Variational Translation Theory PDF
Preview Variational Translation Theory
New Frontiers in Translation Studies Zhonglian Huang Yongzhong Zhang Variational Translation Theory New Frontiers in Translation Studies Series Editor Defeng Li Center for Studies of Translation, Interpreting and Cognition, University of Macau, Macao SAR, China Translation Studies as a discipline has witnessed the fastest growth in the last 40 years.Withtranslationbecomingincreasinglymoreimportantintoday’sglocalized world,somehaveevenobservedageneraltranslationalturninhumanitiesinrecent years. The New Frontiers in Translation Studies aims to capture the newest developments in translation studies, with a focus on: (cid:129) Translation Studies research methodology, an area of growing interest amongst translation students and teachers; (cid:129) Data-based empirical translation studies, a strong point of growth for the discipline because of the scientific nature of the quantitative and/or qualitative methods adopted in the investigations; and (cid:129) Asian translation thoughts and theories, to complement the current Eurocentric translation studies. Submission and Peer Review: The editor welcomes book proposals from experienced scholars as well as young aspiringresearchers.Pleasesendashortdescriptionof500wordstotheeditorProf. Defeng Li at Springernfi[email protected] and Springer Senior Publishing Editor Rebecca Zhu: [email protected]. All proposals will undergo peer reviewtopermitaninitialevaluation.Ifaccepted,thefinalmanuscriptwillbepeer reviewed internally by the series editor as well as externally (single blind) by Springer ahead of acceptance and publication. More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/11894 Zhonglian Huang Yongzhong Zhang (cid:129) Variational Translation Theory 123 ZhonglianHuang YongzhongZhang Centerfor Translation Studies Schoolof ForeignLanguages GuangdongUniversity of ForeignStudies HubeiUniversity of Economics Guangzhou, China Wuhan, China ISSN 2197-8689 ISSN 2197-8697 (electronic) NewFrontiers in Translation Studies ISBN978-981-15-9270-6 ISBN978-981-15-9271-3 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9271-3 ©TheEditor(s)(ifapplicable)andTheAuthor(s),underexclusivelicensetoSpringerNature SingaporePteLtd.2020 Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsaresolelyandexclusivelylicensedbythePublisher,whether thewholeorpartofthematerialisconcerned,specificallytherightsoftranslation,reprinting,reuseof illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmissionorinformationstorageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilar ordissimilarmethodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publicationdoesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexemptfrom therelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained hereinorforanyerrorsoromissionsthatmayhavebeenmade.Thepublisherremainsneutralwithregard tojurisdictionalclaimsinpublishedmapsandinstitutionalaffiliations. ThisSpringerimprintispublishedbytheregisteredcompanySpringerNatureSingaporePteLtd. The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721, Singapore Preface: Indispensable Variational Translation Theory Our Chinese monograph Variational Translation Theory was drafted in China in 1998andpublishedin2002.Inrecognitionofitswidespreadimpactontheresearch and practice of translation scholars, practitioners, and graduate students, it was listedasanentryinADictionaryofTranslationStudiesinChinain2011,andwas labeledasthecountry’sfirstoriginaltranslationtheory.ThisEnglishbookisbased in part on the 2002 Chinese book Variational Translation Theory and draws on findingsandinsightsinthefieldthathavecometolightsinceitspublication.Itisa sourceofgreatprideandjoythattheEnglisheditionistobepublishedbySpringer. Although it is still an emerging area of translation studies, the theory and practice of variational translation should be afforded the same status as those of complete or full translation. Traditional translation studies generally focus on complete translation. Few studies have addressed incomplete translations or rewritings which have played an increasingly important role in reconstructing human knowledge and culture, and advancing cross-cultural communication. With the cultural turn of translation studies in the 1990s, incomplete translations or rewritings of source texts gradually began to be acknowledged in the field of translation studies, but no systematic research of incomplete translations or unfaithful translation phenomena were made. To advance an in-depth and systematic research of incomplete translations or rewritings, we therefore use the term “variational translation” to refer to “unfaith- ful” translations or rewritings, and divide translation studies into two interrelated categories: complete translation and variational translation. By drawing upon our researches on unfaithful translations and rewritings, we have found more than ten different methods of variational translation. These methods, which are intrinsically interrelated, are linked through theoretical categorization and systematization to form an organic system of variational translation methods. The book Variational Translation Theory provides its readership with a chance to gain a thorough understanding of the motivations behind translators’ variational translations, of the processes behind this kind of translation, and of the special effects and values of variational translations in reconstructing human knowledge and culture, and advancing cross-cultural communication. v vi Preface:IndispensableVariationalTranslationTheory The practice of variational translation can, in fact, be traced back to oral and writtencommunicationsamongdifferentethnictribesinearlyhumanhistory.There are a great number of influential variational translations in human translation practicefromancienttimestotheendofthetwentiethcentury.Unfortunately,they have not been highlighted in translation studies. This book, by adopting the per- spective of cross-cultural communication, justifies and addresses the practice of variationaltranslationtheoreticallyandsystematicallyforthefirsttime.Variational translation theory consists of one core philosophy, two contradictions, four key factors, seven techniques, and eleven methods. The core philosophy of variational translation is adaptation, which is subject to two contradictions. One contradiction lies between the source text and the target reader in terms of supply and demand, and the other between the content of the source text and the form of the target language. The contradictions are related to fourkeyfactors:thereader,thetranslator,thesourcetext,andthetargettext.These factors generate seven adaptation techniques: adding, deleting, editing, narrating, condensing, integrating, and altering. Although independent, these adaptation techniques are interrelated and influence one another in translation practice. This brings about theeleven variationaltranslation methods: selected translation, edited translation, narrated translation, condensed translation, summarized translation, summarized transcomment, transcomment, altered translation, annotated transla- tion, transwriting, and cited translation. All these variational translation methods canallowreaders togainabetter understandingofhow variationaltranslationsare produced, and help them master these adaptation techniques and thereby improve their translation efficacy and efficiency. Thevalueofvariationaltranslationtheoryliesinthefollowingfourpoints:(1)It hassummarizedandexplorednewtranslationmethodsandtheoreticalmodels,and made new reflections on a series of theoretical issues such as the law, processes, mechanisms, standards, and subjectivity of translation, which challenge the tradi- tionally established views on translation; (2) it can deepen our understanding of translation,renovateourperceptionoftranslation,establishapluralistviewpointof translation, and focus on serving different readers and pursuing the social and economic benefits of translation; (3) it can improve the existing systems of trans- lation theories and methodologies and lay a strong theoretical foundation for variationaltranslationpractice;and(4) itcanprovideanewperspectivefor further understandingthenatureandrichnessoftranslationactivitiesandanewtheoretical reference for comprehensively and objectively defining the scope of translation activities. The application value of variational translation theory mainly lies in the fol- lowing three points: (1) It can direct variational translation training programs and enabletrainees’outputtobemorecompatiblewithsocialneedsanddevelopments; (2)itcanguidetranslatorstoservedifferenttargetreadersflexiblyandcreativelyat the micro-level, enhance translators’ market awareness, and highlight the efficacy and purpose of translation in terms of theory and practice; and (3) it can help translatorsdealwithmassiveamountsofinformationefficiently,thusdevelopbetter source text information processing during the translation process. Preface:IndispensableVariationalTranslationTheory vii Since its publication, the variational translation theory has received positive reviews in the international journals—Meta and Perspectives, the top Chinese journal Chinese Translators Journal, and key Chinese newspaper Guangming Daily. These positive reviews have driven further researches on variational trans- lation in China, which have been academically fruitful in this field. For example, Prof. Huang Zhonglian, one of the authors of this book, has published three researchmonographsandonetextbook,allofwhichinvolvevariationaltranslation theory. The three research monographs are Scientific Translatology (2004), Pragmatic Translatology (2013), and Exploring Yan Fu’s Variational Translation Thoughts (2016). The first two incorporate variational translation theory into the construction of the translation discipline, and the third analyzes the genesis of the thoughts of the most influential Chinese translator, Yan Fu (1854–1921), on vari- ational translation. The above-mentioned textbook, titled A Textbook for Translation Development from Russian to Chinese (2007), discusses how to use variationaltranslationtheorytoguidetranslationtrainingprograms.Currently,with the aim of establishing the independent discipline of variational translatology, the authors of this book are conducting further researches for publishing a new monograph entitled Variational Translatology. Before closing, we would like to extend our sincere thanks to all the scholars, bothathomeandabroad,whoseusefulinsightsormaterialshavebeenincorporated into this book to further support or exemplify variational translation theory. We would also like to extend special thanks to Zhang Lu and Wang Shichao for their assistance in the preparation of this book, and to the editors of Springer for their coordination and editing work. Guangzhou, China Zhonglian Huang Wuhan, China Yongzhong Zhang July, 2020 fi Introduction: Pro le of Variational Translation Theory The term “variational translation” refers to a translation activity in which the translator employs seven adaptation techniques—adding, deleting, editing, narrat- ing,condensing,integrating,andaltering—toabsorbtheoriginalcontentsbasedon theovertorcoverttranslationrequestsoftargetreadersinaspecificcondition.The seven adaptation techniques utilized in variational translation practice can produce the following eleven variational translation methods: selected translation, edited translation, narrated translation, condensed translation, summarized translation, summarized transcomment, transcomment, altered translation, annotated transla- tion, transwriting, and cited translation. The relationships between these eleven methodsarehierarchicalandinclusive,andformanorganicsystem.Pleasereferto the following figure: Variational translation theory holds that, in this figure, the complete translation lies at the bottom of the figure, which is the full translation of the original work withoutanycreativewritingadded.Atthetopisthecreativewriting,whichhasnot undergone any translation actions. There is a big space between the complete translationatthebottomandthecreativewritingatthetopinwhichtranslatorscan use adaptation techniques to produce eleven variational translation types (also called methods), as shown in the figure. As we move from selected translation to cited translation, the content absorbed by translators from the original work decreasesgradually,andtheformfadesawayuntilitcompletelyvanishes,withthe informationfromtheoriginalworkdiminishing,andtheinformationcreatedbythe translatorincreasing.Therefore,amongtheelevenvariationaltranslationtypes,the original text’s information appears most in the selected translation and least in the cited translation. This is because the selected translation is nearest to the complete translation, and a cited translation is farthest from the complete translation and nearest to the creative writing. The relationships between the eleven methods of variational translation are hierarchical and inclusive. Edited translation, which is in the hierarchical level above selected translation, includes selected translation; that is to say, the adapta- tion techniques used in selected translation can also be employed in edited trans- lation. Similarly, summarized translation includes the four variational translation ix x Introduction:ProfileofVariationalTranslationTheory C creativewriting D cited translation C1 transwriting D1 C2 altered translation D2 C3 annotated translation D3 C transcomment D 4 4 summarized C D 5 transcomment 5 C D n n O A B n n A B 5 summarized translation 5 A4 condensed translation B4 A3 narrated translation B3 A2 edited translation B2 A selected translation B 1 1 A complete translation B 4 Figureofthevariationaltranslationhierarchy methods below it: selected, edited, narrated, and condensed translation. All the adaptationtechniquesusedinthesefourmethodscanbeemployedbyatranslatorto achieve a successful summarized translation. Likewise, a summarized transcom- ment can be made based on all the adaptation techniques frequently used in the lower hierarchical methods. Developingthese variationaltranslationmethods intranslationpractice requires thattranslatorsbringtheirsubjectivityintoplayinaccordancewiththetargetreaders’
The list of books you might like
