The Making Of A Translator In The Context Of Globalization

Thanks to revolution in science and technology, globalization has penetrated into every corner of the world. The globe has"shrunk", as it were, into a village with the advent of the Internet. Globalization goes hand in hand with localization, which is reflected in the slogan"Think globally, act locally".This revolution of globalization finds its way into every aspect of life: economy, politics, culture, etc. Globalization has exerted great impact on language in communication, too. On the one hand, English seems to have become a lingua franca, while on the other hand, web pages in English are giving way to those in other languages that have just appeared on the horizon.Globalization has brought both challenges and opportunities to translation studies. It has greatly facilitated translation with its high mobility and velocity, providing all pervasive resources. Globalization has also put forward new requirements for translation studies and translators. Moreover, we are faced with such questions as: How shall we get access to the vast resources of the internet? How can we make the best use of modern technologies in translation? What position shall we take with regard to the language accomplishment required of translators? How can traditional translation techniques meet new demands in the context of globalization? How can translation theory be integrated with translation practice? How shall translators cope with globalization?All these questions are open-ended. Based on these premises, this dissertation explores the impact of globalization on translation. It has conducted a statistical analysis of articles on translation theories, techniques and translator's accomplishments published in China and offers the researcher's reflections upon the status of translators in the context of globalization. The completion of translation tasks relies heavily on the translator's language accomplishment, and there would be no translation without the translators'techniques involved. In the situation of globalization, new techniques are increasing with new technologies and it is precisely those techniques that translators need to equip themselves with under the guidance of professionals. Translators also need theory, as translation can never be divorced from theory; without theory, translation would lose its bearings.The literature review of this dissertation has departed from traditional classification owing to the impact of globalization. The instantaneity of globalization has brought the intermixture of publications at home and abroad, in which Chinese translators publish their articles in the international arena as well as in China, while foreign authors can also discuss translation issues in China. In addition, there are other cases where foreign translators publish articles on Chinese-related translation, either independently or jointly with their Chinese colleagues. Therefore, this dissertation does not follow the traditional classification of"state of the art research at home and abroad". Rather, it divides into several sections according to the features of publications, intermingling publications internationally and in China.Language accomplishment is an everlasting and a new topic, without which translation would lose its grounds. This dissertation enunciates translator's language accomplishment. Translator's accomplishment was emphasized for quite a long history at home and abroad. However, with the advent of globalization, there is a tendency of neglecting language accomplishment and consequently translation product is deteriorating due to the deterioration of translator's language accomplishment. In China, in particular, we can scarcely find any requirements for bilingual accomplishment or mother tongue competence in the syllabuses for university degrees of translation or proficiency tests for translation. It seems that translators are born with excellent mother tongue proficiency. When in truth, we cannot emphasize too much the importance of the translator's language accomplishment. Nobody is born with language accomplishment. We can never obtain mother tongue or bilingual accomplishments without arduous effort.Innovations and new technologies do not mean a sacrifice of techniques.Tradition does not die out because we try to express something contemporary or relevant to a newer generation. That drive to innovate helps the tradition to live. Translation in some sense is a technique of long training. It has always been a practice to make the requirement for translators'techniques both in the past and at present. On the one hand, techniques will not be discarded because they are old. On the other hand, translators are faced with new problems in their fulfillment of translation tasks in the new situation of globalization. It stands to reason that techniques are important to translators, especially to beginners. The consciousness of techniques must be internalized as criteria and principles for translators, guiding or verifying translation processes and translation products. In the age of globalization, the consciousness of techniques is weakening, while new technologies emerge as the revolution of globalization. Hence, the consciousness of techniques will have to be placed on a new horizon. Traditional as well as new techniques constitute the fundamental skills for the translators of the new generation. Techniques help solve problems in translation, which are abundant in the context of globalization as there is a far larger quantity of translation accompanying the vast communication in the global village.Techniques cannot be acquired automatically. They have to come through training. This dissertation discusses the techniques of translation in such aspects as styles in translation, logic in translation and tools for translation. As the style of an article is unified with its content, it is no longer thought of as a simple additional ingredient. A proper style brings endless enjoyment to the readers. As to logic, differences between Chinese and Western languages leave much room for the discussion of techniques. This dissertation pays special attention to the use of modern technologies, such as internet translation, online dictionaries, translation BBS, etc, which guides the translators in utilizing the voluminous resources of the Internet to solve problems of massive and high speed translation in the new era.The dissertation also discusses the basic abilities of translators, including lexical application and syntactic structure. It also deals with the contrastive ability, verbal ability and creative ability of translators.The present study also discusses the cultural awareness of translators. Cultural knowledge and cultural difference have long been a major focus of translator training and translation theory. Globalization has had much greater consequences on culture than ever before. The dissemination of cultural products brings about cultural vi hybridity, which has become a tendency as global exchanges become more frequent.The guiding function of translation theory to translation practice has long been a dispute. This dissertation makes a statistical analysis of Chinese translation theories and the influence of western theories in China. Traditional Chinese theories focused on utilitarianism, emphasizing practice but trivializing theory. The voluminous western theories introduced into China in the wake of globalization have greatly influenced Chinese translation studies. But another extreme is pinpointing the cognitive function but neglecting the guiding function of theory, as if theory should be abstruse.Theory and practice can co-exist in harmony in other areas. However, in translation studies they seem at odds. As a matter of fact, translation studies should also constitute a harmonious system. From the perspective of the guiding function of theories, it is by no means undue for translation theories to guide translation practice. In the context of globalization, such issues as shifting of paradigms in translation studies have been proposed in order that translation theory can go hand in hand with translation practice. It is on such a premise that this dissertation gives one chapter to the analysis of"Shui Hu Zhuan"in the light of gestalt-aesthetics.This new era calls for more researchers who will devote their study to globalization, localization and translation. The revolution in technology requires the translators to have a good command of the source and the target languages, linguistic theories, translation theories, the use of traditional techniques and computer-based tools and Internet resources. The translators will have to keep up with the times and become inter-disciplinary.