On The Translator’s Subjectivity In Yu Jianhua’s Chinese Translation Of Snow White

Literary translation is an intercultural communicative activity of great significance, and translators always play a vital role in this activity. However, it is only after the emergence of "cultural turn" of translation studies in the 1970s that the translator’s dominant position in the translation has began to be valued as it deserves in literary circle and researches about translator’s subjectivity also has gradually become an important focus of translation studies. The investigation of translator’s subjectivity is mainly conducted from the aspects of the manifestation and characteristics embodied in translator’s subjectivity at home. The dimension of translation process is most frequently discussed. The reason is that the concrete translation process constitutes a very crucial segment in translation activity, and it is the most prominent embodiment of the translator’s subjectivity. And the discussion of translation from the angel of translation process will contribute to the further understanding of the complicated and important nature of translation activities and it will facilitate the recognition and handling of difficulties in translation practice.The famous translation theorist George Steiner borrows concepts in Hermeneutics to the field of translation studies, and puts forward the very celebrated hermeneutic motion theory. He specifies the translation process into "trust", "aggression", "incorporation" and "compensation" four steps, which is the theoretical tool of this thesis to probe into the translator’s subjectivity. This thesis carries out a case study with Snow White, a postmodernist classic work, as the study object, aiming to find out how the translator’s subjectivity in this postmodernist novel is demonstrated through the analysis of Yu Jianhua’s specific translation procedures. The author elaborates these four steps of hermeneutic motion and makes a comparative analysis of two versions (English and Chinese) of Snow White, hoping to obtain specific cognition of how the translator exerts his subjectivity to achieve translation aims in the translation process of this postmodernist novel and to further affirm the existence and significance of translator’s prominent role in the whole translation process.The author first presents a detailed description of previous studies of translator’s subjectivity at home and abroad after the "cultural turn" in translation field and the relevant studies of Snow White. Then the author discusses the theoretical basis of this thesis, including the enlightenment of Hermeneutics to translation studies and the comprehensive explanation of four steps of "trust", "aggression", "incorporation" and "compensation". The next section of this thesis makes a micro comparison with source text and target text under the framework of these four steps and unveils Yu Jianhua’s manifestation of his subjectivity in each motion and the factors that will have impact upon translator’s subjectivity.At the end of this thesis, tentative conclusions can be reached:the translator plays a dominant role in concrete translation practice; the exertion of translator’s subjectivity will be influenced by factors like the translator’s cultural consciousness, linguistic competence, translation aims, target readers and so on, which has a direct and profound impact on the translator’s choice of translation strategies and the effect of translated text.