On The Role Of Target Text Reader In The Process Of Translation

Translation is a complex activity involving the source text author, the source text, the translator, the target text and its reader. Meanwhile, it is a process, which begins with the translator's interpretation of the source text and ends with the target text reader's understanding and acceptance of the target text.The target text reader is an indispensable part in the process of translation, in which the source text author sends information, the target text reader receives information, and the translator, by .his target text, bridges the gap between the source text author and the target text reader. The target text doesn't make any sense until it is interpreted by its readers. Hence the capability of interpreting and acceptance of the target text by the target text reader must be taken seriously into consideration by the translator in the process of translation, which will, in turn, makes impact on the translator's choice of translation strategies. Therefore, the target text reader holds an important status and plays an important role in translation.The author of this paper holds that the target text reader's role in translation lies in the following two aspects: a. its impact on the translator in the authoring process of the target text; b. its role in the interpretation and acceptance of the target text. Bakhtin's Dialogue Theory contends that language by its nature is dialogue and the production of a text is actually the outcome of the dialogue between the author and the intended reader. The target text produced by the translator is a special form of text. Thus, in a sense, it can be regarded as the outcome of the dialogue between the translator and the intended target text reader.Philosophical hermeneutics studies the understanding and acceptance of text in terms of the reader and holds that interpretation is the dialogue between the text and the interpreter and it is of historicality. The pre-understanding of the interpreter plays an important role in the process of interpretation, which involves the fusion of the interpreter's and the text's horizons. Views of philosophical hermeneutics offer us some enlightenment on the target text reader's role in interpretation of the target text. Accordingly, this thesis discusses the target text reader's role in the process of translation by applying Bakhtin's Dialogue Theory and views of philosophical hermeneutics.