On The Translator’s Subjectivity

The translation process is about the collision and fusion of two cultures. Translator, as the subject in translation practice, plays an important role in the process. The status and the subjectivity of the translator have long been ignored in the traditional concept in the past. In recently years, especially after the Cultural Turn of the West, the subjectivity of the translator gets the due attention while more and more scholars begin to study translator’s subjectivity and its impact on the translated version. The modern translation theories state that the translator’s subjectivity indicates the initiatives exhibits by the translator---the subject in the translation practice---in the translation process under the premise of respecting the original text, the intention of which is to achieve the goals of translation.This thesis based on the "Reception Theory", which is firstly put forward in 1960s by Jauss Robert and Wolfgang Iser, the representatives of The Constance School. The theory believes that reader is the core in the relationship between the author, text and reader, thus, in the translation practice, translator should manifest his/her subjectivity to attach great importance to the reader’s status and effect, pay attention to reader’s horizon, and give full consideration to reader’s interpretation and acceptance of the translated version.As one of the four Chinese classical literary works, Shui Hu Zhuan enjoys a high prestige at home and abroad. The reason why this thesis chooses the translation of the nicknames in Buck’s version as the research object is that the nicknames in Shui Hu Zhuan contain abundant cultural elements, what’s more, they are the distinct portrayal of the characters as well as the vivid exhibition of Chinese traditional culture. Within the framework of Reception Theory, the thesis, by taking the translation of the 108 nicknames in Buck’s version of Shui Hu Zhuan as example, will discuss the manifestation of the translator’s subjectivity from the two aspects of Reception Theory---Expectation of Horizon and Indeterminacy of the Text.This thesis consists of five chapters. The first chapter introduces the writing purpose, significance and structure of the thesis. The second chapter serves as the theoretical basis of the thesis and consist of two parts:the first part talks about the origin, development and main achievements of Reception Theory, and the second part gives a brief introduction to translator’s subjectivity and research status at home and abroad. The third chapter acts as the literary basis and introduces the book Shui Hu Zhuan and the main English versions of it briefly. The research of the nicknames as a cultural phenomenon and the 108 nicknames in the book and the classification of them is also concluded in this chapter. Chapter four is the body of the thesis. Based on the classification in last chapter, it analyzes the manifestation of the translator’s subjectivity in translating the nickname in Shui Hu Zhuan under the framework of Reception Theory:mainly from the aspects of reader’s Horizon of Expectation and Indeterminacy of the Text. Chapter five is the conclusion of the thesis. By analyzing the manifestation of translator’s subjectivity in Buck’s All Men Are Brothers, the thesis tries to throw a new light on the research on translator’s subjectivity and All Men Are Brothers.