Factors In Translator’s Subjectivity That Affect Translator’s Choice Between Domestication And Foreignization

Along with the “cultural shift” in Western translation study in the1970s,translation research has expanded from text to translator, the subject of translationactivity.Subjectivity refers to subject’s nature characteristics shown in objective activity.Subject gives full play to subjective initiative to remold, affect and control the object.Regarding translation activity, translator’s subjectivity refers to translator’s subjectiveinitiative performed in translation practice for determined purposes; however, therehas been no clear definition on translator’s subjectivity so far.The book Fu Sheng Liu Ji, an autobiography written by Shen Fu in QingDynasty, has enjoyed high reputation among Chinese writers and readers since it wasdiscovered in an second-hand book store. In order to make the book known by thewhole world, Lin Yutang made great efforts in translating it into English. Shirley M.Black, an English sinologist also translated the book into English in the1960s.This thesis reviews domestication translation period and foreignizationtranslation period in modern China and makes a comparative study on the twoversions. The study is carried out from two aspects, translator’s purpose andtranslator’s cultural background and linguistic competence, to find out factors intranslator’s subjectivity that influence the adoptation of translation strategies.The thesis is divided into5parts. The first part offers definitions ondomestication and foreignization respectively and overviews of competition betweenthe two translation strategies. The second part provides a definition of translator’s subjectivity and reviews periods of domestication translation and foreignizationtranslation respectively in modern China from the aspects of translator’s purpose andtranslator’s cultural background and linguistic competence. The third part offers briefintroduction on the book Fu Sheng Liu Ji and its author as well as the two translators.The fourth part makes a comparative study on translation strategies used in the twoversions from the aspects of translator’s purpose and translator’s cultural backgroundand linguistic competence. Conclusion is offered in the last part.