2.2 Studies on the Translator’s Subjectivity

In the long history of translation, the traditional perspectives of translation studies are actually text-oriented instead of translator-oriented. A study of the tradition history from home and abroad shows that traditional scholars have always focused on these issues, such as translation theories, methods, standards and its strategies. As to the subject of literature translation, namely, the translator, many scholars prefer to the academic capacities of the translator than his existence as a human being, not to mention the translator’s characteristics, disposition and temperament. The role of translators in the translation course, however, has always been ignored. Since the 1970s, with the appearance of the “cultural turn” in the field of translation studies, “translator” and “translator’s subjectivity” have gradually attracted high attention. Many scholars have been engaged in the issue of the translators’ subjectivity, so this part will give a brief review to the studies of the translator’s subjectivity at home and abroad. 

2.2.1 Studies Abroad

In the 1970s and 1980s, the subjectivity of the translator emerged and was gradually discussed in the translation theories of this era, such as Skopos theory, Deconstructionism and Feminism, etc.

Skopos is a Greek word which means “aim” or “purpose” and was used in translation theory in the 1970s. The Skopos theory held that any translation could be an action and any action had its purpose. The top-ranking rule for any translation was the “Skopos rule”, in other words, “the end justifies the means” (Reiss and Vermeer, 1984: 101) In other words, the purpose of translation would determine the translation methods and strategies. Therefore, from the perspective of the Skopos theory, the translator had his own right to choose the translation methods used in the whole translation process, which fully displayed the subjectivity of the translator.