On Translator’s Subjectivity In The Translation Of Chinese American Literature

It is generally acknowledged that the translator plays a vital role in translation. However, domestic scholars in translation field have paid more attention to the nature of translation, translation criteria and translation methods than on translators for a long time. Due to the appearance of "cultural turn" in western translation studies in the 1980s, brand new methods and measuring criteria are introduced to probe into the nature of translation. Consequently, the subjective status of translator began to be widely accepted and researches on translator’s subjectivity also have been on the increase.With the wave of globalization, the cultural communication between the U.S and China has become more and more frequent. Since the 1980s, Chinese American Literature has caused wide concerns among researchers at home and abroad. Brilliant writers and their excellent works are constantly being introduced or translated to China, which opens up a window for domestic readers to catch a glimpse of the life experience and state of overseas Chinese. Among these outstanding writers, a Chinese American woman writer, Amy Tan becomes the most shining star. Her maiden and representative work The Joy Luck Club made a stir in the realm of American literature in 1989. Once published, this novel gained great favor with American readers. Currently in China, including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, The Joy Luck Club has six Chinese versions in total. Much progress has been made on the research of The Joy Luck Club in the domestic field of literature, yet its translation study is comparatively lagging behind. Till now, there has been no study on translation of The Joy Luck Club from the perspective of factors of translator’s subjectivity.Therefore, the thesis attempts to make a tentative research on its translation from the influencing factors of translator’s subjectivity and then to explore translator’s subjectivity in translation of Chinese American Literature. Two Chinese versions of The Joy Luck Club will be adopted in this case study. One is by Cheng Naishan in 2006 from the mainland and the other one is by Taiwan translator Yu Renrui in 1990. On the other side, this paper examines the reflection of translator’s subjectivity and its influencing factors from three aspects-the selection of text, the selection of translation method and the transferring process. On the other side, it focuses on the comparative analysis about translation of titles, hybrid contents, psychological and scenery descriptions, mistranslation by the two translators. Then the present thesis makes a conclusion. Firstly, for special ethnic background of writers and rich contents of texts, translating Chinese America literary text is definitely not an easy task. Translators are required to bring their subjectivity into full play so as to faithfully interpret the original and retain its artistic form. Secondly, the exertion of subjectivity does not mean translator is justified to act at his will. But rather he performs his creativity on the basis of fidelity to the original author and text. Otherwise, he is at the risk of mistranslating. Thirdly, two translators’exertion of subjectivity has not been effected by ideology directly. Along with the development of democratization progress, both translation study and practice enjoy a freer environment, greatly less restricted by political factors. Finally, this thesis is hoped to deepen our understanding of translator’s subjectivity and its influencing factors; provide some enlightenment for practice in retranslation of The Joy Luck Club and translation of more excellent Chinese American literary works.