Abstract

This thesis is aimed to justify that untranslatability does exist and is inevitable during the process of translation, and its existence can be attributed to both the discrepancies in language structures and the cultural systems between the source language and target language. To be more specific, the main objective of this thesis is to focus on analyzing linguistic factors contributing to the untranslatability on the theoretical basis of Derrida’s deconstructionism, and to elaborate on the social and individual cultural differences which can also lead to untranslatability. The spatio-temporal presence between the signifier and the signified, the singularity imbedded among textual events in limit theory and the instability of meaning suggested by the iterability comprise the direct causes of thr linguistic or semiological untranslatability. However, linguistic untranslatability to a certain degree can be traced to deeper and more profound cultural disparities which are further categorized as the macro social cultural environment and the micro individual cultural backgrounds. And the cultural difference is best represented in the gap between eastern and western ideologies, in particular the translation of Chinese poetry, idioms and classic allusions. After all, through a close examination of untranslatability, this thesis concludes that there is no absolutely faithful translation and the ultimate goal of translation is to find out the most “relevant translation” in accordance with Derrida’s opinion.

KEYWORDS:Deconstruction；Untranslatability；Différance。

摘　要

本文旨在论证在翻译的过程中，不可译性确实存在且不可避免，其成因可归结为源语与目标语之间语言结构以及文化方面的差异。具体来说，本文的主要目的是以德里达的解构主义理论为基石分析语言结构层面的不可译，并简要概括社会文化和个人文化差异所导致的不可译现象。根据德里达的解构主义思想，语言层面的不可译可归结为三方面，即延异、限制和可重复性。能指与所指之间在时间上的“延”与空间上的“异”，限制理论中文本事件的单一性以及可重复性引出的文本中能指与所指的不稳定性是直接导致符号层面不可译的原因。但语言结构的不可译归根结底要追溯到更深层次的文化差异上，文化差异又可分为社会文化大环境的差异及个体文化小环境的差异。社会文化差异最突出地体现在东西文化差异上，不可译性也最为广泛地存在于中国诗词、俗语和涉及历史典故的翻译中。最后，本文通过对不可译性的深入研究得出结论，没有绝对的，符合原文的翻译，译者只能力尽所能，实现德里达所主张的“确当”的翻译。

关键词:解构主义；不可译性；延异