Translator Behavior In Sidney Shapiro From Perspective Of Institutionalized Translation

Human’s translation activities evolve from a simple form to an advanced andsophisticated one. Institutionalized Translation aims at probing into the both-way,dynamic check and balance between abstract institutions and concrete translationpractice from the sociological perspective and under relevant framework; it is onesophisticated form of translation. The concept of Institutionalized Translator offers anew viewpoint for translator studies as well as Translator Behavior-Centered studies.What needs to be noted is that National Translation Program is a typical form ofInstitutionalized Translation.Sidney Shapiro (1915-) is a unique member involved in Chinese NationalTranslation Program, and he has made significant contributions to the translationcause in contemporary China in his51years’ translation career. In China, studiesfocusing on Shapiro have been conducted from various perspectives, and a researchhas already come up with “Shapiro Model” which attempts to probe into histranslation thoughts by means of combing through his translation practice. However,Shapiro-focused researches are mainly conducted to study his translational version ofShui Hu Zhuan from a variety of perspectives. What’s more, Shapiro’s translations areoften inclined to be divided into three stages as follows: the17Years of New China(1949-1966), the Ten Years of the Cultural Revolution (1967-1977) as well as the30Years of the New Period since1978. In one word, academic attention paid to such animportant translator as Shapiro is far from satisfactory both in depth and in range.This thesis is made up of five chapters. Chapter One briefly introduces relatedbackgrounds, purposes, methodologies as well as the significance of the research.Chapter Two is literature review. Current situations of researches on translators and onTranslator Behavior both home and abroad are presented; researches centering onSidney Shapiro in China are also summarized with a brief introduction to related achievements and weak points based on data collected by this thesis. Chapter Threeintroduces a new perspective in Translation Studies, namely InstitutionalizedTranslation. Then, tools to study Shapiro’s translator’s behaviors will be described.Afterwards, reasons why the both are combined will be given. In Chapter Four, threestages of Shapiro’s translations will be presented according to data mainly collectedfrom Chinese Literature from perspective of Institutionalized Translation:1951-1959;1960-1983;1984-2002. Set in practical contexts of Institutionalized Translation in theearlier two stages, the influence of his unique identity as an InstitutionalizedTranslator on his translator’s behaviors will be presented diachronically through twoapproaches; that is, the thesis takes his translation of excerpts from Defend Yenan!(Chinese Literature,1956) and corresponding parts in his complete translationalversion of the novel (Foreign Languages Press,1958) as a contrastive study, and alsotakes his translation of excerpts from The Builders of A New Life (ChineseLiterature,1964) as a case study. Chapter Five makes a summary of the thesis, pointsout deficiencies of the thesis and then offers three issues for further study.Therefore, this thesis for the first time attempts to combine concepts in studies onTranslator Behavior and Institutionalized Translation which both present theirinclination to “social turn” in translation studies. Based on data mainly from ChineseLiterature, Shapiro as well as his translator’s behaviors in Institutionalized Translationin contemporary China is explored. It can be seen from this thesis that Shapiro’identity as an Institutionalized Translator has a diachronic influence on hisself-identification and it makes Translator Behavior in Shapiro present differentfeatures in Institutionalized Translation at different stages.