Towards A Textuality-Integrated Norm Theory In Translation

This dissertation is an attempt at theoretical"systematization"or"synthesis"in Translation Studies through a theoretical framework in terms of translation norms, i.e., a"norms"model of translation. At the present stage of its development, the young discipline of Translation Studies commits"childhood diseases"characterized by the current"motley"of bewildering approaches, perspectives and voices in the theoretical studies of translation. A few attempts at the systematization are found insufficient in theoretical comprehensiveness and practicability in translation teaching and practice for lack of textual considerations of the translating process. Based on existing theories of translation norms, this dissertation presents a framework of an expanded and reorganized set of translation norms by adopting the textuality standards from text linguistics as textual norms of translation, aspiring to describe and explain all the constraints on translational phenomena with theoretical consistency.The dissertation proceeds from examining the evolutions of major approaches to translation in the history of Translation Studies to trace their theoretical backgrounds, mutual interrelatedness in their main insights and arguments, to a norms'perspective of all these approaches to seek coherence and compatibility among the multiple approaches, followed by a perceived need of textual consideration in existing translation norms to be supplemented by"textuality"standards from text linguistics. A new classification of translation norms centered on"textual norms"is proposed, which comprises of"Textual Norms"and"Extratextual Norms".A theoretical model of translation like the one proposed in this dissertation must be able to account for the previous theoretical approaches while illustrating its own advantages. This is done in the present study by investigations into the main theoretical approaches to translation in Translation Studies (we term them as different perspectives of looking at or studying translation) in chapter two. Having traced their theoretical backgrounds, main arguments and their interrelationships in the history of Translation Studies as well as the recent developments in Translation Studies, six general tendencies in theorizations of translation are recognized. One of these tendencies is that different approaches to translation have changed from clashing and competing with each other to negotiation and inclusion, from segmentation to systemization. This tendency and the necessity for theoretical synthesis in translation theory is the internal motivation for the present study. The synthesizing capability of translation norms is then illustrated by explaining insights of other major approaches to translation (linguistically-oriented, socioculturally-oriented and philosophically-oriented ones) in terms of norms. In this process, a gap between the existing norms of translation and the actual operations in producing the target texts is perceived, which suggests that current studies in the area of translation norms lack a textual element/tool that may connect hitherto proposed translation norms with the target-text production process of translation.The present study attributes this lack of textual consideration to current norms theorists'reluctance and refusal to seek textual solutions/tools from the field of text linguistics, the scientific study of texts. The nature of translation as an interlingual communication towards the generation of a target text renders findings in the science of text relevant to a theory of translation. Therefore, Beaugrande & Dressler's textuality model with seven textuality standards (based on descriptions of real-life texts) is opted for as the best candidate for textual norms due to its effectiveness, efficiency, and economy in expression in turn elaborated in the present study. Thus a new category of Textual Norms of translation comprising seven textual norms is proposed, to be integrated with existing classifications themselves highly explanatory. Finally, in line with the differentiation in system theory between the internal/internal controls and external/external controls that characterizes any system, for the system of translation seen as a subsystem within the system of target culture, we differentiate Textual Norms as internal controls of the translation system that regulate the actual production of the TTs, from Expectancy and Cultural/power Norms as constituting Extratextual Norms that control or constrain the translation and translators. A new classification of translation norms is thus composed of Textual norms under the guidance of Extratextual Norms. The latter category, further subdivided into Expectancy Norms and Cultural/power Norms, concerns the areas covered by Toury's and Chesterman's classifications of translation norms.This new model of translation norms proposed first time in this dissertation is theoretically more comprehensive in covering both Toury's and Chesterman's areas of translation norms and the area of target text production in the translating process, more effective and coherent in categorization than existing classifications (of Toury's and Chesterman's) by differentiating the text-internal from the text-external norms of translation and relating them to concrete translation strategies for their realizations, and it is of potentially practical value to students and translation trainees through its considerations of target text production. Its capability to relate the main findings of diverse approaches to translation in a compatible discourse of translation norms qualifies itself as a holistic theoretical model of translation compared with other models in Translation Studies.