Changes Of Translation In The Context Of Hypertext

Hypertexts are a kind of multi-linear electronic texts, which contain at least two different types of sign elements connected by hyperlinks. On one side, numerous hypertexts have formed the Internet, which has become the translator’s new working environment in the digital age. On the other side, Localization, with hypertexts as its working content, has become the bulk of translation practice in the global language service market. Taking traditional translation as a comparison, this research explores the changes of translation in the context of hypertexts, and analyzes the impact that the changes have brought to translation as well as translation studies. Besides, it attempts to reveal the process and nature of translation by analyzing the phenomena of "multi-dimensional transformation of signs" in localization from an informational perspective. The discussions mainly focus on the following topics, namely, the characteristics of hypertexts and their corresponding impact on translation practice, translation ethics in the hypertext context, the impact caused by translation technology, the characteristics and potential rules of "multi-dimensional transformation of signs", the feasibility of "Intersemiotic Translation" of nonverbal signs. The research results suggest that, in hypertext context, translation has taken great changes in terms of text form, translation ethics, translation technology, translation process, translation subject, translation model and the translator’s cognition. Due to the utilization of Translation Memory and Machine Translation and the multimodal texts as his working objects, the translator’s cognitive process has also changed. The analysis of "multi-dimensional transformation of signs" suggests that translation by nature is an information flow crossing the border of two different sign systems. The process of sign transformation with information as its invariant core, can occur not only between verbal signs, but also between non-verbal signs. Translation has long been considered as a kind of transformation between languages. Since the concepts of translation and language indeed involve non-verbal signs, it is possible to include the transformation of nonverbal signs in the concept of intersemiotic translation. The new characteristics of hypertexts, such as multi-linearity, virtuality, multi-modality and interactivity, have led to great changes of translation. As a result of multi-linearity, the texts to be translated are often separated by computer language codes, and these are called "fragmented texts". Translating such fragmented texts usually lead to decontextualized translation, which makes the translator’s work more difficult than before. Interactivity of hypertexts offers readers or users opportunities to submit their own translation through the Internet. In the context of hypertext, a large translation project can be completed by the collaboration of a crow of volunteer translators, and this is called "crowdsourcing translation" or "fans translation". It is a kind of user-generated translation and has subverted the traditional relations among the writer, the translator and the reader. The online publishing and marketing of translation products has a lot to do with searching engines, such as Google, Badu, etc., and the translator must take into consideration of searching engine optimization, which is closely related to the translator’s choice of key words. Consumption of digital products is somewhat a kind of "sign consumption", and the digital translation shows much more concern for the target user’s experience. The working conditions of the translator also change significantly. His work is more complicated than before, and he is more dependent to the Internet.Translation ethics have long been an important topic in translation studies. In the hypertext context, the collective author and translator, the transitional step of internationalization, the adaptation to target culture in localization, crowdsourcing translation, have all brought new challenges to translation ethics. With the professionalization and commercialization of translation practice, more research is needed on the translator’s ethics.In the context of hypertext, translation technology has changed the traditional model. The texts to be translated are digital and very complicated, and translation practice is commercialized and industrialized, which promoted the development and application of translation tools. The utilization of Translation Memory and Machine Translation has improved the efficiency of translation. However, they also changed the translator’s subjectivity and creativity in his work and made him more dependent to them. The reuse of former translation by Translation Memory and the popularity of "Machine Translation+human post-edition" lead to desubjectivized translation. So far it is difficult to tell whether a translation is computer-aided human translation or human-aided computer translation. It seems that electronic tools are part of the translator’s body, and in some sense the translator has become a cyborg translator.The transformation of multi-dimensional signs in localization suggests that both verbal signs and non-verbal signs might have something in common. The existence of a sign depends on the interpretation of it with other signs, so translation is an essential property of signs. In this sense, any sign can be interpreted and translated. Information is reflection of object’s structure order in dimensions of time and space. Its existence is objective and is not dependent on human’s mind. A sign is the vehicle of information, and a human being receives information with the help of signs. The process of semiosis of verbal-signs is depicturization of signs from a high dimension to a low dimension, which actually is a process of information representation. The interpretation of a sign is a reverse process, that is, repicturization of signs, from a low dimension to a higher dimension, which in essence is the release of information. The research results suggest that, the nature of translation is the information flow crossing the border between two signs systems. The analysis of DNA transcription and protein translation in biology, and the compiling between advanced computer language and binary language also support this hypothesis. Translation contains three steps, namely, decoding, deverbalization and recoding. After the information is deverbalized, it might be stored in the translator’s mind in the pattern of bioelectrical or chemical signals instead of signs, which makes it possible for the translator to recode it in another sign system. The common characteristics of verbal signs and pictural signs are also studied. Under the framework of semiotics, it is possible to include non-verbal sign transformation in the scope of intersemiotic translation. This thesis contains seven chapters. The following shows more details for each chapter.Chapter One begins with the rationality and offers a brief introduction to the present situation of related research. Since most of the research with hypertext translation is published in terms of "localization", the common features and differences between the two concepts of "translation" and "localization" are also discussed. In the context of hypertext, great changes have taken place in many aspects of translation, including text form, translation ethics, translation tools, and translation process, etc. What impact the changes might bring to translation and translation studies is worth studying.Chapter Two first analyzes the differences between hypertext and printed texts, then it discusses the impact on translation practice due to the new characteristics of hypertexts. Taking printed texts as a comparison, the first section analyzes the new features of hypertext. The second section studies the changes of translation partially caused by the features of hypertexts, including multi-linearity, virtuality and interactivity. The third section discusses the changes in the translator’s working conditions in the context of hypertext.Chapter Three explores the challenges and impact that digital translation might bring to translation ethics. The first section analyzes the previous studies of translation ethics, and then it goes on to discuss the challenges digital translation brings to translation ethics. The second section discusses the translator’s ethics in the context of industrialized translation practice. The third section tries to discuss the new ethic problems in crowdsourcing translation.Chapter Four is concerned with the impact caused by the utilization of translation tools. The first section categorizes the electronic tools according to their different functions, and analyzes the reasons why so many electronic tools are used. The second section studies the impact on the translator’s cognitive process due to the use of Translation Memory tools. The third section first analyzes the reasons for the wide use of Machine Translation and then discusses its impact on translation model and the translator’s subjectivity.Chapter Five tries to conclude the characteristics and rules of multi-dimensional signs transformation in localization. The first section, with traditional literary translation as a comparison, analyzes the transformation of nonverbal signs in hypertexts translation. The second section tries to conclude the characteristics and rules of multi-dimensional transformation of signs. The third section analyzes the relations between verbal signs and pictural signs in hypertexts. The fourth section explores the changes in the translator’s cognitive process while translating hypertexts.Chapter Six explores the feasibility of including nonverbal-sign transformation in the scope of intersemiotic translation. The first section focuses on the relations among the concepts of information, sign, translation and language. The second section discusses the feasibility of nonverbal translation in the scope of intersemiotic translation. It first discusses whether the concept of translation could include the transformation of nonverbal signs. For more evidence, it also explores DNA transcription and protein translation in biology, and the compiling between advanced computer language and binary machine language. It also discusses the feasibility of translating pictural signs as well as their different degrees of translatability. Finally it analyzes some phenomena of intersemiotic translation in our daily life, and tries to interpret it in an informational perspective.Chapter Seven summarizes the main discoveries of the research, and points out its limitations. Some suggestions for further research are also offered.