On The "Cultural Back-Translation" From A Heterogeneous Cultural Context

Self-translation is a very special type in the field of translation studies. As most critics concern about, self-translation in the current studies mainly refers to the action of translating one’s own works, or the products of this activity. The studies in this field both at home and abroad have gradually developed to the theoretical construction of this translation type; however, the researching ideas and approaches applied are quite different. The Westerners tend to follow the linguistic way in study this issue, aiming to define the distinctive features of self-translation by comparing it with the bi-lingual writings. The Chinese scholars mainly focus on recognizing and analyzing the literary and cultural effects of self-translation, to comment on the value orientation of the self-translator. In order to learn from both ideas, we need firstly to combine these two different researching approaches into our research, In addition, because of the bi-lingual ability and the bi-cultural awareness of the self-translator, this activity conveys a mission of cross-lingual/-cultural communication. This nature of self-translation is typically represented in the self-translation from a heterogeneous cultural context, in which the self-translator’s consciousness on committing a cross-cultural communication is bilaterally reflected in both the writing of the original in a foreign language and the translating of it into the mother language.Based on the analysis of the researching objects and approaches, this thesis is going to study the self-translation from a heterogeneous cultural context from the intertextual perspective. The significance of the thesis will be: on the one hand, this thesis proposes self-translation from a heterogeneous cultural context as the specific researching object, which has never been carefully studied before; on the other hand, it testifies the applicability of the intertextual theory in the critical practice of translation studies.The supporting theory─the intertextuality─is one of the most powerful critical discourses in the current studies. It is characterized by involving all kinds of elements participating in the composition of the printed text into the concept of "text" in a broad sense. As a result, the researching subjects, objects, tools and approaches are equal in producing the meaning of the text. As regards to translation studies, it corresponds with the mainstream of the critical discourse in post-modernism. From this sense, the existence of the translated version as an independent text is guaranteed. Besides, as an operable critical discourse, the intertextuality means the interactive relationships between all the literary and non-literary elements participating in the composition of the text. To be specific, it means the intertextual relationship between "text","subject","tool" and "ideology". This hierarchical structure of the intertextuality is coincident with the requirement for a combining of the western and Chinese approaches in self-translation studies. Therefore, it fits into self-translation studies.The exposition of studying self-translation from the intertextual perspective starts from the second chapter of the thesis. It begins with the summary and comment on the intertextual theory, and the author advocates that the intertextaulity has to be taken both as an overall view and a practical method. It follows with the introduction to the studies on the self-translation both at abroad and at home, pointing out the major issues and researching approach in this study field. The researching issues in self-translation from a heterogeneous cultural context to a homogenous cultural context in this thesis are:1) the self-translator’s conscious sense in a cross-cultural communication,2) the intertextuality between all the literary and non-literary elements in co-composing the text. These issues are testified in the third and fourth chapter of this thesis, which are the case-study on Eileen Chang’s self-translation from English to Chinese. In accordance with the hierarchy of the intertextual theory, the issues are categorized as:1) the "diachronic intertextuality" within the original and the translated respectively;2) the "synchronic intertextuality" between the original and the translated;3) the cultural intertextuality between "writing" and "translation";4) the subjectivity of the self-translator from the intertextual perspective.In the last part, the author summarizes the findings in this study. It can be concluded that the writing in a heterogeneous cultural context can be viewed as a "cultural translation", and in turn its translation as a "cultural back-translation". Owing to the bi-lingual ability and bi-cultural awareness of the self-translator, he/she are conscious about their parts taken in a cross-communication activity. This is represented in the construction of their doubie cultural identification: standing at a standpoint as a foreigner, they are the sober and objective observers; while as a cultural-self, they are the reflective practitioner. At the same time, the author admits some limitations and weak points in this thesis and points out the directions for future studies in this field.