Manifestation And Restriction Of Translators' Subjectivity

In recent years, studies on subjectivity have drawn increasing attention. Some questions relevant to subjectivity are also popular topics in translation studies. For example, what is the subject in translating? What is subjectivity? What is the translator's subjectivity?In philosophy, a subject is a being which has subjective experiences or a relationship with another entity (or "object"). A subject should be a man of ideology, active consciousness but of social, historical significance during the process of cognition and practice. As for the subject in translation, many Chinese TS scholars have written articles and haven't reached a consensus on this issue. However, the author of this thesis holds that the translator is the main subject of translation. The original author and the target reader are the subject of creation and subject of reception respectively. Furthermore, the author believes that there are also some fringe subjects in translation, namely, the sponsor, the patronage, the translation initiator, etc..In very rough and simple terms, subjectivity refers to what is personal to oneself - what makes one who he is in distinction from others. It also refers to the interpretation based on personal opinions, feelings or knowledge; or the concentration on personal, individual responses in artistic expression. To be more exact, subjectivity includes the subject's consciousness, independence, activity, creativity, personality and the role of remolding the object through practice. In other words, subjectivity equals subjective initiative. In order to bring his role into play, the subject must obey the objective law and be subject to the restriction from the object. Subjectivity is the unity of active consciousness and the restriction from the object.Based upon the previous explanation, the translator's subjectivity can be defined as the subjective activity of the translator reflected in the translating process in order to achieve his translating purpose. The major characteristics of the translator's subjectivity include the translator's cultural consciousness, humanistic character, aesthetic tendency, creativity and judgment criteria, etc.. In short, the translator's own interest, need, knowledge, experience, and artistic accomplishment, etc. make up his subjectivity.It's well known that the practice of translation depends on translators who play an indispensable and irreplaceable role in translation. However, translators haven't received proper social and academic recognition for their work. The role of translators has been neglected both at home and abroad for a long time. With the "cultural turn" in TS in the West after the 1970s, translators are no longer considered inferior to authors of the original, but are considered as the creative subject, and translations are the afterlife of the original works.Whether it is admitted it or not, the translators' subjectivity does exist and function in the process of translation. In the process of selecting the source material, translators will subjectively choose those materials which they are interested in or those that can reflect their translation purpose. Likewise, their subjectivities will influence or control them during the whole process of understanding. Lastly, the translators' subjectivity will also affect them in the process of expressing. Moreover, the translator, as the main subject of translation, will inevitably interact with other subjects or the object. With the interaction between the translator and other subjects or the object, the translator's subjectivity is manifested and functions in the whole process of translation. Therefore, study of the translator's subjectivity in translation should be furthered and become an important part of translation studies.Of course, the translator cannot exert the subjective role at random. There are many factors that restrict the functions of the translator's subjectivity, such as patronage, ideology, the dominant poetics, cultural background, knowledge, and translation purpose, etc.. In other words, the translator's subjectivity isn't unlimited.However, rethinking the translator's subjectivity doesn't mean denying the importance of the source text or the original writer. The purpose is to gain correct knowledge of the translators' position, i.e. to make their key status felt and to make their positive subjectivity function better. The present paper tries to draw the achievements recently made in TS and emphasize the prominence of the translator's subjective role. There are four chapters besides introduction and conclusion in the this paper. Chapter One begins with a brief review of the development of TS both at home and abroad, and points out that the translator's subjectivity has come under focus in recent years. Chapter Two defines some concepts such as "subject", "subjectivity", and "translator's subjectivity". In Chapter Three, the paper probes into the manifestation and the restriction of the translator's subjectivity in translation process. Chapter Four confirms the significance of the translator's subjectivity in translating by case studies.Therefore, on the one hand, the translators' creativity and positive subjectivity should be admitted and respected. On the other hand, their active consciousness shouldn't be over-magnified. In general, since there exists translators' subjectivity and it really functions in the process of translation, the study of the subjectivity in translation should be furthered and become an important integral part of TS. And the Stress should be put on the exertion of translators' subjectivity in translation practice. In addition, a new criterion for translation criticism should be established according to the study of translators' subjectivity. When commenting on some translated works, translators' subjectivity in translation process should be given more concern.