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A Sociological Study into the Impact of Capital on Moss Roberts’ Translation—Three Kingdoms: A Historical Novel

Received: 26 August 2024     Accepted: 10 September 2024     Published: 26 September 2024
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Abstract

The study of translation has undergone a shift from language-level analysis to a cultural turn and, subsequently, a return to a more macroscopic social perspective. As social research in translation primarily targets external factors, it falls under centrifugal research in translation studies. To sustain the vitality of translation studies, there is a need for a balanced approach, combining centrifugal research with centripetal research. Moss Roberts’ translation of San Guo Yan Yi is initiated by China Foreign Language Press and co-published by China and the US presses in 1991. It is considered the most academic complete English version of San Guo Yan Yi. Drawing on the social practice theory of French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, this study analyzes Moss Roberts’ translation practices of and the influence of capital in the English translation and dissemination field. It attempts a micro-level and reverse study of sociological aspects of translation by examining three key aspects: the influence of cultural capital, the impact of social capital, and the manipulation of power capital. The results showed that Moss Roberts’ translation practices are deeply influenced by his cultural, social and power capital. Among them, his cultural capital enables the translation to be academic; his social capital empowers it to be accurate and faithful; and his power capital manipulates it where religious information arises.

Published in International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation (Volume 10, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijalt.20241003.11
Page(s) 36-43
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Social Perspective, Capital, Moss Roberts’ Translation, San Guo Yan Yi

References
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[3] Heilbron, J. Responding to globalization: The development of book translations in France and the Netherlands. In Beyond Descriptive Translation Studies, Pym, A., Shlesinger, M. and Simeoni, D., Ed., John Benjamins Publishing Company: Amsterdam, Netherlands/Philadelphia, US; 2008, pp. 187-197.
[4] Casanova, P. Consecration and accumulation of literary capital: Translation as unequal exchange. In The Translation Studies Reader, Fourth Edition, Venuti, L., Ed., Routledge: London, UK and New York, US; 2021, pp. 407-423.
[5] Song, X. Z. On Contributions by Translators to the Development of Communication Studies in China: A Case Study on He Daokuan. Ph.D. Thesis, Fujian Normal University, 2017.
[6] Xin, H. J., Fei, Z. Y. Rethinking Translation from a Bourdieusian Sociological Perspective: Euclid’s Elements of Geometry Translated by Xu Guangqi and Matteo Ricci. Foreign Languages and Cultures. 2018, 2(4), 79-88.
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  • APA Style

    Gao, Y. (2024). A Sociological Study into the Impact of Capital on Moss Roberts’ Translation—Three Kingdoms: A Historical Novel. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation, 10(3), 36-43. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20241003.11

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    Gao, Y. A Sociological Study into the Impact of Capital on Moss Roberts’ Translation—Three Kingdoms: A Historical Novel. Int. J. Appl. Linguist. Transl. 2024, 10(3), 36-43. doi: 10.11648/j.ijalt.20241003.11

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    AMA Style

    Gao Y. A Sociological Study into the Impact of Capital on Moss Roberts’ Translation—Three Kingdoms: A Historical Novel. Int J Appl Linguist Transl. 2024;10(3):36-43. doi: 10.11648/j.ijalt.20241003.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijalt.20241003.11,
      author = {Yuedan Gao},
      title = {A Sociological Study into the Impact of Capital on Moss Roberts’ Translation—Three Kingdoms: A Historical Novel
    },
      journal = {International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation},
      volume = {10},
      number = {3},
      pages = {36-43},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijalt.20241003.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20241003.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijalt.20241003.11},
      abstract = {The study of translation has undergone a shift from language-level analysis to a cultural turn and, subsequently, a return to a more macroscopic social perspective. As social research in translation primarily targets external factors, it falls under centrifugal research in translation studies. To sustain the vitality of translation studies, there is a need for a balanced approach, combining centrifugal research with centripetal research. Moss Roberts’ translation of San Guo Yan Yi is initiated by China Foreign Language Press and co-published by China and the US presses in 1991. It is considered the most academic complete English version of San Guo Yan Yi. Drawing on the social practice theory of French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, this study analyzes Moss Roberts’ translation practices of and the influence of capital in the English translation and dissemination field. It attempts a micro-level and reverse study of sociological aspects of translation by examining three key aspects: the influence of cultural capital, the impact of social capital, and the manipulation of power capital. The results showed that Moss Roberts’ translation practices are deeply influenced by his cultural, social and power capital. Among them, his cultural capital enables the translation to be academic; his social capital empowers it to be accurate and faithful; and his power capital manipulates it where religious information arises.
    },
     year = {2024}
    }
    

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    AB  - The study of translation has undergone a shift from language-level analysis to a cultural turn and, subsequently, a return to a more macroscopic social perspective. As social research in translation primarily targets external factors, it falls under centrifugal research in translation studies. To sustain the vitality of translation studies, there is a need for a balanced approach, combining centrifugal research with centripetal research. Moss Roberts’ translation of San Guo Yan Yi is initiated by China Foreign Language Press and co-published by China and the US presses in 1991. It is considered the most academic complete English version of San Guo Yan Yi. Drawing on the social practice theory of French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, this study analyzes Moss Roberts’ translation practices of and the influence of capital in the English translation and dissemination field. It attempts a micro-level and reverse study of sociological aspects of translation by examining three key aspects: the influence of cultural capital, the impact of social capital, and the manipulation of power capital. The results showed that Moss Roberts’ translation practices are deeply influenced by his cultural, social and power capital. Among them, his cultural capital enables the translation to be academic; his social capital empowers it to be accurate and faithful; and his power capital manipulates it where religious information arises.
    
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