文化转向后读者身份的转变

The Changing Identities of Readers after the Culture Turn

传统上的翻译研究侧重语言学,强调译者用词是否准确奥妙、是否再现原作的意图乃至原作者的写作风格,在这种情况下读者很难发挥自己的作用,只能一味地被动接受译者认为“忠实”的理解,造成了思辨的单一性和局限性。经历文化转向后,学界逐渐意识到了翻译研究应置于文化的大背景下来探讨,读者的地位也因此得到了凸显与重视,翻译活动不再是语言学家和译者的一言堂。本文将从读者自身的特点、读者与翻译行为之间的关联、读者与译者之间的沟通信息差、以及读者对于翻译活动的操纵来探讨其身份的转变,展现了读者在翻译活动中的积极作用,进一步推动了翻译研究的发展,呈现了“读者中心”的趋势。由此,不论是文学译本还是非文学译本都应鼓励复译、改译、多个译本现象来满足不同群体的需要,非文学译本也可一改往日严肃刻板的印象,尝试不同的翻译策略吸引读者。而读者也需要给予译者肯定,形成一种良好的互动关系。

Traditional translation studies tend to focus on linguistics, emphasizing whether the translated words are accurate and profound and whether translators reproduce the intentions of the original texts and even the writing style of the original authors. In this case, it is difficult for readers to play their own role. They can only passively accept the translators’ understanding which they consider “faithful”, resulting in the singleness and limitations in critical thinking. After the cultural turn, the academic circle gradually realized that translation studies should be discussed in the context of culture. Therefore, the position of readers has been highlighted and paid attention to. What’s more, translation activities are no longer the sole responsibility of linguists and translators. Readers sometimes can make decisions on which books can be translated and even whose translation style they prefer. In this sense, their tastes for literature or other types of texts have a great impact on the society as well as the translation industry. This paper will discuss the change of readers’ identities from the perspective of their own characteristics, the correlation between readers and translation behaviors, the poor communication between readers and translators, and the manipulation of translation activities by readers. It shows the positive role of readers in translation activities, further promotes the development of translation studies, and presents the trend of “reader-centered”. Besides, translated texts should meet the needs of the public, which means that the definitive edition is unnecessary while various versions make the translation industry boom and the adaptation phenomena are encouraged. Since non-literary translations tend to be considered scientific and boring, translators’ subjectivity can be enhanced to make the version more creative and appeal to the readers.