An Analysis Of Factors In The Translator's Prediction And Selection

The complexity of translation does not only lie in language transfer itself but also the influence of many subjective and objective factors. This is very clear to all, and translation study has shifted from a static perception i.e. the correspondence or the equivalence between the source text (ST) and the target text (TT), to the dynamic translating process and to the individual subject who reproduces the result--the translator.The translator is of course the decisive factor that makes the TT equivalent to the ST. But the individual subject consists of objective and subjective factors. Different translators have different psychological status, i.e. they have different intelligence standards, knowledge structures, personalities, values, capabilities, outlooks of life, ideas of translation, living experience, etc. These are complex factors that influence a translator in the whole process of translating. Viewing from different angles, and with different receptors, they have different understandings and may yield different reproductions of the same ST. But functional equivalence of the TT and ST is the generally accepted principle that a translator must adhere to. How can functional equivalence be realized? The process and individual subject have become the focuses of people's attention. Although much has been done as to the study of the subject, we think we can still make a further deep-going research into the process of translating in an objective descriptive way.We will not only collect some forceful examples from practice but also analyze all the probable factors in a theoretical way. We intend to clarify the real occurrences in the process.Translation study could not have evolved soundly had it not been derived from experience, and it will not improve itself unless it rids itself of the fetter of those subjective, take-it-for-granted, purely empirical, or rigid prescriptive rules, as most of these rules have turned out to be not applicable in the practice of translation. This has been widely accepted.As we see it, translation is by nature a cross-cultural communication out of social requirements. So, social requirement is one of the most important principles for us to follow, especially in the ST selection stage, which makes the translator clearer about their translation purpose. And translating process itself israther a psychologically inferential process than a physical one, in which there are various factors functioning in a translator's operation. Here, the Optimal Relevance Principle (ORP) is the most important one to follow in meaning prediction and selection. Based on this principle, a translator tries his/her best to realize the ultimate goal of functional equivalence between the ST and TT after prediction and selection of the original" meanings and their reproduction in the TT.We point out in the paper some main factors and analyze them earnestly. We hope to make full use of those main, stable, positive and beneficial factors, overcome the temporary, negative, interfering ones so as to promote the skills of translating and improve the quality of translation.It consists of five parts: an introduction, three chapters and a conclusion. In Chapter One, we discuss the factors and their relationship. Generally speaking, they are subjective factors such as the cognition and psychological status of the translator including his/her intelligence, purpose, will, knowledge, bilingual competence, logical reasoning ability, imagination, creativity, personality, values, aesthetics, mood and feelings, etc. The objective factors are social factors such as the background of the times, historical and traditional cultural backgrounds, social requirements of a society, a translator's own social and economic conditions, ST types and all sorts of other practical interests. The subjective and objective factors can be further reckoned as including those main, stable, positive, and beneficial ones and the subsidiary, temporary, negative and interfering ones. Most of the objective factors are main and stable, like t...