On The Translator’s Subjectivity In The Translation Of Big Breasts And Wide Hips

Traditional translation theories have paid much attention to the importance of the original text as well as its author, stating that the translated text should be linguistically equivalent to the original text and the translator should be faithful to the original author, in which the translator has always been assigned a peripheral position. After the "cultural turn" in western translation studies, the status of the translator has been elevated and the translator’s subjectivity has been a heated topic widely discussed among researchers. Although many researches have been conducted on this topic, most researchers focus more on the initiative of the translator, neglecting the restrictive factors accompanying the translator’s subjectivity. Therefore, this thesis takes both the initiative and passivity into consideration, exploring the connotations of the translator’s subjectivity in a dialectical way.This thesis intends to analyze the original text of Big Breasts and Wide Hips and its English version by comparison and contrast with the aim to elaborate on the manifestations of the translator’s subjectivity in the whole translating activity. Big Breasts and Wide Hips is Mo Yan’s representative work and Shangguan Lu, the mother in this book, takes her children through a series of disastrous periods with her strong will and sheer perseverance, from the Sino-Japanese War to national reforms after the founding of the People’s Republic of China. She can be considered to be a fictional figure of Mo’s own mother and this novel is an ode to mothers’ greatness. The English version of this book reveals Howard Goldblatt’s unique subjectivity and thus a study of the English version is of great significance for us to understand thoroughly the translator’s subjectivity.The answers to the following questions can justify whether the translator’s subjectivity has been adequately implemented. Firstly, has the translator exactly conveyed the original text’s theme, character images, national culture and literary stylistics to target readers? Secondly, can the translated text be well understood and accepted by western readers? Thirdly, does the English version conform to the ideology and dominant poetics in the target culture? There has been a general consensus of positive answers to these questions among scholars in the literary translation field. This thesis is composed of four chapters. Chapter One reviews the literature and explains the rationale, purpose and methodology of the research. Chapter Two gives an overview of the theory and summarizes the previous researches. Chapter Three makes a comparative survey of the original text and its translation, and dwells upon the aspects in which initiative and passivity are manifested. Chapter Four summarizes the main points, discusses the implications of the study and puts forward suggestions for further study.The major findings in this thesis reveal that Big Breasts and Wide Hips is the result of the combination of Goldblatt’s subjective initiative and passivity. On the one hand, he exerts his initiative in the translation of proverbs, culture-loaded words, scene description and textual typology; on the other hand, restricted by personal competence and ideology in the target culture, Goldblatt manifests his passivity in the translation of some idioms and taboo words. In order to introduce Chinese culture to the west and gratify target readers’ curiosity, Goldblatt exerts his initiative to retain the original images and cultural elements through literal translation or transliteration plus explanation. Moreover, Goldblatt will adapt the obscure content in the original text to ease target readers’ understanding burden on his own initiative. However, restricted by the western ideology, Goldblatt has to substitute taboo words in the original text with euphemisms. At the same time, a small quantity of mistranslations resulting from the constraints of personal ability occur as an inevitable result of passivity.Theoretical and practical implications for the research on the translator’s subjectivity can be obtained from the major findings of this study. The theoretical implication is mainly that subjective initiative and passivity are two seemingly opposite but actually interrelated components of the translator’s subjectivity, which provide a perspective on studying the theory of the translator’s subjectivity in a comprehensive and dialectical way. Researchers should avoid focusing on just one side of the translator’s subjectivity. Practically speaking, the translation methods adopted by Goldblatt can provide translators of contemporary Chinese novels with some suggestions about the issue of how to choose different translation methods to implement their subjectivity appropriately.