On Translator's Subjectivity

A survey of both Chinese and Western translation studies suggests that the important role of translator has long been obscured. On the par with the development of translation theories, however, proper and increasing attention has been paid to translator. At present, it is widely accepted that translator assumes the subject identity in translating, which accordingly brings about the heated topic of translator's subjectivity. The thesis deals with translator's subjectivity from two perspectives. In the first place the thesis addresses translator's subjectivity from the perspective of subject-object relation, and deals with the manifestation of translator's subjectivity in terms of translator and source text, translator and target reader as well as translator and culture. And secondly, the thesis involves translator's subjectivity from the humanistic perspective. On the basis that human being is the subject and that characters regarding subjects give rise to subjectivity, the thesis proposes that humanistic characters regarding translator constitute translator's subjectivity and that translator's subjecitivity is concerned with translator's purposes, translator's social constraints as well as translator's initiatives. As translator's motivation takes the most important part in all the factors regarding translator, the thesis respectively details that translator's motivation reveals translator's purposes, translator's social constraints as well as translator's initiatives and therefore illustrates the three aspects of translator's subjectivity in humanistic perspective. The structure of the thesis goes as follows: The first chapter focuses on a survey of translator's study in both Chinese and Western translation theories. With that, it is believed that translator's status has long been ignored. And yet at present the subject status of translator is widely acknowledged and study regarding translator's subjectivity is heatedly discussed. The second chapter deals with translator's subjectivity in the perspective of subject-object relation. It elaborates the relationship between subject and object and details the manifestation of translator's subjectivity from the following three aspects: translator and source text, translator and target reader as well as translator and culture. The third chapter addresses translator's subjectivity from the humanistic perspective. In this chapter, the author observes that humanistic characters regarding translator constitute translator's subjectivity and that translator's subjecitivity is concerned with translator's purposes, translator's social constraints as well as translator's initiatives. Moreover, the author illustrates the three aspects respecitvely in terms of transltor's motivation, the most important part in all the factors regarding translator. The conclusion summarizes the contents of the thesis, and points out the limitations and problems that remain to be solved.