时间：2022-09-09 01:18:35
Abstract: Polysystem theory, a new branch of translation studies, was developed in 1970s by Israeli scholar Itamar Even-Zohar. It came into being in 1970s on the basis of the modern translation theories. The thesis will analyze in detail of polysystem theory including the background, origins, main contents and the development of the theory.
Key Words: polysystem theory; political element;cultural element
1.Introduction
Polysystem theory, a new branch of translation studies, was developed in 1970s by Israeli scholar Itamar Even-Zohar. The polysystem theory widens people''s horizon of researches on translated literature and translator. The following part will be an analysis in detail of polysystem theory including the background, origins, main contents and the development of the theory.
2. Chief Elements of Polysystem Theory
In Zohar’s polysystem, three elements play important role in translation studies, that is, economy, politics and culture, which I will expound one by one in the following sections.
2.1 Political Element
Politics is a social phenomenon when human society develops to a certain period. This social phenomenon is quite complex, in general, the term is usually used to refer to the acts of governing the country by government or political parties. Although Zohar didn''t mention the relationship between polysystem theory and politics directly, we can also find the important part politics plays in translation beneath his words. For example, when talking about the position of translated literature, he took Russia and France for examples, and pointed out that the literature in those counties occupies the "central" position among world literature and tends to be translated into other countries more frequently. It should be pointed out that the powerful political background in those countries is one of the reasons that lead to that phenomenon. Political situation may guide translation and even constrain it in some circumstances. During the Cultural Revolution in China, translation acts as the slave of politics and becomes a political sacrifice. Almost all of the western works are treated as poisons that are harmful to people''s spirit. The communication with western countries is cut and translating the western works is also forbidden. Translators can only translate Russian works in that period, and we can summarize that a successful translated work should first meet the main theme of the social politics. Only in this way can translated work be better known and the value of translators revealed.