On The Translator’s Subjectivity

The traditional translation approach paid much attention to the source language text (SLT for short) and its writer, while it neglected the translator’s important status and role in translation, resulting in the translator’s being marginalized for a long time. Since the Cultural Turn in translation studies started from the traditional writer-oriented approach to the translator-oriented approach in the1970s, many researchers have focused on the target language text (TLT for short) and the translator’s subjective status and creative role in the process of translation. One of the important representatives is the American translation theorist Douglas Robinson. His book "The Translator’s Turn" is a milestone in translation history, in which he advocates taking the translator’s subjective feeling and personal experiences as the starting point in translation studies and the translator’s status is considered as equal as the writer for the first time. Thereafter, the translator’s status is gradually improved as the subject in translation, thus the transaltor’s subjectivity is fully affirmed and advocated.The thesis aims to arouse peope’s more attention to the translator’s subjectivity and make them better understand the definition and significance of the translator’s subjectivity. Data collection and document investigation methods are employed to gather the relevant contemporary works and materials on the translator’s subjectivity. Based on the theoretical frame of the translator’s subjectivity, this thesis retrospects the translator’s status, the definition and relevant studies on the translator’s subjectivity at home and abroad. Then it takes Zhang Jinghao’s Chinese translated collection "Gifts Of The Magi" of O Henry’s stories for a case study. With the use of Case Analysis method, it explores and analyses the translator Zhang Jinghao’s subjectivity in translation from his purposeful Selection&careful Interpretation of SLT and his creative Manipulation of TLT.Through the combination between the translation practice and the theory, the thesis concludes that in a certain sense the translator’s subjectivity in literary translation directly influences the quality of the TLT. The case study on the translator’s subjectivity is an full affirmation of the translator’s subject status and serves as a good proof of the necessity and importance to perform the translator’s subjectivity in translation. Therefore, more translation studies on the translator’s subjectivity should be made to raise people’s awareness of the translator’s subjectivity and better guide translation practice.