The Relationship between the Original Text and the Translated Text in Derrida’s Deconstruction Theory

LI Xueping

【Abstract】Deconstructualism is a post-modernist trend of thought that sprung up in France during the middle of 1960s.Derrida is the representative of deconstructualism.This paper firstly briefly introduces Derridas deconstructive thoughts and his deconstructive translation theory.And then it analyzes the reason why Derrida introduces his deconstructive thoughts into translation theory.Thirdly， it mainly analyzes the relationship between the original text and the translated text in Derridas deconstruction theory.

【Key words】deconstructualism； Derridas deconstructive translation theory； the relationship between the original and the translation； intertextuality； equality and mutual supplement

【摘要】解构主义于上个世纪60年代在法国崛起，其代表人物是雅克·德里达。本文首先简要介绍了德里达的解构主义思想及其解构主义翻译理论；其次分析了德里达将解构主义思想引入翻译理论的原因；然后主要分析了德里达解构主义理论中原文与译文的关系。

【关键词】解构主义 德里达解构主义翻译理论 原文与译文的关系 互文性 对等与互补

I.Introduction

Deconstructualism is a post-modernist trend of thought that sprung up in France during the middle of 1960s.With deconstruction as its main feature， it systematically deconstructs constructualism.So it is called deconstructualism.Derrida， the representative of deconstructualism， overthrows the tradition of western constructualism whose another name is logocentrism.The most basic deconstructive strategy of Derrida is to deconstruct the duality opposition of traditional philosophy.

II.Derrida Introduces His Deconstructive Thoughts into Translation Theory

According to Derrida， deconstructualism is closely related to translation.The concept of his “differance” is to show some unpredictable phenomena in translation and to show that the traditional invariable relationships between signifier and signified in linguistics and translation and between langue and parole can not maintain the present condition.

III.Derridas Deconstructive Translation Theory

After introducing his deconstructive philosophy thoughts into translation theory， Derrida creates deconstructive viewpoints of translation： the original is dependent upon the translation； without translation， the original ceased to exist； the survival of the original depends not on any particular quality it contains， but on the qualities which are contained in its translation； the definition of a texts meaning was determined not by the original but by the translation； the original has no fixed identity but changes each time it passes into translation； a text can only survive through repeated translation and rereading.It is the characteristics of its translation rather than of the original itself that determine the texts survival.The translation is the afterlife of a text.The text is endowed with the new meaning and obtains its new life through translation.

Ⅳ.The Relationship between the Original Text and the Translated Text in Derridas Deconstruction Theory

The deconstructive translation theory views the relationship between the original and the translation in the following aspects.

1.The original is closely connected with the translation by virtue of its translatability

Benjamin believes that no translation， however good it may be， can have any signification as to the original.Yet， due to its translatability the original is closely related to the translation： in fact， this connection is all the closer since it is no longer of importance to the original.（Benjamin， Walter， 1923） Then， he adds that this connection is a natural one， and a translation issue from the original---not so much from its life as from its afterlife.Translation does not so much serve the work as owe their existence to it.So， in regard to the relationship between the original and the translation， it cannot be understood from natural process， considering the translation similar to the original， but from the translation to the original.

2.The relationship between the original and the translation is equal and mutual supplementary.

In Derridas opinion， all the texts have “intertextuality”.In translation， because of the transformation of languages， the “cultural context” under which the original text exists reconstructs and translation open a new history of text in a new body and new culture.In this sense， translated text is not the representation of the original.It is not that the translation depends on the original text but that the original depends on its translation which can bring new readers and new life to it.The translation is the afterlife of the original， and translators task is to continue the originals life.And the originals life expands and continues in the sense of time and space.Thus， to each literary work， the more opportunities it is translated， the stronger its vitality is.Therefore， the relationship between the original and the translation is equal and mutual supplementary， but not principal and subordinate.To the original， the translated text does not change on sense or content but change just on language.Translation is to show the difference and differance between different languages.According to Derrida， translation is actually a series of different chains of signification of a text under another context – including the “original” and its translation in a symbiotic relationship – mutually supplementing each other， defining and redefining a phantasm of sameness.The deconstructive “intertextual” denies difference between the original and the translation， and also denies the authority of the original， that is to say， creation or translation are just translation of translations.Since the relationship between the translation and the original is intertextual， then they are same and are all equal and mutual supplementary works.

3.The translation is not necessary to be faithful to the original

Deconstructive translation theory criticizes traditional translation approach of fidelity to the original.Fidelity seems to be no longer serviceable to a translation theory.As regards the meaning， the language of a translation must show the intention of the original not as reproduction but as harmony.Therefore， its easy to see that the Utopia of pursuing the “original meaning” proposed by traditional translation studies has been completely broken by deconstructive translation theory.In the view of deconstructive translation theory， each explanation to the text reveals one profile of the original， so their existence is fair and reasonable， and all of those explanations compose approximately the totality of the intention of the original， but they can never be equal to the original.Thus， according to deconstructive translation theory， truth is never accessible and translation objectivity is merely illusive.

4.The authority of the original was overturned

Traditional translation theories value such notions of both the authorship and the primitive status of an original text.An alternative was offered by deconstruction to revalue these notions and even to shatter such traditional notions.Deconstructionists argue that original texts are constantly being rewritten in the present and each reading/translation reconstructs the original text.Derrida（Gentzler， 1993： 165） applies Walter Benjamins concept of the “survival” of language to explain how translation modifies or supplements the original.The source text survives vie its mutation and transformation.And the original is also modified – it grows， matures - in its renewal.

5.The traditional duality oppositional relationship between the original text and the translated text is severely attacked

According to Derrida， there is not static two opposing extremes.He rejects traditional western philosophy “the duality oppositional logic”， but advocates applying a new kind of logic， that is “additional and supplementary logic”.Traditional “duality oppositional logic” is limited on “either … or …”， conversely， Derridas “additional and supplementary logic” sticks to “both … and …”.In traditional translation theory， the original and the translation are always in a relationship of duality opposition.Over a long period of time， people always use the analogy of “master and servant” or “stencil and copy” to describe the relationship between the original text and the translated text.Under the attack of deconstructualism， the duality opposition of traditional translation theory is deconstructed.According to deconstructive text theory， all the texts have “intertextuality” whose concept not only completely destroys the illusion of literary originality， but also overthrows the authority of the original.Therefore， there is no difference between the original and the translation.Owing to the new logic， deconstructualism liberates the translated text from the plight of submitting the original.It reads the translated text as an independent text from a new interpretive perspective， and then deconstructs the duality oppositional relationship which exists in traditional translation theory over a long period of time.

V.Conclusion

Therefore， deconstructualism completely overthrows traditional translation theory and completely denies traditional relationship between the original text and the translated text.It creates a new relationship of equality and mutual supplement.

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作者简介：李雪萍（1984-）， 女，甘肃靖远人，甘肃农业大学外语学院讲师，研究方向：翻译理论与实践。