A Study On Translator's Subjectivity

Translation is by definition a kind of subjective activity, in which the translator takes precedence over other participants. To some extent, the translator is claimed to be the key role in a translation practice. Accordingly, he turns out to be the coordinator between the reader and writer, source texts (ST) and target texts (TT).The paper is to shed light on translator's subjectivity based on a few selected stories. From the point of subjective view, the author of the thesis decides to study the concrete efforts to translating Lu Xun's classic works, and to give some analytical comparisons between source language (SL) and target language (TL). Moreover, development and limitation of translator's subjectivity is studied during the translating process, as much as domestication and foreignization are proved to take effects on translation strategies.The paper aims to introduce the German Functionalist translation theory in order to say that translator's subjectivity turns out to be the very important in translation studies. According to German Functionalist scholars, Skopos theory the author has cited in the paper fits well with non-literary texts or literary texts in different ways. The author thinks that Skopos theory may explain the interactions among translation action, translator, text, and readers. Translator, not only acts as a decoder, but presents himself or herself to the translating process as a whole.In addition, the author of the thesis regards ideology as another research method that is applied not only to make a translator understand two different languages, but involve himself or herself in the two distinct cultures. However, an ideological manipulation presents itself on many occasions. When a translator works under ideology, he or she must be constrained to some sort of specific culture, geological conditions or historic background. Being a outstanding translator, he must take it for granted that his target readers' responses and their exceptions are also important and worthy.To give a better illustration of the translator's subjectivity, the author of the thesis turns to those cultural scholars on translation studies and expects to match their viewpoints with the main ideas of the paper. Based on the Postmodern, Postcolonial and Feminist findings, the translator's subjectivity renews itself and goes under reappraising. All in all, the translator from the "Cultural Turn" becomes more and more manipulative.Last but not least, there is a list of Yang's Lu Xun Selected Works talked about in the paper, from which domestication and foreignization are furthered together with German Functionalist Theory, so much as that the translator's subjectivity can be illustrated in a translation activity.