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UM E-Theses Collection (澳門大學電子學位論文庫)

Title

The translator's 'invisibility' : reflections on my translation of excerpts from the Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre

English Abstract

Contemporary translation studies comprise various bipolarised translation theories and translation strategies. Domestication and foreignization as a pair are often discussed or cited. Lawrence Venuti expressed his disagreement to the dominating Anglo-American culture and domestication, and argued that foreignization could be a possible solution. This translation project compares both strategies with readers' opinion considered, and discusses translators' 'invisibility'. The author has translated two excerpts from The Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre - a Chinese martial arts novel written by Jin Yong - with two different translation strategies, namely domestication and foreignization. The two versions are sent to several readers of the target language culture for comments. Both the translated texts and the comments are analysed in the light of domestication and foreignization. Taking into consideration the translating experience and readers' response, the author argues that sticking to either domestication or foreignization cannot guarantee a satisfactory product, and does not eliminate the translator's 'invisibility'. The readers' feedback reveals that domestication is not necessarily favourable to the readers, and foreignization may sometimes be considered unnecessary rather than informative to readers. Keywords: Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre, Martial arts fiction, Domestication, Foreignization, Translator’s Invisibility, Reader’s Response

Issue date

2012.

Author

Lio, U Peng

Faculty
Faculty of Arts and Humanities (former name: Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities)
Department
Department of English
Degree

M.Soc.Sc.

Subject

Translating and interpreting

Intercultural communication

Chinese literature -- Translations into English

Supervisor

Lei, Lai Cheng

Files In This Item

TOC & Abstract

Location
1/F Zone C
Library URL
991002301059706306