Auto-image and norms in source-initiated translation in China

Bibliographic Data

ID21243048
AuthorsNam Fung Chang (0000-0001-5703-4541, corresponding author)
Year2015
Volume2
Issue2
Pages96-107
Publication date2015-05-04
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAsia Pacific Translation and Intercultural Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2330-6351 • E-ISSN: 2330-6343
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/23306343.2015.1059588
OpenAlexW1823980127
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited6

This article explores an area that has so far been under-researched in polysystem studies – literary translation initiated by the source culture. The case studied is translation of Chinese literature into English planned by the government of the People’s Republic of China. It is found that in such translations, some Chinese weights and measures were converted into British ones in the 1950s but increasingly conserved since the 1970s. In the meantime, weights and measures tended to be conserved in English–Chinese translation but converted in Chinese–English translation initiated by the target culture. It can be seen that the norms governing translation initiated by the source culture are determined mainly by factors internal to that culture. A probable explanation is that norms governing source-oriented translation are correlated to the auto-image of the source culture, which has been on the rise in the case of China. It is hoped that the findings of this case study may contribute to the augmentation of polysystem theory and Descriptive Translation Studies

Biology · China · Chinese culture · Linguistics · Literary Translation · Political science · Sociology · Source text · Target culture · Target text · Translation studies · History · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition · Law · Philosophy · Psychology · Translation Studies and Practices · Genetics

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