| André Lefevere's manipulation theory developed in the 1980 s is a milestone of the cultural turn of translation studies whose focus is shifted from the in-text to extra-text analyses.And it is utopian and futile to exalt linguistic faithfulness as the only strategy possible,or even allowable.The original text is no longer the center of translation study,but the socio-cultural conditions where the rendition is shaped and conceived.Mao Zedong's 88 Typical Expressions Impacting China,a monograph of Hu Songtao,embarks on a detailed introduction to the expressions from derivation,connotation and political context,embodying the style of Mao's Language featured with vividness,connotation,creativeness,simplicity and political overtones,which is closely related to the society,politics,history and culture,and therefore cannot be neglected in the English translation of the expressions to reproduce Mao's distinctive language style.It aptly conforms to the main concepts of Lefevere's manipulation theory,which classifies all cultural constraints that translation activities confront into patronage,ideology and poetics,and all of them intertwine with each other,exerting influence on the whole translation process.Patrons as a rule operate by means of ideology,economy and social statue to regulate translators,and even directly determine the theme of translation;ideology,as the mainstream beliefs of individuals and society,exerts significant impacts on the translation strategy translators adopt;poetics,the literary system of a society,plays an important part in the details of translation.The thesis,taking Mao Zedong's 88 Typical Expressions Impacting China as raw material,and Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung as the source of English version of Mao's typical expressions for a case study,probes into the manipulations imposed on the English translation of them by the three cultural constraints of manipulation theory through the objective comparative study of the original text and the translated text,combining the social context of the translated text.It makes the fact explicit that the patronage of the English translation of Mao's typical expressions is the People's Republic of China;the dominant ideology is socialism and collectivism;poeticsconcerns Chinese traditional poetics and Western poetics,and finally comes to the conclusion as follows: Firstly,the translation activity is deeply manipulated by the three cultural constraints of manipulation theory.The central government directly determines the choice of translating text and translators;collectivism and the general prejudice against intellectuals in society lead to the anonymousness of the translators;influenced by the authority of Socialism and Mao Zedong Thought,literal translation is the essential strategy adopted to be faithful to the original in contents and style.In some cases,translators have to make changes in translated text for the poetological differences between English and Chinese.Secondly,although receiving intense manipulations from the three cultural constraints,translators still have to some extent subjective initiative.This thesis probes into the influences of cultural factors outside the literary system on the translation of Mao's typical expressions from the perspective of manipulation theory and will offer an insight into the translation study out of linguistic level.Besides,the comprehensive introduction to the contents and applications of manipulation theory will promote the readers' understanding.Last but not least,the stylistic analyses of Mao's language style will enhance the readers' appreciation for Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung. |
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