The Voice of the Translator: An Interview with Howard Goldblatt

Stalling, Jonathan

doi:10.1080/07374836.2014.887808

Cited by 10 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…They played a crucial role in the cross-cultural publication of Yan's works. Both Goldblatt and Jonathan Stalling are recognized as translators and scholars who contributed greatly to making Chinese literature known in the United States (Stalling, 2014). Howard Goldblatt translated more than 50 books, including novels by Mo Yan.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strategy for English Translation of Chinese Literary Works With Distinctive Regional Characteristics

Wang

2024

EJMTS

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The translation of literary works is, in essence, a complex intercultural communication behavior in which translation is considered as the means and acceptance of the end. The principal linguistic characteristics of the reading country, the reading habits of the audience, and the purpose and effect of cross-cultural transfers should also be considered. In this study, the English translation effect of Chinese literary works with distinctive regional cultural characteristics is taken as the research object, while the cultural communication effect and translation mode in the literary translation are discussed to seek effective translation strategies. Through utilizing theoretical knowledge gained from translation studies, its objective was to create linguistic strategies. To facilitate the spread and acceptance of a translated version of a literary work in the target language culture, a cooperative translation model is suggested for successful dissemination and acceptance of the translated work in the target culture, which is mainly characterized by cooperation between foreign sinologists and native translators. In this model, foreign sinologists take the leading role, while Chinese translators and foreign editors play a supplementary role. Article visualizations:<img src="/-counters-/lit/0757/a.php" alt="Hit counter" />

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strategy for English Translation of Chinese Literary Works With Distinctive Regional Characteristics

Wang

2024

EJMTS

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“…Mo Yan is the Chinese writer whose work has been most widely translated into English over the past 20 years (Zhang and Mo, 2013, p. 225). Goldblatt considers it his mission to translate for his English-language readers, rather than for the original writer (Lingenfelter, 2007;Sparks, 2013;Stalling, 2014) and places emphasis on the fluency of the English as a priority when translating. Goldblatt himself says "anyone who is reading Mo Yan in English is reading Goldblatt" (Goldblatt and Efthimiatou, 2012), emphasizing the extent to which he feels ownership over the work once he begins the translation process.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…In an interview with Efthimiatou, Goldblatt regarded Mo Yan as a very Dickensian writer with long sentences and asides; things that most editors would cut (Goldblatt and Efthimiatou, 2012). Goldblatt has clarified that most of the omissions were requested by the English editors with the approval of Mo Yan (Ge, 2011;Sparks, 2013;Goldblatt, 2014;Stalling, 2014). The English editors had minimal knowledge of Chinese language and culture, so their only point of reference for editing the novel was that it should read fluently in English (Ge, 2011).…”

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confidence: 99%

Reception study: The omission of narrative text in the English translation of Mo Yan's Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out

Guo

Zou²

2023

Front. Commun.

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This paper examines the omission of narrative texts in the English translation of Mo Yan's Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out. A textual comparison revealed that the translation contains the radical omission of around 50,000 Chinese characters, comprising nearly 13% of the original text. Since the English version reshapes the original work for an English context and a Western audience, it is worthwhile to examine the consequences of the omissions. In particular, are there any patterns among the omitted sections? Is the version with omissions received more favorably by a Western audience? Omissions of narrative texts and their effects were the focus of this study. The adopted methodology comprises textual analysis, narrative analysis, questionnaire, and interviews. The omissions are explored from six categories: narrative text, descriptive text, embedded text, narrator's comments, characters' monologs and lengthy passages containing multiple omission types. The omission of narrative text and its consequences are the focus of this paper. Through textual and narrative analysis, the discussion identifies discrepancies between the source text and the target text, including mitigation of political criticism, stereotyping of Chinese culture, simplification of narrative structure, and plot reorganization. Through questionnaires and interviews, this paper investigates how the omissions may have influenced the reception of the novel by the target audience. Interestingly, significant omissions of political criticism did not impede Western readers' perceptions of the book's political criticisms. Instead, they facilitate and augment the entertainment aspect of the reading. Therefore, this paper argues that the novel has been rewritten to accommodate a Western audience's reading habits and Western poetological systems and to attract a mass audience.

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A Review of Goldblatt’s Translation of Mo Yan’s Works

Liu

2024

Palgrave Studies in Translating and Interpreting

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The Voice of the Translator: An Interview with Howard Goldblatt

Cited by 10 publications

References 0 publications

Strategy for English Translation of Chinese Literary Works With Distinctive Regional Characteristics

Strategy for English Translation of Chinese Literary Works With Distinctive Regional Characteristics

Reception study: The omission of narrative text in the English translation of Mo Yan's Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out

A Review of Goldblatt’s Translation of Mo Yan’s Works

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