Literary Translation And Treason

Though the traditional notion of "faithfulness" has been highly valued, translations with certain deviation from the original are actually more frequent in translation practice. This thesis is an attempt to explore this objective phenomenon known as "treason" in literary translation. Adopting a descriptive approach, this author analyzes forms of "treason" and their underlying causes in the hope of finding insights for translation studies.Two general types of "treason" are distinguished in the present study: unconscious treason and conscious treason. Unconscious treason can be input-related, resulting from the translator's misunderstanding of the ST, or output-related, as a result of the improper translation strategies employed by the translator such as over-domestication and over-literalness.Contrary to unconscious treason, conscious treason is the case when the translators make deviations from the original on purpose. These deviations range from addition, deletion and adaptation in content to adjustment in form. Borrowing insights from the Manipulation School and reception theory, this author identifies four causes for the translators' conscious treason in literary translation: ideology, poetics, readers' expectation, and language.From the present study of the phenomenon of treason in literary translation, this author derives three implications for the study of literary translation. First, the translator's subjectivity, which underlies his/her acts of conscious treason, should be given due recognition. Second, a descriptive, target-oriented approach, which takes the social, cultural, and historical context into consideration, is called for in the study of literary translation. Third, the single yardstick of "faithfulness" is inadequate and multiplicity in translation assessment criteria is required.