Survival, Responsibility, and Competence: A Study of Howard Goldblatt’s Translator Behavior from the Perspective of Eco-Translatology

This study examines Howard Goldblatt’s English translation of Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out through the perspective of Eco-translatology, investigating the translator’s behavior across three dimensions: survival, responsibility, and competence. The research focuses on how the translator mediates the contradictions between the source and target languages within the ecological systems. In the survival dimension, the translator ensures “survival” by adhering to ecological ethics and regulating his own behavior. In the responsibility dimension, the translator is tasked with harmonizing the relationships among the translator community, the text, and the eco-translation environment. In the competence dimension, the translation not only reflects Howard Goldblatt’s translational competence but also, in turn, contributes to the development of translator competence. By tracing the ecological interaction among “survival-responsibility-competence,” this study reveals how Howard Goldblatt, as a cultural mediator, internalizes eco-translation ethics to guide and regulate his behavior, thereby achieving “survival,” fulfilling the responsibility throughout the entire translation process, demonstrating the eco-translational competence and developing his translational competence to further improve his survival condition within the translational eco-environment. This forms a positive cycle, ensuring the survival and sustainability of the text in the target ecological environment.