本站原创FunctionandApplicationofDescriptiveTranslationStudies
1Introduction
TheintentionofthisstudyistoexplorepossibleadvantagesofDescriptiveTranslationStudiesasinitsapplicationintranslationpracticeandtranslationanalysis.
Sinceearly20thcentury,translationstudiesgraduallybrokeawayfromthemarginalstatuswithinotherrelateddisciplinesandestablisheditselfasanempiricalscience.Fromthenon,schoolsofthoughthekeptingoutandeachclaimsitslegitimacyforexistence.AmongtheseschoolsisDescriptiveTranslationStudies(DTS).
DTSapproachestranslationfromanempiricalperspective.Translationisviewedtobeasocialactivityhingsignificantimportanceinthereceivingcultureandforthetargetmunity.Therefore,translationisdealtwithbeyondthelinguisticrealizationandlanguageparison,andisincorporatedinsocialandculturalcontext.
MyattentionwairstdirectedtoDTSbyitspeculiarcharacteristicofobservation,descriptionandexplanation.Thesubjectiswhateverhappensintranslationpractice,fromthedeterminationofprospectivefunctionoftranslationtotheprocessoftranslator&rsquo,schoiceofstrategies,brainstormingandtherevision,tothefinalproductmakingappearanceinthetargetmunity.
ThemethodofDTSisbasicallydescriptive.Theprescriptivetendencyandtheproblem-solutionpatternisabandoned.Translationphenomenaarenoteddown.Withaccumulateddata,someunderlyingtruthsabouttranslationwilleoutwhichwillprovetobeinstructivenotonlyfortheoreticalprobebutalsoforappliedtranslationpractice.Iwillapplythisdescriptivemethodinthecasestudyofthisthesis.
AconvenienttoolhasbeensetuptoconductDTS.Norm&rdquo,isoperativeateverystageofdescriptionandexplanation.Function,processandproductandtheirrelationshipaswellareskeletalstructureofwhatconstitutedescriptivestudies.Translationphenomenaareaccountedforwiththehelpofnorm.
ThecasetakeninthisthesisistheChineseclassicTheDreamofRedMansions.TwoEnglishversionstranslatedrespectivelybyYangHsien-yiandDidHawksareparedandobservationsaremadeinregardtotheirtranslationapproaches.
Inthisregard,myobservationsarelimitedtoseveralaspects,Ihopein-depthobservationandexplanationwilldoneinlightofDTS.
2Outline
2.1DevelopmentandmajorconceptsofDTS
InthispartIwilldescribeHolms&rsquo,basicmapofDTSandtherelationshipbetweenfunction,processandproduct.Iwillalsodiscusssomeimportantconceptssuchaspseudo-translation,multipletranslation,translationese,normetc.
2.2Methodolgy
IwillinthispartdiscussthemethodologyofDTSbeforeIapplythesametothecasestudyinthisthesiswithemphasistobeplacedonsemioticapproachandtheconceptnorm.
2.3DTSincontrasttoothertheories
AcontraststudywillbeconductedherewiththeobjectivetofindthedifferenceofDTSfromothertheoriessuchasequivalencetheoryandtheChineseXinDaYacriteria.Someadvantagewillpossiblybeshowninthisstudy.
2.4Casestudy
Inthispart,translationofTheDreamofRedMansions(alsotranslatedasTheStoryofTheStone)willbeunderinvestigationinlightofDTS.Translationsamplestobequotedherewillbeselectedatrandom.
2.5Conclusion
BasedontheaboveelaborationofDTSandthecasestudy,possibleconclusionwillbeontheadvantageofDTSinspecificstudyoftranslation.Suggestionsonfurtherresearcheffortswillbemadealso.
(Note:Whilethetopicwillremainthesame,theabovearrangementofcontentsissubjecttochangeintheprocessofwriting.)
ItisthereforepointlesstotrytomakeTCmorescientificthanissensibleinviewofitsplexsubject-matterandailablemethods.Translatingisamental,multi-factorialactivitywhichcannotexhaustivelybeinvestigatedwithinalinguisticframeworkignoringthepersonofthetranslator.&rdquo,(Wilss,1982:217)