西方文论研究与翻译视野

Study on the Western Literary Theories and the Perspective of Translation

近期,国内的西方文论研究开始出现反思趋势,西方文论本身也成为反思对象之一。反思过程中出现了对西方文论的一些误读,原因之一在于部分研究者可能忽略了自身研究奠基于译文之上的事实,将译文直接等同于原文,因而也可以说是翻译视野的缺失。在西方文论研究中引入翻译视野,即意味着基于译本进行的文论研究须与译本拉开一定的距离。翻译视野又包括转换意识、语境意识、差异意识三重内涵。转换意识即意识到译文是语言转换的结果,同时意识到由转换所导致的信息不对称性;语境意识是指意识到西方文论扎根的特定时空的文化形态及理论家的认知形态;差异意识是指对原作与译作所处时空差异的意识。翻译视野促使我们主动去了解西方文论在原语语境中的起源及发展,辩证地探讨其在译语语境中的适用性,有助于我们在西方文论译介热持续上升的今天,真正深入地理解与反思西方文论的内涵,更好地吸取其精华,批判其糟粕,推动中国文学与文化研究的发展,建构中国自己的理论体系。

Recently, a trend of reflection has emerged in the research of Western literary theories, including the reflection on the theories themselves. However, misreading and misunderstanding of Western literary theories have accompanied the reflection. One of the likely causes is that some researchers do not pay much attention to the fact that their researches are based on translation, and equate the translated version to the original text. This could be seen as an absence of the perspective of translation. The aforementioned perspective refers to the awareness and action of the researchers in keeping a certain distance from the translated text based on which their study is carried out, including the awareness of transformation, the awareness of context and the awareness of difference. The awareness of transformation means that researchers realize that the translated text results from a shift of languages, with an asymmetry of information owing to this shift. The awareness of context means that researchers bear in mind the cultural context of the specific time and space in which Western literary theories have developed, and the cognitive context of the theorists. The cultural context calls for the literary theories that fit the specific time and space, and theorists invariably develop their theories in accordance with their cognitive patterns. Therefore, relocating the theories in the specific time, space and events, and relating them to the theorists＇ cognitive contexts conduce to an understanding of the theories in a more precise and in-depth manner. The awareness of difference means that researchers recognize the differences of time and space between original text and its translation. In terms of the differences of space, the emergence and development of the literary theory in its original context reflects its close interaction with literary and social practices, but the ＂travel＂ of the theory breaks the inevitable connection between the text and the time and space. As for the difference of time, the publication sequence of the translation replaces that of the original works, which hides the inheritance and the echoes among the original works, and highlights the answers of different translated works to specific questions in the context of translation. As the original works were published in different ages, the answers may greatly vary in both theory and method. Inadequate knowledge of the differences may lead to insignificant comparisons among theories from different times and spaces and hasty judgments on the function and value of the theories. This will not only affect the understanding of the theories themselves, but also influence the effective reference to them. The perspective of translation encourages us to explore the origin and development of Western literary theories in the context of the source language and to study dialectically its applicability in the context of the target language. This may help us to deeply understand the core of Western literary theories, to better absorb their essence, and to promote the development of Chinese literature and cultural studies when the translation of and the introduction to Western literary theories are gaining increasing popularity at present. In the present context of the growing trend of reflection on Western literary theories, this paper points out a gap in the research and its influence on the reflective research. Starting from the theories and methods of translation studies, this paper reveals the nature of the gap and proposes the possibilities of filling this gap and improving the effectiveness of the research on Western literary theories. With reference to translation theories, this paper adopts a new perspective which reveals the complexity of the cross-lingual and cross-cultural Western literary research, puts forward an original view that research should include ＂ the perspective of translation＂. Some of the mainstream views in the current research of Western literary theories in China are discussed. From the perspective of methodology, this paper is an attempt of interdisciplinary research that combines the study of literary theories and translation studies and expands the research methods of Western literary theory studies.