A Study Of Problems In The Process Of The Cultural Turn Of Translation Studies

This thesis attempts to point out problems arising in the process of the cultural turn of translation studies. Through empirical study, it proves that these problems have brought destructive consequences to translation practices. At the same time, based on the reductionist approach to translation studies, the thesis puts forward solutions to the current predicament of translation studies.The present thesis firstly speaks highly of the contributions made by the cultural school and admits that cultural factors emphasized by the cultural school do have some positive influences on translation. Afterwards, the thesis reveals that the cultural school exaggerates culture’s role and ignores language’s significant and fundamental role in translation. Their excessive worship of studies on cultural elements leads to abundant problems, such as misunderstanding the essence of translation and the ontic entity of translation studies, dispelling the traditional translation studies on linguistic problems, alienating translation theories from translation practices or even misleading practices, and confusing the boundary between translation studies and other disciplines. In consequence of such a series of problems, the quality of translation is increasingly unsatisfying. Under such a critical circumstance, the reductionist approach to translation studies initiated by Professor Zhao Yanchun can be regarded as a proper theory. This theory calls for the clarification of the essence of translation and the ontic entity which translation studies should focus on; meanwhile, this approach suggests that scholars should weaken factors which are not directly and necessarily related with the essence of translation in translation studies. The author agrees that this is the very road that translation studies should choose.In a word, the thesis, through theoretical discussion and empirical analysis, proves that both language and culture exert significant impacts on translation studies and translation practices, but culture is the secondary factor and language is the primary one. The thesis suggests that translation studies should focus on language transfer; different schools of translation studies should get rid of insularity and learn from each other for common progress; schools and institutions should make more efforts in cultivating students’ bilingual and bicultural abilities; and translators themselves should read more to enhance their translation competence.