On Translator’s Subjectivity From The Perspective Of Reception Theory

In the process of translation, the translator acts as the double role of a reader and an author or creator of the translated text. Based on this, the author of this thesis makes further researches on translator’s subjectivity from the perspective of reception theory. According to reception theory, the translator, as a special reader of the original text, is entitled to exert his or her creativity or imagination to realize the fusion of horizons with the original author, and on the other hand, in order to meet the target readers’needs and spur the target readers’ interests, the translator has to take the target reader’s reception into consideration before the translation activity begins. According to reception theory, a literary work is not fixed and is full of spots of indeterminacy. Thus, in literary translation, translator’s subjectivity is more obvious. Therefore, the author of this thesis chooses two English versions of Liaozhaizhiyias the study cases to make researches on translator’s subjectivity manifested in them in light of reception theory. And in the process of analyzing the two English versions, the author divides the whole process of translation into two phases:the process of understanding of the original literary work, in which the translator plays a role of a reader, and the process of translating or creating the translated literary work, in which the translator plays a role of a creator or a writer. In this thesis, through an analysis of the different choices of original texts and the different understandings of the characters, plots and indeterminacy existing in Liaozhaiziyi, the author holds that the translators of the two English versions exert their subjectivity to a different extent, which is also constricted by the horizon of expectations and the original text. However, a comparative analysis about the structures and components of two English versions and the different translation strategies chosen by different translators concerning the target readers’ reception indicates that in order to make a fusion of horizons between the target readers and the translator and to encourage target readers to make a more accurate understanding of the original text, the exertion of translator’s subjectivity plays a pivotal role in the arrangement of the translated literary work’s structure and the choice of translation strategy.For the sake of a thorough and accurate understanding of the original work, it is necessary for a translator to exert his or her creativity or imagination, and as a special reader, a translator is also demanded to change or even abandon his or her horizon of expectation or pre-understandings to ensure the fusion of horizons with the original author. And in the process of translating or creating the translated literary work, the translator needs to consider the target readers’reception and take great pains to seek for a balance between the original literary work and the target readers’reception. Through the comparative analysis of the two English versions in light of reception theory, the author aims to suggest that according to reception theory, translator’s subjectivity should gain enough attention in translation study. The study of translator’s subjectivity has flourished in recent years. However, the emphasis on the importance of translator’s subjectivity does not mean that translator’s subjectivity can be exerted in a random way. In fact, the translator’s subjectivity has many restricting factors implied in reception theory, such as the readers’reception, the original author’s intention and so on.