| Jean Baudrillard(July 27,1929-March 6,2007)is a famous French philosopher and sociologist of the second half of the twentieth century.Last year,the Nanjing University Press decided to introduce Baudrillard’s last three works to Chinese readers.I was fortunate to participate in the development of this translation together with Zhang Xiaoming,Professor of the French Department of Nanjing University.Philosophical translation is a kind of translation that is somehow special.In order to study the essence of philosophical translation,this paper uses as a theoretical foundation the translation theory of the famous philosopher and translation theorist Jean-Rene Ladmiral.His translation theory can help us not only to understand the characteristics of philosophical discourse,but also to solve the problems encountered in the translation of such a discourse.This paper is divided into three chapters.In the first chapter,we will first introduce the context that surrounds this translation project and the division of work in the context of collaborative translation.The three translated works have a total of eighteen thousand words.Le Mal Ventriloque is the last of Baudrillard’s works,it was my responsibility to translate this work into Chinese,and the work of Zhang Xiaoming was here to correct my translation.Then,we will present the content of this philosophical work.At the end of the first chapter,we will present the requirements for this translation;we will discuss in particular the requirements for the translator.In the second chapter,we will study the characteristics of philosophical translation.Literary translation and non-literary translation are commonly known,but philosophy is a somewhat peculiar type of discourse.It does not seem to receive recognition from the world of literary translation,or even from the world of technical translation.Philosophical translation has two characteristics,the first being discursive vagueness,the second being objectivity.We will compare here the three types of translations.The scientific lexicon is fixed;the same word will almost always refer to the same concept.The philosophical lexicon is somehow different;polysemy is a common phenomenon.Objectivity is the other characteristic of philosophy.To a large extent,the comprehension of a literary text depends on the subjectivity of both the author and the reader;through the reading of a literary work,the reader can feel the emotions of the author.The scientific text is diametrically opposed,its understanding depends on the objectivity of both the author and the reader;The author uses terms commonly used in the scientific world and the rigor of the scientific method to transmit scientific knowledge.It is only in the case of philosophical discourse that the author’s subjectivity can relate to the objectivity of the reader,thus creating a rational space for discussion while using his own terms and his own discursive method.In the third chapter,thanks to the experience gained from this translation,we will try to develop strategies in field of philosophical translation.First,the translator must know enough about the philosophical tradition related to the original text.Then,the translator must maintain terminological consistency.This consistency can be divided into three levels:consistency within the target text,consistency between the target text and other translations of the same author,and consistency between the target text and the target language.Finally,to ensure the quality of philosophical translation,we can use the method of collaborative translation.Collaborative translation is very well suited for philosophical translation,because the two translators can,through rational dialogue and negotiation,understand the meaning of sentences and paragraphs.With Zhang Xiaoming,we have succeeded in accomplishing this translation because,first and foremost,we were able to create a positive and constructive space for translation criticism. |
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