The Ideological Analysis Of Translation A Case Study Of The Translation Activities During 1980's In China

The study of translation has long been restrained to the analysis of texts, with much emphasis on faithfulness and equivalence between source texts and target texts but little attention to analysis beyond texts. Since translation is a complex social activity that shoulders the mission of cultural communication, it is absolutely necessary to study translation from the perspective of culture, which will contribute greatly to the development of the research on translation.It is true that ideology, as an important factor of culture, has had impact on translation, but it was not until recent decades that sincere and deeper study on it begun. With the development of the study on translation, many scholars have shifted their focus from the perspective of linguistics to culture, and 1990s witnessed a historic turn to a more grandeur sphere-culture. The relation between texts and the external fields, such as history, culture, ideology, has received more and more attention.The theme of this thesis is to research on the relation between translation and ideology. The theoretical basis is Lefevere's rewriting theory which views translation as a historical, social and intercultural rewriting activity. Moreover, the background of the research sets on the translation activities and products in China in the 1980's. This thesis consists of four chapters.Chapter one is the theoretical basis. In this chapter, the author will center on the development of translation studies, reviewing the traditional model of translation studies,"cultural turn", and the previous research on the question raised in the thesis. Andre Lefevere's theory of translation as a rewriting and his conception of ideology, patronage and poetics are introduced as part of the theoretical frame for the thesis.Chapter two will analyze the relation between translation and ideology on the basis of Lefevere's theory. The author will put more effort on the understanding of the significance and limitation of Lefevere's theory and the definition of ideology—the key term in the thesis. Chapter three will analyze the impact of ideology on translation. It emphatically analyzes the translation activities in the 1980's in China including the influence on the translation strategies, selection of texts, and translation motives.Chapter four will focus on the impact of translation on ideology. Translation, which cannot be conducted in a vacuum, is affected by cultural factors, especially ideology, which is proposed by Andre Lefevere. However, we should not neglect the role that translation plays in molding certain ideology. Therefore, the translator should not exaggerate the role of ideology too much, but try to make a balance between the two when translating, which can make translation studies more open and scientific.