On The Transformation Of The Literariness Of Translated Literature

Many scholars consider literature an art of language, and propose to preserve the special use of the source text with the aim of retaining its literariness in the target text. The thesis argues that the preservation of the so-called literary language in the target text (ST) will never do in the target text (TT). Firstly, the literariness of literature is not determined by the special use of language only, as language itself has no inherent properties or qualities which might distinguish it from other kinds of discourses. Literary language and ordinary language are not two independent systems either. Secondly, Chinese and English, belonging to vastly different language families and representing vastly different cultures, vary greatly in terms of linguistic and literary conventions. It is found that translators either come up with an awkward translation which is quite opposite to the TT by preserving the form, or rewrites the ST with artistic forms of the target language, which barely reveals the characteristics of the ST, but those of the target language.Literature is fundamentally based on value judgments. To endow an object or artifact with the dignity of aesthetic value is a social act, ultimately inseparable from prevailing ideologies. The dominant class in any historical era will have an important influence on these definitions. The value and meaning of literary devices change with time and context. Therefore literary translations which focus on preserving the form often correspond with the ST on the level of referents, and the other part of the meaning is subject to manipulation of the receiving system. The three factors proposed by Andre Lefevere, namely, patronage, poetics and ideology are in function all the time, determining the literariness of translated literature.