Influence Of The Position Of Translated Literature On Literary Translation

The traditional translation study mode has been prevailing in translationstudies fields for a long time. Under such circumstances, translation is only consideredas the reproduction of the source text, and "faithfulness" becomes the only criterion forevaluating a translated version. Since the "cultural turn" in the 1970s, the emphasis o(?)translation studies is shifting from linguistic studies to extra linguistic studies, Whi(?)indicates that translation is far from a practice of bilingual transfer, and many otherfactors are also involved in the process of translation such as social-cultural contexthistory, aesthetic value as well as readers' acceptance in the target language conte(?)Even-Zohar's polysystem theory makes a remarkable contribution to the cultural turnand thus provides a new approach to translation studies. In his polysystem theory.Even-Zohar analyzes the relationship between the position of translated literature intarget cultural polysystem and literary translation. And it provides foundations forToury's "target-oriented" translation study mode and his norm theory. When translatedliterature takes a peripheral position in the target polysystem, the translator tends toemploy the strategy of domestication and adhere to norms that have existed in the targetculture, which in turn influences his decisions during the whole translation process.Lin Shu is one of the most influential figures in Chinese translation history. Heinitiated modern literary translation in China, and his translations imported new ideas.literary concepts, styles, and techniques from the West. These, in turn, influenced theemergence and development of modern Chinese literature. However, Lin Shu'stranslations have long been criticized and even dismissed because they often went farfrom the original texts. Why such unfaithful translations were welcomed by readers andeven had great influences on the emergence and development of modern Chineseliterature?This thesis is a reconsideration of this question. In the light of polysystem theoryand Norm theory, taking Lin Shu's translation of David Copperfield as a case study, itaims at exploring the relationship between the position of translated literature in target cultural system and literary translation plus its influences on the decisions madeby LinShu before and during the translation process, which include his choice of the originatext and use of translation strategy and techniques, etc..The thesis is divided into five chapters.The first chapter is an introduction, which includes the purpose, method antsignificance of the study.The second chapter proposes a new approach to the study and clarifies itstheoretical basis, which is Even-Zohar's polysystem theory and Gideon Toury's nonrtheory.The third chapter introduces Charles Dickens and his David Copperfield. Then itmakes the translator-Lin Shu and his Kuai Rou Yu Sheng Shu known to the readers.The fourth chapter is the central part of this thesis. It first analyzes thesocio-cultural context and the position of translated literature in late Qing period whenLin Shu translated David Copperfield. Then, a detailed analysis of translation norms inthe late Qing period follows. Finally, based on the above analysis, the influences oftranslation norms on the translation practice of David Copperfield are brought to thereaders.The fifth chapter is the conclusion, which presents a brief summary to this thesis.