Abstracts
Abstract
This paper studies political translation in contemporary China. It approaches the issue by tackling a case study of the translations of a maxim issued in 2006 by the Chinese supreme leader, Hu Jintao 胡锦涛. Like many past maxims, this one has been translated many times into English and four of the renditions are sampled for the case study, including seemingly “correct” and “flawed” ones. By comparing the different renditions, the study has managed to address a number of questions, including what makes a “correct” translation, how a “correct” translation is made, what strategies are used to accomplish “correctness” and what the criteria are for the making of a “correct” translation in China. The author hopes that this paper will contribute to an enhanced knowledge with regard to the dominant Chinese discourse of translation and about how translation is organized, regulated and evaluated in China.
Keywords:
- political translation,
- style,
- fidelity,
- official translator,
- “The Eight Honours and Eight Shames”
Résumé
L’objet du présent article est la traduction des textes à contenu politique en Chine. La question est abordée par le biais d’une étude de cas, à savoir les traductions de préceptes récemment formulés en 2006 par le chef de l’État chinois, Hu Jintao 胡锦涛. Comme de nombreux préceptes par le passé, ceux-ci ont été traduits à maintes reprises en anglais. Quatre des traductions sont présentées, certaines paraissant « justes » et d’autres, « fautives ». La comparaison des différentes traductions mène à poser un certain nombre de questions, y compris ce qui caractérise une traduction « juste », la manière de la produire, les stratégies permettant d’atteindre cette « justesse » et quels sont les critères de validité propres à la Chine. L’auteur espère que cet article contribuera à mieux faire connaître le discours chinois dominant et la manière dont la traduction est organisée, réglée et évaluée en Chine.
Mots-clés :
- traduction politique,
- style,
- fidélité,
- traducteur officiel,
- « Les Huits Honneurs et les Huit Hontes »
Appendices
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