Translator’s Subjectivity From The Perspective Of Three Appeals In Aristotle’s Rhetoric Theory

In about 1970s, scholars from all around the world began to focus on translators’ subjectivity from different angles. The most representative theories are Cultural Translation Theory, Hermeneutics, Deconstruction Theory, Skopostheorie and Reader-response Theory. This thesis aims to analyze the subjectivity of translators from the perspective of three appeals in Aristotle’s rhetoric theory.Firstly, we reviewed current researches on translation, and analyzed those studies on translators’ subjectivity and the limitations. Secondly, we studied the subjectivity of translators and its limitation from a new perspective:an interdisciplinary angle which combines the Rhetoric theory by Aristotle and current translation theories. In this thesis, translators’ three appeals will be represented, and the differences between authors’ appeals and translators’ appeals will be defined, too. According to Hartwell’s rhetorical triangle, we can include the writer, the translator, the message and the readers of one work into one framework and define the three appeals of translators. That is to say, the subjectivity of translators’ can be limited by operating this framework. Furthermore, translators’ limited scope of subjectivity can be examined in this rhetoric framework, which can be used to check whether one translation is acceptable or not. The nature of translation determines that rational appeal is the most important appeal of one translator, the other two appeals relying on it and being subject to its restrictions. These can be well-illustrated by Howard Goldblatt in his translation of Red Sorghum.This thesis includes six chapters. Chapter One introduces the research background of this topic, the significance of this study, the organization of this thesis and the study methodology of this thesis. Chapter Two is a literature review of translators’subjectivity researched since the 1970s and the restrictions of translators’ subjectivity reflected in these theories. Chapter three includes three sections which will separately present the three appeals (ethical appeal/ethos, emotional appeal/pathos and logic appeal/logos) of translators. In this chapter, we will discuss the differences between authors’three appeals and translators’ three appeals, the manifestations of translators’three appeals and the factors which can influence their manifestations. Chapter four focuses on the exploration of translators’subjectivity and its limited scope. Based on Hartwell’s rhetorical triangle, we can include the writer, the translator, messages and readers of one work in one framework and define the three appeals of translators in a limited scope. On the basis of this, we will have a comparison of the utility scopes and the statuses of translators’three appeals. Chapter five is a certification of the theory proposed in chapter four by analyzing Howard Goldblatt’s utilization of his three appeals in his translation Red Sorghum and his control of his limited subjectivity. Actually, it proves that Goldblatt gave full play of his three appeals and created an excellent translation of Red Sorghum. The last chapter of this thesis is the conclusion, which is a retrospective summary of this thesis.