Descriptive Study On Translator Behavior Through Zhu Jianxun’s Translation Of Zhuang Hu Ren Jia

Traditional studies on translation tend to be prescriptive. They assess the translation from the linguistic perspective with "faithfulness" as the only standard. However, the prescriptive criteria are too ideal to be universally applicable, thus some scholars begin to search for new approaches for translation study. Since the1970s, translation studies are no longer confined to the transformation between languages, but are conducted in the social and cultural background. The establishment of the "Truth-seeking-Utility-attaining" Continuum Mode of Evaluation by Zhou Lingshun is an effective attempt in this circumstance."Truth-seeking-Utility-attaining" Continuum Mode of Evaluation intends to evaluate the behavior of a translator objectively. Translator’s behavior is the reflection of his or her attributes. The translator lingers between two ends of "the author/source text" and "the target readers/society" with intermediate states of gradual changes in between. When the translator inclines to the end of "the author/source text", his behavior is demonstrated as "truth-seeking", which reflects translator’s linguistic attribute; and when the translator inclines to the end of "the target readers/society", his behavior is demonstrated as "utility-attaining", which reflects translator’s social attribute.Homestead, Rosina Lippi’s virgin novel, has helped her win the1999Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award. Since its publication in1998, Homestead has met rounds of applauses from the mainstream reviewers and mass media. Zhu Jianxun, a member of the Translator Association of China, is the first to introduce this novel to Chinese readers through his translation, Zhuang Hu Ren Jia(庄户人家)in2001. Professor Zhu commended that Homestead attracts readers not by its plots but language. The stories are told in succinct language at a slow pace. Therefore, he felt obliged to make adjustments to his translation so as to restore the beauty of the source text. There have been many researches conducted on translators and their translations, but these researches are mostly confined to linguistic aspects. Scarcely have previously researches combine the issue of restoring the style of the source text with that of satisfying the target readers. This study is a descriptive and comparative study on Zhu Jianxun’s behavior in his translation of Zhuang Hu Ren Jia with the theories of "Truth-seeking-Utility-attaining" Continuum Mode of Evaluation as the theoretical framework. After the description of Zhu Jianxun’s "truth-seeking" behavior from the linguistic perspective and the elaboration on Zhu Jianxun’s "utility-attaining" behavior from the social perspective, we expect to get conclusions as follows:first, translation activity is a socialized utilitarian behavior, restricted by the linguistic attribute of translation. Therefore, the translator put "truth-seeking" before "utility-attaining". Second, Zhu Jianxun has managed to strike a balance between "the author/source text" and "the target readers/society", and his behavior is inspiring for other translators.This thesis consists of five chapters:Chapter one is an introduction to the research background, significance and objective, research methodology and the overall structure of this study.Chapter two is the literature review. It starts with a brief introduction to Rosina Lippi and her novel Homestead, then it gives a brief introduction to Zhu Jianxun, the translator, and his Zhuang Hu Ren Jia, and finally it introduces some commends on the novel Homestead.Chapter three is the theoretical framework which consists of three parts. First, the shift from prescriptive study to descriptive study in translation is elaborated to introduce background of the rising of translator behavior studies. Second, the differences and definition of translation and translating are illustrated in translator behavior studies. Third, the theories of translator behavior studies are expounded upon. Among them,"Truth-seeking-Utility-attaining" Continuum Mode of Evaluation is the main tool of this paper.Chapter four is the main body of the paper. Zhu Jianxun’s behavior is analyzed and evaluated from intra-linguistic and extra-linguistic aspects under the theoretical framework of "Truth-seeking-Utility-attaining" Continuum Mode of Evaluation.Chapter five is the conclusion, in which major findings, limitations and the suggestions for future research are exhibited.