Translation Thoughts Inquiry of Howard Goldblatt

趙 莉

Translation Thoughts Inquiry of Howard Goldblatt

趙 莉

This paper would introduce the translation thoughts of Howard Goldblatt from the following points，works selection，translation methods and strategies，the relationship among writers，translators and readers and translators’ cooperation，etc.

Howard Goldblatt Chinese-English Translation Translation Thought

Translation work is a very important and indispensable part in Howard Goldblatt’s life.He once said that without translation his life would be dried.As a translator，Howard Goldblatt is very industrious and prolific，but his theoretical writings are not as so many as his translation works.Studies about his translation theories are almost from interviews about himand other people’ s papers which involve many literature aspects，such as works selection，comprehension of works，translation methods，original and translated works，the relationship among writers，translators and readers and cooperation between translators.The author would introduce his translation thought form the five aspects.

一、Select favorite works

Howard Goldblatt considers that during the translation preparations the priority is to select，rather than immediate translation.He holds two factors when he selected the original works- my favorites and works suitable for me.

As a translator who lives his dream and enjoys the course，Howard Goldblatt has the abundant freedom to do what he wants.Since excellent Chinese writers and outstanding literary works are both of great quantity，he could select what he likes.

In 1990，Howard Goldblatt read The Garlic Ballads whose writer was not so well-known at that time.He got in touch with Mo Yan and then translated Red Sorghum Clan，The Garlic Ballads and then other very brilliant works of the writer in succession.By 2012，more than ten types of Mo Yan’s works had been translated by Howard Goldblatt who by far had translated Mo Yan’s works much more than others.His translation had made indelible contributions to Mo Yan’s winning the 2012 Nobel Prize for Literature.Such great achievement was closely related to the translator’s choices.

二、Comprehension and translation

Literature works would present disentangles complex worlds- real world and a world which writers had imaged and visualized.Before translating the selected work，the translator needs to seriously comprehend the deep meaning of it.Howard Goldblatt suggested that translators should make more effort to seize the connotation of the work.He was a rigorous translator and oftencommunicated with authors for some comprehension problems.During the process of translating Mo Yan's works，to figure out deep meanings about some words or affairs，Howard Goldblatt sent a lot of mails to Mo Yan to take advices.To understand the original texts，Ge Haowen often consulted those people whose the mother tongue was Chinese.After having a thorough understanding of the original text，the translator needs to think about how to convey the author's authentic meaning，so that the meanings could be equivalent of the original ones.Translating Chinese into English requires the translator to have a good creative ability in the language.The author can follow his inclinations to write，but the translator has no such freedom.

三、Translation methods and strategies

Howard Goldblatt argues that literal translation should be circumvented.The difference between two languages- English and Chineseis very large，and many translators will confront the original texts with confusion and fear.If the Chinese grammar habits are diverted to the English translation，it will be out of tune.In the course of translation，Howard Goldblatt will consider the expression habits of readers，the word preference and cultural backgrounds.Since his mother language is English，this is a innate advantage.A word for word，sentence by sentence and segment for segment are not Howard Goldblatt's translation characteristics.He once said：“according to my experience，the task of translation is to rewrite it.” In order to make the translation more popular among readers，Howard Goldblatt read in Chinese while writing in English.

四、The relations among the original works，translation works，translators and readers

Howard Goldblatt believes that if authors who create in their mother languages want works to enter into exotic culture and reap laurels，translating，even though not a perfect choice，would be a good channel.The author should understand the role of the translator，who can help the author become a well-known international figure and translation can extend works' affluence.Some authors require that the translator should not change the original text in translation，and some others would let the translator have their own way.Howard Goldblatt appreciate the later one.The translator's responsibility is faithful to the original meaning，but the translator do not need to use the original words，which would be too observant of conventional standards.Since English and Chinese are completely different two languages，if translation word by word，not only readers can't accept it，but also it dosn't respect the original work and the author.The translator and the author should mutually respect.Communicating with authors about how to translate some parts of the work is a habit of Howard Goldblatt.On Howard Goldblatt 's advice，Mo Yan rewrote the last chapter of "The Garlic Ballads".The English version and Chinese version were both very popular.In Howard Goldblatt's view，the relationship between the author and the translator is independent，but alsointimate.

The characteristics of the target language can sometimes lead to the loss of some elements in the original text，or make the original text misunderstood which is unfair to the original work.At this time，the relationship between the translator and the author becomes fragile.The translator is responsible and needs to apologize.The translator is mainly responsible for the reader，rather than the author.The authors write for readers，thus the language should be plain and authentic.

五、The cooperation of translators in translation process

Howard Goldblatt and his wife Liu Lijun have been working on many translations，and he loves the way they work.Liu Lijun is mainly engaged in the teaching and research of Chinese contemporary literature，and has translated a large number of literary works.After retiring from the University of Notre Dame in 2013，she mainly took time to write and translate.Since Howard Goldblatt's mother tongue is English and Liu Lijun's is Chinese，

their division of labour is clear-cut，each one being charged with specific responsibilities and can complete each other.

In short，Goldblatt is a rigorous translator and his translation thoughts are of great significance for modern translators.It also has certain guiding significance for the popularization of Chinese literature.

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（作者單位：陜西師范大學）