| In Communication Studies, communication is a process in which a source system produces an effect on its target system by manipulating the selectable symbols, either linguistic or non-linguistic. These symbols are transferred and exchanged, aiming to realize the sharing and communication of information. Communication is a common phenomenon in our society and it is in essence a sharing and exchanging of information. Communication Studies focuses its research on the use of symbols, the rules of using symbols and the users of the symbols in communication. In other words, Communication Studies hopes to discover what occurs in human communication and how it is accomplished by means of certain symbols. With the development of our society and the deepening of our understanding about translation studies, translation is essential for the exchanging and communication of information when employing different languages, and translation studies are indispensable to the language, the language use and the language users. In this sense, translation has a strong bearing on Communication Studies.Communication and translation share the nature of the dissemination and exchanging of information. The two major questions in Communication Studies are how to convey the source information to the target receivers and how to make the senders'intentions realized through this process. We also face a similar situation in translation. What are special lies in the fact that communication in a general sense is often intra-lingual and intra-cultural, while translation as a special communication is inter-lingual and inter-cultural. Thus there is only one main sender in general communication, while translation involves at least two senders. All these differences make translation as a mode of communication more complicated, yet the theoretical framework of Communication Studies still manifests a strong feasibility and reasonability in translation studies.According to Lv Jun, professor at Nanjing Normal University, a very clear idea about the nature, the task and all the factors involved in translation is a must for selecting a theoretical framework for translation studies. In his opinion, translation is a special kind of communication, a cross-cultural communication by nature. Translation, no matter in what form, is for sharing and exchanging of information. It aims at effective human communication. In Communication Studies, communication is a purposeful social activity; it is a process of information exchange during which all factors including sender, channel and receiver etc., correlate with one another and form a dynamic, integrated system. Translation is of the same character as communication. It is actually a system of information exchange involving the author, the source text, the translator, the target text and the reader. All these elements interact with one another on one hand and are open to the context on the other hand. From the perspective of Communication Studies, translation is a purposeful communication that overcomes the interruption of noise and thus achieves the expected communication effect among the receivers.C-E translation for global communication (CETGC for short) is first of all a type of translation, which will definitely follow the rules of translation in general. However, the features that distinguish it from translation for general purposes have not received enough attention. With communication as its ultimate goal, CETGC can find a solid foundation and strong support in Communication Studies. The combination of these two should provide a very meaningful and enlightening approach. With the acceleration of globalization and flourishing international communication, CETGC has attracted more attention from people in this field, and the demand for CETGC has risen considerably. Relevant papers or works on this topic however are very limited. The significance of a comprehensive and systematic study of CETGC is self-evident.This dissertation proposes a perspective of Communication Studies on the study of CETGC, with the hope of providing a relatively comprehensive and systematic theoretical framework for CETGC and offering pragmatic guidance for its practice. This perspective provides a good answer to many questions about what, how and why, and thus enriches and deepens the study of CETGC. This dissertation borrows the general ideas from Communication Studies on a macro level to form a good foundation for the further development of this study. Based on an overall picture of Communication Studies and the related research done at home and abroad, this dissertation expounds upon the nature, the features and the working principles of CETGC. This study is based on qualitative and quantitative methods, and the quantitative analysis helps to justify the discussion and points addressed.This dissertation comprises five chapters. Chapter One gives a brief introduction to the research background, theoretical framework, the major questions to be addressed, the significance, the research methods and the layout of the study. It is a bird's eye view about the dissertation.Chapter Two begins with a literature review of communication studies including the two major schools, the three principal sources, the four social functions and the five important contributors to this field. The following overview of the subject by various experts at home and abroad and the translation strategies on the China-specific words and cultures by the American mainstream media (e.g., Time and Newsweek) justify the feasibility and reasonability of a communicative perspective on translation study. The gate-keepers and the readers in translation from a communicative approach are also discussed.Chapter Three is a communicative perspective on C-E translation for global communication. Certain terms such as propaganda, publicity and communication, domestic publicity, foreign publicity and international communication are clarified. By summarizing various English versions of Waixuan Fanyi, C-E translation for global communication (CETGC) is suggested as its English counterpart. This chapter further defines CETGC as a special communication—inter-lingual and cross-cultural. More specifically, CETGC should play the role of not only a bridge but also a stage, and it should be done through a dialogue mechanism. The languages and cultures of China and West are so different that we need to build a bridge to link the two. Owing to the strong force of English language and culture, we tend to adapt ourselves to the expressions and images known to westerners so that the bridge will work smoothly. So in building a bridge, we try to find out the likeness or similarity between each other. However, with the coming era of information and globalization, we both Chinese and westerners, belong to a global village. We are more open-minded to various different or unfamiliar cultures, and we are ready for freshness and innovation. More importantly, with the deepening reform and opening-up to the outside world, China has taken on a new look and played an important role in the world arena. There are more and louder voices for getting to know China. Therefore, it is an urgent call as a platform for China to manifest herself to the rest of the world. As a Chinese saying goes, if there is no common ground, a single word is a waste of breath. To be more exact in the translation strategy of CETGC, there should be a proper balance between domestication and foreignization—domestication at the discourse level and foreignization in cultural contexts. Next an attempt is made to point out the five distinctive features of CETGC, i.e., being accurate, reader-oriented, purposeful, politically-conscious and challenging. Finally two basic working principles for CETGC are advocated—fidelity of information (accuracy in quality and adequacy in quantity) and validity of communication (readability and acceptability in form and content). All these efforts lead to a desired communicative effect.Chapter Four conducts a case study on China Today, a pioneering model of English periodicals in China's international communication. We take this magazine as our study subject because we hold that 1) China Today ranks in the list of"big brother"in the field of China's international communication. It originated in 1952 with English as its working language and has enjoyed a very good reputation among overseas readers ever since. 2) China Today is published by a non-governmental organization—China Welfare Institution, and the folk color and taste are more popular with foreigners from a communicative perspective. 3) China Today focuses on the subjects of economy, society and culture, and there are many Chinese-specific words or culture to be covered. It seldom touches upon the topics of politics in a bold and evident way, which wins itself more readers. 4) The strong reader-consciousness, as well as the open-mindedness of the staff members and their great contributions to the exchanging of Chinese cultures in international communication deserves our attention and a second thought. This chapter develops at both a lexical and discourse level, seeing the trees and the forest as well. Words are the minimum meaningful unit in our communication, and they also act like a mirror reflecting the characteristics and changes of the society in a most straightforward way. The organization of discourse, on the other hand, makes all the words or phrases a complete picture. By summarizing a little more than 1,200 words or phrases carefully selected from among China Today issues between the year 2001 and 2007, it is found that most of them are treated in a manner of foreignization so that the original Chinese flavor can be retained as much as possible, i.e., transliteration, literal translation, combination of transliteration and literal translation, transliteration plus annotation or literal translation plus annotation. At the discourse level, the translation is discourse-based for the sake of readability and acceptability in form and content so that some adaptation in domestication is easily seen. The adaptation includes amplification, simplification, and variation in wording or structural organization.Chapter Five concludes the dissertation. Based on the discussion in the previous chapters,further thinking about CETGC is first proposed, such as the fundamental translation criteria, the three leading subjects, a systematic and dynamic approach and the code of ethics. The present study is then summarized, pointing out the existing limitations and expecting a plan for further research.The major questions and points to be addressed are as follows:1. What is the significance and feasibility to base the study on Communication Studies?C-E translation for global communication (CETGC) distinguishes itself from other types of translation by highlighting the nature of communication and aiming at an expected communication effect. As an important way to carry on international communication and a special kind of communication, CETGC follows the general rules of Communication Studies. This perspective is supported by the background of information and globalization and gives a broader view on CETGC. It is an inter-lingual and inter-cultural communication of strategic significance, which should and will contribute to the exchange and development of different cultures. Through this perspective, it is hoped to provide a more comprehensive and systematic theoretical framework for CETGC and to offer a pragmatic guidance for its practice. This perspective provides a good answer to many questions about"what, how and why", and thus enriches and deepens the study of CETGC.2. What is the nature of C-E translation for global communication? How is it reflected by translation strategies?From a communicative perspective, CETGC is the dissemination of and exchange between Chinese and western cultures, and it is an inter-lingual and cross-cultural communication. To be more specific, it should play the role of not only a bridge but also a stage; it should be a dialogue rather than a monologue. Owing to the strong force of the English language and culture, we tend to use domestication in CETGC, but it is far from satisfactory in the era of information and globalization. Chinese-featured language and culture should be objectively manifested to the rest of the world. To make the voice from China loud enough to be heard and Chinese culture known to the world is the requirement of this era and the responsibility of the translator as a culture messenger. So the present study proposes a balance between domestication in discourse organization and foreignization at the cultural level. In a sense, China English finds a good use in CETGC. In a word, there are both"to do"and"not to do"rules in CETGC from a communicative perspective."To do"is to be in line with the rules of English language use, and"not to do"is not to be blindly controlled by foreign readers in the dissemination of cultures but to retain the Chinese characteristics as much as possible.3. What are the striking features of CETGC? What translation principles shouldbe followed to achieve the expected communication effect? The present study attempts to summarize the five features of CETGC—being accurate, reader-oriented, purposeful, politically-conscious and challenging. First of all, CETGC can be referred as a face project, and any mistake or flaw is rather vulnerable to exaggeration, so accuracy is critical. Being reader-oriented requires a clear idea of the audience. The more we know about the audience, the better effect we can achieve in communication. Intentionality stresses the point that CETGC is a purposeful activity, and top priority is given to the expected effect. Political consciousness means that we should always be politically alert in wording and remember the firm standpoint when talking about politics-related topics. Challenges come from the fact that new things and ideas are arising every second in the world. The freshness in meaning and time, however, makes it impossible to find an English counterpart in a dictionary or other reference books. Yet in no way can we give it up. In view of these features, two basic working principles for CETGC are advocated—fidelity of information (accuracy in quality and adequacy in quantity) and validity of communication (readability and acceptability in form and content), aiming at a desired effect in cross-cultural communication.4. What explanations or implications can this perspective provide for some unsettled questions such as the subjectivity in translation and the criterion of translation, etc.?The subjectivity in translation is a heated topic in translation study. There are many discussions about it but no consensus has yet been reached. Professor Xu Jun at Nanjing University has summarized the opinions into four categories—the author; the author and the translator; the translator and the audience; and the author, the translator and the audience. The communicative perspective justifies the three leading subjects in CETGC, namely, the author, the translator and the audience. They interact with one another and form a dynamic and integrated system.Translation criterion lies in the core of translation study. Many criteria have been put forward so far, such as Yan Fu's faithfulness, expressiveness and gracefulness; Fu Lei's likeness in spirit; and Qian Zhongshu's sublimation, to name just a few. They all have their own reasons for existence and popularity, yet they seem to be too demanding and abstract to be realized in CETGC. This dissertation proposes to define the fundamental criteria for it, i.e., the objectivity of information, the reasonability of understanding, the validity of the explanation, and the respect for the status of the source text. These workable criteria see the integration of stability and development, subjectivity and objectivity, and principle and flexibility. They are critical to what occurs in the process and what comes in the end.5. What insights can be gained from the translation strategy on Chinese-specificwords or culture by American mainstream media such as Time and Newsweek? Nowadays there is stronger interest among us Chinese in the translation of Chinese-specific words or culture by foreign media. Through a brief pragmatic analysis, it is found that foreignization is frequently seen in the publications, which seems contradictory to the norm. But that is not the case; in fact, this strategy can find a good support in communication theories. These American publications are reader-oriented, politically-conscious and open-minded. By way of foreignization, they try to get closer to the audience and to arouse their curiosity and interest by the freshness and uniqueness of language and culture. By doing so, they attempt to make their intentions realized. Along with the raging trend of globalization, people are more open-minded to different languages and cultures. China has shown to the world her significant role and indispensable contribution to the development of the human being. It is the right time for China to speed up her pace in relationship to the whole world. Language form can be different, while the amount and flavor of Chinese culture should remain unchanged as much as possible. There is much to be done in CETGC, combining the strengths of domestication and foreignization.6. What can China Today tell about international communication?This present study presents a case study on China Today, a pioneer publication in China's international communication. This study is conducted at both the lexical level and the discourse level. By summarizing a little more than 1,200 words or phrases carefully selected from among China Today issues between the year 2001 and 2007, it is found that most of them are treated in a manner of foreignization so that the original Chinese flavor can be retained as much as possible, i.e., transliteration, literal translation, combination of transliteration and literal translation, transliteration plus annotation or literal translation plus annotation. At the discourse level, the translation is discourse-based for the sake of readability and acceptability in form and content so that some adaptation in domestication is easily seen. The adaptation includes amplification, simplification, and variation in wording or structural organization. By doing so, the communicative demands can be well met. China Today owes its success to the proper balance of domestication in discourse organization and foreignization in cultural contexts. The case study provides valuable reference for further study on CETGC.In summary, this dissertation is based on the efforts and achievements of other experts and scholars. It proposes a communicative perspective on CETGC, with the hope of giving a relatively comprehensive and systematic theoretical framework to CETGC and providing some pragmatic guidance for the use. However, the wide and sophisticated scope of Communication Studies and translation study pose great challenges for the author, so this dissertation is only a"brick"thrown out to attract the"jade"from other master-hands. Any critical ideas or constructive suggestions would be highly appreciated. |
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