The Translator’s Subjectivity Reflected In Literary Translation As Exemplified By The Chinese Translation Of River Town

With special reference to the Chinese translation of River Town, this thesis attempts to study the translator’s subjectivity reflected in literary translation and its limits from the perspective of the theory of the translator’s subjectivity.The translator’s subjectivity means that the translator as the translation subject shows its initiative in translation under the premise of respecting the translation object to achieve the translation purpose. Its basic features are the translation subject’s conscious cultural awareness, cultural character and culture aesthetic creativity. As a special type of translation, literary translation is not only the conversion between language symbols, the transfer of the verbal information and the reproduction of artistic image and style, but also social and cultural exchanges and recreation activities. This nature of literary translation requires the necessity of the translator’s subjectivity in the translation process.As a typical literary work, River Town depicts a social panorama picture of a town in southwest China in 1990s. The translator’s subjectivity was fully exerted in translating it, which is mainly reflected in the following three aspects:1) the trust in and selection of the source text before translating; 2) the selection of proper translation methods such as addition, omission and conversion; and 3) the revision and review of the draft. Of course, the exertion of the translator’s subjectivity has its limits; it may be constrained by elements such as the source text and the translator’s own factors.