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the traditional expectationthat the target text should be a perfect reproduction of the source text, which, however,is impossible in most cases. Therefore, perfectionism condemns the translator's lapsesand makes the translator look like a loser. Then, the notion of equivalence wasproposed to function as a precaution against the translator's ego-involvement andrequired the self-effacement of the translator in the process of translation. Finally,mysticism, which originated in Bible translation and prospered in deconstructionistdiscussions on translation, views the translator as a mysterious force thatis beyondreasonable description. In addition, I explore in this chapter the functionalist approach,the hermeneutic theory, and the cultural approach of translation studies and discoverthat they shed some light on a proper understanding of the translator. The strengthsand weaknesses I get from the previous translation studies thus pave the way for myown exploration into the translator in this dissertation.
Chapter Two presents a working definition of the translator's subjectivities. Atthe beginning, I provide some translation examples to exhibit the translator's personalimprints on the translation. Then I discuss different means by which the translatorasserts his/her sense of self, which include becoming an Expert-translator of both thesource culture and the target culture, proposing distinctive translation principles, andcatering particularly to the target text reader. Finally, the working definition consistsof a series of simple propositions about the involvement of the translator'ssubjectivities, particularly his/her response towards external constraints. I argue thatthe translator's subjectivities include both rational and irrational imprints of thetranslator, the former including such internal forces as historicity, horizon, prejudice,values, intention, purpose, knowledge, competence, orientation, sympathy, etc., andthe later consisting of such elements as inspirations, intuitions, and subconsciousnessand so on so forth. The translator's internal forces play their own roles bothspontaneously and under the pressure of external forces like ideology, convention,social and cultural needs and interpersonal relationships. On the whole, this chapterconstructs the theoretic framework for further exploration of the dissertation.
Chapter Three discusses the challenges of the translator's subjectivities to thecore notions of traditional translation theories. This chapter is a continuation ofChapter Two in the construction of a holistic theoretic framework for the wholeresearch together with the previous chapter. In the first section, I discuss how thetranslator plays his/her initiative in assuming translation assignments, in which thetranslator realizes hislher personal pursuits by either following or risk countering tothe social and cultural trend of the time. In the second section, I explore three majormethodological ways that have been employed to describe the translator's imprints intranslation. The first and the second ways focus on locating the translator's marksfossilized in the translation product from literary and ideological points of view, andthe third approach concentrates on tracing out the process of how the translator'sthumbprints are stamped on the target text. This exploration shows that it is possibleto describe the translator's strategies and working patterns in a methodological