A Study on Translation Criteria after Culture Turn

王 曼

摘 要:Translation criterion has always been a key issue in translation studies. However, there are still a lot of problems to be solved. Monographs in translation criteria studies can scarcely be found and translation criteria studies still focus on the interpretation of traditional criteria such as Tytlers “Three Principles” and Yan Fus “faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance”. This paper will make a sketch of the evolvement of translation criteria in both Chinese and western translation studies, and study the translation criteria after the cultural turn.

關鍵詞: translation criterion; faithfulness; cultural turn

中圖分類號:G40文獻標識碼:A 文章編號:1005-5312(2009)30-0067-02

Translation Criteria had been a key issue of translation studies for about two millenniums and its authority had never been doubted. However, unfortunately, its importance is dropping on a slope in recent several decades when the translation studies are booming. In fact the translation criteria have changed in the two translational paradigm shifts. After the linguistic turn in translation studies in the first part of 20th century, translation studies became more scientific, which ask for more practical translation criteria to guide the translation practice. In the same way, translation criteria also have changed after cultural turn. However, the studies of criteria after cultural turn has not been pay much attention to.

1. Definition of Translation Criterion

In China Translation Dictionary, translation criterion is explained as “the criterion that an interpreter activity must be followed; the yardstick of weighing the quality of the translated text; the goal that translators should make great efforts to reach too”. This definition is a comprehensive understanding of translation criterion. (Lin Huangtian 977)

To different kind of texts, we should have different criteria for criticizing and guiding.

Are criteria constant or contingent? Our cognition of the world changes according to the paradigm shifts of the cognition. Translation criteria studies are no exception.

2.Translation criteria studies in China and the West

Western translation criteria study follows the line of: Horaces Faithfulness, Tytlers Three Principles and Nadas Equivalence. While Chinese translation criteria study, according to Luo Xinzhang, follows the line of:“案本——求信(信、達、雅)——神似——化境” (Li Tefu 57). The fact that the astonishing similarity between Yan Fus “faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance” and Tytlers “Three Principles” in Chinese and western traditional translation criterion studies, though they are based on different philosophy basis, tell us a reasonable fact that “faithfulness” or “fidelity” is the first and the most fundamental criterion of translation.

3.Translation Criteria after Culture Turn

It is generally considered that the cultural turn, the second turn in translation studies in 1990s by Susan Bassnett and André Lefevere. However, the philosophical basis of it, the Deconstruction movement, initiated by Jacques Derrida started in1960s and 1970s. Companying with the rise of Deconstruction movement are Post-colonialism and Gender studies. It is not until the late 1990s that Post-colonialism and Gender studies were applied in translation studies and arouse the cultural turn in translation studies. So, it is reasonable to divide Cultural Turn into two main branches: Theoretical Studies and Field Studies. Theoretical studies refer to the studies leaded by Susan Bassnett and André Lefevere while Field Studies the studies applying Post-colonialism and Gender theories.

3.1 Gender Studies and Translation

Simon de Beauvoir is a critical figure in gender studies. Her The Second Sex is considered the bible of feminism and influence lot of female translators and translational theorists. Sherry Simon, Lori Chamberlin and Luise von Flotow are representatives who apply gender theories in translation studies.

3.1.1 The Strategies of Feminism Translation

3.1.1.1 Female Conscious and Self-conscious of Female Translator

Translated texts may be public consumer goods, however, translating, at first, is a personal activity. There are objective and subjective factors both in translation activities. Though censorships are not controlled by translators and the choice of the source text may be half controlled, translators do have different identities; s/he could be white or colored, male or female, oriental or occidental… They could have different political appeals and purposes in translation.

3.1.1.2 Translation as a Strategy and the Strategies of Feminism Translation

Just like Friedrich Nietzsche and Roland Barthe respectively proclaimed the death of God and the author in religion and literature, Walter Benjamin announced the target text as afterlife of source text in translation. The target text is no more a subordination to source text and it gets meaning of being of its own. It not only raises the position of target text and translation but also exposes translation as strategy for maintaining the system in the favor of vested interests and makes it possible for the minor groups to struggle for their own benefits with translation as a strategy and weapon.

Though it is hard to say that the two translation strategies “free translation” and “literal translation” are under the illumination of traditional translation criterion “fidelity” in traditional period, translation criteria do determine the strategies of translation after that period.

3.1.2 The Origin of Fidelity and Gender Metaphor of Translation

There is a classical metaphor about translation. The source text is compared with husband and target text, wife. Target text is superior to and should be faithful to source text just like wife to husband. Thats where faithfulness or fidelity comes from. However, fidelity is always an ideal relationship in real life and translation practices. It is further interpreted by the American Jewish writer Isaac Bashevis Singer that “Beautiful women are not always faithful while faithful women are always ugly. Women could be both beautiful and faithful, yet they cant be perfect”.

Now that the source text is the reflection of the manmade unreasonable patriarchy and a tool to keep it, women translators should not follow the criteria of fidelity which is used as another tool to continue patriarchy any more.

3.1.3 Translation Criteria under Illumination of Feminism

Women should have criteria of their own, criteria more reasonable and just. However, this kind of criteria has not been raised openly by any female translator or any female translation studies scholar. Perhaps in their mind their fidelity is more faithful than the traditional one. The Traditional fidelity is to the source text while Feminism Fidelity is to a wider, more truthful object, to which, even the source text should be faithful, the original world, and an equal world instead of the real world, the patriarchy world.

3.2 Post-colonialism and Translation Studies

3.2.1 A Sketch of Post-colonial Studies

In Orientalism, Said describes a phenomenon: in a long period, there are more works written by the western about the orient than works written by the orient about the western while at the same time, more works been translated by the orient about the western than works translated by the western about the orient. In the few works about the orient translated by the orient into the western, fewer received welcome. This phenomenon is a good example of Richard Jacquemonds “translation across power differentials”. (Robinson 31)

In fact, Saids orient is not the orient we are talking today but the Nearly East in geology and Arab world in culture. Thats why Spivak prefers the term “the third world”. However, Saids studies open for us a new perspective to see the world and provide us a new thinking pattern. Strategies of post-colonialism translation are tools for the third world to make their voice.

3.2.2 Strategies of Post-colonialism Translation

Haroldo de Campos puts forward cannibalism. Cannibalism “…is important because it provide us with a clear post colonial metaphor that can be applied to the history of literary transfer and to the history of translation. Traditional notion of translation saw it essentially as a ‘copy and ‘original. In fact, cannibalism can also be seen as a strategy of post-colonial translation. One of the most important purposes of cannibalisation is to make the cannibal more powerful. Translation should not be a copy but a creation and nourishing act. Through the absorbing of the source text, the translator should create a target text that will benefit the readers.

3.2.3 Translation Criteria under Illumination of Post-colonialism

Just like feminists see the world as phallus-central world and traditional translation as patriarchy translation, the post-colonists see the world as western-central world and traditional translation as colonial translation. Through the “cannibalisation” strategy, the translator can make the dominated culture decolonized; while through the “foreignizing” strategy, the translator want to make the dominated culture be heard. Under these two strategies hides the post-colonial translation criterion, that is “decolonial fidelity”.

4.Conclusion

“Faithfulness” or “fidelity” has been considered the first and the fundamental criterion in traditional translation studies. While after the cultural turn in translation, this criterion is doubted by both feminists and post-colonists.

It seems that these criteria are quite different and even polar opposite to each other; however, no matter what Translation Criterion it is, Fidelity is always the first Criterion. The argument of Translation Criteria in fact lies in the struggle for the discourse power. That is why the cultural turn in translation to some extent can be called power turn in translation too.

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