A Study on Zhang Peiji’s Translation of Modern Chinese Essay from the Perspective of Translator’s Subjectivity_英语论文

摘要

众所周知翻译有助于各国人民之间的交流，同时也对世界各国经济文化发展贡献颇多。然而，译者作为翻译活动中最重要的部分却一直未受重视。从20世纪70年代“文化转向”起，越来越多的翻译理论家们开始将注意力投向译者。译者的主体性体现在翻译的整个过程中，其中包括选择原语文本、确定翻译目的以及制定翻译策略。本文就译者主体性这一问题进行了探讨，希望能够较为全面地对翻译文本中译者及其主体性进行阐述，从而更好地认识翻译的本质。

张培基教授是我国当代杰出的学者和翻译家，献身于翻译事业五十余载，许多教师和学生都用他的《英译现代散文选》作为教材进行学习。然而，目前在翻译界，关于张培基教授散文翻译主体性研究的著作屈指可数。因此，本文通过对张培基教授《英译现代散文选》的研究，从宏观和微观两个角度来探讨在翻译过程中译者主体性的彰显。

此外，在《英译现代散文选》中，为帮助读者能更好地理解文章的文化背景及其翻译策略，张培基教授附加了大量的注释，而这在其他译者的翻译中较为罕见。

本文通过对《英译现代散文选》中大量例句的分析，希望能以此突显译者主体性在翻译过程中的重要性。笔者坚信译者应当适当发挥其主体性以此确保翻译活动能够顺利进行,并真诚地希望本文能为译者主体性的研究有所启发并且对翻译研究有所贡献。

关键词: 张培基教授 译者主体性 《英译现代散文选》

Abstract

As we know that translation can help people from different countries to communicate with each other and it has contributed a lot to the economic and cultural development of all countries in the world. However, the translator, as the most important part of this activity has long been ignored. Since the “cultural turn” in the 1970s, translators were paid more and more attention by translation theorists. The translator’s subjectivity can be seen in the translation process, which including the selection of the original text and the translation method, the aim of the translation and so on. The author of this paper attempts to probe into this issue, aiming to have an overall scrutiny of the application of the translator’s subjectivity so that to have a better understanding of the essence of the translation.

Prof. Zhang Peiji, as an excellent Chinese scholar and translator, has devoted himself to the translation for over fifty years. His four volumes of Selected Modern Chinese Essays are used as a textbook by numerous teachers and learners. However, only a few books on his subjectivity in essay translation have been published. Therefore, the author tries to research the translator’s subjectivity through studying Prof. Zhang’s Selected Modern Chinese Essays. The discussion is conducted at both macro and micro levels. 

Besides, in order to make sure that readers can have a better understanding of the cultural background and his translation strategies, Prof. Zhang adds many notes in Selected Modern Chinese Essays, which is rare in other translators’ practice. In order to show the important role of the translator’s subjectivity in Selected Modern Chinese Essays, abundant examples are provided and analyzed in this thesis. The author firmly believes that in order to guarantee the translation goes on successfully, the translator should fully utilize his subjectivity in translation process. It is sincerely hoped that this research will bring some inspiration for translator’s subjectivity study and contribute something to translation study.

Key Words: Prof. Zhang Peiji; Translator’s Subjectivity; Selected Modern Chinese Essays 

Contents

1  Introduction 1

2  Prof. Zhang Peiji and His Translation of Modern Chinese Essay 2

2.1 Prof. Zhang Peiji’s Life and Accomplishment 2

2.2 Prof. Zhang Peiji’s Essay Translation 3

2.2.1 The Language Features of Prof. Zhang Peiji 's Essay Translation 3

2.2.2 The Significance of Prof. Zhang Peiji’s Essay Translation 4

3  Translator’s Subjectivity 4

3.1 The Definition of the Translator’s Subjectivity 5

3.2 Translator’s Subjectivity in the Translation Process 6

3.3 The Necessity of Translator’s Subjectivity 6

3.3.1 Objective Existence 6

3.3.2 Predictive Power of Potential Readers 7

3.3.3 The Ability to Express the Target Language 7

4  The Manifestation of the Translator’s Subjectivity in Prof. Zhang’s Essay Translation 9

4.1 Prof. Zhang Peiji’s Translation Principles 9

4.2 The Translator’s Subjectivity in Prof. Zhang’s Essay Translation at the Macro Level 10

4.2.1 The Selection of the Original Text 10

4.2.2 The Translation Purpose 11

4.2.3 The Selection of Translation Strategy 11

4.3 The Translator’s Subjectivity in Prof. Zhang’s Essay Translation at the Micro Level 12

4.3.1 Lexical Level 12

4.3.2 Syntactic Level 14

4.3.3 Figures of Speech 15

5  Notes and the Translator’s Subjectivity in Prof. Zhang’s Essay Translation 17

5.1 The Function of Note 18

5.2 The Embodiment of Translator’s Subjectivity in Notes 18

5.3 Notes of Cultural Background 18

5.3.1 A Wide Coverage of the Cultural Background 19

5.4 Notes of Translation Strategies 20

5.4.1 Amplification and Omission 20

6  Conclusion 22

6.1 Major Findings 23

6.2 Limitations and Suggestions for the Future Research 24

Bibliography 24

Acknowledgment 26