4.1 Translation Techniques Corresponding to Representation Ethics
Faithfulness originally belongs to the category of “ethics”. Translation should be faithfully to the original idea and style, and it cannot distort the original information at will. Actually, the translator’s loyalty is a commitment to the ST. The ethics of Richard
A Study on the Chinese-English Translation of Shih-shuo Hsin-yü from Translation Ethics Perspective 28 B.Mather’s loyalty to the ST is mainly reflected in three aspects. Firstly, it represent the author’s writing style, and translators adopt literal translation strategies in most cases when dealing with words and phrases. Secondly, it represents the characteristics of the source language, which is reflected in the author’s adoption of foreignization for dialect proverbs involving cultural aspects. The third is to make the translation as fluent as the ST, which is reflected in Richard B.Mather’s translation of Chinese idioms. Therefore, accurate translation constitutes the most prominent feature of Richard B.Mather’s translation. Ma Zhaoqian’s translation adopts concise translation; Words are easy to understand, and some of those words are appropriate. Sentences are simple, which is easy to understand. There are omissions in the text.
In terms of applellation, both versions adopted the name of the character “Chen Fan” instead of the character “Zhong Ju”, which were translated as “Chen Fan” and “Ch’en Fan” respectively. When the ancients were born, they were named by their parents for their elders to call. The treatment of the two versions is more formal. Ma’s translation adopts concise free translation. The word “paragon” is appropriate and concise. According to Collins English-Chinese Learner’s Dictionary, “paragon” means “if you refer to something as a paragon, you mean that they are perfect or have a lot of a good qualities”. while Richard’s translation is closer to the ST in sentence structure and form. It is also more accurate in the use of words, with “rule” and “model” corresponding to “则”,“范”. “Model” means “if you say that someone or something is a model of a granular quality, you are showing approval of them because they have that quality to a large degree”, which is consistent with the ST.
Chapter Five Conclusion
5.1 Findings of the Present Study
Through Chesterman’s five models of translation ethics: ethics of representation, ethics of service, ethics of communication, norm-based ethics, ethics of professional commitment. These five models have far-reaching significance for translation research and translation practice. Analyzing A New Account of Tales of the World and Shih-shuo Hsin-yü: Paintings can not only help us to understand translation ethics, but also helps us to understand the author’s ideological connotation and give full play to the translator’s subjective initiative in translation process.
This thesis draws the following conclusion: Viewed from the five models of translation ethics, Richard B. Mather performed translation ethics at diverse levels of translating in his version of Shih-shuo Hsin-yü. The representation ethics and communication ethics were principally observed at linguistic level, and the translator employed such techniques like free translation, transformation, etc. Norm-based ethics was distinctively observed at text-operational level, and the translator adopted such techniques like literal translation, transliteration, etc. Ethics of professional commitment was underlay by his holistic views on transition; the translator attached a great number of annotations, and interpretations.
Secondly, the translator’s decision is based on different situations on choosing different model. In the translation, Richard B. Mather and Ma Zhaoqian make full use of the advantages of native English and his in-depth knowledge of Chinese culture. Adopting domestication and foreignization to explain Chinese unique cultural vocabulary. They preserving a
