A Sociological Analysis of the Production of Red Sorghum Translated by Howard Goldblatt

Abstract

Abstract: Drawing on field theory and actor-network theory，this paper first investigates how American sinologist Howard Goldblatt，Nobel Laureate Mo Yan’s primary English-language translator，developed his translator’s habitus and entered a hypothesized American literary field．Then it analyzes how various human and non-human actors interacted with each other through the transformation of several forms of capital to create translation initiation and publication networks，thus bringing about Red Sorghum’s successful production in America．Finally，an analysis of the effects of the translation and editorial mode on Red Sorghum reveals that Goldblatt，both a scholar-translator and a professional translator，adopted a highly flexible approach to translation by combining fidelity and creativity．Paradoxical as his translation strategy may strike us，it has helped Goldblatt achieve tremendous success as a pre-eminent translator of modern Chinese fiction，which can be accounted for by Pierre Bourdieu’s field theory．

Keywords: Red Sorghum; Howard Goldblatt; production; field; actor network

摘要： 本文运用场域理论和行动者网络理论，考察葛浩文译者惯习的形成及介入美国文学场域，分析有关行动者如何通过资本转化构建《红高粱》翻译发起、出版网络，促成葛译本在美国的顺利生产，最后分析翻译及编辑方式对葛译面貌的影响。其译者惯习决定葛浩文的翻译方式是学术性与商业性兼顾，既有忠实的一面，也有灵活变通的一面。葛浩文既“忠实”又“叛逆”的译法看似吊诡，却帮助他取得了极大成功，这一悖论可用场域理论得到解释。

关键词: 《红高粱》, 葛浩文, 生产, 场域, 动者网络

Wang Baorong. A Sociological Analysis of the Production of Red Sorghum Translated by Howard Goldblatt[J]. Journal of Beijing International Studies University, 2014, 36(12): 20-.

汪宝荣. 葛浩文英译《红高粱》生产过程社会学分析[J]. 北京第二外国语学院学报, 2014, 36(12): 20-.

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