On Cultivation Of Consciousness Of Faithfulness In Translator Education

A wave of disproving faithfulness stirred up in translation theories at the end of last century.Many feel ashamed of talking about faithfulness,while proud of talking about "treason",as if there were no "academicity" or "translation" without it.In essence,translation means expressing faithfully in one lanugage what is said or written in another language,with the ultimate aim to achieve communication between different languages based on different cultural backgrounds,so as to get mutual understanding.In this case,any distortion or damage of the source language message will bring down the quality and efficiency of communication,or even lead it to failure.So,keeping faithful to the source text is of vital importance in the process of translation.Neither translation theory study nor translation practice can survive without clear understanding,proper managing and consistant adherence to the principle of faithfulness in translation.In a sense,faithfulness is the reins of horses,or the rudder of the ship,with which translation has reference standard,and translators have their goals to fight for.If the principle of faithfulness is denied or even dismissed,translation practice will most possibly change into an experiment field or even a playground in which translators can do whatever they like.Readers will not be able to distinguish what is said by the author from those by the translator in the so-called "translation",and eventually they may not believe what is really meant by the author.It’s not just the misfortune of readers,but also of translators and translation itself.So,following and sticking to the principles of faithfulness is of inevitable necessity."If you want a tree to grow well,you should ensure that it has a strong root;if you want a river to flow a distance,you should clear its source." The quality of translation,as well as its faithfulness to the original,is under the translator’s control in the final analysis.Therefore,to affect translators with proper consciousness of faithfulness is the origin and starting point of ensurance of translation quality as well as the development of translation.The translator must be informed that faithfulness is the soul and lifeline of translation that cannot do without even for a moment,either from the nature and functions of translation,or from an ethical point of view.Whether literary or non-literary texts,whether it be "foreignizing" or "domesticating" translation method,regardless of how the translator’s subjectivity performs,the principle of faithfulness cannot be abandoned.To abandon faithfulness means denying translation itself.Just because of this,with cross-cultural communication in education becoming more and more frequent and a normal phenomenon nowadays,schools and colleges,as well as all foreign language educators,shall surely keep a watchful eye on whether ’faithfulness’ is strictly followed and stuck to in the process of translating,and surely strengthen education of translator’s consciousness of faithfulness at the very beginning of translator education so as to accelerate sound development of translation.It is this prime and initial motivation that the dissertation was written for.This dissertation mainly consists of the following parts:The Introduction part presents the rationale and significance of the study,some relevant concepts are defined,then it examines the previous studies and the status quo of the present research,and finally the research plan,theories and methods employed are clarified.Chapter 1 demonstrates that to translate faithfully is the requirement of the nature of translation from the angle of the nature and functions of translation,exemplified by disputes over form vs content,literal vs free translation,which both arose for the sake of faithfulness.Chapter 2 argues that as "inbetweeners",translators have the obligation to faithfully transfer the clients’ information.Though translators have to face the problem of whom they should be loyal to(the author,the reader,the client,or himself)in translating practice,the relationship between them is not opposite,but can be turned into concord.Both "domesticating" and "foreignizing" are also of dialectic unity,which can go side by side if translators can adhere to principle of faithfulness.Chapter 3 puts forward the fact that different types of texts call for different requirement of faithful translation.For example,literal texts ask for the beauty in the translation,whereas non-literal texts have stricter demand in accuracy.Translators therefore are supposed to have correct consciousness of text as well as the ability to analyze various types of texts and represents different characteristics in the translation.Chapter 4 elucidates the major influences outside the text,illustrating that ideological factors such as politics,nationalism,culture,and religion may exert influence on translating directly or indirectly.Translators should fight against external disturbances,adher to the moral bottom line,pursue their ambition in translation,and refuse to be a marionette.Chapter 5 criticizes the wrong views on translator’s subjectivity spreading recently at home and abroad,with the focus on criticizing the argument of advocating the thought of "treason" in translation theories by analyzing the nature of translator’s subjectivity,demonstrating the harm it does to translation.The translators thus ought to be educated to understand translator’s subjectivity correctly and make proper use of it to achieve faithful translation.Chapter 6 discusses about the value of translation criticism.Translation criticism plays an important role in protecting faithful translation,because faithful translation can not depend solely on translator’s Conscientiousness,but healthy and serious criticism.Translators should not only sincerely accept others’ criticism with an open mind,but also take an active part in it.Only in this way,can faithful translation come to a virtuous circle.The Conclusion part summarizes the main features in general of the translator education on faithfulness,affirming that proper view on faithful translation is of great value in both translation theory and practice,in the development of translation,in the maturing of translators.The study proposes some personal reflections and suggestions on how to educate translators on this scope better.