Study Of Six Chapters Of A Floating Life From The Perspective Of Translation Inter-subjectivity

Inter-subjectivity, which is originally a philosophical term, now has been applied in the study of translation. The theories of inter-subjectivity deeply analyze the inter-relationships between subjects in the process of translation. In Habermas’s Communicative Action theory, inter-subjectivity are paid much attention and three effective requirements, namely, authenticity, correctness and sincerity, are applied in order to guarantee the smooth process of communicative activities. Under the guidance of this philosophical theory, Inter-subjectivity offers a new perspective for the study of translation. From the perspective of inter-subjectivity, the creating subject, the translating subject and the receptive subject in the process of translation, namely, the ST author, the translator and the TT readers, enjoy equal status. The translator’s subjective factors play a mediating role but also receive restrains from other subjects. In the inter-subjective communication, understanding and contradiction occur at the same time. Only in a successful translated version can the ST author, the translator and the TT readers reach a perfect state.Six Chapters of a Floating Life is an autobiographical novel of Shen Fu, a writer in Qing Dynasty. The book, in which the author tells stories with profound emotion, is now famous in the world and has been translated into many foreign languages. Among the translated versions the most classic is Lin Yutang’s English version, which has been the hot topic in the study of translation all the time. This thesis finds out the inter-subjective relationships between subjects in classic translated versions, under the guidance of inter-subjectivity theory and with the case of Lin’s Six Chapters of a Floating Life. After the subjects in the process of translation are defined, the inter-subjective relationship will be analyzed in detail. The translator’s subjective mediation in the inter-subjective relationships is manifested in his selection of source text and adoption of translation strategies. Meanwhile, the translator’s understanding of the source text is affected by the ST author and his expressing is also affected by the TT readers. A successful translated version should be the perfect combination of the ST author, the translator and the TT readers. Six Chapters of a Floating Life is just the case.