Translator Habitus of Ku Hungming from the Perspective of Social PraxeologyA Case Study of the English Translation of The Discourses and Sayings of Confucius

Grounded in the Social Praxeology of Bourdieu, this study examines the English translation of Ku Hungming’s The Discourses and Sayings of Confucius from the perspective of habitus. It explores the habitus developed by Ku Hungming through his education, work, and social experiences, and its influence on his translation strategies. The study found that Ku’s own unique social experience prompted him to form the translator habitus of studying Chinese literature and promoting traditional Chinese culture, as well as emphasizing the readers’ reading experience and his faithfulness to the original works. Its influence on translation practice is mainly reflected in the flexible adoption of translation strategies such as interpretive translation, adaptive translation and approximate translation.