On The "Faithfulness" Of Translation

The study of translation criteria has been the core issue in the translation field from the very beginning of translation activity. It is the main area of translation theory, and also the main topic which translators and theorists have been debating heatedly. Among various translation criteria, the most influential and the most commonly accepted one in China or in the Western countries is the criterion of "faithfulness". Semiotic theory, as a new methodology and a new perspective, has great guiding significance and potential application in other disciplines. The use of it in the field of translation theory and practice has become the consensus of many scholars and practitioners. The study of translation from the perspective of semiotic appears frequently recent years, but mostly it is carried on from the theories of American semiotician, such as Morris and Pierce's semiotic theory. The phenomenon of exploring the translation criteria from Roland Barthes's semiotic principle is not common to see.Roland Barthes's semiotic theory develops from Saussure's structuralism language view. But it has many differences with Saussure's view. Based on Saussure's language semiotic view, Roland Barthes proposed the two signifying systems of symbol. Both of them are consist of the signifier and the signified. The signified meaning of the first system is single, and the relationship between the signifier and the signified is corresponding, while the one of the second system is a kind of emptiness. It includes such factors as social psychology, ideology, ideas and culture. Translation is a work which stresses the functional equivalence. The translator should express the meaning of the original language in the target language completely and faithfully. In the process of translating, the translator will definitely be influenced by the ideology, culture and other factors of the time he is living. So this kind of "faithfulness" has the nature of the time the translator is living.Due to the above reasons, the thesis is due to discuss the "faithfulness" of translation from the perspective of Roland Barthes's semiotic principle, and then point out that "faithfulness" is relative and absolute "faithfulness" does not exist. In order to discuss it comprehensively, the thesis is divided into four parts except the introduction and conclusion.The introduction includes two parts. One is the motivation and significance of the thesis; the other is the approaches and arrangements. Chapter one is literature review. This part mainly reviews the current study of the criterion of"faithfulness", Roland Barthes's semiotic thoughts and the combination of semiotics and translation study. Chapter two is about the semiotic principle of Roland Barthes. This part mainly introduces Roland Barthes's semiotic principle, especially the two signifying systems of symbol. Chapter three mainly discusses the "faithfulness" from the perspective of Roland Barthes's semiotic principle. This part is conducted from the aspect of translation object; translation process and translation result, and then get the conclusion that "faithfulness" is relative. Literal and free translation, domestication and foreignization are all the reflection of "faithfulness". Chapter four is the case study. The writer will take the translations of Bible as example to prove the relativity of"faithfulness". The last part of the thesis is the conclusion. It summarizes the whole paper and points out the innovation and weak points of the thesis.