On The Translator's Subjectivity In The Translation Of Newspaper English

Translation is essential to communication among nations in the world and social progress. Although translation plays such an important role in human history, the translator, as the executer of the translating behavior, did not receive the attention he deserves, and the study of his subjectivity was long ignored in the history of translation studies. In translation, it was the original author, the source text and the target text that were the focus of attention. With the cultural turn in translation studies in the 1980s, studies about the translator began to attract more attention, and the translator's subjectivity became an increasingly heated topic. This thesis is an attempt to combine the study of the translator's subjectivity with the study of the translation of newspaper English, so as to explore the display of as well as the constraints on the translator's subjectivity in the translation of newspaper English.The study of the translator's subjectivity is closely related to that of subjectivity and subjects in translation. Up until now, no clear-cut definition of either the subjectivity and subjects in translation or the translator's subjectivity has been made. Some scholars view the original author, the translator and the target reader all as subjects in translation, thus, the translator's subjectivity is merely one part of the subjectivity in translation. However, other people maintain that the translator is the only subject in translation while the original author and the target reader serve as the translator's objects instead of as the subjects in translation. In their point, the translator's subjectivity is identical with the subjectivity in translation. The original author and the target reader influence and constrain the display of the translator's subjectivity. In this thesis, the second opinion is held.As we all know, the contemporary world is a world of information. As a carrier of news, newspaper English offers abundant information for the public. It is regarded as a prompt and efficient channel for people to understand the world. Due to the nature of news and newspaper English, the translation of newspaper English should be accurate, objective, concise, timely and readable.The thesis argues that the translator may display his subjectivity in the translation of newspaper English more fully than in other kinds of translation. For example, the translator may adopt abstracting translation or editing translation in which translating methods like omission, addition, conversion, inversion and so on are used, to restructure a piece or pieces of source news into a concise piece of target news according to his judgement. This is rarely seen in other kinds of translation.In the conclusion, it is reiterated that the process of translation is one in which the translator makes his own choices and plays a decisive role. The importance of the translator's subjectivity determines the fact that its study needs to be advanced in a wider scope and on a deeper level.