On The Criteria For The Literary Translation Criticism

Study on the translation criticism (TC) criterion is of great importance for both the theoretical development and the practice of TC. This thesis circumscribes its discussion on the criterion for the literary translation criticism. Based on the analysis of existent study and the theories about cognition, the author formulates a literary TC criterion system that includes the texts, the translator and the readers.From 1980s till now, the field of vision of the TC criterion study has been broadened which breaks through the traditional binary way of thinking, not focusing on the static texts any more. In this period, relevant theories are used in the TC criterion study for reference. As for the study overseas, Peter Newmark, Nida and Berman's researches are discussed here. Though the research of TC criterion has made much progress, it bears some defects. First of all, different TC criterion study emphasizes certain factors in the process of translation, yet there are few criterion studies that focus on all the relevant factors (texts, translator and the reader) in translation. Second, though the TC criterion study is taking more and more factors into consideration with a deeper and broader angle of view, the TC criterion study still fails to put forward a practical criterion of TC, without which the translation criticism practice will still center on pure translating skills or only one or two specific factors in the whole related factors. Thus the translation criticism is anything but comprehensive.Thus a new system of the literary TC criterion system is formulated. Though bearing some differences in the translation criterion, English-Chinese translation and Chinese-English translation still share some similarities. It is on this that the new evaluation system is built. This system includes, (1) a criterion based on the reader's response which pursues a 'dynamic interactive equivalence'. This criterion studies reader's response from cognitive perspective. The dynamic interactive equivalence enlightened by Nida's 'dynamic equivalence' proposes that if the target reader's response to the target text is dynamic interactive equivalent to the original reader's response to the source text, the translation can be regarded as successful from the reader's response point of view; (2) a practical criterion governed by the highest or general rule of 'appropriateness', based on the texts. Three important parameters(content, form and style)and the sub-parameters are listed in this criterion.Accordingly, the thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter One is the introduction. Chapter Two is the review of the study on literary TC criterion and comments on it. Based on this, a new criterion system is put forward. Chapter Three explores the criterion based on the reader response. Chapter Four discusses the practical criterion guided by the highest criterion appropriateness, establishing parameters and sub-parameters. Chapter Five is the conclusion of the thesis and at the same time points out the weakness of the criterion system.