An Analysis Of Translator’s Subjectivity From The Perspective Of Hermeneutic Theory

In the long history of translation theory, the status of the translator has always beenput in a marginal position. Traditional translation theories require the translator should befaithful to the author and the source text. Actually, translator, an active element intranslation process, is the subject of the activity. With the cultural turn in1970s, theinvisible status of the translator has changed a lot. More and more scholars in translationtheories have been committed to the study of translators’ subjectivity.According to hermeneutic theory, understanding is the most emphasized point in theprocess of translation. It is true that different translators have their special and specificunderstandings towards the same original text. Because of a great number ofculture-loaded words and the compact sentence structure, it is of necessity to emphasizeunderstanding in Lun Yu’s translation. Thus, it is reasonable and suitable to analyze theEnglish version of Lun Yu from the perspective of hermeneutic theory. It is George Steinerwho first employs the hermeneutic theory into translation studies and puts forward hisfamous hermeneutic motion. According to him, the process of translation consists of foursteps altogether and they are trust, aggression, incorporation and compensation. Translator’s subjectivity is penetrated in each step of Steiner’s hermeneutic theory. Thus,hermeneutics provides a new theoretical framework for the study of the translators’subjectivity.On the basis of Steiner’s Fourfold Hermeneutic Motion Theory, the present thesisaims to demonstrate how the translator’s subjectivity is displayed in each step by analyzingKu Hungming’s English version of Lun Yu. Meanwhile, the thesis shows that the fourstages of Steiner’s hermeneutic theory proves to be the fresh and suitable theory for thestudy of translator’s subjectivity and advocates the essential role of the translators in theprocess of translation.