A Study Of Translator’s Construal Perspective In Translating Chinese Classical Poetry

Translating Chinese classical poetry is regarded as one of the most complex tasks in thefield of translation. Many scholars devote themselves to the cause of poetry translation. Butthe most compact, condensed, and heightened form of poem have caused great difficulties fortranslators. Some experts even hold that it is impossible for the translator to convey allfeatures and the factors of the original. However, several translation principles can beconcluded for Chinese classical poetry translation through the study of translator’s construalperspective based on R. W. Langacker’s construal theory.According to construal theory, meaning is relative to text and speech sounds, syntax andthe way of subject construal. Perspective, one dimension of construal operations, identifiesthe relation between the construal subject and the object of construal. It indicates translator’spsychological aspects such as, mental distance or emotional tendency. In addition, construalperspective is closely connected with cognitive domain.Firstly, perspective dimension of construal theory is applied to Chinese classical poetrytranslation. According to Langacker, construal perspective can be revealed by five elements,namely, viewpoint, deixis, empathy, subjectivity∕objectivity, and figure-ground organization.Translators’ construal perspective discrepancies occur, because of their choice of differentviewpoints, deictic expressions, varying degrees of empathy, subjectivity or objectivity, anddifferent figure from ground in their construal. In poetry translating, translators’ differentconstrual perspectives would certainly result in different translations. Then, some preferredpatterns can be figured out by comparing different versions. And translation principle namedconstrual perspective coherence can be concluded. In other words, preferred translation can beproduced, only if the translator locates himself with a consistent perspective both in spatialand non-spatial aspects. Finally, with the guidance of Langacker’s perspective dimension ofconstrual, if someone wants to provide the preferred Chinese classical poetry translation, heshould achieve both intertextual and textual construal perspective coherence in the process oftranslation. At the end of the research, a corresponding relation between elements revealing construal perspective and each cognitive domain is given. To be specific, viewpoint stressestranslator’s construal perspective in spatial domain; deixis, in temporal and personal domain;empathy, in emotional domain; subjectivity∕objectivity, in personal domain; andfigure-ground alignment, in abstract domain. So translator should try to establish the construalperspective coherence between original and its translation. In other words, construalperspective coherence of each element should be established in its corresponding domain.What’s more, these elements namely, viewpoint, deixis, empathy, subjectivity∕objectivity,figure-ground which announce translator’s construal perspective are compatible with eachother. Therefore, in the process of poetry translation, translator should also establish theconstrual perspective coherence between elements within a text.