On A Tentative Approach To Literary Translation Criticism

The subject matter of the present paper is how to evaluate a literary translation version. According to the author, literary translation evaluation was traditionally limited to a mere comparison and analysis of the linguistic match between the original and the translation. Therefore, it can hardly fulfill the new demands initiated by the "Cultural Return" of translation studies. This paper considers literary translation part of translation practices and believes that development in translation theories and practices has called forth the maturity of literary translation evaluation. By elaborating on different approaches toward translation evaluation of different translation schools, the author intends to draw upon their constructive ideas for the formulation of a more rational literary translation evaluation system.The present paper also includes a new understanding of two common concepts in translation evaluation, namely, equivalence and faithfulness, and by acknowledging the latest trend in translation evaluation, the paper attempts to incorporate the analysis of the translation subject and reception subject with a view to reaching an objective and sensible judgment of a certain translation, thus freeing us from the too rigid traditional evaluation model.On the basis of this translation evaluation model, the present paper probes into a debate-intriguing translation---Giles' rendition of Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio---so as to test the validity of the dialogical model in literary translation criticism. Overall, this paper calls on literary translation evaluation to switch from the mere analysis on the linguistic level to a comprehensive evaluation including elements like the source language culture, the target language culture, readers' reception and so on.