On The Cultural Identity Formation In Cultural Translation

Since the 1970 s, the international translation researchers no longer stuck to the traditional translation studies of pure language. The field of translation ushered in the wave of “Cultural Turn”. All kinds of factors related to culture came to the attention of researchers, as well as the study of the relationship between identity and translation. And the implement of “going out” strategy for Chinese culture in China asks more translators and experts to engage in the research of cultural translation, so as to manifest our country’s unique cultural features to the world during the international cultural exchange.As long as it refers to cross-languages and cross-cultures exchange, the translation involves a variety of identities. The most common identities are: cultural identity, linguistic identity, national identity, social identity, gender identity, class identity and so on. Among the various of identities, cultural identity plays an important role. The way how to deal with cultural information embodies the translator’s subjectivity. On the one hand, translation will convey the cultural information in the original text and re-present the original cultural identity. On the other hand, cultural translation will reconstruct the cultural identity of the original text.This paper takes the translation of Wolf Totem as an example, adopts the study method of qualitative analysis, bases on Venuti’s view of cultural translation(that is: His Reinterpretation of Domesticating and Foreignizing, Resistant Translation Strategy and Translation and Cultural Identity), resorts to Eugene A.Nida’s classification of cultural factors, and emphasizes on the discussion of the relationship of cultural translation and cultural identity. The selection of Wolf Totem is on the basis of two reasons: one is that the Chinese version of this novel is representative. The novel is equipped with the features of originality, artistry, humanitarian spirit and global theme which are helpful for it to go out to the world. Another reason is that the English version of Wolf Totem is of high level and quality. Its translator is Howard Goldblatt, just the person who is the famous Chinese literary translator in the world. Through the analysis of translation strategies the translator adopts in the process of translating Wolf Totem, the author can find the degree of the translator’s exertion of his subjective initiative. The two main questions this paper studied are: what cultural information in the translated text are the representation of the original cultural identity and the reconstruction of the original cultural identity respectively? And what factors contribute to the representation of the original cultural identity and the reconstruction of the original cultural identity? The study of these two questions will provide approaches to the solution of the relationship of cultural translation and cultural identity.Through the discussion of Howard Goldblatt’s translation of the cultural information in the novel, the author draws a conclusion that: by virtue of the translator’s exertion of his subjective initiative, the cultural identity can be partly reproduced and partly reconstructed. The translator is not in the state of “invisibility” any more. The exertion of the translators’ subjective initiative plays an important role in the representation and reconstruction of cultural identity in the process of cultural translation. The end of the paper summarizes three main factors that influence the representation of foreign cultural identity: the translator’s cultural attitude, the nation’s cultural position/status and translation strategy. There are three main factors that influence the representation of foreign cultural identity as well, including the orientation of translator’s cultural value, the native mainstream ideology and translation strategy.The study will broaden the horizon of cultural translation research, deepen the practical significance of translation studies, and make the study of translation subjects further. It will be conductive to the development of our own country’s construction and creation of translation theory so as to make them guide the English-Chinese translation practice better.