On The Translator's Subjectivity From The Perspective Of Communication

Translation is in essence a special form of communication. It is a cross-cultural and trans-lingual communicative activity. That means while bearing the common features of communication, translation also enjoys its particularities. During the analysis of communication models, the communicative features of translation will stand out, and translator's dynamic and subjective role will also be clear. Without translators, the sharing of information between the original author and the target readers can not be realized. Communication science,with its open and dynamic features, also lays a solid foundation for translation study.As one of Confucian classics, Lunyu represents the quintessence of Chinese culture. Its translation work dates back to more than three centuries ago. Four English versions serve as the object of study and communication science acts as theoretical framework. For sure, different cultural identities and historical backgrounds of the four translators will also be taken into account. As to how translator's subjectivity plays its role, things like language, content arrangement, and sentence structure and processing of names and key words in the four versions will be covered to illustrate it. After that, this paper will analyze whether they have realized the intended communicative goal.This paper finds that the conscious decoding and encoding by translators positioned in between ST and target readers are the proof of translator's subjectivity. During the process, the translator's ideology, aesthetic inclination, literature and language competence will find their manifestation. Yet the intended communicative goal does not necessarily become a reality. Therefore translators should be fully aware of their constraints in communication activity, tap full potential of subjectivity and employ appropriate translation methods in ways that the original message of ST can be conveyed and communicated to the highest extent. The present author hopes this paper can be enlightening in this regard.