Rethinking The Translation Criterion Of "Fidelity"

The topic of translation criteria has arisen ever since the emergence of translation activities, it is a topic that has been debating heatedly. Among the different criteria that had ever been raised, the criterion of fidelity is of great significance whether in China or in the Western countries. This dissertation begins with a brief review of the fidelity criterion in both China and the West and then analyzes the evolution of the criterion in different periods of translation studies, named the philological paradigm, the structural paradigm, and the deconstructive paradigm. These analyses finally end with a new set of criteria raised by Professor Lv Jun under the guide of constructivist translation theories.In the first chapter of the dissertation, there is a brief review of the studies on translation criteria, from which the author gets the conclusion that the criterion of fidelity is the common aim of the traditional translation world. The second chapter is an analysis of the translation studies under the influence of structuralism theories. Under structural translation studies, the meaning is fixed in the structure of a text according to grammatical and semantic rules by the writer. With this premise, it is perfectly justified that translation should be faithful to the original text. Fidelity is of top significance then. However, this theory is in no time overturned by a brand-newtheory-----Deconstruction that holds contradictory positions against structuralism.Chapter three is about the deconstructive view on the fidelity criterion. In fact, it deconstructs the fidelity criterion with some deconstructive theories, including Power and Discourse theory, Post-colonialism theory, Philosophical Hermeneutics and Reception theory. However, although the deconstruction translation theory broke the old system of structuralism, it had no ability to create a new one. It destructed the criterion of fidelity but did not provide any acceptable new criterion.Chapter four offers a new perspective for translation studies: a paradigm of constructivist translation study, which is based on the critiques and reflections about the formal theories. Constructivist translatology is grounded in communicative action theory, and has overwhelming advantages over the previous translation paradigms. Translation action is a communicative action that it should obey the communicative rationality, which includes: truthfulness, rightness and sincerity. In accordance with the rationality, Prof. Lv Jun has brought forward a new set of translation criteria. The author of this dissertation considers that the new criteria are the rethinking and development of the traditional "fidelity" criterion, and that the criteria open a new perspective for modern translation fields.