On Limits Of Translatability And Translation Strategies

Translation plays an indispensable role in the ever increasing cross-cultural exchanges. Due to practical needs, scholars are more in favor of the perspective that translation is possible but with certain limits, rather than absolute untranslatability. To some extent, limits of translatability inevitably exist in almost all translation practices. J. C. Catford, an English translation theorist, made a systematic research on limits of translatability, in which he distinguished linguistic limits of translatability and cultural limits of translatability.Based on Catford’s theory on limits of translatability, this dissertation analyzes linguistic limits of translatability and cultural limits of translatability through a case study of translating Paul Krugman’s economic reviews, puts forth that linguistic visual form may cause limits of translatability, which is of theoretical significance to some extent. Besides, possible translation strategies are suggested to make up for limits of translatability in translating Paul Krugman’s economic reviews:fuzzy processing and liberal translation for linguistic limits of translatability; literal translation¬es and domestication for cultural limits; and "analogy" of the form and transforming the form for limits of translatability caused by linguistic visual form. This, in a way, can be a reference for relevant researches and translation practices.By means of case analyses, this dissertation combines translation theory with the practice, aiming at making a further exploration of limits of translatability and translation strategies to make up for the limits, hoping to contribute to the relevant researches and translation practices.