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Article published In: Target
Vol. 33:3 (2021) ► pp.410–435

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Between the translator and norms

A habitus-mediated case study of a Chinese translation of Looking Backward: 2000–1887

ORCiD logo with link | Southwest Minzu University
Published online: 28 January 2021
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/target.20023.guo
Abstract
The paper explores the tension between the translator and target-cultural norms, using the British missionary, Timothy Richard (1845–1919), and his translation of Looking Backward: 2000–1887 in the late Qing dynasty as a case study. The study integrates a sociological framework as proposed by Pierre Bourdieu into Descriptive Translation Studies as developed by Gideon Toury. The related concepts include ‘norms’, ‘habitus’, ‘field’, and ‘capital’. Given that the translator was a professional missionary and not a professional translator, the dynamics of the translator’s habitus are connected with his professional role as a missionary and his position-taking in the broader social, cultural, and political contexts of the late Qing dynasty. The translator’s translation strategy at both the macro and micro levels are analyzed and interpreted. Interpretations are based on the translator’s habitus reconstructed from his early experiences and his position-taking in the broader context. The case study reveals the tension between the translator’s habitus and target-cultural norms, which in turn sheds some light on the situation in which missionaries found themselves in late Qing society.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Timothy Richard’s social trajectory
    • 2.1Early experiences
    • 2.2Becoming a missionary
    • 2.3Changing missionary strategy
    • 2.4Translating as a way to accomplish missionary ambition
  • 3.Changing the translation source
    • 3.1Conveying Western learning to the Chinese reading public
    • 3.2Translating Looking Backward
  • 4.Richard’s matricial decisions
    • 4.1Omission as a macro-level translation strategy
    • 4.2The ‘new faith’ left out in the translated text
    • 4.3Dilemma in missionary work
    • 4.4A utopia adapted to a blueprint for reform
  • 5.Richard’s textual-linguistic decisions
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
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