On Translator's Ethical Obligations

The progress of society as well as the development of science and technology leads to an increasingly wide attention to ethical problems from all walks of life.In a similar vein,ethical issues have become hot topics for discussion in the field of translation in China owing to the following reasons.On the one hand,translation theories developed against the background of Deconstructionism,characterized by descriptiveness and tolerance,put up an umbrella for much unethical translation practice and consequently resulted in a chaotic and perplexing situation in Translation Studies;on the other hand,domestic translation market is faced with an awkward situation:coexistence of prosperity and confusion.It is under such circumstances that the present study was conducted.First,in the present study,ethics refers to a set of standards of conduct that guide decisions and actions based on duties derived from core values.It defines how individuals choose to interact with one another.Translation ethics is crucially necessary in regulating translating in that the latter is one of the most complicated purposeful human activities,in which the translator has to deal with the relationship between "I" and the "Other(Otherness)",and accordingly encounters a variety of ethical dilemmas expecting him/her to make choices in view of a variety of principles,norms and rules. The thesis held discussions on all kinds of ethical dilemmas translators may encounter at different stages of translating(before-translating,while-translating,and after-translating) and in retranslation.Besides,it proposed solutions to those ethical dilemmas on the basis of example analysis and summarized the translators' ethical obligations.Second,as translators having slowly transformed their anonymity into a professional identity,the need for special ethical principles in a translators association is the same as the need for ethical principles in society as a whole.In order to ensure the healthy and orderly development of translation profession,FIT and translators associations in many countries or regions have enacted code of ethics or professional conduct governing the translation service.Likewise,Translation Service Committee of TAC also approved a code of ethics for translation service in 2005.Taking the ethical obligations summarized as a frame of reference,the thesis made a comparison of the Translator's Charter and codes of ethics implemented in the U.S.,UK,Australia and China.The contrastive study shows that TAC Code of Ethics is to be amended in three respects.Firstly,the statements,being too vague and too general,have to be specified for better implementation;Secondly,TAC Code of Ethics just directly lists four ethical obligations(i.e.achieving the intended function of TT,conforming to the confidentiality agreement,establishing a harmonious relationship with colleagues and being loyal to translation profession) of translators,neglecting the majority.Therefore,other obligations have to be incorporated into the amended version.Thirdly,considering the fact that numerous problems have arisen in the field of retranslation,the paper insists that ethics related to retranslation have to be highlighted.Based on the contrastive study of Codes of Ethics for Translators,the present study also noted that issues related to the ethics of translation have been excluded from current translator educating and certification systems.Therefore,the paper gave a particular attention to the foreign experience in translator education and certification systems and proposed two solutions:(1) a more scientific translator training system has to be developed,into which at least one course concerning translation ethics or professional conduct has to be incorporated;(2) Translators' knowledge and understanding of translation ethics have to be assessed in China Accreditation Test for Translators and Interpreters(CATTI) in order to enhance their awareness of providing ethical service.