To carry out this study, two parts are arranged accordingly besides the introduction and the conclusion. The introduction briefly introduces the background, the aim and the basic structure of this research. Main body consists of two parts. The first part is the literature review, which contains general introduction of the status of the translator, translator’s subjectivity and the general studies on the translator’s subjectivity. Proceeding from the definition of translator’s subjectivity, the second part compares and analyzes examples which manifest translators’ subjectivity in translation of Dream of the Red Chambers’s subtitles. Via analyzing examples, the author properly concludes that the translator’s subjectivity plays an important role in translation, and that translators have exerted their subjectivity in translation. At the same time, the author points out the limitation in this study that deserves further exploration.
2 Literature Review
As known, translators have long been in marginal position, compared with authors. Xie Tianzhen (2001) once pointed out traditional translation theory regards translation study as exploring how to translate and how to translate better. Traditional translation regards source text as the translation center but treats translated works as the replacement or imitated works without any creativity. With the development in translation studies, translator’s subjectivity has aroused people’s attention and becomes a heated topic in translation field. Some concepts such as misreading, fusion of horizons in Martin Heidegger and Hans-Georg Gadamer’s modern Hermeneutics show the interpreter’s subjectivity. Manipulation School points out that translation process suggests more about translator’s situation, and they use “recreate” or “manipulate” to describe the translation process. Due to the western influence, domestic scholars are more aware that translator’s subjectivity cannot be ignored in translation process. Yang Wuneng (1987) points out in his essay Cycles of Interpretation, Acceptance and Recreation that literary translator firstly is a reader, interpreter, and more importantly, creator. In literature translation, it is no doubt that translator is in the center position who exerts the most active influence. Yuan Li (1996) argues that a translation work’s quality depends on translator’s subjectivity. These studies indicate that translator’s subjectivity has deserved enough attention and emphasis in translation studies.文献综述
How to define translation subject varies from scholar to scholar in translation field. Here this research regards translator as the subject because the fundamental content of subjectivity is the human unique subjective initiative. In recent years, many domestic translators have ever discussed translator’s subjectivity’s definition and connotation. In 2003, Zha Mingjian and Tian Yu defined the translator’s subjectivity as “subjective initiative，reflected in the translation activity by the translator as the subject of translation in overcoming the objective passivity in the process.” ( Zha Mingjian, Tian Yu, 2003: 19-24). It is usually embodied in translator’s center position and leading function, and translator’s subjectivity in translation.
3 Translator’s Subjectivity in Translation of Dream of the Red Chambers’s Subtitles
Translator’s subjectivity refers to the self-conscious personal consciousness, creative consciousness and aesthetic consciousness (Wu Diming, 2011: 60-64). It is closely and directly related to translation success. To express translator’s subjectivity thoroughly is essential to improve translation’s quality and readability. Dream of the Red Chambers, one of China's greatest classical novels, is considered a masterpiece of Chinese literature and the pinnacle of Chinese fiction. It contains Chinese broad and profound cultural connotation, and subtitles with special forms and connotations are one of the most obvious features of traditional Chinese novels like it. Subtitle’s form is similar to the concise but complicated poetry. Naturally, it becomes difficult to translate these subtitles in proper forms exactly. In addition, it is worthy of being explored as it manifests a lot of linguistic and cultural connotations. All selected English versions play important roles in spreading Dream of the Red Chambers, but their translation styles are different from each other, which embodies translators’ subjectivity. This paper is going to select concrete subtitles as examples to compare and analyze the manifestation of translator’s subjectivity.来!自~751论-文|网www.751com.cn 《红楼梦》回目翻译中的译者主体性(2):http://www.751com.cn/yingyu/lunwen_76574.html