The Role Of The Translator In Perspective Of Reception Aesthetics

Translation is probably the most complex type of event in the history of the cosmos. It is an integrated manifestaion of the dynamic interaction between the author, the source language text (SLT), the SLT reader, the translator, the target language text (TLT) and TLT reader. Along with the long development of translation practice, translation study has also experienced a history of thousands of years both in China and in the West. Historically, the traditional translation study focused mainly on the analysis of linguistics transformation and put the principle of "faithfulness to the original" on the first place. In the static text-centered studies, the importance of the translator has been almost completely neglected. The systematic study of the translator appeared at the end of last century. The cultural turn of translation study has brought the translation subjectivity to surface in which the translator is the most initiative subjectivity in translating process. Translation, such an event with its multiple phases, can be looked at from different angles. This paper which has four chapters mainly discusses the role of the translator in translation on the basis of Reception Aesthetics.As is known to all, Reception Aesthetics or Reception Theory appeared in 1960s with Hans Robert Jauss and Wolfgang Iser as two of its representatives. It is based on the Hermeneutics and Phenomenology and completes the transfer of the center of the literary study from the text to the readers, and perfects the study of the process of author-text-reader system. Thus, chapter one mainly introduces the theory of Reception Aesthetics and his application in translation. According to Reception Theory, the translator will confront two processes of reception, one is the process of the communication between the translator and the original text and the other refers to the process of the communication between the reader and versions. The latter can be realized only after the translationhas been finished. But the translator must think about the readers, and anticipate the readers' receptivity and aesthetic standards because the purpose of his translation is to make the readers accept his version. In the whole process, the importance of translator is obvious. He not only acts as a reader of the original but also should consider the target readers and pay more attention to the reader's demands and their receptivity.The relationship between the translator and the translation is talked about in chapter two. Traditionally, both in China and in the west, translating practice starts with the translating of religious works. Because of the sacredness of religious works, absolute faithfulness to the SLT is required. The original author and the SLT are regarded as the authentic judge. Therefore, the role of the translator was somewhat neglected. He is figuratively described as servant, shadow, or traitor. The achievements of modern linguistics are applied in translation study to analyze and describe accurately the transfer between the source language and the target language, but pay little attention to the role of the translator. However, the inadequacy of machine translation proves that the role of the translator is not replaceable.Reception Aesthetics stresses on the active participation of the reader. But as the first reader of the original text, the translator must be affected by his reading experience and pre-knowledge with the understanding to the original text. Thus, chapter three specially analyzes the three constituents of the translator's understanding activities: the translator's different culture concept, the translator's literary competence and translator's aesthetic comprehension. By using the concrete examples, the author explains how a translator's understanding activities will be affected by these factors respectively.However, though the translator has certain rights to interpret the SLT, he cannot translate it casually for the bounds and limits of the original text. So, chapter four discusses the limit of the translator's interpretation.