An Intersubjective Study Of Literary Translation In The Light Of M.M.Bakhtin's Dialogism

The study of intersubjectivity, with its subversion of logocentralism and the binary opposition between subject and object, aims to establish equal and harmonious relationship between different communicating subjects. The shift from subjectivity to intersubjectivity is an inevitable tendency in the area of philosophy and the study of humanities. Present translation studies are confronted with the predicament brought about by the domination of unitary subjectivity and will definitely step forward into the capacious area of intersubjective study. Being in its primary stage, the intersubjective study of translation still has some limitations, such as the deficiency in the exploitation of the concept, the lack of in-depth methodological discussion, and the disjunction between the theory and translation practices. Bakhtin's dialogism, as a classic embodiment of the intersubjective conception, may inspire many new insights for the intersubjective study of translation.Based on a survey of the evolvement of intersubjectivity theory and a clarification of the connotations of intersubjectivity, this paper analyzes the unique intersubjective nature of translation activity. The unbalanced state of intersubjective relationship in the three historical periods of translation studies verifies the inevitability and necessity of intersubjective study of translation. And through a critical survey of the present intersubjective study of translation, some methodological deficiencies are revealed. By applying two important concepts in Bakhtin's dialogism theory into two dimensions of intersubjective study of translation, i.e. multiple subjects, and communicating environment, this paper aims to bring forward an integrated framework in which the dialogic principle stands as the theoretical basis, the multiple human participants as the starting points, the socio-cultural environment as the background, and texts as the end-result. This framework can also provide a good solution for the separation between the internal study and external study and balance between translator's subjectivity and the validity of interpretation. The theoretical discussion is combined with a detailed text analysis of the two English versions of Hong Lou Meng, which, on the one hand illustrates the intersubjective relations in actual translation activity and on the other hand provides a new model for translation criticism.This paper consists of five chapters. In Chapter One, the philosophical turn from subjectivity to intersubjectivity as well as the connotations of intersubjectivity is briefly introduced. This part also includes a discussion about the intersubjective principles embodied in Bakhtin's dialogism and the intersubjective property of translation. Chapter Two traces the intersubjective state in the three historical periods of translation studies and presents a critical survey of the current scholarship concerning translation intersubjectivity, including the studies guided by philosophical hermeneutics and communicative action theory. Chapter Three and Chapter Four, which form the most important part of this paper, focus on the application of Bakhtin's author/hero theory and heteroglossia to the intersubjective study of translation, which is illustrated by the comparative analysis of the two English versions of Hong Lou Meng. Chapter Five involves a deepened methodological discussion, in which the elemental factors of the intersubjective framework and its advantages in overcoming the deficiencies of present translation studies are elucidated.