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Resistance Between Manipulation And Translator's Subjective Initiative In English Translation Of Selected Works Of Mao Tse-tung

Posted on:2012-10-21Degree:MasterType:Thesis
Country:ChinaCandidate:T TaoFull Text:PDF
GTID:2155330332984216Subject:English Language and Literature
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The translating of Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung is an extremely special translation event, and yet it has received overall analyses and objective comments less than it deserves, which encourages the present author to make a deep and profound research on its English translation on the basis of the translator's subjectivity studies and the theory proposed by Lefevere who was the representative figure of Manipulation School. Besides Introduction and Conclusion, this thesis consists of four chapters. In Chapter One, the thesis has made a literature review of the researches on the English translation of Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung; Chapter Two is devoted to elaborating the theoretical foundation of this study; Chapter Three has carried on a detailed analysis of the language features of the original text of Selected Works; Chapter Four, as the main body of the thesis, firstly expounds the feature of"faithfulness"of the translation text, and then demonstrates the features of"vividness"and"flexibility". Through the argument of the three features, the thesis comes to the conclusion that the English translation of Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung is primarily"faithful"and in the next place"vivid"and"flexible".Through the analysis of the English translation of Selected Works, the thesis has discovered that the translator, since he or she is the subject of the translative activity, enjoys translator's subjectivity. Just like the other kinds of"subjectivity", translator's subjectivity should include"subjective initiative"as well as"passivity". During the translation process, the translator enjoys subjective initiative so that he or she enjoys"freedom"and"rights"; meanwhile, the translator is manipulated by various manipulation factors, suffering from the"passivity"."Subjective initiative"and"passivity", being two aspects of the same question, comprise the"subjectivity". Consequently, there is neither complete"subjective initiative", nor absolute"passivity". The difference between the two lies in whether the"subjective initiative"dominates or the"passivity"wins. Accordingly, the present author proposes that"subjective initiative"and"passivity"have been resisting each other during the translation process, and the result of the resistance will decide the translated text. The comparison of the power of the two factors determines the style of the final translation. In case"subjective initiative"functions more than"passivity"does, the translator would enjoy much"freedom"and the translated text would be characterized by"free translation", mostly happening when translating literary works; otherwise, the translator suffers from"passivity"so that he or she is"manipulated"to a great extent, and the possibility of the translated text being"literal"increases, as in the case of the English translation of Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung. What's more, the three major factors of manipulation proposed by Lefevere -- ideology, poetics and patronage -- form the main contents of"passivity", which is meantime the conjunction point between Lefevere's theory of Manipulation and translator's subjectivity studies. The English translation of Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung is under the intense manipulation of the three manipulation factors, but its translators have not completely lost their subjective initiative. That translators are considerably restricted gives shape to the feature of being"faithfulness"to the original; however, because the subjective initiative of the translators have not totally vanished, the English translation of Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung is also predetermined to be"vivid"and"flexible". Even though some scholars believe (as a matter of fact, it is true) that the English translation of Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung is too"literal", we find out that, through analyzing it from the angle of translator's subjectivity, it is the result of the functioning of various factors and the"literal translation"does not decrease its great success and contribution as a great translated work especially when the"literal translation"is inevitable under its background.This thesis, for the first time, combines the translator's subjectivity studies with Lefevere's manipulation theory, and enriches the deep connotation of the translator's subjectivity. As we know, translator's subjectivity studies, though improving the status of translators, fail to pay attention to the"passivity"the translator suffers; while Manipulation theory values too much the manipulation the translator suffers and neglects the subjective initiative the translator certainly enjoys as the subject of translation activity. Also for the first time, the thesis proposes that the two aspects of the translator's subjectivity, translator's subjective initiative and translator's passivity, are resisting each other -- to be more exactly -- functioning together but resisting each other during the translation process. With the very viewpoint, the thesis attempts to make a scientific and thorough analysis of the translators as well as an objective evaluation of the English translation of Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung.
Keywords/Search Tags:translators, subjective initiative, manipulation, English translation of Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung
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