名利场两种译本的译者主体性毕业设计 .doc

名利场两种译本的译者主体性毕业设计CONTENTSPreface1Chapter Introduction41.1 An Introduction to Vanity Fair and its two Selected Chinese Versions41.1.1 A Summary of the NovelVanity Fair41.1.2 The two Complete Chinese Versions and Their Translators51.1.2.1 Yang Bis Translated Version of Vanity Fair51.1.2.2 Peng Changjiangs Translated Version of Vanity Fair71.2 Research Methodology81.3 Research Significance81.4 Layout of the Thesis9Chapter Hermeneutics and Translators Subjectivity102.1 Hermeneutics102.1.1 Origin and Development of Hermeneutics102.1.1.1 Origin of Hermeneutics102.1.1.2 Development of Hermeneutics112.1.2 Some Core Concepts of Modern Hermeneutics122.2 Subjectivity of Translator132.2.1 Definition of Translators Subjectivity132.2.2 Subjectivity of Translator from Invisibility to Visibility142.2.3 Distinction Between Translators Subjectivity and Translation Subjectivity.162.3 Enlightenment from Hermeneutics on Translators Subjectivity172.3.1 Validity of Translators Subjectivity from the perspective of Hermeneutics172.3.1.1 George Steiners Fourfold Hermeneutic Translation Motion Theory and its Theoretical Support to the Validity of Translators Subjectivity172.3.1.2 Gadamers Hermeneutic Theory, Including His Theories of “Fusion of Horizons”, “Prejudice”, “Fore-Understanding”, and Their Support to the Validity of Translators Subjectivity202.3.2 Avoidance of Excessive “Prejudice” Limitation of Translators Subjectivity22Chapter A Comparative Study of Translators Subjectivity Based on the Two Chinese Versions of Vanity Fairfrom the Perspective of “Fourfold Hermeneutic Translation Motion Theory”243.1 Translators Trust253.1.1 Translators Cultural Background253.1.2 Translators Translation Motive273.2 Translators Aggression293.2.1 Translators Aggression in Different Personality293.2.2 Translators Aggression as Different Gender313.2.3 Translators Understanding and Judgment of the Source Text343.3 Translators Incorporation353.3.1 Linguistic Absorption of the Style in the Original Work353.3.2 Aesthetic Acceptance of the Original Work373.3.3 Absorption of Cultural Consciousness of the Original Work393.4 Translators Compensation/Restitution403.4.1 Discrepancy Between Different Cultures and Losses in Translation403.4.2 Compensation by Choice of Words423.4.3 Compensation by Sentence Rearrangement433.4.4 Re-creation of Image of the Characters and Preservation of Figures of Speech46Chapter Presentation of Translators Subjectivity Based on the Two Chinese Versions of Vanity Fairfrom the Perspective of Gadamers Theory of “Fusion of Horizons”514.1 Translators Strategy and Approaches524.2 Fusion of Language Style584.3 Degree of Fidelity in Cultural Transmission63Conclusion69Bibliography72PrefaceIn the development of translation studies, translators subjectivity has undergone such a process of change from that of being invisible to that of being widely cognizant. It was not so conspicuous among the whole academic circle until the 1970s when the “Cultural Turn” came into being. From that time on, translators subjectivity has been given increasing attention on the part of both the translation theorists and translation practitioners.Vanity Fair, the renowned novel written by William Makepeace Thackeray, has made a name for itself since its publication. As one of the greatest critical realist writers of the 19th century in England, William Makepeace Thackeray drained his ironic power to describe all sorts of characters in the novel such as the sharp Bechy Sharp, the amiable Amelia, etc. The sarcastic tone, the incisive expression together with the humorous style distinguished this classic from its contemporary works, which has vividly depicted all forms of ugliness existed in the upper-class society in England in the 19th century. Meanwhile, the uniqueness of the classic as well as the great linguistic gap between two cultures becomes a huge barrier to the translation of the novel. Translators in China have made strenuous efforts to try and adopt different methods in order to vividly reproduce it in Chinese for the benefit of the Chinese readers, and their endeavors in the work have demonstrated an obvious manifestation on translators subjectivity. As the process of translation or interpretation begins with the understanding of the text in question, there is naturally a connection between Hermeneutics and translation theories, for it is exactly such kind of theory that calls for understanding and interpreting the meaning of the text. Hermeneutics, a method of textual analysis, has gone through three phases, namely, classic, general, and modern Hermeneutics (including ontological and philosophical hermeneutics). It bears a close relationship with translators subjectivity, especially some of its core concepts such as George Steiners Fourfold Hermeneutic Translation Motion Theory, Gadamers Hermeneutic Theory of “Fusion of Horizons”, “Prejudice” and “Fore-Understanding”. According to George Steiners Fourfold Hermeneutic Translation Motion Theory，a translation cannot be achieved only when it is composed after the translator undergoes four necessary phases, namely, trust, aggression, corporation and compensation. None of the four steps can operate independently to produce the desired effect without involving translators subjectivity for the reasons that, in the first place, a text would not be chosen for the act of translating if the translator does not have faith in the translatability of the text. And then, during the process when the translator penetrates into and tries to make sense of the text, he unavoidably injects his own subjective factors into his comprehension. Thirdly, the ultimate aim of aggression is corporation, which is more or less mixed with translators subjectivity. Thus, compensation is indispensible to make up for the discrepancy caused by the cultural gap and translators subjectivity. Gadamers Hermeneutic Theory of “Fusion of Horizons”, “Prejudice” and “Fore-Understanding” has unveiled the essence of translation that in order to do translation, the translator should first of all act as a reader, then as a writer. In line with Gadamers theory of “Fusion of Horizons”, there are two different horizons in the translators process of understanding and interpreting the original work as a reader: one is the texts horizon; the other is the interpreters horizon. When creating a literary work, the author carries his/her own primary horizon, while the interpreter has his/her own special horizon conceived in his/her specific era and cultural and cognitive environment. Thus the fusion of horizon takes place when the interpreter begins to understand the original work. As a result, a brand-new horizon appears which is higher than both of the previous two. Due to his/her “fore-understanding”, the translators comprehension of the source language text is a historical activity, which is limited by the translators historical conditions, hence some “prejudice” is somewhat unavoidable. According to Gadamer, there is a distinction between “reasonable prejudice” and “illegal prejudice”, the former one can be retained, while the latter ought to be eliminated.Since the traditional translation theory can hardly activate the subjectivity of the translator in his/her translating practice, though, it may not be so difficult as to settle the issue with the relevant theories developed in Hermeneutics. One the other hand, although there are innumerable comments on the two authoritative Chinese versions of Vanity Fair translated by Yang Bi and Peng Changjiang, most of them are focused on the issues such as “foreignization or domestication”, Skopos-theory, cultural gap or some other topics. It is rare to see discussions on how translators subjectivity functions in the translation process, especially in translating literary works. Therefore, the writer of this thesis hopes that through this endeavor of investigation and exploration, she could come out with some findings that could shed new light on the role translator subjectivity plays in the act of translation, especially in the translation of literary works, by means of a comparative study on the two Chinese versions of Vanity Fair in terms of the two translators subjectivity shown in their respective versions from the perspective of Hermeneutics.Chapter Introduction1.1 An Introduction to Vanity Fair and its two Selected Chinese VersionsBefore we unfold the discussion on the main concerns of this thesis, let us have an overview of the classical novel, entitled Vanity Fair, and its two authoritative Chinese versions.1.1.1 A Summary of the NovelVanity Fair Vanity Fair is one of the most famous classics in English literature, which is written by William Makepeace Thackeray (18111863), a well-known British writer in the 19th century. Being a journalist for many years, William Makepeace Thackeray wrote a lot of novels, most of which are often regarded as upper-class social descriptions, comparing favorably with Dickenss panoramic depiction of lower-class Victorian society. Among his well-known novels, Vanity Fair is Thackerays luxuriant social satire that exposes the furious flauntiness and corruption prevailing in England during the turmoil of the Napoleonic wars. The novel led the writer to an immediate rise to his fame when it came out at the beginning of 1847. Vanity Fair is a novel without a hero that satirizes society in the early 19th-century England. The term “Vanity Fair” originates from the allegorical novel The Pilgrims Progress, published in 1678 by John Bunyan where there is a town fair held in a village called Vanity. The plot of the story develops between two girls, Bechy Sharp and Amelia Sedley, who are good friends with quite different characters. The former is clever and sharp, while the latter is kind and amiable. Bechy tries all kinds of means to squeeze into the upper ten, but drifts about miserably in the end. Meanwhile, although Dobbin marries Amelia, and always treats her with great kindness, he never fully regains the love that he has once had for her. The novel is now remembered as a classic of English literature, though some critics claim that it has structural problems.1.1.2 The two Complete Chinese Versions and Their TranslatorsYang Bis translation of Vanity Fair has been widely acclaimed for a long period ever since it was published in 1959. Peng Changjiangs version also enjoys great popularity after its publication. Both of them carry with their own uniqueness in terms of their aesthetic perceptions and distinctive emphases on the work.1.1.2.1 Yang Bis Translated Version of Vanity FairYang Bis choice of Vanity Fair derives not only from the inspiration of Fu Lei, but also from that of Qian Zhongshu, her brother-in-law. After the successful publishing of Castle Backrent, Fu Lei suggested that it would benefit her a lot if she could translate some books by famous writers. So Yang Bi asked for advice from Qian Zhongshu. It occurred to Qian that the former translation of Vanity Fair needed improvement, therefore, he suggested that she could translate this distinguished novel for a second time. Thus, Yang Bi began her translation in 1953, meanwhile, she was an associate professor in the Foreign Languages Department, of Fudan University. She finally fulfilled this arduous task due to her devotion of all her spare time to translating this novel. The Peoples Literature Publishing House was quite satisfied with her translation, when the book was to be republished in 1959. Later on when asked whether she would like to revise her own translation, Yang Bi replied, “Not a single word to be revised” (Yang Jiang，1997), because she was too weary to do anything. So Yang Bis decision to translate Vanity Fair, was mostly out of the encouragement of Fu Lei and Qian Zhongshu, the two special directors in her translating career.Since Yang Bis translation of Vanity Fair has been extremely popular among Chinese readers, there have been innumerable scholars who have exerted commendatory comments on the book. Most of them focus their attention on Yang Bis translation of Vanity Fair in the perspective of linguistic level, such as on the lexicon, on the syntax, on the context, etc. Xu Yuanchong says, “In my opinion, there are three famous translated works in the translation field of China in the 20th century, that is, A Complete Edition of Shakespeares Plays by Zhu Shenghao, Selections from Balzac by Fu Lei, and Vanity Fair by Yang Bi.” (Xu Yuanchong，2004：214) Chen Rongdong claims that “Yang Bi and Fu Lei are claimed to be two representative translators belonging to the School of Art ”(Cheng Rongdong，1997:96). Sun Zhili evaluates Yang Bis translation of Vanity Fair as “Her translation is faithful and expressive, also it is very elegant. Her translation is interesting and easy to understand, and readers can get the same illumination, motivation and beauty as they read the original. ”(Sun Zhili, 1996:150) Huang Yuanshen (黄源深) commentates in his article “Talent in Translation” that “Yang Bis version has a particular kind of inspiration and talent that nobody else has ever matched.” (quote from Li Weihong，2002：2) He continues to declare that “Yangs translation is so smooth, so natural, and so appropriate that it is definitely not a kind of effect that the translator intended to make, but, rather, it is a Vanity Fair that Thackeray wrote in excellent Chinese.” (quote from Li Weihong，2002：2) Yang Bi left only two translated works behind her, Castle Backrent and Vanity Fair. She was an outstanding woman translator, and just as Nan Mu (南木) points out, “Yang Bis version of Vanity Fair is really a great translated work and it is worth reading.” (quote from Luo Xinzhang, 1984:850) All in all, most scholars agree that Yang Bis translation of Vanity Fair takes full consideration of the target language, which does not read like a translation. Yang Bis translation of Vanity Fair has enjoyed a great fame, it has an expansive influence not only on a great number of Chinese readers but also many scholars. As Sun Zhili puts it, “When I first took to literary translation, it was Yang Bis version of Vanity Fair that I took as the example of my own translating practice.”(Sun Zhili, 1999:128)1.1.2.2 Peng Changjiangs Translated Version of Vanity Fair Retranslated in 1994, Peng Changjiangs version of Vanity Fair came out decades after Yangs. And as the translator says, the significance of the new translation lies in the innovation of the translation itself and the approach to the style of the original. He achieves that, which can be justified in his Chinese version of Vanity Fair. The reason why Ms Yang Bi is successful lies in that she has processed the original bravely, integrated it with target language, and transferred it into corresponding target text appropriately while bearing the overall background in mind. On the contrary, Peng Changjiangs version is the carrying-on, development and refurbishment of the former work in some aspects. Confronted with more difficulty and pressure, he retranslates this great classic, aiming to be brave enough to break through former achievements as well as himself to make certain advancement. Just as the translator himself claims, the significance of the new translation lies in the newness of the translation itself and attainment of the style and taste in the original.Both the two Chinese versions of Vanity Fair have their own distinctive characteristics. Although Yang Bis translation enjoys a high level of popularity, Peng Changjings version makes some improvements over Yang Bis, after all, the latter is produced about forty year later. Nan Mu asserts “The Chinese version by Yang Bi reads very smooth, words being carefully chosen and sentences well arranged. Both the rich content and the humorous artistic style of the original are gratifyingly reproduced.” (Nan Mu, 1984) Meanwhile, Peng Changjiangs version is faithful, natural, idiomatic, and vividly recreates the artistic value and aesthetic effect of the original book. Pengs version appeared in the year of 1995, almost 40 years later than that of Yangs version. Peng Changjiangs understanding of Vanity Fair evidently surpasses that of Yang Bis with the advance of the times. His means of expression in translating is more diversified and has achieved satisfactory effect (Yi Boan, 2000:No.4). However, no matter how close the translators reach to the original style, a perfect reproduction of the meaning of the original work and aesthetic standard is beyond possibility, for a translator is bound to leave his/her subjective trace in the translation. Nida says: “Intellectual honesty requires the translator to be as free as possible from the personal intrusion in the communication process. The translator should never tack on his own intellectual and emotional outlook. He must exert every effort to reduce to a minimum any intrusion of himself which is not in harmony with the intent of the original author and message. (Nida, 1964:154)” 1.2 Research MethodologyUnder such a situation when more and more emphasis is given to translators subjectivity, this thesis intends to re-investigate the theory of translators subjectivity from the perspective of Hermeneutics. By means of applying some core concepts of Hermeneutics as George Steiners Fourfold Hermeneutic Translation Motion Theory, Gadamers Hermeneutic theories, including his theories of “Fusion of Horizons”, “Prejudice”, “Fore-Understanding”, through a large number of instances, the thesis has its aim as to make a comparative study on the two authoritative translations of Vanity Fair in the