A Study Of Translator-Centeredness From The Perspective Of Translation As Adaptation And Selection

A systematic analysis of translators has not been clarified in the traditional translation theories and the theories in the cultural turn.Eco-translatology comes into being and makes up for the shortcomings of these theories.The Eco-translatology theory of translation as adaptation and selection not only sorts out the macro factors and the micro factors of producing translation texts systematically and comprehensively,but also defines the identity of translators so that the translation is defined as a process of adaptation and selection with translator-centeredness.Yang Xianyi is a well-known literary translator,whose translation of Selected Stories of Lu Hsun has played an important role in Chinese literature and produced a profound influence.Due to the great changes of the social environment,Yang Xianyi has revised Selected Stories of Lu Hsun again and again.From this it is obvious to see that the translator-centeredness is manifested in the process of adaptation and selection whether Yang Xianyi is adapting to the internal translational Eco-environment or he is selecting the translation in adapting to the external environment.This thesis takes Selected Stories of Lu Hsun as an example to analyze how the translator-centeredness is manifested from the perspective of translation as adaptation and selection.Firstly,when Yang Xianyi adapts to the internal environment,the translator-centeredness is manifested by choosing the source text out of the personal and the social needs.Secondly,when Yang Xianyi adapts to the external environment by taking the language,culture and communication into consideration,the translatorcenteredness is manifested by multi-dimensional transformations and selections of translation.The study finds that Yang Xianyi adapts to translational Eco-environment according to the needs of personal interests and life as well as the needs of publishers and public readers,which the translator-centeredness has been exerted to a certain extent.Yang Xianyi selects the translation from multi-dimensional transformations,namely linguistic dimension,cultural dimension,communicative dimension and pragmatic dimension,trying to make the translation meet readers' expectations,from which translator-centeredness is manifested too.The production of the translation is the result of the translator's continuous adaptation and selection.The viewpoint of translation as adaptation and selection provides a comprehensive angle for the studies of translator-centeredness.This research is a supplement to related studies on Yang Xianyi and his translations.It also provides enough evidence to explain and testify the feasibility of the standpoint of translatorcenteredness of Eco-translatology.