On The Comparison Of Two Chinese Versions Of Pride And Prejudice In Light Of Translator's Subjectivity

Based on the fourfold hermeneutic motion theory proposed by George Steiner and the theory of the translator's invisibility by Venuti, with a focus on the comparative study of translations of Pride and Prejudice by Wang Keyi and Sun Zhili respectively, this thesis aims at making a tentative endeavor in embodying the abstract concept of the translator's subjectivity into the four concrete steps of"trust","aggression","incorporation"and"compensation".First, the definition of the translator's subjectivity is presented. It refers to the translator's initiative manifested in the translation activity so as to accomplish the translation purpose on the basis of the respect for the source text. Its basic characteristics are the translator's conscious cultural awareness, personality, as well as cultural and aesthetic creativity. Then, with the two translated versions of Pride and Prejudice, the thesis analyzes how the four factors, namely personal aesthetic attitudes, experience and mentalities, trust and aggression, personal linguistic competence and performance, ideology, affect the subjectivity in the translating process. With examples from the two translated texts, the thesis analyzes how the four factors influence the translator's subjectivity in translating.Second, the relationship between the translator's subjectivity and incorporation has been studied. The author has analyzed the two translations in terms of foreignization and domestication. The choice of two different strategies depends on personal experience, language competence and performance, ideology. Third, the translator's subjectivity has been displayed in the form of compensation. The translator's aggression and incorporation inevitably lead to the loss in translation. The translator should restore the equilibrium between the source text and the target text. In this way, it is necessary for translators to cultivate the translator's initiative to improve themselves, in the hope of adopting various methods to compensate the loss of the source culture in the target text. In addition, the procedures of notes, addition of words, replacement and omission are employed in the process of translation for restoring cultural loss.This thesis compares the differences between the two Chinese versions of Pride and Prejudice and analyzes the subjective factors involved in two distinctive translators: First, the translator's subjectivity is restricted by personal aesthetic attitude, experience and mentalities. Wang emphasizes the beauty of form and fluency of translation. His translation is faithful to the source text in spirit. Sun emphasizes the dialectical unity of science and art and argues that the translator should reproduce the source text in the target text as much as possible. Second, trust and aggression have influence on translator's subjectivity. Both Wang and Sun choose this text to translate and"trust"that it is worth translating. Different experiences and personal understandings make the translators use the"aggression"of the source text for the target readers'better understanding; Third, linguistic competence and performance are important factors involved in translator's subjectivity. Both Wang and Sun have profound knowledge of Chinese and English. Wang's translation is smooth and fluent. He has a preference for free translation and succeeds in reproducing the aesthetic beauty in the target text. Sun favors literal translation and his translation is faithful to the source text. Lastly, the translator's subjectivity is affected by ideology. Yielding to the dominant ideology, Wang uses the strategy of domestication, which makes his translation more readable and acceptable. Sun uses the strategy of foreignization, which makes his translation plentiful of cultural connotations and more faithful to the source text.In conclusion, the differences among translations are mainly caused by their subjective factors. Literary translation criticism therefore should go beyond the linguistic aspects of translation and refrain from finding faults in the target text. More attention should be paid to the display of the translator's subjectivity under the historical, social and cultural circumstances.