论翻译的不确定性

On the Indeterminacy of Translation

奎因等从哲学的角度提出意义的不确定性和指称的不可测知性导致翻译的不确定性。翻译的不确定性不仅限于言语行为上。结合Sperber和Wilson提出的关联理论以及Verschueren提出的顺应理论,翻译的过程就是一个关联-顺应的过程。因而,翻译的不确定性因素尤其表现在译者解读文本时的认知层面上和译出文本时的目标语选择过程中:译者认知假设的差异、意义生成的动态性、语言的固有特性和语言选择的不确定性等。对翻译不确定因素的探讨使我们对翻译活动的本质有更好的认识和理解,从而有助于我们更好地从事翻译活动。

According to Quine and others, the indeterminacy of meaning and the inscrutability of reference result in the indeterminacy of translation. However, by approaching the issue from the perspectives of relevance theory by Sperber and Wilson and theory of adaptation by Verschueren, factors of the indeterminacy of translation can be better examined in translators＇ cognitive process while reading the source text and in the process of their choosing target offers language while translating the text. The discussion of the indeterminacy of translation is significant because it us a better understanding of the nature of translation as an activity, which in turn will promote the activity.