Difference between revisions of "20220630 Culture 4"
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*[[20220630_Culture_8]] papers 71-80: 71 日语笔译 胡梦琪 Hu Mengqi 202170081633, 72 日语笔译 张白鹭 Zhang Bailu 202170081634, 73 朝鲜语笔译 刘安莉 Liu Anli 202170081635, 74 朝鲜语笔译 王思佳 Wang Sijia 202170081636, 75 朝朝鲜语笔译 徐盖 Xu Gai 202170081638, 76 朝鲜语笔译 徐文慧 Xu Wenhui 202170081639, 77 外国语言文学 Akira Jantarat 202121080009, 78 比较文学与跨文化研究 Mahzad 202021080004, 79 英语语言文学 Mimi 2020GBJ002301 | *[[20220630_Culture_8]] papers 71-80: 71 日语笔译 胡梦琪 Hu Mengqi 202170081633, 72 日语笔译 张白鹭 Zhang Bailu 202170081634, 73 朝鲜语笔译 刘安莉 Liu Anli 202170081635, 74 朝鲜语笔译 王思佳 Wang Sijia 202170081636, 75 朝朝鲜语笔译 徐盖 Xu Gai 202170081638, 76 朝鲜语笔译 徐文慧 Xu Wenhui 202170081639, 77 外国语言文学 Akira Jantarat 202121080009, 78 比较文学与跨文化研究 Mahzad 202021080004, 79 英语语言文学 Mimi 2020GBJ002301 | ||
| − | ==英语笔译 | + | ==英语笔译 李颖 Li Ying 202170081578== |
| + | <center>'''Overview on Miaoyu'''</center> | ||
| − | <center> | + | <center>Li Ying</center> |
| − | + | ===Abstract=== | |
| − | + | Miao language is the carrier of Hmong culture which is an important part of the brilliant Chinese culture. Therefore, Miao language and Hmong culture is the largest responsibility for all of us. Through the understanding of the motivation of studying Miao, the origin of the name "Miao," the formation and development of Miao, the distribution of Miao and the characteristics of Miao language, we can arouse people's attention to Miao language and Miao nationality, so as to take effective measures to inherit and protect Miao language in a timely manner. | |
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| − | + | ===Keywords=== | |
| + | Miaoyu,Hmong,the formation and development of Miao, the distribution of Miao,the characteristics of Miao language | ||
| − | === | + | ===Literature Review=== |
| + | In our country, before the founding of New China, there have been people who have investigated and studied the Miao language and characters, and published investigation reports or research papers.For example, in January 1917, Zhuang Qi's Outline of Miao Wen was published in Volume 14, No.1, Oriental Magazine.In 1933, Shi Qigui, a Miao scholar, assisted Ling Chunsheng and Rui Yifu, famous ethnologists in China, to investigate and study the Miao nationality in western Hunan. Since then, he continued to investigate and study the Miao nationality area in western Hunan. In 1940, he wrote the Investigation Report of Xiangxi Indigenous Nationalities. In 1951, he wrote Introduction to Xiangxi Brothers. | ||
| − | + | After the founding of new China ，there were some investigation and study of miao language, some linguists began to attach importance to the investigation and study of miao language.For example, Wang Fushi in "Chinese Journal" in 1952, 6, published the "Miao Language Reform Problem"; After the birth of Miao language in 1956, in order to meet the needs of the promotion of Miao language, in 1958, the Concise Dictionary of Miao and Han in the central dialect and the Concise Dictionary of Miao and Han in the western dialect were published.In the short period after the birth of the Miao language, experts and scholars published many research papers, but the good times did not last long. After three years of natural disasters and the influence of extreme "left" ideological trends, coupled with the civil strife of the "Cultural Revolution," the promotion of the Miao language was forced to suspend, and the Miao language and characters were temporarily left untouched.Until 1978, after the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was held, the Party's ethnic policy and ethnic language policy were implemented again, and Miao Wencai resumed🧪 implementation and won a second life. | |
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| − | + | During the reform and opening-up period, a large number of works on the study of Miao language and characters emerged.The first is to compile and publish the Miao Han Dictionary and other reference books of various dialects;the second is to publish many research works on Miao language, and the third is to publish many research papers. During the 30 years of reform and opening-up, great achievements have been made in language, vocabulary and grammar.In addition, there are many achievements in the study of Miao language in the aspects of bilingual teaching of Miao and Han, the unity of Miao language and culture, and the unity of Miao characters. | |
| − | + | At the same time, the language of Miao nationality has also aroused great interest of some foreign scholars.As early as the beginning of the 20th century in 1902, the Japanese Torii Longzang travel southwest provinces in China,made a field survey about miao life. The following year he returned to Japan and compose a book named the Miao Survey Report, the fourth chapter discusses the Miao Language.In 1947, Zhang Kun, a Chinese American, published a paper entitled "Tone Problems in Miao and Yao Dialects," which laid the foundation for tone comparison in Miao dialects.Since the reform and opening up, especially after the 90s, more and more foreign scholars came to China to study the Miao language. In the early 90s, Joak in Enwall of Stockholm University, Sweden (Han name:Yan Youqing) studied the Miao language at the Central University for Nationalities. After returning to Guizhou, he wrote a book entitled Myth Becomes Reality-History and Development of Miao Language (Part 1 and Part 2). Guizhou is the base camp of the Miao people in China and even the world. More foreign scholars have come to Guizhou to study the Miao language. | |
| − | === | + | ===Methods and Theories=== |
| − | + | This research mainly adopts the literature method, the Miao nationality has a long history of development.If we want to understand the basic situation of Miao language, we must deeply understand the development history of the nation.Only in this way can we have a deeper understanding of the different vitality of language. | |
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| − | === | + | ===Subtitle 1：The Motivation of the Miaoyu=== |
| − | + | In the 1930s, some scholars in the United States began to pay attention to the mass extinction of American Indian languages and Australian Aboriginal languages, which led to a boom in the study of endangered languages.Endangered languages mostly are spoken by only one person, such as Apiaka and Diahoi in Brazil, Pazeh in China Taiwan, which were spoken by only one person until 2009. Similarly, China is a country with many ethnic minorities, so there will be many minority dialects, such as Mongolian, Hakka, Tujia dialect and so on. Language is not only a communicating tool, but also the inheritance of a national culture. Every language is an important embodiment and manifestation of a unique culture and ethnic characteristics of an ethnic group. Minority languages are also facing the same phenomenon, so I want to understand and study the language that is close to my life. | |
| − | === | + | ===Subtitle 2:Miao Nationality=== |
| + | 1.The Source of the Name “Miao” | ||
| − | + | There are different views among Chinese and foreign scholars on the reason for the use of "Miao" as the ethnic name of the Miao people.Foreign scholars believe that Miao is the uncultivated grass growing in a field, indicating that their indigenous tribes,a symbol of savage and uncivilization, were living there before the arrival of the Han nationality. | |
| − | + | 2.The Distribution of Miao Nationality | |
| − | + | (1)Domestic Distribution | |
| − | + | The Miao are a long-established, populous and widely distributed ethnic minority in China, and a cosmopolitan people who originate from China but continue to migrate and live across borders.Records of the Miao population have appeared in a number of documents and prescriptions as early as the Ming and Qing dynasties. According to the data of the sixth national census in 2010, the Miao are mainly distributed in Guizhou, Hunan, Yunnan, Chongqing, Guangxi, Hubei, Sichuan and other municipalities and autonomous regions in southwest and south-central China. The Miao in Guizhou province are mainly distributed in the autonomous regions of Qiandongnan Miao and Dong, Qiannan Buyi and Miao, Qiannan Buyi and Miao, as well as Bijie, Tongren, Anshun, and Zunyi, and thus the Miao language they speak is called the Eastern Miao language; the Miao in Hunan province are only distributed in the cities and counties of Jishou and Phoenix in Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture, the autonomous counties of Mayang and Jingzhou in Huaihua, and Shaoyang The Miao in Hunan Province are only found in Jishou and Phoenix in Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture, Mayang and Jingzhou in Huaihua and Shaoyang City. The Miao in Yunnan province are mainly distributed in Wenshan, Honghe and Zhaotong prefectures; the Miao in Chongqing are mainly distributed in Qianjiang district and three autonomous counties of Pengshui, Xiushan and Youyang; the Miao in Guangxi are mainly distributed in Rongshui, Longlin, Sanjiang, Resources, Xilin and Longsheng counties; the Miao in Hubei province are mainly distributed in Exi Tujia and Miao autonomous prefecture; the Miao in Sichuan province are mainly distributed in two areas of Yibin and Jialing. | |
| − | + | (2)Overseas Distribution | |
| − | + | The Hmong in foreign countries are mainly located in Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Burma, the United States, France, Canada, Australia, Argentina and other places. | |
| + | In Vietnam, most of the Hmong call themselves "Mon" Hmongb, and only a small part of them call themselves "Na Miao", and the Hmong branch in Vietnam can be divided into five main branches: "White" Hmong Hmongb dleub, who call themselves "Mon Dou"; "Black Hmong", who call themselves "Mona Hmongb Dlob; Hmong shib, which calls itself "Monsi"; "Flowering" or "Green", which calls itself "Monleng "Hmongbnzhuab; the Han Hmong call themselves Hmongb shuab. They usually live in the high mountain jungle with a sea area of 800-1700 meters, where the terrain is precipitous, with jagged rocks, high mountains and deep streams, narrow roads, and a subtropical monsoon climate with abundant rainfall in most areas and a rainy and dry season. | ||
| − | + | The religious beliefs of the Hmong in Southeast Asia are basically similar to those of the Hmong in China. Vietnamese Hmong scholars believe that the "five harmful ghosts" that can attach themselves to people are the most frightening. Once a person is found to be possessed by the "Five Harmful Ghosts", a ghost master must be called in immediately to cure the illness and drive away the ghosts. The Lao Hmong believe that there are spirits for everything, and there are spirits for water, fertilizer, roads, rice fields, hunting, stoves, living rooms, etc. Each family has its own unique god, and some people even believe that the god is their ancestor, and they have to meet with the god once a year. | |
| − | === | + | ===Subtitle 3:The origin of the Hmong and the historical formation of the Hmong=== |
| − | The | + | 1.Origin of the Miao |
| − | + | Due to the lack of exact historical evidence, posterity can only trace the origin of the Miao people from the historical memories of the Miao people in western Hunan. The first is the memory of the formation of heaven and earth. Based on the oral narratives of the Shishougui family, a Ba Dai family in Dongmaku Township, Huayuan County, Xiangxi, the domestic academic community has successively described the simple understanding of the Miao ancestors about the formation of heaven and earth, the emergence of human beings, the origin of civilization and the development of society. | |
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| − | + | There is also a romantic description of the appearance of the sun and the moon. In the ancient folk tale "The Story of the Nine Suns" and the folk narrative poem "The Story of Ban Dongchen", which are included in the folklore materials of western Hunan, the hero shoots the sun in a more complete plot. With the assistance of a falcon, an old bull, a big black dog and a gray rooster, Ming Naxiong shoots the golden and silver eggs, which are transformed into eight suns and moons, laid by the nine-headed monster bird on the sun tree, respectively. He eventually bends the marsang tree in the battle with the vicious fire bird and jumps into the moon, transforming into a star of enlightenment. The plot of "Moving the Moon" is slightly different. It tells the story of Liu Chun and Ah Xiu, a couple under Dali Mountain, who are determined to find the sun by riding a rooster when they learn that the sun has been locked into the cavern at the bottom of the sea by the devil king in Ter Mountain due to the flooding of their fields and the darkness of the earth. Liu Chun was killed, his son Jitai grew up and succeeded his father, with the help of the thousand-year-old eunuch, his father's spirit and the dragon king, he got the earth powder, killed the fox spirit who transformed into an old woman, and finally fought against the devil king, the brocade rooster pecked the devil's eye and rescued the imprisoned sun. | |
| − | + | The second is the memory of the origin of human beings, that is, the origin of the Hmong. According to the literature compiled by the scholars, in the ancient times, the two people in the sky were at odds with each other, so Wo Shou was imprisoned by Wo Bi, and he was able to get away by coaxing his children to send water and fire. A pair of children of Wo Bik were sheltered inside the melon seeds given by Wo Shou and were spared. When the flood receded, the two siblings married, a year after the birth of the child cut into a hundred pieces, respectively, thrown to various places, "a piece in the house, sealed as Wu; a piece on the Dragon Mountain, only to have the Dragon family line of people; a piece on the stone called stone; a piece on the hemp garden, he shouted into the hemp surname people; the last piece of nowhere to throw, it will be left in the dust,; later changed people on the surname Liao. From then on there are a hundred family names." | |
| − | + | 2.Historical formation of the Hmong | |
| − | + | This geographical distribution pattern of the Miao in China today is the result of numerous migrations in the history of the formation and development of the Miao people. According to scholars, from the historical documents of the Miao, "the Miao ancestors originally inhabited the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River in China, and migrated to the 'left Dongting' and 'right Pengli' areas during the 'Three Miao' era. ' of the river and lake plains. Later, due to wars and other reasons, they kept migrating south and west into the southwest mountains and the Yunnan-Guizhou plateau. Since the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Miao distribution has formed the present pattern". | |
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| − | + | The Miao have undergone five major migrations in their thousands of years of development history to form the present geographical distribution pattern, which has not only shaped the Miao's swarthy, tough, united and defiant national character, but also created a distinctive national culture with gorgeous and colorful music. | |
| − | + | Regarding the ethnic origin of the Miao, there are different views, but these views are summarized as follows: the indigenous people of Jianghuai, the south, the west, the north, and the "Jiu Li San Miao", among which the "Jiu Li San Miao" is the most influential. Miao ethnic origin can be traced back to the earliest ancient times to Chi You as the leader of the Jiu Li tribal alliance living in the lower and middle reaches of the Yellow River and the lower and middle reaches of the Yangtze River. Later, Chi You had a fierce conflict with another two tribal alliance led by Yan Di and Huang Di in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, and was finally defeated by Huang Di in the Battle of Zhuo Lu, Chi You was killed, and some of the tribesmen were integrated into Yan and Huang tribes, while most of them migrated south and settled in today's Dongting Lake and Poyang Lake area, forming a new tribal alliance in the period of Yao, Shun and Yu. The Sanmiao had fierce struggle with the tribal alliance led by Yao, Shun and Yu in history, and then the tribal alliance gradually disintegrated after Yu's many conquests and defeats, and after the demise of the Sanmiao tribe, most of the other tribes started to make a big migration. | |
| − | + | During the Qin and Han dynasties, most of the Miao ancestors were distributed in the present-day Xiang, E, Chongqing and Qian adjacent areas. From the Qin and Han Dynasties until the Tang Dynasty, the Miao ancestors experienced the third major migration in history. Most of them migrated from the Wuling Mountains to the southwest of Sichuan and Guizhou, and some even migrated to Yunnan and Guangxi. Since the fourth and fifth migrations were basically from the Wuling Mountains to the southwest, we believe that the third migration of the Miao ancestors was of great significance to the formation of their ethnic group, which basically laid the present distribution pattern of the Miao and laid a solid foundation for the formation of a stable ethnic community. | |
| − | === | + | ===Subtitle 4: Miao Folk Beliefs=== |
| − | + | The Miao folk in western Hunan worship the sky, and they mainly rely on natural phenomena such as the sky, wind, rain, lightning, sun, moon and stars in the natural world. The reason why the Miao folk in western Hunan worship the sky, water and rain is due to the local climate of little rain and lack of water. Although the climate of Miaojiang in western Hunan does not have hot and cold winters, it shows the characteristics of inverted spring chill, dry and hot summer lacking rain, and cloudy and sunny weather having a great influence on temperature. At the peak of summer, the weather is dry and there is little rainfall, and drought seriously affects the growth of crops. | |
| − | + | Their faith in the worship of the sky is mainly based on the sky, water and rain, and there are corresponding rituals. | |
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| − | + | The first is the worship of the sky. Whenever the spring plowing season comes, that is, in the third month of the lunar calendar, people who have fields at home first ask a Yin-Yang man to choose an auspicious day. At that time, the head of the family brings some incense, paper, half a catty of white wine and four taels of boiled pork to the family's fields to pay homage to "God" and pray for a good harvest this year. | |
| − | + | Secondly, it is the worship of water. Before the tap water came into the village, it was the source of water for the villagers' daily life and farmland. During the annual festival, the villagers would carry incense, paper, wine, meat and other offerings to the well to worship, expecting the well water to be inexhaustible. | |
| − | + | Once again, it was the worship of rainwater. The summer festival is a standardized ritual held by the state specifically to pray for rain and a good harvest for all the grains, which originated from the primitive society to control nature by way of simulation or contact. It is also one of the rituals of the Heavenly Rites, which is called "Da" because it is combined with the worship of God, the supreme god, and is held regularly. | |
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| − | + | In times of severe drought, the Miao people in western Hunan collect money to buy ritual items and ask Ba Dai to go to the ditch, river or cave near the village to pray for rain from the gods such as the Dragon King and the Thunder God. Generally, they use such methods as "taking the river", "playing the river" and "making people in the river". | |
| − | === | + | ===Subtitle 5:Overview of the Hmong Language=== |
| + | Language is one of the most important cultural elements of a people, and is the most important communication tool within the ethnic community for the exchange of ideas and contacts. From a linguistic point of view, the Miao language belongs to the Miao-Yao branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. Although the Miao people have their own language, there was no script representing the Miao language until the 1950s. The Miao language used by the Miao people is only a form of speech passed down orally, without a specific script. Although it is mentioned in some Hmong historical songs and folklore that the Hmong had writing in history, it was later lost due to various reasons. In some documents of the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, there are records indicating that the Hmong in some areas do seem to have written. These scripts are mainly of two types: one is created by advanced Miao intellectuals influenced by Chinese characters or other language scripts. For example, Shibantang, a Miao poet in western Hunan, used the "six books" of Chinese characters to create a square-shaped Miao script, borrowing from Chinese characters. Second, foreign missionaries and Miao advanced intellectuals together using part of the Latin alphabet and notation symbols to create, although the creation of this kind of writing is beneficial to the development of the Miao people, but it is mainly the missionaries in order to facilitate the missionary and the Miao advanced intellectual characters created in collaboration. For example, the old Miao script of Weining Shimenkan, also known as "Po La alphabet Miao script". However, these Miao scripts were not widely disseminated and were only used regionally and could not be popularized. | ||
| − | + | After the founding of New China, the Party and the government were very concerned about the writing of the Miao people and sent many working groups and task forces to investigate and study the Miao language. The Miao language is an extremely complex language, mainly reflected in the great differences in dialects and subdialects and the large number of vernaculars. Regarding the division of Miao language, the most representative one is the division method in the report "Division of Miao dialects and writing problems" made by the Second Task Force of the Minority Language Survey of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1956 at the scientific discussion of Miao language and writing problems. In the report, the Miao language was divided into four dialects: Eastern, Central, Western and Northeastern Yunnan, and on July 8, 1957, the Central Committee of the People's Republic of China held a symposium on ethnic language work and changed the Eastern dialect to Xiangxi dialect, the Central dialect to Qiandong dialect, the Western dialect to Chuanqian-Tian dialect, and the Northeastern Yunnan dialect was still called Northeastern Yunnan dialect. The second is the division of the Miao language into three major dialects, seven subdialects, and 18 vernaculars in the division of the French language by Mr. Wang Fushi in "The Problem of Dividing the Miao Dialects" (1983). Some other scholars also put forward their different views on the division of Miao languages, such as Xian Songkui, Chen Qiguang, Wu Zhengbiao and Yang Zaibiao. However, their division is for the subdialects or vernaculars within the three major dialects of Miao. | |
| − | + | Regarding the division of Miao dialects, this paper mainly borrows the division method from Mr. Wang Fushi. The Miao language is mainly divided into dialects according to phonetic differences. It can be divided into three major dialects, namely Xiangxi dialect, Qiandong dialect, and Chuanqian Dian dialect. Among the three major dialects, the Xiangxi dialect and Qiandong dialect have small differences within each north, and only the differences between native languages. The Sichuan-Guizhou-Yunnan dialect, on the other hand, has more internal differences and can be divided into seven major subdialects. | |
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| − | + | 1.Characteristics of Xiangxi dialect | |
| − | + | The Xiangxi dialect is divided into western and eastern vernaculars. The western dialect is mainly spoken in Huayuan, Phoenix, Baojing, Jishou, Guzhang, Longshan and Xinfeng Dong autonomous counties in Hunan Province; Songtao Miao autonomous county and Tongren in Guizhou Province; Xiushan in Sichuan Province; Xuanen, Laifeng and Xianfeng in Hubei Province; and Hechi and Nandan in Guangxi Province Zhuang Autonomous Region. Eastern dialects are mainly spoken in Luxi County and parts of Guzhang, Jishou, Longshan and other counties in Hunan Province. | |
| − | + | 2.Qiandong dialect | |
| − | + | The Qiandong dialect is divided into three dialects: northern, eastern and southern. The northern dialect is mainly spoken in Kaili, Majiang, Dantai, Leshan, Taijiang, Huangping, Jianhe, Zhenyuan, Sansui, Shibing, Sandu Shui Autonomous County, Fuchuan, Pingba, Zhenning Buyi Miao Autonomous County, Xingren, Zhengfeng, Anlong, Wangmu and other counties in Guizhou Province. The eastern native languages are mainly spoken in Rongjiang, Congjiang, Danzhai and Sandu Shui autonomous counties in Guizhou Province, and in Rongshui Miao autonomous county and Sanjiang Dong autonomous county in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. | |
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| − | + | 3.Chuanqian Dian dialect | |
| − | + | The internal dialect of Chuanqian Dian is relatively complex and can be divided into seven subdialects, including Chuanqian Dian, Northeast Dian, Guiyang, Huishui, Mashan, Luopohe, and Chonganjiang. | |
| − | + | The Chuanqian Dian dialect is divided into two vernaculars, the first and the second. The first dialect is mainly spoken in Changning, Muli, Yanbian, etc. in Sichuan Province, Jinsha and Chishui in Guizhou Province, Zhenxiong and Weixin in Yunnan Province, and Longlin Autonomous County, Xilin and Napo in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The second dialect is spoken in Nayong and Hezhang counties of Guizhou Province and Shuicheng Special Zone of Liupanshui City, and the range is very small. | |
| − | + | The northeastern Yunnan subdialect is not divided into four dialects, which are spoken in Yunnan and Guizhou provinces; the Huishui subdialect is divided into four dialects: northern, southwestern, central and eastern. The northern dialect is spoken in Guiyang Gaopo and Yanchang, Huishui County; the southwestern dialect is spoken in Yashui and Sandu, Huishui County; the central dialect is spoken in parts of Chengguan and Pendleton counties, Huishui County. The eastern dialect is mainly spoken in Xiguan and other places in Pingba County. | |
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| − | + | The Mashan subdialect is divided into four dialects: central, northern, western and southern. The central dialect is mainly spoken in Zongdi and Baihua of Ziyun County; the northern dialect is spoken in Daihua and Huishui of Changshun County; the western dialect is spoken in Waiting Field and Dazhai of Ziyun County, Guizhou Province; the southern dialect is spoken in Mashan and Lekuan of Wangmo County. | |
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| − | the | + | The Luopo River subdialect is not divided into native languages and is spoken in the adjacent areas of Fuchuan, Guiding, Longli and Kaiyang counties and in Laojunzhai and large and small bubblewood places in Kaili County. |
| − | + | The Chonganjiang subdialect, which does not have a native language, is spoken in Maple Sugar, Chongren and Chongren in Huangping County, Guizhou, and in Longchang, Gouchang and Longshan in Kaili County. | |
| − | the | + | (1)The sound-rhyme system of the three major dialects of Hmong is shown in the table |
| + | The table shows the similarities and differences in the phonological systems of the three major dialects of Hmong. In terms of vowels, the three major dialects of Miao have more vowels than rhymes. Relatively speaking, the western Xiang dialect has the most abundant vowels. The three major dialects have fewer rhymes, while the Sichuan-Guizhou-Yunnan dialect has more rhymes. | ||
| − | + | (2)Hmong Vocabulary Characteristics - An Example from the Western Hunan Dialect | |
| + | The Miao language is rich in vocabulary and has a variety of word formation devices. The vocabulary of the western Hunan dialect also contains a large number of words that reflect the unique geographical and human environment and socio-economic life of the local Miao people. For example, there are many words related to mountains and water, such as "mountain range [qo zei]" and "rice [nw]", and many words reflecting local mountain flora and fauna and special economic crops, such as "rabbit [ta la]". rabbit [ta la]". | ||
| − | + | In terms of word formation, the Xiangxi dialect can be divided phonetically into monophthongs and polysyllabic words. Monosyllabic words consist of one syllable, such as "我[we]" and "你[mw]", while polysyllabic words consist of two or more syllables. | |
| + | Compared with Chinese, the Xiangxi dialect has fewer synonyms and more polysyllabic words, and one word is usually used to represent several synonyms in Chinese. For example, ei can mean "look, see, look at, see" in Chinese. | ||
| − | the | + | The vocabulary of Miao dialect contains a large number of Chinese loanwords, which are both early and modern. Most of the early loanwords are monosyllabic words, such as "silver, thousand, wine, etc."; most of the modern loanwords are later borrowed words related to politics, military, economy, science, culture, etc., such as "Communist Party, class, RMB, machine, radio, etc." |
| − | the | + | The borrowing of a large number of Chinese words has had a profound impact on the phonological, lexical and grammatical systems of the Xiangxi dialect. In terms of vocabulary, the influence is mainly manifested in the substitution of modern loanwords for early loanwords and the use of modern loanwords with early loanwords. In terms of grammar, the massive borrowing of Chinese words had a great impact on the diction of the Xiangxi dialect, and formed a very distinctive linguistic phenomenon in the Xiangxi dialect - the Miao-Chinese hybrid words. In the Xiangxi dialect, some things are expressed in generic terms plus proper terms, so after borrowing Chinese words, the proper terms inherent in the Miao language are often added in front of the Chinese words, thus forming Miao-Chinese mixed words. |
| − | + | (2)Hmong grammatical characteristics - taking the western Xiangxi dialect as an example | |
| − | + | In the Xiangxi dialect of Miao language, words can be divided into nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, loanwords, conjunctions, pronouns, numerals, quantifiers, coronals, auxiliaries, etc.; sentence components include subject, predicate, epithet, object, complement, determiner and gerund; sentence types include single and compound sentences: declarative, imperative, interrogative and exclamatory sentences according to the tone. Word formation and order are the main grammatical tools of the Xiangxi dialect, and the order of words is basically the same as that of Chinese. | |
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| − | + | The Miao script was created by Shi Qigui, a famous Miao scholar, around 1956. In 1956, after a comprehensive census of the Miao language, the Second Task Force on Minority Language Survey of the Chinese Academy of Sciences formally created the Miao texts of the three major dialects. The Miao script of the Xiangxi dialect is based on the Miao language of Jiwei Township, Huayuan County, Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Hunan Province, and has 48 vowels, 35 rhymes and 6 tone letters. | |
| − | + | The Miao language is the crystallization of the wisdom accumulated by the Miao people for thousands of years, bearing the spiritual home of this nation, the soul and blood of this nation. At present, although the Miao language is still an important communication tool for the Miao people in the Miao community, especially in those Miao villages that live in high mountains and have limited transportation. However, with the development of social economy and convenient transportation, more and more Miao people are coming out of the mountains to participate in the economic construction and social mobility of the whole country, so we need to do a good job of inheritance and protection of Miao. | |
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===Conclusion=== | ===Conclusion=== | ||
| − | + | China is a multi-ethnic family, and the Miao language in the western Hunan region is facing the same problems as other ethnic languages. Language endangerment is a national phenomenon, and foreign countries have richer experience in the preservation and revival of endangered languages. Usually, the revival of Hebrew is known as the most successful case of language revival, so we can learn from the advanced experience of foreign countries in protecting and reviving endangered languages. For example, opening native language preservation centers, training community members to record and describe languages, providing native language instruction, and compiling dictionaries. We should take into account the actual situation of language endangerment in western Hunan and fully learn from the mature experience abroad to accelerate the preservation of minority languages and cultures in our region. | |
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===References=== | ===References=== | ||
| + | *Yang Xue.Study on the Adjectives of Miao Dialect in Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan Subdialects. Hubei: Three Gorges University. | ||
| + | *Ma Yongbin.Classification of witchcraft of Miao nationality in eastern dialect.Guiyang: Journal of Guizhou University for Nationalities (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition) 2016 (1): 1-22pp. | ||
| + | *Wang Yanhong.A Study on the Structural Properties of CI Initials in Gaopo Miao Language of Guiyang.Language studies (28): China Academic Journal Electronic Publishing House: 258-272pp. | ||
| + | *Qu Jianhui (2022).Ancient voiced initial consonants in xiaozhang miao language of hunan province are now pronounced with yin tone. China (2):186-193pp. | ||
| + | *Chen Hui (2006). Phonological Study of Xiang Dialect. Changsha: Hunan Normal University Press. | ||
| + | *Wang Dan (2016).A Study of the Adjectives of Miao Dialect in Central China.Guiyang: Guizhou University for Nationalities. | ||
| + | *Ma Xiuzhi (2022).A Review of Foreign Grammar Studies of Miao Language.Journal of Qiannan Normal University for Nationalities,2022 (2): 28-34pp. | ||
| + | *Qu Jiyong (2014).A study on that attitude of minority language in Xiangxi area. Xi'an: Shaanxi Normal University | ||
| + | *Li Jinping (2010). Summary of the Research on Miao Language and Writing in the Past 60 Years. Journal of Guizhou University for Nationalities (Philosophy and Social science), 2010 (3): 24-27pp | ||
| + | *Shi Qigui (2008). Xiangxi Miao field investigation report. Changsha: hunan people's publishing house | ||
| + | *Wang Fu-shi (1985). Miao JianZhi. Beijing: national publishing house | ||
| − | == | + | ==英语笔译 李媛 Li Yuan 202170081579== |
| + | <center>'''On Phonetic Loan Characters (Tongjiazi) in Chinese and their English Translation in ''the Analects of Confucius'''''</center> | ||
| − | + | <center>Li Yuan</center> | |
| − | == | + | ===Abstract=== |
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| − | + | The use of phonetic loan characters is a unique language phenomenon in ancient Chinese, and it is also a key and difficult point in understanding ancient Chinese and translating ancient Chinese texts. This paper draws on methods of literary research, comparative research and historical research to introduce phonetic loan characters and their differences from ancient and modern characters, variant characters and characters acquiring meanings by phonetic association, and then to sort out the historical origin and development of phonetic loan characters and their role in the history of Chinese character development. When working on translation tasks with phonetic loan characters, translators should possess some skills and quality, such as the ability to use computer-assisted translation technology to identify and verify phonetic loan characters in the original text, in an effort to accurately understand the meaning of the original text. Taking some phonetic loan characters in ''the Analects of Confucius'' as an example, this paper summarizes the English translation methods of these characters, such as literal translation of the original character, literal translation of the phonetic loan character and paraphrasing, in the hope of providing some suggestions and inspiration for the English translation of phonetic loan characters, assisting translators to do better translating work of ancient Chinese classics, allowing Chinese culture to go global better and improving the effect of cultural communication. | |
| − | === | + | ===Key words=== |
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| − | + | phonetic loan characters(tongjiazi); Chinese-English translation methods; ''the Analects of Confucius'' | |
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===Introduction=== | ===Introduction=== | ||
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| − | + | The existence of a large number of phonetic loan characters(tongjiazi) in ancient books is one of the main reasons why ancient Chinese books are so difficult to read. They are an important part in the development of the Chinese character, and there are specific subjective and objective factors that led to their coming into being and fading out. They were created in a specific historical context and then stopped because of the requirements of the evolution of Chinese character. The so-called ancient phonetic tongue interchangeability was used in the written language of ancient Chinese for the common use of homophonic or similar-sounding characters (Wang 1999:546). In order to grasp the definition of Tongjiazi accurately, it is necessary to clarify its difference from ancient and modern characters (Gujinzi), variant characters (Yitizi) and characters acquiring meanings by phonetic association (Jiajiezi), which can be compared and analyzed in terms of pronunciation, form and meaning, and must not be confused. These four types of character use are all about the relationship between two Chinese characters, so it is possible to analyze whether these two characters are related in terms of pronunciation, form and meaning. | |
| − | + | There are two opinions in the history on the role played by Tongjiazi in the development of Chinese characters: one is on the negative side, believing that they undermine the purity of ancient Chinese characters and create obstacles to their standardized use; the other is on the positive side, holding that they play a very important transitional role in the development of Chinese characters, and that their appearance is in accordance with the laws of Chinese character evolution, so they should be evaluated in a reasonable and objective manner. When translating ancient Chinese works such as literature and medicine classics into English, the identification, verification, comprehension and translation of Tongjiazi can be of paramount importance, which places higher demands on the translator, who must not only have basic translator skills, but also master basic skills such as verification and analysis. There are only two papers on the subject of English translation of Tongjiazi on CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure) and the original texts are all medical texts, which means that the field of English translation of Tongjiazi still needs more exploration. In this paper, the English translation ''the Analects of Confucius'' by Xu Yuanchong is taken as an example, and the translation methods used in translating the Tongjizi are analyzed. This paper hopes that the study of the English translation of Tongjizi in Chinese classics will take a step forward, and that more scholars and translators will pay attention to the study of the English translation of Tongjiazi. | |
| − | + | ===Definition of Phonetic Loan Characters (Tongjiazi)=== | |
| − | + | The use of Tongjizi (a character with the same or similar pronunciation with another) is one of the phenomena of the use of Chinese character, where a character with the same or similar pronunciation is used instead of the original character. For various reasons, rather than using the original character, the writer temporarily borrows a character with the same or a similar pronunciation. In modern times, when the official standard characters are used, sometimes the original character is not adopted, and a specific Tongjiazi is used as the standard character. As can be seen, a phonetic loan character is a borrowing of an existing character. The character that is replaced by Tongjiazi is called the “original character”. They have the same or similar pronunciation and different forms, and may or may not have related meanings with the original character. | |
| − | + | To clearly define a Tongjiazi, one needs to be aware of its distinction and connection with ancient and modern characters (Gujinzi), variant characters (Yitizi) and characters acquiring meanings by phonetic association (Jiajiezi). Ancient and modern characters are words with different forms but the same menaing in ancient and modern times, so this group of words is called ancient and modern characters (Gujinzi). As can be seen, the ancient and modern characters both have the same pronunciation, related word forms and the same meaning, and are a diachronic phenomenon of character use. In contrast, a phonetic loan character (Tongjiazi) appears at a particular time in place of the original character, and is a kind of temporal and synchronic substitution. Variant characters (Yiyizi) is two characters that have the same pronunciation and meaning, but are written in different ways. In contrast, a phonetic loan character (Tongjiazi) has the same pronunciation with the original character, but is not written in the same way with the same meaning. characters acquiring meanings by phonetic association (Jiajiezi) are a kind of substitution for an original word that was not there, where the ancients were writing to express the meaning of a word, but did not have such a word for their use, so they substituted it with a word with the same or similar pronunciation, in which the original character appears to be missing. By contrast a phonetic loan character is a substitution for an original word that is already there. | |
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| − | + | It can be seen that there are several characteristics of phonetic loan characters (Tongjiazi): firstly, it belongs to Jiajiezi; secondly, there is an original character; thirdly, it is a synchronic substitution; and fourthly, it has the same pronunciation and different meaning and form with the original character. Therefore, it can be defined as a synchronic substitution of the original character, which is homophonic, heteromorphic and heteronymous with the phonetic character. | |
| − | + | ===Origin and Development of Phonetic Loan Characters (Tongjiazi)=== | |
| − | + | This paper summarizes the following views about the origin of Tongjiazi, or the cause of Tongjiazi. | |
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| − | + | One is due to the limited number of ancient Chinese characters at that time. The emergence and development of Chinese characters was a long process, with character forms emerging from nothing, numbers increasing from few to many, and use going from arbitrary to standardized. During this process, then, there was bound to be an imbalance between the number of Chinese characters and the need for ideograms, and there were not enough Chinese characters to meet the needs of the ancients for oral expression and written records. In this case, the phenomenon of Jiajie came into being. For an object which there was no Chinese character at the time to represent, existing Chinese characters were borrowed to assign a character form and sound to the object. In this way, as a borrowing for an existing character, the appearance of a phonetic loan character (Tongjiazi) would have followed the appearance of Jiajiezi. | |
| − | Chinese | + | One reason is that ancient Chinese characters did not have a fixed normative use. In addition, the ancients created a character to express a meaning, but which character should be used to express which meaning was still in the process of being formed, and there was no certain rule that one could use this character to express a certain meaning, and another character with the same or similar sound to express that meaning, too. |
| − | + | One is due to the influence of dialects. Due to the lack of technology, when recording history, articles, literary works, etc. in ancient times, they were dictated by some scholars and recorded by others in writing. These scholars recited the content from their own memory, and their pronunciation might be influenced by the dialect, so that they could not say the sound of some characters accurately, and then the recording men often mistook one word as another and recorded the same word in different forms. | |
| − | + | One is the emphasis on the sound of characters rather than their forms in ancient times. The ancients believed that language existed by virtue of sound, and emphasized that the sound showed the meaning of the word, and that people knew the meaning when they heard the sound, so the ancients often recorded the words according to their pronunciation. In this way, the creation of Tongjiazi was a natural consequence of the contradiction between the ideographic nature of Chinese characters and the phonetic nature of Chinese (Tan 1987:1). | |
| − | + | One is to forget the original character and substitute it with another character with the same pronunciation. The ancient people, when making records, could not think of the original word and used a different character with the same sound instead. The character with the same sound and different meaning was unknown to common scholars, and was often written by mistake. The first person to write in this way was of course writing a wrong character, as mentioned earlier, but when later people followed suit, it became a Tongjiazi. | |
| − | + | One is out of the need to keep things simple. When the ancients kept records, if the character was too complex and time-consuming to write, they would use a character with the same or similar pronunciation to replace the original character and save writing time. | |
| − | + | One is for the sake of euphemism. It was a taboo for the ancients to call their parents by the characters in their names, or to write the characters in their parents’ names directly, so they borrowed other words instead. Except the emperor himself, other people could not write the name of the emperor. | |
| − | + | The emergency and development of Tongjiazi is inseparable from the development of history. During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods (770 BC to 221 BC), when many schools of thought were contending for supremacy with each other, society at the time was full of new ideas and changes, so the unprecedented demand of written records had a major impact on the evolution and development of Chinese characters. During that period, colloquial characters were popular in the Eastern states, with a variety of traditional and simplified characters and different scripts in all countries, which became a major source for the creation of Yitizi, homograph and Tongjiazi in later times (Chen 2015:39). It was only after the Qin state unified the six states in 221 BC and implemented the policy of “same script”, using the small seal script as the only script used among the whole country, that the use of characters became more standardized and the use of common Tongjiazi gradually decreased. During the Eastern Han Dynasty (24 AD to 220AD), Xu Shen's ''Shuowenjiezi'' (《说文解字》) was published and the use of characters became more standardized, with emphasis on the form of characters rather than their sound. During the Wei, Jin and North-South dynasties (220 AD to 589 AD), some men of letters still used Tongjiazi, but during the Tang and Song dynasties (618 AD to 907 AD, 960 AD to 1279 AD), apart from the occasional use of previous Tongjiazi in folk literature, new Tongjiazi were generally not written, and any use of previous or new Tongjiazi was seen as a misspelling of characters. From this time onwards, the use of Tongjiazi was gradually discontinued, but the Tongjiazi in the works of the literati and canonical writings of the period before then remained unchanged. After the advent of the modern writing in the vernacular, the use of the Tongjiazi ceased completely. Many experts and scholars have systematized and standardized the use of the Tongjiazi by sorting out and verifying them, and have published some ancient Chinese dictionaries to facilitate modern readers’ access to the explanations and use of Tongjiazi in Chinese classics. | |
| − | + | ===The Role of Phonetic Loan Characters (Tongjiazi) in the Development of Chinese Characters=== | |
| + | The existence of Tongjiazi has become a huge reading obstacle, making it very difficult for modern people to read and understand ancient writings, which is the intuitive feeling of Tongjiazi nowadays. As to the role, or significance of the existence of Tongjiazi, some previous scholars have argued that Tongjiazi was a headwind in the history of Chinese character development, destroying the purity of Chinese characters. However, although the use of Tongjiazi ceased in the Tang and Song dynasties, they can still be found in ancient books, and the ancients did not revise all previous Tongjiazi after their use was standardized, so it is clear that it should have its own unique role in the history of Chinese character development. Therefore, an objective perspective should be adopted to evaluate their existence. According to Tan Lin (1987:2-5), the role of Tongjaizi is: firstly, a major morphological shift in the use of character harmonies; secondly, it reflects the richness and dynamism of the Chinese vocabulary; thirdly, it contributes to increasing the effect of Chinese characters in conveying word meanings; and fourthly, the standardization of Chinese characters is a regular requirement in the development of Tongjiazi. The existence of Tongjiazi is a product of the process of Chinese character development, and provides a basis for future generations to examine the history of Chinese character development. As a historical phenomenon, the use of Tongjiazi was social rather than personal, and the correspondence of Tongjiazi with the original character in ancient texts was largely fixed (Wei 2013: 27). | ||
| − | + | ===Influence of Phonetic Loan Characters (Tongjiazi) on Translation=== | |
| − | + | To translate ancient texts, it is a crucial step to identify Tongjiazi in them. It is only by successfully identifying Tongjiazi that the meaning of the sentence can be correctly understood and the translation can be smooth and fluent, so the English translation of Tongjiazi is of significant research value. In this regard, the influence of Tongjiazi on translation is the ability of translators obtained to identify and verify those characters. With the development of the times, the majority of ancient texts now have annotated versions, that is, intra-lingual translations, from classical Chinese into modern Chinese with annotations on some words in the original text, and there are also some ancient Chinese dictionaries compiled by experts and scholars, all of which have contributed to the translation of Tongjiazi. At this point, the choice of the original book will also affect the effect of the translation. The translator should have the ability to identify authoritative base texts, as well as the ability to discern, and should not follow the base texts in translating. For some Tongjiazi, if the translator feels that there is a problem with the annotation, resulting in the meaning not being smooth, the translator should promptly check and verify with methods such as asking ancient Chinese researchers and consulting the relevant ancient Chinese dictionaries. | |
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| − | ' | + | In addition, in today's fast-changing world of modern science and technology, translators should have a good command of using technology to assist translation. In recent years, computer-aided translation technologies such as corpora, terminology databases and memory banks have developed rapidly, which have also facilitated the translation of Tongjiazi in ancient Chinese. Translators can make a corpus and a memory bank of the ancient Chinese canonical texts they have translated before, and a terminology bank of the translations of Tongjiazi, as well as authoritative translations of some canonical texts, of which the translations of Tongjiazi are made into a terminology bank. In this way, subsequent translation tasks have a parallel corpus to refer to, saving a lot of time in checking. Apart from that, by typing in the keywords “通假字(Tongjiazi)” and “英译(English Transaltion)” on CNKI, I found that there are only two papers on the English translation of Tongjiazi, one of which is “Translation of Interchangeable Characters in TCM Terminology—Case Study on Classics of Difficulties Translated by Bob Flaws. The other one is “Translation of Interchangeable Characters in Synopsis of Golden Chamber Translated by Luo Xiwen”. These two studies are focused on the translation of the Tongjiazi in ancient Chinese medical works, which shows that the depth of research in the field of English translations of Tongjiazi is still far from adequate. |
| − | + | ===English Translation Methods of Phonetic Loan Characters (Tongjiazi) in ''the Analects of Confucius'' === | |
| − | + | ''The Analects of Confucius'' (《论语》) is a collection of discourses compiled by the disciples of generations of the thinker and the educator Confucius in the Spring and Autumn period to record the words and actions of Confucius and his disciples. It is a collection of 492 chapters, mainly in the style of discourses and supplemented by narratives, and reflects the political ideas, ethical thoughts, moral concepts and educational principles of Confucius and the Confucianism in a concentrated manner. The main feature of the work is its concise language, which is easy to understand, but has a far-reaching and profound meaning. Its language style is implicit and plain, and it is able to present characters in simple dialogue and action. Since the Song Dynasty, it has been listed as one of “the Four Books”, and has become an official textbook for ancient schools and a compulsory reading material for the imperial examinations. | |
| − | The | + | The number of Tongjiazi in the Analects is relatively small, and the content is relatively easy to understand. There are a total of 6 phonetic loan characters in this work, which are “便” used as “辩”, “加” used as “假”, “桴” is used as “泭”, “麑” means “鹿”, and “礼” replaced by “献”. Compared to the English versions by foreign translators, Xu Yuanchong is more proficient in Chinese and more accurate in understanding the original text. It is understandable that the existence of the phenomenon of Tongjiazi often poses a barrier to reading and comprehension for Chinese readers, who may be tempted to literally understand the original text if they are not careful, and it is not very realistic for foreign readers or translators who read or translate Chinese texts to accurately identify each and every Tongjiazi. In Xu Yuanchong’s translation of the Analects, the main methods of translating the passages into English are the literal translation of the original characters, the literal translation of the Tongjiazi and paraphrasing (liberal translation). |
| − | + | (1)ST:其在宗庙朝廷, 便便言, 唯谨尔。 (《乡党》) | |
| − | + | TT: At court or in the ducal ancestral temple he spoke readily and chose his words with care. | |
| − | + | In this sentence, “便” means “辩”. The original meaning of “便” is to be comfortable, while the original meaning of “辩” is to conduct a lawsuit, which requires eloquence. Therefore, in the sense of “eloquence”, “便” is used as “辩”. In Xu Yuanchong's translation, “便便言” is translated as “he spoke readily”. According to the Oxford Dictionary, the word “readily” means “quickly and without difficulty”, which indeed has a meaning of being eloquent and comfortable. As for the translation method, “readily” is not a direct translation of the original word “辩”, but rather a paraphrasing by combining the Tongjiazi and the original word. | |
| − | + | (2)ST:子曰：“加我数年，五十以学易，可以无大过矣。” (《述而》) | |
| − | + | TT: Give me a few more years, said the Master, to study the Book of Change after fifty, I may be free from error. | |
| − | + | In this sentence, “加” is used as “假”, meaning “give”, so the method of literal translation of the original character is adopted. | |
| − | + | (3)ST:子曰：“道不行，乘桴浮于海。从我者，其由舆？” (《公治长》) | |
| − | + | TT: The Master said, “If the truth I peach were not followed, I would float on the sea by a raft, who would then follow me but Zi Lu?” | |
| − | + | In this sentence, “桴” is used as “泭” with the meaning of “raft”. In the English translation, “桴” is translated as “raft”, so the literal translation of the original character is adopted. | |
| − | + | (4)ST:缁衣, 羔裘;素衣, 麑裘;黄衣, 狐裘。 (《乡党》) | |
| − | + | TT: He wears a black robe over lamp’s skin, a white robe of undyed silk over fawn’s fur, or a yellow robe over fox’s fur. | |
| − | + | In this sentence, the word “麑” means “幼鹿(fawn)”. In ancient times, people wore leather clothes with the fur facing outwards, so they had to have an overcoat on the outside. The color of the fur coat and the covering coat should match. The hair of a young deer is white, so the deerskin coat should be matched with a white outer covering. This phrase is also a direct translation of the original character. | |
| − | + | (5)ST:子曰:“吾十有五而志于学, 三十而立, 四十而不惑, 五十而知天命, 六十而耳顺, 七十而从心所欲, 不踰矩。” (《为政》) | |
| − | + | TT: At fifteen, said the Master, I was fond of learning. At thirty, I was established. At forty, I did not waver. At fifty, I knew sacred mission. At sixty, I had a discerning ear. At seventy, I could do what I would without going beyond what is right. | |
| − | + | In this sentence, the word “有” is used as “又”, meaning “again, plus”. The word “十有五” means “ten plus five”, and is translated as “fifteen”. The translation method adopted is a direct translation of the original character, because the meaning of “有” as “again, plus” has already been agreed upon, and the actual meaning is known even without the perspective of the Tongjiazi and the original word. | |
| − | + | (6) ST:子曰:“夏礼, 吾能言之, 杞不足徵也;殷礼, 吾能言之, 宋不足徵也。文献不足故也。足, 则吾能徵之矣。” (《八佾》) | |
| − | + | TT: The rites of the Xia Dynasty, said the Master, can be described, but I do not rely on the evidence supplied by its descendants of Qi. The rites of the Yin Dynasty can be described, but I do not rely on the evidence supplied by its descendants of Song. For there are no sufficient documents. Otherwise, the rites of Qi and Song can be described. | |
| − | + | In this sentence, “礼” is replaced by “献”, and the original meaning of “献” is the dog used in the temple sacrifice. The word “文献” refers to a book or a sage. It has been used in modern Chinese to refer to records and documents, so it is the literal translation of the Tongjiazi. | |
| − | + | Therefore, for Tongjiazi in ''the Analects of Confucius'', there are three main methods to translate them into English. They are literal translation of the original character, literal of the phonetic loan character, and paraphrasing (liberal translation). As mentioned in the definition of Tongjiazi, it is of significant importance to define phonetic loan characters by distinguishing them from ancient and modern characters (Gujinzi), variant characters (Yitizi) and characters acquiring meanings by phonetic association (Jiajiezi). Identifying those characters is the first step to understand and translate them correctly. In fact, the translation process of Chinese classics is from ancient Chinese to modern Chinese and then to English, so in addition to basic bilingual skills, the translator should have a good command of some knowledge of Tongjiazi, resort to some high-quality dictionaries for more information and ask some scholars and experts in this field for help, in an effort to avoid translation mistakes. | |
| − | + | ===Conclusion=== | |
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| − | + | This paper introduces the definition of phonetic loan characters (Tongjiazi) in ancient Chinese, which is a synchronic substitution of an original character that originally existed and has the same pronunciation and different form and meaning with Tongjiazi. In order to have a good understanding of the definition of phonetic loan characters (Tongjiazi), it is critical to grasp the differences between phonetic loan characters (Tongjiazi) and ancient and modern characters (Gujinzi), variant characters (Yitizi) and characters acquiring meanings by phonetic association (Jiajiezi). Several reasons for the emergency of Tongjiazi are as follows. One is due to the limited number of characters in ancient times. One is for lack of standardized use of characters. One is the influence of dialects. One is the emphasis on the sound instead of form of characters at that time. One is to forget the original character and replace it with another character with the same or similar pronunciation. One is due to the need for simplicity; one is due to the need for euphemism. As for the origin and development of phonetic loan characters(Tongjiazi), which can be dated back to Pre-Qin period (Palaeolithic Age to 221 BC), and then appeared in large numbers during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods (770 BC to 221 BC). After Tang and Song dynasties (618 AD to 907 AD, 960 AD to 1279 AD), the former phonetic loan characters were stopped gradually and new ones were not allowed to come into being. With the advent of vernacular Chinese, Tongjiazi was discontinued completely. It is one of the reasons why ancient Chinese texts are difficult to understand, and is the key to understanding them, as well as a major difficulty for translators when working on such texts. | |
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| − | + | So, when translating such texts, translators need to acquire certain skills and obtain certain knowledge about phonetic loan characters (Tongjiazi). In addition to a certain level of reading skills and a basic grasp of the style and sentence structure of classical Chinese, they also need to have the ability to identify and verify Tongjiazi by asking ancient Chinese researchers and consulting the relevant ancient Chinese dictionaries. In addition, modern translators should master certain computer-assisted translation technologies, learn to make and use terminology databases, corpora and memory banks, and accumulate a large number of parallel texts to facilitate and support translation practice and translation research on Tongjiazi. This paper takes Xu Yuanchong's English translation of the Analects of Confucius as an example, analyses the English translation of Tongjiazi in it, and sums up three methods for the English translation those characters: literal translation of the original character, literal translation of the Tongjiazi, and paraphrasing, in order to make the research on the English translation of Tongjiazi in Chinese classics a step forward, to provide some suggestions for the English translation of phonetic characters (Tongzijia) and to make more scholars and translators pay attention to the research on the English translation of Tongjiazi. Chinese classics represent the tradition Chinese culture and language , thus serving as a valuable window through which other countries can learn Chinese language and culture. Their language style of ancient characteristics and the existence of phonetic loan characters have posed a barrier for translators to do their work, which in turn hinders the dissemination of Chinese culture and language into the world. In this regard, it is of significant importance to explore the translation of phonetic loan characters (Tongjiazi), in an attempt to produce higher quality English translations of Chinese classics and better spread Chinese language and culture to the rest of the world. | |
===References=== | ===References=== | ||
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| − | * | + | *Chen Zheng [陈征](2015). On the Reasons for the Emergency of Phonetic Loan Characters [通假字成因微探]. Curriculum, Teaching Material and Method [《课程 教材 教法》], (6): 39 pp. |
| − | * | + | *Tan Lin [谭麟](1987). A General View on the Emergency and Development of Phonetic Loan Characters—with an analysis of the opinion of “Phonetic Loan Characters as Headwind in Chinese Character” [概论通假字的产生于发展——兼析“通假字不是语言文字的正轨”]. Journal of Yuxi Normal University [《玉溪师专学报》], (2): 1-6 pp. |
| − | * | + | *Wang Li [王力](1999). Ancient Chinese [《古代汉语》]. Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company [北京: 中华书局], 546 pp. |
| − | * | + | *Wei Ying [魏颖](2013). Translation of Interchangeable Characters in TCM Terminology—Case Study on Classic of Difficulties Translation by Bob Flaws[通假字成因微探]. Curriculum, Teaching Material and Method [《课程 教材 教法》], (4): 26-29+34 pp. |
| − | * | + | *Xu Yuanchong [许渊冲](2011). Thus Spoke the Master [《论语》]. Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company [北京: 中华书局]. |
| − | + | ==英语笔译 李梓婕 Li Zijie 202170081580== | |
| + | <center>'''Confucius Institutes'''</center> | ||
| − | + | <center>Li Zijie</center> | |
| − | + | ===Introduction=== | |
| − | + | Language exchange carries the blending of culture. If China wants to carry forward the good image of Chinese culture and convey the scientific concept of peaceful development, it needs to let the world understand Chinese and let the world speak Chinese. In order to enhance people's understanding of Chinese language and culture and provide a good and convenient learning environment for learners from all over the world, China began to cooperate in establishing Confucius Institutes with Chinese language teaching and Chinese culture dissemination as the content in various ways where there is a need and conditions. So far, hundreds of Confucius Institutes have been established around the world. | |
| − | + | The establishment of Confucius institutes has brought Chinese culture close to Westerners, so that people of all countries can have "zero distance" access to and learn the original Chinese culture in their own countries. The Confucius Institute was set up on the basis of the inspiration of the foreign cultural institutions set up in other countries in the world and the experience of relevant foreign institutions in promoting the national language. In this way, we can learn from the management mechanism and communication strategy of the existing international language and culture promotion institutions, and highlight the Chinese characteristics of the Confucius Institute. At the same time, the establishment of Confucius Institutes is conducive to promoting the exchange and integration of Chinese culture and the cultures of all countries in the world, helping to enhance the soft power of Chinese national culture, and becoming a global cultural brand to promote Chinese culture and Sinology. | |
| − | + | This article will briefly introduce the functions, construction and development of Confucius Institutes; From the "going out" strategy and the the Belt and Road strategy, this paper discusses the relationship between Confucius Institutes and Chinese language and culture.Finally, some cases are used to analyze the current situation of Confucius Institutes, as well as the achievements, problems and Countermeasures of international communication. | |
| − | + | ===Overview of Confucius Institutes=== | |
| + | '''Brief Introduction''' | ||
| − | + | Confucius Institute is a non-profit educational institution jointly established by China and foreign countries. It is committed to adapting to the needs of people in all countries (regions) of the world for Chinese learning, enhancing the understanding of people in all countries (regions) of the world for Chinese language and culture, strengthening educational and cultural exchanges and cooperation between China and other countries, developing friendly relations between China and foreign countries, promoting the development of multiculturalism in the world, and building a harmonious world. | |
| − | Chinese | + | Confucius Institutes carry out Chinese teaching and exchanges and cooperation in education and culture between China and foreign countries. The services provided include: carrying out Chinese teaching; Train Chinese teachers and provide Chinese teaching resources; Carry out Chinese examination and Chinese teacher qualification certification; Provide information consultation on Chinese education and culture; Carry out language and cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries. |
| − | + | The most important work of the Confucius Institute is to provide standardized modern Chinese textbooks for Chinese learners all over the world; Provide the most formal and main Chinese teaching channels. | |
| − | + | '''The development of Confucius Institutes''' | |
| − | + | In 2004, the world's first Confucius Institute was officially established in Seoul, South Korea. | |
| + | The spread of Confucius' theory to the West began more than 400 years ago when Italian missionaries translated the Analects, a book recording Confucius' words and deeds, into Latin and brought it to Europe. Today, Confucius' theory has gone to five continents. The establishment of Confucius Institutes in various countries is the practical practice of Confucius' thoughts of "all brothers in the world", "harmony but differences" and "gentlemen meet friends through literature and help benevolence through friends". | ||
| − | + | In order to develop friendly relations between China and other countries in the world, enhance people's understanding of Chinese language and culture around the world, and provide convenient and excellent learning conditions for Chinese learners in various countries, China's national leading group office for teaching Chinese as a foreign language will build "Confucius Institutes" with Chinese Teaching as the main activity content in several countries with needs and conditions in the world, and set up Confucius Institute Headquarters in Beijing, China. | |
| − | + | In order to promote Chinese culture, the Chinese government established the "national leading group for teaching Chinese as a foreign language", referred to as "Hanban" for short, and the Confucius Institute was organized by "Hanban". It adheres to Confucius' ideas of "harmony is precious" and "harmony without uniformity", promotes the exchange and integration of Chinese culture and cultures of all countries in the world, and aims to build a harmonious world of lasting peace and common prosperity. Mr. Chen Shanmu, Professor of Chinese at the University of British Columbia and President of the Canadian Chinese Association, was the earliest proponent of this plan. Since the establishment of the world's first Confucius Institute in South Korea in November 2004, there have been 300 Confucius Institutes in nearly 100 countries and regions around the world (the United States and Europe are the largest), becoming a global brand and teaching platform to promote Chinese teaching and spread Chinese culture and Sinology. | |
| − | + | On June 19, 2014, Hanban agreed to support the construction of the Confucius Institute Headquarters experience base in Qufu. This marks a major breakthrough in carrying forward the excellent traditional culture and building the best District in a strong cultural city. | |
| − | + | In December, 2014, the world's first technological Confucius Institute, "the Confucius Institute of science and technology of the Belarusian National University of technology", was unveiled at the Belarusian National University of technology, which is the third Confucius Institute in Belarus jointly established by Northeastern University and the Belarusian National University of technology. | |
| − | + | On December 4, 2018, the 13th Confucius Institute Conference was held in Chengdu, with more than 1500 delegates from 154 countries and regions attending the conference. Sun Chunlan, vice premier of the State Council and chairman of the Confucius Institute Headquarters Council, attended and delivered a speech. | |
| − | + | '''Confucius Institute logo''' | |
| − | |||
| − | + | The logo uses a variant of the simplified Chinese word "Han" and combines two patterns of doves of peace and the earth flying high. Concise and lively, rigid and flexible, dynamic and powerful, it not only fully reflects China's traditional language and culture, but also reflects the pace of the times moving rapidly towards modernization. It has a certain inheritance with the logo of China's national language promotion agency, the national Hanban, and is a vivid embodiment of the work policy of "innovation, integration, and leap forward" of the national Hanban. | |
| − | + | ===Opportunities and Challenges of Confucius Institutes in the Dissemination of Chinese Language and Culture=== | |
| + | '''Confucius Institute "going out" strategy''' | ||
| − | + | In the 1990s, based on the experience gained in opening up to the outside world, Chinese leaders proposed not only to "bring in" but also to "go out" in economic construction. In 2000, the central government proposed the implementation of the "going out" strategy in the economic field for the first time. In 2002, the cultural field also clearly proposed to implement the cultural "going out" strategy. In recent years, the issue of "going out" of culture has attracted more and more attention of the state. The "decision of the CPC Central Committee on several major issues of comprehensively deepening reform" at the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee puts forward clear requirements for "going out" of culture, promotes Chinese culture to the world, and encourages social organizations and Chinese funded institutions to participate in the construction of Confucius Institutes. The 2014 government work report once again reiterated the goal of accelerating cultural going out, developing cultural trade, strengthening the construction of international communication capacity, and improving the national cultural soft power. In this context, as the only official organization that spreads Chinese language and Chinese culture, Confucius Institute is an important part of China's cultural "going out" strategy. | |
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| − | + | '''Promote Chinese teaching and education''' | |
| − | + | Language education and cultural inheritance and dissemination complement each other. Language is the carrier of culture. Without language, culture cannot go far. Therefore, Chinese teaching and education plays a vital role in the strategy of "Chinese culture going out". Whether teachers of Chinese as a foreign language or foreign students studying Chinese, they will become ambassadors of cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries. | |
| + | Promoting Chinese teaching and education is the only way for Chinese culture to go global. Without Chinese, the essence of Chinese culture is difficult to convey through translation. For example, idioms and poems in Chinese need cultural background to understand the referential meaning, which can not be directly translated or difficult to translate, because every language is a discourse system, and has its own cultural background. Without this discourse system and cultural background, some cultural connotations are difficult to be truly translated and transplanted. Spreading language is, of course, spreading a culture. Only by letting foreigners learn Chinese can we spread our way of thinking and values. At present, the influential language and culture communication institutions around the world: the French Union, Goethe Institut and the British Council all start with language professors, and then spread their own culture through language. | ||
| + | The study of Chinese teaching and education should pay attention to two levels: confidante and enemy. We should take the essence and discard the dross of our traditional culture. At the same time, we must also pay attention to the process of modernization of traditional culture, re deconstruct traditional culture and express it with a modern discourse system. At the same time, we should continue to study western culture and cultural background, explore methods of cross-cultural communication, and make Chinese teaching and education go further and better. | ||
| − | + | '''Publicize Chinese cultural classics''' | |
| − | |||
| − | + | Chinese cultural classics have formed a complete system in more than 2000 years, mainly including literature, philosophy, morality, education, history, religion, art and other classics, of which the six classics compiled by Confucius is at the center of this system. Propaganda of Chinese cultural classics refers to "the spread and dissemination of the elements, connotation and spirit of cultural classics." China's long history and civilization have made China a great cultural power. The 5000 year cultural heritage is the absolute advantage of the Chinese cultural classics "going out". | |
| + | It is an urgent task in the "going out" strategy of Confucius institutes to publicize Chinese cultural classics and enhance the national cultural soft power. In the process of world economic development and historical progress, the relationship between eastern and Western cultures is "30 years east and 30 years West". At present, the western culture popular all over the world has not always been like this, nor will it always be like this. Oriental civilization is also gradually rising. Publicizing Chinese cultural classics is the only way for the rise of Oriental civilization. It is not only conducive to carrying forward and protecting our national culture and fine traditions, but also of great strategic significance for revitalizing Chinese culture, disseminating Chinese civilization, and enhancing national cultural influence and competitiveness. | ||
| − | === | + | ===Analysis of the Current Situation of Confucius Institutes === |
| − | |||
| − | + | As a window for China to spread traditional culture to the world, the "Confucius Institute" has been highly expected by all parties since its birth. The Confucius Institute aims to teach Chinese and spread Chinese culture, send out the strongest voice of Chinese culture and display a positive image of China. In the past ten years, what achievements Confucius Institutes have made in international communication, what development problems they have encountered, and how to alleviate these problems to improve the international communication power of Confucius Institutes are the issues to be discussed in this chapter. | |
| − | The | ||
| − | + | '''Achievements of Confucius Institute in international communication''' | |
| − | |||
| − | The | + | The establishment of the Confucius Institute has awakened a friendship that transcends time and space, displayed the charm of Chinese culture, and achieved a new model of educational and cultural exchanges. It is not only the promoter of the global "Chinese fever", but also improved the international status of Chinese; It is also a bridge for national exchanges and cooperation, promoting cultural and academic exchanges between China and foreign countries, and deepening cooperation with local universities, enterprises and social organizations; Confucius Institute is also the messenger of national soft power. It has improved China's soft power by offering courses with Chinese characteristics and holding a series of cultural activities, which is conducive to changing China's marginal political image. Over the past decade, the Confucius Institute has made great achievements in international communication, and has been called "beautiful Chinese business card", "real Chinese Reader" and "lovely folk ambassador" by foreigners. |
| − | + | '''Deeply loved by the audience and promotes the "Chinese fever" in the world''' | |
| − | |||
| − | + | The "Chinese fever" continues to spread around the world. Since 2004, the Confucius Institute Headquarters has established 445 Confucius Institutes and 664 Confucius Classrooms in 121 countries around the world. About 50 institutes are born a year, and about 400 universities in 71 countries strongly demand Confucius Institutes. Xu Lin, member of the National Committee of the Chinese people's Political Consultative Conference, director of the national Hanban office and director general of the headquarters of KONGYU college, said in an exclusive interview with the people's daily on March 11, 2014 that the "Chinese fever" continues worldwide, and the number of overseas Chinese Learners has exceeded 100million. The Confucius Institute borrows the world cultural symbol "Confucius" and insists on paying equal attention to Chinese teaching and the dissemination of Chinese culture. It is widely accepted by people all over the world. Its influence covers 90% of the world's population except China. Europe is the region with the largest number and density of Confucius Institutes. By the end of 2013, there were 149 Confucius Institutes in 37 countries in Europe. | |
| + | The construction of Confucius institutes has promoted the "Chinese fever" around the world. South Korea, the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan and other countries have listed Chinese as one of the foreign language subjects in the college entrance examination, and the Thai government is from the country | ||
| + | Starting from the strategic height of home, we have formulated a national plan to promote Chinese teaching. At the same time, the international communication of Confucius institutes has also improved the international status of Chinese and changed the views of some foreigners on China. In the research conducted by Dr. Wu Ying of Shanghai Foreign Studies University, students from 16 Confucius Institutes in five countries have a better impression of China after learning Chinese. | ||
| − | + | '''Issues of international dissemination of Confucius Institutes''' | |
| − | + | The rapid development of Confucius Institutes all over the world fully demonstrates that people all over the world are interested in learning Chinese and understanding The rapid development of Confucius Institutes around the world fully demonstrates the demand and desire of people all over the world to learn Chinese and understand China, but they also face some problems in the process of development. In the current trend that countries are competing to spread their own language and culture, the culture of the Confucius Institutes has become more popular. In the current trend of countries competing to spread their own language and culture, there is fierce competition in the field of international cultural promotion, and the construction of Confucius Institutes faces the challenge of sustainable development. In terms of internal environment, Confucius Institutes are developing too fast in some countries, lacking accurate positioning, not advanced management system, insufficient excellent teachers, and not enough localized teaching materials, which cannot meet the needs of effective dissemination of Chinese culture. In the means of communication. Although there are many ways to disseminate Chinese culture, in practice, they often fall into a programmed fence. The biggest problem at present is that the depth of Chinese culture dissemination is not enough, and the content of dissemination needs to be further expanded and deepened. | |
| − | + | In fact, the establishment and development of Confucius Institutes in foreign countries is a process of cross-cultural communication. Due to cultural differences, many foreign mainstream media have misinterpreted the intercultural communication of Confucius Institutes. Influenced by Western ideology and social system, some foreign mass media have vilified the image of Confucius Institutes in their reports on Confucius Institutes. Instead of simply examining the overseas dissemination of Confucius Institutes from the perspective of language and culture dissemination, they have intermingled political and human rights factors and painted the intercultural dissemination of Confucius Institutes with political colors. These questions and criticisms mainly focus on "Confucius Institutes are propaganda tools", "Confucius Institutes are not independent and are controlled by the Chinese government", and infer that "Confucius Institutes affect academic freedom (of local universities)". The conclusion that "Confucius Institutes affect academic freedom" was drawn. In turn, the issue of "Tibet", "Taiwan" and so on were brought into play. | |
| − | + | One reason is that the Chinese side has not yet responded or refuted this issue, and although the "State Hanban" is affiliated with the Ministry of Education, it is a non-governmental organization. Although it is affiliated with the Ministry of Education, it is a non-governmental, non-profit organization. Second, the need to transform and market Confucius Institutes has yet to be proven. | |
| − | + | The cultural differences between regions bring confusion or misinterpretation to the encoding and decoding of information. Because of the differences between Chinese and Western cultures and systems, Westerners cannot read and understand China. There is a problem of "cultural discount" in international cultural exchange: because of the lack of common cultural background and experience between the communicator and the target, the cultural appreciation habits of people in different countries are very different, so misinterpretation is inevitable. According to Italian scholar Ecko, self-decoding is used to illustrate the situation where a message encoded in a certain code is decoded in another code, so that the final received meaning is different from the intended meaning", which is the reason why Westerners consider Chinese people "impenetrable". | |
| − | + | ===Conclusion=== | |
| − | + | The Confucius Institute was born in 2004 with a good intention: to make the world understand China and China understand the world. This was not only the original intention of a cultural institution, but the desire of a rising power. From 2004 to 2014 After ten years of development, the Confucius Institute has become a global institution with a certain scale and influence, known as the "most wonderful export" of Chinese culture. The Confucius Institute has been called the "most wonderful export" of Chinese culture. In fact, the world's major developed countries have long begun to attach importance to the role of language as a cultural carrier. For example, Germany established the Goethe Institute in 1951, France established the Alliance Française in 1883, and the British Council in 1934. The study of the international dissemination of Confucius Institutes is conducive to the improvement of China's "soft power", as well as to the development and improvement of Chinese culture and its contribution to the world's cultural pluralism. | |
| − | + | As of mid-March 2014, 443 Confucius Institutes have settled in 120 countries and regions, and Confucius Institutes have made great achievements in promoting "Chinese language fever", promoting national exchanges and cooperation, and demonstrating China's "soft power". However, Confucius Institutes also face the problems of not being avant-garde in terms of software and hardware, programmatic in terms of communication means and insufficient depth in terms of content, among which, the lack of depth in terms of content, i.e., less involving the essence of Chinese culture and the modern value of Chinese culture, is the biggest constraint. The hindering factors of international communication of Confucius Institute are the lack of contemporary and innovative thinking in Chinese cultural communication, and the serious deficit state of cultural communication between China and the West, especially the challenge of ideological thinking in Western countries. In response to these problems, the following countermeasures are proposed to improve the international communication power of Confucius Institutes, including optimizing the construction of teachers and teaching materials to achieve localization, strengthening cultural exchanges and unblocking the channels of cultural communication, casting Chinese cultural masterpieces, and strengthening the evaluation of communication effects. | |
| − | + | Confucius Institutes' international communication shows the following development trends. First, the content of communication is moving to a higher level, that is, the export of values. The prerequisite is to develop high-quality Chinese culture teaching materials, and the way is the modern transformation of traditional culture, focusing on strengthening the dissemination of values, which requires us to clarify the essence of Chinese culture and its modern transformation; secondly, the development of diversified means of communication. Confucius Institutes are beginning to grasp the cultural differences between countries, integrate local social resources, and seek digital communication paths, among which, digital development of communication means is the trend, and strengthening the combination of online Confucius Institutes and social media is the development direction; finally, two-way communication is growing. Chinese culture is getting stronger and stronger as it goes out, and foreign culture is getting hotter and hotter as it is brought in. The combination of "going out" and "coming in" is the most harmonious state, and finally from the level of cultural exchange to the highest level of cross-fertilization and integration. | |
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| − | + | In the process of writing, I have collected a large amount of information and also interviewed students who teach in Confucius Institutes abroad, trying to make the research close to the actual situation. However, due to my limited academic knowledge and lack of field research, this paper inevitably has many shortcomings. In the future, I will continue to strengthen my theoretical knowledge and pay attention to the subsequent development and construction of Confucius Institutes, hoping that they will go farther and better, and that Chinese culture will flourish in international communication! | |
| − | + | ===References=== | |
| + | [1]李智.文化外交--- 种传播学的解读[M].北京:北京大学出版社,2005 | ||
| − | + | [2]关世杰.跨文化交流学[M].北京:北京大学出版社,1995 | |
| − | + | [3]刘继南,周积华等著.国际传播与国家形象-- 国际关系的新视角[M].北京:北京广播学院出版社,2002 | |
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| − | + | [5]吴瑛.孔子学院与中国文化的国际传播[M].杭州: 浙江大学出版社，2013 | |
| − | + | [6]关世杰中国跨文化传播研究十年回顾与反思[J].对外大传播,2006(12) | |
| − | + | [7]李加军.跨文化的对话:误读与化解路径-- 以孔子学院为例[J].学术探索,2011(4) | |
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| − | + | ==英语笔译 梁思婷 Liang Siting 202170081581== | |
| − | === | ||
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| − | + | <center>'''Culture and Prejudice'''</center> | |
| − | + | <center>'''Liang Siting'''</center> | |
| − | === | + | ===Abstract=== |
| + | This paper combines the discourse cognitive model discourse social interaction perspective to analyze Hofstede's discourse describing and commenting on the cultural value dimension as a way to reveal the cultural bias embedded in Hoh's model. The analysis reveals that the bias arises mainly from the idea of Western cultural values inherent in the minds of different people and the inappropriate choice of language. The model has been accepted and widely used mainly because the research method and descriptions happen to be in line with the inherent cognitive and intellectual framework of Western society and are easily recognized by Western scholars and readers. Studies have shown that critical discourse analysis is one of the effective tools to reveal the problem of cultural bias in cross-cultural studies. | ||
| − | === | + | ===Keywords:=== |
| − | + | Cultural Value Dimension; Cross-Cultural Studies; Social Interaction Perspective | |
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| − | + | ===1.Introduction:=== | |
| − | + | The issue of cultural bias has been the subject of strong criticism by scholars of intercultural communication research, but explicit or implicit cultural bias has never ceased to exist, and Hofstede's model of cultural values is no exception. In cultural studies, Hofstede (1991a) designed and conducted a large scale questionnaire borrowing from the "cultural value dimensions" proposed by Kluckhohn and Strodbeck (1961). Through factor analysis and theoretical derivation of the survey results, four latitudes were identified to distinguish different cultures in the world: Power Distance (PDI), Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI), Individualism/Collectivism (IDV), and the masculinity of society. (IDV), and the masculinity of society (MAS). Although he later added to the model several times (1991b; 1999), he vehemently denied that the study was fundamentally flawed in any way (Mcsweeney, 2002: 90) or that there was any form of cultural bias. | |
| + | The model has been widely and thoroughly discussed by scholars for more than two decades, with both praise and criticism (Lustig | ||
| + | However, few scholars have conducted a more detailed micro-analysis of the problems with the model at the level of discourse analysis. To this end, this paper intends to combine van Dijk's model of discursive cognition with Fairclough's perspective on the social interaction of discourse to analyze Hoh's discourse describing the cultural value dimension, reveal the cultural biases embedded in it, and then further discuss how cultural biases are produced/reproduced in Youse-related discourse from a historical and social perspective and legitimization as a way to show that critical discourse analysis is one of the effective tools to reveal the problem of cultural bias in intercultural communication research. | ||
| + | Cultural bias as a cognitive process and social activity discourse Cultural bias is an incorrect perception held by people of one culture about people of another culture in intercultural communication research, and in practice it is more often manifested as an unfair attitude, i.e., it is "an acquired tendency, as a result of which people usually react in a consistent (negative) way to a particular group of people or event" (Chen, 2004). (Chen & Starosta, 1998: 40-41). Cultural bias sometimes appears in a visible way, but it is more often latent in language and other contextual factors in an implicit way. Once implicit cultural bias escapes people's attention, it can easily become accepted as discourse spreads and may transform into a power that influences and limits the correct perception of other cultural issues, Said (1999) Language acquisition. The discourse on Orientalism reveals this profoundly. | ||
| − | + | ===2.Prejudicial Discourse=== | |
| − | As | + | Prejudicial discourse is one of the focuses of research by scholars of critical discourse analysis, who not only analyze the prejudices implicit in various specific discourses (van Dijk, 1980, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993b; Fairclough & Wodak, 1997: 266; Teo, 2000; Wodak et al., 1990 ), and also theoretically reflect on the nature of discrimination discourse (Matouschek et al., 1995). These studies suggest that critical discourse analysis is a powerful tool for studying prejudice and racialized discourse and revealing the power relations and inequality factors within it. Although this study focuses on prejudice in cross-cultural contexts, it is believed that critical discourse analysis should have equal validity here as long as relevant (cross-cultural) contextual factors are taken into account in the analysis. |
| + | In terms of examining the issue of cultural bias in the Hoh model, we believe that Fairclough's perspective of social interaction in discourse should be combined with Van Dyke's model of discursive cognition. As mentioned earlier, the formation of cultural bias is a cognitive process, an incorrect reflection of reality by the mind, and once formed, it influences and changes people's perceptions of social reality by exerting influence on their perceptions. Therefore, the key to explaining this process through discourse analysis is to recognize that there is an interaction between discourse and society and that the interaction between discourse and society occurs only through cognition. Specifically, it is only through the lens of discourse-society interaction that it is possible to understand why cultural biases can permeate Fok's cultural patterns despite his efforts to avoid them and how discursive practices in turn further reinforce the cultural biases within them. However, this perspective does not explain the sources of cultural bias in Hoh's model and the possible consequences for people's perceptions, nor does it explain how cultural bias is constructed at the micro level of discourse and how discourse is linked to thinking. Only by considering cognition as a mediator of the connection between discourse and social reality, as Van Dyke (1993a) does, can we understand that cultural bias is acquired, used, and changed in social contexts, and that it influences the way people behave; that discourse is the most important source of the emergence, development, and change of cultural discourse; and that social behavior, social practice activities, relations of domination, relations of inequality, and power struggles in cross-cultural situations Social behavior, social practices, dominance relations, inequality relations, and power struggles in cross-cultural situations are ultimately expressed in discourse only under the influence of cultural biases and other social cognitive factors. It is for this reason that the analysis of language and discourse strategies at the micro level provides a basis for revealing the cultural biases in Hoh's model, and also shows that discourse analysis should not be limited to the formal analysis of language forms and discourse strategies, but should also focus on the cognitive, social, cultural and historical factors in the production of discourse. | ||
| − | + | ===3.Analysis of Hofstede’s Discourse Theory=== | |
| − | + | The main content of the analysis in this paper is Hofstede's descriptions of different cultural value dimensions and related comments in his book The Consequences of Culture: Differences in Cultural Values in the Work Environment (1991a). These descriptions are mainly based on words, phrases and independent sentences, and their related comments are mainly expressed in a few short sentences. Therefore, the main object of analysis in this paper is the semantic units such as the relevant words and propositions in the text, and the analysis will adopt the three steps of description, interpretation and elucidation proposed by Fairclough (1989: 26). | |
| − | + | '''3.1 Lexical analysis''' | |
| − | + | Regarding the potential ability of vocabulary to participate in the construction of discourse ideas, domestic and foreign researchers in discourse analysis (Halliday, 1976; | |
| − | + | Fowler & Kress, 1979; Trew, 1979; Huang, Ying, 2006 | |
| + | 2007; You, Zeshun & Chen, 2009) have conducted many studies and they found that vocabulary is employed not only at the coprime level but also at the ephemeral level to reflect social change and construct ideas, etc. This means that the use of different vocabularies in cross-cultural studies may allow cultural biases to permeate and be accepted in discourse, as evidenced by the following semantic analysis of the vocabulary used by Hoh to describe different cultural value dimensions. | ||
| + | It can be seen that the vocabulary used by Hoh to describe both ends of each dimension are two/groups of mutually opposing words or phrases, which can be divided into the following categories. | ||
| + | (1) Positive/negative words | ||
| + | PDI (L/H): equal rights/privileges; less threatened/potential threatened; more prepared to trust/ rarely trusted; latent harmony/latent confl ict ( Hofstede, 1991a: 94) | ||
| + | UAI (L/H): (unsurety) accepted/a continuous threat; not threatening/dangerous; greater tolerance/intolerance; positive and suspected ( Hofstede, 1991a: 140) | ||
| + | Clearly, two of the words in the above groups exhibit a positive and negative opposition. This dichotomy can have a significant impact on human perceptions, leading readers to believe that the former is more desirable and the latter less desirable. Cultures that are not "superior" or "inferior" are immediately shown to be superior or inferior when they are modified by these words. | ||
| + | (2) Words that support/contradict the spirit of the Enlightenment | ||
| + | PDI (L/H): independence/dependence; reward, legitimate, and expert power/ coercive and referent power; redistributing power/dethrone those in power (Hofstede, 1991a: 94) | ||
| + | IDV (L/H): emotional dependence/emotional independence; (private life) invaded/ has a right; differ for ingroups and outgroups/apply to all ( Hofstede, 1991a: 171) | ||
| + | "Independence, freedom, and democracy" were the themes of the Western Renaissance. | ||
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| + | It was promoted by Western thinkers such as Locke, Rousseau, and Kant, and has been appreciated by Western society to this day. Faced with the absolute dominance of Western humanistic and philosophical thought in today's world, these standards have influenced various cultures around the world to varying degrees. The result is that many people reading these opposing terms are likely to come to believe that cultures with low levels of individualism and high power distance are undesirable. | ||
| + | (3) Words that support/contradict the Christian creed | ||
| + | UAI (L/H): time is free/money (Hofstede, 1991a: 140) | ||
| + | "freedom" implies that people focus more on the "feeling of freedom," and "money" suggests that people value the role of "money," indicating uncertainty avoidance. This suggests that societies with a high degree of uncertainty and avoidance are more concerned with acquiring money than with enjoying life itself. This "money" mentality is undesirable in the light of the basic spirit of Christianity (Holy Bible, 1995: 982, 98), so a culture with a low level of uncertainty avoidance is clearly preferable to a culture with a high level of avoidance. | ||
| + | (4) Stereotypes of femininity/masculinity | ||
| + | MAS (H/L): people orientation/ money and things orientation; quality of life and environment/performance and growth; service/achievement; interdependent/independent; intuitive/ decisive; small and slow/big and fast; fluid sex role, unisex androgyny/ clearly differentiated sex role and machismo (Hofstede, 1991a: 205) | ||
| + | As can be seen from the above vocabulary, Hofstede's description of a high/low masculinity culture in society is closely linked to the long-standing image of masculinity/femininity in Western society. In this regard, men are affirmed and women are discriminated against, e.g., women act with emotions (people orientation, not rational) and men act with profit (money | ||
| + | Women act on intuition (intuitive) and men act on decisiveness (decisiveness). In addition, cultures with low levels of masculinity are described as fluid sex role, unisex, and androgyny, while cultures with high levels of masculinity are described as clearly differentiated sex role, machismo, and their gender roles are not clear. (machismo), and their gender roles develop normally. | ||
| + | Obviously, without considering the contextual factors, there is nothing special about the above-mentioned types of oppositional terms, because, they seem to be simply words that coincide with the most common ways people categorize and judge things. However, when they are put together in cross-cultural studies to describe different cultures, they actually construct an idea of cultural superiority/inferiority (ideology) in one's perception. For example, when describing the individualism/collectivism difference, one can clearly perceive discrimination against the collectivist culture. When the four dimensions are used simultaneously to judge the characteristics of various cultures, these terms more directly create the impression that certain cultures are superior to another, such as Australia, Canada, Britain, Ireland, South Africa, and the United States because of their high degree of individualism, low power distance, low uncertainty avoidance, and high degree of social masculinity." equality" and "democracy". Once these views are subconsciously accepted, people will unconsciously place a culture as superior or inferior first when dealing with and studying different cultures, and use this as a basis for further discussion, preventing them from further considering deeper questions such as whether there are superior or inferior cultures, and how different cultures really are. | ||
| − | + | '''3.2 Propositional analysis''' | |
| − | + | Propositions are the smallest independent units of meaning in language and thought, usually expressed by independent sentences or clauses (van Dijk, 1988: 31). Since semantics deals with both meaning and enlightenment, propositions can also be seen as the smallest semantic units that are either true or false in the dimension of denotation. At any time when people want to express their ideas, communicate with others or learn something, they necessarily use propositions, so propositions are closely linked to thinking and social cognition. Because of this, propositions are also inseparable from ideas, "ideas as content are represented and communicated through language, and these are best thought of as propositions or relations between propositions" (Wood, 2004: 39). One of the most widely used ways of making propositions is by implication, i.e., when people's intentions are inappropriate or cannot be expressed clearly and unambiguously, they usually use those more readily acceptable entailments to imply or conceal their true intentions and make others agree on the validity of their assertions. In such cases, listeners or readers may find it difficult to grasp and reject these ideas. Hoh's description of the four dimensions of cultural values often consists of two sentence propositions that form opposites or contrasts with each other and that contain biases against certain cultures, in several categories. | |
| − | + | (1) Propositions that support/contradict the spirit of the Enlightenment | |
| + | Equality/Inequality | ||
| + | PDI: 1a. Inequality in society should be minimized. | ||
| + | 1b. There should be an order of inequality in this world in which everyone has his rightful place; high and low are protected by this order | ||
| + | (Hofstede, 1991a: 94) Legal/illegal | ||
| + | PDI: 1a. The use of power should be subject to the judgment between good and evil. | ||
| + | Power is a basic fact of society which antedates good or evil. | ||
| + | (Hofstede, 1991a: 94) Independence/dependence | ||
| + | IDV. 1a: | ||
| + | 1a. Identity is based in the individual. | ||
| + | 1b. Identity is based in the social system. 2a. | ||
| + | 2a. (There are) autonomy, variety, pleasure, individual fi nancial security. 2b. | ||
| + | 2b. (There are) expertise, order, duty, security provided by organization or clan | ||
| + | (Hofstede, 1991a: 171) Normal/ abnormal development of human nature | ||
| + | UAI: 1a. Inner urge to work hard | ||
| + | 1b. Hard work is not a virtue per se. | ||
| + | (Hofstede, 1991a: 140) | ||
| + | MAS: 1a. Work to live. 1b. Live to work. | ||
| + | (Hofstede, 1991a: 205) | ||
| + | Since the Enlightenment, "equality" and "freedom" have been considered by the West as two basic principles for judging the justice of a society (Rawls, 2003: 61), and "legitimacy Legitimacy" is the basic criterion for the exercise of power by elected leaders in a "democratic" society (Huntington, 1998: 9), and "autonomy" is the basic right of civic life. Work is an intrinsic need for the healthy and full development of human nature, but when hard work becomes the only means of earning a living or exploiting others, it is detrimental to human nature (Otero, 1994: 353, 357). | ||
| + | (2) Propositions for/against consumerism | ||
| + | Competitive/non-competitive | ||
| + | UAI: 1a. Confl ict and competition can be contained on the level of fair play and used constructively. | ||
| + | 1b. Conflict and competition can unleash aggression and should therefore be avoided" means they can not. | ||
| + | (Hofstede, 1991a: 140) | ||
| + | MAS: 1a. (To show) sympathy for the successful achiever. | ||
| + | 1b. (To show) sympathy for the unfortunate. | ||
| + | (Hofstede, 1991a: 205) Cooperation/non-cooperation | ||
| + | PDI: 1a. Cooperation among the powerless can be based on solidarity. | ||
| + | 1b. Cooperation among the powerless is difficult to bring about because of low faith in people norm. | ||
| + | (Hofstede, 1991a: 94) | ||
| + | Commentators have repeatedly pointed out that the world today is entering a "consumer society", where "all people have entered the market, and they are both consumers and commodities" (Bauman, 2004: 91). This trend is due to the increasing size of multinationals and the decreasing number of companies, which has led to a few mega-multinationals holding most of the production and distribution capacity of the capitalist world (Fairclough, 1989: 35). MNCs have been able to survive mainly because they are more productive and able to enhance cooperation among their colleagues and improve their own competitiveness. The coexistence of competition and cooperation has had such a significant impact on areas other than production and distribution, including social life, that "being cooperative" and "competitive" are considered by most people to be good qualities for individuals in a consumer society. People who lack these two qualities are considered to be defective. | ||
| + | (3) Bravery/Cowardice | ||
| + | UAI: 1a. More willing to take risks in life. | ||
| + | 1b. Concern with security in life. | ||
| + | (Hofstede, 1991a: 140) | ||
| + | The promotion of risk-taking is a common feature of almost all cultures, and heroic deeds are one of the major themes in the creation of various works. Thus, those who | ||
| + | "willing to take risk" are often revered for being "very brave" and those accustomed to "living with security" | ||
| + | (concerned with security) are despised for their "cowardice". Obviously, all the above-mentioned b propositions imply negative connotations, and the culture described by these propositions will undoubtedly bear a negative mark. Moreover, from a propositional perspective, cultural bias does not exist only in the description of the cultural value dimension. In fact, to make his cultural value dimensions more credible, Hofstede also discusses them specifically in terms of climate, geographical features, history, and level of economic development. Unfortunately, these interpretations and comments also contain cultural biases. | ||
| + | Statement 1. in low PDI countries, power is something of which power holders are almost ashamed and which they will try to underplay. i heard a Swedish I heard a Swedish university offi cial state that in order to exercise power, he tries not to look powerful. | ||
| + | (Hofstede, 1991a: 93-94) | ||
| + | What is power? What is the use of power? Power is "the ability to urge others to do something (as one wishes)," and by studying power, "we can identify who controls what resources and whose interests they serve" (Moore & Hendry, 1982: 127. cf. Thomas & Wareing, 2001: 10), that is, power is about control and benefit. In fact, people compete or cooperate with each other in their daily lives in order to gain power, and no one will refuse to be given more power, nor will those who control power be "ashamed to have it in their hands. However, "they may try to keep a low profile" because "power is only acceptable if it covers up most of its energy. The success of the use of power is directly proportional to its own ability to conceal the mechanisms of power" (Foucault, 1981: 86. cf. Fairclough, 1992: 51). Thus, the Swedish university official "tries not to look so powerful" not because he is ashamed of being in control, but as a strategy for exercising power; a culture with a small power distance is as unlikely to consider "being in control and exercising power" a "shame" as a culture with a large power distance. "It is only that they differ in the way they exercise power. | ||
| + | Statement 2. The differences in stress (between high MAS and low MAS) on achievement are also present in the school system. For example, school For example, school performance in Germany (high MAS) is an important issue; there is strong pressure for performance, which in extreme cases can lead to suicide attempts among students who fail. In the Netherlands (low MAS), for example, the amount of pressure for performance is much less; anything that looks like competitive pressure is socially disapproved. Suicides among young people occur, but rarely because of failed exams. (Hofstede, 1991a: 206) | ||
| + | The analysis shows that Huo's model of cultural values is implicitly culturally biased, yet his model has gained popularity in the field of cross-cultural studies. This contradictory phenomenon compels us to further consider how the cultural biases in his model are produced and how they are reproduced and transmitted in discursive practices. | ||
| + | In response to the first question, we believe that there are two main reasons for the production of cultural bias in Fok's model: the Western cultural values inherent in Fok's own mind; and his inappropriate choice of language. Here, we do not mean to say that he is a Western cultural centrist who is full of discrimination against non-Western cultures. Quite the contrary, we consider him to be a cross-cultural researcher who opposes cultural discrimination, as evidenced by his research methodology that employs large-scale questionnaires and data analysis methods to avoid subjective factors. However, as a scholar who grew up and was educated in the West, he could not completely avoid the values inherent in Western culture, thus making himself eventually fall into the trap of Western cultural ideas. The most typical of these is that his cultural value dimension is based on the Western "dualistic cognition". This way of cognition distinguishes the world as either "black" or "white," "good" or "bad," or "right" or "right. "Therefore, the distinction between his cultural model and specific societies can only be binary. In addition, his description of the "degree of male socialization" is biased against societies with "low male socialization" due to the influence of traditional Western society's discriminatory view of women. Another consequence of these Western cultural values is his inability to choose the precise language to describe the cultural value dimensions. In his descriptions, Fok refers to "less independent", "l e s s t o o", and "less social". | ||
| + | "l e s s t o l e r a n c e" exactly as "independent", "intolerance", and uses This is exemplified by the use of independent/dependent and tolerance/intolerance to describe the two cultures. However, we know that the dichotomy, while helping people to quickly distinguish between two cultures, can cause people to overlook the important reality that there are no absolute or essential differences between any two cultures in the world; they are more differences in degree (Wu, A. J.1998). | ||
| + | So why is the Hoh model still recognized by industry professionals? We believe that it is because Huo's research methods and descriptions are just "compatible with the cognitive and intellectual frameworks inherent in Western societies and are easily accepted by Western scholars" (van Dijk, 1993a: 107-113). As mentioned earlier, Hoh's research uses a combination of large-scale questionnaires and data analysis, and this combination of quantitative and qualitative research is precisely one of the most common methods used in modern Western social sciences, and is considered by Western academics to be the only research method that can help the social sciences achieve the same level of "precision" as the natural sciences. Therefore, research using this method is considered by many people (especially in the West) to be absolutely "scientific". This notion not only convinced Hoh himself that his research was absolutely free of subjectivity, but also largely removed any doubts about the "scientificity" of his research from other researchers and readers. Moreover, many Western scholars and readers of cross-cultural studies share a similar binary cognitive framework with Fok, which not only makes them feel that there is nothing wrong with Fok's binary description of the cultural dimension, but also that it feels natural. Under such circumstances, it is only natural for them to accept Fok's descriptions and ignore the cultural biases implicit in his discourse. For non-Western scholars and readers, their failure to micro-analyze the discourse and to examine the problems with Fok's model from a social and historical context prevents them from fundamentally dismantling the foundations of cultural bias in the model. Although they vaguely feel that there is something wrong with these descriptions, it is difficult to clearly explain what the problem is, and therefore, they accept Hoh's conclusions in the actual study. | ||
| − | + | ===Conclusion=== | |
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| − | + | A discourse analysis of Hofstede's cultural value model shows that both at the lexical and propositional levels, Hofstede's descriptions and comments on the cultural value dimension imply a bias against certain cultures, especially those that are inconsistent with Western values. This study suggests that we need to be sensitive to the limitations of the use of "widely used" theoretical models, including the cultural biases they imply, when dealing with them. At the same time, from a theoretical perspective, this study demonstrates that critical discourse analysis is one of the effective tools for unraveling the problem of cultural bias in cross-cultural studies. | |
| − | === | + | ===Reference=== |
| − | + | [1] Hofstede, G. Culture’s Consequences: International Differences in WorkRelated Values [M]. California: Sage Publications, 1991a. | |
| − | The | + | [2] Hofstede, G. Cultures and Organizations: Soft-ware of thecMind [M]. London: McGraw-Hill, 1991b. |
| − | + | [3] Hofstede, G. The universal and the specific in 21st century global management [J]. Organizational Dynamics, 1999, (3): 34-43. | |
| + | [4] van Dijk, T. A. Macrostructures: An Interdisciplinary Study of Global Structures in Discourse, Interaction and Cognition [M]. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, 1980. [22] van Dijk, T. A. Prejudice in Discourse [M]. Amsterdam: Benjamins, 1985. [23] van Dijk, T. A. Communicating Racism [M]. London: Sage, 1987. | ||
| + | [5] 尤泽顺，陈建平. 话语秩序与对外政策建构：对政府工作报告的词汇变化分析 [J]. 广东外语外贸大学学报，2009, (2): 44-49. | ||
| + | [6] 吴爱珍. 谈HC和LC文化—Hall文化模式评述 [J]. 外国语, 1998, (4): | ||
| − | + | ==英语笔译 廖诗韵 Liao Shiyun 202170081582== | |
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| − | + | <center>'''Study on The translation Strategies of Chinese Idioms'''</center> | |
| − | + | <center>Liao Shiyun</center> | |
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===Abstract=== | ===Abstract=== | ||
| + | An idiom is created and accumulated by a nation in its development. It has a rich national feature and reflects the historical tradition of the nation. Idioms are the most vivid and vital part of a language. English and Chinese idioms are influenced by their respective language and culture and have rich cultural heritage and connotations, which can clearly reflect the differences between the two cultures. Therefore, it is not easy to deliver the meanings of the Chinese idioms with quite national cultural characteristics in English. Before translating idioms, one needs to understand the differences between the two language cultures. When translating, the translator not only should fully consider the strong national style of the idioms and accurately convey the meaning of the original text but also need to take into account the acceptance of the target-language readers. In this paper, the author will analyze the differences between Chinese and English idioms from the perspective of cultural differences between the two languages. And the author will take the English version of Fortress Besieged as an example to analyze the application of foreignization and domestication in the translation of idioms, in order to provide some insights for idiom translation and promote the dissemination of Chinese culture. | ||
===Key words=== | ===Key words=== | ||
| − | + | Idioms; ''Fortress Besieged''; Foreignization; Domestication | |
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===Introduction=== | ===Introduction=== | ||
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| − | + | With the gradual promotion of China's cultural "going out" strategy and "Belt and Road Initiative", the international community has become more interested in Chinese culture. And the country attaches more importance to cultural communication and exchange with the outside world. The dissemination of literary works has undoubtedly become one of the important bridges for the "going out" of culture. Language and culture are inseparable, and cultural factors have always been a difficult task in translation due to the great differences between Chinese and Western cultures. As the cream of the Chinese language, Chinese idioms have strong cultural characteristics. Authors of Chinese novels often like to quote scriptures and use idioms to convey their feelings and meanings. Therefore, when translating Chinese novels, the translation of idioms becomes a major difficulty. And foreignization and domestication are the fundamental strategies adopted for cultural conversion in translation. Therefore, this thesis analyzes the cultural differences between Chinese and English idioms, and takes the English translation of Fortress Besieged as an example to analyze the application of foreignization and domestication in the translation of idioms. | |
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| − | == | + | ===Literature review=== |
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| − | + | Mo Lihong and Ge Lingling (Ge 2012) studied the translation of Chinese idioms based on the relevance theory. They believed the theory plays a great role in guiding the translation of idioms. They first explored the theory's revelation to Chinese-English idiom translation, and then analyzed the translation strategies of Chinese idioms according to the theory. There are methods including literal translation, liberal translation method, the combination of literal translation and liberal translation, and CorrespondingTranslation. | |
| + | Sun Haibo (Sun 2013) discussed the translation of English and Chinese idioms from the perspective of cultural differences, and explored how translators use translation strategies in order to better translate idioms from four aspects: cultural traditions, religious differences, myths and legends, and ways of thinking. He argued that literal translation is possible when there are commonalities between the two languages, while when there are differences between the two languages, translators need to adopt flexible means, and use paraphrasing and liberal translation to get rid of various limitations. Zhang Jingjing (Zhang 2014) studied the translation strategies of idioms from the perspective of functional equivalence theory, and she believed that the differences in the expressions of English and Chinese idioms are attributed to historical and customary factors. Therefore, the translation strategies of functional equivalence translation theory should be reasonably applied. Wang Qin (Wang 2014) also takes Naida's functional equivalence theory as the basis to study the four-character idioms containing color words in the Chinese-English Dictionary. He analyzed the difficulties encountered by translators when translating and exploring the cultural differences between Chinese and English on color, and pointed out the strategies for translating idioms. He argues that translators can only achieve successful translations if they master the cultural differences between Chinese and English. He Yongbin (He 2016) analyzes the translation of Chinese idioms from the perspective of cross-cultural communication, and the analysis results show that translators use the literal translation and literal translation with annotation more often when translating idioms into English, which are considered to be able to maintain the original ethnical feature and culture of idioms. Because the structure of Chinese idioms is rather special and the sentence length is different from that of English, it is considered that Chinese idioms deserve further research and exploration. Shi Xiaoping (Shi 2018) studied the English translation of Chinese idioms from the translator's contextual vision and analyzed five translation techniques used by translators: literal translation, literal translation with notes, liberal translation, amplification and omission. He argues that certain difficulties arise when translating Chinese idioms into English, and that translators often ignore the historical context of the idioms, resulting in a translation that is not comprehensive enough and easily misleading to readers, so he suggests that translators should enrich their cultural knowledge, improve their communication skills, and master the translation techniques involved when translating at the same time. | ||
| − | === | + | ===the Translation Strategy of Idioms=== |
| − | + | Generally speaking, it is difficult to translate the linguistic structure of Chinese idioms, but only the meaning. And it is especially difficult to translate both the linguistic structure and the meaning. Even when translating the meaning, it is sometimes difficult to balance the original meaning with the meaning that people usually use nowadays, because there is a process of change from the original meaning to the meaning that people usually use nowadays. In translation, the handling of cultural factors has always been a difficult issue, and foreignization and domestication are the fundamental strategies adopted for cultural transformation in translation. | |
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| − | + | (1)Foreinization and Domestication | |
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| − | + | Schleiermacher, the German philosopher, stated two methods of translation in one of his speeches in 1813. One is author-to-reader method and the other is reader-to-author method. As the former, the translators try their best to leave the readers in peace, and move the author to them. While the latter means that the translators do their utmost to leave the author in peace and move the readers to him. In his book, The Translator's Invisibility, Lawrence Venuti, a famous American translation theorist, firstly used the terms of foreignization and domestication. Foreinization could convey the meaning of the source text more accurately and effectively to readers, with representing a kind of link of the linguistic features of the original language (Venuti, 1995:36); or the type of translation in which a TT (target text) is produced which deliberately breaks target conventions by retainning something foreignness of the original (Shuttleworth, 1997:23). Domestication refers to a translation strategy that adheres to the current dominant values of the target language culture and adopts a conservative assimilation of the original text to make it cater to the local canon, publishing trends and political needs (Venuti, 2006:4); or it refers to a translation strategy in which a transparent, fluent style is adopted in order to minimize the strangeness of the foreign text for TL (target language) readers (Shuttleworth, 1997:63). In summary, the foreignization translation strategy requires translators to preserve the linguistic and cultural characteristics of the original text and promote cultural communication for target readers; when adopting domestication strategy, the translator takes the target language culture as his center, and tries to use the expressions of the target language so that target readers should be able to appreciate and understand the translated text in the same way as the original readers do. In translating, absolute domestication and absolute foreignization do not exist. Both of them have their respective advantages and disadvantages, and they are opposites and complementary to each other. | |
| − | + | Advantages and disadvantages of Domestication | |
| − | + | The biggest advantage of domesticating translation is to enable a good and fluent translation. By a fluent domesticating strategy, the translators can make versions easy to understand for the target language readers. And it is an effective method of intensifying the influence of the target language and culture. | |
| − | + | However, dominated by this translating strategy, the uniqueness of the original language and culture will be missed. For example, Yan Fu (严复) and Lin Shu (林纾) are representatives of the school of domesticating translation. They tended to domesticate foreign works in classical Chinese language. However, with the development of globalization, that kind of over-domestication is doing harm to cultural communication between different countries for its distortion of the source language and culture. | |
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| + | Advantages and disadvantages of Foreignization | ||
| − | + | As for its advantages, there are three main points. Firstly, foreignization translation can help readers develop cross-cultural awareness and acquire different reading experiences in other languages and cultures. Secondly, foreignization also can widen readers' horizons and promote mutual understanding among different countries. Thirdly, it can also help to combat the cultural hegemonies and enrich the target culture system. | |
| − | + | Foreignization has its own limitations. When it comes to some complicated cultural factors, customary, linguistic differences and so on, foreignization translation may produce hard-understood text for target language readers, which will diminish their interest in the certain text and hinder translation activities. | |
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| − | + | ===The Introduction of Chinese Idioms=== | |
| + | (1)Definition | ||
| − | + | Chinese idioms are a kind of long-used fixed phrases unique to the ancient Chinese vocabulary. They come from ancient classics or writings, historical stories, people's oral stories, folklore, etc., containing a wealth of cultural information. The meaning of a Chinese idiom is incisive and often implied in the literal meaning. It is generally not a simple addition of the literal meanings of its components. A Chinese idiom’s structure is so tight that it is generally impossible to change the word order arbitrarily, or to swap out, add or subtract components from it. Its form is mostly four-word, but there are also some three-word and multi-word ones. | |
| − | + | (2) Basic features | |
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| − | + | (2.1) Fixed structure | |
| + | The composition and structure of a Chinese idiom are fixed and cannot be changed, added or subtracted at will. For example, “雪中送炭”(send charcoal in the snow--meaning provide timely help), cannot be changed into “雪中送煤” (send coal in the snow). Besides, the order of words in an idiom is also fixed and cannot be changed at will. For example, “七手八脚” (seven hands and eight feet—meaning too many cooks spoil the broth). It can't be changed into ”八脚七手“ (eight feet and seven hands). “背井离乡”(leaving hometown) cannot be used as “背乡离井”. | ||
| − | In | + | (2.2)Number-fixed words |
| + | In a broad sense, Chinese idioms can be composed of three, four, five, six, seven or even more words, such as “闭门羹” (given a cold shoulder), “坐山观虎斗”(watch in safety while others fight, then reap the spoils when both sides are exhausted), “树欲静而风不止”(The tree wants to remain quiet, but the wind won't stop/ Things don’t go their ways), “塞翁失马焉知非福"(a blessing in disguise) and so on. However, the major form of Chinese idioms is a four-character structure. | ||
| − | " | + | (2.3) The integrity of meaning |
| + | The meaning of an idiom is holistic in nature. In other words, the meaning of an idiom is not simply the sum of the literal meanings of its components. For example, "胸有成竹" literally means "to have a bamboo in one's chest", but its actual meaning is "to be prepared, to make up one's mind"; “废寝忘食” literally means "forget to eat and sleep", but its actual meaning is "to be extremely dedicated to working". | ||
| − | The | + | ===The Cultural Difference between Chinese and English idioms=== |
| − | + | English and Chinese are both extremely rich in idioms. These idioms greatly enhance the diversity and vividness of the expressive power of English and Chinese, becoming the bright pearls in these two languages. In our observation of English and Chinese idioms, we can easily find that there are many differences between these two idioms, which mainly come from the cultural differences in living environment, social customs, religious beliefs and history and culture between China and Britain. | |
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| − | + | (1) Differences in Living Environment | |
| − | + | Culture cannot be produced without a specific natural geographic environment, and the same is true for idiom culture. China is a continental country with a large area and various terrains, which provide an enabling geographical environment for the development of agricultural civilization. Therefore, there are many Chinese idioms related to "agriculture" and "land", such as “挥金如土”(spend money like water). Britain is located in the British Isles, surrounded by seas, which gave birth to the maritime civilization. Many English idioms are related to "water" and "boat", for example, “挥金如土”(spend money like soil) can be translated as "spend money like water”. Such a translation is in line with the characteristics of maritime civilization. | |
| − | + | (2) Differences in social customs | |
| − | + | Social customs refer to the way of life of the inhabitants in a region. And they are related to all aspects of social life. For example, the image of animals is different for each nationality. People give different emotions to animals. For example, Chinese people keep dogs, traditionally for the purpose of watching over and protecting their homes. British and American people, on the other hand, have dogs for companionship. In English, there is "lucky dog"(幸运儿) to refer to people in a positive sense, while in Chinese, most idioms related to "dog" have a negative meaning, such as “狐朋狗友”(fox friend and dog friend—meaning bad friends), etc.. | |
| − | |||
| − | + | (3) Differences in Religious Beliefs | |
| − | |||
| − | + | Idioms related to religious beliefs also appear in large numbers in English and Chinese languages. Christianity is the dominant religion in British, and Westerners believe in the existence of God. There are many idioms about God in English. For example, "Man proposes, God disposes”. In China, there are many idioms about Buddhism. For example: “不二法门”(the only way to), “借花献佛”(present Buddha with borrowed flowers -- to borrow sth to make a gift of it), etc. | |
| − | + | (4) Differences in History and Culture | |
| − | + | Historical culture refers to the culture formed in a specific historical development process. One important element of it is historical tales. Historical stories are the treasures of a nation’s history and culture, containing rich historical and cultural information. Chinese idioms are mostly from the Four Books, the Five Classics, myths and legends, such as “东施效颦”(blind imitation with ludicrous effection)、“名落孙山”(fail in a competitive examination/be nowhere) and so on. English idioms are mostly from the Bible, Greek or Roman mythology or Aesop's Fables. For instance, "Achilles' hell”, “a Pandora's box”, etc.. | |
| − | === | + | ===Case study=== |
| − | + | This paper selects the English translation of Fortress Besieged by Jeanne Kelly as the text for analysis. The author is Qian Zhongshu. Through humorous language and pungent satire, the book depicts the decadent, rotten and sickly life of the so-called upper middle-class intellectuals in old China during the Opium War. The book's language is humorous, witty, lively, and charming. Qian Zhongshu used idioms flexibly in the book, and sometimes took idioms’ literal meaning as a way of irony. | |
| − | + | (1) Foreignization | |
| − | + | When adopting the strategy of foreignization, translators need to try to preserve the linguistic characteristics and cultural features of the source language to achieve the purpose of cultural dissemination and communication. When translating, translators strive to convey the Chinese unique culture to the maximum extent while ensuring the accurate communication of information in the source language. | |
| − | + | Example 1：艳如桃李，冷若冰霜 | |
| − | + | Translation：as delectable as peach and plum and as cold as frost and ice | |
| − | + | Analysis: “艳如桃李”is a metaphor for a face as delicate as a ripe peach plum; “冷若冰霜” is a metaphor for woman/man as cold as the frost and treating people and things without emotion. “冷若冰霜” also refers to a stern and unapproachable attitude. Here the translator kept the four vehicles of "peach and plum" and "frost and ice" under the assurance that target-language readers could understand them. | |
| − | + | Example 2：便痛骂《沪报》一顿，把干仗人和假博士的来由用春秋笔法叙述一下，买假文凭是自己的滑稽玩世，认干亲戚是自己的和同随俗。 | |
| − | + | Translation：Roundly cursing the paper, he briefly recounted, in the manner of the Spring and Autumn Chronicles, the full story behind his having an adoptive father-in-law and a fake doctorate. By purchasing a fake degree he was thumbing his nose at the world, he said; by accepting an adoptive relative, he was conforming to tradition, he argued. | |
| − | + | Analysis: “春秋” referred to the ancient chronological history book "Spring and Autumn Annals", which is said to have been compiled by Confucius from the history book "Spring and Autumn" of his home state of Lu. It recorded a total of 242 years of history from the year of 722 BC to the year of 481 BC. “笔法” referred to the method and technique of writing. In the Spring and Autumn Annals, Confucius implied praise and criticism in the text, in which the addition or subtraction of a word had a "subtle meaning", so it was called the "春秋笔法". Later, it refers to the writing technique of short and concise text, which implies positive and negative meanings. The translator has translated “春秋笔法” literally, preserving the characteristics of the Chinese culture. | |
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| − | + | Example 3: 自信这一席话委婉得体，最后那一段尤其接得天衣无缝，曲尽文书科王主任所谓“顺水推舟”之妙，王主任起的信稿子怕也不过如此。 | |
| − | + | Translation：He was confident his little speech was tactful and proper, especially the last part, which had been sewn together as flawlessly as “a divine suit of clothes”; it would achieve his objective in every way, what Chief-secretary Wang called as naturally and effortlessly as “pushing a boat downstream.” | |
| − | + | Analysis: “天衣无缝” is an idiom that evolved from a fable. The original meaning of “天衣无缝” is that the clothes worn by the gods in the heaven have no seams, but later it is used to describe natural and perfect poetries and writings, or things are well thought out and perfect, with no artificial traces of fabrication; “顺水推舟” means to push the boat according to the direction of the flowing water. It is a metaphor for talking and acting in a certain trend or in a certain way. It is from a famous story "The Injustice to Dou E". The translator has kept both vehicles, preserving the cultural characteristics of the original text to the greatest extent. | |
| − | + | (2) Domestication | |
| + | The translation strategy of domestication focuses on the culture of the target language. It attaches great importance to the authenticity, naturalness and fluency of the translated text so as to enhance the readability of the translation. When translating idioms with complicated cultural backgrounds, the translator has to make the target language audience understand the translation with the least possible effort in a short period of time. | ||
| − | + | Example 4：塞翁失马，安知非福，使三年前结婚，则此番吾家破费不赀矣。 | |
| − | + | Translation：This may be a blessing in disguise. If you had married three years earlier, this would have cost us a large sum of money. | |
| − | + | Analysis: “塞翁失马，安知非福” is a metaphor for a momentary loss, but instead it can be beneficial. It also means that a bad thing can become a good thing under certain conditions, and vice versa. This idiom is derived from the ancient story of "Seung-woong loses his horse". Here, the translator does not explain the story, but adopts a domesticating approach to translate the idiom into the English authentic expression "This may be a blessing in disguise", which makes the translation natural and easily understood. | |
| − | + | Example 5：假如苏小姐也不跟他讲话，鸿渐真要觉得自己子虚乌有，向五更鸡啼时的鬼影，或道家“视而不见，抟之不得”的真理了。 | |
| − | + | Translation：If Miss Su hadn’t bothered to speak to him, Hung-chien would really have felt that he had thinned into nothingness, like a phantom of early dawn upon the cock’s crowing or the Taoist truth, which can be “looked at but not seen, expounded but not grasped.” | |
| + | |||
| + | Analysis: “子虚乌有” is an idiom derived from a historical story, and it was first taken from "The Composition Of Zixu" by Sima Xiangru in the Han Dynasty. 子虚(Zi Xu) and 乌有(Wu You) are both fictional characters in The Composition Of Zixu of Sima Xiangru in the Han Dynasty, so “子虚乌有” is used to indicate something that is hypothetical rather than real. It refers to something hypothetical, non-existent, or untrue. The translator takes the target language readers as the center, and adopts the translation method of paraphrasing, translating it as "thin into nothingness", which accurately conveys the meaning of the original text. | ||
| − | + | Example 6：这时候他知道鸿渐跟自己河水不犯井水，态度轻松了许多，嗓子已恢复平日的响朗。 | |
| − | + | Translation：Now that he realized he and Hung-chien were not in each other’s way, his attitude toward Hung-chien changed considerably, and his voice recovered its usual resonance. | |
| − | + | Analysis: “河水不犯井水” is a metaphor for both sides not to interfere or infringe on each other. The metaphorical meaning of the idiom is very vivid, but here the translator gives up the metaphorical meaning of the original text and chooses the authentic English expression | |
| − | + | “were not in each other’s way”, so that the target language readers can quickly understand the original text. | |
| − | |||
===Conclusion=== | ===Conclusion=== | ||
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| − | + | Chinese idioms are rich in connotation and diverse in form. And they have a deep cultural heritage. When translating such words, translators need to carefully analyze the original text and determine their deeper meanings according to the context, in an effort to meet the expectations of the readers of the translated text. This paper introduces the definition and features of Chinese idioms, explores the cultural differences between English and Chinese idioms, and analyzes the English translation of Fortress Besieged; from the perspectives of foreignization and domestication. Through the above analysis, it can be seen that the translator does not limit himself to one translation strategy, but flexibly adopts both foreignization and domestication strategies. When translating Chinese idioms with more complex cultural connotations, the translators prefer to adopt the domesticating translation strategy to translate the implied meaning of the idioms according to the context or to find authentic expressions in the target language to replace them, out of the pursuit of fluency and the acceptability of the target language readers. When translating idioms with less complex cultural connotations, translators prefer to adopt the strategy of foreignizing translation, which preserves the original metaphors and also helps to spread Chinese culture. No matter which strategy is used, translators should pay attention to avoid using words with strong national cultural connotations, which will make it difficult for readers of other different nationalities to read and understand the meaning and emotion that the author of the text wants to express. | |
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| − | + | ===References=== | |
| + | [1]He Yongbin 何勇斌(2016).从文化传播视角探析汉语成语翻译[J].语文建设,73-74. | ||
| − | + | [2]Mo Lihong莫丽红&Ge Lingling戈玲玲(2012).关联翻译理论视角下的汉语成语翻译[J].湖南社会科 | |
| + | 学,(02):189-191. | ||
| − | + | [3]Qian Zhongshu钱钟书(2003).围城[M].(美)珍妮凯利，茅国权译.北京:人民文学出版社. | |
| − | + | [4]Shi Xiaoping史小平(2018).译者语境视野下的汉语成语英译研究[J].湖北函授大学学报,31(19):173-175. | |
| − | + | [5]Sun Haibo孙海波(2013).文化差异下的英汉成语翻译[J].学术探索,(08):105-107. | |
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| − | + | [6]Shuttleworth, Mark(1997). Dictionary of Translation Studies[Z]. Manchester: St. Jerome. | |
| − | + | [7]Venuti, Lawrence(1995). The Translator’s Invisibility: A History of Translation[M]. London and New York: Routledge. | |
| − | + | [8]Venuti, Lawrence(2006). The Translator’s Invisibility: A History of Translation[M].Shanghai: Foreign Language Education Press. | |
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| − | + | [9]Wang Qin王勤(2014).四字格成语中颜色词的英译策略[J].湖南社会科学,(04):225-227. | |
| − | + | [10]Zhang Jingjing张晶晶(2014).功能对等视域下的英文汉语翻译策略[J].吕梁学院学报,(06):26-28 | |
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- 20220630_Culture_1 papers 1-10: 1: 英语笔译 卞王倩 Bian Wangqian 202170081563 Europeanized Chinese and Cultural Factors Behind it, 2: 英语笔译 曹姣 Cao Jiao 202170081564 Research on court culture in the Tang Dynasty from the perspective of poem -- take Changhenge for example, 3 英语笔译 陈路瑶 Chen Luyao 202170081565, 4 英语笔译 崔晓凡 Cui Xiaofan 202170081566, 5 英语笔译 邓阳林 Deng Yanglin 202170081567, 6 英语笔译 高智慧 Gao Zhihui 202170081568, 7 英语笔译 何丽娜 He Lina 202170081569, 8 英语笔译 胡良明 Hu Liangming 202170081570, 9 英语笔译 黄琼 Huang Qiong 202170081571, 10 英语笔译 邝雨琪 Kuang Yuqi 202170081572
- 20220630_Culture_2 papers 11-20: 11 英语笔译 黎溢佳 Li Yijia 202170081573, 12 英语笔译 李思敏 Li Simin 202170081574, 13 英语笔译 李思源 Li Siyuan 202170081575, 14 英语笔译 李婷 Li Ting 202170081576, 15 英语笔译 李欣 Li Xin 202170081577, 16 英语笔译 李颖 Li Ying 202170081578, 17 英语笔译 李媛 Li Yuan 202170081579, 18 英语笔译 李梓婕 Li Zijie 202170081580, 19 英语笔译 梁思婷 Liang Siting 202170081581, 20 英语笔译 廖诗韵 Liao Shiyun 202170081582
- 20220630_Culture_3 papers 21-30: 21 英语笔译 刘唱 Liu Chang 202170081583, 22 英语笔译 刘乐乐 Liu Lele 202170081584, 23 英语笔译 刘双英 Liu Shuangying 202170081585, 24 英语笔译 刘婷 Liu Ting 202170081586, 25 英语笔译 刘瑶 Liu Yao 202170081587, 26 英语笔译 刘珍 Liu Zhen 202170081588, 27 英语笔译 龙翰良 Long Hanliang 202170081589, 28 英语笔译 罗姚林 Luo Yaolin 202170081590, 29 英语笔译 马艳焕 Ma Yanhuan 202170081591, 30 英语笔译 聂薇 Nie Wei 202170081592
- 20220630_Culture_4 papers 31-40: 31 英语笔译 孙丽君 Sun Lijun 202170081593, 32 英语笔译 仝雨梦 Tong Yumeng 202170081594, 33 英语笔译 童略雅 Tong Lueya 202170081595, 34 英语笔译 庹树梅 Tuo Shumei 202170081596, 35 英语笔译 王思琪 Wang Siqi 202170081597, 36 英语笔译 王亚娟 Wang Yajuan 202170081598, 37 英语笔译 肖冬晴 Xiao Dongqing 202170081599, 38 英语笔译 肖佳莉 Xiao Jiali 202170081600, 39 英语笔译 谢晓莹 Xie Xiaoying 202170081601, 40 英语笔译 熊嘉玲 Xiong Jialing 202170081602
- 20220630_Culture_5 papers 41-50: 41 英语笔译 颜媛 Yan Yuan 202170081603, 42 英语笔译 杨心怡 Yang Xinyi 202170081604, 43 英语笔译 杨紫微 Yang Ziwei 202170081605, 44 英语笔译 张国浩 Zhang Guohao 202170081606, 45 英语笔译 张姣玲 Zhang Jiaoling 202170081607, 46 英语笔译 张瑞 Zhang Rui 202170081608, 47 英语笔译 赵宇翔 Zhao Yuxiang 202170081609, 48 英语笔译 郑冬琴 Zheng Dongqin 202170081610, 49 英语笔译 钟青 Zhong Qing 202170081611, 50 英语笔译 周皓熙 Zhou Haoxi 202170081612
- 20220630_Culture_6 papers 51-60: 51 英语笔译 周哲 Zhou Zhe 202170081613, 52 英语笔译 朱丽娟 Zhu Lijuan 202170081614, 53 英语口译 段小蝶 Duan Xiaodie 202170081615, 54 英语口译 方楚晗 Fang Chuhan 202170081616, 55 英语口译 胡雯雯 Hu Wenwen 202170081617, 56 英语口译 黄天琪 Huang Tianqi 202170081618, 57 英语口译 兰绮 Lan Qi 202170081619, 58 英语口译 李丹 Li Dan 202170081620, 59 英语口译 李立飞 Li Lifei 202170081621, 60 英语口译 莫雨婷 Mo Yuting 202170081622
- 20220630_Culture_7 papers 61-70: 61 英语口译 彭慧璇 Peng Huixuan 202170081623, 62 英语口译 时友洁 Shi Youjie 202170081624, 63 英语口译 伍佳惠 Wu Jiahui 202170081625, 64 英语口译 夏晶 Xia Jing 202170081626, 65 英语口译 向师琦 Xiang Shiqi 202170081627, 66 英语口译 向望 Xiang Wang 202170081628, 67 英语口译 徐舞 Xu Wu 202170081629, 68 英语口译 张静芝 Zhang Jingzhi 202170081630, 69 英语口译 张旻丰 Zhang Minfeng 202170081631, 70 日语笔译 曹梦然 Cao Mengran 202170081632
- 20220630_Culture_8 papers 71-80: 71 日语笔译 胡梦琪 Hu Mengqi 202170081633, 72 日语笔译 张白鹭 Zhang Bailu 202170081634, 73 朝鲜语笔译 刘安莉 Liu Anli 202170081635, 74 朝鲜语笔译 王思佳 Wang Sijia 202170081636, 75 朝朝鲜语笔译 徐盖 Xu Gai 202170081638, 76 朝鲜语笔译 徐文慧 Xu Wenhui 202170081639, 77 外国语言文学 Akira Jantarat 202121080009, 78 比较文学与跨文化研究 Mahzad 202021080004, 79 英语语言文学 Mimi 2020GBJ002301
英语笔译 李颖 Li Ying 202170081578
Abstract
Miao language is the carrier of Hmong culture which is an important part of the brilliant Chinese culture. Therefore, Miao language and Hmong culture is the largest responsibility for all of us. Through the understanding of the motivation of studying Miao, the origin of the name "Miao," the formation and development of Miao, the distribution of Miao and the characteristics of Miao language, we can arouse people's attention to Miao language and Miao nationality, so as to take effective measures to inherit and protect Miao language in a timely manner.
Keywords
Miaoyu,Hmong,the formation and development of Miao, the distribution of Miao,the characteristics of Miao language
Literature Review
In our country, before the founding of New China, there have been people who have investigated and studied the Miao language and characters, and published investigation reports or research papers.For example, in January 1917, Zhuang Qi's Outline of Miao Wen was published in Volume 14, No.1, Oriental Magazine.In 1933, Shi Qigui, a Miao scholar, assisted Ling Chunsheng and Rui Yifu, famous ethnologists in China, to investigate and study the Miao nationality in western Hunan. Since then, he continued to investigate and study the Miao nationality area in western Hunan. In 1940, he wrote the Investigation Report of Xiangxi Indigenous Nationalities. In 1951, he wrote Introduction to Xiangxi Brothers.
After the founding of new China ，there were some investigation and study of miao language, some linguists began to attach importance to the investigation and study of miao language.For example, Wang Fushi in "Chinese Journal" in 1952, 6, published the "Miao Language Reform Problem"; After the birth of Miao language in 1956, in order to meet the needs of the promotion of Miao language, in 1958, the Concise Dictionary of Miao and Han in the central dialect and the Concise Dictionary of Miao and Han in the western dialect were published.In the short period after the birth of the Miao language, experts and scholars published many research papers, but the good times did not last long. After three years of natural disasters and the influence of extreme "left" ideological trends, coupled with the civil strife of the "Cultural Revolution," the promotion of the Miao language was forced to suspend, and the Miao language and characters were temporarily left untouched.Until 1978, after the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was held, the Party's ethnic policy and ethnic language policy were implemented again, and Miao Wencai resumed🧪 implementation and won a second life.
During the reform and opening-up period, a large number of works on the study of Miao language and characters emerged.The first is to compile and publish the Miao Han Dictionary and other reference books of various dialects;the second is to publish many research works on Miao language, and the third is to publish many research papers. During the 30 years of reform and opening-up, great achievements have been made in language, vocabulary and grammar.In addition, there are many achievements in the study of Miao language in the aspects of bilingual teaching of Miao and Han, the unity of Miao language and culture, and the unity of Miao characters.
At the same time, the language of Miao nationality has also aroused great interest of some foreign scholars.As early as the beginning of the 20th century in 1902, the Japanese Torii Longzang travel southwest provinces in China,made a field survey about miao life. The following year he returned to Japan and compose a book named the Miao Survey Report, the fourth chapter discusses the Miao Language.In 1947, Zhang Kun, a Chinese American, published a paper entitled "Tone Problems in Miao and Yao Dialects," which laid the foundation for tone comparison in Miao dialects.Since the reform and opening up, especially after the 90s, more and more foreign scholars came to China to study the Miao language. In the early 90s, Joak in Enwall of Stockholm University, Sweden (Han name:Yan Youqing) studied the Miao language at the Central University for Nationalities. After returning to Guizhou, he wrote a book entitled Myth Becomes Reality-History and Development of Miao Language (Part 1 and Part 2). Guizhou is the base camp of the Miao people in China and even the world. More foreign scholars have come to Guizhou to study the Miao language.
Methods and Theories
This research mainly adopts the literature method, the Miao nationality has a long history of development.If we want to understand the basic situation of Miao language, we must deeply understand the development history of the nation.Only in this way can we have a deeper understanding of the different vitality of language.
Subtitle 1：The Motivation of the Miaoyu
In the 1930s, some scholars in the United States began to pay attention to the mass extinction of American Indian languages and Australian Aboriginal languages, which led to a boom in the study of endangered languages.Endangered languages mostly are spoken by only one person, such as Apiaka and Diahoi in Brazil, Pazeh in China Taiwan, which were spoken by only one person until 2009. Similarly, China is a country with many ethnic minorities, so there will be many minority dialects, such as Mongolian, Hakka, Tujia dialect and so on. Language is not only a communicating tool, but also the inheritance of a national culture. Every language is an important embodiment and manifestation of a unique culture and ethnic characteristics of an ethnic group. Minority languages are also facing the same phenomenon, so I want to understand and study the language that is close to my life.
Subtitle 2:Miao Nationality
1.The Source of the Name “Miao”
There are different views among Chinese and foreign scholars on the reason for the use of "Miao" as the ethnic name of the Miao people.Foreign scholars believe that Miao is the uncultivated grass growing in a field, indicating that their indigenous tribes,a symbol of savage and uncivilization, were living there before the arrival of the Han nationality.
2.The Distribution of Miao Nationality
(1)Domestic Distribution
The Miao are a long-established, populous and widely distributed ethnic minority in China, and a cosmopolitan people who originate from China but continue to migrate and live across borders.Records of the Miao population have appeared in a number of documents and prescriptions as early as the Ming and Qing dynasties. According to the data of the sixth national census in 2010, the Miao are mainly distributed in Guizhou, Hunan, Yunnan, Chongqing, Guangxi, Hubei, Sichuan and other municipalities and autonomous regions in southwest and south-central China. The Miao in Guizhou province are mainly distributed in the autonomous regions of Qiandongnan Miao and Dong, Qiannan Buyi and Miao, Qiannan Buyi and Miao, as well as Bijie, Tongren, Anshun, and Zunyi, and thus the Miao language they speak is called the Eastern Miao language; the Miao in Hunan province are only distributed in the cities and counties of Jishou and Phoenix in Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture, the autonomous counties of Mayang and Jingzhou in Huaihua, and Shaoyang The Miao in Hunan Province are only found in Jishou and Phoenix in Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture, Mayang and Jingzhou in Huaihua and Shaoyang City. The Miao in Yunnan province are mainly distributed in Wenshan, Honghe and Zhaotong prefectures; the Miao in Chongqing are mainly distributed in Qianjiang district and three autonomous counties of Pengshui, Xiushan and Youyang; the Miao in Guangxi are mainly distributed in Rongshui, Longlin, Sanjiang, Resources, Xilin and Longsheng counties; the Miao in Hubei province are mainly distributed in Exi Tujia and Miao autonomous prefecture; the Miao in Sichuan province are mainly distributed in two areas of Yibin and Jialing.
(2)Overseas Distribution
The Hmong in foreign countries are mainly located in Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Burma, the United States, France, Canada, Australia, Argentina and other places. In Vietnam, most of the Hmong call themselves "Mon" Hmongb, and only a small part of them call themselves "Na Miao", and the Hmong branch in Vietnam can be divided into five main branches: "White" Hmong Hmongb dleub, who call themselves "Mon Dou"; "Black Hmong", who call themselves "Mona Hmongb Dlob; Hmong shib, which calls itself "Monsi"; "Flowering" or "Green", which calls itself "Monleng "Hmongbnzhuab; the Han Hmong call themselves Hmongb shuab. They usually live in the high mountain jungle with a sea area of 800-1700 meters, where the terrain is precipitous, with jagged rocks, high mountains and deep streams, narrow roads, and a subtropical monsoon climate with abundant rainfall in most areas and a rainy and dry season.
The religious beliefs of the Hmong in Southeast Asia are basically similar to those of the Hmong in China. Vietnamese Hmong scholars believe that the "five harmful ghosts" that can attach themselves to people are the most frightening. Once a person is found to be possessed by the "Five Harmful Ghosts", a ghost master must be called in immediately to cure the illness and drive away the ghosts. The Lao Hmong believe that there are spirits for everything, and there are spirits for water, fertilizer, roads, rice fields, hunting, stoves, living rooms, etc. Each family has its own unique god, and some people even believe that the god is their ancestor, and they have to meet with the god once a year.
Subtitle 3:The origin of the Hmong and the historical formation of the Hmong
1.Origin of the Miao
Due to the lack of exact historical evidence, posterity can only trace the origin of the Miao people from the historical memories of the Miao people in western Hunan. The first is the memory of the formation of heaven and earth. Based on the oral narratives of the Shishougui family, a Ba Dai family in Dongmaku Township, Huayuan County, Xiangxi, the domestic academic community has successively described the simple understanding of the Miao ancestors about the formation of heaven and earth, the emergence of human beings, the origin of civilization and the development of society.
There is also a romantic description of the appearance of the sun and the moon. In the ancient folk tale "The Story of the Nine Suns" and the folk narrative poem "The Story of Ban Dongchen", which are included in the folklore materials of western Hunan, the hero shoots the sun in a more complete plot. With the assistance of a falcon, an old bull, a big black dog and a gray rooster, Ming Naxiong shoots the golden and silver eggs, which are transformed into eight suns and moons, laid by the nine-headed monster bird on the sun tree, respectively. He eventually bends the marsang tree in the battle with the vicious fire bird and jumps into the moon, transforming into a star of enlightenment. The plot of "Moving the Moon" is slightly different. It tells the story of Liu Chun and Ah Xiu, a couple under Dali Mountain, who are determined to find the sun by riding a rooster when they learn that the sun has been locked into the cavern at the bottom of the sea by the devil king in Ter Mountain due to the flooding of their fields and the darkness of the earth. Liu Chun was killed, his son Jitai grew up and succeeded his father, with the help of the thousand-year-old eunuch, his father's spirit and the dragon king, he got the earth powder, killed the fox spirit who transformed into an old woman, and finally fought against the devil king, the brocade rooster pecked the devil's eye and rescued the imprisoned sun.
The second is the memory of the origin of human beings, that is, the origin of the Hmong. According to the literature compiled by the scholars, in the ancient times, the two people in the sky were at odds with each other, so Wo Shou was imprisoned by Wo Bi, and he was able to get away by coaxing his children to send water and fire. A pair of children of Wo Bik were sheltered inside the melon seeds given by Wo Shou and were spared. When the flood receded, the two siblings married, a year after the birth of the child cut into a hundred pieces, respectively, thrown to various places, "a piece in the house, sealed as Wu; a piece on the Dragon Mountain, only to have the Dragon family line of people; a piece on the stone called stone; a piece on the hemp garden, he shouted into the hemp surname people; the last piece of nowhere to throw, it will be left in the dust,; later changed people on the surname Liao. From then on there are a hundred family names."
2.Historical formation of the Hmong
This geographical distribution pattern of the Miao in China today is the result of numerous migrations in the history of the formation and development of the Miao people. According to scholars, from the historical documents of the Miao, "the Miao ancestors originally inhabited the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River in China, and migrated to the 'left Dongting' and 'right Pengli' areas during the 'Three Miao' era. ' of the river and lake plains. Later, due to wars and other reasons, they kept migrating south and west into the southwest mountains and the Yunnan-Guizhou plateau. Since the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Miao distribution has formed the present pattern".
The Miao have undergone five major migrations in their thousands of years of development history to form the present geographical distribution pattern, which has not only shaped the Miao's swarthy, tough, united and defiant national character, but also created a distinctive national culture with gorgeous and colorful music.
Regarding the ethnic origin of the Miao, there are different views, but these views are summarized as follows: the indigenous people of Jianghuai, the south, the west, the north, and the "Jiu Li San Miao", among which the "Jiu Li San Miao" is the most influential. Miao ethnic origin can be traced back to the earliest ancient times to Chi You as the leader of the Jiu Li tribal alliance living in the lower and middle reaches of the Yellow River and the lower and middle reaches of the Yangtze River. Later, Chi You had a fierce conflict with another two tribal alliance led by Yan Di and Huang Di in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, and was finally defeated by Huang Di in the Battle of Zhuo Lu, Chi You was killed, and some of the tribesmen were integrated into Yan and Huang tribes, while most of them migrated south and settled in today's Dongting Lake and Poyang Lake area, forming a new tribal alliance in the period of Yao, Shun and Yu. The Sanmiao had fierce struggle with the tribal alliance led by Yao, Shun and Yu in history, and then the tribal alliance gradually disintegrated after Yu's many conquests and defeats, and after the demise of the Sanmiao tribe, most of the other tribes started to make a big migration.
During the Qin and Han dynasties, most of the Miao ancestors were distributed in the present-day Xiang, E, Chongqing and Qian adjacent areas. From the Qin and Han Dynasties until the Tang Dynasty, the Miao ancestors experienced the third major migration in history. Most of them migrated from the Wuling Mountains to the southwest of Sichuan and Guizhou, and some even migrated to Yunnan and Guangxi. Since the fourth and fifth migrations were basically from the Wuling Mountains to the southwest, we believe that the third migration of the Miao ancestors was of great significance to the formation of their ethnic group, which basically laid the present distribution pattern of the Miao and laid a solid foundation for the formation of a stable ethnic community.
Subtitle 4: Miao Folk Beliefs
The Miao folk in western Hunan worship the sky, and they mainly rely on natural phenomena such as the sky, wind, rain, lightning, sun, moon and stars in the natural world. The reason why the Miao folk in western Hunan worship the sky, water and rain is due to the local climate of little rain and lack of water. Although the climate of Miaojiang in western Hunan does not have hot and cold winters, it shows the characteristics of inverted spring chill, dry and hot summer lacking rain, and cloudy and sunny weather having a great influence on temperature. At the peak of summer, the weather is dry and there is little rainfall, and drought seriously affects the growth of crops.
Their faith in the worship of the sky is mainly based on the sky, water and rain, and there are corresponding rituals.
The first is the worship of the sky. Whenever the spring plowing season comes, that is, in the third month of the lunar calendar, people who have fields at home first ask a Yin-Yang man to choose an auspicious day. At that time, the head of the family brings some incense, paper, half a catty of white wine and four taels of boiled pork to the family's fields to pay homage to "God" and pray for a good harvest this year.
Secondly, it is the worship of water. Before the tap water came into the village, it was the source of water for the villagers' daily life and farmland. During the annual festival, the villagers would carry incense, paper, wine, meat and other offerings to the well to worship, expecting the well water to be inexhaustible.
Once again, it was the worship of rainwater. The summer festival is a standardized ritual held by the state specifically to pray for rain and a good harvest for all the grains, which originated from the primitive society to control nature by way of simulation or contact. It is also one of the rituals of the Heavenly Rites, which is called "Da" because it is combined with the worship of God, the supreme god, and is held regularly.
In times of severe drought, the Miao people in western Hunan collect money to buy ritual items and ask Ba Dai to go to the ditch, river or cave near the village to pray for rain from the gods such as the Dragon King and the Thunder God. Generally, they use such methods as "taking the river", "playing the river" and "making people in the river".
Subtitle 5:Overview of the Hmong Language
Language is one of the most important cultural elements of a people, and is the most important communication tool within the ethnic community for the exchange of ideas and contacts. From a linguistic point of view, the Miao language belongs to the Miao-Yao branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. Although the Miao people have their own language, there was no script representing the Miao language until the 1950s. The Miao language used by the Miao people is only a form of speech passed down orally, without a specific script. Although it is mentioned in some Hmong historical songs and folklore that the Hmong had writing in history, it was later lost due to various reasons. In some documents of the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, there are records indicating that the Hmong in some areas do seem to have written. These scripts are mainly of two types: one is created by advanced Miao intellectuals influenced by Chinese characters or other language scripts. For example, Shibantang, a Miao poet in western Hunan, used the "six books" of Chinese characters to create a square-shaped Miao script, borrowing from Chinese characters. Second, foreign missionaries and Miao advanced intellectuals together using part of the Latin alphabet and notation symbols to create, although the creation of this kind of writing is beneficial to the development of the Miao people, but it is mainly the missionaries in order to facilitate the missionary and the Miao advanced intellectual characters created in collaboration. For example, the old Miao script of Weining Shimenkan, also known as "Po La alphabet Miao script". However, these Miao scripts were not widely disseminated and were only used regionally and could not be popularized.
After the founding of New China, the Party and the government were very concerned about the writing of the Miao people and sent many working groups and task forces to investigate and study the Miao language. The Miao language is an extremely complex language, mainly reflected in the great differences in dialects and subdialects and the large number of vernaculars. Regarding the division of Miao language, the most representative one is the division method in the report "Division of Miao dialects and writing problems" made by the Second Task Force of the Minority Language Survey of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1956 at the scientific discussion of Miao language and writing problems. In the report, the Miao language was divided into four dialects: Eastern, Central, Western and Northeastern Yunnan, and on July 8, 1957, the Central Committee of the People's Republic of China held a symposium on ethnic language work and changed the Eastern dialect to Xiangxi dialect, the Central dialect to Qiandong dialect, the Western dialect to Chuanqian-Tian dialect, and the Northeastern Yunnan dialect was still called Northeastern Yunnan dialect. The second is the division of the Miao language into three major dialects, seven subdialects, and 18 vernaculars in the division of the French language by Mr. Wang Fushi in "The Problem of Dividing the Miao Dialects" (1983). Some other scholars also put forward their different views on the division of Miao languages, such as Xian Songkui, Chen Qiguang, Wu Zhengbiao and Yang Zaibiao. However, their division is for the subdialects or vernaculars within the three major dialects of Miao.
Regarding the division of Miao dialects, this paper mainly borrows the division method from Mr. Wang Fushi. The Miao language is mainly divided into dialects according to phonetic differences. It can be divided into three major dialects, namely Xiangxi dialect, Qiandong dialect, and Chuanqian Dian dialect. Among the three major dialects, the Xiangxi dialect and Qiandong dialect have small differences within each north, and only the differences between native languages. The Sichuan-Guizhou-Yunnan dialect, on the other hand, has more internal differences and can be divided into seven major subdialects.
1.Characteristics of Xiangxi dialect
The Xiangxi dialect is divided into western and eastern vernaculars. The western dialect is mainly spoken in Huayuan, Phoenix, Baojing, Jishou, Guzhang, Longshan and Xinfeng Dong autonomous counties in Hunan Province; Songtao Miao autonomous county and Tongren in Guizhou Province; Xiushan in Sichuan Province; Xuanen, Laifeng and Xianfeng in Hubei Province; and Hechi and Nandan in Guangxi Province Zhuang Autonomous Region. Eastern dialects are mainly spoken in Luxi County and parts of Guzhang, Jishou, Longshan and other counties in Hunan Province.
2.Qiandong dialect
The Qiandong dialect is divided into three dialects: northern, eastern and southern. The northern dialect is mainly spoken in Kaili, Majiang, Dantai, Leshan, Taijiang, Huangping, Jianhe, Zhenyuan, Sansui, Shibing, Sandu Shui Autonomous County, Fuchuan, Pingba, Zhenning Buyi Miao Autonomous County, Xingren, Zhengfeng, Anlong, Wangmu and other counties in Guizhou Province. The eastern native languages are mainly spoken in Rongjiang, Congjiang, Danzhai and Sandu Shui autonomous counties in Guizhou Province, and in Rongshui Miao autonomous county and Sanjiang Dong autonomous county in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
3.Chuanqian Dian dialect
The internal dialect of Chuanqian Dian is relatively complex and can be divided into seven subdialects, including Chuanqian Dian, Northeast Dian, Guiyang, Huishui, Mashan, Luopohe, and Chonganjiang.
The Chuanqian Dian dialect is divided into two vernaculars, the first and the second. The first dialect is mainly spoken in Changning, Muli, Yanbian, etc. in Sichuan Province, Jinsha and Chishui in Guizhou Province, Zhenxiong and Weixin in Yunnan Province, and Longlin Autonomous County, Xilin and Napo in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The second dialect is spoken in Nayong and Hezhang counties of Guizhou Province and Shuicheng Special Zone of Liupanshui City, and the range is very small.
The northeastern Yunnan subdialect is not divided into four dialects, which are spoken in Yunnan and Guizhou provinces; the Huishui subdialect is divided into four dialects: northern, southwestern, central and eastern. The northern dialect is spoken in Guiyang Gaopo and Yanchang, Huishui County; the southwestern dialect is spoken in Yashui and Sandu, Huishui County; the central dialect is spoken in parts of Chengguan and Pendleton counties, Huishui County. The eastern dialect is mainly spoken in Xiguan and other places in Pingba County.
The Mashan subdialect is divided into four dialects: central, northern, western and southern. The central dialect is mainly spoken in Zongdi and Baihua of Ziyun County; the northern dialect is spoken in Daihua and Huishui of Changshun County; the western dialect is spoken in Waiting Field and Dazhai of Ziyun County, Guizhou Province; the southern dialect is spoken in Mashan and Lekuan of Wangmo County.
The Luopo River subdialect is not divided into native languages and is spoken in the adjacent areas of Fuchuan, Guiding, Longli and Kaiyang counties and in Laojunzhai and large and small bubblewood places in Kaili County.
The Chonganjiang subdialect, which does not have a native language, is spoken in Maple Sugar, Chongren and Chongren in Huangping County, Guizhou, and in Longchang, Gouchang and Longshan in Kaili County.
(1)The sound-rhyme system of the three major dialects of Hmong is shown in the table The table shows the similarities and differences in the phonological systems of the three major dialects of Hmong. In terms of vowels, the three major dialects of Miao have more vowels than rhymes. Relatively speaking, the western Xiang dialect has the most abundant vowels. The three major dialects have fewer rhymes, while the Sichuan-Guizhou-Yunnan dialect has more rhymes.
(2)Hmong Vocabulary Characteristics - An Example from the Western Hunan Dialect The Miao language is rich in vocabulary and has a variety of word formation devices. The vocabulary of the western Hunan dialect also contains a large number of words that reflect the unique geographical and human environment and socio-economic life of the local Miao people. For example, there are many words related to mountains and water, such as "mountain range [qo zei]" and "rice [nw]", and many words reflecting local mountain flora and fauna and special economic crops, such as "rabbit [ta la]". rabbit [ta la]".
In terms of word formation, the Xiangxi dialect can be divided phonetically into monophthongs and polysyllabic words. Monosyllabic words consist of one syllable, such as "我[we]" and "你[mw]", while polysyllabic words consist of two or more syllables. Compared with Chinese, the Xiangxi dialect has fewer synonyms and more polysyllabic words, and one word is usually used to represent several synonyms in Chinese. For example, ei can mean "look, see, look at, see" in Chinese.
The vocabulary of Miao dialect contains a large number of Chinese loanwords, which are both early and modern. Most of the early loanwords are monosyllabic words, such as "silver, thousand, wine, etc."; most of the modern loanwords are later borrowed words related to politics, military, economy, science, culture, etc., such as "Communist Party, class, RMB, machine, radio, etc."
The borrowing of a large number of Chinese words has had a profound impact on the phonological, lexical and grammatical systems of the Xiangxi dialect. In terms of vocabulary, the influence is mainly manifested in the substitution of modern loanwords for early loanwords and the use of modern loanwords with early loanwords. In terms of grammar, the massive borrowing of Chinese words had a great impact on the diction of the Xiangxi dialect, and formed a very distinctive linguistic phenomenon in the Xiangxi dialect - the Miao-Chinese hybrid words. In the Xiangxi dialect, some things are expressed in generic terms plus proper terms, so after borrowing Chinese words, the proper terms inherent in the Miao language are often added in front of the Chinese words, thus forming Miao-Chinese mixed words.
(2)Hmong grammatical characteristics - taking the western Xiangxi dialect as an example
In the Xiangxi dialect of Miao language, words can be divided into nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, loanwords, conjunctions, pronouns, numerals, quantifiers, coronals, auxiliaries, etc.; sentence components include subject, predicate, epithet, object, complement, determiner and gerund; sentence types include single and compound sentences: declarative, imperative, interrogative and exclamatory sentences according to the tone. Word formation and order are the main grammatical tools of the Xiangxi dialect, and the order of words is basically the same as that of Chinese.
The Miao script was created by Shi Qigui, a famous Miao scholar, around 1956. In 1956, after a comprehensive census of the Miao language, the Second Task Force on Minority Language Survey of the Chinese Academy of Sciences formally created the Miao texts of the three major dialects. The Miao script of the Xiangxi dialect is based on the Miao language of Jiwei Township, Huayuan County, Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Hunan Province, and has 48 vowels, 35 rhymes and 6 tone letters.
The Miao language is the crystallization of the wisdom accumulated by the Miao people for thousands of years, bearing the spiritual home of this nation, the soul and blood of this nation. At present, although the Miao language is still an important communication tool for the Miao people in the Miao community, especially in those Miao villages that live in high mountains and have limited transportation. However, with the development of social economy and convenient transportation, more and more Miao people are coming out of the mountains to participate in the economic construction and social mobility of the whole country, so we need to do a good job of inheritance and protection of Miao.
Conclusion
China is a multi-ethnic family, and the Miao language in the western Hunan region is facing the same problems as other ethnic languages. Language endangerment is a national phenomenon, and foreign countries have richer experience in the preservation and revival of endangered languages. Usually, the revival of Hebrew is known as the most successful case of language revival, so we can learn from the advanced experience of foreign countries in protecting and reviving endangered languages. For example, opening native language preservation centers, training community members to record and describe languages, providing native language instruction, and compiling dictionaries. We should take into account the actual situation of language endangerment in western Hunan and fully learn from the mature experience abroad to accelerate the preservation of minority languages and cultures in our region.
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英语笔译 李媛 Li Yuan 202170081579
Abstract
The use of phonetic loan characters is a unique language phenomenon in ancient Chinese, and it is also a key and difficult point in understanding ancient Chinese and translating ancient Chinese texts. This paper draws on methods of literary research, comparative research and historical research to introduce phonetic loan characters and their differences from ancient and modern characters, variant characters and characters acquiring meanings by phonetic association, and then to sort out the historical origin and development of phonetic loan characters and their role in the history of Chinese character development. When working on translation tasks with phonetic loan characters, translators should possess some skills and quality, such as the ability to use computer-assisted translation technology to identify and verify phonetic loan characters in the original text, in an effort to accurately understand the meaning of the original text. Taking some phonetic loan characters in the Analects of Confucius as an example, this paper summarizes the English translation methods of these characters, such as literal translation of the original character, literal translation of the phonetic loan character and paraphrasing, in the hope of providing some suggestions and inspiration for the English translation of phonetic loan characters, assisting translators to do better translating work of ancient Chinese classics, allowing Chinese culture to go global better and improving the effect of cultural communication.
Key words
phonetic loan characters(tongjiazi); Chinese-English translation methods; the Analects of Confucius
Introduction
The existence of a large number of phonetic loan characters(tongjiazi) in ancient books is one of the main reasons why ancient Chinese books are so difficult to read. They are an important part in the development of the Chinese character, and there are specific subjective and objective factors that led to their coming into being and fading out. They were created in a specific historical context and then stopped because of the requirements of the evolution of Chinese character. The so-called ancient phonetic tongue interchangeability was used in the written language of ancient Chinese for the common use of homophonic or similar-sounding characters (Wang 1999:546). In order to grasp the definition of Tongjiazi accurately, it is necessary to clarify its difference from ancient and modern characters (Gujinzi), variant characters (Yitizi) and characters acquiring meanings by phonetic association (Jiajiezi), which can be compared and analyzed in terms of pronunciation, form and meaning, and must not be confused. These four types of character use are all about the relationship between two Chinese characters, so it is possible to analyze whether these two characters are related in terms of pronunciation, form and meaning.
There are two opinions in the history on the role played by Tongjiazi in the development of Chinese characters: one is on the negative side, believing that they undermine the purity of ancient Chinese characters and create obstacles to their standardized use; the other is on the positive side, holding that they play a very important transitional role in the development of Chinese characters, and that their appearance is in accordance with the laws of Chinese character evolution, so they should be evaluated in a reasonable and objective manner. When translating ancient Chinese works such as literature and medicine classics into English, the identification, verification, comprehension and translation of Tongjiazi can be of paramount importance, which places higher demands on the translator, who must not only have basic translator skills, but also master basic skills such as verification and analysis. There are only two papers on the subject of English translation of Tongjiazi on CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure) and the original texts are all medical texts, which means that the field of English translation of Tongjiazi still needs more exploration. In this paper, the English translation the Analects of Confucius by Xu Yuanchong is taken as an example, and the translation methods used in translating the Tongjizi are analyzed. This paper hopes that the study of the English translation of Tongjizi in Chinese classics will take a step forward, and that more scholars and translators will pay attention to the study of the English translation of Tongjiazi.
Definition of Phonetic Loan Characters (Tongjiazi)
The use of Tongjizi (a character with the same or similar pronunciation with another) is one of the phenomena of the use of Chinese character, where a character with the same or similar pronunciation is used instead of the original character. For various reasons, rather than using the original character, the writer temporarily borrows a character with the same or a similar pronunciation. In modern times, when the official standard characters are used, sometimes the original character is not adopted, and a specific Tongjiazi is used as the standard character. As can be seen, a phonetic loan character is a borrowing of an existing character. The character that is replaced by Tongjiazi is called the “original character”. They have the same or similar pronunciation and different forms, and may or may not have related meanings with the original character.
To clearly define a Tongjiazi, one needs to be aware of its distinction and connection with ancient and modern characters (Gujinzi), variant characters (Yitizi) and characters acquiring meanings by phonetic association (Jiajiezi). Ancient and modern characters are words with different forms but the same menaing in ancient and modern times, so this group of words is called ancient and modern characters (Gujinzi). As can be seen, the ancient and modern characters both have the same pronunciation, related word forms and the same meaning, and are a diachronic phenomenon of character use. In contrast, a phonetic loan character (Tongjiazi) appears at a particular time in place of the original character, and is a kind of temporal and synchronic substitution. Variant characters (Yiyizi) is two characters that have the same pronunciation and meaning, but are written in different ways. In contrast, a phonetic loan character (Tongjiazi) has the same pronunciation with the original character, but is not written in the same way with the same meaning. characters acquiring meanings by phonetic association (Jiajiezi) are a kind of substitution for an original word that was not there, where the ancients were writing to express the meaning of a word, but did not have such a word for their use, so they substituted it with a word with the same or similar pronunciation, in which the original character appears to be missing. By contrast a phonetic loan character is a substitution for an original word that is already there.
It can be seen that there are several characteristics of phonetic loan characters (Tongjiazi): firstly, it belongs to Jiajiezi; secondly, there is an original character; thirdly, it is a synchronic substitution; and fourthly, it has the same pronunciation and different meaning and form with the original character. Therefore, it can be defined as a synchronic substitution of the original character, which is homophonic, heteromorphic and heteronymous with the phonetic character.
Origin and Development of Phonetic Loan Characters (Tongjiazi)
This paper summarizes the following views about the origin of Tongjiazi, or the cause of Tongjiazi.
One is due to the limited number of ancient Chinese characters at that time. The emergence and development of Chinese characters was a long process, with character forms emerging from nothing, numbers increasing from few to many, and use going from arbitrary to standardized. During this process, then, there was bound to be an imbalance between the number of Chinese characters and the need for ideograms, and there were not enough Chinese characters to meet the needs of the ancients for oral expression and written records. In this case, the phenomenon of Jiajie came into being. For an object which there was no Chinese character at the time to represent, existing Chinese characters were borrowed to assign a character form and sound to the object. In this way, as a borrowing for an existing character, the appearance of a phonetic loan character (Tongjiazi) would have followed the appearance of Jiajiezi.
One reason is that ancient Chinese characters did not have a fixed normative use. In addition, the ancients created a character to express a meaning, but which character should be used to express which meaning was still in the process of being formed, and there was no certain rule that one could use this character to express a certain meaning, and another character with the same or similar sound to express that meaning, too.
One is due to the influence of dialects. Due to the lack of technology, when recording history, articles, literary works, etc. in ancient times, they were dictated by some scholars and recorded by others in writing. These scholars recited the content from their own memory, and their pronunciation might be influenced by the dialect, so that they could not say the sound of some characters accurately, and then the recording men often mistook one word as another and recorded the same word in different forms.
One is the emphasis on the sound of characters rather than their forms in ancient times. The ancients believed that language existed by virtue of sound, and emphasized that the sound showed the meaning of the word, and that people knew the meaning when they heard the sound, so the ancients often recorded the words according to their pronunciation. In this way, the creation of Tongjiazi was a natural consequence of the contradiction between the ideographic nature of Chinese characters and the phonetic nature of Chinese (Tan 1987:1).
One is to forget the original character and substitute it with another character with the same pronunciation. The ancient people, when making records, could not think of the original word and used a different character with the same sound instead. The character with the same sound and different meaning was unknown to common scholars, and was often written by mistake. The first person to write in this way was of course writing a wrong character, as mentioned earlier, but when later people followed suit, it became a Tongjiazi.
One is out of the need to keep things simple. When the ancients kept records, if the character was too complex and time-consuming to write, they would use a character with the same or similar pronunciation to replace the original character and save writing time.
One is for the sake of euphemism. It was a taboo for the ancients to call their parents by the characters in their names, or to write the characters in their parents’ names directly, so they borrowed other words instead. Except the emperor himself, other people could not write the name of the emperor.
The emergency and development of Tongjiazi is inseparable from the development of history. During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods (770 BC to 221 BC), when many schools of thought were contending for supremacy with each other, society at the time was full of new ideas and changes, so the unprecedented demand of written records had a major impact on the evolution and development of Chinese characters. During that period, colloquial characters were popular in the Eastern states, with a variety of traditional and simplified characters and different scripts in all countries, which became a major source for the creation of Yitizi, homograph and Tongjiazi in later times (Chen 2015:39). It was only after the Qin state unified the six states in 221 BC and implemented the policy of “same script”, using the small seal script as the only script used among the whole country, that the use of characters became more standardized and the use of common Tongjiazi gradually decreased. During the Eastern Han Dynasty (24 AD to 220AD), Xu Shen's Shuowenjiezi (《说文解字》) was published and the use of characters became more standardized, with emphasis on the form of characters rather than their sound. During the Wei, Jin and North-South dynasties (220 AD to 589 AD), some men of letters still used Tongjiazi, but during the Tang and Song dynasties (618 AD to 907 AD, 960 AD to 1279 AD), apart from the occasional use of previous Tongjiazi in folk literature, new Tongjiazi were generally not written, and any use of previous or new Tongjiazi was seen as a misspelling of characters. From this time onwards, the use of Tongjiazi was gradually discontinued, but the Tongjiazi in the works of the literati and canonical writings of the period before then remained unchanged. After the advent of the modern writing in the vernacular, the use of the Tongjiazi ceased completely. Many experts and scholars have systematized and standardized the use of the Tongjiazi by sorting out and verifying them, and have published some ancient Chinese dictionaries to facilitate modern readers’ access to the explanations and use of Tongjiazi in Chinese classics.
The Role of Phonetic Loan Characters (Tongjiazi) in the Development of Chinese Characters
The existence of Tongjiazi has become a huge reading obstacle, making it very difficult for modern people to read and understand ancient writings, which is the intuitive feeling of Tongjiazi nowadays. As to the role, or significance of the existence of Tongjiazi, some previous scholars have argued that Tongjiazi was a headwind in the history of Chinese character development, destroying the purity of Chinese characters. However, although the use of Tongjiazi ceased in the Tang and Song dynasties, they can still be found in ancient books, and the ancients did not revise all previous Tongjiazi after their use was standardized, so it is clear that it should have its own unique role in the history of Chinese character development. Therefore, an objective perspective should be adopted to evaluate their existence. According to Tan Lin (1987:2-5), the role of Tongjaizi is: firstly, a major morphological shift in the use of character harmonies; secondly, it reflects the richness and dynamism of the Chinese vocabulary; thirdly, it contributes to increasing the effect of Chinese characters in conveying word meanings; and fourthly, the standardization of Chinese characters is a regular requirement in the development of Tongjiazi. The existence of Tongjiazi is a product of the process of Chinese character development, and provides a basis for future generations to examine the history of Chinese character development. As a historical phenomenon, the use of Tongjiazi was social rather than personal, and the correspondence of Tongjiazi with the original character in ancient texts was largely fixed (Wei 2013: 27).
Influence of Phonetic Loan Characters (Tongjiazi) on Translation
To translate ancient texts, it is a crucial step to identify Tongjiazi in them. It is only by successfully identifying Tongjiazi that the meaning of the sentence can be correctly understood and the translation can be smooth and fluent, so the English translation of Tongjiazi is of significant research value. In this regard, the influence of Tongjiazi on translation is the ability of translators obtained to identify and verify those characters. With the development of the times, the majority of ancient texts now have annotated versions, that is, intra-lingual translations, from classical Chinese into modern Chinese with annotations on some words in the original text, and there are also some ancient Chinese dictionaries compiled by experts and scholars, all of which have contributed to the translation of Tongjiazi. At this point, the choice of the original book will also affect the effect of the translation. The translator should have the ability to identify authoritative base texts, as well as the ability to discern, and should not follow the base texts in translating. For some Tongjiazi, if the translator feels that there is a problem with the annotation, resulting in the meaning not being smooth, the translator should promptly check and verify with methods such as asking ancient Chinese researchers and consulting the relevant ancient Chinese dictionaries.
In addition, in today's fast-changing world of modern science and technology, translators should have a good command of using technology to assist translation. In recent years, computer-aided translation technologies such as corpora, terminology databases and memory banks have developed rapidly, which have also facilitated the translation of Tongjiazi in ancient Chinese. Translators can make a corpus and a memory bank of the ancient Chinese canonical texts they have translated before, and a terminology bank of the translations of Tongjiazi, as well as authoritative translations of some canonical texts, of which the translations of Tongjiazi are made into a terminology bank. In this way, subsequent translation tasks have a parallel corpus to refer to, saving a lot of time in checking. Apart from that, by typing in the keywords “通假字(Tongjiazi)” and “英译(English Transaltion)” on CNKI, I found that there are only two papers on the English translation of Tongjiazi, one of which is “Translation of Interchangeable Characters in TCM Terminology—Case Study on Classics of Difficulties Translated by Bob Flaws. The other one is “Translation of Interchangeable Characters in Synopsis of Golden Chamber Translated by Luo Xiwen”. These two studies are focused on the translation of the Tongjiazi in ancient Chinese medical works, which shows that the depth of research in the field of English translations of Tongjiazi is still far from adequate.
English Translation Methods of Phonetic Loan Characters (Tongjiazi) in the Analects of Confucius
The Analects of Confucius (《论语》) is a collection of discourses compiled by the disciples of generations of the thinker and the educator Confucius in the Spring and Autumn period to record the words and actions of Confucius and his disciples. It is a collection of 492 chapters, mainly in the style of discourses and supplemented by narratives, and reflects the political ideas, ethical thoughts, moral concepts and educational principles of Confucius and the Confucianism in a concentrated manner. The main feature of the work is its concise language, which is easy to understand, but has a far-reaching and profound meaning. Its language style is implicit and plain, and it is able to present characters in simple dialogue and action. Since the Song Dynasty, it has been listed as one of “the Four Books”, and has become an official textbook for ancient schools and a compulsory reading material for the imperial examinations.
The number of Tongjiazi in the Analects is relatively small, and the content is relatively easy to understand. There are a total of 6 phonetic loan characters in this work, which are “便” used as “辩”, “加” used as “假”, “桴” is used as “泭”, “麑” means “鹿”, and “礼” replaced by “献”. Compared to the English versions by foreign translators, Xu Yuanchong is more proficient in Chinese and more accurate in understanding the original text. It is understandable that the existence of the phenomenon of Tongjiazi often poses a barrier to reading and comprehension for Chinese readers, who may be tempted to literally understand the original text if they are not careful, and it is not very realistic for foreign readers or translators who read or translate Chinese texts to accurately identify each and every Tongjiazi. In Xu Yuanchong’s translation of the Analects, the main methods of translating the passages into English are the literal translation of the original characters, the literal translation of the Tongjiazi and paraphrasing (liberal translation).
(1)ST:其在宗庙朝廷, 便便言, 唯谨尔。 (《乡党》)
TT: At court or in the ducal ancestral temple he spoke readily and chose his words with care.
In this sentence, “便” means “辩”. The original meaning of “便” is to be comfortable, while the original meaning of “辩” is to conduct a lawsuit, which requires eloquence. Therefore, in the sense of “eloquence”, “便” is used as “辩”. In Xu Yuanchong's translation, “便便言” is translated as “he spoke readily”. According to the Oxford Dictionary, the word “readily” means “quickly and without difficulty”, which indeed has a meaning of being eloquent and comfortable. As for the translation method, “readily” is not a direct translation of the original word “辩”, but rather a paraphrasing by combining the Tongjiazi and the original word.
(2)ST:子曰：“加我数年，五十以学易，可以无大过矣。” (《述而》)
TT: Give me a few more years, said the Master, to study the Book of Change after fifty, I may be free from error.
In this sentence, “加” is used as “假”, meaning “give”, so the method of literal translation of the original character is adopted.
(3)ST:子曰：“道不行，乘桴浮于海。从我者，其由舆？” (《公治长》)
TT: The Master said, “If the truth I peach were not followed, I would float on the sea by a raft, who would then follow me but Zi Lu?”
In this sentence, “桴” is used as “泭” with the meaning of “raft”. In the English translation, “桴” is translated as “raft”, so the literal translation of the original character is adopted.
(4)ST:缁衣, 羔裘;素衣, 麑裘;黄衣, 狐裘。 (《乡党》)
TT: He wears a black robe over lamp’s skin, a white robe of undyed silk over fawn’s fur, or a yellow robe over fox’s fur.
In this sentence, the word “麑” means “幼鹿(fawn)”. In ancient times, people wore leather clothes with the fur facing outwards, so they had to have an overcoat on the outside. The color of the fur coat and the covering coat should match. The hair of a young deer is white, so the deerskin coat should be matched with a white outer covering. This phrase is also a direct translation of the original character.
(5)ST:子曰:“吾十有五而志于学, 三十而立, 四十而不惑, 五十而知天命, 六十而耳顺, 七十而从心所欲, 不踰矩。” (《为政》)
TT: At fifteen, said the Master, I was fond of learning. At thirty, I was established. At forty, I did not waver. At fifty, I knew sacred mission. At sixty, I had a discerning ear. At seventy, I could do what I would without going beyond what is right.
In this sentence, the word “有” is used as “又”, meaning “again, plus”. The word “十有五” means “ten plus five”, and is translated as “fifteen”. The translation method adopted is a direct translation of the original character, because the meaning of “有” as “again, plus” has already been agreed upon, and the actual meaning is known even without the perspective of the Tongjiazi and the original word.
(6) ST:子曰:“夏礼, 吾能言之, 杞不足徵也;殷礼, 吾能言之, 宋不足徵也。文献不足故也。足, 则吾能徵之矣。” (《八佾》)
TT: The rites of the Xia Dynasty, said the Master, can be described, but I do not rely on the evidence supplied by its descendants of Qi. The rites of the Yin Dynasty can be described, but I do not rely on the evidence supplied by its descendants of Song. For there are no sufficient documents. Otherwise, the rites of Qi and Song can be described.
In this sentence, “礼” is replaced by “献”, and the original meaning of “献” is the dog used in the temple sacrifice. The word “文献” refers to a book or a sage. It has been used in modern Chinese to refer to records and documents, so it is the literal translation of the Tongjiazi.
Therefore, for Tongjiazi in the Analects of Confucius, there are three main methods to translate them into English. They are literal translation of the original character, literal of the phonetic loan character, and paraphrasing (liberal translation). As mentioned in the definition of Tongjiazi, it is of significant importance to define phonetic loan characters by distinguishing them from ancient and modern characters (Gujinzi), variant characters (Yitizi) and characters acquiring meanings by phonetic association (Jiajiezi). Identifying those characters is the first step to understand and translate them correctly. In fact, the translation process of Chinese classics is from ancient Chinese to modern Chinese and then to English, so in addition to basic bilingual skills, the translator should have a good command of some knowledge of Tongjiazi, resort to some high-quality dictionaries for more information and ask some scholars and experts in this field for help, in an effort to avoid translation mistakes.
Conclusion
This paper introduces the definition of phonetic loan characters (Tongjiazi) in ancient Chinese, which is a synchronic substitution of an original character that originally existed and has the same pronunciation and different form and meaning with Tongjiazi. In order to have a good understanding of the definition of phonetic loan characters (Tongjiazi), it is critical to grasp the differences between phonetic loan characters (Tongjiazi) and ancient and modern characters (Gujinzi), variant characters (Yitizi) and characters acquiring meanings by phonetic association (Jiajiezi). Several reasons for the emergency of Tongjiazi are as follows. One is due to the limited number of characters in ancient times. One is for lack of standardized use of characters. One is the influence of dialects. One is the emphasis on the sound instead of form of characters at that time. One is to forget the original character and replace it with another character with the same or similar pronunciation. One is due to the need for simplicity; one is due to the need for euphemism. As for the origin and development of phonetic loan characters(Tongjiazi), which can be dated back to Pre-Qin period (Palaeolithic Age to 221 BC), and then appeared in large numbers during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods (770 BC to 221 BC). After Tang and Song dynasties (618 AD to 907 AD, 960 AD to 1279 AD), the former phonetic loan characters were stopped gradually and new ones were not allowed to come into being. With the advent of vernacular Chinese, Tongjiazi was discontinued completely. It is one of the reasons why ancient Chinese texts are difficult to understand, and is the key to understanding them, as well as a major difficulty for translators when working on such texts.
So, when translating such texts, translators need to acquire certain skills and obtain certain knowledge about phonetic loan characters (Tongjiazi). In addition to a certain level of reading skills and a basic grasp of the style and sentence structure of classical Chinese, they also need to have the ability to identify and verify Tongjiazi by asking ancient Chinese researchers and consulting the relevant ancient Chinese dictionaries. In addition, modern translators should master certain computer-assisted translation technologies, learn to make and use terminology databases, corpora and memory banks, and accumulate a large number of parallel texts to facilitate and support translation practice and translation research on Tongjiazi. This paper takes Xu Yuanchong's English translation of the Analects of Confucius as an example, analyses the English translation of Tongjiazi in it, and sums up three methods for the English translation those characters: literal translation of the original character, literal translation of the Tongjiazi, and paraphrasing, in order to make the research on the English translation of Tongjiazi in Chinese classics a step forward, to provide some suggestions for the English translation of phonetic characters (Tongzijia) and to make more scholars and translators pay attention to the research on the English translation of Tongjiazi. Chinese classics represent the tradition Chinese culture and language , thus serving as a valuable window through which other countries can learn Chinese language and culture. Their language style of ancient characteristics and the existence of phonetic loan characters have posed a barrier for translators to do their work, which in turn hinders the dissemination of Chinese culture and language into the world. In this regard, it is of significant importance to explore the translation of phonetic loan characters (Tongjiazi), in an attempt to produce higher quality English translations of Chinese classics and better spread Chinese language and culture to the rest of the world.
References
- Chen Zheng [陈征](2015). On the Reasons for the Emergency of Phonetic Loan Characters [通假字成因微探]. Curriculum, Teaching Material and Method [《课程 教材 教法》], (6): 39 pp.
- Tan Lin [谭麟](1987). A General View on the Emergency and Development of Phonetic Loan Characters—with an analysis of the opinion of “Phonetic Loan Characters as Headwind in Chinese Character” [概论通假字的产生于发展——兼析“通假字不是语言文字的正轨”]. Journal of Yuxi Normal University [《玉溪师专学报》], (2): 1-6 pp.
- Wang Li [王力](1999). Ancient Chinese [《古代汉语》]. Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company [北京: 中华书局], 546 pp.
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英语笔译 李梓婕 Li Zijie 202170081580
Introduction
Language exchange carries the blending of culture. If China wants to carry forward the good image of Chinese culture and convey the scientific concept of peaceful development, it needs to let the world understand Chinese and let the world speak Chinese. In order to enhance people's understanding of Chinese language and culture and provide a good and convenient learning environment for learners from all over the world, China began to cooperate in establishing Confucius Institutes with Chinese language teaching and Chinese culture dissemination as the content in various ways where there is a need and conditions. So far, hundreds of Confucius Institutes have been established around the world.
The establishment of Confucius institutes has brought Chinese culture close to Westerners, so that people of all countries can have "zero distance" access to and learn the original Chinese culture in their own countries. The Confucius Institute was set up on the basis of the inspiration of the foreign cultural institutions set up in other countries in the world and the experience of relevant foreign institutions in promoting the national language. In this way, we can learn from the management mechanism and communication strategy of the existing international language and culture promotion institutions, and highlight the Chinese characteristics of the Confucius Institute. At the same time, the establishment of Confucius Institutes is conducive to promoting the exchange and integration of Chinese culture and the cultures of all countries in the world, helping to enhance the soft power of Chinese national culture, and becoming a global cultural brand to promote Chinese culture and Sinology.
This article will briefly introduce the functions, construction and development of Confucius Institutes; From the "going out" strategy and the the Belt and Road strategy, this paper discusses the relationship between Confucius Institutes and Chinese language and culture.Finally, some cases are used to analyze the current situation of Confucius Institutes, as well as the achievements, problems and Countermeasures of international communication.
Overview of Confucius Institutes
Brief Introduction
Confucius Institute is a non-profit educational institution jointly established by China and foreign countries. It is committed to adapting to the needs of people in all countries (regions) of the world for Chinese learning, enhancing the understanding of people in all countries (regions) of the world for Chinese language and culture, strengthening educational and cultural exchanges and cooperation between China and other countries, developing friendly relations between China and foreign countries, promoting the development of multiculturalism in the world, and building a harmonious world. Confucius Institutes carry out Chinese teaching and exchanges and cooperation in education and culture between China and foreign countries. The services provided include: carrying out Chinese teaching; Train Chinese teachers and provide Chinese teaching resources; Carry out Chinese examination and Chinese teacher qualification certification; Provide information consultation on Chinese education and culture; Carry out language and cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries.
The most important work of the Confucius Institute is to provide standardized modern Chinese textbooks for Chinese learners all over the world; Provide the most formal and main Chinese teaching channels.
The development of Confucius Institutes
In 2004, the world's first Confucius Institute was officially established in Seoul, South Korea. The spread of Confucius' theory to the West began more than 400 years ago when Italian missionaries translated the Analects, a book recording Confucius' words and deeds, into Latin and brought it to Europe. Today, Confucius' theory has gone to five continents. The establishment of Confucius Institutes in various countries is the practical practice of Confucius' thoughts of "all brothers in the world", "harmony but differences" and "gentlemen meet friends through literature and help benevolence through friends".
In order to develop friendly relations between China and other countries in the world, enhance people's understanding of Chinese language and culture around the world, and provide convenient and excellent learning conditions for Chinese learners in various countries, China's national leading group office for teaching Chinese as a foreign language will build "Confucius Institutes" with Chinese Teaching as the main activity content in several countries with needs and conditions in the world, and set up Confucius Institute Headquarters in Beijing, China.
In order to promote Chinese culture, the Chinese government established the "national leading group for teaching Chinese as a foreign language", referred to as "Hanban" for short, and the Confucius Institute was organized by "Hanban". It adheres to Confucius' ideas of "harmony is precious" and "harmony without uniformity", promotes the exchange and integration of Chinese culture and cultures of all countries in the world, and aims to build a harmonious world of lasting peace and common prosperity. Mr. Chen Shanmu, Professor of Chinese at the University of British Columbia and President of the Canadian Chinese Association, was the earliest proponent of this plan. Since the establishment of the world's first Confucius Institute in South Korea in November 2004, there have been 300 Confucius Institutes in nearly 100 countries and regions around the world (the United States and Europe are the largest), becoming a global brand and teaching platform to promote Chinese teaching and spread Chinese culture and Sinology.
On June 19, 2014, Hanban agreed to support the construction of the Confucius Institute Headquarters experience base in Qufu. This marks a major breakthrough in carrying forward the excellent traditional culture and building the best District in a strong cultural city.
In December, 2014, the world's first technological Confucius Institute, "the Confucius Institute of science and technology of the Belarusian National University of technology", was unveiled at the Belarusian National University of technology, which is the third Confucius Institute in Belarus jointly established by Northeastern University and the Belarusian National University of technology.
On December 4, 2018, the 13th Confucius Institute Conference was held in Chengdu, with more than 1500 delegates from 154 countries and regions attending the conference. Sun Chunlan, vice premier of the State Council and chairman of the Confucius Institute Headquarters Council, attended and delivered a speech.
Confucius Institute logo
The logo uses a variant of the simplified Chinese word "Han" and combines two patterns of doves of peace and the earth flying high. Concise and lively, rigid and flexible, dynamic and powerful, it not only fully reflects China's traditional language and culture, but also reflects the pace of the times moving rapidly towards modernization. It has a certain inheritance with the logo of China's national language promotion agency, the national Hanban, and is a vivid embodiment of the work policy of "innovation, integration, and leap forward" of the national Hanban.
Opportunities and Challenges of Confucius Institutes in the Dissemination of Chinese Language and Culture
Confucius Institute "going out" strategy
In the 1990s, based on the experience gained in opening up to the outside world, Chinese leaders proposed not only to "bring in" but also to "go out" in economic construction. In 2000, the central government proposed the implementation of the "going out" strategy in the economic field for the first time. In 2002, the cultural field also clearly proposed to implement the cultural "going out" strategy. In recent years, the issue of "going out" of culture has attracted more and more attention of the state. The "decision of the CPC Central Committee on several major issues of comprehensively deepening reform" at the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee puts forward clear requirements for "going out" of culture, promotes Chinese culture to the world, and encourages social organizations and Chinese funded institutions to participate in the construction of Confucius Institutes. The 2014 government work report once again reiterated the goal of accelerating cultural going out, developing cultural trade, strengthening the construction of international communication capacity, and improving the national cultural soft power. In this context, as the only official organization that spreads Chinese language and Chinese culture, Confucius Institute is an important part of China's cultural "going out" strategy.
Promote Chinese teaching and education
Language education and cultural inheritance and dissemination complement each other. Language is the carrier of culture. Without language, culture cannot go far. Therefore, Chinese teaching and education plays a vital role in the strategy of "Chinese culture going out". Whether teachers of Chinese as a foreign language or foreign students studying Chinese, they will become ambassadors of cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries. Promoting Chinese teaching and education is the only way for Chinese culture to go global. Without Chinese, the essence of Chinese culture is difficult to convey through translation. For example, idioms and poems in Chinese need cultural background to understand the referential meaning, which can not be directly translated or difficult to translate, because every language is a discourse system, and has its own cultural background. Without this discourse system and cultural background, some cultural connotations are difficult to be truly translated and transplanted. Spreading language is, of course, spreading a culture. Only by letting foreigners learn Chinese can we spread our way of thinking and values. At present, the influential language and culture communication institutions around the world: the French Union, Goethe Institut and the British Council all start with language professors, and then spread their own culture through language. The study of Chinese teaching and education should pay attention to two levels: confidante and enemy. We should take the essence and discard the dross of our traditional culture. At the same time, we must also pay attention to the process of modernization of traditional culture, re deconstruct traditional culture and express it with a modern discourse system. At the same time, we should continue to study western culture and cultural background, explore methods of cross-cultural communication, and make Chinese teaching and education go further and better.
Publicize Chinese cultural classics
Chinese cultural classics have formed a complete system in more than 2000 years, mainly including literature, philosophy, morality, education, history, religion, art and other classics, of which the six classics compiled by Confucius is at the center of this system. Propaganda of Chinese cultural classics refers to "the spread and dissemination of the elements, connotation and spirit of cultural classics." China's long history and civilization have made China a great cultural power. The 5000 year cultural heritage is the absolute advantage of the Chinese cultural classics "going out". It is an urgent task in the "going out" strategy of Confucius institutes to publicize Chinese cultural classics and enhance the national cultural soft power. In the process of world economic development and historical progress, the relationship between eastern and Western cultures is "30 years east and 30 years West". At present, the western culture popular all over the world has not always been like this, nor will it always be like this. Oriental civilization is also gradually rising. Publicizing Chinese cultural classics is the only way for the rise of Oriental civilization. It is not only conducive to carrying forward and protecting our national culture and fine traditions, but also of great strategic significance for revitalizing Chinese culture, disseminating Chinese civilization, and enhancing national cultural influence and competitiveness.
Analysis of the Current Situation of Confucius Institutes
As a window for China to spread traditional culture to the world, the "Confucius Institute" has been highly expected by all parties since its birth. The Confucius Institute aims to teach Chinese and spread Chinese culture, send out the strongest voice of Chinese culture and display a positive image of China. In the past ten years, what achievements Confucius Institutes have made in international communication, what development problems they have encountered, and how to alleviate these problems to improve the international communication power of Confucius Institutes are the issues to be discussed in this chapter.
Achievements of Confucius Institute in international communication
The establishment of the Confucius Institute has awakened a friendship that transcends time and space, displayed the charm of Chinese culture, and achieved a new model of educational and cultural exchanges. It is not only the promoter of the global "Chinese fever", but also improved the international status of Chinese; It is also a bridge for national exchanges and cooperation, promoting cultural and academic exchanges between China and foreign countries, and deepening cooperation with local universities, enterprises and social organizations; Confucius Institute is also the messenger of national soft power. It has improved China's soft power by offering courses with Chinese characteristics and holding a series of cultural activities, which is conducive to changing China's marginal political image. Over the past decade, the Confucius Institute has made great achievements in international communication, and has been called "beautiful Chinese business card", "real Chinese Reader" and "lovely folk ambassador" by foreigners.
Deeply loved by the audience and promotes the "Chinese fever" in the world
The "Chinese fever" continues to spread around the world. Since 2004, the Confucius Institute Headquarters has established 445 Confucius Institutes and 664 Confucius Classrooms in 121 countries around the world. About 50 institutes are born a year, and about 400 universities in 71 countries strongly demand Confucius Institutes. Xu Lin, member of the National Committee of the Chinese people's Political Consultative Conference, director of the national Hanban office and director general of the headquarters of KONGYU college, said in an exclusive interview with the people's daily on March 11, 2014 that the "Chinese fever" continues worldwide, and the number of overseas Chinese Learners has exceeded 100million. The Confucius Institute borrows the world cultural symbol "Confucius" and insists on paying equal attention to Chinese teaching and the dissemination of Chinese culture. It is widely accepted by people all over the world. Its influence covers 90% of the world's population except China. Europe is the region with the largest number and density of Confucius Institutes. By the end of 2013, there were 149 Confucius Institutes in 37 countries in Europe. The construction of Confucius institutes has promoted the "Chinese fever" around the world. South Korea, the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan and other countries have listed Chinese as one of the foreign language subjects in the college entrance examination, and the Thai government is from the country Starting from the strategic height of home, we have formulated a national plan to promote Chinese teaching. At the same time, the international communication of Confucius institutes has also improved the international status of Chinese and changed the views of some foreigners on China. In the research conducted by Dr. Wu Ying of Shanghai Foreign Studies University, students from 16 Confucius Institutes in five countries have a better impression of China after learning Chinese.
Issues of international dissemination of Confucius Institutes
The rapid development of Confucius Institutes all over the world fully demonstrates that people all over the world are interested in learning Chinese and understanding The rapid development of Confucius Institutes around the world fully demonstrates the demand and desire of people all over the world to learn Chinese and understand China, but they also face some problems in the process of development. In the current trend that countries are competing to spread their own language and culture, the culture of the Confucius Institutes has become more popular. In the current trend of countries competing to spread their own language and culture, there is fierce competition in the field of international cultural promotion, and the construction of Confucius Institutes faces the challenge of sustainable development. In terms of internal environment, Confucius Institutes are developing too fast in some countries, lacking accurate positioning, not advanced management system, insufficient excellent teachers, and not enough localized teaching materials, which cannot meet the needs of effective dissemination of Chinese culture. In the means of communication. Although there are many ways to disseminate Chinese culture, in practice, they often fall into a programmed fence. The biggest problem at present is that the depth of Chinese culture dissemination is not enough, and the content of dissemination needs to be further expanded and deepened.
In fact, the establishment and development of Confucius Institutes in foreign countries is a process of cross-cultural communication. Due to cultural differences, many foreign mainstream media have misinterpreted the intercultural communication of Confucius Institutes. Influenced by Western ideology and social system, some foreign mass media have vilified the image of Confucius Institutes in their reports on Confucius Institutes. Instead of simply examining the overseas dissemination of Confucius Institutes from the perspective of language and culture dissemination, they have intermingled political and human rights factors and painted the intercultural dissemination of Confucius Institutes with political colors. These questions and criticisms mainly focus on "Confucius Institutes are propaganda tools", "Confucius Institutes are not independent and are controlled by the Chinese government", and infer that "Confucius Institutes affect academic freedom (of local universities)". The conclusion that "Confucius Institutes affect academic freedom" was drawn. In turn, the issue of "Tibet", "Taiwan" and so on were brought into play.
One reason is that the Chinese side has not yet responded or refuted this issue, and although the "State Hanban" is affiliated with the Ministry of Education, it is a non-governmental organization. Although it is affiliated with the Ministry of Education, it is a non-governmental, non-profit organization. Second, the need to transform and market Confucius Institutes has yet to be proven.
The cultural differences between regions bring confusion or misinterpretation to the encoding and decoding of information. Because of the differences between Chinese and Western cultures and systems, Westerners cannot read and understand China. There is a problem of "cultural discount" in international cultural exchange: because of the lack of common cultural background and experience between the communicator and the target, the cultural appreciation habits of people in different countries are very different, so misinterpretation is inevitable. According to Italian scholar Ecko, self-decoding is used to illustrate the situation where a message encoded in a certain code is decoded in another code, so that the final received meaning is different from the intended meaning", which is the reason why Westerners consider Chinese people "impenetrable".
Conclusion
The Confucius Institute was born in 2004 with a good intention: to make the world understand China and China understand the world. This was not only the original intention of a cultural institution, but the desire of a rising power. From 2004 to 2014 After ten years of development, the Confucius Institute has become a global institution with a certain scale and influence, known as the "most wonderful export" of Chinese culture. The Confucius Institute has been called the "most wonderful export" of Chinese culture. In fact, the world's major developed countries have long begun to attach importance to the role of language as a cultural carrier. For example, Germany established the Goethe Institute in 1951, France established the Alliance Française in 1883, and the British Council in 1934. The study of the international dissemination of Confucius Institutes is conducive to the improvement of China's "soft power", as well as to the development and improvement of Chinese culture and its contribution to the world's cultural pluralism.
As of mid-March 2014, 443 Confucius Institutes have settled in 120 countries and regions, and Confucius Institutes have made great achievements in promoting "Chinese language fever", promoting national exchanges and cooperation, and demonstrating China's "soft power". However, Confucius Institutes also face the problems of not being avant-garde in terms of software and hardware, programmatic in terms of communication means and insufficient depth in terms of content, among which, the lack of depth in terms of content, i.e., less involving the essence of Chinese culture and the modern value of Chinese culture, is the biggest constraint. The hindering factors of international communication of Confucius Institute are the lack of contemporary and innovative thinking in Chinese cultural communication, and the serious deficit state of cultural communication between China and the West, especially the challenge of ideological thinking in Western countries. In response to these problems, the following countermeasures are proposed to improve the international communication power of Confucius Institutes, including optimizing the construction of teachers and teaching materials to achieve localization, strengthening cultural exchanges and unblocking the channels of cultural communication, casting Chinese cultural masterpieces, and strengthening the evaluation of communication effects.
Confucius Institutes' international communication shows the following development trends. First, the content of communication is moving to a higher level, that is, the export of values. The prerequisite is to develop high-quality Chinese culture teaching materials, and the way is the modern transformation of traditional culture, focusing on strengthening the dissemination of values, which requires us to clarify the essence of Chinese culture and its modern transformation; secondly, the development of diversified means of communication. Confucius Institutes are beginning to grasp the cultural differences between countries, integrate local social resources, and seek digital communication paths, among which, digital development of communication means is the trend, and strengthening the combination of online Confucius Institutes and social media is the development direction; finally, two-way communication is growing. Chinese culture is getting stronger and stronger as it goes out, and foreign culture is getting hotter and hotter as it is brought in. The combination of "going out" and "coming in" is the most harmonious state, and finally from the level of cultural exchange to the highest level of cross-fertilization and integration.
In the process of writing, I have collected a large amount of information and also interviewed students who teach in Confucius Institutes abroad, trying to make the research close to the actual situation. However, due to my limited academic knowledge and lack of field research, this paper inevitably has many shortcomings. In the future, I will continue to strengthen my theoretical knowledge and pay attention to the subsequent development and construction of Confucius Institutes, hoping that they will go farther and better, and that Chinese culture will flourish in international communication!
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英语笔译 梁思婷 Liang Siting 202170081581
Abstract
This paper combines the discourse cognitive model discourse social interaction perspective to analyze Hofstede's discourse describing and commenting on the cultural value dimension as a way to reveal the cultural bias embedded in Hoh's model. The analysis reveals that the bias arises mainly from the idea of Western cultural values inherent in the minds of different people and the inappropriate choice of language. The model has been accepted and widely used mainly because the research method and descriptions happen to be in line with the inherent cognitive and intellectual framework of Western society and are easily recognized by Western scholars and readers. Studies have shown that critical discourse analysis is one of the effective tools to reveal the problem of cultural bias in cross-cultural studies.
Keywords:
Cultural Value Dimension; Cross-Cultural Studies; Social Interaction Perspective
1.Introduction:
The issue of cultural bias has been the subject of strong criticism by scholars of intercultural communication research, but explicit or implicit cultural bias has never ceased to exist, and Hofstede's model of cultural values is no exception. In cultural studies, Hofstede (1991a) designed and conducted a large scale questionnaire borrowing from the "cultural value dimensions" proposed by Kluckhohn and Strodbeck (1961). Through factor analysis and theoretical derivation of the survey results, four latitudes were identified to distinguish different cultures in the world: Power Distance (PDI), Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI), Individualism/Collectivism (IDV), and the masculinity of society. (IDV), and the masculinity of society (MAS). Although he later added to the model several times (1991b; 1999), he vehemently denied that the study was fundamentally flawed in any way (Mcsweeney, 2002: 90) or that there was any form of cultural bias. The model has been widely and thoroughly discussed by scholars for more than two decades, with both praise and criticism (Lustig However, few scholars have conducted a more detailed micro-analysis of the problems with the model at the level of discourse analysis. To this end, this paper intends to combine van Dijk's model of discursive cognition with Fairclough's perspective on the social interaction of discourse to analyze Hoh's discourse describing the cultural value dimension, reveal the cultural biases embedded in it, and then further discuss how cultural biases are produced/reproduced in Youse-related discourse from a historical and social perspective and legitimization as a way to show that critical discourse analysis is one of the effective tools to reveal the problem of cultural bias in intercultural communication research. Cultural bias as a cognitive process and social activity discourse Cultural bias is an incorrect perception held by people of one culture about people of another culture in intercultural communication research, and in practice it is more often manifested as an unfair attitude, i.e., it is "an acquired tendency, as a result of which people usually react in a consistent (negative) way to a particular group of people or event" (Chen, 2004). (Chen & Starosta, 1998: 40-41). Cultural bias sometimes appears in a visible way, but it is more often latent in language and other contextual factors in an implicit way. Once implicit cultural bias escapes people's attention, it can easily become accepted as discourse spreads and may transform into a power that influences and limits the correct perception of other cultural issues, Said (1999) Language acquisition. The discourse on Orientalism reveals this profoundly.
2.Prejudicial Discourse
Prejudicial discourse is one of the focuses of research by scholars of critical discourse analysis, who not only analyze the prejudices implicit in various specific discourses (van Dijk, 1980, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993b; Fairclough & Wodak, 1997: 266; Teo, 2000; Wodak et al., 1990 ), and also theoretically reflect on the nature of discrimination discourse (Matouschek et al., 1995). These studies suggest that critical discourse analysis is a powerful tool for studying prejudice and racialized discourse and revealing the power relations and inequality factors within it. Although this study focuses on prejudice in cross-cultural contexts, it is believed that critical discourse analysis should have equal validity here as long as relevant (cross-cultural) contextual factors are taken into account in the analysis. In terms of examining the issue of cultural bias in the Hoh model, we believe that Fairclough's perspective of social interaction in discourse should be combined with Van Dyke's model of discursive cognition. As mentioned earlier, the formation of cultural bias is a cognitive process, an incorrect reflection of reality by the mind, and once formed, it influences and changes people's perceptions of social reality by exerting influence on their perceptions. Therefore, the key to explaining this process through discourse analysis is to recognize that there is an interaction between discourse and society and that the interaction between discourse and society occurs only through cognition. Specifically, it is only through the lens of discourse-society interaction that it is possible to understand why cultural biases can permeate Fok's cultural patterns despite his efforts to avoid them and how discursive practices in turn further reinforce the cultural biases within them. However, this perspective does not explain the sources of cultural bias in Hoh's model and the possible consequences for people's perceptions, nor does it explain how cultural bias is constructed at the micro level of discourse and how discourse is linked to thinking. Only by considering cognition as a mediator of the connection between discourse and social reality, as Van Dyke (1993a) does, can we understand that cultural bias is acquired, used, and changed in social contexts, and that it influences the way people behave; that discourse is the most important source of the emergence, development, and change of cultural discourse; and that social behavior, social practice activities, relations of domination, relations of inequality, and power struggles in cross-cultural situations Social behavior, social practices, dominance relations, inequality relations, and power struggles in cross-cultural situations are ultimately expressed in discourse only under the influence of cultural biases and other social cognitive factors. It is for this reason that the analysis of language and discourse strategies at the micro level provides a basis for revealing the cultural biases in Hoh's model, and also shows that discourse analysis should not be limited to the formal analysis of language forms and discourse strategies, but should also focus on the cognitive, social, cultural and historical factors in the production of discourse.
3.Analysis of Hofstede’s Discourse Theory
The main content of the analysis in this paper is Hofstede's descriptions of different cultural value dimensions and related comments in his book The Consequences of Culture: Differences in Cultural Values in the Work Environment (1991a). These descriptions are mainly based on words, phrases and independent sentences, and their related comments are mainly expressed in a few short sentences. Therefore, the main object of analysis in this paper is the semantic units such as the relevant words and propositions in the text, and the analysis will adopt the three steps of description, interpretation and elucidation proposed by Fairclough (1989: 26).
3.1 Lexical analysis
Regarding the potential ability of vocabulary to participate in the construction of discourse ideas, domestic and foreign researchers in discourse analysis (Halliday, 1976; Fowler & Kress, 1979; Trew, 1979; Huang, Ying, 2006 2007; You, Zeshun & Chen, 2009) have conducted many studies and they found that vocabulary is employed not only at the coprime level but also at the ephemeral level to reflect social change and construct ideas, etc. This means that the use of different vocabularies in cross-cultural studies may allow cultural biases to permeate and be accepted in discourse, as evidenced by the following semantic analysis of the vocabulary used by Hoh to describe different cultural value dimensions. It can be seen that the vocabulary used by Hoh to describe both ends of each dimension are two/groups of mutually opposing words or phrases, which can be divided into the following categories. (1) Positive/negative words PDI (L/H): equal rights/privileges; less threatened/potential threatened; more prepared to trust/ rarely trusted; latent harmony/latent confl ict ( Hofstede, 1991a: 94) UAI (L/H): (unsurety) accepted/a continuous threat; not threatening/dangerous; greater tolerance/intolerance; positive and suspected ( Hofstede, 1991a: 140) Clearly, two of the words in the above groups exhibit a positive and negative opposition. This dichotomy can have a significant impact on human perceptions, leading readers to believe that the former is more desirable and the latter less desirable. Cultures that are not "superior" or "inferior" are immediately shown to be superior or inferior when they are modified by these words. (2) Words that support/contradict the spirit of the Enlightenment PDI (L/H): independence/dependence; reward, legitimate, and expert power/ coercive and referent power; redistributing power/dethrone those in power (Hofstede, 1991a: 94) IDV (L/H): emotional dependence/emotional independence; (private life) invaded/ has a right; differ for ingroups and outgroups/apply to all ( Hofstede, 1991a: 171) "Independence, freedom, and democracy" were the themes of the Western Renaissance.
It was promoted by Western thinkers such as Locke, Rousseau, and Kant, and has been appreciated by Western society to this day. Faced with the absolute dominance of Western humanistic and philosophical thought in today's world, these standards have influenced various cultures around the world to varying degrees. The result is that many people reading these opposing terms are likely to come to believe that cultures with low levels of individualism and high power distance are undesirable. (3) Words that support/contradict the Christian creed UAI (L/H): time is free/money (Hofstede, 1991a: 140) "freedom" implies that people focus more on the "feeling of freedom," and "money" suggests that people value the role of "money," indicating uncertainty avoidance. This suggests that societies with a high degree of uncertainty and avoidance are more concerned with acquiring money than with enjoying life itself. This "money" mentality is undesirable in the light of the basic spirit of Christianity (Holy Bible, 1995: 982, 98), so a culture with a low level of uncertainty avoidance is clearly preferable to a culture with a high level of avoidance. (4) Stereotypes of femininity/masculinity MAS (H/L): people orientation/ money and things orientation; quality of life and environment/performance and growth; service/achievement; interdependent/independent; intuitive/ decisive; small and slow/big and fast; fluid sex role, unisex androgyny/ clearly differentiated sex role and machismo (Hofstede, 1991a: 205) As can be seen from the above vocabulary, Hofstede's description of a high/low masculinity culture in society is closely linked to the long-standing image of masculinity/femininity in Western society. In this regard, men are affirmed and women are discriminated against, e.g., women act with emotions (people orientation, not rational) and men act with profit (money Women act on intuition (intuitive) and men act on decisiveness (decisiveness). In addition, cultures with low levels of masculinity are described as fluid sex role, unisex, and androgyny, while cultures with high levels of masculinity are described as clearly differentiated sex role, machismo, and their gender roles are not clear. (machismo), and their gender roles develop normally. Obviously, without considering the contextual factors, there is nothing special about the above-mentioned types of oppositional terms, because, they seem to be simply words that coincide with the most common ways people categorize and judge things. However, when they are put together in cross-cultural studies to describe different cultures, they actually construct an idea of cultural superiority/inferiority (ideology) in one's perception. For example, when describing the individualism/collectivism difference, one can clearly perceive discrimination against the collectivist culture. When the four dimensions are used simultaneously to judge the characteristics of various cultures, these terms more directly create the impression that certain cultures are superior to another, such as Australia, Canada, Britain, Ireland, South Africa, and the United States because of their high degree of individualism, low power distance, low uncertainty avoidance, and high degree of social masculinity." equality" and "democracy". Once these views are subconsciously accepted, people will unconsciously place a culture as superior or inferior first when dealing with and studying different cultures, and use this as a basis for further discussion, preventing them from further considering deeper questions such as whether there are superior or inferior cultures, and how different cultures really are.
3.2 Propositional analysis
Propositions are the smallest independent units of meaning in language and thought, usually expressed by independent sentences or clauses (van Dijk, 1988: 31). Since semantics deals with both meaning and enlightenment, propositions can also be seen as the smallest semantic units that are either true or false in the dimension of denotation. At any time when people want to express their ideas, communicate with others or learn something, they necessarily use propositions, so propositions are closely linked to thinking and social cognition. Because of this, propositions are also inseparable from ideas, "ideas as content are represented and communicated through language, and these are best thought of as propositions or relations between propositions" (Wood, 2004: 39). One of the most widely used ways of making propositions is by implication, i.e., when people's intentions are inappropriate or cannot be expressed clearly and unambiguously, they usually use those more readily acceptable entailments to imply or conceal their true intentions and make others agree on the validity of their assertions. In such cases, listeners or readers may find it difficult to grasp and reject these ideas. Hoh's description of the four dimensions of cultural values often consists of two sentence propositions that form opposites or contrasts with each other and that contain biases against certain cultures, in several categories. (1) Propositions that support/contradict the spirit of the Enlightenment Equality/Inequality PDI: 1a. Inequality in society should be minimized. 1b. There should be an order of inequality in this world in which everyone has his rightful place; high and low are protected by this order (Hofstede, 1991a: 94) Legal/illegal PDI: 1a. The use of power should be subject to the judgment between good and evil. Power is a basic fact of society which antedates good or evil. (Hofstede, 1991a: 94) Independence/dependence IDV. 1a: 1a. Identity is based in the individual. 1b. Identity is based in the social system. 2a. 2a. (There are) autonomy, variety, pleasure, individual fi nancial security. 2b. 2b. (There are) expertise, order, duty, security provided by organization or clan (Hofstede, 1991a: 171) Normal/ abnormal development of human nature UAI: 1a. Inner urge to work hard 1b. Hard work is not a virtue per se. (Hofstede, 1991a: 140) MAS: 1a. Work to live. 1b. Live to work. (Hofstede, 1991a: 205) Since the Enlightenment, "equality" and "freedom" have been considered by the West as two basic principles for judging the justice of a society (Rawls, 2003: 61), and "legitimacy Legitimacy" is the basic criterion for the exercise of power by elected leaders in a "democratic" society (Huntington, 1998: 9), and "autonomy" is the basic right of civic life. Work is an intrinsic need for the healthy and full development of human nature, but when hard work becomes the only means of earning a living or exploiting others, it is detrimental to human nature (Otero, 1994: 353, 357). (2) Propositions for/against consumerism Competitive/non-competitive UAI: 1a. Confl ict and competition can be contained on the level of fair play and used constructively. 1b. Conflict and competition can unleash aggression and should therefore be avoided" means they can not. (Hofstede, 1991a: 140) MAS: 1a. (To show) sympathy for the successful achiever. 1b. (To show) sympathy for the unfortunate. (Hofstede, 1991a: 205) Cooperation/non-cooperation PDI: 1a. Cooperation among the powerless can be based on solidarity. 1b. Cooperation among the powerless is difficult to bring about because of low faith in people norm. (Hofstede, 1991a: 94) Commentators have repeatedly pointed out that the world today is entering a "consumer society", where "all people have entered the market, and they are both consumers and commodities" (Bauman, 2004: 91). This trend is due to the increasing size of multinationals and the decreasing number of companies, which has led to a few mega-multinationals holding most of the production and distribution capacity of the capitalist world (Fairclough, 1989: 35). MNCs have been able to survive mainly because they are more productive and able to enhance cooperation among their colleagues and improve their own competitiveness. The coexistence of competition and cooperation has had such a significant impact on areas other than production and distribution, including social life, that "being cooperative" and "competitive" are considered by most people to be good qualities for individuals in a consumer society. People who lack these two qualities are considered to be defective. (3) Bravery/Cowardice UAI: 1a. More willing to take risks in life. 1b. Concern with security in life. (Hofstede, 1991a: 140) The promotion of risk-taking is a common feature of almost all cultures, and heroic deeds are one of the major themes in the creation of various works. Thus, those who "willing to take risk" are often revered for being "very brave" and those accustomed to "living with security" (concerned with security) are despised for their "cowardice". Obviously, all the above-mentioned b propositions imply negative connotations, and the culture described by these propositions will undoubtedly bear a negative mark. Moreover, from a propositional perspective, cultural bias does not exist only in the description of the cultural value dimension. In fact, to make his cultural value dimensions more credible, Hofstede also discusses them specifically in terms of climate, geographical features, history, and level of economic development. Unfortunately, these interpretations and comments also contain cultural biases. Statement 1. in low PDI countries, power is something of which power holders are almost ashamed and which they will try to underplay. i heard a Swedish I heard a Swedish university offi cial state that in order to exercise power, he tries not to look powerful. (Hofstede, 1991a: 93-94) What is power? What is the use of power? Power is "the ability to urge others to do something (as one wishes)," and by studying power, "we can identify who controls what resources and whose interests they serve" (Moore & Hendry, 1982: 127. cf. Thomas & Wareing, 2001: 10), that is, power is about control and benefit. In fact, people compete or cooperate with each other in their daily lives in order to gain power, and no one will refuse to be given more power, nor will those who control power be "ashamed to have it in their hands. However, "they may try to keep a low profile" because "power is only acceptable if it covers up most of its energy. The success of the use of power is directly proportional to its own ability to conceal the mechanisms of power" (Foucault, 1981: 86. cf. Fairclough, 1992: 51). Thus, the Swedish university official "tries not to look so powerful" not because he is ashamed of being in control, but as a strategy for exercising power; a culture with a small power distance is as unlikely to consider "being in control and exercising power" a "shame" as a culture with a large power distance. "It is only that they differ in the way they exercise power. Statement 2. The differences in stress (between high MAS and low MAS) on achievement are also present in the school system. For example, school For example, school performance in Germany (high MAS) is an important issue; there is strong pressure for performance, which in extreme cases can lead to suicide attempts among students who fail. In the Netherlands (low MAS), for example, the amount of pressure for performance is much less; anything that looks like competitive pressure is socially disapproved. Suicides among young people occur, but rarely because of failed exams. (Hofstede, 1991a: 206) The analysis shows that Huo's model of cultural values is implicitly culturally biased, yet his model has gained popularity in the field of cross-cultural studies. This contradictory phenomenon compels us to further consider how the cultural biases in his model are produced and how they are reproduced and transmitted in discursive practices. In response to the first question, we believe that there are two main reasons for the production of cultural bias in Fok's model: the Western cultural values inherent in Fok's own mind; and his inappropriate choice of language. Here, we do not mean to say that he is a Western cultural centrist who is full of discrimination against non-Western cultures. Quite the contrary, we consider him to be a cross-cultural researcher who opposes cultural discrimination, as evidenced by his research methodology that employs large-scale questionnaires and data analysis methods to avoid subjective factors. However, as a scholar who grew up and was educated in the West, he could not completely avoid the values inherent in Western culture, thus making himself eventually fall into the trap of Western cultural ideas. The most typical of these is that his cultural value dimension is based on the Western "dualistic cognition". This way of cognition distinguishes the world as either "black" or "white," "good" or "bad," or "right" or "right. "Therefore, the distinction between his cultural model and specific societies can only be binary. In addition, his description of the "degree of male socialization" is biased against societies with "low male socialization" due to the influence of traditional Western society's discriminatory view of women. Another consequence of these Western cultural values is his inability to choose the precise language to describe the cultural value dimensions. In his descriptions, Fok refers to "less independent", "l e s s t o o", and "less social". "l e s s t o l e r a n c e" exactly as "independent", "intolerance", and uses This is exemplified by the use of independent/dependent and tolerance/intolerance to describe the two cultures. However, we know that the dichotomy, while helping people to quickly distinguish between two cultures, can cause people to overlook the important reality that there are no absolute or essential differences between any two cultures in the world; they are more differences in degree (Wu, A. J.1998). So why is the Hoh model still recognized by industry professionals? We believe that it is because Huo's research methods and descriptions are just "compatible with the cognitive and intellectual frameworks inherent in Western societies and are easily accepted by Western scholars" (van Dijk, 1993a: 107-113). As mentioned earlier, Hoh's research uses a combination of large-scale questionnaires and data analysis, and this combination of quantitative and qualitative research is precisely one of the most common methods used in modern Western social sciences, and is considered by Western academics to be the only research method that can help the social sciences achieve the same level of "precision" as the natural sciences. Therefore, research using this method is considered by many people (especially in the West) to be absolutely "scientific". This notion not only convinced Hoh himself that his research was absolutely free of subjectivity, but also largely removed any doubts about the "scientificity" of his research from other researchers and readers. Moreover, many Western scholars and readers of cross-cultural studies share a similar binary cognitive framework with Fok, which not only makes them feel that there is nothing wrong with Fok's binary description of the cultural dimension, but also that it feels natural. Under such circumstances, it is only natural for them to accept Fok's descriptions and ignore the cultural biases implicit in his discourse. For non-Western scholars and readers, their failure to micro-analyze the discourse and to examine the problems with Fok's model from a social and historical context prevents them from fundamentally dismantling the foundations of cultural bias in the model. Although they vaguely feel that there is something wrong with these descriptions, it is difficult to clearly explain what the problem is, and therefore, they accept Hoh's conclusions in the actual study.
Conclusion
A discourse analysis of Hofstede's cultural value model shows that both at the lexical and propositional levels, Hofstede's descriptions and comments on the cultural value dimension imply a bias against certain cultures, especially those that are inconsistent with Western values. This study suggests that we need to be sensitive to the limitations of the use of "widely used" theoretical models, including the cultural biases they imply, when dealing with them. At the same time, from a theoretical perspective, this study demonstrates that critical discourse analysis is one of the effective tools for unraveling the problem of cultural bias in cross-cultural studies.
Reference
[1] Hofstede, G. Culture’s Consequences: International Differences in WorkRelated Values [M]. California: Sage Publications, 1991a. [2] Hofstede, G. Cultures and Organizations: Soft-ware of thecMind [M]. London: McGraw-Hill, 1991b. [3] Hofstede, G. The universal and the specific in 21st century global management [J]. Organizational Dynamics, 1999, (3): 34-43. [4] van Dijk, T. A. Macrostructures: An Interdisciplinary Study of Global Structures in Discourse, Interaction and Cognition [M]. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, 1980. [22] van Dijk, T. A. Prejudice in Discourse [M]. Amsterdam: Benjamins, 1985. [23] van Dijk, T. A. Communicating Racism [M]. London: Sage, 1987. [5] 尤泽顺，陈建平. 话语秩序与对外政策建构：对政府工作报告的词汇变化分析 [J]. 广东外语外贸大学学报，2009, (2): 44-49. [6] 吴爱珍. 谈HC和LC文化—Hall文化模式评述 [J]. 外国语, 1998, (4):
英语笔译 廖诗韵 Liao Shiyun 202170081582
Abstract
An idiom is created and accumulated by a nation in its development. It has a rich national feature and reflects the historical tradition of the nation. Idioms are the most vivid and vital part of a language. English and Chinese idioms are influenced by their respective language and culture and have rich cultural heritage and connotations, which can clearly reflect the differences between the two cultures. Therefore, it is not easy to deliver the meanings of the Chinese idioms with quite national cultural characteristics in English. Before translating idioms, one needs to understand the differences between the two language cultures. When translating, the translator not only should fully consider the strong national style of the idioms and accurately convey the meaning of the original text but also need to take into account the acceptance of the target-language readers. In this paper, the author will analyze the differences between Chinese and English idioms from the perspective of cultural differences between the two languages. And the author will take the English version of Fortress Besieged as an example to analyze the application of foreignization and domestication in the translation of idioms, in order to provide some insights for idiom translation and promote the dissemination of Chinese culture.
Key words
Idioms; Fortress Besieged; Foreignization; Domestication
Introduction
With the gradual promotion of China's cultural "going out" strategy and "Belt and Road Initiative", the international community has become more interested in Chinese culture. And the country attaches more importance to cultural communication and exchange with the outside world. The dissemination of literary works has undoubtedly become one of the important bridges for the "going out" of culture. Language and culture are inseparable, and cultural factors have always been a difficult task in translation due to the great differences between Chinese and Western cultures. As the cream of the Chinese language, Chinese idioms have strong cultural characteristics. Authors of Chinese novels often like to quote scriptures and use idioms to convey their feelings and meanings. Therefore, when translating Chinese novels, the translation of idioms becomes a major difficulty. And foreignization and domestication are the fundamental strategies adopted for cultural conversion in translation. Therefore, this thesis analyzes the cultural differences between Chinese and English idioms, and takes the English translation of Fortress Besieged as an example to analyze the application of foreignization and domestication in the translation of idioms.
Literature review
Mo Lihong and Ge Lingling (Ge 2012) studied the translation of Chinese idioms based on the relevance theory. They believed the theory plays a great role in guiding the translation of idioms. They first explored the theory's revelation to Chinese-English idiom translation, and then analyzed the translation strategies of Chinese idioms according to the theory. There are methods including literal translation, liberal translation method, the combination of literal translation and liberal translation, and CorrespondingTranslation. Sun Haibo (Sun 2013) discussed the translation of English and Chinese idioms from the perspective of cultural differences, and explored how translators use translation strategies in order to better translate idioms from four aspects: cultural traditions, religious differences, myths and legends, and ways of thinking. He argued that literal translation is possible when there are commonalities between the two languages, while when there are differences between the two languages, translators need to adopt flexible means, and use paraphrasing and liberal translation to get rid of various limitations. Zhang Jingjing (Zhang 2014) studied the translation strategies of idioms from the perspective of functional equivalence theory, and she believed that the differences in the expressions of English and Chinese idioms are attributed to historical and customary factors. Therefore, the translation strategies of functional equivalence translation theory should be reasonably applied. Wang Qin (Wang 2014) also takes Naida's functional equivalence theory as the basis to study the four-character idioms containing color words in the Chinese-English Dictionary. He analyzed the difficulties encountered by translators when translating and exploring the cultural differences between Chinese and English on color, and pointed out the strategies for translating idioms. He argues that translators can only achieve successful translations if they master the cultural differences between Chinese and English. He Yongbin (He 2016) analyzes the translation of Chinese idioms from the perspective of cross-cultural communication, and the analysis results show that translators use the literal translation and literal translation with annotation more often when translating idioms into English, which are considered to be able to maintain the original ethnical feature and culture of idioms. Because the structure of Chinese idioms is rather special and the sentence length is different from that of English, it is considered that Chinese idioms deserve further research and exploration. Shi Xiaoping (Shi 2018) studied the English translation of Chinese idioms from the translator's contextual vision and analyzed five translation techniques used by translators: literal translation, literal translation with notes, liberal translation, amplification and omission. He argues that certain difficulties arise when translating Chinese idioms into English, and that translators often ignore the historical context of the idioms, resulting in a translation that is not comprehensive enough and easily misleading to readers, so he suggests that translators should enrich their cultural knowledge, improve their communication skills, and master the translation techniques involved when translating at the same time.
the Translation Strategy of Idioms
Generally speaking, it is difficult to translate the linguistic structure of Chinese idioms, but only the meaning. And it is especially difficult to translate both the linguistic structure and the meaning. Even when translating the meaning, it is sometimes difficult to balance the original meaning with the meaning that people usually use nowadays, because there is a process of change from the original meaning to the meaning that people usually use nowadays. In translation, the handling of cultural factors has always been a difficult issue, and foreignization and domestication are the fundamental strategies adopted for cultural transformation in translation.
(1)Foreinization and Domestication
Schleiermacher, the German philosopher, stated two methods of translation in one of his speeches in 1813. One is author-to-reader method and the other is reader-to-author method. As the former, the translators try their best to leave the readers in peace, and move the author to them. While the latter means that the translators do their utmost to leave the author in peace and move the readers to him. In his book, The Translator's Invisibility, Lawrence Venuti, a famous American translation theorist, firstly used the terms of foreignization and domestication. Foreinization could convey the meaning of the source text more accurately and effectively to readers, with representing a kind of link of the linguistic features of the original language (Venuti, 1995:36); or the type of translation in which a TT (target text) is produced which deliberately breaks target conventions by retainning something foreignness of the original (Shuttleworth, 1997:23). Domestication refers to a translation strategy that adheres to the current dominant values of the target language culture and adopts a conservative assimilation of the original text to make it cater to the local canon, publishing trends and political needs (Venuti, 2006:4); or it refers to a translation strategy in which a transparent, fluent style is adopted in order to minimize the strangeness of the foreign text for TL (target language) readers (Shuttleworth, 1997:63). In summary, the foreignization translation strategy requires translators to preserve the linguistic and cultural characteristics of the original text and promote cultural communication for target readers; when adopting domestication strategy, the translator takes the target language culture as his center, and tries to use the expressions of the target language so that target readers should be able to appreciate and understand the translated text in the same way as the original readers do. In translating, absolute domestication and absolute foreignization do not exist. Both of them have their respective advantages and disadvantages, and they are opposites and complementary to each other.
Advantages and disadvantages of Domestication
The biggest advantage of domesticating translation is to enable a good and fluent translation. By a fluent domesticating strategy, the translators can make versions easy to understand for the target language readers. And it is an effective method of intensifying the influence of the target language and culture.
However, dominated by this translating strategy, the uniqueness of the original language and culture will be missed. For example, Yan Fu (严复) and Lin Shu (林纾) are representatives of the school of domesticating translation. They tended to domesticate foreign works in classical Chinese language. However, with the development of globalization, that kind of over-domestication is doing harm to cultural communication between different countries for its distortion of the source language and culture.
Advantages and disadvantages of Foreignization
As for its advantages, there are three main points. Firstly, foreignization translation can help readers develop cross-cultural awareness and acquire different reading experiences in other languages and cultures. Secondly, foreignization also can widen readers' horizons and promote mutual understanding among different countries. Thirdly, it can also help to combat the cultural hegemonies and enrich the target culture system.
Foreignization has its own limitations. When it comes to some complicated cultural factors, customary, linguistic differences and so on, foreignization translation may produce hard-understood text for target language readers, which will diminish their interest in the certain text and hinder translation activities.
The Introduction of Chinese Idioms
(1)Definition
Chinese idioms are a kind of long-used fixed phrases unique to the ancient Chinese vocabulary. They come from ancient classics or writings, historical stories, people's oral stories, folklore, etc., containing a wealth of cultural information. The meaning of a Chinese idiom is incisive and often implied in the literal meaning. It is generally not a simple addition of the literal meanings of its components. A Chinese idiom’s structure is so tight that it is generally impossible to change the word order arbitrarily, or to swap out, add or subtract components from it. Its form is mostly four-word, but there are also some three-word and multi-word ones.
(2) Basic features
(2.1) Fixed structure The composition and structure of a Chinese idiom are fixed and cannot be changed, added or subtracted at will. For example, “雪中送炭”(send charcoal in the snow--meaning provide timely help), cannot be changed into “雪中送煤” (send coal in the snow). Besides, the order of words in an idiom is also fixed and cannot be changed at will. For example, “七手八脚” (seven hands and eight feet—meaning too many cooks spoil the broth). It can't be changed into ”八脚七手“ (eight feet and seven hands). “背井离乡”(leaving hometown) cannot be used as “背乡离井”.
(2.2)Number-fixed words In a broad sense, Chinese idioms can be composed of three, four, five, six, seven or even more words, such as “闭门羹” (given a cold shoulder), “坐山观虎斗”(watch in safety while others fight, then reap the spoils when both sides are exhausted), “树欲静而风不止”(The tree wants to remain quiet, but the wind won't stop/ Things don’t go their ways), “塞翁失马焉知非福"(a blessing in disguise) and so on. However, the major form of Chinese idioms is a four-character structure.
(2.3) The integrity of meaning The meaning of an idiom is holistic in nature. In other words, the meaning of an idiom is not simply the sum of the literal meanings of its components. For example, "胸有成竹" literally means "to have a bamboo in one's chest", but its actual meaning is "to be prepared, to make up one's mind"; “废寝忘食” literally means "forget to eat and sleep", but its actual meaning is "to be extremely dedicated to working".
The Cultural Difference between Chinese and English idioms
English and Chinese are both extremely rich in idioms. These idioms greatly enhance the diversity and vividness of the expressive power of English and Chinese, becoming the bright pearls in these two languages. In our observation of English and Chinese idioms, we can easily find that there are many differences between these two idioms, which mainly come from the cultural differences in living environment, social customs, religious beliefs and history and culture between China and Britain.
(1) Differences in Living Environment
Culture cannot be produced without a specific natural geographic environment, and the same is true for idiom culture. China is a continental country with a large area and various terrains, which provide an enabling geographical environment for the development of agricultural civilization. Therefore, there are many Chinese idioms related to "agriculture" and "land", such as “挥金如土”(spend money like water). Britain is located in the British Isles, surrounded by seas, which gave birth to the maritime civilization. Many English idioms are related to "water" and "boat", for example, “挥金如土”(spend money like soil) can be translated as "spend money like water”. Such a translation is in line with the characteristics of maritime civilization.
(2) Differences in social customs
Social customs refer to the way of life of the inhabitants in a region. And they are related to all aspects of social life. For example, the image of animals is different for each nationality. People give different emotions to animals. For example, Chinese people keep dogs, traditionally for the purpose of watching over and protecting their homes. British and American people, on the other hand, have dogs for companionship. In English, there is "lucky dog"(幸运儿) to refer to people in a positive sense, while in Chinese, most idioms related to "dog" have a negative meaning, such as “狐朋狗友”(fox friend and dog friend—meaning bad friends), etc..
(3) Differences in Religious Beliefs
Idioms related to religious beliefs also appear in large numbers in English and Chinese languages. Christianity is the dominant religion in British, and Westerners believe in the existence of God. There are many idioms about God in English. For example, "Man proposes, God disposes”. In China, there are many idioms about Buddhism. For example: “不二法门”(the only way to), “借花献佛”(present Buddha with borrowed flowers -- to borrow sth to make a gift of it), etc.
(4) Differences in History and Culture
Historical culture refers to the culture formed in a specific historical development process. One important element of it is historical tales. Historical stories are the treasures of a nation’s history and culture, containing rich historical and cultural information. Chinese idioms are mostly from the Four Books, the Five Classics, myths and legends, such as “东施效颦”(blind imitation with ludicrous effection)、“名落孙山”(fail in a competitive examination/be nowhere) and so on. English idioms are mostly from the Bible, Greek or Roman mythology or Aesop's Fables. For instance, "Achilles' hell”, “a Pandora's box”, etc..
Case study
This paper selects the English translation of Fortress Besieged by Jeanne Kelly as the text for analysis. The author is Qian Zhongshu. Through humorous language and pungent satire, the book depicts the decadent, rotten and sickly life of the so-called upper middle-class intellectuals in old China during the Opium War. The book's language is humorous, witty, lively, and charming. Qian Zhongshu used idioms flexibly in the book, and sometimes took idioms’ literal meaning as a way of irony.
(1) Foreignization
When adopting the strategy of foreignization, translators need to try to preserve the linguistic characteristics and cultural features of the source language to achieve the purpose of cultural dissemination and communication. When translating, translators strive to convey the Chinese unique culture to the maximum extent while ensuring the accurate communication of information in the source language.
Example 1：艳如桃李，冷若冰霜
Translation：as delectable as peach and plum and as cold as frost and ice
Analysis: “艳如桃李”is a metaphor for a face as delicate as a ripe peach plum; “冷若冰霜” is a metaphor for woman/man as cold as the frost and treating people and things without emotion. “冷若冰霜” also refers to a stern and unapproachable attitude. Here the translator kept the four vehicles of "peach and plum" and "frost and ice" under the assurance that target-language readers could understand them.
Example 2：便痛骂《沪报》一顿，把干仗人和假博士的来由用春秋笔法叙述一下，买假文凭是自己的滑稽玩世，认干亲戚是自己的和同随俗。
Translation：Roundly cursing the paper, he briefly recounted, in the manner of the Spring and Autumn Chronicles, the full story behind his having an adoptive father-in-law and a fake doctorate. By purchasing a fake degree he was thumbing his nose at the world, he said; by accepting an adoptive relative, he was conforming to tradition, he argued.
Analysis: “春秋” referred to the ancient chronological history book "Spring and Autumn Annals", which is said to have been compiled by Confucius from the history book "Spring and Autumn" of his home state of Lu. It recorded a total of 242 years of history from the year of 722 BC to the year of 481 BC. “笔法” referred to the method and technique of writing. In the Spring and Autumn Annals, Confucius implied praise and criticism in the text, in which the addition or subtraction of a word had a "subtle meaning", so it was called the "春秋笔法". Later, it refers to the writing technique of short and concise text, which implies positive and negative meanings. The translator has translated “春秋笔法” literally, preserving the characteristics of the Chinese culture.
Example 3: 自信这一席话委婉得体，最后那一段尤其接得天衣无缝，曲尽文书科王主任所谓“顺水推舟”之妙，王主任起的信稿子怕也不过如此。
Translation：He was confident his little speech was tactful and proper, especially the last part, which had been sewn together as flawlessly as “a divine suit of clothes”; it would achieve his objective in every way, what Chief-secretary Wang called as naturally and effortlessly as “pushing a boat downstream.”
Analysis: “天衣无缝” is an idiom that evolved from a fable. The original meaning of “天衣无缝” is that the clothes worn by the gods in the heaven have no seams, but later it is used to describe natural and perfect poetries and writings, or things are well thought out and perfect, with no artificial traces of fabrication; “顺水推舟” means to push the boat according to the direction of the flowing water. It is a metaphor for talking and acting in a certain trend or in a certain way. It is from a famous story "The Injustice to Dou E". The translator has kept both vehicles, preserving the cultural characteristics of the original text to the greatest extent.
(2) Domestication The translation strategy of domestication focuses on the culture of the target language. It attaches great importance to the authenticity, naturalness and fluency of the translated text so as to enhance the readability of the translation. When translating idioms with complicated cultural backgrounds, the translator has to make the target language audience understand the translation with the least possible effort in a short period of time.
Example 4：塞翁失马，安知非福，使三年前结婚，则此番吾家破费不赀矣。
Translation：This may be a blessing in disguise. If you had married three years earlier, this would have cost us a large sum of money.
Analysis: “塞翁失马，安知非福” is a metaphor for a momentary loss, but instead it can be beneficial. It also means that a bad thing can become a good thing under certain conditions, and vice versa. This idiom is derived from the ancient story of "Seung-woong loses his horse". Here, the translator does not explain the story, but adopts a domesticating approach to translate the idiom into the English authentic expression "This may be a blessing in disguise", which makes the translation natural and easily understood.
Example 5：假如苏小姐也不跟他讲话，鸿渐真要觉得自己子虚乌有，向五更鸡啼时的鬼影，或道家“视而不见，抟之不得”的真理了。
Translation：If Miss Su hadn’t bothered to speak to him, Hung-chien would really have felt that he had thinned into nothingness, like a phantom of early dawn upon the cock’s crowing or the Taoist truth, which can be “looked at but not seen, expounded but not grasped.” Analysis: “子虚乌有” is an idiom derived from a historical story, and it was first taken from "The Composition Of Zixu" by Sima Xiangru in the Han Dynasty. 子虚(Zi Xu) and 乌有(Wu You) are both fictional characters in The Composition Of Zixu of Sima Xiangru in the Han Dynasty, so “子虚乌有” is used to indicate something that is hypothetical rather than real. It refers to something hypothetical, non-existent, or untrue. The translator takes the target language readers as the center, and adopts the translation method of paraphrasing, translating it as "thin into nothingness", which accurately conveys the meaning of the original text.
Example 6：这时候他知道鸿渐跟自己河水不犯井水，态度轻松了许多，嗓子已恢复平日的响朗。
Translation：Now that he realized he and Hung-chien were not in each other’s way, his attitude toward Hung-chien changed considerably, and his voice recovered its usual resonance.
Analysis: “河水不犯井水” is a metaphor for both sides not to interfere or infringe on each other. The metaphorical meaning of the idiom is very vivid, but here the translator gives up the metaphorical meaning of the original text and chooses the authentic English expression “were not in each other’s way”, so that the target language readers can quickly understand the original text.
Conclusion
Chinese idioms are rich in connotation and diverse in form. And they have a deep cultural heritage. When translating such words, translators need to carefully analyze the original text and determine their deeper meanings according to the context, in an effort to meet the expectations of the readers of the translated text. This paper introduces the definition and features of Chinese idioms, explores the cultural differences between English and Chinese idioms, and analyzes the English translation of Fortress Besieged; from the perspectives of foreignization and domestication. Through the above analysis, it can be seen that the translator does not limit himself to one translation strategy, but flexibly adopts both foreignization and domestication strategies. When translating Chinese idioms with more complex cultural connotations, the translators prefer to adopt the domesticating translation strategy to translate the implied meaning of the idioms according to the context or to find authentic expressions in the target language to replace them, out of the pursuit of fluency and the acceptability of the target language readers. When translating idioms with less complex cultural connotations, translators prefer to adopt the strategy of foreignizing translation, which preserves the original metaphors and also helps to spread Chinese culture. No matter which strategy is used, translators should pay attention to avoid using words with strong national cultural connotations, which will make it difficult for readers of other different nationalities to read and understand the meaning and emotion that the author of the text wants to express.
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