A Study On The Translator's Subjectivity From Two English Versions Of Lao Can You Ji

In the 1970s, the Western theoretical field saw the emergence of the "culture turn" in translation studies, which propelled the shift from the linguistic perspective to the cultural perspective and from the source language to the target language. Within such a context, the important role of the translator in the translating process became more obvious. As a result, translators of different periods and places as well as translation principles in a specific period and environment were gradually covered by the translation studies, which symbolizes that the translator has become an important subject in the translation field. Hence, translators have somewhat been lifted out of their marginalized status and the translator's subjectivity has received more and more emphasis. At the same time, many new theories, such as the manipulation theory, hermeneutics and Skopos theory, provided a theoretical basis for the study of the translator's subjectivity.This thesis relates the discovery of the translator's important role in translation both in China and Western countries, analyses the process from the translator's low status to its role as the subject of translation. On the basis of the forerunners' achievements, the different understandings of the subject of translation and of the translator's subjectivity are enumerated. And the present author puts forward her own understanding of the connotation of the translator's subjectivity by pointing out that the translator's subjectivity means the subjective initiative which a translator (as the subject of translation) displays in the translation process to achieve his or her translation purpose, on the premise of respecting the object of translation (the original author, the source text and the target reader). And the phases, achievements and problems with the theoretical study of translator's subjectivity in China and Western theoretical world are summarized. Furthermore, three characteristics—subjective initiative, purposiveness and passiveness of the translator's subjectivity are analyzed on the basis of such modern theories as hermeneutics, Skopos theory and rewriting theory. Moreover, the manifestations of these characteristics will also be illustrated in detail. For example, the translator's choice of the source text and his or her addition and omission reflect the translator's subjective initiative; the translator's adoption of different translation strategies according to his or her own purposes reflects the translator's purposiveness; and the constraints from source text and patronage show the passiveness of the translator.More importantly, apart from the theoretical analysis, a case study on two English translations of Lao Can You Ji, one of the most influential novels of Chinese classics, will further prove the validly of the translator's subjectivity and its characteristics. Its specific manifestations in the versions of Yang Xianyi and Harold Shadick justify the present author's efforts in studying the translator's subjectivity.