On Translator's Subjectivity And Consideration For Reader's Reception

With the development of Chinese and western cultural exchange, translation's function has expanded gradually. In translation activity, translator is undoubtedly the most active factor. However, both Chinese and western translation studies suggest that under the influence of the traditional text-oriented or author-oriented translation theories, the translator has to oppress himself/herself not to be subjective in translating process and tries to be a faithful"servant"of the original and its author so as to convey the original's idea and the author's intention. For a long time, the important role of translator has been neglected. With the development of translation studies, especially, appearance of the"culture turn"in the 1970s, increasing and proper attention has been paid to the translator and the translator's subjectivity has been widely accepted.Based on previous studies, the thesis is an attempt to examine translator's creativity by tracing back the various comments on translator's position. The translator's identity and roles in translation activity are from obscurity to light. And the subjectivity of translator highlights the status and functions of the translator. Furthermore, it discusses that the translator's subjectivity is not at free will and has some restrictions, one of which is target readers. Reception Theory establishes the central status of readers and believes that reader is an indispensable factor in literary works. Therefore, from the angle of reader's reception, the translator not only understands the original deeply, but also takes reader's aesthetic reception into account, and adopts multiple translation methods to achieve the best effect.Hong Lou Meng is widely known as a masterpiece in Chinese Literature and a walking encyclopedia of Chinese culture. Because of its enduring artistic value and rich cultural heritage, translators have great difficulties in conveying the cultural differences exactly. Some typical examples are selected from two English versions of Hong Lou Meng (A Dream of Red Mansions by Yang Xianyi & Gladys Yang, and The Story of the Stone by David Hawkes & John Minford) to validate the argument. By analyzing the two English translations, the present thesis attempts to make a comparison from the perspective of translation methods and styles and sheds some light on the translation of Chinese Classic Novels. Meanwhile, it emphasizes the subjectivity of translator, and makes discussion of consideration of target readers from the perspective of culture.