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Series:   Elements in Translation and Interpreting

An Extraordinary Chinese Translation of Holocaust Testimony

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 November 2024

Meiyuan Zhao
Meiyuan Zhao
Affiliation:
Peking University

Summary

This Element focuses on two Holocaust testimonies translated into Chinese by translator, Gao Shan. They deserve attention for the highly unorthodox approach Gao adopted and the substantial alterations he made to the original texts. The study begins by narrating the circumstances that led to these translations, then goes on to explore Gao's views on translation, his style, additions to the original accounts, and the affective dynamics of his translation activity. The author draws on concepts from sociology, memory studies, and sociolinguistics to frame the discussion and highlight the ethical concerns inevitably involved in Gao's work. Without minimizing the moral responsibility of faithful transmission that Holocaust material should always impose, the author wants to show how Gao sometimes sacrifices strict accuracy in his desire to make the survivors' experiences intelligible to a prospective audience wholly unacquainted with the Holocaust.
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Keywords

HolocausttestimonyChinesetranslationstance
Type
Element
Information
Series: Elements in Translation and Interpreting
Online ISBN: 9781009549844
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication: 09 January 2025

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An Extraordinary Chinese Translation of Holocaust Testimony
  • Meiyuan Zhao, Peking University
  • Online ISBN: 9781009549844
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An Extraordinary Chinese Translation of Holocaust Testimony
  • Meiyuan Zhao, Peking University
  • Online ISBN: 9781009549844
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An Extraordinary Chinese Translation of Holocaust Testimony
  • Meiyuan Zhao, Peking University
  • Online ISBN: 9781009549844
Available formats
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