【作者】 刘明；

【导师】 苗菊；

【作者基本信息】 南开大学 ， 英语语言文学， 2013， 博士

【摘要】 本地化行业自20世纪80年代诞生以来发展迅速,已成为语言服务行业中最引人注目的板块。本地化翻译,即本地化行业内的翻译活动,与信息产业内的先进技术、先进生产组织形式紧密结合,代表了21世纪最先进的翻译生产力水平。本地化翻译已深度融入经济全球化活动,经济属性与商业逻辑凸显,提出了新的理论问题,有待翻译学界解决。本研究因此选取本地化翻译为研究对象,具有理论和实践双重意义。理论上,以本地化翻译为样本,可以思考解释翻译活动在经济全球化进程中的变迁发展；实践中,考察本地化翻译可以探知社会对译者的需求趋向,从而更新翻译教育,培养适应信息时代实践需求的人才。本研究探究和描写本地化翻译的生产过程和生产要素,主体部分共7章,完成了4个子研究：1)描写论述本地化翻译实践的过程与内容,理清本地化翻译与经济全球化、跨国企业经营、语言服务行业的关系,并归纳本地化翻译活动的特征；2)提出“本地化翻译是一个经济生产过程”,探究其经济需求之源,借助信息经济学的视角和理论成果,解释本地化翻译的价值来源及使用价值的实现方式,说明翻译技术工具进步和翻译生产组织方式转变对翻译生产力的促进作用；3)阐明作为人力资本的译者能力的生产和供给机制,剖析我国翻译人力资本的供求矛盾和解决途径；4)论证翻译研究的经济学范式的可行性。本研究得到以下研究成果：1)描写本地化翻译实践。语言服务行业分为7个子版块,本地化是其中重要板块,与其他几个板块关联紧密,且市场份额巨大。经济全球化使跨国公司走向全球经营,其全球化的产品开发分为国际化和本地化两个流程,翻译是本地化流程的一个环节。本地化翻译区别于文学、典籍翻译等传统的翻译实践,整体特征为经济驱动和技术至上,体现在发起者、文本、译者、质量标准4个方面。2)论证作为生产过程的本地化翻译。跨国公司将产品针对具体区域市场进行本地化,是因为区域市场的文化、语言、法律、消费者习俗要求。跨国公司是本地化翻译活动的发起者,其降低成本、提高效率的商业逻辑决定了本地化行业其他主体的行为。本地化翻译将一种语言承载的信息转换成另一种语言承载的信息,是信息产品生产过程的一个环节。在生产过程中,译者的翻译劳动创造、转移价值。本地化翻译的使用价值在于降低了跨国公司的平均生产成本、交易费用,降低了消费者的交易费用。翻译技术工具进步、翻译生产组织形式转变促进本地化行业翻译生产力进步。翻译技术工具的发展历经了计算机辅助翻译工具和语言基础工程两个阶段,能够降低生产过程中的人工成本、边际成本及平均成本。为了应对跨国公司提高产量、降低成本的持续要求,语言服务商将基于分工、协作和管理的大规模生产方式引入翻译项目生产过程中。3)分析翻译生产的人力资本供求。在信息经济生产过程中,人力资本是最重要的生产资料。翻译生产中使用的人力资本就是译者能力,以能力为导向的翻译教育是发展译者能力的途径。由于学制年限制约,学校教育受生产可能性边界制约,培养的译者能力水平是有限制的。我国翻译人力市场的矛盾表现为两个方面：供求机制失效导致结构性过剩：对于学校教育期待过高而忽视企业在人才培养中的责任。产学结合人才培养、加强企业内训、完善职业资格认证体系是解决翻译人力资本供求矛盾的可能途径。4)论述翻译研究的经济学范式的可行性。以本地化翻译为代表的新的翻译实践形态兴起,要求翻译研究更新理论,以反映社会现实。以库恩的范式理论为标准,翻译研究史上出现了语文学范式、语言学范式、文化范式、认知范式4个范式。新的实践提出了原有范式都无法回答的理论问题,翻译研究因而处于范式的反常和危机期,呼唤新的范式。新范式借鉴经济学的基本视角、理论框架、研究方法。对照范式5要素,该范式的共同信念、基本问题、方法论已经确立,具体问题不断显现,学术共同体已经存在,翻译研究的经济学范式初具雏形,显示出理论潜力。本研究是以全新的理论视角研究新的翻译现象的探索性尝试。在翻译的语言、文化属性之外,揭示了翻译活动的经济属性,深化了对翻译活动本质属性的认识；对翻译工具、生产组织、人力资本等生产要素的深入研究,揭示了社会实践的现状与需求,为革新翻译教育提供了依据；对翻译研究的经济学范式的论证,前瞻了翻译研究新的发展方向。更多还原

【Abstract】 Localization industry has been growing rapidly since its inception in1980s, and is now the most prominent sector of language services industry. Translation in Localization (TIL) refers to the translating activities involved in the localization industry. Bound with advanced technology and production organization in information industry, TIL represents the highest level of translating productivity in the21century. Deeply involved in the economic globalization process, TIL features on its economic nature and business logic. New theoretical questions arising from TIL practice call for the attention from translation studies academia. This thesis, with TIL as its research subject, is of both theoretical and practical significance:theoretically, TIL could be used as a good sample to investigate the change and transformation of translating practice in the background of economic globalization; in practice, a study of TIL could help us to figure out newly-raised professional demands on translators, so that translation education could be renewed to cater to the need.This thesis explores and describes the production process of TIL and studies related production factors in detail. In the main body of this study, which consists of seven chapters (from Chapter2to Chapter8), four sub-researches are carried out:1) it describes the operation procedures of TIL as well as its relationship with economic globalization, operation of multinational corporations and language services industry, and summarizes the features of TIL;2) it argues that "TIL is an economic activity" and supports this argument by analyzing the value and use value of TIL within the theoretical framework of information economics, and by illustrating that upgrading translation technologies and reforming translation production organization contribute to the progress of translating productivity;3) it explains how translation competence is produced and supplied as human capital, and investigates the contradiction between supply and demand in China’s translation labor market;4) it discusses the possibility and potential of a new paradigm called economic paradigm in Translation Studies.The research results can be summarized as follows:1) A description of TIL practice. As an important sector generating large revenue, localization industry is closely connected to the other six sectors of language services industry. Economic globalization makes companies going global. There are two steps to go to develop globalized products:internationalization and localization. Translation is an integrated step in the localization process. Highly profit-motivated and technology-centered, TIL differentiates itself from literary or canonical translation in four aspects:initiator, text, translator and quality standard.2)TIL as a production process. Multinational corporations localize their products to break cultural, linguistic, legislative, and customary barriers in locales. They initiate TIL by funding localization projects. Their business logic to reduce cost and pursue efficiency determines the performance of other parties in localization industry. TIL transforms information carried in one language into information carried in another language. This activity constitutes a link in the whole chain of producing information product. Translators’work creates and transfers value; the use value of TIL is realized in reducing the average cost and transaction cost on the part of multinational corporations, and transaction cost on the part of customers. The improvement of translation technologies and reform of translation production organization have a positive effect on translating productivity. Translation technology tools have progressed from Computer Assisted Translation tools to Linguistic Infrastructure. The application of technology tools to production process can help to reduce labor cost, marginal cost and average cost. In order to cater to the clients’ ever-increasing demand on throughput and cost, language services providers employ mass production, which is based on division of labor, cooperation and management.3) The supply-demand mechanism of translation human capital. Human capital is the most important factor of production in the information-economic production. Competence-based translation education is the way to produce human capital used in translating production, i. e. translation competence. School education is restricted by its production possibility frontier. That’s to say, it cannot nurture translation competence to unrestricted high level because of limited length of education. The translating labor market in China faces two problems:structural surplus resulted from malfunctioned supply and demand mechanism; excessive expectation on school education vs. little responsibility on on-the-job training. The cooperation between schools and companies, emphasis on on-the-job training and reform in certification system are possible ways out.4) The possibility and potential of economic paradigm of translation studies. New forms of translating practice, represented by TIL, require Translation Studies to renew itself to reflect the social reality. With Thomas Kuhn’s paradigm as a criterion, four paradigms could be recognized in the history of Translation Studies:philological paradigm, linguistic paradigm, cultural paradigm and cognitive paradigm. Theoretical questions newly arising from TIL cannot be answered in the previous four paradigms. Translation Studies is now in the abnormal and crisis stage and thus calls for a new paradigm. The new paradigm could borrow from economics its perspective, theoretical framework and methodology. Out of the five elements constituting a paradigm, this new paradigm has established its common belief, model problems and methodology, has found concrete research questions and formed a community of researchers. A new paradigm, which could be named economic paradigm, has almost come into being and has shown its potential.This thesis is an innovative study, which studies a new translation phenomenon from a new theoretical perspective. It reveals the economic nature of translating activity apart from its linguistic and cultural nature, and thus broadens and deepens our understanding of the nature of translation; the detailed studies on the factors of production such as translation technologies, production organization and human capital make clear the status quo in social practice and the demand on translators, providing the basis for the reform in translation education; the exploration of the new paragidm of translation studies, i. e. economic paradigm, predicts the future trend in translation studies.更多还原