Study On The Creative Treason In The Chinese Translation Of The Kite Runner From The Perspective Of Philosophical Hermeneutics

Literary language is a special form of language.There is a great difference between the original language and the target language.Because of this,literary translators need to deal with cultural connotations contained in the original words and expressions.Traditional translation theory focuses on loyalty and equivalence to the original text.However,it is proved by a large amount of translation practice that absolute equivalence in translation is impractical.There is some distance between the goal of literary translation and practical literary translation.In the translation process,the original cultural information will inevitably encounter addition,loss or even distortion.Robert Escarpit,a French literary sociologist,said,“Translation is always a sort of creative treason”(Escarpit,1987: 137).Creativity in translation means the subjective efforts made by the translator for the sake of reproducing the original text;and rebelliousness in translation refers to the objective deviations made by the translator out of the translator's intentional purpose.These two factors cannot be separated from each other.They combine to form a very popular phenomenon in translation.This thesis will analyze the creative treason in Li Jihong's translation of The Kite Runner from the perspective of philosophical hermeneutics.No translation activity can do without understanding and explaining of the original work.So,to some extent,hermeneutics is closely connected with translation.The thesis will use some core concepts such as fore-structure,fusion of horizon and effective history in philosophical hermeneutics to explain creative treason.They form a sound theoretical basis for creative treason.Li Jihong's creative treason is reflected on the linguistic and cultural levels in his translation of The Kite Runner.This thesis will analyze his creative treason on these two levels and explore the reasons for this phenomenon in light of philosophical hermeneutics.Through detailed case analysis,the thesis holds that the creative treason made by Li Jihong in his translation of The Kite Runner is by no means misreading and random translation.Instead,it is intentional deviation from the original for some purpose or reason.On the linguistic level,Li's creative treason is mainly reflected in four aspects,namely,omission,amplification,use of four-character phrases and conversion of narrators.Li Jihong creatively omitted some redundant Afghan words,ensuring the readability of the translation.By applying four-character phrases,Li Jihong takes full advantage of the target language,making the translation vivid and expressive.Moreover,the conversion of narrators helps to give very effective reproduction of the feelings of the characters in the original text.On the cultural level,Li Jihong tended to use the strategy of domestication.Through creative transformations of some images in religious and material cultures,he makes the translation more understandable and more acceptable to the target readers.His handling of some politically sensitive words shows the influence of ideology on him.By giving full play to subjective initiative,Li Jihong makes necessary creative treason on politically sensitive words.Li's creative treason is not only reflected in the changes of some expressions,but also in the changes of some meanings;and these creative treasons are reasonable and necessary.Influenced by the fore-structure of understanding,the historicity of understanding and prejudice of the translator as well as his consideration of different horizons,Li Jihong made creative treasons.His creative treason is of great value and significance,which will bring new enlightenment and positive influence to literary translators.