On Chinese-English Translation Of Science Fiction From The Perspective Of Translation Ethics

Since the "Ethical Return" initiative was put forward,the study of translation ethics has been brought into the horizon of scholars and become a research focus.Meanwhile,China has set higher demands on lifting its cultural soft power,the translation and output of the Chinese science fiction will contribute to the "go global".All this is closely related to translation ethics.As the most systematic and authoritative theory in the translation ethics,Chesterman’s five-model translation ethics covers various subjects in the process of translation.In addition,Guo Jianzhong first introduces the Venuti’s concept of foreignization into China and discusses its application in English-Chinese science fiction translation.He believes that the foreignization,as the translation strategy of Sci-Fi,is used more often than domestication.The purpose of this thesis is to verify whether Guo’s conclusion is applicable to Chinese-English science fiction translation.This thesis,with its focus on English version of Folding Beijing which has got access to Western mainstream culture,probes into the ethical models embodied in the version and the conflict and mediation between these models from the point of five models of translation ethics,in order to provide a reference for the Chinese-English translation of SciFi.The major findings are i)Translators can’t conform to all ethics simultaneously,but can choose the most suitable one in certain context.ii)Translators largely use italics to translate foreign words and psychological descriptions,following the ethics of representation and adopting the strategy of foreignization plus literal translation.iii)Translators translate scenery descriptions by adopting the strategy of domestication plus literal translation,which follows the ethics of service.iv)Translators translate idioms and rhetorics by following the ethics of communication,using the strategy of domestication plus free translation to translate the ordinary idioms,the strategy of foreignization plus literal translation to translate the rhetorical idioms,the strategy of foreignization plus literal translation to translate the similes and the strategy of foreignization plus free translation to translate the metonymys.v)Translators deal with scientific descriptions by adopting the strategy of foreignization plus literal translation and following the norm-based ethics.vi)The ethics of commitment,based on the inner virtue of translator,plays the role of macro guidance and helps the translator to make the most suitable ethical choose in different context,and then harmonizes the whole translation.To follow the models of translation ethics,translator uses foreignization more often than domestication to represent the dual features of literariness and scientificity.This thesis also finds that the conclusion of Guo Jianzhong on foreignization strategy of science fiction translation applies to Chinese-English translation of Sci-Fi.As to the selection of works to be translated,translator chooses what the readers like most and those works within his capability.Therefore,whether in term of selection of works to be translated or in term of translation ethics,Beijing Folding is a fine example of Chinese Sci-Fi that will travel beyond China to the world.