On The Persuasive Aspect Of Translation: Theoretical Foundations And Case Studies

From the perspective of Translation Studies and Rhetoric, this dissertation focuses on the subject of'the persuasive aspect of translation', endeavors to provide a novel angle to look at the problems of translation and offers a framework for meaningful analyses of translation as persuasion. Generally speaking, the paper consists of two major parts, namely, theoretical review and case analysis, to discuss in a relatively comprehensive and systematic manner the import of the view'the persuasive aspect of translation' as well as the illumination it can bring to the field of translation and translation studies. The theoretical part mentions many important western and Chinese scholars and their theories that cover subjects of linguistics, rhetoric, aesthetics, hermeneutics, poetics, philosophy, sociology and so on, to identify relevant views and contentions which can support the argument of'the persuasive aspect of translation'. The cases part comprises analyses of particular examples concerning different areas and various text types, including literary works, advertisements, tourist texts and legal documents, while the analyses are done in regard to textual features, factors that may affect the power of persuasion and correspondent strategies to adopt, etc. to ensure the persuasive effects among target readers.From the western angle, the ancient Rhetoric Theory of Aristotle is the starting point for us to establish translation as a human activity capable of persuading readers who are actually persuadees in the rhetorical sense. By analyzing translation in the aspects of ethos, pathos and logos, we get to understand the qualities and concerns required of a translator to make his translation more persuasive. Tytler, Dryden and Dolet have pointed out the guiding principles of translation, which are also the basic rules translators have to observe in the act of translating. Skills and techniques can be exerted to enforce persuasive power, but the rules function to regulate excessive maneuver that may violate the nature of translation. George Steiner's hermeneutic motion approaches the matter from a more or less philosophical and psychological aspect with subjective concern, and may enrich our perceptions about translators' mental activities during the process of translation which is also a course of constructing persuasion. Meanwhile, it illustrates again that translation as a human activity to understand and interpret things can never be prejudice-free or avoid subjective attachment as it relates not only to personal experiences and individual traits but also to social, cultural and historical backgrounds and conditions. Eugene Nida makes clear the differences between formal equivalence and functional equivalence and the significance for a translator to make the right choice of translation strategy. To produce an agreeable and natural translation with concern for receptors will endow the work with strong persuasive power. Peter Newmark reveals that the act of translation as a way of persuasion is fundamentally to produce the best preferred interpretation of the original that dispels all other less persuasive alternatives, likened to the part-and-whole relationship of semantic and communicative translations. Speech Act Theory works from the linguistic point of view to look at translation as a piece of speech act embodying dimensions of locution, illocution and perlocution with potential frames that construct both explicit meanings and implicit connotations. In particular, it helps us realize the persuasive effects of translation achieved at different levels. Skopos Theory has obvious advantages over other previous translation theories and seems most applicable to my arguments, though it still possesses inherent limitations which may be overcome by the rhetorical view of translation as persuasion.From the Chinese angle, some scholar pursue in aesthetic activities the supreme ideal of natural and truthful representation which is demonstrated by 'the Theory of Ching-chieh'("境界说")and the idea'to accord with what is nature'("合于自然")mentioned in Jen-Chien T'zu-Hua(《人间词话》)of Wang Guowei (王国维), and concepts of'true beauty'("真美")and'natural aspiration'("自然英旨")in Categories of Poems (《诗品》) of Zhong Rong(钟嵘)These views are enlightening as they point out the ultimate goal to achieve for a translation to reach the state of consummation, which also represents the highest level of persuasion, or in other words, to be persuasive, a translator should strive to produce cogent renderings that read natural and delightful. Then, it touches upon Yan Fu (严复)'s criteria of'faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance'("信,达,雅")which seem to coincide with Tytler's principles to a great extent. He laid out the laws for translators to observe, which can also be understood as the rudiments of translation to regulate the degree of creativity and extent of persuasive handlings. Besides, FuLei(傅雷)'s view of'spiritual conformity'(''神似"), Qian Zhongshu(钱钟书)'s 'sublimed adaptation'("化境") as well as Si Guo(思果)'s opinion about translation 'like salt melted in water without any trace'can be understood in Nida's sense of functional equivalence, which all point out the special quality of translation that can help achieve favorable effects among receptors, or make the work more persuasive. Daoan(道安)'s 'five kinds of losing original features'and'three kinds of being not easy'("五失本,三不易"),Qian Zhongshu's notion of'error'("讹"), Fu Lei, Qian Gechuan(钱歌川)as well as Yu GuangzhongC余光中)'s related comments serve to reveal the inevitability of alteration in translation which actually asserts the necessity of persuasive dealings by translators, convergent with Nida and Newmark's relevant views. Similar to the suggestion of Steiner's hermeneutic motion and Newmark's theories, many Chinese scholars, such as Lin Shu (林纾), Guo Moruo (郭沫若) and Fu Lei, were aware of the subjective elements that are bound to be involved in any translation, which in essence concerns the matter of individuals'subjectivity dominating the persuasive activity of translation. Moreover, the Chinese always value the idea of harmony and Doctrine of Mean, and therefore, they propose in translation unity of plain words and elegant forms, or concern for both substance and style, which ensures adequate representation and balanced degree of manipulation in persuasion. Hui Yuan (慧远) early mentioned this view in translation of Buddhist scriptures and later, Liu Xie(刘勰)elaborated further in his work The Literary Mind Carves Dragons (《文心雕龙》) on this point, which seems remotely echoed, as it were, by Nida's opinions to a certain extent. Finally, we find some Chinese scholars and translators, such as Xuan Zang (玄奘), Lin Yutang (林语堂)and Ba Jin(巴金), highly concerned with choice of translation strategies and advocate compromise and balance in actual translation, which according to the view of this paper, not only suggest the favorable condition of persuasion, but also serve a prelude, so to speak, to Newmark's illustrations about semantic and communicative translation.After sketching out the theoretical framework, the paper tries to identify relevant theories that can guide our translation of particular text types, and analyzed the features of different texts, decide upon the factors that may affect the persuasive effect of each case, and point out the strategies that can help enhance the power of persuasion among target groups. Specific to the features of literary works as exemplified by Yang Xianyi's translation of Lu Xun's work A True Story of Ah Q, we have observed that factors of language, culture, tradition, environment and history, etc. should be seriously considered in translation, and the issues of style and tone are also important to determine the final effect on readers. The language in literary translation should be lucid, expressive and artistic. Then, due to the diversities in language, culture, tradition, history, as well as the general public psychology and emotion of different countries and peoples, translation of ads have to consider many factors and adopt various strategies to ensure successful communication and cogent advice. The advertising language is usually manifest and brief to offer sufficient information, novel and creative to affect audiences, and melodious and impressive to be memorable and long-standing. In tourist translation, the aim is to transfuse information and attract tourists, and thus the translator has to pay close attention to the linguistic and cultural differences between Chinese and English tourist writings, so as to produce comprehensible and desirable versions of translation that can work well to persuade and appeal. Besides, the tourist language is usually plain for public consumption, informative to offer sufficient information, and appealing to grab people's attention. Since the Chinese and English legal discourses bear inherent differences, the translator will mind the linguistic and cultural factors in legal translation with special concern for terminologies, conventions and forms of expression standardized in the source and target languages respectively, so as to employ suitable strategies and materialize proper transfers. Besides, the language in legal translation must impress the readership as being accurate, logical and forceful to facilitate comprehension of and enforcement upon the addressees.Based on the above presentation, the dissertation concludes by summarizing several important features of translation that may guarantee successful persuasion, i.e. logic, appropriateness, artfulness, and balance. This of course may have direct implication for a qualified translator to be, as is briefly mentioned on the last pages of the paper.