The Duality Of The Translator

The duality mentioned in this thesis refers to the subjectivity and objectivity of the translator. In translation, on the one hand, the translator is constrained by external and internal factors, some of which are from the society and the times he lives in, some from the source text (including its content and style, etc.), some from the TL reader (including the reader's knowledge level, judgment, appreciation and acceptance, etc.), and some from the translator himself (including his language competence, cultural orientation, motivation, techniques, etc.) . This means his objectivity. On the other hand, the translator has his creativity and freedom of choice. As to whether to translate or not, what to translate, how to translate and why to translate, he has his own choices, own thinking, own strategies and own expressing styles, etc.. This shows his subjectivity. Therefore, the translator has characteristics not only of being subjective, active and creative but also of being objective, passive and imitative, which demonstrates his duality. Thus the role of the translator who plays a decisive role in translation cannot be ignored, and it is necessary to study the translator and his duality, which have great bearing on the translating process as well as the product of translation.This thesis consists of four chapters in addition to an introduction and a conclusion.The first chapter briefly introduces the role and characteristics of the translator and states that the translator is the Subject (main body) of translation. Moreover, it argues that the study on the translator is an indispensable part in translation studies, translation criticism and the study of the history of translation.The second chapter focuses on the duality of the translator (i.e. his subjectivity and his objectivity). First, it explains what his duality refers to. Then, based on plenty of theoretical evidence, it demonstrates this duality . In...