Translator and National Identity

王麗璇

This composition makes clear the definitions of national identity and translator， and two examples about Chinese foreign translators are given to show translators' influences on the readers. Among many identities， national identity has its own features and special status.

In the history of translation， the translators are regarded as rewriting or recreating literary works. In cultural translation theories， the translators are not regarded as traitors of the authors， but the culture transmitters to introduce more texts to more readers. There are some kinds of translations of the same text. That is to say， the translators are the decision makers of the cultural identity.

National identity is a political concept which means national citizenship and refers to one's legal status in relation to a nation. There are two main models of national identity， including national identity of the international level and domestic level. Translators who have different national identities have their own understanding about the choice of the original texts and the translations with a thick national texture. Their translations are linked to politics， economy， culture and religion of the translators' countries. In order for readers to understand the original texts better and accept much more different culture， the translators often recreate the original texts according to readers' acceptability.

Today， under globalization， the national identities of translators are also becoming more complicated， which results in different identities of translators can give readers more rich translations. For example， George Kao， a famous Chinese American writer and translator， translated many American works such as The Great Gatsby， Long Day's Journey into the Night and so on. George Kao is proficient in both English and Chinese， who is known as “the author can control and use freely in both English and Chinese”. He has a special national identity that his nationality is the United States and his ancestral home is China. In his life experiences， two different national identities are mixed together， when he combined the two cultures efficiently， readers would be easier to accept his translations. He not only translated American literature， but also a dictionary of modern American English to make Chinese readers feel the culture of the English-speaking world.

Indeed， not only Chinese American people translate foreign works into Chinese， but also Chinese foreign translators translate Chinese works into foreign languages. For instance， Zhihua li， a Chinese French translator， whose nationality is France. But he was born in China. He and his French wife are like-minded， and they spent 27 years translating the Chinese masterpiece A Dream in Red Mansions into French. In addition， he also translated many famous works of Lu Xun， Ba Jin， Lao She， Ai Qing and Yao Xueyin. According to his achievements， we can see the heart of a distant wanderer and the exchanging history of China-France culture. In 2014， President of the People's Republic of China Xi visited French and called on Li. Xi said， “A Dream in Red Mansions is a monumental work and it is harder to translate it into French accurately. Li's spirit of perseverance and academic talent is admirable.” Li makes use of his special national identity to spread Chinese culture to France and his achievements deserve everyone respecting him.

Since the 20th century， more and more people left their homelands and a number of Chinese have joined the immigration tide. The Chinese immigrants especially their offspring live out of their hometown's culture and they are interrupted with historical connection. They accept the education in foreign countries and never realize the meaning of their yellow skin and black hair. They feel a deep confusion and uncomfortable with losing history connection with China and are not truly accepted by foreign countries. At that time， the Chinese translators with two different national identities play important roles in introducing Chinese culture and literature to those Chinese people. Their duty is to show the great charm of Chinese culture and history to Chinese people in foreign countries. Sometimes their national identities will make them confused， however， the readers will benefit from their translations.

References：

[1]Chen，Lin.[陳琳].譯者與翻譯文化身份[J].湖南社會科學(xué)， 2004 （4）：110-112.

[2]Judith N.Martin.Intercultural Communication in Contexts[M].北京：外語教學(xué)與研究出版社，2009：（204-205）.