On Mode Of Literary Translation Criticism

The present paper is centering on the topic of"literary translation criticism mode"in the field of translation criticism. The discussion of it should be based on relevant systemized criticism theories. Therefore, the paper firstly makes a general overview of Chinese and western translation criticism development and the development perspective of contemporary translation criticism theories and goes on to discuss the inter-dependent relationship between translation criticism theories and translation theories, the major principles, subjects and objects. These crucial steps draw on different translation theories and criticism approaches, laying a good foundation for the proposal of a constructive translation criticism mode.Compared with the translation of documentary writings with stronger professional degree (such as the translation of hard news, technical instructions and documentaries), the critical study over literary translation often needs to consider more respects besides pure translation theories, such as the difference of cultural backgrounds between the source and the target languages, the translator's artistic appreciation of the original work, and the problem of whether the original style can be manifested through the target language feature. Literary translation criticism is often related to the problem of"stylistic translation"which in turn includes the discussion of"whether the translation is faithful to the original or not". According to the paper, the degree of faithfulness is not just judged in terms of the original. Translation, as a cross-cultural communication tool, should attach great importance to the respects of target culture, target readers'reaction and the translator's style. The criticism mode which is based on the target culture is in correspondence with the translation theory of"functional equivalence"and is beneficial to the more objective evaluation of the translation. In addition, the mode provides much space to the positive role of the target language feature in stylistic translation. By blending the language features of both the SL and TL, the stylistic beauty of the original work can be shown through the preservation of the original style and the adding of the SL feature. This corresponds with"cross-cultural communication", facilitating more TL readers (especially those popular and unprofessional readers) to appreciate the charm of the original work vividly and naturally through the translation.This paper also makes a brief introduction and analysis of the problem of"faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance"and the role of cultural elements prior to the formal recommendation of this criticism mode. Following the recommendation, the paper applies the mode into actual practice by probing into the case study of the two English translation versions (by"Yang Hsien-yi, Gladys Yang"and David Hawkes) of the Chinese classic"Hong Lou Meng". Through the comparison of their respective social backgrounds, cultural orientations and translation strategies, the suggestive mode is then applied to some of the excerpts to manifest its feasibility and point out the importance of the target culture when evaluating a literary translation work.