文学翻译的生态适应与选择—Sister Carrie三个中译本的对比研究

学校代码10530 学号201005010985 分类号H059 密级

硕士学位论文

文学翻译的生态适应与选择

—Sister Carrie三个中译本的对比研究

学位申请人廖灿

指导教师舒奇志教授

学院名称外国语学院

学科专业英语语言文学

研究方向文化研究与翻译

二零一三年五月二十三日

Ecological Adaptation and Selection in

Literary Translation:

A Comparative Study on the Three Chinese Versions of

Sister Carrie

Candidate Liao Can

Supervisor Prof. Shu Qizhi

College College of Foreign Languages

Program English Language and Literature

Specialization Cultural Studies and Translation

Degree Master of Arts

University Xiangtan University

Date May 23, 2013

湘潭大学

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Descriptive Abstract in Chinese

摘要

生态翻译学将翻译定义为译者适应翻译生态环境的选择活动，认为翻译在多维度适应和适应性选择的原则下，相对地集中于语言维、文化维、交际维的适应性选择转换。目前，生态翻译学被广泛运用于文学翻译、商务法律翻译、口译等方面的研究。在文学翻译研究方面，研究者多从译者简单的适应与选择来解释某个优秀英译本的原因，或者分析译者选择某种翻译方法、策略的原因，而缺少对文学译者具体的适应与选择的研究。

文学翻译即是文学译者适应翻译生态环境的选择活动。在生态翻译学的翻译原则指导下，文学翻译的多个维度更集中具体的表现为语言风格、文化翻译策略以及翻译目的的适应性选择转换。本文将以生态翻译学的适应和选择视角为切入点，以Sister Carrie 的三个中译本为研究对象，来探讨文学译者适应政治、社会文化环境、原语风格与目标语读者需要等要素。

本文主体一共分四章。第一章主要介绍了生态翻译学的重要概念以及对Sister Carrie中译本翻译研究的启示。第二章探讨译者对政治、社会文化环境的适应和译文翻译目的的选择。文学翻译中，译者翻译目的的选择应首先适应其所处的政治环境。第三章探讨译者如何切合自身词汇、句法、修辞能力对译文语言风格进行合成或选择。文学译者应主要考虑适应原语风格要素，选择合乎原语的风格以再现原语的思想内容和风格。第四章探讨译者对目标语读者需要的适应和译文文化翻译策略的选择。不论是异化还是归化，都可以看作是文学译者为了适应翻译生态环境所作出的一种翻译策略的选择。本文从Sister Carrie三个中译本的对比研究出发，揭示出文学翻译是译者不断作出适应和选择的复杂过程，适应中有选择，选择中有适应，译者应尽量选择与自己能力相接近的作品去翻译，多维度地适应政治和社会文化环境、原语风格、目标语读者需要等翻译生态环境中的诸多因素，从而在翻译目的、译文语言风格、文化翻译策略三方面做出适应翻译生态环境的优化选择，整合出适应选择度高的译本。

关键词：文学翻译；适应；选择；《嘉莉妹妹》中译本

I

English Abstract

Abstract

Eco-translatology defines translation as a selection activity of the translator?s adaptation to fit the translational eco-environment. In light of the translation principle of multi-dimensional adaptation and adaptive selection, translation relatively focuses on adaptive selections and transformations in the linguistic, cultural and communicative aspects. Currently, the theory of eco-translatology is widely applied to research literary translation, translation of business and law, interpretation and so on. Most of the literary translation studies have analyzed the reasons of one successful English translated version or of the translator?s selection of some translation strategies and methods from the perspective of adaptation and selection. However, the studies on the translator?s specific adaptation and selection are far being from enough.

Literary translation is a selection activity of the literary translator?s adaptation to fit the translational eco-environment. In light of the translation principle of eco-translatology, the more specific multi-dimensional transformations of literary translation manifest in terms of the language style, culture translation strategy and translation purpose. Guided with the perceptive of adaption and selection, the thesis discusses the translator?s adaptations to the political and socio-cultural environments, language style of the source text and the target reader?s needs, etc. based on the three Chinese versions of Sister Carrie.

The main body of the thesis consists of four chapters. Chapter One introduces some important concepts of eco-translatology and expounds the enlightenment of eco-translatology to the translation studies of the Chinese versions of Sister Carrie. Chapter Two discusses the translator?s adaptation to the political and socio-cultural environments and the selection of the translation purpose of the Chinese translated version. In literary translation, a translator?s translation purpose should first subordinate to the political environment. Chapter Three analyzes how the translator gives full play to his/her lexical, syntactic and rhetoric competence in choosing the language style of the Chinese translated version. Literary translators need to adapt to the source text and select the corresponding style in the Chinese translated version to represent the contents and style of the source text. Chapter Four explores the translator?s adaption to the target reader?s needs and the selection of strategies of culture

II

English Abstract

translation. No matter what kinds of translation strategies (foreignization or domestication) the translators choose, it can be regarded as their intentions to better adapt to the translational eco-environment. Through the comparative study on the three Chinese versions of Sister Carrie, the thesis concludes that literary translation is a complex process which filled with translator?s constant adaptation and selection. The adaptation is selective, at the same time, the selection is adaptive. Literary translators need to choose those works which correspond to their competence and to try their best to make multi-dimensional adaptation to the political and socio-cultural environments, the language style of the source text and the target reader?s needs so that they can make optimum selections in terms of the translation purpose, the language style of the target text and strategies of culture translation and hence produce a good translated version which possesses a high degree of holistic adaptation and selection.

Key words: literary translation; adaptation; selection; Chinese versions of Sister Carrie

III

Contents

Contents

Descriptive Abstract in Chinese ....................................................................... I English Abstract .............................................................................................. II Introduction (1)

Chapter One Eco-translatology and Its Enlightenment on the Translation Studies of the Three Chinese Versions of Sister Carrie (8)

1.1 Introduction to Eco-translatology (8)

1.1.1 Adaptation and Selection in Translation Process (9)

1.1.2 Three Dimensional Transformations (10)

1.1.3 Degree of Holistic Adaptation and Selection (12)

1.2 Enlightenment of Eco-translatology on the Translation Studies of the

three Chinese Versions of Sister Carrie (12)

1.2.1 Translational Eco-environment of Chinese Versions of Sister

Carrie (13)

1.2.2 The Translating Process of Sister Carrie in Light of

Eco-translatology (15)

Chapter Two Political and Socio-cultural Environments and the Translation Purposes (17)

2.1 Political Environment and the Different Purposes of Transferring the

Theme of Source Text Sister Carrie (17)

2.2 Socio-cultural Environment and the Different Purposes of Representing

the Heroine (23)

Chapter Three Translator’s Linguistic Competence and the Language Style of the Target Text (30)

3.1 Translator?s Lexical Competence and Choice of Diction (31)

IV

Contents

3.2 Translator?s Syntactic Competence and Choice of Syntactic Structure (34)

3.3 Translator?s Rhetoric Competence and Choice of Figures of Speech (37)

Chapter Four Target Reader’s Needs and Strategies of Culture Translation

(41)

4.1 Target Reader?s Need for Exotic Flavor and Foreignization (42)

4.2 Target Reader?s Need for Thinking Pattern and Domestication (46)

Conclusion (52)

Notes (55)

Works Cited (56)

Acknowledgements (59)

Informative Abstract in Chinese (60)

Résumé and Publications since Entering the Program (63)

V

Introduction

Introduction

Eco-translatology is not only the production of global and inside factors, but also the result of objective and subjective factors. In the first place, the global ecological trend is not only a reflection of social civilization transformation in the translation studies, but also a production of modern philosophy transition. Since the 1960s, human society has begun the transition from industrial civilization to ecological civilization. In 1972, the United Nations published the “Declaration on Human Environment” which highly emphasizes the necessity and importance of protecting natural environment. Besides, since the 1900s, the transition from objective dichotomy to the intersubjectivity and the center to the holisticism has emerged in the area of philosophy. In the 1970s, Arne Naess, a Norway philosopher, put forward the theory of “Deep Ecology”which introduces the ecology to the areas of Philosophy and Ethics (95). Just as such a background and the turn of modern philosophy, the translation study from an ecological perspective comes up naturally.

Besides, the Chinese traditional cultural genes provide abundant materials for the emergence of eco-translatology. It is well known that the ancient Chinese eco-wisdom, one aspect of Chinese culture, features such theories of “the unity of Heaven and Humanity”, “the doctrine of the Golden Mean”and “the principle of human-centeredness”which includes abundant philosophies. These ecological thoughts, “nature”, “life”, “holisticism”, “survival”and “doctrine of the Golden Mean”, etc. which are embraced by the ancient forms become an important pivot of eco-translatology.

Moreover, the discipline development of the related areas motivates the emergency of eco-translatology. Being a scientific thinking method, ecology carries a deeper meaning. Kerridge argues that, “[i]n the Academia, environmentalism has surpassed the boundaries of science, geography and infiltrates …humanities?”(Hu, “An Approach”63). Under such a background, many social science disciplines begin to conduct researches from an ecological perspective. Translatology with a strong nature of interdisciplinary is no exception. At the same time, plenty of people have been doing researches from the ecological perspective in international circles. Peter Newmark divides the culture intervention in translation process into five categories. The first one is the “ecological” feature of translation (95). David Katan

1

Introduction

elaborates the ecological culture of translation and proposes that “eco-environment”of translation includes “physical environment”, “political environment”, “climate”, “space” and so on (45). Rosanna Warren, a translation theorist, also argues that the translation is a mold of cognition and survival. The “transplant” of the literary works from one language into another one should “adapt”to the new environment in order to survive (6). With the above descriptions, it is obvious that many of terms and concepts in ecology, i.e., “ecological”, “environment”, “survival”, “adaptation”, “eco-translation”, etc. have been quoted to discuss translation studies which indicates translation studies from an ecological view have been in the limelight.

In consideration of such kind of situation, Professor Hu Gengshen integrates the ecological idea with the translation studies to discuss the ontological study of translation. He borrows t he ideas of “natural selection”, “the survival of the fittest” and other principles of biological evolution to the translation studies and further interprets these ideas by analogy as “translator?s adaptation and selection”, “the survival of the fittest”, “translational eco-environment” and so on in the theory of translation as adaptation and selection. On the basis of the basic theory of an approach to translation as adaptation and selection, Professor Hu Gengshen further brings forward “eco-translatology” which has been discussed in detail through his monograph and a series of papers, winning support of many a scholar in our country. One monograph is found. It is An Approach to Translation as Adaptation and Selection by Professor Hu Gengshen.

Scholars, such as Jiang Xiaohua (2011), Wang Ning (2011), Fang Mengzhi (2011) et al. have also made some related theoretical researches which enrich the contents of eco-translatology theory. Jiang Xiaohua compares the similarities and differences of “eco” between Eco-translatology and Ecocriticism, and “adaptation-selection” between Eco-translatology and Adaption Theory. Wang Ning holds the view that the rise of eco-translatology has posed a formidable challenge to many traditional doctrines of literary and cultural translation and to translation studies itself. While deconstructing the anthropocentric thinking pattern in selecting texts for translation, eco-translatology has also constructed a new research paradigm. Fang Mengzhi centers on the translation eco-environment and divides it into “translation ecosphere” and “translation environment”

2

Introduction

which are closely related.

Apart from the above theoretical researches, eco-translatology has been widely applied to the studies of different areas and fields. Eco-translatology proposed by Professor Hu Gengshen regards the translating process as a translator?s adaptation s to the translational eco-environment and selections of the degree of adaptation to the translational eco-environment and the form of the final target text (226). Of so many ideas and concepts in eco-translatology, adaptation and selection are two important viewpoints.

Nowadays, more and more studies on the adaptation and selection in literary translation have been conducted from the view of adaptation and selection. The current researches can be divided into three categories. The first category focuses on a great translator?s idea of literary translation. Articles related to this aspect are written by such a few scholars as Huang Zhonglian (2009), Hu Gengshen (2009), Sun Yingchun (2009), et al. Huang Zhonglian argues that Yan Fu?s translation idea reflects the concept of adaptation and selection and experiences the translating process of adaptation and selection. Hu Gengshen probes into Fu Lei?s translation philosophies from an eco-translatological perspective. Sun Yingchun explores the great translator Zhang Guruo?s practice s and notions by employing the concept of adaptation and selection in eco-translatology.

The second category is the study of the English translations of classical Chinese ancient works, which analyzes the reasons behind the successful translations in the view of adaptation and selection. Some representative articles are listed as follows. Bian Lihong and Yao Zhifen (2008) explain that Gu Hongm ing?s translation of Lunyu is the production of his multi-dimensional adaptation to his need, competence and eco-environment and adaptive selection at the linguistic, cultural and communicative levels. Liu Yanming and Zhang Hua (2012) argue that Hawks? suc cessful English translation of A Dream of Red Mansions is due to his adaptation and selection to his need, competence, the target reader and the source text. Wang Y uexi (2012) makes an analysis on Arthur Waley?s English translation of Daodejing in light of eco-translatology and brings forward the active adaptation and selection in the eco-environment made the translation successful.

The third category lays emphasis on the reasons for the translator?s translation strategy and method in light of adaptation and selection. Zhang Jing (2009) points out that Lin Shu

3

Introduction

and Wei Yi?s choice s of the source text Uncle Tom’s Cabin and translation strategies are the result of their own adaptation to needs, competence and eco-environment. Fan Li (2011) makes a study of translation variation from an eco-translatological perspective with a case study of the Famous Chinese Short Stories Retold by Lin Y utang and maintains that Lin Y utang?s several strategies of translation variation are due to Lin?s adaptation to the particular translational eco-environment.

From the above review, it can be seen that the current researches share the deficiencies as follows: 1) Most of the studies concentrate on one single English translated version or a great translator?s idea, which lacks comp arative studies and E-C translation studies. And scholars also haven?t inferred a general conclusion of literary translation in terms of eco-translatology in their studies. 2) The translator?s specific adaptation and selection in literary translation are vague in the current researches. Scholars generally tend to attribute the success of English translation to the translator?s adaptation and selection to the need, competence and eco-environment, while the researches on the translator?s specific adaptation a nd selection are far from satisfaction. 3) Most of the researches explain some particular translation phenomenon in terms of adaptation and selection. However, there are no further studies on probing into the reasons of translator?s adaptation and selectio n and the process of literary translation. Therefore, a comprehensive and in-depth study on the Chinese translated versions in light of adaptation and selection is very necessary to make up these deficiencies and to enrich literary translation studies.

In consideration of the current researches that many discussions about the adaptation and selection focus on only one English translated version, while those of different versions are far from enough, the author of this thesis tries to take the three Chinese versions of Theodore Dreiser?s Sister Carrie as a case study to provide a more comprehensive and objective study of understanding a translator?s specific adaptation and selection in literary translation.

Sister Carrie is one of a great work of Theodore Dreiser (1871-1945) who is an American novelist and journalist. Born in a poor family, Dreiser struggles and goes through much suffering at the bottom of the society. In 1900, his first work Sister Carrie came to light and caused a great sensation. In the following year, he published Jennie Gerhardt which was considered as a sister-novel of Sister Carrie. Then The Trilogy of Desire, American Tragedy

4

Introduction

and others were successively published.

Sister Carrie is a novel about a young country girl who comes to Chicago to expect a better life. In order to escape poverty and survive in the big city, she sells her virginity and cohabits with a salesman and a hotel manager successively. Dissatisfied with the hotel manager?s degeneration, she decides to get a job and at l ast becomes a great star. In his Nobel Prize Lecture of 1930, Sinclair Lewis appraised that Dreiser?s great first novel, Sister Carrie, was just like a great free Western wind for the airless American and gave us the first fresh air since Mark Twain and Whitman (Dreiser 1). In 1988, the Modern Library ranked Sister Carrie 33rd on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.

Sister Carrie, as the most representative works of Theodore Dreiser, has been translated into Chinese many times since the early 20th century. The earliest translation was produced in 1962. In the following several years, there are more than ten Chinese translated versions which embody its importance and popularity in Chinese literary history. As eco-translatology stresses a translator?s selective activity in the translational eco-environment, the thesis selects three of Chinese versions out of their particular environments: the earliest version translated by Qiu Zhuchang and Shi Ling in 1962 in which some of words are written in traditional Chinese character, the one by Wang Kefei and Zhang Shaoning in 1999 and the newest translation by Pan Qingling in 2005.

Qiu Zhuchang and Shi Ling translated Sister Carrie into Chinese in 1962. The novel is first translated by Shi Ling who stops translating in the chapter eleven because of his deteriorating health condition. And Qiu Zhuchang continues Shi Ling?s translation. In the 1960s, less than twenties years after the building up of PRC in 1949, the main literature readers were confined to some intellectuals who bore some educational backgrounds. The new-liberated workers, peasants and soldiers who constituted the majority of the Chinese people were not the main readers and never really read the literary works because of the language obstacles and their low ability of appreciating literature.

Wang Kefei and Zhang Shaoning translated Sister Carrie into Chinese in 1999. The latter translator is one of students of the former. In the late 1980s, there was a controversy about the nature of literature whether it was a commodity. However, in the 1990s, the commercialization of popular literature was indisputable (Lin 37). The prosperity of

5

Introduction

newspaper, best seller and other traditional mass communication channel and television, movie and electronic networks opened up a huge consumer market of popular literature. The readers in the atmosphere of the market economy and commodity culture have a dual identity: the consumer and producer of literature, who prefer to the “Chinese ancient popular novel” (Ma 61) which features popularity and entertainment.

Pan Qingling translated Sister Carrie into Chinese in 2005. The readers of the new era are mainly younger generations. During the transitional period, many up-to-date events, such as, the Ch ina?s accession to WTO, the economic globalization, etc. have greatly changed people?s outlook on the life and world. Readers are more open and tend to pursue new or foreign things, which is the same with the literary reading. Just as Sun Zhili argues that most readers would prefer to those translations possessing foreign flavor and simple, terse language styles and this tendency continues to the end of the 21st century (42).

Sister Carrie, a great classical work in America, of course, has been a research hotspot among scholars. However, many researches focus on the literature value of Sister Carrie and translation studies on the Chinese versions of Sister Carrie are far from satisfaction. Only few journals are found. Gu Yanlin (1983) makes an objective comment on the version translated by Qiu Zhuchang and Shi Ling in 1962 and illustrates some mistranslation examples. Dan Hanyuan (2000) analyzes several mistranslation sentences in the Chinese version of Sister Carrie and proposes that literary retranslation should have fewer mistakes. It can be seen that current studies mainly center on the misunderstanding and mistranslations in the Chinese versions of Sister Carrie, which aims to arouse literary translator?s attention to the quality of translation. The linguistic level of Chinese version is stressed, but the cultural and communicative aspects are neglected. Thus, a very comprehensive and systematic study is badly needed to make up for deficiencies and to enrich the translation studies of the Chinese versions of Sister Carrie.

Utilizing the essential ideas and methods of eco-translatology, the thesis attempts to take the three Chinese versions of Sister Carrie as example to probe into the translator?s specific adaptation and selection in the translational eco-environment and the reasons of his/her adaptation and selection and to get a general idea of the process of literary translation. To achieve the purpose, the thesis centers on the three dimensions of literary translation, i.e., the

6

Introduction

linguistic, cultural and communicative aspects, and makes full use of the core views (competence, need and eco-environment) of eco-translatology to deduce.

The thesis consists of six parts, which includes an introduction and a conclusion. The introduction part gives a critical review of some literary translation studies in terms of adaptation and selection, the objectives and methodology of this thesis. Chapter one gives a general introduction to eco-translatology and elaborates the translation studies of the Chinese versions of Sister Carrie from an eco-translatological perspective as the theoretical framework of the thesis. Chapter two discusses the translators? adaptation s to the political and socio-cultural environments and adaptive selections of translation purposes in the three Chinese versions of Sister Carrie. Chapter three expounds the translators? giving full play to their linguistic competence and adaptive selections of language style in the three Chinese versions of Sister Carrie. Chapter four analyzes the translators? adaptations to the target reader?s needs and adaptive selections of strategies of culture translation in the three Chinese versions of Sister Carrie. The conclusion part deals with the research findings, deficiencies of this thesis and some suggestions for further study.

7

Chapter One Eco-translatology and Its Enlightenment on the Translation Studies of the Three Chinese

V ersions of Sister Carrie

Chapter One Eco-translatology and Its Enlightenment on the Translation Studies of the Three Chinese Versions of Sister Carrie Eco-translatology studies translation from an ecological perspective. As a newly-emerging theory, eco-translatology arouses a lot of controversy, but it provides new dimensions and applied theories for the translation practice and studies in the scope of ecological system. It is necessary for us to apply some rational and scientific concepts of eco-translatology to literary translation studies. In addition, some concepts in eco-translatology need to be further discussed, for example: the factor (target reader) in the translational eco-environment and the concept of “translator-centeredness” needs to be further enriched and improved; the discussion of the translator quality which is a parameter in the evaluation of mechanism is far from enough; the idea of translator?s selection of translation strategy in eco-translatology is somewhat vague and inaccurate, etc.

1.1 Introduction to Eco-translatology

Based on the theory of an approach to translation as adaptation and selection, Professor Hu Gengshen further brings forward “eco-translatology”, pushing the theory forward with endless vitality.

Eco-translatology can be understood as translation studies from an ecological approach initiated by Chinese scholars, which lays emphasis on a macro perspective of ecology to interpret a series of theoretical understanding of translation. Specifically, eco-translatology views translation as an entire ecosystem being harmonious and dynamic in its interplay with the surroundings, focusing on the relationship between the translator and his/her translational eco-environment. The translational eco-environment is constructed as a highly integrated entity comprising the actual text, the cultural context and the human agents, as well as other tangible and intangible factors. In eco-translatology, translation activities are described and interpreted in terms of ecological principles such as holism, relevance, dynamics, balance and harmony, together with ecological aesthetics.

8

Chapter One Eco-translatology and Its Enlightenment on the Translation Studies of the Three Chinese

V ersions of Sister Carrie

1.1.1Adaptation and Selection in Translation Process

Even in nature, people cannot do things at random but have to obey the natural rules, or they may be punished by nature. Similarly, a translator also has to follow some rules or take into account of some factors in translation process in order to survive in the translational eco-environment. Therefore, adaptation can be regarded as a translator?s adjustment to new needs, conditions or constraints in the translational eco-environment.

In nature, people adopt various methods to make a living with limited capability. Similarly, the translator can also actively choose what he/she can do to achieve the expectable goal. In other words, the translator makes selection of the source text, the degree of the adaptation to the specific eco-environment, as well as the form of the final target text at the linguistic, cultural and communicative levels in translation process.

The adaptation and selection are not separate, but closely related. The translator?s adaptation is selective, and at the same time, the selection is also adaptive. In fact, Hu Gengshen is not the pioneer who has discussed the phenomenon of adaptation and selection in the translation field.

Eugene Nida mentions in his paper A Fresh Look at Translation as follows, “A translator must engage in thousands of decisions involving both selection and arrangement to fit another culture, a different language, diverse editors and pu blishers, and finally a reading audience” (Hu, “An Approach” 220).

When it comes to the basic problem of translation theory—either the translator should adapt to information or information should adapt to the translator, translator theorists hold differen t opinions. Schleiermacher argues that “Either the translator leaves the author in peace, as much as possible, and moves the reader towards him; or he leaves the reader in peace, as much as possible, and moves the author towards him” (Hatim 46).

What Nida?s and Schleiermacher?s views transfer is that the translator chooses either adaptation or selection, however, Hu?s theory stresses both of adaptation and selection which is the essence of the translating process. In eco-translatology, the translator must adapt and select in translation process. The translator must adapt to the translational eco-environment so that he/she can select the specific target texts, while the translating process is just the production made by the translator?s adaptation to the spec ific eco-environment, the degree of

9

Chapter One Eco-translatology and Its Enlightenment on the Translation Studies of the Three Chinese

V ersions of Sister Carrie

the adaptation and the selection of the form of the final target text which operates at the different levels.

Besides, the concepts of “adaptation” and “choice-making” in the Pragmatics can be easily confused with “adaptation” and “selection” in eco-translatology. In his Understanding Pragmatics, Jef V erschueren puts forward the Adaptation Theory in which he mentions that adaptation includes: “contextual correlates of adaptability, structural objects of adaptability, the dynamics of adaptability, and the saliencies of adaptation processes” (66). And according to the Adaptation Theory, translation process can be described as a translator?s continuous process of making linguistic choices to adapt to the need of communication.

Although the translations of English word “adaptation” and Chinese words “selection” or “choice-making” are the same, they differ a lot. I n the first place, eco-translatology develops on the basis of biological evolution and ancient Chinese eco-wisdom, utilizing ecological rationality. The idea of Adaptation Theory benefits from the natural selection of biological evolution, which is much closer to Darwin?s “evolutionary epistemology”, Piaget?s “adaption” and Vygosky?s psychology development (V erschueren263-268). Therefore, Adaptation T heory regards “mind in society” and “salience” as the key words (Song 105).

The different focuses comes the second place. Eco-translatology holds the view that the adaptation comes prior to the selection, while Adaptation Theory focuses on the choice-making in order to adapt to linguistic or communicative context which means the linguistic choice is the core. Moreover, the object that the translator or communicator adapts to is different. The translator in Eco-translatology fits the translational eco-environment, but linguistic and communicative contexts in Adaption Theory. Their selections in these two theories are also very different. The selection in Eco-translatology is about the linguistic, cultural and communicative levels, while the selection in Adaptation Theory is about the linguistic and communicative strategy. Both of them have their rich connotations.

The study of adaptation and selection in eco-translatology challenges the previous impressionistic or experienced-based discussion about adaptation or selection, which encourages translation theorists to explore the translation phenomenon in a new perspective.

1.1.2Three Dimensional Transformations

10

Chapter One Eco-translatology and Its Enlightenment on the Translation Studies of the Three Chinese

V ersions of Sister Carrie

In light of the basic translation principle of “multi-dimensional adaptation and adaptive selection”, translation method could be viewed as “three dimensional transformations”, which focus on the transformations at the linguistic, cultural and communicative levels (Hu, “An Approach” 133).

In the view of practice, the linguistics, culture and communication are the main points in translation studies, working as the important angles in translation transformation, and a translator always makes adaptive selections and transformations in these three aspects. In the aspect of theoretical studies, the translation method of these three levels is based on the researches on translation practice, and linguistics, culture and communication are also the foci of the translation theorists. From the angle of logical analysis, translation is the transformation of languages which are the carrier of culture, and the culture is the accumulation of human communicative activity which is a part of biological universe, and vice versa. Therefore, language, culture and communication share an internal and logical connection which embodies the contents of transformation. Moreover, its internal relation also verifies the possibilities of borrowing the “adaptation” and “selection” of Darwin?s biology evolution to translation studies.

The translator?s three-dimensional transformations may be explicitly expressed as follows. The adaptive transformation in the linguistic aspect is the translator?s adaptive transformation of the linguistic forms which takes place at different levels from different perspectives. The adaptive transformation at the cultural level lays emphasis on the translator?s delivering the cultural connotations of source language and target language in the translating process. Since the source culture is different from the target culture in the characteristic and content, the translator not only needs to pay attention to the linguistic transformation, but also needs to adapt to the whole cultural system of the source language in order to avoid misinterpretation of the source text from the view of the target culture. The adaptive transformation at the communicative level focuses on the communicative intentions. It postulates that the translator should attach attention to the communicative aspect to realize the communicative intentions of the source text in the target text besides the linguistic and culture transformations.

The transformation in translation process is not confined to the discussed three

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Chapter One Eco-translatology and Its Enlightenment on the Translation Studies of the Three Chinese

V ersions of Sister Carrie

dimensions which are the primary aspects. Besides, the three dimensions are not independent. Hu Gengshen holds that the linguistic, cultural, communicative factors are interwoven and interactive, and sometimes it is hard to separate from each other in the specific translation activities (135).

1.1.3Degree of Holistic Adaptation and Selection

Joseph F. Graham, a translation theorist, mentions that “a rigorous translation theory should include the necessary, concrete and practical evaluation criteria” (Hu, “An Approach” 143). However, even for the same translated work or sentences, the evaluation results may be quite different due to the critics? different evaluation criteria. It is clear that the translation evaluation is closely related to the evaluation criterion.

According to eco-translatolgoy, a translation is the production of the translator?s adaptations to fit the translational eco-environment and selections at linguistic, cultural and communicative levels. The evaluation criterion is the degree of holistic adaptation and selection which refers to the combination of the degree of adaptive transformations from linguistic, cultural, communicative and other dimensions and the degree of adaptive selection which is affected by the other factors in the translational eco-environment while the translator translates. In general, the more dimensions of translated work achieved, the higher the degree is. According to Professor Hu Gengshen, the best translation is the one with the highest degree (144). The three references (the degree of multi-dimensional transformation, the reader?s feedback and the translator quality) can be used to judge a translated work whether it has a high degree of holistic adaptation and selection.

1.2 Enlightenment of Eco-translatology on the Translation Studies of the three Chinese Versions of Sister Carrie

Eco-translatology defines transla tion as “a translator?s adaptation and selection in a translational eco-environment” (Hu, “An Approach” 219). It can be further inferred that two viewpoints in literary translation process are quite important: one is the translational eco-environment of literary translation and the other one is the literary translator?s adaptation and selection.

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Chapter One Eco-translatology and Its Enlightenment on the Translation Studies of the Three Chinese

V ersions of Sister Carrie

1.2.1 Translational Eco-environment of Chinese Versions of Sister Carrie

The term translational eco-environment refers to the “worlds of the source text and the source/target languages, comprising the linguistic, communicative, cultural and social aspects of translating, as well as the author, client, and the readers” (Hu, “An Approach”220). It occupies an important place in that it determines the translator?s adaptation and selection. That is to say, translational eco-environment can be viewed as a network of all the factors which affects translator to make best adaptation and optimum selection in translation, which echoes the principle of “survival of the fittest” in evolutionism proposed by Charles Darwin.

Two facets of translational eco-environment have been discussed by Professor Fang Mengzhi, namely, “translation ecosphere”and “translation environmen t”(1). The former describes the inter-relating and interacting condition existing between translation subjects and the outside environment, which emphasizes the harmonious coexistence of all the factors in the translation eco-environment. The latter refers to the natural surroundings around human beings, which includes the natural, economic, political and socio-cultural environments, etc. In view of “eco” connotation which takes an interacting and holistic view of components and their surroundings, translational eco-environment of literary translation here is a complex of composition which includes nonhuman and human or objective and subjective components.

Literary translation is a process of transforming a literary work in one language into a corresponding literary work in another language, which involves the literary transformation of contents and methods in translation process. So we can say that the translational eco-environment of Chinese versions of Sister Carrie is a comprehensive set of factors that related to the transformation of Sister Carrie. Then the componential status of the worlds of the source text and the source language and target languages in the translational eco-environment of literary translation are beyond doubt. Dreise is dragged into the translational eco-environment because of his creating and invisible connection with Sister Carrie. Clients, or the patronages of translation practice, contributes to bring the target text into print and hence should be considered as an influencing element (Lefevere 11-25) in the translational eco-environment. Besides, readers, professionals or non-professionals whose expectations also in some degree influence the selections of a translator (Baker 281) take up some place in the translational eco-environment. Translators, as the subject of translation,

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