A Study on the Translation Strategies of Brothers from the Perspective of George Steiner’s Hermeneutics Translation Theory

Wang Lili

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijalt.20220804.11

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A Study on the Translation Strategies of Brothers from the Perspective of George Steiner’s Hermeneutics Translation Theory

Wang Lili

Published in International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation (Volume 8, Issue 4)

Received: 27 April 2022 Accepted: 10 May 2022 Published: 16 November 2022

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Abstract

Brothers, the English translation of Xiong di, is an important work of Chinese contemporary avant-garde writer Yu Hua. After its English version was published in 2009, it has received rave reviews in the English-speaking world. This article, guided by George Steiner's hermeneutics translation theory, takes comparative analysis to analyze the translation strategies of the translators in the process of the four-fold hermeneutic motion proposed by Steiner. Based on the comparison of the concrete examples in the source and target text, a conclusion can be raised that the translators have made the full use of translator’s initiative in the four steps (trust, aggression, incorporation and compensation) to achieve a dynamic balance between domestication and foreignization by taking the target readers' acceptability and the effectiveness of cultural communications into consideration.

Published in	International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation (Volume 8, Issue 4)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijalt.20220804.11
Page(s)	127-139
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Yu Hua, Brothers, George Steiner, Hermeneutic Translation Theory, The Four-Fold Hermeneutic Motion, Translation Strategies

References

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[3]	Yu H. Xiong Di. Beijing: Writers Publishing House, 2012: 631.
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[11]	Palmer, R. E. Hermeneutics: Interpretation Theory in Schleiermacher, Dilthey, Heidegger, and Gadamer. Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 1969: 84, 97.
[12]	Venuti, L. The Translation Studies Reader. London and New York: Routledge, 2000: 124.
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[14]	Newmark, P. A Textbook of Translation. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 2001: 35.
[15]	Rener, F M. Interpretation: Language and Translation from Cicero to Tytler. Amsterdam and Atlanta, GA: Rodopi, 1989: 27.
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[17]	Wang BR, Quan YB. Translation Strategies for Treating Chinese Culture-Specific Items in Yu Hua’s Brothers: A Statistical and Sample Analysis. Shangdong Foreign Language Teaching, 2017 (4): 90.
[18]	Dong GJ. Loyal Beauty: The Translating Strategies of Idioms in Yu Hua’s Brothers. Language and Translation, 2014; 5: 60.
[19]	Guo JL. A Foreign Perspective: The Translation and Acceptance of Brothers in the English World. Literary Controversy, 2010; 12: 66.
[20]	Miao J. A Study on the English Translation of Brothers from the Perspective of Toury’s Translation Norms Theory. Shanghai: Shanghai International Studies University, 2018: 3.
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[22]	Gao F. A Study on English Translation of Antonymous Compounds in Yu Hua’s Novel Brothers Based on Construction Coercion. Dalian: Liaoning Normal University, 2015: 3.
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[26]	Gao F. Respecting the Original Text is the Bottom Line of Translation. Chinese Translators Journal, 2014; 3: 59-60.
[27]	Yu H. Brothers. Chow, Eileen Cheng-yin & Carlos, Rojas (trans). New York: Anchor Books, 2009: VIII.
[28]	Ibid, IX.
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[31]	Yu H. Brothers. Chow, Eileen Cheng-yin & Carlos, Rojas (trans). New York: Anchor Books, 2009: 40.
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[34]	Bassnett S, Lefevere A. Constructing Cultures: Essays on Literary Translation. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 2001: 67.
[35]	Steiner G. After Babel: Aspects of Language and Translation. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 2001: 314.
[36]	Ibid, 317-318.
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[42]	Gao F. Respecting the Original Work should be the Bottom Line of Translation—An Interview with Yu Hua. Chinese Translators Journal, 2014 (3): 65.

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APA Style

Wang Lili. (2022). A Study on the Translation Strategies of Brothers from the Perspective of George Steiner’s Hermeneutics Translation Theory. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation, 8(4), 127-139. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20220804.11

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ACS Style

Wang Lili. A Study on the Translation Strategies of Brothers from the Perspective of George Steiner’s Hermeneutics Translation Theory. Int. J. Appl. Linguist. Transl. 2022, 8(4), 127-139. doi: 10.11648/j.ijalt.20220804.11

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AMA Style

Wang Lili. A Study on the Translation Strategies of Brothers from the Perspective of George Steiner’s Hermeneutics Translation Theory. Int J Appl Linguist Transl. 2022;8(4):127-139. doi: 10.11648/j.ijalt.20220804.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ijalt.20220804.11,
  author = {Wang Lili},
  title = {A Study on the Translation Strategies of Brothers from the Perspective of George Steiner’s Hermeneutics Translation Theory},
  journal = {International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation},
  volume = {8},
  number = {4},
  pages = {127-139},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijalt.20220804.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20220804.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijalt.20220804.11},
  abstract = {Brothers, the English translation of Xiong di, is an important work of Chinese contemporary avant-garde writer Yu Hua. After its English version was published in 2009, it has received rave reviews in the English-speaking world. This article, guided by George Steiner's hermeneutics translation theory, takes comparative analysis to analyze the translation strategies of the translators in the process of the four-fold hermeneutic motion proposed by Steiner. Based on the comparison of the concrete examples in the source and target text, a conclusion can be raised that the translators have made the full use of translator’s initiative in the four steps (trust, aggression, incorporation and compensation) to achieve a dynamic balance between domestication and foreignization by taking the target readers' acceptability and the effectiveness of cultural communications into consideration.},
 year = {2022}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - A Study on the Translation Strategies of Brothers from the Perspective of George Steiner’s Hermeneutics Translation Theory
AU  - Wang Lili
Y1  - 2022/11/16
PY  - 2022
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20220804.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijalt.20220804.11
T2  - International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation
JF  - International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation
JO  - International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation
SP  - 127
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PB  - Science Publishing Group
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UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20220804.11
AB  - Brothers, the English translation of Xiong di, is an important work of Chinese contemporary avant-garde writer Yu Hua. After its English version was published in 2009, it has received rave reviews in the English-speaking world. This article, guided by George Steiner's hermeneutics translation theory, takes comparative analysis to analyze the translation strategies of the translators in the process of the four-fold hermeneutic motion proposed by Steiner. Based on the comparison of the concrete examples in the source and target text, a conclusion can be raised that the translators have made the full use of translator’s initiative in the four steps (trust, aggression, incorporation and compensation) to achieve a dynamic balance between domestication and foreignization by taking the target readers' acceptability and the effectiveness of cultural communications into consideration.
VL  - 8
IS  - 4
ER  -

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Author Information

Wang Lili

School of Modern Science and Technology, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou, China

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APA Style

Wang Lili. (2022). A Study on the Translation Strategies of Brothers from the Perspective of George Steiner’s Hermeneutics Translation Theory. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation, 8(4), 127-139. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20220804.11

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ACS Style

Wang Lili. A Study on the Translation Strategies of Brothers from the Perspective of George Steiner’s Hermeneutics Translation Theory. Int. J. Appl. Linguist. Transl. 2022, 8(4), 127-139. doi: 10.11648/j.ijalt.20220804.11

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AMA Style

Wang Lili. A Study on the Translation Strategies of Brothers from the Perspective of George Steiner’s Hermeneutics Translation Theory. Int J Appl Linguist Transl. 2022;8(4):127-139. doi: 10.11648/j.ijalt.20220804.11

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijalt.20220804.11,
  author = {Wang Lili},
  title = {A Study on the Translation Strategies of Brothers from the Perspective of George Steiner’s Hermeneutics Translation Theory},
  journal = {International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation},
  volume = {8},
  number = {4},
  pages = {127-139},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijalt.20220804.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20220804.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijalt.20220804.11},
  abstract = {Brothers, the English translation of Xiong di, is an important work of Chinese contemporary avant-garde writer Yu Hua. After its English version was published in 2009, it has received rave reviews in the English-speaking world. This article, guided by George Steiner's hermeneutics translation theory, takes comparative analysis to analyze the translation strategies of the translators in the process of the four-fold hermeneutic motion proposed by Steiner. Based on the comparison of the concrete examples in the source and target text, a conclusion can be raised that the translators have made the full use of translator’s initiative in the four steps (trust, aggression, incorporation and compensation) to achieve a dynamic balance between domestication and foreignization by taking the target readers' acceptability and the effectiveness of cultural communications into consideration.},
 year = {2022}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - A Study on the Translation Strategies of Brothers from the Perspective of George Steiner’s Hermeneutics Translation Theory
AU  - Wang Lili
Y1  - 2022/11/16
PY  - 2022
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20220804.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijalt.20220804.11
T2  - International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation
JF  - International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation
JO  - International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation
SP  - 127
EP  - 139
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2472-1271
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20220804.11
AB  - Brothers, the English translation of Xiong di, is an important work of Chinese contemporary avant-garde writer Yu Hua. After its English version was published in 2009, it has received rave reviews in the English-speaking world. This article, guided by George Steiner's hermeneutics translation theory, takes comparative analysis to analyze the translation strategies of the translators in the process of the four-fold hermeneutic motion proposed by Steiner. Based on the comparison of the concrete examples in the source and target text, a conclusion can be raised that the translators have made the full use of translator’s initiative in the four steps (trust, aggression, incorporation and compensation) to achieve a dynamic balance between domestication and foreignization by taking the target readers' acceptability and the effectiveness of cultural communications into consideration.
VL  - 8
IS  - 4
ER  -

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