The Translator’s Subjectivity： A Hermeneutic Exposition

隋妍

0 Introduction

1）George Steiners approach to translation

The word “hermeneutics” originates in old Greek and its Latin spelling is “hermeneuein”， meaning to understand. In the Middle Ages， it developed into hermeneutics of theology， as it applied to the interpretation of the decrees of God and records of antiquity. Through the reformation of the Renaissance， hermeneutics， applied for semantic explanations in rhetoric and poetics， evolved into a methodology contributed by the German Romantics， Schleiermacher（1768-1834） and Dilthey （1833-1911） who interpreted various texts of historical records in their work.

Steiners After Babel is the key advance of the hermeneutics of translation. The hermeneutic approach defined by Steiner is “the investigation of what it means to understand a piece of oral or written speech， and the attempt to diagnose this process in terms of a general model of meaning” （Steiner， 1975）.

The core of his description is the hermeneutic motion， representing the four moves of translation. He approaches the act of translation in the “four-beat model of the hermeneutic motion”—（1）initiative trust （2） aggression （or penetration） （3） incorporation （4） reciprocity or restitution.

2）translators subjectivity

This theory shed a new light on translators recognition of the nature of translation in light of the philosophical hermeneutics. Meanwhile， a tentative proposal may be put forward， that is， an enhancement of translators subjectivity.

As Munday put it， “Steiners initial focus is on the translator， and he goes on to discuss the process of meaning and understanding underlying the translation process.” （Munday，2001） From the four hermeneutic motions， it can be observed that translators play a key role in the act of translation since all of the four motions are closely related to translators. Without the participation of translators， none of the motions can be put into practice. So， it may be possibly said that translators are the principal part of transition action.

This is also true to literary translation， as Yang Wuneng has argued，

文學翻譯的主體同樣是人， 亦即作家、翻譯家和讀者； 在文學翻譯活動中，翻譯家無疑處于中心的樞紐地位，發揮著最積極的作用。（《闡釋、接受與再創造的循環》，楊武能，《中國翻譯》）

文學翻譯即闡釋，一種特殊意義的闡釋，一種全面、深邃、直觀、藝術和積極主動的、處于變化發展中的闡釋。因此，文學翻譯必然或多或少帶有這一活動的主題即譯者的個人色彩。（《翻譯·解釋·闡釋》，楊武能，2003）

In literary translation， a process highly demanding the translators knowledge and qualities to understand the original text and to successfully fulfill the translation task， it is inevitable that translators subjectivity affect the final rendering to a large extent.

Here， subjectivity mainly refers to translators subjective initiatives manifested in the act of translation. （查明建、田雨，2003） In other words， it refers to the influence of translators aesthetic preference， concept of translation， the method used in translation， etc.

1 A case of Pound

1.1 Subjectivity in choosing topics

In the hermeneutic motion， the first one is “initiative trust”. The translators first move is a belief and trust that there is something there in the ST that can be understood and translated. Thus， translators trust decides his choosing of the text.

Ezra Pound（1885-1972） is an American poet and critic， often called “the poets poet” because his profound influence on 20th century writing in English. As the initiator of the Imagist movement， Pound gave his initiative into full play in his translation of Chinese poetry.

Pound was very unsatisfied with the poetry full of stereotyped expressions and preachment. He proposed that there must be some innovations in poetry. Thus， together with some other poets， Pound led the Imagist movement. He is the first people who raised the concept of image. To Pound， image was “that which presents an intellectual and emotional complex in an instant of time.”（Poets.org） Images are not only a concept， but also a practical tool by which people can communicate with each other. As mentioned above， images can help communication between people. In this sense， Pound considered that images are more of language than something embellishing the poem itself. Poets should use succinct images to express emotions， with a more flexible grammar， paying little attention to the form.

Accidentally， in the year of 1913， Pound got a manuscript of Ernest Fenollose （1853-1908）， an Italian scholar studying orientalism. From the manuscript， Pound knew more about Chinese characters and Chinese poetry. Chinese characters are ideographic and contain rich connotations in themselves. It is unnecessary to use superfluous words to convey meanings. By， using such kind of language， feelings are vividly and picturesquely expressed in Chinese poetry. He found this to some extent in line with his understandings of poetry. Then he decided to choose some of the poems in the manuscript and translate them into English. This collection was named Cathay and was published in 1915.

Here， we can see that Pounds fond of the use of images in poems. When choosing a topic， he was more preferred to Chinese poetry. The subjectivity of translator is functioning. Besides preference， translators knowledge， experience， and cultural background may also affect the subject they select.

1.2 Subjectivity in translation process

According to the hermeneutic motions， after choosing a text， translators will be in the process of “aggression”， “incorporation”， and “reciprocity or restitution”. These three steps are mainly concerning with the concrete strategies translators use in the act of translation. Translators seize the ST and extract the meaning. Then they assimilate and rearrange or relocate the meaning in the TT. At last， if needed， translators will make some compensation. Thus， translators subjectivity—their understanding about the ST， their aesthetic preference， their concept of translation， etc.—become an key factor affecting the final translation.

For Pound， to translate a poem means to create a new poem. （郭建中，2000） He proposed that when translating poems， translators should not be entrapped by the form or rhyme in the original ones. Translators should give priority to emotions and intentions in the original ones rather than to translate word by word or to pursue the equivalence of the structure. In this way， the new renderings may arouse similar feelings in the target readers and meanwhile to complete the communication.

Based on such a concept of translation， Pound developed his distinct translation method. The following cases may well illustrate his subjectivity and creativity in translation.

E.g.1 violation of the English grammar

Pound didnt attach much importance on the form of a poem， for example，

舉杯消愁愁更愁

Pound：Raise up， quench sorrow， sorrow again sorrow.

This translation may surprise some people for it was totally different from what an English poem should be. But this is what Pound meant to do. He boldly changed the form of the poem， breaking free from the conventions in English poetry. He ignored English grammar， regardless of the syntax， trying to follow a kind of Chinese rule here. He made use of Chinese syntax， aiming to bring more images into the translation. In his opinion， the more images in the poem， the better the readers can understand it. Therefore， he translated Chinese poetry with a form that never found before in the English poetry.

E.g.2. emphasis on images

望彼美之女兮安得？感余心之未寧！

Pound：

And she the rejoycer of the heart is beneath them （leaves）

A wet leaf that clings to the threshold.

There was not “a wet leaf” in the original poem， whereas Pound added it into his translation. He caught the main images in the original and creating a new one， reinforcing the emotions in the translated poem. He believed that more images is beneficial to the expression of authors intention and feeling.

E.g.3. disregard of rhyme

浮云游子意，落日故人情，揮手自茲去，蕭蕭班馬鳴。

Pound： Mind like a floating wide cloud， Sunset like the parting of the old acquaintances who bow over their clasped hands at a distance. Our horses neigh to each other as we are departing.

The original text is a poem with rhymes. But Pound translated it into a free verse. Here， we may say that Pound， according to his translation method， rewrote the original poem.

In the cases above， Pounds subjectivity played a critical role in the translation process. His understanding about poetry influenced his translation method. His intention to bring innovation to English poetry impelled him to translate creatively.

Sometimes， due to the subjectivity of translators， it is inevitable that during the translation， some taste and feelings will be lost. There even may be some deviation from the original one. Pound didnt understand Chinese， so there are some unsuitable interpretations in his translation of the Chinese poetry. But generally speaking， Pound is rather successful. He is highly evaluated by T.S. Eliot and caused a sensation in English poetic circles. He even heralded the age of flourishing translation theories. （王貴明，2005）

2 Conclusion

From the case of Pound， it is obvious that in the translation activity， translator is the most active element. The subjectivity of the translator affects the final translation. Sometimes， it proves successful， like Pound. But sometimes it doesnt. The translated text may not be received by the readers. It is believed that there still is a limit to translators subjectivity. Even though， in a permissible degree， translators shouldnt stop their attempts to make innovation. Maybe only in this way， there will be more improvements in the translation activity.

【Reference】

[1]George Steiner. After Babel[M]. Oxford： Oxford University Press， 1975.

[2]Munday. Introducing Translation Studies[M]. London & New York： Routledge， 2001.

[3]Poets.org A Brief Guide to Imagism[OL]. http：//www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5658 2010-1-9.

[4]楊武能.再談文學翻譯主體[J].中國翻譯，2003（5）.

[5]查明建，田雨.論譯者主體性—從譯者文化地位的邊緣談起[J].中國翻譯，2001（7）.

[6]郭建中.美國翻譯研討班與龐德的翻譯思想[J].外語與外語教學，2000（2）.

[7]王貴明.論龐德的翻譯觀及其中國詩歌的創意英譯[J].中國翻譯，2005（6）.

[責任編輯：楊玉潔]