Auto-image and norms in source-initiated translation in China
Document Type
Journal article
Source Publication
Asia Pacific Translation and Intercultural Studies
Publication Date
2015
Volume
2
Issue
2
First Page
96
Last Page
107
Keywords
auto-image, translation norm, source-initiated, Descriptive Translation Studies, polysystem theory
Abstract
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.
DOI
10.1080/23306343.2015.1059588
Print ISSN
23306343
E-ISSN
23306351
Publisher Statement
Copyright © 2015 Taylor & Francis.
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Full-text Version
Publisher’s Version
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Chang, N. F. (2015). Auto-image and norms in source-initiated translation in China. Asia Pacific Translation and Intercultural Studies, 2(2), 96-107. doi: 10.1080/23306343.2015.1059588