Influence Of Translator’s Subjectivity On Translation: A Contrastive Study Of Two Versions Of An Inquiry Into The Nature And Causes Of The Wealth Of Nations

The translation of economic literature has important implications for the spread of western economics whereas related studies have not got enough attention. Recently, the subjectivity of the translator is being discussed more and more in the field of translation theory, but the discussions mainly focus on the translation of literary works instead of economic works as these books are always highly theoretical and hard to understand. Known as one of Adam Smith’s most famous works, The Wealth of Nations occupies an important position in the field of economics and has very profound influence.This thesis chooses two classical Chinese versions from Yan Fu and Yang Jingnian to contrast their translations and discuss the translator’s subjectivity in the process of translation. When comparing the different choices of translation methods and strategies of the two translators, the author analyzes the reasons of the differences and the influence of related factors on these choices. The author thinks that translator’s subjectivity may be reflected in four aspects: in the translation process, in the translator’s consciousness of the TL culture and readers, in the intertextual relationship between the TT and the ST, the TT and the target literature, and in the inter-subjectivity of translation. In terms of Yan Fu’s and Yang Jingnian’s translation, as translation subjects, the two translators have some differences in five aspects: differences of the translators’ value orientation, differences of the translators’ target readers, differences of the translators’ understanding and interpreting of the original text, differences of the translators’ personal linguistic competence and performance, differences of the translators’ professional knowledge. Therefore, they have some obvious differences in translation criteria and translation strategies. Therefore, the author puts forward the opinion that in translation activities, especially in the translation of economic works, the translator should give full scope to his or her subjective initiative to provide translation works of high quality to the readers and enrich the translation of economic works.