A Tentative Study On Translator’s Subjectivity In Cultural Relics Text Translation

The paper aims to explore the manifestations of translator’s subjectivity in the translation of cultural relics texts.The paper takes the Shaanxi History Museum Calendar 2018 as the research object in which the author participated as one of the 14 translators,and analyzes the roles of translators’ cultural awareness,reader awareness,bilingual ability and translation ethics in the C-E translation of the calendar.Based on the analysis of the calendar’s textual features,the paper makes a comparison among the source text,the draft version and the final version of the target text,and then analyzes the function of the translator’s subjectivity in the translation and revision processes.The qualitative method is employed to define translators’ roles in the translation of culture-loaded words,historical figures,locations,historical periods,and the detailed and sensitive information,in the utilization of words and sentence patterns,and in the translators’ pursuit of accuracy.The paper shows that the translator’s subjectivity does play an important role in the translation and revision processes.Firstly,the translator’s cultural awareness is reflected in the amplification of cultural background information,the reservation of cultural images and the omission of cultural-specific information.Secondly,the translator’s reader awareness is embodied in translator’s amplification of historical time periods,the amplification and thin translation of locations,the omission and amplification of historical figures and the free translation and rewriting of ambiguous information.Thirdly,the translator’s bilingual ability can find expression in the proper use of words,the integration,reconstruction and deletion of the original complex information,and the understanding of the differences between Chinese and English.Fourthly,the translation ethics is manifested in translators’ filtering of the sensitive information and expression,and the pursuit of accuracy.In addition,translators’ knowledge about cultural relics,their bilingual ability,cultural awareness and reader awareness would be beneficial in their translation of cultural relics texts.The paper attempts to provide a new perspective by analyzing the C-E translation of cultural relics texts from translator’s subjectivity.Meanwhile,the analysis on the text features and translation requirements,and the methods adopted by translators could be a reference for the future C-E translation of similar texts.