Adaptation And Selection: Exploration Of Hybridity In Literary Translation From English To Chinese

Hybridity is one of the characteristics of the literary text. With their shifting focus gradually pointing to the literary translated works in recent years, researchers have diligently delved into the hybridity’s origin, development and cause in variant contexts, thereafter achieving satisfactory academic results. However, little importance has ever been attached to translators’ subjectivity, hence causing an inevitable demarcation of the translators and other elements, such as society culture.The thesis attempts initially to reveal the subjectivity manifested by the translators under dominant constraints, inherent in the translational eco-environment, inexorably imposed on them. Afterwards, more emphasis will be placed on the translators’ adaptation and selection, which directly exerts far-reaching impacts on the hybridity degree of the literary translated text. Central to the research is the notion, put forward by Professor Hu Gengshen, that translation is a selection activity of the translator’s adaptation to fit the translational eco-environment. Two Chinese versions of The Catcher in the Rye are drawn on to offer the source material for the study.This thesis is divided into 3 chapters, besides Chapter One—"Introduction" and Chapter Five—"Conclusions". Chapter Two is the literature review of hybridity in literary translation, showing the positive functions of hybridity in translation and limitations in relevant researches. Besides, Reference has also been made to the Approach to Translation as Adaptation and Selection, an extremely important theory put forward by Hu Gengshen. Chapter Three puts forward the assumption between translators’ adaptation/selection and the corresponding hybridity in literary translations. Chapter Four is a comparative study of Chinese versions of The Catcher in the Rye with its focus on occurrence of hybridity and its varying representations at different levels in literary translations, revealing the relevant translators’ role contributing to the hybridity in literary translations.