当代翻译理论总结

1、the north american translation workshop（北美翻译培训派）1. the developments of the north american translation workshop (p5-6)in the early sixties, there were no translation workshops at institution of higher learning in the united states. in 1964 engle hired a full-time director for what was the first trans

2、lation workshop in the united states and began offering academic credit for literary translations. the following year the ford foundation conferred a 150,000 grant on the university of texas at austin toward the establishment of the national translation center. also in 1965,the first issue of modern

3、 poetry in translation, edited by ted hughes and daniel weissbort, was published, providing literary translators a place for their creative work. in 1968, the national translation center published the first issue of delos, a journal devoted to the history as well as the aesthetics of translation. li

4、terary translation had established a place, albeit a small one, in the production of american culture. the process of growth and acceptance continued in the seventies. soon translation courses and workshops were being offered at several universities-yale, princeton, columbia, iowa, texas, and state

5、university of new york, binghamton among them. this led to the establishment of the professional organization american literary translators association (alta) in the late seventies as well as the founding of the journal translation for that organization. for a while in the late seventies and early e

6、ighties, it looked as if the translation workshop would follow the path of creative writing, also considered at one time a non-academic field, and soon be offered at as many schools as had writing workshops. 2. the translation workshop premise and jonas zdanys (p7-8)johas zdanys (yale translation wo

7、rkshop): translation can make the student more aware of aspects of poetry, language, aesthetics and interpretation. the atheoretical premises of those practicing and teaching translation are revealed in the numerous prefaces and introductions to texts containing translations. an essay by jonas zdany

8、s of the yale translation workshop illustrates the problem. in teaching translation: some notes toward a course structure, zdanys talks about his initial ambivalence about teaching literary translation because he feels this creative process cannot be taught. he then overcomes his reluctance and agre

9、es to do so. the article concludes with zdanys changing his mind about the inappropriateness of teaching translation, arguing instead that the art of translation not only can be taught, but also can make the student more aware of aspects of poetry, language, aesthetics, and interpretation.zdanysclea

10、rlyfindstranslationasubjectiveactivity,subsumingtranslationunderthelargergoalofinterpretingliterature.hisargumentthatthestudyoftranslationcanleadtoaqualitativericherunderstandingrevealsthehumanisticagenda.3. i. a. richards and new criticismnew criticism was a dominant trend in english and american l

11、iterary criticism of the mid twentieth century, from the 1920s to the early 1960s. its adherents were emphatic in their advocacy of close reading and attention to texts themselves, and their rejection of criticism based on extra-textual sources, especially biography.richards is a critic, linguist, p

12、oet, founder of new criticism. he is often labeled as the father of the new criticism, largely because of the influence of his first two books of critical theory, the principles of literary criticism and practical criticism. richardss practical criticism is one text which best exemplifies the theory

13、 of the practice-oriented workshop approach to translation. richardss first reading workshop took place at harvard in the late 1920s.richards did a famous experiment with an approach that cut both the students and the text off from society. richards hoped to introduce new documentation supporting hi

14、s aesthetic beliefs: that a unified “meaning” exists and can be discerned and that a unified evaluative system exists by which the reader can judge the value of that “meaning”.richardss aims were threefold: (1) to introduce a new kind of documentation into contemporary american culture; (2) to provi

15、de a new technique for individuals to discover for themselves what they think about poetry; (3) to discover new educational methods.how does richardss reading workshop of the twenties related to todays translation workshop? p9both introduce new documentation into the culture, +p10,11,14richards prov

16、ed a difficult model for the new critics, but his model of close reading provided the basis for their interpretive methodology. although richards derived his power from language, he seems not to have understood the very entity from which his power came. if the north american translation workshop has

17、 shown anything, it is that the translated text seems to have a life of its own, responding not to the interpreters set of rules, but to laws that are unique to the mode of translation itself.4. ezra pound: theory of luminous detailspound is a poet, critic (1885-1972) strictly speaking, pound didnt

18、publish any book of his translation theory but by the people who researched his works and then made a conclusion. pound reflected his translation theory in his writing and translation practice. according to him, the theory of poem and the theory of translation are mutual complementation. pounds theo

19、ry of translation focused upon the precise rendering of details, of individual words, and of single or even fragmented images. rather than the single, unified meaning of the whole work. pounds theory was based upon a concept of energy in language. the words on the page were seen not simply as black

20、and white typed marks on a page representing something else, but as sculpted images. the translator was seen as an artist, an engraver, or a calligrapher. so the translator must be active. the specific details; an approach allowed for more latitude for an individual translators response. (p15)pounds

21、 opinion: a. the translator-the author ; b. translate-a given word, a given historical situation; c. necessary basic study-the language, the time, the biography of the author, other texts by the same author and others during the period; d. return to the present to create new relations, derived from

22、the old.pounds definition of the image was “that which presents an intellectual and emotional complex in an instant of time.” pound defined the tenets of imagist poetry as: a. direct treatment of the “thing”, whether subjective or objective; b. to use absolutely no word that does not contribute to t

23、he presentation; c. as regarding rhythm: to compose in sequence of the musical phrase, not in sequence of the metronome.three properties with which language is charged and energized melopoeia(音韵)，phanopoeia(形象),logopoeiia(思想).pound is perhaps also the least understood translator and critic read by t

24、he current generation of translators in america.in pounds eye, language has a life of its own; a power to adapt, mutates, and survives. language is charged or energized by melopoeia (the musical property), phanopoeia (the visual property) and logopoeia (both the direct meaning and the play of the wo

25、rd in its context ).meaning of a work of art changes as language changes.pounds theoretical writings fall into two periods by the critical reception of his work. an early imagist phase that, while departing from traditional forms of logic, but still occasionally contained abstract concepts and impre

26、ssions; and a second late imagist or vorticist phase that was based entirely on words in action and luminous details in which the importance of the things being represented reduced and the energy and the form of language become more important.creative translation: avoid the strange diction. the best

27、 poetic translated text could be a new piece of its own life. each translated work should be regard as the evaluation of the source text.development of pounds theory p16 in his evolution from imagism to vorticism, pounds thoughts about translation played a central role. hugh kenner in the found era

28、(1971) notes that in 1911 pound began to think of translation as a model for the poetic art: blood brought to ghosts (kenner, 1971:150). pounds theory of translation first appeared in a book on amaut daniel, which unfortunately was never published and survives only in a series of twelve articles pub

29、lished in a.r.pounds emphasis was less on the meaning of the translated text or even on the meaning of specific words. instead, he emphasized the rhythm, diction, and movement of words. unconscious associations, reverberations of sounds within words, and patterns of energies were used to re-energize

30、 in twentieth-century english the original, or at least the earliest english poem.poststructuralist statement- foregrounding p19pounds theory of translation involves p20+22pounds writing on translation p23+24+18differences of impressionism and vortex p17+18+19 how does this example relate to faithfu

31、l traitors? (p28 if li pos poem+p29 in translation, text)5. frederic will: the paradox of translationtwo theoretical texts: (1)literature inside out文学内外it was published in 1966 and raised questions about naming and meaning and indirectly suggest that translation can be viewed as a form of naming, fi

32、ction-making and knowing. (2)the knife in the stone石中刀it was published in 1973 and dealt directly with the practice of translation.wills relevant theoretical assumptions: his early text did not specifically address translation problems, but we can also see some ideas and theories about him. (1) “lan

33、guage is the creator of reality”. wills project pick up where richards left off: he uses new critical beliefs to try to reconcile recent critical theories. his first essay “from naming to fiction making” appears to agree with a theory of cultural relativism. holding that different language construct

34、 separate realities and that what any particular word refers to cannot be determined precisely, so he calls into question translation theories based on reference to a universal objective reality. reality can only be learned, through the names we give it and he thinks that to a certain degree, langua

35、ge is the creator of reality.(2) “literature embodies truth and knowledge”. according to will, literature not only gives us the power to understand, but also serves as a means to understand a higher metaphysical power. he clearly believes that the power to understand something is knowledge of someth

36、ing. literary works present us with models by which we can clarify the real, irrational world that we experience. so, literature deepens and enriches our lives as well as gives us a better understanding of our own true selves.(3) “knowledge of essence is possible”. for will naming is the fundamental

37、 activity of man. without the power to name we would have remained savages. so language takes on our character, our rhythms, our desires and reveal our true inner selves.(4) meaning is redefined by will as thrust(冲量) or energy(量).meaning is redefined by will not as something behind the words or text

38、, not as an essence in a traditional metaphysical sense, but as different, as thrust of energy, something which is at the same time indeterminate and groundless.new criticism: a kind of literary theory, and a kind of methodology which can appreciate and interpret literary. cultural relativism: it is

39、 the view that no culture is superior to any other culture when comparing systems of morality, law, politics, etc. its the philosophical notion that all cultural beliefs are equally valid and that truth itself is relative, depending on the cultural environment. those who hold to cultural relativism

40、hold that all religious, ethical, aesthetic, and political beliefs are completely relative to the individual within a cultural identity. wills theory of the paradox of translation:-literal translation and free translation-translation possible and impossible-(1) translation is possible (universals/de

41、ep structures): it is possible because the existence of language universal, the extent of cultural similarities, and certain intellectual capacities of all people.(2)translation is impossible (the specific moment/surface structures): it is impossible because of an evitable failure of semantic transf

42、erence marked by the irreducible differential schema of language.the paradox in translation is that a translator has to use the target language to express the original authors ideas expressed by the source language. thus the paradox is between the same idea and two languages. such as: culture, custo

43、m, history, grammar rules, sound system, spelling system, written style and so on. the activity of translation, according to will, (p30)6. lawrence venuti: rethinking translationlawrence venuti: an influential scholar among those who have broadened translation studies within the social-cultural fram

44、ework is lv. his two contributions are putting forward two translation strategies: (1) domesticating translation and foreignizing translation (domestication and foreignization)a domesticating strategy: aiming to produce a translation that the translated texted to conform to the norms of the target l

45、anguage usage.a foreignizing strategy: more oriented towards the source language and the source text.venuti advocates for the strategy of foreignizing that keeps the text foreign, thus making it read like a foreign text in english.venutis contributions to translation studies are multiple: first, ven

46、uti criticizes the humanistic underpinnings of much literary translation in the united states and shows how it reinforces prevailing domestic beliefs and ideologies. second, he provides a new set of terms and methods for analyzing translations. last, he offers a set of alternative strategies he woul

47、d like translators to try.a model of analyzing translation: humanistic analysis of translation tends to cover up the multiple discourses and allusions by positing a semantic unity at the heart of the text and by emphasizing the clear communication of that core. symptomatic analysis, reading not that

48、 which is immediately visible, but that which is opaque or invisible, reveals the conflicting discourses and contradictions the translated texts. major theories: foreignizing translation strategy (also called resistant translation or minoritizing translation); venutis main thesis is that translation

49、 tends to be an invisible practice in the united states; invisibility of translators turn to be visible.by invisible, means that the translators tend to be self-effacing in their work, denying their own voice, and scholars tend to ignore the decisions and mediations of the translators , commenting i

50、nstead as if they have direct access to the original author.definition: a domesticating strategy aims to produce a translation that the translated text to conform to the norms of the target language usage.invisibility of translators manifested in two aspectsfrom the aspect of the translators: inclin

51、es to the “fluent” translation to make a better readability, in which way gives the readers the “transparent” illusion.from the aspect of readers: the publishers, critics and readers think that the translations are acceptable only when the work is fluent and it reads like the original one.disadvanta

52、ge: scholars tend to ignore the decisions and mediations of the translators, commending instead as if they have direct access to the original author. translations are judged to be successful when they read “fluently,” giving the appearance that have not been translated.problems with the invisibility

53、 of translator: first, it marginalizes practicing translators, making them subservient to the author and defining their practice as derivative and secondary, ranking far below high quality creative writing and in depth literary analysis; second, it erases the linguistic and cultural differences of t

54、he foreign text that the very act of translation purports to carry over into the receiving culture. by rewriting the text according to the prevailing styles of the receiving culture, and by adapting images and metaphors of the foreign text to the target cultures preferred systems of beliefs, transla

55、tors are not only severely constrained in terms of their options to carry out their task, but also forced to alter the foreign text to conform to the receiving cultures forms and ideas. by foreignizing, means any translation strategy that resists domestication, fluency, and transparency.foreignizing

56、 translation strategy deliberately breaks the conventions of the target language culture, keeping the exoticism of the original text. features of foreignizing translation: (1) do not completely follow the norms of the target language and discourse; (2) use non-fluent and obscure style in proper time

57、; (3) intentionally retain the materials from the source language or use old words in the target language.the essence of his foreignization theory: it seems that venuti considers that through this way we can resists the english-speaking countrys cultural hegemony and achieve the goal of equal commun

58、ication. choose the foreign works which are excluded from the target languages mainstream culture; draw on various strategies of foreignizaion and let readers feel it is translated work rather than the original one, making the translators visible.purpose of foreignizing translation thesis: firstly,

59、by comparing the translators roles in foreignizing translation strategy with their roles in traditional translation studies, this thesis illustrates the translators presence and visibility in venutis foreignizing translation strategy, so as to highlight the foreignzing translation strategy. secondly, this thesis analyzes the significance of the foreignizing tr