Translation: Theoretical Practice and Exploration

Author: Sun Zhili
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 1999-09-01
Features: This book is divided into two parts. The first part compiles over ten articles the author has written over the past decade on translation, while the second part collects English-Chinese translation exercises the author created for the "Translation Self-Learning Companion" column in China Translation over the past year. These two sets of content are edited together and titled "Theoretical Exploration" and "Practical Exploration," respectively, because the author believes in the principle that "theory guides practice, and practice tests theory." Translation, as a mental activity, has its most distinctive feature as being "rife with contradictions." For example, you may strive for "faithfulness" but fear causing "unbeauty"; you may seek "beauty" but fear compromising "faithfulness"; you may wish to convey a "foreign flavor" but fear creating a "foreign accent"; you may want to avoid a "foreign accent" but fear losing the "foreign flavor"; you may aim to get close to the author but fear losing the reader; you may try to please the reader but fear betraying the author. In short, there are countless contradictions, leaving one in an impossible dilemma.
There are broadly two ways to resolve these contradictions: one is to prioritize one aspect over the other, and the other is to balance both. The first approach might save effort and seem more "laid-back," but it ultimately goes against the mission of translation. Practice has proven that only by adhering to dialectical materialism can truly outstanding translations be produced. Therefore, the author believes that the core of translation theory is dialectical materialism. Based on this understanding, in these ten articles, from "Foreign Flavor and Foreign Accent" (1985) to "Also on Spirit and Form" (1992), to "Dialectics of Translation" and "Some Thoughts on the Construction of Translation Theory in China" (1996), to "Guiding Students to Establish a Dialectical View of Translation" (1997), to "Foreignization and Domestication in Translation" (1999), the author attempts to elaborate on the principle of contradiction and unity in translation. Especially in the article "Adhering to Dialectics and Establishing a Correct View of Translation," the author systematically explains the "ten major relationships" that should be properly handled in translation. Some readers commented, "Your arguments are all valid, but isn’t there a bit of compromise involved?" The author’s response is that dialectics is dialectics and must not be confused with "compromise." We advocate that neither side of a contradiction should be neglected or given undue weight, but rather that both should be considered holistically and weighed equally. This holistic consideration or equal weighing is not about a "50-50 split." The translator must not choose a fixed "middle point," but rather the best "point of convergence" that both sides of the contradiction can accept. The author elaborates on this in the article "Foreignization and Domestication in Translation."
The same principle of "dividing into two" can also guide the theory and practice of translation. Take the relationship between language and culture as an example. Language and culture are inherently inseparable, as Lotmann stated: "No language is rooted in a specific culture, and no culture is centered around the natural structure of a natural language." However, in translation, the translator must not only focus on the similarities between language and culture but also pay attention to their differences. Language conveys cultural information and often carries the cultural colors of its own nation. However, it is worth noting that the cultural connotations of language are not always static but vary in intensity. In different languages, some expressions may have a greater "commonality" and fewer "national characteristics," while others may have stronger "national characteristics" and less "commonality." Recognizing this, we can grasp another principle of translation: on the "pure linguistic level," necessary domestication can be performed, while on the "cultural level," alienation should be maximized. The author touches on this point in articles such as "Foreignization and Domestication in Translation" and "Culture and Translation."
Having firmly grasped the dialectics of translation, the author has strived to apply this principle as a guiding standard in practice. In the past year and a half, the author was invited by the editorial office of China Translation to provide English-Chinese translation contributions for the "Translation Self-Learning Companion" column, consciously adhering to the dialectics of translation. Now, the author has included ten of these translations, along with two additional exercises, after "Theoretical Exploration" for the readers’ review and critique.