A Study Of Intersubjectivity In Translation: A Cognitive Perspective

With the emergence of a"cultural turn"in western translation research since the 1970s, translators'subjectivity has been highlighted. Currently, the study on subjectivity and intersubjectivity in translation has become one of the hot topics in the translation field and the focus of translation theorists'attention. Researches on the subjectivity and intersubjectivity in translation have been fruitful to some extent. However, views on such issues as"Who is the subject of translation?"and"What is the intersubjectivity in translation?"are still controversial in the field of translation. Based on the status quo of researches on this subject, and the fundamental principle"reality-cognition-language"put forward by the embodied philosophy and cognitive linguistics, that is to say, there is a medium"cognition"between"reality"and"language", this thesis analyzes the main causes for the existence of"intersubjectivity in translation"and the enlightenment of"reality-cognition-language"on the studies of intersubjectivity in translation. Furthermore, the author of this thesis clarifies"Who is the subject of translation?"and the connotation of intersubjectivity in translation, as well as its manifestations in written translation and oral interpretation. In the last chapter, this thesis points out that the cognitive study on intersubjectivity in translation is of great significance for translation studies and practice as well as translation teaching.The dissertation consists of four chapters in addition to an introduction and a conclusion.The introduction briefly reviews the status quo of studies on subjectivity and intersubjectivity in translation, and points out that it is necessary to carry out further exploration of intersubjectivity in translation.In Chapter One, through comprehensive retrospection and reflections on the three stages of translation studies, namely, the philological stage, the stage of structuralism, the Stage of post-structuralism, the author of this thesis finds that the divergence of various translation theories in the translation history actually arises from translation theorists'controversial viewpoints on the complicated relations among"reality","cognition", and"language".Chapter Two, based on a brief introduction to the embodied philosophy and cognitive linguistics, focuses on expatiating"reality-cognition-language", the fundamental principle of the embodied philosophy and cognitive linguistics, which means"cognition"mediates between"reality"and"language". Language is formed on the basis of bodily experience and through the processing of human cognitive mechanism. Language is not a self-contained system, but closely related to the external world and human cognition. In addition, this chapter introduces further researches on the relations among"reality","cognition","language"in the field of cognitive linguistics, such as the Chinese scholar, Prof. Wang Yin's viewpoints of"weakening phenomena"on"reality-cognition-language".With the enlightenment of"reality-cognition-language", Chapter Three analyzes the main causes for the existence of intersubjectivity in translation, the connotation of intersubjectivity in translation, and its manifestations in written translation as well as oral interpretation.Chapter Four points out that the cognitive study on intersubjectivity in translation is of great significance for translation studies and practice. Moreover, this chapter puts forward some constructive suggestions on translation teaching based on the intersubjective theory.The conclusion stresses that translation, as a kind of intercultural communication, is actually an intricate cognitive activity with many subjects involved in. Translation activities are closely related to"reality","cognition" and"language". In translation studies, special attention should be paid to the relationship between"translation"and"human beings"."Reality-cognition- language", the fundamental principle of the embodied philosophy and cognitive linguistics, sheds light on the study of intersubjectivity in translation. This thesis holds that when"translation"is used in a narrow sense, referring to"translating process"or"the product of translating process", the translator is the sole subject of translation; when"translation"is used in a broad and abstract sense, referring to the whole process from the production of the source text to the reception of the translated text,"the author of the source text","the reader of the target text"and"the translation initiator"are all subjects involved in translation activities in addition to the translator.The intersubjectivity in translation cannot be simply regarded as the interrelations among"the author","the translator"and"the reader". Fundamentally, it is the"commonness"and"differences"of individual subjects together with the complicated relations among"reality","cognition"and"language"that cause intersubjectivity in translation. Intersubjectivity and subjectivity are interdependent, coexisting in the holistic field of translation. There is no absolute subjectivity in translation, and"subjectivity"is always intersubjective. Studies on the"subjectivity"and"intersubjectivity"in translation supplement each other. Translation researchers should hold a dialectical view on the"subjectivity"and"intersubjectivity"in translation, so as to understand the nature of translation better and put forward proper translation theories as the guidance of translation practice.