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Translation and English in twentieth–century China
Author(s) -
Hung Eva
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
world englishes
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.6
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1467-971X
pISSN - 0883-2919
DOI - 10.1111/1467-971x.00252
Subject(s) - china , phenomenon , history , linguistics , cultural translation , translation studies , literature , sociology , art , philosophy , epistemology , archaeology
Twentieth century China saw unprecedented attempts at cultural change and rejuvenation through the transfer of foreign knowledge, and translation played a role in almost all aspects of this development. Except for a short period under the PRC, English was the dominant source language for this transfer. This paper gives a brief historical background to the causes for the emergence of translation as a key to national survival and cultural change. It then focuses on three of the most significant translation–related phenomena in twentieth–century China: (1) the role of fiction translation (and later literary translation) as a vehicle for cultural change and construction; (2) the phenomenon of translating out of the mother tongue, i.e. Chinese, into English; and (3) the relationship between translation and learning English.