Translator-centeredness From The Perspective Of Eco-translatology

This thesis probes into the new concept translator-centeredness proposed byeco-translatology with an aim of proving the justifiability and feasibility ofeco-translatology in guiding translation practice. The author first reviews statements abouttranslator in translation studies by briefly introducing the historical progression oftranslator studies on the basis of changes of research perspectives. Overall speaking, thestatus of translator is gaining increasing attention and importance. Then, inspired byprevious studies about eco-translatology and translator’s subjectivity, the author tentativelyputs forward an assessment model for translator-centeredness which explore into themanifestation of translator-centeredness from the pre-translating process and the translatingprocess.Bi Feiyu’s Three Sisters, co-translated by Howard Goldblatt and Sylvia Lin andawarded the Man Asia Literary Prize in2010, is chosen for case study. The reasons are asfollows: firstly, Howard Goldblatt is the most distinguished translator of Chinese literaturein English-speaking countries, echoing the emphasis of translator’s status of this thesis;secondly, Three Sisters has not been studies after its translation, leaving a vacant spot forfurther research; thirdly, Howard mentioned during an interview that Bi Feiyu’s workswere hardest to translate, so his success in overcoming difficulties may offer insightful tipsfor future translation practice.Translator-centeredness, ever since its proposal, has not achieved enough attentionfrom domestic scholars. This thesis fills the gap of research in this area by analyzing itunder the theoretical structure of eco-translatology. Except for the validation of this newconcept, Hu Gengshen’s ecological approach to translation studies is also mentioned. Theconclusion is made that the key to successful translation is translator-centered adaptation totranslational eco-environment and flexible selection of translation strategies. Thelimitations of this thesis and suggestions for future studies are included at the end of thispart.