Application Of Rules Of Game Theory To The Comparative Text Analysis

Game theory is a branch of applied mathematics fashioned to analyze certain situations in which there is interplay between parties that may have similar, opposed, or mixed interests. It was first proposed by Hungarian mathematician John von Neumann and its representative expression could be seen in his work co-authored with Oskar Morgenstern, Theory of Games and Economic Behavior (Morgenstern and von Neumann 1963).Czech scholar Ji?íLevy was the first person that introduced the rules of game theory to translation. He considered translation as a decision-making process and proposed his Minimax Strategy. Later, in Elizabeth Bruss'article published in 1977, she suggested that the game authors play with their readers be classified into zero-sum, mixed motive and cooperative games, which could also be extended to translation text. Bruss's proposals made Cronin ponder on the cognitive pleasure and ludic potential of translation and his idea was reflected in his article published in 1995:"Keeping One's Distance: Translation and the Play of Possibility"At domestic level, interest in this interdisciplinary area is also aroused in scholars like Wang Bin, an Associate Professor of University of Shanghai for Science and Technology. He published his thesis named"Translation and Game Theory"in the University journal, which explains the connection between translation and game theories. This thesis aims at probing into the rules of game theory reflected in the comparison of the translations of the novel Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Prof. Zhang Guruo and Sun Zhili and discovering the game rules underlying the different translation strategies chosen by the two translators.Initially, the author gives an introduction to the development of game theory and its rules in order for the readers to understand the thesis better.After that, the readers are expected to see a detailed explanation of the evolution of translation as a game and several prominent figures that have contributed to the development of the interdisciplinary research.Furthermore, the author elaborates about the evolution of domestication and foreignization phenomena and compares their differences as two complementary translating strategies.Finally, theories such as The Prisoner's Dilemma, Nash Equilibrium (or Nash Solution) and Pareto Optimality (or Pareto Efficiency) are used in the comparison and analysis of the two translated texts. To be exact, the author tries to analyze how the players (prisoners or translators) will determine which strategy (domestication or foreignization) to take; whether and how"Nash Equilibrium"is maintained; and whether or how Pareto Optimality is achieved.Although game theory has a long history of application, its intertwining with translation only accounts for only 40 years. As an interdisciplinary subject, it's still not fully explored and relatively new. Its application in the comparison and analysis of translated texts is rare, not to mention the novel concerned. This thesis aims at presenting a brand new method in the analysis of the text in question and a unique angle of investigating this novel. Since there has not been any in-depth investigation into this question, this thesis is the first that offers a systematic analysis of the question and is aimed at enriching the current research methods.Through the analysis, we find out that the game theory approach complements the traditional translated-text analysis methods that only involve listing and comparing the translation phenomena such as domestication and foreignization. The game method tries to excavate the causes behind the phenomena by disclosing the rules manipulating the whole translating process. To put it in another way, this method is a more inclusive and in-depth one that reveals the interest struggle between the translators and other participants during the translating process. Therefore compared with other methods, the game approach is more effective in the analysis of translated texts.