Reflections on After Babel： Aspects of Language and Translation

【Abstract】The publication of his book After Babel： Aspects of Language and Translation in 1975， which was a landmark in the field of translation and linguistics and the first systematical study in translation theory since the 1800s in western academic circles， brought George Steiner worldwide attention. This paper will mainly introduce the hermeneutic motion of After Babel： Aspects of Language and Translation and present application of Steiners hermeneutic motion in analyzing translators subjectivity.

【Key words】After Babel： Aspects of Language and Translation； George Steiner； hermeneutic motion

1. The origin of Tower of Babel

To understand what the author intended to convey in this book， it is worth explaining the title of this book. The Tower of Babel is from the Old Testament of the Bible. In Genesis the Chapter 11 it explains that in the beginning， “The whole earth had a common language and a common vocabulary” （Genesis 11：1）， later the people on the earth came up with an ambitious idea， “then they said， ‘Come， lets build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens so that we may make a name for ourselves. Otherwise we will be scattered across the face of the entire earth” （Genesis 11：4）. However， the arrogance and pride of mankind were detested by God the Creator， for they were challenging Gods authority. Therefore， the Lord confused the language of the entire world. That is why the city was called Babel， because the word “babel” means， confusing and hard to understand speech. With the knowledge of tower of the Tower of Babel， one deduces that this book is tackling issue of language. After Babel， people were speaking different languages thus， in order to understand and communicate with each other they had to translate what they heard. In such an instance， to understand is to translate. The engaging background to the very title of this book provokes intriguing thoughts and associations for the reader， even before one has began to read it.

2. Language and translation

Steiner starts his book with a monologue from Posthumus in Act Ⅱ of Cymbeline， a work of Shakespeares. To understand the meaning of this work， the author points out that we need to explain individual words in terms of lexical level， historical elements and syntactic aspects. However it is not enough to produce a full understanding of the utterances within. Language is in perpetual change， “any thorough reading of a text out of the past of ones own language and literature is a manifold act of interpretation” （Steiner， 2001：18）. When we read or hear any message from the past， we translate. However， the translation from different generations will not be the same due to the changes of time and environment. A human being performs an act of translation when receiving a speech-message from any other human being. Therefore， inside or between languages， human communication equals translation （Steiner， 2001：49）. A study of translation is a study of language.

3. Hermeneutic motion

One of the most important views that Steiner contributed to the field of translation， from my point of view， is hermeneutic motion. The author thought that there are four motions in the process of translation： trust， aggression， import， and compensation.

Trust is the first motion of translation. Translators already experience this motion before they start to translate. The reason why one article or book is chosen to be translated is that the translator regards it as a work of value and worth translating so that people can get some ideas from it and exchange their opinions. All activities of understanding， namely all activities of translation， have to begin with the first motion； Trust. To trust is to make a choice. The second motion， aggression， is to invade the source text， overcoming the barriers of language， culture， history， and psychology， and extract the main idea. For translation between two different languages， the violence of aggression will be more obvious. Saint Hieronymus metaphorically explains that the translator captures the meaning of the source text and brings it home. The first motion is to weight the value of the source text， while the second motion emphasizes that understanding is needed in communication. Understanding is translating. After the second motion， the meaning of the source text which is already full of its own words and meaning， will be imported into target language in a holistic way. The last motion is compensation. The translator loses his balance when he chooses a source text to translate because as it is mentioned in the first motion that he is inclined to it and he has some sort of interests in the source text， that is to say the translator has his own understanding of it already. Later， when the translator imports the meaning he extracts the more significant part from the source text， therefore the source text is not integrated anymore. In turn， the translator tries to achieve a balance by trying to be as faithful as he can and as he must. The translator must be willing to give back to the source text as much as he has taken.

The hermeneutic motion that Steiner presented to readers really emphasizes the subjectivity of the translator in the course of translating a source text， from the first motion trust to aggression， import and finally compensation.

4. Case study of hermeneutic motion and the translators subjectivity

Since Steiner provided hermeneutic motion for the process of translation， a case study should be undertaken to practice its use in translation. Here the English translation Liao Songs of the Zhuang ethnic group in Guannxi will be explained by using hermeneutic motion. Liao Songs are carriers of custom， culture， history and art of the local Zhuang people， which are precious pieces of heritage left by Zhuang ancestors and also an exotic flower of culture of ethnic groups in China. In 2011， the English version of Liao Songs was published. The translation group from Baise College in Guangxi devoted their time and energy to translating Liao Songs.

The first step of translation is trust. The translator of Baise College must think that Liao Song are a valuable part of Zhuang culture， aiming to protect and pass down the culture and spread the spirit of the Zhuang people， therefore， they decided to translate them into English. They started with an act of trust. In second and third step， the translators are invading the source text and attempting to grasp the meaning of it. After that they import the meaning into the target language.

For example， in the War of Songs of Liao Songs， as a man is leaving to fight in a war， he sings to his loved one：

我举步出征，莫给鸡断骨，鸡骨中间断，此去难再回。（罗汉田，2008：153）

Now I have to leave， dont break up the mirror；

When the mirrors broken， never can I return I fear.（周艳鲜，2012：166）

Here he is telling about his worries of not coming back， but also of his hope of seeing his lover again. Translators can extract the meaning of this sentence， which is the mans fear of never returning home is evident. Then the meaning is imported to the target language. However， the translator doesnt use a literal translation of 雞断骨， referring to chicken bones， but uses a mirror instead. Such a decision involved compensation motion and the translators subjectivity. Ancient Zhuang people use chicken bones to predict their fate， but English countries dont understand this concept or have this belief. Thus， the translator used mirror to replace chicken bone because westerners also have this superstition that breaking a mirror brings bad luck. The translator makes a decision not to alienate the culture of the Zhuang in order to target readers， which is a proof of the translators subjectivity.

5. Conclusion

Firstly， I think in nowadays for some translator the choice of the source text is not under their control because they might be paid to do the job. Therefore they might not have an act of trust involved when translating. Secondly， I doubt the idea of understanding as translation， for it is not comprehensive enough. Understanding is very important in the process of translation， but when a translator understands a source text it does not mean that he has already translated it. In addition to understanding the source text， a translator needs to express it in the target language with consideration of the cultural， historical， and psychological differences between the two languages. Last but not least， translation is not an art； actually it is a performer with chains on his legs and hands dancing on the rope. These thoughts of mine are a reflection of my own limited understanding of the text， which no doubt has flaws， and thus， I may not have “translated” this book very well. There is still room for improvement in this realm.

I am totally amazed by Steiners writing. His excellent way of explaining his ideas is very logical and nuanced. Steiner no doubt has a vast knowledge of linguistics and culture， which makes his writing take on an aura of authority in this realm. This book is almost like an encyclopedia of translation history of the western world. I would like to read it again or even several times in order to absorb and reflect further on the ideas discussed within.

参考文献：

[1]Steiner G，After Babel：Aspects of Language and Translation [M].Shanghai，Shanghai Foreign Language Education press，2001.

[2]The Holy Bible，New International Version[M].Grand Rapids：Zondervan，2005.

[3]周鲜艳，广西壮族嘹歌壮语英译策略研究[J].广西大学民族大学学报，2012（05）.

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[5]乔治·斯坦纳著.庄绛传编译.通天塔——文学翻译理论研究[M].北京：中国对外翻译出版公司，1987.

作者简介：陶子凤（1990.4.5），女，壮，广西武鸣人，广西大学外国语学院研究生，外国语言文学专业，翻译学方向。