浅析译者主体性在张培基散文翻译中的体现——以《落花生》的英译为例

论文总字数：30717字

摘 要

张培基教授的散文翻译极具文采，自然流畅，充分体现了他的“忠实”和“通顺”的翻译理念。然而很少有人从译者主体性的角度，对其翻译的某一篇文章进行剖析和研究。本文通过对张培基教授的《落花生》英译文进行研究分析，探讨译者主体性在其散文翻译过程中的体现。本文首先介绍了国内外对译者主体性这一课题的研究情况，并分析译者主体性的主要表现形式，然后从宏观和微观两个层面，详细分析译者主体性在张培基教授译作《落花生》中的体现。宏观上着重从对原文本的理解，翻译目的及翻译方法等方面分析译者主体性的体现，微观上则从词汇和句法层面具体分析译者主体性的体现。

关键词：张培基的散文翻译；落花生；译者主体性；体现

Contents

1. Introduction 1

2. Literature Review 2

2.1 Definition of the Translator’s Subjectivity 2

2.2 Studies on the Translator’s Subjectivity 3

3. The Translator’s Subjectivity in Zhang’s Version of Peanuts 5

3.1 General Manifestation of the Translator’s Subjectivity 5

3.2 The Translator’s Subjectivity Displayed at the Macro Level 6

3.3 The Translator’s Subjectivity Displayed at the Micro Level 9

4. Conclusion 11

Works Cited 13

1. Introduction

As the intermediary of the original and the translation, the translator occupies a unique position in the translation process. Especially, “The translator serves as an important bridge to boost cultural exchanges. It can be said that the translator and the original author construct their own cultures in their respective contexts.”（Tu Guoyuan amp; Zhu Xianlong, 2003: 14）“But such translational subjectivity has been obscured in the Chinese cultural polysystem, the result of which is the marginalized cultural status of the translator.”（Zha Mingjian amp; Tian Yu, 2001: 19）Since the 1970s, however, with the “cultural turn” phenomenon in the field of translation studies, cases concerning the subjective and creative personality of the translator in the translation process have gradually attracted wide attention.

As an outstanding translator, Professor Zhang Peiji has been engaged in the translation career of Chinese to English for more than 50 years. His translation practices have made tremendous contributions to the translation circle and cultural exchanges, especially his prose translation. And his best-known achievement is the book of Selected Modern Chinese Essays. However, until now, researches on his prose translation have been limited. Some scholars wrote a limited number of papers on Zhang’s translation style or analyzed the book Selected Modern Chinese Essays as a whole. And others only focused on some examples cited from his translation works. For example, Zhou Suwen has given an analysis of the Selected Modern Chinese Essays from the aspect of prose style. Zhu Manhua has made a linguistic analysis of Zhang Peiji’s prose translation in his article Comments on the Version of the Selected Modern Chinese Prose Writings.

In the Selected Modern Chinese Essays, Zhang’s translation of Peanuts which is a famous essay written by Xu Dishan is widespread with great research value. Therefore, this paper taking Zhang Peiji’s translation of Peanuts as a case study intends to investigate the translator’s subjectivity in the dynamic process of Zhang’s prose translation, and thus to enrich the current researches on Zhang Peiji’s prose translation from different aspects and promote the construction of translation theories. The investigation mainly focuses on two levels—the macro level and the micro level. The macro level includes the factors which are beyond translation process, such as the comprehension of source text，translation purpose, translation methods, while the micro level mainly discusses the translation process including the expressing of the source text in the target language．

2. Literature Review

2.1 Definition of the Translator’s Subjectivity

Hatim and Mason have pointed out: “Inevitably, both translating and discussing translations involve making judgments. There seems to be little processing itself. Every reading of a text is a unique, unrepeatable act and a text is bound to evoke differing responses in different receivers.”(Hatim and Mason, 2001: 162)This brought the importance of the translator’s subjectivity in the translation process. During the translation process, the translator is unavoidably restricted by many conditions and factors. Just because of those constraints of the linguistic and cultural discrepancies, the translator possesses some creative room to achieve various translation purposes. And the translator should display his great creativity in the limited space. As the famous scholar Liu Miqing pointed out, “the whole translation activity is a process in which the translator makes full use of his subjective initiative to overcome those objective restrictions.”(Liu Miqing, 2005: 60)

Zha Mingjian holds that the translator’s subjectivity refers to “the subjective initiative employed by the translator as the subject of translation in order to achieve the translation purpose under the premise of respecting the source text. And its basic characteristics include the translator’s conscious cultural awareness, humanistic character and aesthetic creativity. ” (Zha Mingjian amp; Tian Yu, 2001: 22) Xu Jun also gives a definition of the translator’s subjectivity. He points out that “the so-called translator’s subjective consciousness is the conscious awareness of personality and creativity during the translation process. The existence and strength of the translator’s subjectivity directly affect the whole translation process and translation outcome, namely, the value of the translated work.”(Xu Jun, 2003: 9)

Based on the above opinions proposed by different scholars, in this paper the translator’s subjectivity will be defined as the subjective initiative of the translator presented during the whole translation process in order to fulfill a certain purpose. Its major features are displayed in the translator’s selection and comprehension of the source text, translation purpose, translation methods, the expressing of the original text and so on. And the translator’s subjectivity will be affected by his or her personality, literary talent, aesthetical and translating preference.

2.2 Studies on the Translator’s Subjectivity

In the long history of translation, the traditional perspectives of translation studies are actually text-oriented instead of translator-oriented. A study of the tradition history from home and abroad shows that traditional scholars have always focused on these issues, such as translation theories, methods, standards and its strategies. As to the subject of literature translation, namely, the translator, many scholars prefer to the academic capacities of the translator than his existence as a human being, not to mention the translator’s characteristics, disposition and temperament. The role of translators in the translation course, however, has always been ignored. Since the 1970s, with the appearance of the “cultural turn” in the field of translation studies, “translator” and “translator’s subjectivity” have gradually attracted high attention. Many scholars have been engaged in the issue of the translators’ subjectivity, so this part will give a brief review to the studies of the translator’s subjectivity at home and abroad.

2.2.1 Studies Abroad

In the 1970s and 1980s, the subjectivity of the translator emerged and was gradually discussed in the translation theories of this era, such as Skopos theory, Deconstructionism and Feminism, etc.

Skopos is a Greek word which means “aim” or “purpose” and was used in translation theory in the 1970s. The Skopos theory held that any translation could be an action and any action had its purpose. The top-ranking rule for any translation was the “Skopos rule”, in other words, “the end justifies the means” (Reiss and Vermeer, 1984: 101) In other words, the purpose of translation would determine the translation methods and strategies. Therefore, from the perspective of the Skopos theory, the translator had his own right to choose the translation methods used in the whole translation process, which fully displayed the subjectivity of the translator.

Deconstructionism assumed that the meaning of any text was uncertain. The translator could reconstruct and rewrite the source text according to his personal understanding and translating preference in the translation process. Actually deconstruction highlighted the translator’s status by emphasizing the creative translation and reconsidering the faithfulness of translation.

Feminism paid much attention to the target text as well as the translator and denied the authority of the original text. Feminist researchers emphasized the translator’s visibility and required the translator be freed from the constraints of the source text. They also maintained that the status of the target text should be equal as that of the source text.

From the above translation theories, it is clear that the translator’s status has been raised to a great extent and the translator’s subjectivity has gained more and more attention in the translation studies.

2.2.2 Studies at Home

In recent years, meanwhile, many Chinese scholars have made researches on the translator’s subjectivity in the translation process. On the one hand, Yang Wuneng pointed out that “the literature translator was an elucidator first, then a receiver and a creator. And translation is a creation, in which the translator was the center and played a critical and active role.”(Yang Nengwu, 1987: 6) Liu Miqing summarized the subject and the object in translation studies and held that the translator was the subject in the translation process. Yuan Li held that “the quality of translation relied on the translator’s subjective consciousness. And if the subjective consciousness of the translator was ignored, it was impossible to deal with the problems in the translation process.”(Yuan Li, 1996: 8) On the other hand, some scholars also have studied the theme of “translator’s subjectivity” from different perspectives. For example, Zha Mingjian and Tian Yu have made a study on the subjectivity of the translator from the aspect of the marginalized status of the translator; Xu Jun has presented the subjectivity of translation by trying to explain the concept of “creative treason”; and Liu Guobing has analyzed the translator’s subjectivity from the ecology perspective of translation. All the researches and perspectives paved a better way for this paper．Basing on these preparations and previous studies, the author of this paper intends to analyze the manifestation of the translator’s subjectivity in Zhang Peiji’s translation of Peanuts in the following parts.

3. The Translator’s Subjectivity in Zhang’s Version of Peanuts

Peanuts is a well-known prose written by Xu Dishan. In this prose Mr. Xu recalls a small fragment of his childhood with a kind of simple and fresh writing style. He uses peanuts to metaphor human’s morality and to praise those who care little of wealth and engage in making contributions to the society silently. Besides, the article reflects that the author is a person caring little of fame and refusing to be contaminated by evil influence. It can be said that Mr. Xu expresses important views through a very small stuff. Short as it is, the prose Peanuts creates a very particular artistic conception, which illustrates the author’s special insight and idea. Accordingly, in the translation process Professor Zhang also notices the artistic conception of this prose and uses his subjectivity to convey it respectively at the macro level and the micro level.

3.1 General Manifestation of the Translator’s Subjectivity

The translator’s subjectivity runs throughout the whole process of translation activities. Specifically speaking, the translator’s subjectivity expresses itself in the selection and comprehension of the source text, the re-creation at the linguistic level, the translation purpose and methods. In other words, the translator’s subjectivity can be manifested at two levels—the macro level and the micro level. Here the macro level refers to the preparation of translating, which includes the comprehension of the source text, translation purpose, translation methods and so on. The micro level refers to the linguistic aspect consisting of lexical level, syntactical level and so on.

3.1.1 At the Macro Level

The translator’s subjectivity at macro level takes on various selections in the translation process, such as the selection of original text, translation purpose, translation methods, which become the important manifestations in the subjectivity of the translator. Another manifestation of the translator’s subjectivity is translator’s comprehension of the original work. According to the view of Hermeneutics, one’s comprehension is the integration of “horizont”, which shows that the translator, as a reader of the original text, cannot acquire the same comprehension of the intention of the original writer. The translator and original writer naturally possess different “horizont” because they live in different societies and even in different eras. Lastly, the translator’s subjectivity has been also displayed in the manipulation of the original text.

3.1.2 At the Micro Level

This level mainly includes the expressing of the source text at the linguistic level including lexical, syntactical levels and so on．As a result, the translator acts as a writer or a rewriter, and his subjectivity mainly takes on linguistic forms. In the application of language in the translation process, the translator’s subjectivity will be self-evident. For example, the translator, according to his own understanding, would choose appropriate words and sentences in the target language to express the meaning of those in the original text. So it comes to a conclusion that the translator’s subjectivity has become a very active element in affecting a translator’s expressing during the process of translation．

3.2 The Translator’s Subjectivity Displayed at the Macro Level

Here the macro level refers to the level which focuses on a larger scope rather than on words，sentences or passages and takes the prose translation as an integral one．It will mainly discuss the comprehension of the original text, the translation purpose and the translation methods.

3.2.1 The Comprehension of the Original Text

In a sense, during the translation process, the translator has to make choices and decisions. The comprehension of the source text primarily depends on the following elements, such as the constraints of the source text and translator’s awareness of target readers.

Firstly, it starts with the constraints of the source text. Though intending to exert the subjectivity fully, we shall notice that there should be a limit for the exertion of the subjectivity. Translation is a creative and artistic act. Different from the author’s work, the translator’s creation is a kind of second creation, which means that the translator’s creation is constrained to a certain extent. During the process, the translator can only exert his/her subjectivity in the limit of the second creation. In other words, the translation should be based on the original and the translator shall not create the work arbitrarily. The translator is just borrowing the original author’s pen rather than snatch it away. Translators can use their subjectivity to express their understandings of the original, but they can not produce their creation without concerns on the constraints of the original. Take this prose Peanuts as an example. According to Cuddon，prose is “a direct, unadorned form of language, written or spoken, in ordinary usage. It differs from poetry or verse in that it is not restricted in rhythm, measure or rhyme.”(Cuddon, 1979: 68) As a result, when conducting a prose translation, the translator must be aware of the characteristics and style of a prose. In the process of translating Peanuts, Professor Zhang has managed to keep the prose style and notice the constraints of the original. As to the Peanuts written by Xu Dishan, Professor Zhang totally presents the inherent meaning of this prose and successfully translates it into English.

Secondly, during the translation process, the concept of the translator’s awareness of target readers can not be neglected. Actually, before starting the translation work, the translator should have already had his target audience, so in the translation process the translator should always remind themselves of the existence of the target readers because the interaction between the translator and the target readers is inevitable, and the target readers’ educational and cultural background, literature capability, aesthetic level can directly influence the translator’s creation act. Each reader intends to evaluate the translation from his or her respect on expected horizon when he or she joins the interaction. As time goes by, the readers would change their feelings of the same translation. Therefore, during the translation process, the translator should present the inherent contents of the source text for the readers and try to make some changes to satisfy the readers’ needs. In the translation of Peanuts, Professor Zhang has fully realized the conception of the translator’s awareness of target readers. He employed lots of annotations at the end of the translation work, giving readers the detailed explanations about the implicit words and sentences in the target text. Thus it is a special characteristic for Professor Zhang Peiji’s translation which completely embodies the application of the translator’s subjectivity.

3.2.2 The Translation Purpose

The purpose of translation also influences the translator’s action in translation process. In the preface of the first volume of Selected Modern Chinese Prose Essays, Professor Zhang mentions three purposes of his translation: firstly, he translates some essays for pastime; next, it is out of his love of English literature and essays; thirdly, he intends to introduce excellent modern Chinese prose into foreigners. These three purposes have been completely achieved in the process of translating Xu Dishan’s prose Peanuts. From the above overview of Peanuts, we have had a comprehension of the translation target. Professor Zhang fully understands the meaningful connotation of Peanuts, so he translates it into English to spread the noble quality of selfless contribution into foreigners.

3.2.3 The Translation Methods

Translation methods vary from translator to translator. There are various factors affecting the selection of translation methods, such as translation criteria, translation purpose and so on.

Since Professor Zhang summarizes his translation criteria as ‘‘faithfulness’’ and ‘‘smoothness” and one of his translation purposes is to introduce Chinese culture to foreigners, the combination of literal translation and free translation is adopted in his prose translation. He tries not to break up the source sentences in order to keep the flavor of the original text, and meanwhile he employs the method of free translation. In his English version of Peanuts, he applies the literal translation and free translation to express the original flavor and adheres to his translation principles of “faithfulness’’ and ‘‘smoothness”. For example, Professor Zhang translates the source sentence “那晚底天色不大好” into English as “It looked like rain that evening” instead of word for word translation as “The weather of that evening was not fine”. Another example is that he directly translates the Chinese sentence “我们都答应了” into English as “We all agreed”.

3.3 The Translator’s Subjectivity Displayed at the Micro Level

Susan Bassett and Andre Lefevere regard macro-study and micro-study as two houses in the translation field and say there is no reason not to allow the two to stand shoulder by shoulder. (Bassett and Lefevere, 2001: 268)The two parts are closely connected with each other. Consequently this part will analyze Professor Zhang’s translation at the micro level, namely, from the lexical level and syntactic level.

3.3.1 At the Lexical Level

Because each word or idiom in the source text may have a group of synonyms in the target language, how to choose the proper one can be obviously regarded as a sort of manifestation of the translator’s subjectivity.

Firstly, Professor Zhang’s subjectivity in this prose translation is embodied in the selection of adjectives, such as the translation of the Chinese adjective“小小的”. Through combining the two English words “tiny” and “little” together, Professor Zhang not only expresses the meaning of “small”, but also describes an image of the cute and small peanuts. This choice of the word reflects the excellent bilingual capability and literary talent of Professor Zhang.

Next, the subjectivity is also shown in the employment of the remarkable verbs to vividly express the characters’ emotions and actions. For example, Professor Zhang translates this Chinese sentence “我们几姊弟和几个小丫头都很喜欢——买种的买种，动土的动土，灌园的灌园” into “That exhilarated us children and our servant girls as well, and soon we started buying seeds, ploughing the land and watering the plants”. In the translated sentence, the verb “exhilarate” incisively expresses the joy of children and their servant girls and the three ing-forms of verb lively reflect the busy scene and urgent atmosphere.

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