Treasonous Phenomena In Translation

As Mr. Sun Zhili points out, translation is an extremely complicated and hard job. Translators have to break the bounds of places and time and, at the same time they also need to try to eliminate the obstacles in language and culture. But no matter how hard the translators rack their brains or tax their ingenuity, they cannot achieve complete faithfulness in translation. Unfaithfully translated works are everywhere, and even the so-called faithful versions cannot avoid treasonous phenomena (Treason and Translation 18). In view of this, the author of this thesis, as a beginner of translation, is bold enough to probe into the phenomena of treason in translation. This thesis consists of four chapters.Chapter one is an introduction to the concept of treason in translation. First of all, the author points out an interesting phenomenon in translation: on the one hand, faithfulness to the original text has always been regarded as the highest standard by the translators and translation theorists both at home and abroad; on the other hand, in practice, the translators and translation theorists have to admit that it is impossible to achieve "absolute faithfulness". Then the term "treason" is introduced.Chapter two deals with the current study of this topic, definition and types of treasonous phenomena in translation. Starting with the illustration of the current study of the topic, the author then defines the term "treason" and categorizes the treasonous phenomena into two main types-unconscious treason and conscious treason and further divides the conscious treason into three subclasses: non-alternative treason, good-intentioned treason and ill-intentioned treason.Chapter three is about the causes attributing to treason. Treason in translation is usually caused by external and internal factors. External factors include linguistic difference, cultural difference, the influence of the authoritative factors, the blankness of the original texts and the individuality of the authors while the internal factor refers to the translators themselves.There exist between the source language and the target language enormous differences which cause the linguistic untranslatibility and lead to some treasonous phenomena in translation. Differences in phonology, lexicon, syntax and rhetoric devices may contribute greatly to the treasonous phenomena.Translation is not just the shift of meaning of the linguistic unit, but the mutual communication and implantation of two different cultures. Non-correspondence of the cultural phrases, the differences of the concepts and thought on some things (such as morality, cultural norm, religious beliefs) and different images and associations on some things (such as the animals, the plants, the numbers, the colors and the proper names) make treasonous phenomena inevitable.Authoritative factors (including poetics, ideology and patron) are also responsible for treason of the translated text to the original. In order to be in agreement with the dominant poetics, translators may delete or revise the contents and the forms of the original in his translation; under the influence of the social ideology, a translator may unconsciously or consciously make some changes to the original in his translation; in order to maintain the dominant ideology or the present system, patrons influence translation by setting up a series of institutions to regulate the publication and distribution of translated works.The uncertainty of the original text and the individuality of the author also play an important role in causing treason in translation. "Blankness" and "ambiguity" of the original provide the possibility for treason in translation. As the author inject more and more personalities into his own works, the language of his works becomes more and more ambiguous and confusing, thus making the readers (including the special readers-translators) feel it hard to understand. When expressing what they have comprehended in another language, translators unavoidably deviate from the original text, thus causing the treason...