A Study On Translator's Subjectivity Based On The Approach To Translation As Adaptation And Selection

Translation theory has achieved rapid development in the past fifty years. Translation scholars have paid more attention to the researches on the cross-discipline. They bring the research findings into translation study, which adds new elements to the field of translation researching and makes translation theories more plentiful and active. And the combination and cross-studies among different fields facilitate to establish and construct translation theories. Meanwhile, the status of translators, the selection of translation strategies and criterion in translation criticism are always regarded as the most important and complex issues in translation researches. During a translation process, translators need to constantly make lots of decisions and selections between alternatives, such as form or meaning, original culture or target culture, original writher's intention or target readers'expectation and the like, which happen during the translating and can eventually affect the final translation production of translation practice. In such a complicated translational environment, Hu Gengshen, the professor of Tsing Hua University borrows Darwin's "adaptation/selection" in evolutionism into translation researches. He puts forward a theory of an approach to translation as adaptation and selection, aiming at re-examining translation based on a new perspective and reflecting translation processes truly.According to Hu's approach to translation as adaptation and selection, the author intends to testify the feasibility and explanatory of this theory through comparing Li Jiye and Zhu Qingying's two Chinese versions of Jane Eyre. Since this theory was put forward, some translation researches have already taken notice to it. They regarded the theory as an original theoretical construction and a concise and creative work. There are also some translation researchers tried to analyze and explain the inner discipline of translating processes by discussing Analects of Confucius, Evolution and Six Chapters of a Floating Life. However, the feasibility and explanatory function of this theory need to be further and more detailed testified. This is the reason why the author chose Jane Eyre to conduct discussion and analysis according to Hu's theory. Chapter one introduces the aims, research questions and methodology of this thesis.Chapter two is about basic researches of the related knowledge of this thesis, such as the researches on translators'subjectivity, translators'adaptation and selection, and the researches based on Jane Eyre and its Chinese versions, including the introduction of the original writer.Chapter three introduces the theoretical framework of professor Hu's theory, An Approach to Translation as Adaptation and Selection, which focuses on what are the translator-centeredness, the adaptation and selection and the translational eco-environment based on the Darwinian principle "survival of the fittest", including the translation process, translation method and translation criterion and the like. In this theory, adaptation and selection are regarded as the two aspects of translation practice and translators are considered as the most active factor with subjectivity in the translational eco-environment.Chapter four, the main part of this thesis, concretely analyzes Hu's theory by comparing Zhu and Song's translations of Jane Eyre. The perspectives this part are Zhu and Song's adaptation to their translational eco-environments, their selections in linguistic, cultural, and communicative dimensions and the translational eco-environment's evaluation on the two target texts. Finally comes to the conclusion, in which the findings, the significance and the limitations and suggestions of this study will be put forward.Chapter five comes to conclusion that the answers of the research questions, the significance and the limitation and suggestions of the thesis will be given.