A Review Of Translation Subjectivity Studies

Along with the long development of translation practice, translation study has also experienced a history of thousands of years both in China and the West. Historically, the traditional translation study focused mainly on the analysis of linguistic transformation and put the principle of "faithfulness to the original" on the first place. In the static text-centered studies, the translation subjectivity has been almost completely neglected. Although there are many fragmentary comments on the requirement for a good translator at the early stage of translation study, they are unsystematic and greatly influenced by the authority of the original. The systematic study of translation subjectivity appeared at the end of last century. The cultural turn of translation study has brought out the translation subjectivity to surface in which the translator is the most initiative subject in translating process, for the social and cultural influences on the translation are carried out through the effect of the translator. At present, the translation subjectivity becomes a hot issue in translation studies.The thesis is to review historically the development of translation subjectivity studies instead of making any new theory for it. According to the brief analysis of the representative ideas in translation history, the author points out that it is a logic necessity to change the center of translation study from the "dead text" to the "live men" and to the most initiative translator, and the translation subjectivity studies can surely be beneficial to the development of the whole translation study.The thesis consists of four chapters in addition to an introduction and a conclusion.After a brief introduction of the present situation and the historical developing process of the translation subjectivity studies, the thesis defines the conceptions of translation subjects and subjectivity in the first chapter.Chapter two analyzes the traditional views of translation subjects.The early translation studies are all text-centered and almost neglects the initiative and creativeness of the translator. Later, the development of translation practice impels many translators to consider the needs of target language readers. The subjective elements began to appear in translation studies and attracted more and more translation theorists. But their studies of translation subjects are still unsystematic and all based on personal translation experiences.Chapter three mainly discusses the contemporary development of translation subjectivity studies. There are not only the micro study of the translator's role and status in concrete translating process, but also the macro consideration of translation subjectivity in social-cultural context. The translator's initiative is shown not only in his translating method, skill and strategy, but also his anti-manipulation to the social-cultural influences such as ideology, patronage and poetics and so on.Based on the review of the translation subjectivity studies above, in chapter four the author considers that the translation subjectivity should be encouraged but not over-exaggerated. In our studies, we should hold a dialectical viewpoint on the relation of translation subject and object and apply the theoretical principles to the real translating practice.In conclusion, the thesis states that a correct understanding of the developing process of translation subjectivity studies will not only improve and further the development of translation study, but provide many valuable advices for the translators and interpreters training courses as well.