翻译批评与欣赏 Four.docVIP

Lesson Four On E-C Prose Translation Part One: Some Criticism on Prose Translation 1．Johann Gottfried von Herder (1744-1803): a chief representative of the Storm and Stress Movement. His viewpoints on translation: Against the fallacy of the languages originating from God; Emphasis on the people’s language; Improve German: an important task of the national literature in Germany; Emphasis on the language by which the knowledge is obtained; Translation is an activity touching the most essential part of the works; Translator’s task is to make the original understood by the readers who don’t understand the foreign language; Translator’s task is to explain or to teach; The first step of translation: comprehension of the original; An excellent translator: guide the reader to understand the original language intuitively, and then understand the nationality and history of the original. 2. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832): a great man of letters; a great translator; a great translation theorist; a multi-lingual expert: Latin, Greek, English, French, Spanish, Italian, Mid-ancient Highland German, and Persian; His viewpoints on translation: a) Translation, incomplete and imperfect as it is, is one of the most important and valuable activities in the world affairs; Translator is the people’s prophet; c) Translatability of literary works between different languages: There exists inter-relationships in the forms of different languages; Different languages have something in common in the translation of meaning and rhythms; He emphasizes on the common features of languages; The most proper translation is that in a plain style; Translate the poetry in essay style; (What is the essence of poetry? Something left after the original poem has been translated into the version in the form of essay; The poetic form is nothing but shining outer ornament or decoration; ) Three categories of translation: Informative translation—Luther’s biblical translation; Translator should help the re