On Manipulative Factors In Translation Activity

Traditional translation theories view the translation activity as the transformation between languages, constrain translation studies at the level of language, and emphasize on the faithfulness to the original text as well as the equivalence to the source text. In the1970s and1980s comes the Cultural Turn in translation studies, which introduces into translation studies nonlinguistic factors, such as culture, society, and history. Since then, a considerable number of new translation theories come into being. Andre Lefevere and Susan Bassnett carry on and further develop the Polysystem Theory, which is put forward by Even-Zohar and others scholars, propose the Manipulation Theory, and point out that translation is not only transformation at the level of language, but also rewriting at the level of culture. Lefevere argues that translation is a kind of rewriting. Under different historical conditions, translation activity is constrained by manipulative factors, including ideology, poetics and patronage. Consequently, translators, to some extent, adapt the original text with the dominant ideology and poetics, for the purpose of the acceptance by more readers.This thesis, with the Manipulation Theory as the theoretical basis, takes Selected Stories of Lu Hsun as the object of study, which is translated by Yang Hsien-yi and Gladys Yang and published in1960, discusses the manipulative factors in translation activity in the perspectives of ideology, poetics, and patronage. In methodology, the thesis combines theory and practice, analyzes the influence exerted by manipulative factors on Yangs’translation activity, and reaches the conclusion that ideology influences Yangs’motivations, principles, and strategies of translation, and ideology determines their faithfulness to the original texts; poetics also impacts Yangs’ translation activity at the levels of words and phrases, sentences, and discourse, and their translation best compromises the influence of poetics from both the original and the target languages; patronage imposes influence on Yangs’choice of text and their purpose of translation, and patronage determines that they are the patriotic translators.Through analysis, the thesis regards that Yangs have different ideology, poetics and patronage from Lu Xun’s because of their different life experience, education background and social environment, and meanwhile, these manipulative factors, to some extent, influence Yangs’ translation activity, and determine Yangs’ choice of text, motivations, principles, and strategies of translation.