| In recent years, translation ethics has become a hot topic in the circle of translation study. As across-cultural activity, translation needs ethics as its guidance to cope with various interrelationships involvedand, to coordinate the conflict between the native and the exotic cultures. On the basis of the previous studies,Andrew Chesterman, a translation theorist in the Netherland, summarizes four models of translation ethics,namely: ethics of representation, ethics of service, ethics of communication, norm-based ethics. Later heputs forward one more model: ethics of commitment, a professional commitment for translators. The firstfour models are of descriptive nature and the last one prescriptive.Cultural issues in translation have aroused the translators’ much concern in recent years. Culture andlanguage has a very close relationship. Culture influences and restricts language and language is animportant carrier of culture. The phenomena in one culture may be difficult to understand in another culture.So the translator is faced with a big challenge as to how to translate the cultural elements in the literaryworks appropriately and effectively. Luotuo Xiangzi, a cultural masterpiece of Lao She, is rich in Chinesecharacteristic culture and Beijing local culture. Therefore, it is a challenging job to translate it into anotherlanguage, especially the cultural elements in it.This thesis, thus, chooses Andrew Chesterman’s first four models as its theoretical framework toinvestigate ethical basis of cultural elements translation in the English version of Luotuo Xiangzi. Thethesis is made up of six chapters. Chapter one is about the background and objectives of the study. Thestructure and significance of the thesis are also explained. Chapter two is about the literature review of theproposal and recent studies of Translation Ethics at home and abroad, studies on the translation of culturalelements in Luotuo Xiangzi. In chapter three, Chesterman’s models of translation ethics will be introducedand discussed in detail and be further explored in the following chapters. Chapter four is about the researchdesign of this thesis, which includes the elaboration of the research questions, research objects, researchmethodology and data collection and analysis. Chapter five is the main body of the thesis. Based on thecomprehensive analysis of the methods Howard Goldblatt adopts in cultural elements translation in theEnglish version of Luotuo Xiangzi, this thesis, thus, summarizes the ethical basis Howard Goldblatt followsin choosing the translation methods within Chesterman’s ethical framework.From a great number of cases, it can be found that: when translating some cultural elements, HowardGoldblatt spares no efforts to find correspondences in the target language and mainly adopts literal translation and free translation; when it comes to most cultural elements, Howard Goldblatt resorts to freetranslation, amplification, omission and transplanting. On the whole, his translation is of domesticationstyle. Chesterman’s four models of translation ethics are all reflected in Howard Goldblatt’s translationpractice. He follows ethics of representation and strives to represent the exotic color embodied in the sourcetext. He conforms to norm-based ethics to meet the target’s readers expectations and makes the translationmore intelligible. He complies with the ethics of communication as a mediator so as to equally promote themutual understanding of two cultures. The following of ethics of service is to achieve the publishers’ andclients’ commercial purpose. When ethics of representation conflicts with norm-based ethics due to culturaldifferences, he coordinates the contradiction by adding explanation between lines or by other methods. Onmore occasions, however, he chooses to abide by the norm-based ethics, making use of the expressions thatare familiar to the target readers so as to make his version intelligible and acceptable. Thus, hisdomestication strategy is motivated by his reader-oriented ethics. |
