Intersubjectivity In Translation In The Light Of Theory Of Communicative Action

Influenced by"cultural turn"and the transition from subjectivity to intersubjectivity in western philosophy, translation scholars have reconsidered the current researches of translation and applied the concept of intersubjectivity to translation studies. They hold that intersubjectivity in translation refers to the inherent relations among the subjects established in translation activities, such as the author, the translator, the target reader, and the patron, etc.. They argue that, only through equal dialogues and exchanges, can a successful translation be produced. But most of the existing researches of intersubjectivity still lack enough methodological discussions and tend to separate the theory from translation practice. Therefore, this thesis aims to discuss the essence of intersubjectivity in translation from the perspective of Jurgen Habermas'Theory of Communicative Action (TCA) and expound intersubjectivity in translation through the case of the U.S. President Barack Obama's political autobiography The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream.This thesis answers two questions: what is the essence of intersubjectivity in translation from the perspective of TCA?How does it represent in the translation of The Audacity of Hope? So this thesis begins with the review of the development of translation studies from focus on translation subjects to emphasis on translation subjectivity with the influence of the"cultural turn": the debate on"who is the translation subject"leads to the beginning of the study of translation subjects; the evolution of the three paradigms of translation studies, from the author-centered paradigm to the source text-centered and then to the translator-centered, indicates the predicament caused by the domination of unitary subjectivity and thus definitely translation studies will step forward to the transition from subjectivity to intersubjectivity in translation. This transition is unavoidable and may inspire some new insights for translation studies.For the existing limitations of the study of intersubjectivity in translation, this thesis proposes to apply Habermas'TCA to discuss the concept and the essence of intersubjectivity in translation and represent the real situation of intersubjective communication through Obama's autobiography. This research, based on different attitudes that different translation schools hold towards translation criterion and thus different translation strategies they take, expounds the essence of intersubjectivity in translation from the perspective of TCA in three aspects: the background of intersubjective communication in translation activity; the norms and claims that each translation subject abides by in the translation process; and the aim or purpose of their communication. Through comparative study of the original and the translation of The Audacity of Hope, this thesis makes exemplifications to verify the above argumentation in a detailed way.In the end, the author states that, enlightened by TCA, intersubjectivity in translation may be defined as the rational relations among translation subjects established in the"life world"with the observation of validity claims to reach mutual understanding. The redefinition of intersubjectivity in translation does not only consider the background of the communication in translation activity, but also emphasize the specific norms that should be observed by translation subjects, and moreover, expounds the purposes of their communication as well. In this regard, it manifests the essence of intersubjectivity in translation hidden deep under the complicated superficies.