Abstract:
As part of a research project on translation, the paper investigates and studies both Chinese and Western metaphors of translation that have appeared since classical times. Based on the more than 260 Chinese and English language metaphors that have been collected by the investigator in the research, the paper takes a diachronic and descriptive view of issues, and offers some in-depth analyses and discussions of how metaphors can serve as an important window on the ways in which we see translation.
About the Speaker:
Dr Tan Zaixi, Research Fellow at the Centre for Translation, teaches in the Translation Programme of HKBU as Scholar-in-Residence. He concurrently holds an honorary professorship and PhD programme supervisorship at Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou.
Dr Tan is the author of some 12 books and more than 50 papers on a wide range of topics in language and translation studies. His major publications include A Short History of Translation in the West: Revised Edition (2004), The Science of Translation (2000), A New Edition of Nida on Translation (1999), “Chinese and English metaphors in comparison: As seen from the translator’s perspective” (2004), “Chinese and Western traditions of translation: A comparative mapping and exploration” (2003), “Text and translation: Reflections on three important relationships” (2003), “Components of translation theory” (1998) and “Reflections on the Science of Translation” (1997). Among his translations, Kingsley Amis’ Lucky Jim won inclusion (1998) in the Yilin Publisher’s Famous Chinese Translations series of Modern and Contemporary World Literature.
Dr Tan’s current research interests are in translation theory, the comparative study of the Chinese and Western traditions of translation, and modern translation technology.