Chapter Ⅰ Introduction
1.1 The Background of the Report
1.1.1 The Description of the Translation Report
This translation material is chosen from Future Schools co-authored by famous architects Dr. Sharon Wright and Nick Mirchandani. The book is an architectural book published by RIBA Publishing on August 28, 2015. There are 176 pages and 8 parts in this book, which are: 1. The meaning of “campus”; 2. Streamlined campus architecture; 3. Case study; 4. Different types of campus buildings; 5. Campus landscape; 6. Collaboration with existing schools: expansion and transformation; 7. Local interventions – saving budgets; 8. Changing the accommodation environment. Dr. Sharon Wright enjoys reputation in the fields of sociology, social policy and criminology, and now teaches in the School of Applied Social Science, University of Stirling. He has been focusing on the students’ pressure and sufferings under the authorities and published The Student’s Companion to Social Policy in 2012 which has gone viral since its publication. His rich experiences and professional capacity has won him reputation in the field of education, his works are influencing many young people to be more free and independent.
It is emphasized in the book that the campus buildings and landscape are vital for students learning at different stages in the background of globalization. The existing campus buildings around the world are chosen as cases, their characteristics, advantages and disadvantages are summarized and analyzed so that can make reasonable and creative idea for the future campus building, which provides references for the planning and designof other campuses.
1.1.2 The Unique Significant Meaning of the Report
Campus is the hall of education. At present, the attraction of campus is not only determined by the faculty. The campus landscape has become one of the main attractions of enrollment. (张江雪,2003) In the theories of environmental behavior and psychology, the cultivation and development of human behavior and thinking patterns are closely related to the environment. No matter how old the students are, the focus of the demand for campus landscape is inseparable with the “people-oriented” concept. As important places for educational activities, colleges and universities are relatively densely populated. In recent years, colleges continue expanding enrollment, so the population is increasing rapidly in the limited campus. Under the “people-oriented” concept, the construction of a harmonious ecological campus has become an increasingly urgent problem.
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1.2 The Nature and Characteristics of the Report
This translation material is rich in popular science, pictures; precise words, rigorous language, and is worth learning. Theoretically, the campus landscape is a kind of urban landscape with the following characteristics: (1) mainly make up with large number of import plates in small regular mosaic shape; (2) mainly of linear road corridors and few banded corridors. Campus landscape design has the principles of safety, functionality and accessibility.(李田胜,1996)
Campus landscape, as an important part of the overall development of campus environment, not only plays an important role in shaping the good image of the school, but also in forming the perfect personality of students and promoting their physical and mental health development.
Campus landscape can be regarded as a large silent classroom, which has imperceptible influence on shaping students’ healthy character. Gibreth, the founder of ergonomics, once said that people design things they use in their daily work, life and surroundings by taking their own characteristics and habits into account. As far as campus landscape design is concerned, “people-oriented” is to fully examine the personality characteristics, behavior of teachers and students (of the people), with the needs of them as the standard (by the people), designed to meet their needs of various activities andrespect for their psychological needs (for the people).
The author hopes to get translation experience and overcome obstacles, and sum up practical experience with the combination of architectural English and hermeneutic translation theory in translating it into Chinese so as to contribute to the field of architectural English translation.
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Chapter Ⅱ Translation Theory
2.1 The Origin of Hermeneutics
The term “hermeneutics” derives from Hermes, a Greek mythological figure whose duty is to convey the commands of God to the people. Because God and the people spoke different languages, he had to translate and interpret God’s message, not simply retell it. Aristotle was the first person to interpret the term “hermeneutic theory”, which he regarded as a tool for understanding the original text.
It is a long period from classical interpretation to modern hermeneutics. Modern hermeneutics originates from Germany and can be pided into two categories: methodological hermeneutics represented by Schleiermacher and Dilthey and ontological hermeneutics represented by Heidegger and Gadamer. It refers to the theory or philosophy of understanding and interpreting the meaning of text. This is not only an edge discipline and a new research method, but also a philosophical trend of thought. From classical hermeneutics in ancient Greece to modern hermeneutics represented by Schleier Mach, Heidegger, Gadamer and George Steiner, modern hermeneutics not only challenges the dual opposition of “author first” or “text first”, but also explores the translator’s subjectivity at the early stage, which guided the translation theory in a clear new direction. (刘畅,2016)
Traditionally, the translator is defined as “servant”.(许钧,2003)With the “cultural turn” in translation studies, the focus of the translation process begins to shift from a closed and static language to a dynamic context and culture. The emergence of hermeneutics has fastened the shift. Hermeneutics is known as “a new frontier science and ‘meta theory’” that guides social science research.(章国锋,2002)Schleier Mach and George Steiner, the British translation theorist, advocated the translator’s subjectivity and endowed the translator with a series of rights, such as the right to choose the text, the inpidual understanding of the translation and the “creative treason” of the translator. Therefore, the translator can fully play the dominate role in translation. The main characteristics of the translator’s subjectivity are the translator’s own humanistic quality, aesthetics, creativity and cultural consciousness.(査明建,2003)Translators should try to approach the original author’s original horizon, so as to comprehend the author’s original intention.(谢天振,2000)
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2.2 The Development of Hermeneutics
George Steiner, in his masterpiece After Babel: Aspects of Language and Translation, points out that language interaction is the center of analysis, emphasizing the understanding of the cognitive and emotional meaning of language which is of great significance to language communication. On the nature of language and translation, he proposes four steps: 1. trust; 2. aggressive; 3. incorporation; 4. restitution. Before translating, the translator must experience the process of “trust” that is, believing in the value of the source text, and the translator’s understanding and analysis of the source text is the process of “aggressive”. In translation, we break code, understand it like anatomy, isolate the shell, and expose the kernel(Steiner,2001)“Aggressive” is aimed to absorb the elements of the source text, break through the constraints of language, culture, history and other factors and easy to understood. The imbalance in the process of inhalation is also necessary, so translation finally needs to provide compensation to restore balance. By “restitution”, the translation can reveal the advantages of the source text. This process breaks through the traditional boundaries between literal translation, free translation and fiction, making the translation plays a role through understanding and interpretation.(Steiner, 2001)Only through such a complete translation process, can a good translation be presented. It can be shown in the figure below:
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Chapter Ⅲ The Description of the Translation Process ··········· 9
3.1.1 Making the Translation Plan ····················· 9
3.1.2 Choosing the Translation Tool ····················· 9
Chapter Ⅳ Case Study ····················· 15
4.1 Trust, Aggression and Incorporation of Translation ················ 15
4.1.1 Words and Phrases ······················ 15
4.1.2 Making the Text Meaningful ··························· 23
Chapter Ⅴ Reflection on the Translator’s Subjectivity ·················· 37
5.1 The Reasons for the Marginalization of Translator’s Cultural Status ··············· 37
5.1.1 The Shielding of Translation from the Traditional View of Translation ······ 37
5.1.2 Dynamic Equilibrium of “One Person, Three Bodies” ·························· 37
Chapter Ⅴ Reflection on the Translator’s Subjectivity
5.1 The Reasons for the Marginalization of Translator’s Cultural Status
5.1.1 The Shielding of Translation from the Traditional View of Translation
In China, the traditional view of translation has always regarded translation as a linguistic transformation and cultural expression, focusing on the source text itself rather than the translator. This shift in the conceptual center leads to the direct destruction of the literature contained in the translator’s creativity, which is also the direct reason why it is blocked in the process of translation. (王友贵, 2007 ) The narrow and limited understanding of translation in the traditional translation culture is not only a great “cover” for the translator’s subjectivity, but also may have an impact on the quality of translation.
5.1.2 Dynamic Equilibrium of “One Person, Three Bodies”
It is impossible for the translator to maintain absolute neutrality in the process of translation, which is often due to the translator’s own recognition. The process of translation can be pided into three parts: pre-translation, translation and post translation. The concept of procedural distinction implies various intercultural communicative behaviors in the process of translation, which can be traced back to Holz Manttari, a German scholar, who proposed the concept of communicative translation, advocating the replacement of “translation” by “translation activities” in a dynamic way, thus raising translation activities from the static level.
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Chapter Ⅵ Conclusion
6.1 Problem and Deficiency
Through this translation project, the author has a certain understanding of the campus landscape translation in western campus landscape text. Valuable conclusions are summarized as well through the exploration and summary of the translator’s subjectivity. However, there are still some problems in the report.
First, this translation report is excerpted from Future Schools, which is only a translation of the native campus landscape in modern England; But Britain is the pioneer of the industrial revolution, its architectural design has been leading the world for decades, and this report has deeply discussed its value, so it has a certain reference value.
Secondly, the author only emphasizes the translation of campus landscape texts in this translation practice report, but there are various types of architectural texts, covering a wide range of areas, including bridges, housing, water towers, caves and so on. This translation material is only a small branch of architectural texts. Considering that the author focuses on the content of campus landscape and its impact on education, it also has a certain value.
The sample size of the survey on the translator’s subjectivity is small, and it is not closely related to the relevant knowledge of statistics. There may be many omissions in the experimental methods. At the same time, it only discusses the application of translator’s subjectivity in the translation of landscape texts on campus, without dialectical analysis of the consequences of overexertion of translator’s subjectivity, without emphasizing the importance of the original and the reader. Therefore, if we want to draw a scientific and valuable conclusion, we still need a lot of data and investigation, which is also a deficiency of this report.
reference(omitted)