（英语语言文学专业论文）从接受美学看文学翻译中译者的主体性——《苔丝》两个中译本的研究.pdf

ii 内内 容容 摘摘 要要 译者是翻译过程中最活跃的因素， 他在对原文本的理解和用目的语表达阶段上充 分发挥主体性作用。但在翻译理论界，译者的主体性长期受到忽视。二十世纪七十年 代译学界开始的“文化转向”极大地开拓了翻译研究的视野，从而使译者的主体性研 究也得到了应有的重视并成为当代翻译研究的热点话题。 译者的主体性作用在文学翻 译中表现最为突出，这是由文学作品的特性决定的。文学翻译本质上是意义的理解与 表达的艺术。而文学文本的意义是开放的，因此对其的理解和表达也较为主观。文学 翻译中重译和再创造的现象都与译者的主体性息息相关。 因此研究文学翻译中译者的 主体性是个十分重要的课题。译者的主体性作用能否正确发挥，是翻译成败的关键， 也是翻译活动的魅力所在。 对于译者的主体性，可以从不同的角度对其进行研究。本文主要以接受美学理论 为依据，探讨翻译过程译者主体性存在的原因及其体现。接受美学理论是二十世纪六 十年代以姚斯和伊塞尔为代表的康斯坦茨学派提出来的， 它是基于阐释学和现象学发 展起来的。接受美学十分重视读者的地位，对于文学来说，读者和作者一样重要，文 学作品只有通过读者的阅读才能存在。译者，作为文学作品的再创造者，同时也是其 读者。 因此把接受美学的理论运用到译者主体性的研究中可以更好的理解译者的翻译 活动。 翻译过程可以分为阅读与表达两个阶段。在阅读阶段，译者，首先作为读者，会 通过文本与原文作者进行对话，进而能对原文有彻底的理解；在表达阶段，译者，作 为再创造者，会与“潜在的读者”进行对话，以最恰当的方法在目的语中重构原文。 在理解与表达阶段，译者的主体性都有体现，换句话说，译者的主体性贯穿于翻译的 整个过程。接受美学认为，文本是充满了不确定性，不同的人有不同的背景，对文本 有不同的理解，这样就产生了不同的“期待视野” 。这种不确定性和不同人的“期待 视野”为译者主体性的发挥提供了可能。译者的主体性体现在不同的层次上，如语言 层次，文化层次，审美层次等。 基于以上的分析，本文对苔丝两个中译本做了个案研究。 苔丝是英国乃 至整个文学史的愧宝。从某种意义上说，越是优秀的文学作品，不确定因素就越多， 译者的主体性发挥的空间就越大。 关键词：译者的主体性关键词：译者的主体性 文学翻译文学翻译 接受美学接受美学 视野融合视野融合 苔丝苔丝 iii abstract as the most important subject in translation, the translator has played a very active role in the understanding of the source text and the re-expression in the target language. however, the important role of the translator has long been ignored in translation history. the “cultural turn” since the 1970s in the western world not only has widened the scope of translation studies, but also has made the translators subjectivity one of the dominant current topics in translation theories. the translators subjectivity is obviously displayed in literary translation. this is decided by the special characteristics of literary works. the essence of literary translation is the art of the understanding and expression of meaning. besides, the meaning of literary works is open; therefore, the translators understanding and re-expression in the target language are always subjective. the retranslation and re-creation in literary translation are closely related with the translators subjectivity. hence, the translators subjectivity in literary translation assumes an important role in translation studies. the full display of the translators subjectivity is the key to successful translation, and is also the point on which the charm of translation lies. the research into the translators subjectivity can be carried out from different angles. this paper is based on reception aesthetics, which is used to analyze the cause of the translators subjectivity and the way it appears during the translation process. reception theory or reception aesthetics, represented by hans robert jauss and wolfgang iser, appeared in the 1960s. it is based on hermeneutics and phenomenology and puts much emphasis on the readers reflections and different understandings of the same text. for works of literature, the reader is quite as vital as the author. literary texts exist only through readers practice in reading. the translator, as the re-creator of literary texts, is the texts reader as well. therefore, putting reception aesthetics into the research of translators subjectivity can provide a better understanding of the translators translation activity. the translation process can be divided into two steps: reading and representing. during the reading step, the translator, first as a reader, will conduct a dialogue with the source text writer through the text and then arrive at a complete understanding; during the representing step, the translator, as re-creator, will have a dialogue with “the implied reader” and use proper ways to re-create the source text in the target language. in these two steps, the translator displays his subjectivity, that is to say, the translators subjectivity goes through the whole process of translation. reception aesthetics adheres to the view that the iv text is full of indeterminacies. different people with different backgrounds will have different understandings, which bring a different “horizon of expectations” into being. to the translator, the indeterminacies and different “horizon of expectations” provide the possibility for them to display their subjectivity. the translators subjectivity can manifest itself on different levels, e.g. linguistic level, cultural level, aesthetic level, etc. based on the analysis, the paper will carry out a comparative study of the two chinese versions of tess of the durbervilles. tess of the durbervilles is a great work of english literature. in a sense, the greater the quality of the work, the more indeterminacy it has, and the more room the translator will have to display his or her subjectivity. key words: the translators subjectivity; literary translation; reception aesthetics; horizon of expectations; tess of the durbervilles i 三峡大学学位论文原创性声明三峡大学学位论文原创性声明 本人郑重声明：所呈交的学位论文，是本人在导师的指导下，独立进行研究 工作所取得的成果，除文中已经注明引用的内容外，本论文不含任何其他个人或 集体已经发表或撰写过的作品成果。对本文的研究做出重要贡献的个人和集体均 已在文中以明确方式标明，本人完全意识到本声明的法律后果由本人承担。 学位论文作者签名： 日 期： 1 1. introduction historically, the traditional translation studies focused mainly on the analysis of linguistics transformation and put the principle of “faithfulness to the original” in first place. in the static text-centered studies, the importance of the translator has been almost completely neglected. the systematic study of the translator appeared at the end of the last century. the “cultural turn” in translation studies has brought the translation subjectivity to surface on which the translator is the most initial subjectivity in the translating process. instead of being subordinate, the translator plays an active role in his or her reading and representing processes, and, to a certain extent, his personal characteristics are manifested in his version. the translators subjectivity should not be neglected but, in contrast, should be stressed. as far as the translators subjectivity is concerned, it has attracted many scholars attention in recent years. translation, as a complicated activity, can be looked at from different angles. some scholars adopt the hermeneutic theory as their theoretical basis, adhering to the notions of “prejudice” and “horizon”. others tend to analyze the translators subjectivity by employing the manipulation theory or else they favor the feminism theory and demonstrate that the translator actually expresses his subjectivity in the course of translation. apart from the theoretical basis, the translators subjectivity has been discussed from many aspects of translation practice in recent years. some scholars pay special attention to the study of either a certain translator or a special literary text; some give special attention to a fixed translators translation intention as well as his strategy; some stress the translators cultural consciousness; some put emphasis on the translators background, etc. from whichever aspect the study is made, the translator is always put in the central place. therefore, their subjectivity is certainly worth studying and this research should be deepened. reception aesthetics or reception theory appeared in the 1960s with hans robert jauss and wolfgang iser as two of its representatives. it is based on hermeneutics and phenomenology and completes the transfer of the center of the literary study from the text to the readers, and perfects the study of the process of author-text-reader system. reception theory examines the readers role in literature. reception theorists hold the opinion that the reader concretizes the literary work, which is in itself no more than a chain of organized black marks on a page. without this continuous active participation on the readers part, 2 there would be no literary work at all. the role of the reader has been highlighted. to understand the translator, who first acts as the reader of the source text, and his translation activity, the reception theory will provide a new way. with the introduction of reception theory into translation studies, a new research method has been found. and it is an important revolution in methodology. in order to further probe into the subject, this thesis attempts to discuss the translators subjectivity from the perspective of reception theory, to investigate the translators role in the dynamic process of translation and to explore how translators practice their subjectivity to best serve the goal of translation. the translators subjectivity is involved throughout the dynamic process of translation. in order to present a more systematic and comprehensive study of the subject, this thesis takes the two chinese versions of tess of the durbervilles as an example to investigate the translators subjectivity both in his reading and representing courses; it attempts to reveal that the translator does bring his subjectivity dynamics into play in his literary translation on different levels. and to some degree, his personal experiences are reflected in his version. the translators subjectivity in his reading and representing undoubtedly influences his version, and thus his interpretation cannot be totally the same as the source text in its content as well as in its form. to serve the aim of this thesis, five chapters are arranged accordingly. chapter one is a brief introduction to this study. chapter two mainly discusses the re-creation and retranslation in literary translation, the definition of the translators subjectivity and the importance of this study. chapter three first introduces several important terms in reception theory, which will be useful in this thesis, and then uses them to analyze the translators subjectivity. chapter four is the case study of the two chinese versions of tess of the durbervilles, which gives a detailed study of the translators subjectivity. and then comes the conclusion. the study of the translators subjectivity can offer us a different viewpoint to deepen our understanding of translation studies. though the study of the translators subjectivity is not fully formed, it has been attracting more and more attention from scholars. with the fast and diversified development of translation studies, the study of the translators subjectivity has become unavoidable. and with scholars constant efforts, we are sure that this study will develop with great speed and gradually come to maturity. from this study, we also hope that literary translation criticism should not be limited 3 to the linguistic aspects. more attention should be paid to the translator and the corresponding social, historical and cultural background. it is necessary to deepen the research into the translators subjectivity and further push forward the development of literary translation. 4 2. literary translation and the translators subjectivity 2.1 on literary translation literature is the reflection of social life and also the writers comprehension and evaluation of the world. literature originates from life but goes beyond it. literature is the art of language. in literary works, the vivid images are created by the special use of language. the literary language gives the readers abundant room to recreate the images in their minds. so it can be concluded that literary works are an aesthetic creation based on real life. if literature is an artistic creation, so is literary translation. literary translation is when a literary text is translated into another language; this involves the translators understanding of the source text. it follows from this that literary translation is a sort of re-creation on the basis of the source text. re-creation is one of the current topics in literary translation. another is retranslation. recently, with the rapid growth of translation studies and peoples different needs, retranslation becomes popular. 2.1.1 re-creation literary translation, as the term shows, is the translation of literary works. but this description is too abstract. literary translation is very different from non-literary translation. it is a kind of artistic re-creation, in which the content of thinking and artistic value reflected in one language is represented faithfully and accurately in another language. in the west, there is considerable discussion about creativity in translation. translation is creation “because it presents a new look of the text and brings a brand-new communication between the text and the readers; also because it not only prolongs the life of the text or work, but also gives the text or work a second life”(fang mengzhi，2005:81). eugene a. nida points out clearly that translation (especially the translation of poems) is a kind of “re-creation”, but not a “reproduction”. susan bassnett, in her book translation studies, considers translation to be interpretation. she thinks that “the interlingual translation is bound to reflect the translators own creative interpretation of the sl text.”(2004:83) andre lefevere, another representative of translation studies, studies translation from the perspective of comparative literature. he tries to improve the status of translation and translation studies, and views translation as a form of rewriting a text and then creating 5 another text. therefore, he sees translation as the manipulation of the translator toward the text. venuti approves the translators creativity from a deconstructive point of view. in his book the translators invisibility (2004), he puts emphasis on the translators “visible presence” in the translated text, and advocates foreignizing to make the translator “gain visibility”. when we say literary translation is a kind of artistic re-creation, there are at least two factors. the first factor is the literary work itself. literature is created according to the authors experiences, feelings and knowledge of ordinary life. it is the authors creative and artistic “polishing” which aesthetically reflects this life by literary images in literary language (zheng naizang, 1987). literary language is the special tool employed by the author to depict his life as well as his thoughts and feelings. the language in literary works always reflects the authors thoughts, feelings, and emotions. the language used in literary description can always arouse an emotional resonance in the readers. according to an old chinese saying, “literature originates from life but goes beyond life”. in other words, literature is the authors reflection of real life on one hand; on the other hand, it exceeds real life. it is the authors creation on the basis of real life. creativity is the essence of literature, so is literary translation. the second factor is the translator. the translator occupies the most active and subjective role in translation. he or she reads the original text carefully and then represents it in the target language. literary translation is not only a transformation between two languages, but also a transformation between two cultures. the translator is the mediator of different cultures. therefore, they should take the culture backgrounds and readers needs into consideration. every translator has their special personality, background and interests. “the translator and the text-writer have different theories of meaning and different values. the translators theory colors his interpretation of the text.”(newmark, 1997, in liao qiqi, 1997) the translators role as the decision-maker and manipulator will always be present in the whole process of translation. therefore, their translation activity is not a copy, but a creation. in his masterpiece, medio-translatology, xie tianzhen (2003:137) also points out that creativeness in literary translation indicates the translators subjective attempts to approach and represent the source text by means of his/her artistic creativity. in literary translation practice, translators should not confine their understanding to what is said by words. with a mastery of the source text and readers effects, translators make flexible modifications so 6 as not to go against the contexts in the target language. moreover, when understanding the aesthetic images in the source text, translators would make their own choices and recreate these images in the target language. so, in the process of translation, the translator plays a role similar to that of an author. the translator differs from the author only in that the former does not need to select and refine materials and to prepare the lay-out of a piece of literary work. to sum up, literary translation is re-creative. and as the freedom of the translator is restricted, this re-creation is essentially different from free creation in literary writing. the re-creation in literary translation is a kind of creative activity motivated by the translators particular cultural and aesthetic talents and certain specific re-creation desire through the translators positive interpretation and reconstruction of the original text. 2.1.2 retranslation the term “retranslation” refers to subsequent translations of a text or part of a text. they usually come out after the initial translation which introduced this text to the same target language. generally, there are two kinds of retranslation: a correction or supplement of earlier translation works by translators of later generations and different interpretations of the same original work by contemporary translators. as to the first kind of retranslation, there are usually modified versions based on the earlier translation while, in respect of the second kind of retranslation, the versions are often independent and differ from each other. the first kind is supposed to be an improvement on the earlier translation while the second one is entirely the reflec