American scholar Appiah,refers to a kind of translation which "seeks with its annotations and its accompanying glosses to locate the text in a rich cultural and linguistic context" with the emphasis on the author’s intentions,the context,and cultural differences.It can provide the target readers with profound background information and allow them to understand the text better.Annotation is an important approach to achieve thick translation,which can be divided into explicit annotations and tacit ones.Explicit annotations usually refer to endnotes,footnotes and annotations with distinguishing markers while tacit ones refer to explanatory words or phrases added to the target text without distinguishing markers.The prose quotes views from a large number of writers,architects,theologians and others in different fields,involving a broad range of knowledge and a wide span of history with diverse target readers.Therefore,appropriate annotations on the proper names,background information,etc.should be added under the guidance of thick translation.This report discusses the classification,principles of annotation and the importance of annotation as applied in literary translation from the perspective of thick translation.Meanwhile,the subjects requiring annotations are divided into five categories,i.e.,proper names,background information,translation terms,quotations and errors in the source text,and annotation strategies are explored under different categories.Through the combination of explicit and tacit annotations,the target text will be located in a rich cultural and linguistic context as some supplementary information is added or integrated into the text.It can remove the understanding barriers of the target readers,and improve the readability and literariness of the translation.