The Influence Of The Translator’s Hybrid Cultural Identity On Cultural Translation

Hybrid cultural identity is part of the development of postcolonial translation theory. It is one of the influencing factors in translation. American linguist Nida divided culture into5kinds, material culture, social culture, linguistic culture, ecological culture and religious culture, all of which are contained in the great work Lu Xun Xiaoshuoxuan. This thesis attempts to analyze the hybrid cultural identity of the two translators of Lu Xun Xiaoshuoxuan, Yang Xianyi and Julia Lovell. Take the two versions as examples; this thesis explores the influence of translator’s hybrid cultural identity on the cultural translation of Lu Xun Xiaoshuoxuan.Hybridity is the mixture of communication between different languages and cultures. It has dual cultural and language characteristics. The influence on translation of hybrid cultural identity of translators will directly be reflected in the translated works. The cultural identity of Yang Xianyi is mainly eastern and minorly western while Lovell’s cultural identity is western and minorly eastern. Therefore, the comparison between two translators with hybrid cultural identity and comparison between two English versions is typical and worth researching.It is presented in five chapters. The first chapter is the introduction to the research background and the significance of the thesis. Also the research methodology is introduced. The second chapter reviews the origin of hybrid cultural identity, that is, postcolonial translation theory, and the study of postcolonial translation theory at home and abroad. Also it gives a brief introduction to cultural identity, and reviews the current study on the English translations of Lu Xun Xiaoshuoxuan. The third chapter is the theoretical background of the thesis. It briefly states some of the postcolonial translation theorists, and the contributions they made to the theory of hybrid cultural identity. Meanwhile, a thorough introduction to hybrid cultural identity and its relationship with translation is made. The fourth chapter gives an introduction to the study on the English translations of Lu Xun Xiaoshuoxuan. It further analyzes the formation of the hybrid cultural identity of the two translators—Yang Xianyi and Julia Lovell. Then large content is given to make detailed comparisons between the two versions from the aspect of material culture, linguistic culture, social culture and religious culture, with the finding that the influence of hybrid cultural identity on translation is obvious. Roughly speaking, Yang Xianyi’s version largely conveys Chinese culture to the target readers so that culture can be widely spread, while Lovell’s version tends to lose the cultural flavor and characteristics to fit the readers’ customs. Besides, Yang Xianyi’s western cultural identity and Julia Lovell’s eastern cultural identity also leave trace in the translation. Yang sometimes gives up Chinese flavor while Lovell reserves some to a certain extent. In conclusion, as it has been proved by the case study of two English versions of Lu Xun Xiaoshuoxuan, the hybrid cultural identity of translator is forming along with translator’s growth, and is influenced by their living background, experience, belief, culture, politics, economy, etc. In return, the hybrid cultural identity influences the translation of culture, especially when handling the classical works with rich culture like Lu Xun Xiaoshuoxuan.