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| − | =1 羊叶 The Analysis of Culture-loaded Words of English Subtitle Translation in Chinese Movies-Taking Farewell to My Concubine as an Example 电影中英译字幕文化负载词的翻译分析——以《霸王别姬》为例= | + | =Chapter 1: The Analysis of Culture-loaded Words of English Subtitle Translation in Chinese Movies-Taking Farewell to My Concubine as an Example = |
| | [[Cult_Load_Words_EN_1]] | | [[Cult_Load_Words_EN_1]] |
| − | === Abstract ===
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| − | Nowadays, popular films are increasingly active on the Internet. Confronting such a mass need for film translation, subtitle translation is winning more favor compared with traditional dubbing translation. This paper, taking Farewell My Concubine as an example, analyzes the strategies and methods of translating culture-loaded words. The conclusions are as follows: In terms of translator, translator needs to be super proficient in Chinese and English. In terms of translation strategies, domestication and foreignization are unity of opposites and complement each other, so there is no absolute and pure domestication and foreignization. In terms of translation methods, when translating the culture-loaded words, Linda Jaivin mainly adopted literal translation, free translation, specification, generalization and omission to nearly successfully preserve and convey the essence in Beijing dialect and Beijing Opera in China.
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| − | === Key Words ===
| + | 羊叶Yang Ye, Hunan Normal University, China |
| − | Subtitle Translation; Farewell My Concubine; foreignizing method; domesticating method
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| − | === Introduction ===
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| − | 1.1Research Background
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| − | Innovation of information technology brings energy for the advancement of broadcasting ways of film and television programs. More and more foreign popular films are increasingly active on the Internet; more and more local films with Chinese elements are also introduced abroad. Researchers on subtitling translation are becoming more and more important.
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| − | China's Opening-up and Reform facilitates the cultural communication between China and the outer world. In the introduction of foreign films and TV plays, language understanding becomes an obvious barrier for audiences. Two major solutions to solve such a barrier are dubbing and subtitle translation. "Subtitles sometimes referred to as captions are transcriptions of film or TV dialogue presented simultaneously on the screen." Relatively, the latter one is more favorable than the traditional dubbing way because of its cost-effectiveness, short producing cycle and audience-acceptability. With higher educational background and foreign language level, many Chinese audiences expect that films can be displayed with “a natural and original flavor” nowadays.
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| − | Under such circumstances, subtitle translation seems to be more acceptable to get access to foreign audience. Among so many elements involved in the subtitle translation process, the translator plays the most significant part, thus becoming a key and central element in the subtitle translation system. Therefore, a good subtitle translation with “a natural and original flavor” sets high and strict requirements for the translator.
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| − | 1.2 Brief Introduction to Farewell My Concubine
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| − | Farewell My Concubine, the film version adopted in this thesis is the 1993 one whose heroes and heroines are Duan Xiaolou (acted by Zhang Fengyi), Cheng Dieyi (acted by Zhang Guorong) and Ju Xian (acted by Gong Li) respectively. In the film, Xiaolou and Dieyi are fellow apprentices learning Beijing opera performance together from childhood. Later on, their cooperation in the opera Farewell My Concubine makes them famous overnight throughout Beijing city. Thereafter, they make a promise to each other that they will perform Farewell My Concubine together as long as they are alive. However, their different understandings of the relationship between the opera and life finally lead to their different choices: Until mid-age, Xiaolou deeply knows that the opera isn't his whole life, so he gets married with a famous whore called Juxian; Dieyi, however, becomes totally immersed in the complicated plots and role relationships of the operas, especially Farewell my Concubine. Around such a classic and famous opera, the love and betrayal among them become escalating with the changes of times and eventually develops into a tragedy.
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| − | It is the first film that won the Golden Palm Prize in mainland China. It has been keeping the highest-grossing record of Chinese melodrama movies in America which also marks the climax of Chinese films in America. Meanwhile, it also got great box-office successes in such countries as Japan, Germany, Korean, France and so on. It should be concluded that Farewell My Concubine has achieved great success both in the art and business.
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| − | In Farewell My Concubine, Beijing Opera art is the central cultural element. It is a typical representative of classical Chinese literature art. Taking it as a case study, general and concrete subtitle translation strategies can be concluded to improve translation quality of similar subtitle translation works.
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| − | 1.3 Brief Introduction to translator Linda Javin
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| − | Linda Javin, the subtitle translator of Farewell My Concubine, is a suitable and qualified person for both the director and the audiences. Since 1976, Linda has been playing an important and active role in broadcasting, studying and exploring Chinese culture. As an internationally renowned sinologist, translator and writer, Linda Javin has made great efforts in learning, feeling and appreciating Chinese culture. It is really a tough time full of difficulties and hardships under the specific social conditions then. After years of efforts to learn Chinese language, history, literature and many visits to China, Linda has begun to embark on her Chinese literary writing career recently. All these can prove that she is really a competent and qualified subtitle translator of Farewell My Concubine. Her wonderful bi-lingual and bi-cultural competence does give her favorable advantages in translating.
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| − | === Analysis the Translation of Culture-loaded Words ===
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| − | 2.1 Introduction to Culture-loaded Words
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| − | Gonzalez Davies and Scott-Tennent (2008, p.783) put forward a definition of cultural references in detail, which is "expressions (audiovisual, verbal, textual,
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| − | non-verbal) that are concerned with ecological, material, religious, social, emotional, and linguistic manifestation. In addition, these expressions are specific to a particular community, and they are recognized as a particular feature of that community. Such expressions, however, may lead to difficulties in comprehending these words or translating these words." And in China, a scholar defines it as "the words, phrases and idioms that mark the unique things in a culture." These words reflect the unique way of activities gradually accumulated by a specific nation in the long historical process, which is different from other nations.(Liao Qiyi, 2000: 232)
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| − | It is more diverse to classify Culture-loaded words because China is an ancient national with a history of more than 5,000 years. In this course, many Culture-loaded words have accumulated continuously. Among all the materials, some scholars divide Culture-loaded words based on specific elements such as language and culture. Since different scholars hold different views on the classification of Culture-loaded words, and hence the fist can go on and on. Here is a well-accepted way by Nida. Nida (1945, p.196) divided language and cultural characteristics into five categories:(1)Ecological culture; (2)Material culture; (3)Social Culture; (4)Religious Culture; (5)Linguistic Culture.
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| − | 2.2 The Features of Subtitles in Farewell My Concubine
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| − | Through comparison and analysis, the main language features of the Chinese lines of Farewell My Concubine are concluded as below: concise but emotional dialogue; strong Beijing Opera and Beijing dialect flavor; sharp but implicative expressions; rich of slang and idioms. All the features are drawn from the corresponding lines in the film and all these analysis in the language following features will be illustrated combining with the specific case interpretation. Thus, different translation strategies at different levels can be generalized and concluded to cater for the different language features.
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| − | The film takes place in Beijing and is thus featured with rich local color. The most obvious feature is the use of Beijing dialect. Beijing dialect is the basis of standard Mandarin, but there are some differences that make it easy for Chinese people to recognize which is which. Most prominent difference in phonology is the proliferation of rhotic vowels which results from the non suffix “儿” in vocabulary, Beijing dialect has a lot of words that are considered slangy and therefore occur much less or not at all in standard Mandarin. Some non-Beijing natives find it hard to understand what most of them mean, let alone foreigners. A dialect tells about the user's social class, status, profession, and many more. That is why so many translators are taking pains.
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| − | Beijing Opera is exactly a colorful part of the film has depicted. Beijing Opera was formed during the period of Daoguang(1821-1850). At the beginning, actors from Chu Opera such as Wang Honggui and Li Liu came to Beijing to perform in the Drama of Hui School. Later, combined with Erhuang melodies and Xipi melodies, in the same time, actors also absorbed the advantages of Kun, Beijing and Qin tunes from their respective schools. Beijing dialects were adapted to adapt to Beijing customs. Thus, it took shape initially. Gradually Beijing Opera developed into the most influential opera in the country. The characters in the whole film have a strong Beijing accent, and many opera excerpts in the film such as Farewell My Concubine, Peony Pavilion and Drunken Imperial Concubine are presented for many times. So it is inevitable to translate many professional terms.
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| − | 2.3 Cases for Analysis
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| − | 2.3.1 Brief Introduction to Translation Strategies
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| − | Before the specific analysis, let's have a understanding of two basic concepts of domestication and foreignization, which are important strategies in translating culture-loaded words.
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| − | The translation theory of domestication and foreignization was first put forward by Schleier Macher, a famous German translation theorist. In his book published in 1813, he put forward that there are only two ways of Translation: one is to guide the readers to get to know the author as much as possible; the other is to guide the author to get to know the readers as much as possible. In 1995, Lawrence Venuti, an American Italian translator, wrote in his important work The Translator's Invisibility, the first method described by Schleier Macher is called "foreignizing method" and the second method is called "domesticating method". That is to say, domestication is oriented by target language, while foreignization is oriented by source language.
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| − | As for Linda Javin, she once mentioned in an interview that in the face of the cultural essences in the lines, she adhered to the strategy of domestication in her translation and did not deliberately maintain the oriental flavor contained in the dialogue. Frankly speaking, she doesn't appreciate the way of retaining Pinyin combinations and then adding a lot of notes to make foreigners understood. If Chinese is pleasant to the ear, don't let the expression heard awkwardly in English. So the simplicity and directness are put above everything else to make it easy for the audience to understand.
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| − | 2.3.2 Cases of Translation Methods
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| − | 2.3.2.1 Literal Translation
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| − | As one of the common methods of translating culture loaded words, literal translation is to translate the source text according to the literal order or meaning, which can retain the original characteristics of Chinese language and culture.
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| − | E.g.1世卿世受国恩
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| − | 岂敢昧法?
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| − | 更不敢当众违背天理良心。
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| − | The government has always been good to me,
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| − | I wouldn't dare deceive the court.
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| − | Nor would I betray the laws of Heaven or my own conscience.
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| − | “天理”“良心” are terms that are quite commonly-used words in China. From literal works to daily talks, from traditional plays to modern films, such kind of expressions are useful guidelines to arouse Chinese People's self-reflection. They are invisible ethical rules guiding people's behaviors. Since they are so local and traditional, it's not surprising that it is a little complicated for foreign audiences to figure them out. Based on the "literal translation" principle, Linda brings "Heaven" into her translation. In Christian culture, "Heaven" serves as the source of various moral concepts and systems. "Heaven" and "God" are existed to guide and restrict people's behaviors. Linda's translation has wonderfully adapted to the target eco-environment and is really worthy of referencing of the subtitling workers and learners.
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| − | E.g.2磨剪子来,镪菜刀
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| − | Bring your knives for sharpening? Sharpen your knives.
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| − | Sharpening knives is a traditional craftsmanship that is disappearing in China. Their dreich yo-heave-ho can evoke many people's memories of childhood. Such lively lines full of traditional Chinese cultural elements, on the one hand, are not so easy to translate; on the other hand, deserve more efforts for the foreign audiences to figure out. Considering all these factors, Linda pays attention to the retaining of its central meaning. Actually, a more literal translation method "Sharpen your scissors, sharpen your knives" may achieve more active functions here. It's the easiest to understand, and it can save viewing and thinking time as well. As for some complicated cultural terms, the best way, the easiest as well, maybe literal translation, which can avoid misunderstanding and superfluous deducing. Finally, they benefit a lot to saving viewing time.
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| − | E.g.3什么时候洞房花烛夜啊?
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| − | What’s the time of Candle-lit-night in the Bridal Chamber?
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| − | “洞房花烛夜” is a typical expression in ancient times of China, which means the golden night of the new husband and new wife on the day they get married. The night usually is beautiful and memorable and it is the first night the new couple. As for this line, Linda did not specifically explain what is the “洞房花烛夜” , instead she use the literal meaning to depict a picture of the special night, translating “花烛夜” to “Candle-lit-night”, which is so warm and beautiful.
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| − | E.g.4横扫一切牛鬼蛇神!
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| − | Sweep away all Cow Demons and Snake Spirits!
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| − | There is an article titled “Sweep away all Cow Demons and Snake Spirits!” published on the People's Daily on June 1, 1966, which marked the climax of the Proletarian Cultural Revolution. The "Cow Demons and Snake Spirits" represents the old ideas, cultures, customs and habits that have poisoned Chinese people for thousands of years. Under the call of the Party Central Committee and Chairman Mao Zedong, hundreds of millions of workers, peasants and soldiers, revolutionary cadres and intellectuals, swept away a large number old things entrenched in the ideological and cultural position. Its momentum is like a storm, with extraordinary rapidity, breaking the spiritual shackles imposed on them by the exploiting class. Using “Cow Demons” to express “牛鬼”, “Snake Spirits” to express “蛇神” is direct, clear and distinct.
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| − | 2.3.2.2 Free Translation
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| − | Free translation is the translation by meanings. That is to say, the translation is done according to the real meanings of a sentence or even a paragraph, instead of completely word to word.
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| − | E.g.1他祖师爷不肯赏饭吃,谁也没辙。
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| − | But I have no place for him. What can I do?
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| − | “祖师爷” is similar to "forefathers" to some extent in China's history. Without knowledge of the specific historical period, foreign audiences won't understand its exact meaning. Perhaps we can understand it as "destiny" "fate" or "god" of western culture, there are still cultural differences between them. From the plots in the film, we know that Mater does not want to accept Little Bean as his disciple, so he explains that Little Bean is not destined to be an actor. From this perspective, "destiny" is the most ideal choice to express the original meaning. Considering all these factors, Linda uses the strategy of "free translation" to put it as "I have no place for him" to refuse Little Bean's mother. Thus, she makes the lines easier to understand, and meanwhile, to avoid leading to a cultural misunderstanding.
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| − | E.g.2今儿个是破题儿,文章还在后头哪!
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| − | This is just the beginning. Wait till you see what's in store.
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| − | “破题” once appeared in "Romance of the Western Chamber” by Wang Shipu, a playwright of Yuan Dynasty. Since then, it has been widely used in various circumstances to refer to "the first time". From the translated version, it's clear that the translation of “破题” as "beginning" exhibits that the subtitle translator, Linda Javin, is quite familiar with the usage of the old Chinese words.
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| − | E.g.3真他妈想当太太奶奶啦你!
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| − | 做你娘的玻璃梦去吧。
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| − | 你当出了这门,把脸一抹擦,你还真成了良人了?
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| − | So you want to become a rich man's wife!
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| − | Go live out this goddamn fantasy' then
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| − | Don't think that when you walk out this door, you'll become a lady of virtue.
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| − | “太太奶奶” has different meanings in China in different social contexts. Without thinking or checking it, it's easy to translate it as "grandmother" "lady" or something like these. Besides, “良” means "good, kind", but here, “良人” doesn't mean "a good, kind or nice-hearted person", instead, it refers to the woman who has abandoned prostitution and become a traditional honest and good woman. Linda's translation of "a lady of virtue" is quite authentic and loyal to the original text.
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| − | E.g.4那么日后踏雪访梅,再谈不迟。
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| − | Ah, then we shall exchange poetic thoughts some other day.
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| − | “踏雪访梅” extracted from Night Vessel, written by Zhang Dai of Ming Dynasty. Originally, it's used to refer to describe the enjoyment with the beautiful scenery and the pursuit for wonderful poems of the ancient poets. In Farewell My Concubine, Mr Yuan invites Xiaolou and Dieyi to his house to have some wine and chat about certain details of the opera. The latter example is also full of cultural terms, which is said by Nakun when he tries to encourage Dieyi to talk with Xiaolou hurriedly and actively. In both examples, Linda deals with the cultural elements skillfully and flexibly.
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| − | E.g.4这武二郎碰上西门庆,不打,不打能成吗?
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| − | You know the old story about Pan Jinlian's husband meeting the man who screwed her? Did he have any choice but to fight?
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| − | It's an old story about Pan Jinlian and his husband in ancient China. When performing translation, a translator needs to place the specific written text under some relative social and cultural backgrounds. This is useful and meaningful for a better and comprehensive expression of the original meaning. The story of “武二郎”“西门庆” is typically traditional Chinese cultural element, the translated text can't be formed without relative culture knowledge. For some literary allusion, stating its general meaning to offer a general idea is very helpful for the audience to grasp the central meaning.
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| − | E.g.5这妞够厉害的呀!
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| − | What a dragon lady!
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| − | Different cultures have different cultural prototypes. Dragon is a propitious symbol in China. As a Chinese totem, all Chinese people see themselves as the grandsons of the dragons. It's a positive and lucky symbol for Chinese people. However, because of the cultural differences, the "dragon" in Western countries means more evil than good. Its fierceness and grisly outlooks make people feel uncomfortable. Thus, "a dragon lady" here, on the one hand, can show Ju Xian's courage for true love; on the other hand, the image of "dragon" can clearly show to the foreign audiences that Ju Xian is at the bottom of the society and she is despised by the social group. Linda's choice of "dragon" clearly shows her comprehensive consideration for the complicated circumstance then.
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| − | E.g.6关师父:各位爷,多捧场了啊!
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| − | Master Guan: Ladies and gentlemen, enjoy the show!
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| − | “各位爷” is a conventional Chinese way to address the male spectators with respect. However, in English, there is no such a counterpart. Therefore, the translator substitutes it with "Ladies and gentlemen", a conventional way to address the audience of a performance in English. “多捧场了啊” is also conventional in indicating the beginning of a show and literally means "support our show". However, the English convention has it as "enjoy the show." The translator thus conforms to target conventions to avoid deviation from audience's "expectancy norms" which are established by the native text in the receiver target of the translation, by their expectations of what a target language should be like.
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| − | E.g.7小石头:嗬,够横的你。
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| − | Shitou: You are really something.
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| − | “横” in Beijing dialect means harsh and unreasonable, "Be (quite or really) something" is an informal expression referring to a person or a thing is of consequence. In the above example, the replacement of “横” by "be really something" shows that Shitou is impressed by Douzi's arrogance and reveals Shitou's generous nature. Although his kindness to offer a sleep place to Douzi is unappreciated, Shitou does not say something harsh. If it is translated into "You're unreasonable", it would be too straightforward.
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| − | 2.3.2.3 Generalization
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| − | Generalization is defined as the type of modulation in which the dissimilarity between source text and target text transemes is characterized by a shift towards greater generality in target text; as such it contrasts with the opposite phenomenon of specification. Generalization is acceptable if target text has no suitable alternative, or if the omited detail may be gleaned from the target text context or is just not important.
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| − | E.g.1不罚,不罚你永远是下三滥。
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| − | 还想成角?做梦。
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| − | And if I don't punish you, you'll always be third-rate.
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| − | You want to be a great actor? Dream on!
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| − | “下三滥” is a traditional Chinese expression that describes some impuissant and footling people in the lower class status in China. To avoid misunderstanding of it, Linda just translates it as "the third rate", simply and concisely. As for “角”, it's a technical term specially used in dramatic performance referring to leading roles in dramas. But “成角” here means becoming a famous actor or actress. Linda's translation retains the most important and essential meaning.
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| − | E.g.2依我看,只要是唱西皮二黄,它就是京戏。
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| − | I say if it uses the traditional forms, then it’s the Beijing Opera.
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| − | "Xipi Erhuang" is a professional term in drama. "Xipi" and "Erhuang" refer to two different vocal cavities respectively. Xipi originated from Qin opera. Its singing is lively and high pitched, generally being used to express cheerful and excited feelings. Erhuang comes from Anhui. The tone of Erhuang is more stable and serious. In the development of drama, Xipi and Erhuang went through a process of slow integration. If the translator transliterates the tones of "Xipi" and "Erhuang" respectively in the subtitles, on the one hand, the audience without the knowledge of Peking Opera can not understand it completely; on the other hand, the subtitles have space limitations, and the letter translation should not be too long. Here, Linda generally translates it as "the traditional forms" to give the audience an abstract understanding.
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| − | E.g.3反正这两杯子也沾上了四旧了
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| − | Anyway, jade cups were part of the old society
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| − | With abundant political background, on August 8th, 1966, as the film mentioned “in the era of Communist revolution, the on-going Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution will be a revolution that reconstructs people’s mind”. "四旧" as a derogatory word, refers to the collective name and general designation of old ideas, including old culture, old customs and old habits. For a time, streets, factories, communes, time-honored stores and schools were changed into revolutionary names such as "Anti-road Construction", "Dongfeng Store" and "Red Guard War School" , destroying the authority of "bourgeois reactionary academic authorities" such as scholars, writers, artists and scientists. Violence became commonly seen in the streets. Instead of illustrating what is “四旧”, Linda chose “old society” to generally express the real social situation at that time, almost everything should be put out the label of “old, bad” to be accused and criticized.
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| − | E.g.4尘世中,男子阳污,女子阴秽
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| − | There is foulness in both men and women.
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| − | This sentence comes from the mouth of Mr Yuan, a drama addict. The word "尘世" is unique to Chinese. It is used by Buddhists or Taoists to refer to the world, with a deep religious color. However, the main religious belief in western countries is Christianity, and "尘世" has no corresponding word in English. In this sentence, Linda translated the sentence into existential sentence, which is a good way to generalize the meaning of the word. In fact, this sentence means that in the eyes of people who believe in Buddhism or Taoism, men and women on earth are all dirty. If the translator rigidly corresponds "阳污" to "man" and "阴秽" to "woman", the translation will only overlap meaning, resulting the translation not authentic.
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| − | E.g.5来给师哥勾勾脸
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| − | Will you give me a hand with my make up?
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| − | The facial makeup in Peking Opera is a special makeup method. The traditional facial makeup mainly refers to clean facial painting. "勾脸" is one of its painting techniques. In order to let the audience clearly understand the meaning of dialogue, it is literally and generally translated as "make up".
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| − | 2.3.2.4 Specification
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| − | Specification is distinguished from the other type, generalization, in that here the shift which occurs between source text and target text in the direction of a higher level of explicitness. In other words, a shift towards greater specification will produce a transeme the meaning of which is made more precisely, by either the addition of extra words or the use of words with a less general meaning.
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| − | E.g.1别介,都是下九流谁嫌弃谁啊
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| − | Don’t be foolish. Prostitutes and actors are equally despised by society.
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| − | The mother (prostitute) of the little boy (Cheng Dieyi) took him to the troupe and hoped that the master would accept him. After seeing the little boy's sixth finger, the master said he had no gift to sing. So the mother knelt down (sexually) and hinted that the master would benefit as long as he accepted the disciple. So the master said this sentence. There is a saying of "三教九流" in ancient China. The three religions here refer to Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. The nine religions are divided into upper, middle and lower levels. The translator does not directly translate the "inferior" but translates the contents of the reference, which not only makes the meaning more thorough, but also does not increase the viewing obstacles of the audience.
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| − | E.g.2小爷我今儿练的是九转金炉的火丹功。
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| − | I have been practicing Kungfu to keep myself warm.
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| − | When dealing with those terms with strong cultural meanings, it's proper and wise to conclude some specific tiny terms into a general broader concept. As a result, the translator can save efforts; the audiences can get the general meaning without being entangled in those unimportant tiny details. Kungfu in the translated text, though fails to express the original Taoist cultural meanings, it really saves much screen space and viewing time, thus, it's easier for foreign audiences to understand.
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| − | 2.3.2.5 Omission
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| − | Being opposed to "addition", omission means that some words in the original text do not need to be translated, because although there are no specific words in the translation, potential meaning has been shown. In other words, omission is to delete some unnecessary words, or words that are cumbersome or contrary to the language habits of the translation. But omission does not delete any ideological content of the original text.
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| − | E.g.1各位爷都站好甭动。真钱买真货。我小石头今儿个玩儿真的,让爷儿们都开开眼。
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| − | I'll give you something to look at.
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| − | This scene describes Little Stone and his partners was performing in the street to earn money, but no one gives a reward. In order to attract the audience, Little Stone decided to perform a wonderful show. He decided to hit his head with a brick, so he said the above lines. Because the morpheme of the actor is fast, the picture switches to that he hits his head with a brick as soon as the voice falls, so the translator uses a short sentence to express it. This not only does not affect the audience's viewing of the wonderful picture, but also completely expresses the semantics.
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| − | E.g.2他这一亮相,那台底下听戏的人不都吓跑了。
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| − | He would scare off the audience
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| − | This line is what Master Guan said to Little Bean's mother when he found an extra finger on Little Bean's right hand. While speaking this line, Master Guan stretched out his right hand and made an appearance of being on the stage. Therefore, if the translation of "his appearance" is omitted, this meaningless information vocabulary can be deleted naturally, which does not affect the audience's understanding of the plot at that time, also does not deviate from the meaning of the original lines, and will not cause the audience's confusion. It is a good way to accurately convey the information and let the audience understand the content of the film.
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| − | | |
| − | E.g.3陈:唉,袁四爷今儿个来看戏
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| − | | |
| − | 段:没见我盖着唢呐唱吗?把血都挣出来了
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| − |
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| − | Chen: So, Master Yuan has come to see us tonight.
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| − | | |
| − | Duan: I know. I sang so loudly I drowned out the horns.
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| − |
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| − | “今儿个” is a typical time indicator in Beijing dialect. It usually refers to "today". In view of the context, it can also be translated as "tonight". In translating Duan's response, the translator tries to relay its meaning than to represent its form. She omits “把血都挣出来了”,also a typical dialectal expression, which literally means "drive the blood out" and "do very hard" in the real sense. "I sang so loudly" is added to facilitate understanding. The translator also makes efforts to find the most understandable way from the target culture.
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| − | | |
| − | ===Conclusion ===
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| − | 3.1 The Conclusion
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| − | | |
| − | In terms of translator, translator needs to be super proficient in Chinese and English. In terms of translation strategies, domestication and foreignization are unity of opposites and complement each other, so there is no absolute and pure domestication and foreignization. The translator, the recreator of dialogues in the process of translation, should choose the most appropriate translation strategy to reconstruct the meaning of the original text. In terms of translation methods, when translating the culture-loaded words, Linda Jaivin mainly adopted literal translation, free translation, specification, generalization and omission to nearly successfully preserve and convey the essence in Beijing dialect and Beijing Opera in China.
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| − | | |
| − | 3.2 Advice
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| − | | |
| − | Due to the cultural differences behind translation, some films cannot achieve the same effect abroad as at home. It is true that the two important purposes of subtitle translation are to provide the audience with plot information and to convey the cultural connotation contained in the film. Plot information is the premise of cultural connotation. If the audience of target language cannot understand the plot, it is difficult to achieve cultural communication. Therefore, in the face of handling with culture-loaded words in subtitles, the translator should focus on the purpose of information, put letting the audience understand the film content above everything else, and then give consideration to the cultural purpose.
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| − | | |
| − | The subtitle translation in Farewell my concubine mainly adopts the domestication strategy rather than foreignization. Truly speaking, foreignization can retain the cultural characteristics of the original language in translation, making the readers of the target language feel the exotic customs and the unique charm of the source culture. Foreignization could be taken as a means of resistance to the cultural colonial policy of the strong culture, break its "domestication" and strive for winning a place for the weak culture in the forest of global culture. Therefore, there is still a long way for Chinese translators to spread Chinese culture to the countries abroad.
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| − | | |
| − | ===References ===
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| − | [1]Xiao Xiang. The Transmission of Peking Opera Culture in the English Subtitle Translation of Farewell, My Concubine[J]. Frontiers in Educational Research, 2020, 3.0(13.0)
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| − | | |
| − | [2]Nan Wan. Subtitling and its Acceptability in the Film Farewell, My Concubine: A Multimodal Approach[J]. Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 2019, 10(6) : 94.
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| − | | |
| − | [3]张凯娟. 电影字幕翻译中的语域对等研究[D].西南大学,2019.
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| − | | |
| − | [4]徐敏. 电影《霸王别姬》的汉英影视字幕翻译评析[D].浙江工商大学,2014.
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| − | | |
| − | [5]金海娜.从《霸王别姬》到《一代宗师》———电影译者Linda Jaivin访谈录[J].中国翻译,2013,34(04).
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| − | | |
| − | [6]杜阿晴.目的论视角下电影字幕中文化负载词的翻译——以电影《霸王别姬》《风月》为例[J].福建教育学院学报,2013,14(04):94-97.
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| | | | |
| | =2 谢庆琳 The Analysis of the Chinese Translation of Culture-loaded Words in Russian = | | =2 谢庆琳 The Analysis of the Chinese Translation of Culture-loaded Words in Russian = |
| | [[Cult_Load_Words_EN_2]] | | [[Cult_Load_Words_EN_2]] |
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| − | === Abstract === | + | =3 罗曦 Gary Snyder’s Translation of the Culture-loaded Words in Han Shan’s Poems from the Perspective of the Functionalist Skopos Theory = |
| − | | |
| − | Language is a product of culture, an integral part of it and a condition of its existence, and an important factor in the formation of cultural codes. Since the 21st century, linguistics has actively studied a direction that sees language as a code for understanding the culture of a nation, not just as a tool for communication and cognition. As we all know, there are certain cultural differences among various ethnic groups influenced by factors such as geographical environment, political system, religious beliefs, living habits, moral values and aesthetic interests. These factors together contribute to the creation of culture-loaded words. The translation of culture-loaded words requires the translator to accurately and appropriately understand the beliefs, customs, aesthetics and values of the foreign culture while faithfully conveying the essence and soul of the translated culture to the readers of the translated language to truly communicate with different cultures. The translation of culture-loaded words directly affects the understanding of readers of the translated work, and also influences the readability and literary quality of the work. The study of Chinese translation of Russian culture-loaded words from the perspective of cultural load words not only promotes the communication between Chinese and Russian languages, but also deepens the cultural understanding between Chinese and Russian people.
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| − | | |
| − | === Key Words ===
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| − | Russian Culture-loaded Words; Translation Principles; Translation Strategies
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| − | | |
| − | === 题目 分析俄语文化负载词的中文翻译 ===
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| − | | |
| − | === 摘要 ===
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| − | | |
| − | 语言是文化的产物,是文化的组成部分和存在条件,也是文化密码形成的一个重要因素。 21世纪以来,语言学积极研究一个方向,即把语言看作是了解一个民族文化的密码,而不仅仅是一个交流和认知的工具。众所周知,各民族受地理环境、政治制度、宗教信仰、生活习惯、道德价值、审美情趣等因素影响,其间存在一定的文化差异。这些因素共同促使了文化负载词的产生。文化负载词的翻译要求译者准确恰当地理解异国文化中的信仰、习俗、审美及价值观等的同时,忠实地将译语文化的精髓与灵魂传递到译语读者面前,真正做到不同文化的交流。对文化负载词的翻译会直接影响译文读者对作品的理解,也影响着作品的可读性及文学性。从文化负载词的角度来研究俄语文化负载词的中译不仅推动中俄两国语言的沟通,同时对加深中俄人民之间的文化理解也具有重要意义。
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| − | | |
| − | === 关键词 ===
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| − | 俄语文化负载词;翻译原则;翻译策略
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| − | | |
| − | | |
| − | === Introduction ===
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| − | | |
| − | After the 1970s, cultural factors were gradually incorporated into the scope of linguists' studies, and cultural studies became a topic of common concern for linguists and translators. Susan Bassnett (1990), the core representative of the cultural translation concept, believes that translation is an exchange between cultures, and the reciprocity of translation should not only realize the reciprocity of language forms, but also pursue the reciprocity of cultural functions between the original text and the translated text. Therefore, translation is not only an act of purely linguistic conversion, but also a reflection of the cultural meaning of language. Language is a means of communication of human thoughts and feelings, and it is both a carrier and an important part of culture. In the process of historical development, countries around the world have formed large or small cultural differences due to different geographical environments, political rule, religious beliefs, traditional customs, lifestyles, value orientations and aesthetic interests. These factors have together contributed to the creation of a large number of cultural-loaded words. Each language has its own cultural vocabulary with cultural color and connotation, and these words reflect the cultural values of each nation. Because they are loaded with special national cultural connotations, cultural-loaded words often constitute the focus and difficulty of translation as an act of intercultural communication, and even become a barrier to the transmission of information.
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| − | | |
| − | Guided by American translator and translation theorist Eugene Nida's theory of functional equivalence, this paper takes the Russian as an example to explore the cultural information carried by the cultural-loaded words in its subtitles and summarize its translation method. The translation of cultural-loaded words requires the translator to accurately and appropriately understand the beliefs, customs, aesthetics and values of the foreign culture, while faithfully transmitting the essence and soul of the translated culture to the readers of the translated language, so as to truly communicate with different cultures. The study of Chinese subtitles of Russian TV series from the perspective of cultural-load words not only promotes the communication between Chinese and Russian languages, but also has great significance in deepening the cultural understanding between Chinese and Russian people.
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| − | | |
| − | The paper consists of an introduction, three chapters and concluding remarks. The introductory part firstly describes the feasibility, theoretical significance and practical significance of this research, and then clarifies the novelty of this research. The first chapter briefly outlines the concept of cultural-loaded words, and classifies cultural-loaded words according to Eugene Nida's functional equivalence theory, laying the foundation for the translation study of cultural-loaded words later on. Chapter 2 analyzes in detail the cultural-loaded words appearing in “Intern”, and discusses the translation principles and translation strategies of cultural-loaded words. The third chapter analyzes the causes of mistranslation and difficult-to-understand cultural-loaded words in “Intern”. The concluding remarks summarize the content of the whole text.
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| − | | |
| − | === Culture-loaded Words ===
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| − | | |
| − | ==== Definition of Culture-loaded Words ====
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| − | | |
| − | Culture-loaded words are also called culturally connotative words. In the language system, culture-loaded words are the vocabulary which can best embody the cultural information that a language carries and they also reflect the social life.
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| − | | |
| − | Behind each vocabulary are deeply imprinted the cultural, geographical and historical characteristics of a society. Vocabulary is the basic element of language,and the formation of each vocabulary is inseparable from culture. It carries a largeamount of "national cultural accumulation", that is, cultural connotation. This article is an analysis of Russian cultural-loaded words, reflecting mostly about the Russian national culture.
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| − | | |
| − | Language is the carrier of culture, so cultural differences must also be reflected in language. Translation means the spread of culture, and words that carry culture are words that express culture. Therefore, the translator focuses on the cultural-loaded words that appear in the source text, and on this basis. The words containing language and culture reflect the development, progress and change of the language of a country's dynasties, as well as the accumulation of various activities that are completely different from other countries (Liao, 2002). Translating social cultural terms and ecological cultural terms can truly understand the living conditions and social conditions of a country in a specific period.
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| − | | |
| − | ==== Classification of Culture-loaded Words ====
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| − | | |
| − | According to Naida's classification of cultural factors, cultural load words are divided into five categories: the first category is ecological cultural load words, which usually refer to words related to plants, animals, climate, etc. of a specific region, for example, a small twisting path is not used in the Russian language environment, such as “羊肠小径”. The second category is material cultural load words. For example, “轿子” refers to a human-powered means of transportation in feudal China, which does not exist in Western countries. The third category is the social cultural load words, which usually involve words of social etiquette, social identity and leisure, such as kneel three times and kowtow nine, the dragon boat festiva, which are unique to Chinese culture and tradition. The fourth category is religious cultural load words, which are generally words reflecting the cultural beliefs of a certain nationality, such as “八字”(horoscopes), “算命先生”(fortune-teller), and so on. The fifth category is language-based cultural load words, which reflect the different ways of speaking and habits of different ethnic groups in terms of phonetics, vocabulary, syntax and so on. For example, the name of a person, the use of idioms, and so on.
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| − | | |
| − | === Translation Principles and Strategies of Russian Culture-loaded Words ===
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| − | | |
| − | ==== Translation Principles of Russian Culture-loaded Words ====
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| − | ===== The Principle of Faithfulness to the Original Text =====
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| − | | |
| − | Fidelity to the original text is one of the most basic principles and standards of translation. When translating cultural-loaded words, two points should be clear: on the one hand, we can not add some cultural meanings in the translation process based on our own conjecture. On the one hand, it is not possible to attach some cultural meanings to the translation process that are not intended by the author of the original text. For example, the Russian word for rabbit (заяц) has a negative cultural symbolism and is considered to be a symbol of evil and cowardice, while
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| − | In the passage of «Судьба Человека»: "… а я уже на ничьей земле между воронками петляю не хуже зайца" (李世俊,张永全等: 1999), a soldier tells how he bravely and wisely crossed the German lines. The rabbit is used here only to borrow the positive image of its quick and dexterous movements, not the cultural symbolism described above.
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| − | If we do not take into account the author's real intention and turn it into "no less than a timid rabbit", we are not being faithful to the original text, but rather making a faux pas. Therefore, this sentence
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| − | should be translated as "I have reached the middle of the field, and I am not less dexterous than a rabbit in going around in the middle of the crater."
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| − | | |
| − | On the other hand, it is important to translate the cultural meaning of the culturally loaded words that are crucial or important to the understanding of the text, as it is easy to misunderstand if only the surface meaning is translated. For example, “сушить сухарь” literally means toast a thousand, but in fact it means to prepare dry food for exile on the road, and now it often refers to eating lawsuits. If there is a scene in Chinese literature where the crane is used to celebrate a long life, it must be translated into Russian with the meaning of longevity in Chinese culture, otherwise the Russians will find it inexplicable.
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| − | | |
| − | ===== Contextual Principal =====
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| − | The meaning of words is often multi-layered and multi-faceted, and translators should judge the meaning of specific words according to the context. Therefore, context is the key to determining the true meaning of a word in a specific context and to help the translator correctly translate the original text.
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| − | The following are three situations to determine the specific meaning: (1) Words that often have cultural meaning and represent cultural images may not have culturally loaded meaning in a certain context. (2) The same culturally loaded word may have a different cultural meaning in a specific context. For example, the Russian word “ медведь” sometimes means "powerful" and sometimes means "heavy". Sometimes it refers to the strength of the bear, sometimes it refers to the stupidity of the bear, and sometimes it also refers to the maidenhead. Therefore, it is more important to determine the exact meaning according to the context when translating. (3) Common words may become cultural-loaded in specific contexts. (3) Common words may become cultural-loaded words in specific contexts.
| + | 功能主义目的论视角下加里斯奈德对寒山诗的英译研究 |
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| − | ===== Principle of Appropriateness of Explicit and Implicit =====
| + | 罗曦 Luo Xi, Hunan Normal University, China |
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| − | The cultural-loaded word serves the text with its cultural meaning, so the translation should be either explicit or implicit according to the needs of the text, to keep the text simple and fluent. For example, due to the limitation of space or style
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| − | For example, in Russian,“кричать во всю Ивановскую” literally means "shouting at Ivan Square" because in the Tsarist era, decrees and orders were issued on Ivan Square, and people often had to shout to hear them. Therefore, it is not necessary to turn out the meaning of the cultural load when translating into foreign languages, and it can be directly translated as shouting. However, if the translator intends to introduce this historical and cultural phenomenon, it is a different story. In short, the translation of cultural-loaded words should serve the whole text, and be consistent with the context and the author's style, and the translator's purpose.
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| − |
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| − | ==== Translation Strategies of Russian Culture-loaded Words ====
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| − |
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| − | Translation principles are macro requirements for the translation process, while in the actual translation process, in order to achieve good translation, in addition to following these principles, we must also adopt necessary translation strategies according to the specific characteristics of the vocabulary. The complexity and specificity of cultural factors determine the variability of the meaning and form of culturally loaded terms, as well as the flexibility and adaptability of their translation means. Generally speaking, in order to achieve good translation effect, translators often use such translation strategies as "direct translation (phonetic translation) plus annotation", "direct translation with free translation" and "free translation" for cultural-loaded words and so on.
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| − |
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| − | ====== Direct Translation (Phonetic Translation) plus Annotation ======
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| − |
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| − | The direct translation mainly refers to the translation that retains the original language form completely, so that it is similar to the original text. The method of translation is similar to the original text and has the same structure. Since this method mainly focuses on the linguistic form of the original text, sometimes the translation cannot fully and accurately express the original text.Sometimes the translation cannot fully express the original language accurately, then the translator can adopt the method of adding. In this case, the translator can adopt the method of adding notes to offset the loss of meaning brought by this translation strategy. Cultural-loaded words contain a large number of national-specific words, such as various proper nouns, historical allusions and these words have no direct counterparts in the translated language. Therefore, it is often necessary to translate them by the strategy of phonetic translation with annotation. For example, many literary works use phonetic translation of the Russian national costume “сарафан”, which is translated as "Sarah
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| − | A" with a note stating that the sarafan is a traditional Russian folk dress without sleeves.
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| − |
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| − | ====== Direct Translation with Free Translation ======
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| − | Direct translation with paraphrase is a translation method that combines direct translation and translation with meaning, which not only translates the surface meaning of the original text word by word, but also translates the potential meaning beyond the surface meaning of the original text. The direct translation is a method of translating not only the surface meaning of the original text word by word, but also the potential meaning beyond the surface meaning. For the translation of cultural-loaded words, the combination of direct translation and literal translation can better reveal their true meanings in terms of both form and content. The Russian word "колосс на глиняных ногах" from the «Old Testament»It is about the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, who saw a giant statue of a terrible shape, whose feet were half clay and half iron, and the whole statue collapsed due to a stone that happened to hit his feet from the mountain. This dream symbolized the doomed kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar. Thus, the cultural meaning of "giant with feet of clay" refers to a country that is outwardly strong but actually weak and destined to perish. Thus, Lenin said in his speech on November 7, 1919, at the conference commemorating the second anniversary of the October Revolution: "Мы видим, что империализм, который казался таким непреодолимым колосом, казался на глазах у всех колоссом на глиняных ногах." (刘永红:2002) The whole sentence should be translated as "We see that imperialism, which looks like a giant that cannot be served, is actually a giant in the mud with a strong exterior in the eyes of everyone.
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| − |
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| − | ===== Free Translation =====
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| − |
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| − | The free translation strategy emphasizes the meaning conveyed to the original language words in specific contexts. The first thing is to translate the meaning of the original, not necessarily to preserve the original form, not to achieve the same literal and structural translation as the original. The translation is suitable for the translation of the cultural load words whose cultural meaning does not play a major role in the original text, or the cultural load words whose cultural image is too remote, sometimes also subject to the limitations of the manuscript and style and use this method, a cultural load words, such as culturally significant sayings, proverbs, because for a long time Ba Jing has a conventional translation of foreign, so in the translation can also be used when the original translation method. For example, "китайская грамота" literally means "Chinese word", "Chinese character", but because of the big difference between Russian and Chinese, it is very difficult for Russians to understand Chinese characters, so here it is translated as "heavenly book, incomprehensible, inexplicable thing". “Для него это китайская грамота” translates as "He doesn't know anything about it".
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| − |
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| − | === The Translation Difficulties of Russian Culture-loaded Words ===
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| − |
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| − | ==== Translatability of Culture-loaded Words in Russian ====
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| − |
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| − | Language is the most important tool for human communication and one of the important carriers of information. The cultural characteristics of a nation's way of thinking, concepts, and systems are bound to leave their mark on language. Vocabulary is one of the most active dimensions of language. Changes in social life, the development of national culture and other changes can be recorded through vocabulary. Culture-loaded words are those words, phrases and idioms that mark things specific to a certain culture, and these words reflect the unique way of activity of a particular people that has gradually accumulated over a long historical process and is distinct from other peoples. Although translation is a transformation of symbols in its manifestation, in its essence it is a cultural exchange activity. The difficulty of translation is not the language itself, but how to convey the cultural content of the original language. The Russian cultural load is an important external expression of Russian culture, which is difficult to find in other national languages, but this does not mean that the cultural load is untranslatable. Firstly, although the differences between languages of different nationalities are determined by their respective nationalities, the similarity of human living conditions and physiological structure determines the similarity of human thinking patterns, therefore, different nationalities have similarities in understanding and understanding things; secondly, translation activities have a long history, and there are numerous cases of translators overcoming cultural gaps and achieving successful translations in the rich translation practice, therefore, the translatability of culture- loaded words is proven by a large number of translation practices. Thus, translators can still use their dynamism in a limited space to preserve and convey the cultural elements contained in the culture-loaded words in Russian.
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| − |
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| − | ==== Factors Affecting the Translation of Culture-loaded Words in Russian ====
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| − |
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| − | The first is the internal factor, i.e., the internal factor of language. In his book «Language and Translation», Balhudarov divides the translation unit into six levels: phonemic level, grapheme level, word level, phrase level, sentence level, and discourse level, in an effort to make the original text and the translated text equivalent. After the 1980s, translation research has taken a new direction - the cultural theory of translation, and Susan Basnett, as one of the representatives of this school, believes that translation should take culture as the basic unit of translation, instead of resting on the previous parts of speech. The original text is the most real and objective existence in translation, and the characteristics of the translation object itself will also affect the translation, and the culture-loaded words have the characteristics of ethnicity, implication and unaccustomedness. When translating culture-loaded words, translators often encounter two bottlenecks: first, the lack of corresponding vocabulary; second, the lack of equivalent cultural meaning, that is, the same word in different cultural contexts expresses different connotations. In ancient Chinese philosophy, it is important to "look at things and take images", and under the influence of traditional Chinese thinking, Chinese tends to use concrete words to express imaginary concepts. The abstract content is expressed by the concrete image. Take the word "jianghu" as an example. "Jianghu" is another new word with changed connotation and extension, which is composed of the concepts of "river" and "lake". The word "jianghu" lacks its semantic and formal equivalents in Russian, so translators need to adopt a flexible translation approach to interpret the semantic and cultural connotations of the word "jianghu".
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| − |
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| − | Second, external factors, including the translator's own body and the purpose of translation, etc. The translator is the most active factor in the translation activity, and is the doer of the whole translation activity, which must be completed by the translator. There is no shortage of excellent translators in China, most of them are concentrated in the field of English studies. Unlike the English translations of Chinese literary and artistic works, the translators of both film and television dramas and Chinese literary and theoretical works are mostly Russians. Unlike the Chinese translators' approach to Chinese culture, foreign translators, when translating, unlike the Chinese translators' approach to Chinese culture, foreign translators may have less sense of mission and enthusiasm for spreading Chinese culture when they translate from Chinese to foreign languages, and they pay more attention to the reading norms and market acceptance of contemporary readers, so they tend to adopt translation strategies such as paraphrasing and naturalizing to facilitate the understanding of readers of the translated language.
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| − |
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| − | === Conclusion ===
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| − |
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| − | There is a growing awareness that language is just an international communication tool
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| − | and is not restricted to a particular country or nation but as a neutral information medium. This paper analyzed the definition and claasification of culture-loaded words. Then we disscussed the translation principles and strategies of Russian culture-loaded words. Last it discussed the difficulties in the translation of these words, and makes a conclusion that we should use the combination of literal translation and free translation in the translation according to different circumstances.
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| − |
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| − | Translation is a language communicative activity; there are a lot of words with Russian cultural features, so we cannot find the equivalent words to express the same cultural information in the target language. When translating these cultural-loaded words, it needs the help of alienation principles, achieving the conversion between language and cultural information. However, after all, the reader's understanding of Russian culture is limited, so the translator must follow the rules of Russian language and expression, taking the text type, translation factors such as purpose and audience into consideration to acquire the best translation.
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| − |
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| − | To sum up, language, culture and translation are inseparable. Language is also a cultural phenomenon, while culture shapes language. Translation is a tool for exchanging different cultures and human civilizations, and therefore they are closely related. In the process of intercultural communication and translation, culturally loaded words are the main obstacle, but they reveal the cultural characteristics and social customs of a people. Accurate and faithful translation of culture-loaded words plays a crucial role in facilitating cultural exchange. Direct translation and paraphrasing are effective translation strategies to solve the problem of culture-loaded words. Direct translation can help the target language readers understand the translation more easily. It aims to make the target language readers and the source language readers empathize. However, free translation is intended to preserve the cultural style of the source language for the readers. These two approaches may seem to be opposing, but they actually complement each other. It is impossible for a translator to use one translation strategy to complete the translation task, so in translation practice as a translator, he or she should try to make a comprehensive use of the two translation methods to make the translation more relevant and evocative.
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| − | === References ===
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| − | [1] 从业平. 俄语中反映民族文化特点的词汇. 中国俄语教学. 1988年.
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| − | [2] 杜文杰. 俄语的民族文化特征. 对外经济贸易大学学报. 2000年.
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| − | [3] 何东燕. 文化负载词与文化差异意识. 西南民族学院学报. 2002年.
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| − | [4] 刘重德. 文化语言翻译. 文化与语言. 1992年.
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| − | [5] 吴国华. 俄汉文化伴随意义词汇对比研究. 中国俄语教学. 1989年.
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| − | =3 罗曦 Gary Snyder’s Translation of the Culture-loaded Words in Han Shan’s Poems from the Perspective of the Functionalist Skopos Theory =
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| − | =5 孙雅诗 Study on the translation of culture loaded words under the ecological translation theory——Take the English translation of Dou E Yuan as an example= | + | =5 孙雅诗 Study on the translation of culture loaded words under the ecological translation theory——Take the English translation of Dou E Yuan as an example 生态翻译学视域下文化负载词翻译研究——以《窦娥冤》英译本为例 = |
| | [[Cult_Load_Words_EN_5]] | | [[Cult_Load_Words_EN_5]] |
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| − | === Abstract === | + | =6 杜莉娜 On the English Translation of Culture-loaded Words in Chinese Tourism Texts from the Perspective of Intercultural Communication—Exemplified by Zhangjiajie= |
| − | Based on the ecological translation theory, this article takes Yang Xianyi and Dai Naidie’s translation of cultured loaded words in Dou E Yuan, a drama in Yuan Dynasty, as the research object, and analyze how the translators deliver the culture information to the foreign readers in terms of language dimension, culture dimension and communication dimension to promote the valid dissemination of drama culture in English-speaking countries. Also this article hopes to provide an effective reference for the current drama translation by analyzing the merits and deficiencies of Yang and Dai’s Translation.
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| − | | |
| − | === Key Words ===
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| − | Culture loaded words; Ecological translation theory; Drama
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| − | | |
| − | === 题目 生态翻译学视域下文化负载词翻译研究——以《窦娥冤》英译本为例 ===
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| − | | |
| − | === 摘要 ===
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| − | 本文基于生态翻译学理论,以元代戏剧、杨宪益和戴乃迭译本《窦娥冤》中的文化负载词为研究对象,探究译者如何从语言维、文化维和交际维对戏剧中文化负载词进行翻译,并把这些词所承载的文化信息有效地传递给目标受众,以促进元代杂剧文化在英语国家的有效传播。本文也同时希望通过分析杨戴译本的优缺点给当前的戏剧翻译提供有效的参考。
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| − | | |
| − | === 关键词 ===
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| − | 文化负载词;生态翻译学理论;戏剧
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| − | | |
| − | === Introduction ===
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| − | ==== Background ====
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| − | Chinese drama is the artistic treasure of Chinese classical culture and an important part of Chinese culture. In order to make the Chinese drama culture go out and let more foreign readers appreciate it, translation plays a very key role as a communicating bridge. However, due to the complexity of drama language and its historical culture, drama translation is difficult. To convey its original culture connotations as much as possible, an appropriate translation strategy is required. At present, there are many translation theories. This article chooses to study Yang Xianyi and Dai Naidie’s translation of Dou E Yuan based on the ecological translation theory for two reasons. First, Yang Xianyi and Dai Naidie are excellent translators and they are good at translating traditional Chinese works. Doing research on their translations can make us learn a lot from them. Second, drama translation readers are not only the text readers, but also the directors, actors and audiences, so the translator needs to consider how to properly deal with the drama translation elements in the ecological environment. In this way, the ecological translation is necessary when we are translating dramas.
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| − | | |
| − | ==== Relevant basic concepts ====
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| − | 1. Culture loaded word
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| − | Culture loaded words, also known as unique culture words and culture connotation words, are the words or phrases that indicate things and concepts which belong to a certain culture. They only exist in a certain culture and can’t be found in another culture. According to the classification of Eugene A. Nida, culture loaded words can be roughly divided into five types, which are the ecological words, material words, social words, religious words and linguistic culture words.
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| − | 2. Dou E Yuan
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| − | Dou E Yuan is a representative Yuan miscellaneous drama written by Guan Hanqing, and it’s also a model of Yuan miscellaneous drama tragedies. It is based on the folk story of Filial Women in the East China Sea in the Eastern Han Dynasty. And it is very popular with people of that time and has high value in the culture aspect. About 86 dramas have adapted from it. In the aspect of art, it reflects the integration of realism and romantic style. With rich imagination, bold exaggeration and the design of the surreal plot, it shows the huge power of justice, embodies the author's distinct love and hate, and reflects the people’s desire to punish the evildoers and fulfill the justice.
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| − | 3. Structure of the study
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| − | This study is comprised of five parts, which are the introduction, literature review, theoretical basis, body and conclusions. In the introduction part, the background and the relevant basic concepts are introduced to help readers understand this article better. In the literature review part, this article will review the domestic research on the translations of Chinese dramas. In the theoretical basis part, I will introduce the ecological translation theory, including its definition and its three dimensions——language dimension, the culture dimension and the communication dimension. In the body part, the English translation of Dou E Yuan is analyzed in terms of those three dimensions. This study will choose some typical examples to analyze, which comes from the translation of Yang Xianyi and Dai Naidie. In the end, the conclusions and suggestions will be proposed based on the analysis in the Part four.
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| − | 4. Significance of the study
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| − | This study has significance both in theory and practice. In the theory aspects, this study will fill the blank of the research on English translation of Dou E Yuan in terms of ecological translation theory. In the practice aspect, this study may promote the application of ecological transition theory in more translations. I also hope it can delight translators in translating dramas.
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| − | | |
| − | === Literature review ===
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| − | In terms of the domestic researches, I find that domestic researches mainly concentrate on three aspects: 1) Analyze translations based on some theories, such as functional translation theory, ecological translation theory, rewriting theory, teleology and correlation theory(林阿立 2021;王醒醒 2014;黄志芳 2014;褚雪琪 2020). 2) Analyze the current problems in translations(孟伟根 2009;吕世生等2015). 3) Study some famous translators’ styles of translating, such as Ying Ruocheng, Yu Guangzhong, Wang Zuoliang(程瑞勇 2007;黎昌抱 2008;陈瑶瑶 2019). From the researches above, we can see there are lots of scholars doing studies on translations based on various theories, including the ecological translation theory. So I search “Dou E Yuan” on CNKI to see if there are scholars have done studies on the translation of Dou E Yuan based on ecological translation theory. However, there is only one paper related to the ecological translation theory. And it just does the research in terms of culture dimension and doesn’t fully apply the theory. In this way, this article may have a value of reference in some degree by make a complete analysis of Dou E Yuan based on ecological theory and help us learn from Yang and Dai’s translation strategies.
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| − | | |
| − | === Theoretical basis ===
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| − | Ecological translation was put forward by Professor Hu Gengshen of Tsinghua University. He combined Darwin's basic principles of "natural selection" with the translation research work, and creatively put forward the view that "translators should adapt to the translation ecological environment and accept the control of the translation ecological environment". He believes that "translation is an activity in which translators should adapt to and select the translation ecological environment". This definition of the translation makes the translators be in the center during the translating process. He also advocates that translators should give full play to their subjective initiative and focus on the three dimensions, which are language, culture and communication. Here are the detailed introductions of these three important dimensions in ecological translation.
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| − | 1. Language adaptability
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| − | The language dimension translation of culture loaded words requires the real translation environment to be included into the target translation text. Translators should make effective conversions between the word pronunciation and semantic, word collocation, grammar structure and discourse layout to ensure that the translation can accurately convey the real meaning of the culture loaded words from the source language, and make them adapt to the expression habits of the target language utmost。
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| − | 2. Culture adaptability
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| − | The culture dimension translation of culture loaded words requires the translator to compare and analyze the culture backgrounds and connotations of the source language and target language to realize the effective conversions between culture connotations which are from different culture backgrounds and to prevent the occurrence of culture misunderstanding or culture ambiguity phenomenon.
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| − | 3. Communication adaptability
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| − | The communication dimension translation of culture loaded words requires the translator to translate in terms of objective, true and accurate translation principles and effectively convey what the original author or discourse speaker intends to express emotional attitude and communication information to achieve the real communication utility.
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| − | From the introduction above, we can see that ecological translation requires the translator, also the center, to make a comprehensive analysis of translation adaptation conditions and conduct valid conversions between the three dimensions to achieve a good effect in translations, which is challenging for translator but meaningful for translation.
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| − | | |
| − | === Multi-dimensional analysis of English translation of Dou E Yuan ===
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| − | Ecological translation theory requires translators to have a good comprehension of those three dimensions and make proper conversions between them. Yang and Dai are famous translators in the world. They have translated many ancient Chinese literary works, including novels, proses, dramas and so on, which are widely and highly praised. Dou E Yuan is one of them. Below, we will use the ecological translation theory to analyze it. Hope that we can learn from them, but also can make some advice about the deficiencies meanwhile.
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| − | ==== Adaptive selection of language dimension ====
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| − | | |
| − | Adaptive selection of language dimension requires translators to make adaptive conversions in language level when translating. The most basic part of the adaptive selection is the word meaning conversion. However, the word meaning conversion is not a "word to word conversion" in the traditional sense, but needs the translator to adapt to the language characteristics of the source works when translating, and then selectively reflect them in the translation. Let's take a look at Yang and Dai's handling of Dou E Yuan text based on the language dimension.
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| − | Example1: ''莫不是八字儿该载着一世忧?''
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| − | Is it my fate to be wretched all my life?
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| − | “八字”is an eight-word method of traditional numerology in ancient China. From the perspective of traditional numerology, it can deduce the development direction of people's life, which is unchangeable. Yang and Dai translates “八字”into “fate”, which means “the power that is believed to control everything that happens and that cannot be stopped or changed”. We can see these two meanings are similar. In this way, foreign readers can understand the translation text better.
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| − | Example2: ''我当初将你嫁与他家呵,要你三从四德。三从者:在家从父,出嫁从天,夫死从子;四德者:事翁姑,敬夫主,和妯娌,睦街坊,此乃为之四德。今乃三从四德全无,刬地犯了十恶大罪。常言道,事要前思,免劳后悔。我窦家三辈无犯法之男,五世无再婚之女。''
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| − | When I married you to the widow’s son, I expected you to observe the Three Duties and Four Virtues. The Three Duties are obedience to your father before marriage, obedience to your husband after marriage, and obedience to your son after your husband’s death. The Four Virtues are to serve your parents-in-law, to show respect to your husband, to remain on good terms with your sisters in-law, and to live in peace with your neighbors. But regardless of your duties, you have committed the gravest crime of all! The proverb says: Look before you leap, or you may be sorry too late. For the generations no son of our clan has broken the law; for five generations no daughter has married again.
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| − | In China, “三从四德” refers to the moral standards that restrict women by feudal ethics. Yang and Dai translates “三从四德” to "Three Duties and Four Virtues" and “从” to "duties", which realizes a very appropriate conversion in language dimension. According to the Oxford dictionary, the "duty" means “something that you feel you have to do because it is your moral or legal responsibility”, which is similar to the meaning of “从”——women have to comply with their father, husband and son based on moral standards. So Yang and Dai make a good conversion between these two words and make it easier for readers to grasp the meaning of “三从四德”.
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| − | Example3: ''道可道,非常道。名可名,非常名。''
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| − | The law that can be told is not the invariable law; the names that can be named are not invariable names.
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| − | In my opinion, translating “道”into “law” is not appropriate. “道”in China refers to “the essence of the universe”, which reflects Chinese traditional Taoism. However, law in English means “the whole system of rules that everyone in a country or society must obey”. They don’t have the same meaning and the latter doesn’t have any religious meaning. So it’s difficult for foreign readers to understand this word. I suggest that maybe we can just translate “道”into “Dao” and add some explanations to it. In this way, it’s not only easy for foreign readers to understand the text but also make them know some knowledge about Taoism.
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| − | | |
| − | ==== Adaptive selection of culture dimension ====
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| − | | |
| − | The adaptive selection of culture dimension requires translators to be of a high translation level. Translators should not only have a good understanding of the local culture, but also be familiar with the language and culture of the translation. Then, they should fully understand the culture differences between the two. In this way can the original culture connotation of the text be conveyed to foreign readers as much as possible. Let's look into Yang and Dai's translation of Dou E Yuan text based on the culture dimension.
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| − | Example4: ''窦娥冤''
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| − | Snow in midsummer
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| − | | |
| − | Instead of translating the title “窦娥冤” into Dou E Yuan directly, Yang and Dai use words with Chinese culture connotation to express it. "Snow in midsummer" in traditional Chinese culture means that there are mistrials, which is also one of the plots of Dou E Yuan. If they adopt the direct translation method and translate “冤”into “injustice”, the title may lose the culture connotation and can’t relate to the plot closely. Therefore, the translator adopts this translation method is to try his best to convey the culture connotation, so that readers can have more understanding of Chinese traditional culture.
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| − | Example5: ''那一个似孟光般举案齐眉?''Or like Meng Guang,who showed such respect to her husband?
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| − | “举案齐眉”is a four-character idiom in Chinese that describes husband and wife who respect and love each other. Yang and Dai adding "showed such respect to her husband" in the translation can help readers understand the meaning of this idiom easier and more clearly.
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| − | Example6: ''你去那受刑法尸骸上列些纸钱,看你那化去孩儿面。''Burn some paper coins to my headless corpse, For the sake of your dead son.
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| − | “纸钱”is a product of Buddhism after it was brought into China. It refers to a kind of ghost coins which is used in folk to worship ghosts, gods and the dead. This custom of burning paper money originated in the Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern dynasties, flourished in the Tang and Song dynasties, and passed down to today. The translation "paper coins" appears to be the same with the meaning of original text, but it does not reflect the Buddhist ideas. So foreign readers may not get the culture connotations of “纸钱”. So translators should make some explanatory notes about it to convey the precise meaning of “纸钱”。
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| − | Example7: ''那里有走边廷哭倒长城?那里有浣纱时甘投大水?那里有上山来便化顽石?'' Where is the woman whose tears for her husband Caused the Great Wall to crumble? Where is she who left her washing And drowned herself in the stream? Where is she who is changed into stone Through longing for her husband?
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| − | Example8: ''这婆娘心似风刮絮,那里肯身化作望夫石,旧恩情倒不比新佳配。他则百年为婚眷,那里肯千里送寒衣?'' Now her heart is like a willow seed in the breeze, Not steadfast as a rock. Old love is nothing to new love: She wants to live with this new man for ever, Without a thought for the other man far away.
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| − | The two examples include four allusions, one is Meng Jiangnv crying on the Great Wall; the other is in the Spring and Autumn Period, Wu Zixu fled out of the Zhaoguan and felt very hungry. Then a woman who was washing her clothes gave him a bun. Wu told the woman his real name, but after a while, he was also afraid that the woman would tell others. Seeing Wu’s suspicion, the woman threw herself into the river to commit suicide. The third is a legend, which is about a faithful woman whose husband left to join the army, then she went to the northern mountain of Wuchang with her weak son, looking over for her husband and turning into a stone. The last allusion is Meng Jiangnv walked for thousands of miles to send her husband winter clothes. The four allusions with abundant culture connotations reflect the profound Chinese culture and history. It can be seen from the translation, Yang and Dai have made great efforts and attempts to try to restore the story behind the allusion. However, in order to meet foreign readers’ needs to have a deep understanding of Chinese culture, it is recommended to provide a more detailed explanation.
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| − | Example9: ''枉着你烦恼没理会,人生死是轮回。'' It’s no use grieving for him; all mortal men must die when their time is up.
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| − | Example10: ''莫不是前世里烧香不到头,这前程事一笔勾。劝今世早将来世修。''Did I burn too little incense in my last life, that my marriage was unlucky? We should all do good betimes.
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| − | Example11: ''我才看头一宗文卷,就与老夫同姓;这药死公公的罪名,犯在十恶不赦。''Curious that the first culprit’s surname should be the same as mine! To murder one’s father-in-law is one of the unpardonable crimes.
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| − | The three examples above reflect Buddhist thought. In the example 9, “轮回”also known as “流转” and “轮转”, means that human live and then die, die and then live, all life and death are not the end. It is just like the wheel rotation which never stops cycling. The concepts of “前世” and “今生” are derived from this. However, Yang and Dai don’t express this meaning in the translation. In the example10, “烧香” is a ritual in Buddhism. People ignite the incense and insert it in the incense burner to express their sincere respect to Buddha when they are in worship. Yang and Dai don’t explain the meaning of “烧香”to the readers, which may make the readers feel confused of it. In example 11, “十恶”, a term in Buddhism, refers to ten evil behaviors that would be punished by the hell, hungry ghosts and beasts. Similarly, Yang and Dai don’t make a detailed explanation about it. It will be difficult for foreign readers to understand these words with profound culture connotations. So I think translators should pay more attention to the culture words when translating and try to make good conversions.
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| − | Example12: ''门神户尉不放我进去。我是廉访使窦天章女孩儿。因我屈死,父亲不知,特来托一梦与他咱。''Now the door-gods will not let me pass. I am the daughter of Inspector Dou. Though I died unjustly, my father does not know it; so I have to come to visit in his dreams.
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| − | Example13: ''若说的有半厘差错,牒发你城隍祠内,我着你永世不得人身,我把你罚在阴山永做饿鬼。'' If you utter one false world, I shall send you to the tutelary god; then your spirit will never re-enter human form, but remain a hungry ghost forever in the shades.
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| − | The two examples above all reflect the Taoist thought. In example12, “门神护尉” is the official of the hell.“托梦”, in Taoist and folk beliefs, means that if ghosts and gods want to express something, they can appear in people's dreams and tell them, or tell them in the form of various scenes and predict good or bad fortune.“阴山” and “城隍寺” are the names of the locations in the hell. In the above translation, Yang and Dai follow the communicative ethics, but the "tutelary god" does not seem to correspond in the original text, and the connotation of "god" is far from the concept of Chinese Taoist "emperor". So I think Yang and Dai should not only make conversions between words, but also add some background knowledge about those words for a better understanding for readers.
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| − | Example14: ''自家赛卢医''I am Doctor Lu
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| − | “卢医” represents Bian Que here, a famous doctor in ancient China.“赛卢医” means that he is boasting his medical skill which even can be comparable to Bian Que. However, foreign readers do not know the story of Bian Que. So if it is translated literally, it will not be understood by readers. Yang and Dai omit the “赛” and only translated it as "Dr. Lu", which would inevitably destroy the aesthetic connotation and artistic tension of the original work. Maybe Yang and Dai can introduce Bian Que appropriately so that readers are able to know exactly what “赛卢医” means.
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| − | ==== Adaptive selection of communication dimension ====
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| − | In the actual translation process, except to considering about the transmission of culture connotation and the transformation of language information, translators should also focus on the adaptive selection of communication dimension. And they should pay attention to whether the communicative intention in the original text is reflected in the translation. Language is an important tool to realize the communicative intentions of both sides, and translation is an important means to achieve "cross-language, culture and temporal communication". In translating dramatic culture load words, translators should not only realize the culture value and meaning of such words, but also realize their communicative intentions.
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| − | Example14: ''相公,他是告状的,怎生跪着他。''Your honor, this is a citizen who’s come to ask for justice. Why should you kneel to him?
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| − | Example15: 小人是原告张驴儿便是,告媳妇儿合毒药药死俺老子,望大人与孩儿做主。
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| − | I am the plaintiff. I accuse the young woman, Dou E, of poisoning my father with soup. Let justice be done. Your honor!
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| − | There is a difference between Chinese and western officialdom culture. In China, there are many names for different officials, while in western countries, they can only use the words "Your Honor" or "His or Her Excellency". So translating“相公”and “大人”as “Your honor” is very proper here, which is easy for English readers to understand. It’s no need to convey the connotation of the official names, which would make the translation more complex.
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| − | Example16: ''既将你出嫁从夫,便学习廉耻仁义。全不思九烈三贞,到犯了十恶大罪。''As a married woman, you should have studied the propriety and morality, but instead you penetrated the most terrible crime.
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| − | “九烈三贞” is an idiom, and is also the moral standard that restricts women in ancient China. The feudal society used it to praise women of the chastity. Yang and Dai translate it as "the propriety and morality", and do not translate the numbers “九” and “三”, which is a good translation. Because “九” and “三”here are not actual numbers, but represent a broad concept. So there is no need to translate it into "nine kinds of proprieties" and "three kinds of" moralities ".Translating in this way not only makes the text more concise, but also facilitates the readers to understand it.
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| − | === Conclusions ===
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| − | Based on the ecological translation theory, I analyze Yang Xianyi and Dai Naidie's translation of Dou E Yuan from the three basic principles of ecological translation theory —— language, culture and communication dimension to learn Yang and Dai’s skills for translating culture loaded words. I also boldly point out the inappropriate translation and put forward suggestions based on my own limited knowledge. As we can see from the above analysis, a good translation must comprehensively consider the three dimensions of language, culture and communication and make adaptive selections between them. In terms of language dimension, translators should find the corresponding words in the translation culture to replace the words in the original text without destroying the original meaning. In culture dimension, translators can introduce the background of culture loaded words by adding annotations, tail notes or in other ways to make readers understand the culture connotations behind the words, and then understand the connotation of the whole discourse better. In communication dimension, translators are required to pay attention to the communicative function of the words and convey the communicative intention of the original text. They should not blindly pay attention to the meanings, which will make the text more complicated and make readers confused. The three dimensions are interrelated and also indispensable. Based on these three dimensions, translators should actively adapt to the different ecological environments of translation, and flexibly choose the translation methods, so as to effectively convey the traditional Chinese drama culture to foreign readers and promote the effective dissemination of Chinese drama culture.
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| − | === References ===
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| − | Eugene A. Nida.(2001). Language, culture and translating. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.
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| − | Yang Yun 阳赟.(2012).适应与选择——《窦娥冤》英译文化维适应性探究[Adaptation and selection of —— Study on English translation of Dou E Yuan in terms of culture adaptability]. 辽宁医学院学报(社会科学版) Journal of Liaoning Medical College (Social Sciences Edition),(4)128-130.
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| − | Jiang Xiaoping, Luo Yun蒋晓萍,罗云.(2020).生态翻译学视域下中国饮食文化负载词翻译研究——以《世说新语》英译本为例[Study on culture loaded words of Chinese food under the horizon of ecological translation theory——take the English translation of Shi Shuo Xin Yu as an example].广州大学学报(社会科学版) Journal of Guangzhou University (Social Sciences Edition),(5)54-61.
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| − | YangXianyi, Dai Naidie杨宪益,戴乃迭.(2001).关汉卿杂剧选(一) [Guan Hanqing miscellaneous drama selection(1)].Beijing: Foreign language Press外文出版社.
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| − | YangXianyi, Dai Naidie杨宪益,戴乃迭.(2001).关汉卿杂剧选(二) [Guan Hanqing miscellaneous drama selection(2)]. Beijing: Foreign language Press外文出版社.
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| − | Wang Mengnan王梦楠.(2015).《窦娥冤》文化缺省现象分析[Analysis of the culture deficiency of Dou E Yuan].浙江工业大学学报(社会科学版) Journal of Zhejiang University of Technology (Social Science Edition),(3)340-344.
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| − | Lin Ali林阿立.(2021)功能翻译理论视角下的中国传统戏曲翻译[Translation of traditional Chinese opera from the perspective of functional translation theory].哈尔滨学院学报Journal of Harbin College,(8)106-109.
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| − | Wang Xingxing王醒醒.(2014).改写理论视角下的戏剧翻译研究[Study on dramatic translation from the perspective of rewriting theory].Jiangsu: Nanjing Normal University南京师范大学.
| + | '''跨文化交际视角下旅游文本中文化负载词的英译研究--以张家界为例''' |
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| − | Huang Zhifang黄志芳.(2014).目的论视角下的中国古典戏剧翻译研究[Research on the translation of Chinese classical drama from the view of objective theory].Jiangxi: Finance and Economics University Of Jiangxi江西财经大学.
| + | 杜莉娜 Du Lina, Hunan Normal University, China |
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| − | Chu Xueqi褚雪琪.(2020).从关联理论视角看戏剧翻译的可表演性[See the performability of drama translation from the perspective of association theory].Beijing: China University of Geosciences (Beijing)中国地质大学(北京).
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| − | Meng Weigen孟伟根.(2009).论戏剧翻译研究中的主要问题[On the main problems in the study of drama translation].外语教学Foreign Language Teaching,(3)95-99.
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| − | Lv Shisheng, Hu Yinpeng吕世生,胡茵芃.(2015).中国戏剧对外翻译的目标语文化接受问题[Target reader’s reception of translated versions of Chinese theater].中国社会科学院研究生院学报Journal of the Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences,(5)110-114.
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| − | Cheng Ruiyong程瑞勇.(2007).英若诚及其戏剧翻译研究[Study on Ying Ruocheng and his drama translation].Shandong: Shandong University山东大学.
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| − | Li Changbao黎昌抱.(2008).王佐良翻译风格研究[Research on Wang Zuoliang's translation style].Shanghai: Shanghai International Studies University上海外国语大学.
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| − | Chen Yaoyao陈瑶瑶.(2019).余光中戏剧翻译研究[Study on drama translation ofYu Guangzhong].Shanxi: Shanxi University山西大学.
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| − | =6 杜莉娜 On the Translation of Culture-loaded Words in Chinese Tourism Texts from the Perspective of Intercultural Communication—Exemplified by Zhangjiajie=
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| | [[Cult_Load_Words_EN_6]] | | [[Cult_Load_Words_EN_6]] |
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| | =7 宫博雅 An analysis of the Chinese translation of culture-loaded words in Russian Idioms = | | =7 宫博雅 An analysis of the Chinese translation of culture-loaded words in Russian Idioms = |
| − | [[Cult_Load_Words_EN_7]]
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| − |
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| − | ===Abstract===
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| − | Language is the carrier of culture, and the characteristics of language also reflect the characteristics of culture. Culture is closely related to language. In-depth understanding and exploration of culture is conducive to language learning and better use of language for communication. Idiom as a fixed structure in language expression, with profound cultural connotation, is an important part of a national culture. Russian idioms are the concentration of the essence of Russian national culture, including Russian history, religion, national thinking, cultural customs, local customs and other unique national characteristics. In the process of language development, each nation has accumulated its own unique culture-loaded words. These words are loaded with the unique cultural connotation of this nation and express the rich cultural color of this nation. Due to different cultural backgrounds and historical development tracks, Russian contains many words, phrases and idioms that represent unique things in Russian culture. From the perspective of Nida's cultural classification, this paper analyzes the Chinese translation of culture-loaded words in Russian idioms, which is helpful to promote the study of Russian language and deepen the understanding of Russian traditional culture and Russian national psychology.
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| − | ===Key words===
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| − | Culture-loaded Words; Russian idioms; Russian culture
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| − | === 题目 ===
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| | 俄语成语中文化负载词的中文翻译分析 | | 俄语成语中文化负载词的中文翻译分析 |
| − | === 摘要 ===
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| − | 语言是文化的载体,语言的特性同时也体现了文化的特性,文化与语言紧密相关。对文化的深入了解和探究有助于语言的学习和更好的运用语言进行交际。成语作为固定的结构存在于语言表达中,具有深刻的文化内涵,是一个民族文化的重要表现部分。俄语成语是俄罗斯民族文化精华的浓缩,其中包含俄罗斯历史、宗教、民族思维、文化习俗、风土人情等特有的民族特点。语言发展的进程中,每个民族都积累了本民族特有的文化负载词。这些词语负载着本民族独特的文化内涵,表现本民族丰富的文化色彩。由于不同的文化背景和历史发展轨迹,俄语中包含许多代表俄罗斯文化中特有事物的词、词组和习语。本文以奈达的文化分类为视角,分析俄罗斯成语中文化负载词的中文翻译,有助于促进对俄罗斯语言的学习,进一步加深对俄罗斯传统文化及俄罗斯民族心理的了解。
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| − | === 关键词 ===
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| − | 文化负载词;俄语成语;俄罗斯文化
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| − | ===Introduction===
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| − | Nowadays, with the sound development of relations between China and Russia and the deepening of exchanges in all aspects, a better understanding of Russian culture can further strengthen bilateral exchanges and cooperation. Culture-loaded words are words, phrases and idioms that mark the unique things in a certain culture. They directly reflect the unique activities of a particular nation that have been gradually accumulated in the long historical process and are different from other nations. At the lexical level, cultural differences between the two countries are reflected in culture-loaded words. Idioms, as the essence of language, contain rich cultural connotations, reflect national character and reflect social changes. The analysis of the Chinese translation of culture-loaded words in Russian idioms can help us trace the origin of Russian culture, go deep into the core of Russian culture, and explore the significance of Russian culture. According to Nida's classification of language and cultural characteristics, this paper tries to have a deep understanding of Russian culture and make tiny contributions to cross-cultural communication and translation through the analysis of Chinese translation of culture-loaded words.
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| − | ===1.The meaning of culture-loaded words===
| + | 宫博雅 Gong Boya, Hunan Normal University, China |
| − | Culture-loaded words are the cultural labels of a nation, which have distinct cultural characteristics and play an important role in the development and dissemination of culture. Liao Qiyi said, "Culture-loaded words refer to words, phrases and idioms that mark things unique to a certain culture. These words reflect the unique activities of a particular ethnic group that have gradually accumulated in the long course of history and are different from other ethnic groups."When some foreign words are translated into Chinese, they cannot find their exact corresponding or equivalent words, thus forming culture-loaded words. Culture-loaded words are also called culture-unique words and culture-connotation words. They are deeply marked by the region and times of a certain language society, and are words (phrases) expressing the things and concepts peculiar to a certain culture. Such words not only carry rich cultural connotations, but also "exist only in one culture and are blank in another culture". Just because I have characteristics that you do not have, they are often obstacles to cross-cultural communication and translation.
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| − | ===2. Classification of culture-loaded words===
| + | [[Cult_Load_Words_EN_7]] |
| − | According to Nida's classification of cultural factors, culture-loaded words can be divided into five categories. The first category is ecological culture-loaded words, which usually refer to the plants and animals, geographical environment, climate change and other related words in a specific region. The second category is material culture-loaded words, which refer to the specific material products in different cultures. Generally, they refer to words including food, clothing, housing and transportation. The third category is the social culture-loaded words, which usually involve the words of social etiquette, social identity, leisure and entertainment, such as local conditions and practices, traditions, social rules, religious moral standards, historical background, ideology and so on. For example, different cultures have different festivals and celebration customs, and people give different meanings to color words. The fourth category is religious culture-loaded words, which generally reflect the cultural beliefs of a certain nation. The fifth category is language culture-loaded words. Different nations have different speaking ways and habits, which are reflected in pronunciation, vocabulary, syntax and other aspects.
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| − | ===3. Translation methods of culture-loaded words===
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| − | 1. Substitution
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| − | Substitution method is a translation method that converts the cultural images in the source language into the cultural images familiar to the target readers. When the cultural images of the source language words are quite different from those familiar to the target readers, it is difficult for the target readers to understand, so the alternative translation method can be adopted.
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| − | 2. Interpretation
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| − | Interpretation is a method of interpretative translation of words. Some words exist in both Chinese and Japanese languages, but due to the change of national culture, such words have different connotations in the two nations and are easily confused by translators and readers. At this point, the real meaning of the source words is supplemented by interpretation.
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| − | 3. Annotation
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| − | Annotation is a translation method that is faithful to the source language. When the cultural information contained in a word is relatively simple, the translation method of in-text annotation can be adopted. When the cultural information contained in the vocabulary is long, the method of footnote can be adopted.
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| − | | |
| − | ===4. Culture-loaded words in Russian idioms===
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| − | No matter in Chinese or Russian, there are many words with rich cultural characteristics, especially in many idioms, speech, slang and dialects, with rich cultural connotations. Russian idiom is a language unit composed of two or more stress components with fixed structure and integral meaning. Generalized Russian idioms include proverbs, sayings, idioms, fixed phrases of parole or called idiomatic phrases; In the narrow sense, Russian idioms only include idioms and idiomatic fixed phrases. This paper analyzes the Chinese translation of culture-loaded words in Russian idioms from a broad perspective. Russian can reflect the culture and way of thinking of a nation, with rich cultural connotation and distinctive national characteristics. As the essence of Russian traditional culture, Russian idioms can fully reflect the vivid and vivid Russian national culture, fully reflect the Russian nation's daily life behavior habits, value orientation and traditional customs. As the concentration and essence of Russian national language, Russian idioms are of great significance to the study of Russian and Russian national culture. It can reflect the lifestyle of the Russian nation, the character of the Russian people and cultural connotation. The research on the characteristics and translation methods of Russian idioms can help us understand Russian language and culture in a deeper level. It also gives us a unique glimpse of the world's brilliant culture.
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| − | General translation methods of Russian idioms
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| − | (1) Translation of equivalent idioms
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| − | There are some idioms that are basically the same in terms of literal meaning, inner meaning, word image, and implied philosophy in Russian and Chinese. We can use the corresponding translation method to translate these idioms, that is, the formal word-by-word translation. When translating these counterparts, the context can be ignored, as long as the translator keeps in mind the corresponding equivalents. This type of idioms can be translated using literal translation, that is, a translation method that maintains the content of the original idiom without changing the rhetorical characteristics. E.g:
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| − | 1.Беда не приходит одна-祸不单行. Among them, "беда", "не", and "приходит одна" respectively have the same literal meaning and image of words as "祸", "不" and "单行" in Chinese, and their philosophical meanings are also the same.
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| − | 2. Куй железо, пока горячо-趁热打铁. Among them, "куй", "железо", and "пока горячо" correspond to the Chinese words "打", "铁", and "趁热" respectively.
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| − | 3. Лучше один раз увидеть, чем сто раз услышать — 百闻不如一见.
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| − | 4. Век живи, век учись — 活到老,学到老.
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| − | (2) Translation of similar idioms
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| − | approximate idioms are also called semi-equivalence idioms, which refer to the same literal meaning, inner meaning, and philosophical meaning of the Russian and Chinese idioms, but the image of the words is partly the same, and partly different. Free translation is usually used when dealing with the translation of such idioms. The so-called free translation method is to convert the image of an idiom in one language into another language as much as possible without losing its meaning. For example: Правда глаза колет-忠言逆耳. "Правда" and "колет" in Russian are the same as "忠言" and "刺痛" in Chinese; however, "глаза" (眼睛) in Russian is not the same as "耳朵" in Chinese. The image needs to be changed when translating. Similar idioms are: как грибы после дождя-如雨后春笋. When грибы (蘑菇) is translated into Chinese, it becomes "春笋".
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| − | (3)Translation of non-equivalent idioms
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| − | Non-equivalent idiom refers to the national culture contained in the Russian idiom that is unique to the Russian nation and is unfamiliar to the Han nation. This kind of idioms are usually translated using creative methods, that is, without changing the meaning of one language idiom, using the most appropriate interpretation of another language for translation. There are generally two ways of creativity: literal translation + free translation, such as мало каши ел (喝很少的粥)-经验不足, use "каша" to refer to experience; выжимать соки (挤果汁)-榨取血汗, use "сок" refers to blood and sweat, labor; literal translation + comment, such as червонный валет (红桃 "J")-花花公子, using playing cards to refer to the macaroni(纨绔子弟); мелкая сошка (小木犁)-无名小卒, using small things to refer to Little people. The paraphrase and annotations here are equivalent. ездят в тулу со своим самоваром (带着茶炊去图拉)-没有必要,多此一举, it involves the cultural and national conditions, Tula is a place rich in teapots, so it is unnecessary to take a samovar to Tula.
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| − | ====4.1 Ecological culture-loaded words in Russian idioms====
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| − | As we all know, Russia is a vast country with vast resources. The unique vast land area has created a unique geographical environment in Russia, while breeding a variety of animals and plants on the Russian land.
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| − | Crows have a bad connotation in the eyes of the Russian people and are often seen as a bad omen. "белая ворона -白乌鸦" refers to a person who is out of place(特立独行的人), and this idiom is used in Russian with a sense of disapproval. Crows are usually black, but white crows are very strange. "ворон считать - 数乌鸦" means eating the bread of idleness(游手好闲). Usually people with nothing to do have time to count crows. "ворона в павлиньих перьях - 伪装成孔雀的乌鸦" is a person who adorn oneself with borrowed plumes(装腔作势的人). Sparrows are also common in Russian idioms. Sparrow action speed is very fast, in "слово не воробей, вылетит - не поймаешь - 话语如麻雀,出口追不回"as a metaphor of a gentleman's word can't be chased(君子一言驷马难追). There are also "стреляный воробей" refer in particular to sophisticated man (老于世故的人,老油条). Similar words for " старого воробья на мякине не проведёшь посл -秕糠捉不住老鸟"are refers to the sophisticated people are not easily deceived(久经世故之人不易受骗).
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| − | In Chinese and Russian idioms, different animals and plants are often used to describe the same phenomenon due to different historical and cultural backgrounds. In Russian, the word "Брать быка за рога (抓住牛角)" has a similar meaning with the Chinese word "抓住牛鼻子", which means destroying the leader and the gang will collapse(擒贼先擒王). "Метать бисер перед свиньями(猪前撒珠)" is like "对牛弹琴". It means speaking truth to unreasonable people and speaking elegance to those who do not understand beauty.
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| − | Crocodile tears - "крокодиловы слёзы" refers to false compassion假慈悲. According to ancient Western legends, crocodiles are both ferocious and cruel as well as cunning and crafty. When it peeps into people, livestock, animal fish and other prey objects, often will first shed tears, like mercy, so that you were paralyzed by the illusion of its sudden attack to lose vigilance, in a state of no defense by it fiercely swallowed. Another said, is the crocodile will be captured after the prey, greedily swallowed at the same time, will shed crocodile tears. In short, it's a metaphor for false tears, fake sympathy. Later, it is conventionally extended to satirize those insidious and crafty people who harm others while pretending to be compassionate and kind.
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| − | ====4.2 Material culture-loaded words in Russian idioms====
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| − | Russia has its own unique cultural material products, these cultural characteristics reflected in all aspects of clothing, food, housing and transportation.
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| − | "первый блин всегда комом - 第一张薄饼是一团" means all things are difficult before they are easy(万事开头难). "блин - 薄饼" is a kind of unique Russian food. It is round in shape, symbolizing the bright sun and heralding the coming of spring and the lengthening days. "блин - 薄饼" is also a staple in the traditional Slavic festival - Maslenitsa. To "ездят в тулу со своим самоваром - 带着茶炊去图拉" is to make a waste of time(多此一举). Tula is a place name in Russia, where the samovar is abundant, so it is unnecessary to take the samovar to Tula."за семь вёрст киселя хлебать - 跑七里路去喝一口羹(没有必要)" and "седьмая вода на киселе - 羹里的第七滴水(八竿子打不着的亲戚)". Among them "кисель(甜羹)" is also native food to the Russian nation. It can be made from almost any kind of fruit and berries, fresh and dried, fruit and pulp juices, syrups, jams, and milk with potato starch or corn starch. There are also non-sweet-tasting ones made from vegetables like peas. "по ерёме колпак кафтан - 捉襟见肘" and "тришкин кафтан - 什么样的人就戴什么样的帽子(恰如其分)". "кафтан(男长衣)" in this idiom is a kind of long coat with belted waist and floor-length sleeves worn by Russian men in the old days, which was very popular in Russia before the 20th century. "садиться не в свои сани - 坐在别人的雪橇上(不称职、对职务不能胜任)", the word "сани(雪橇)" in this idiom is one of the most common means of transport for Russians in winter.
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| − | ====4.3 Religious culture-loaded words in Russian idioms====
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| − | Most people in Russia are religious, but most of the Idioms in Russian with religious cultural overtones are derived from Western Christianity.
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| − | "Дорого яичко к Христову дню - 送红鸡蛋要赶复活节" refers to do not send umbrellas after rain, refers to do good deeds must be timely(不要雨后送伞、做好事必须及时), Easter is a very important traditional Festival in Russia, is to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus after the death. Easter eggs to prepare cooked eggs (Easter eggs), boiled eggs coated with red, yellow, blue, coffee, green, purple and other colors, when the guests come, the host gives an egg, to symbolize the prosperity of life.
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| − | "не все коту масленица - 不是全年都是谢肉节" means that the good times will not last long and the feast will not come again(好景不长、盛宴难再). This idiom comes from the Maslenitsa culture of Russian national religion. The festival of Maslenitsa originated in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Meat and entertainment are forbidden during the 40-day Maslenitsa period. Thus, in the week before the start of Ramadan, people indulge in orgies and families eat meat to make up for the ascetic lifestyle of fasting. Hence the name of the Festival.
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| − | "козёл отпущения" refers to a scapegoat(替罪羊). At that time, the ancient Jews had such a ritual in life. When the day of confession came, the highest priest would put his hands on the head of the live goat, which indicated that the sin of all mankind would be transferred to the goat, and the goat would be banished to the desert. In Russian national and religious culture, this idiom is usually used to mean that people take the blame for others.
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| − | The Influence of Christianity on Russian idioms is very profound. Pushkin, the great Russian writer and poet, pointed out that the birth of Christianity was the greatest spiritual and political turning point on our earth, and the world died and was born in this sacred environment. It can be said that Christianity has played an extremely important role in human history, especially in western social life and cultural development. Since 988, when The Archduke of Kievan Rus established Christianity as the state religion, most Of the Russian people believe in Christianity, and there are about 200 idioms and fixed words from the Bible. A large number of Idioms in Russian derive from the Bible. The Bible is a Christian classic, including the Old Testament and the New Testament in 66 volumes. With the development of history and the evolution of language, idioms derived from the myths and legends of the Bible and the teachings and precepts of the Gospels have entered the Russian standard language and acquired new meanings. Now, through the study of Russian idioms from the Bible, analysis of their source text interpretation, use characteristics, we can see the influence of the Bible on Russian from the side.
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| − | "в поте лица - 汗流满面" From "Old Testament·Genesis" (Chapter 3, Section 19), God says to Adam, the father of mankind, when he sinned and drove him out of the Garden of Eden for eating from the tree of good and evil: "В поле лица твоего будешь есть хлеб, доколе не возвратишься в землю, из которой ты взят, ибо прах ты и в прах возвратишься.” - 你必须汗流满面才有饭吃,直到你归于尘土,因为你是由土而来的;你即是灰土,还要归于灰土." "Волк в овечьей шкуре 或 волк (напялил) на себя овечью шкуру - 披着羊皮的 狼" from "New Testament Gospel of Matthew" (Chapter 7, Section 15), "Берегитесь лжепророков, которые приходят к вам в овечьей одежде, а внутри суть волки хищные - 你们要提防假先知! 他们来 到你们跟前,外披羊皮,内心却是凶残的豺狼." "Кто не работает, тот не ест - 不劳动者不得食" originally derived from "The New Testament·2 Thessalonians": "Ибо когда мы были у вас, то завещевали вам сие: если кто не хочет трудиться, тот не ест. - 当我们在你们那里的时候,早已吩咐过你们:谁若不愿意工作就不应当吃饭." "продать (предать) за тридцать сребреников(кого) - 为三十块银币而出卖某人" from "the New Testament Gospel of Matthew". The story tells that judas, one of The twelve disciples of Jesus, got thirty pieces of silver from the priest and sold Jesus to the Jewish authority. Then he took the opportunity to bring many people with knives and clubs to the house of Jesus and his disciples and arrested Jesus. As a result, Jesus was crucified. According to the statistics of the Dictionary of Russian Idiom etymology, there are more than 1400 Russian idioms in the book, among which 161 are derived from the Bible or related to them, accounting for 11.5%. It can be seen that the Bible has a deep influence on Russian.
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| − | ====4.4 CultureSocial culture-loaded words in Russian idioms====
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| − | Russia has a long history and diverse social customs. Many unique Russian cultural phenomena are reflected in Russian idioms.
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| − | During the Soviet Union, some words and languages produced under the background of The Times had unique meanings and connotations of the society at that time. The "Красный уголок
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| − | (红角)" was a place for cultural and educational activities in the Soviet Union. Russian idioms also reflect their national cultural characteristics through their lexical composition. Some words in these idioms are not equivalent words. "Фертом стоять (смотреть, ходить, глядеть, выглядеть. . . ) - 趾高气扬、威武自负、洋洋自得的样子" The word is an ancient name of the Russian letter "ф", which resembles a man standing erect with his hands akimbo, so the meaning of the whole idiom is to place his hands between the waist in a confident, aggressive posture. Other similar Russian idioms include "На ять - 顶呱呱,呱呱叫" and "Лезть на рожон - 铤而走险". The idiom "Чувство локтя - 站队时保持一肘距离的习惯" is used in the spirit of supporting friendly troops and helping each other(支持友军的精神,互助精神). The word "Белый - 白色的" in idioms sometimes conveys a negative meaning. The idiom "Показать белое перо - 展示白羽毛" comes from a cockfight. In fights between roosters of different colors, red, red, and black roosters were found to be more aggressive, biting off the tail feathers of timid white roosters. So this idiom means to be defeated and laughed at(被打败,被嘲笑). "Белый - 白色的" in this idiom means "cowardice, cowardice, and submission."
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| − | ===Conclusion===
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| − | Culture-loaded words, as their name implies, carry the culture of a particular nation or country, which are closely related to the culture they carry. This sets up difficulties for translators when translating such expressions. If the translation only stays on the surface and ignores the cultural connotation of the words, it will lead to the loss of culture. In addition, another point worth the translator's attention is that the conceptual meaning and connotative meaning of culture-loaded words are often inconsistent. This requires us to flexibly choose appropriate translation strategies in translation to convey the connotation and meaning of culture-loaded words as far as possible, so as to ensure the readability of the translated text and retain the flavor of the original text to facilitate cultural exchange and communication.
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| − | Differences in cultural systems and language systems, and difficulties in translation, lead to misunderstandings in the translation of culturally loaded words, and it is difficult to deeply grasp the core of culture and make it fully presented in front of us.
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| − | There are several situations in the translation and translation effect of culturally loaded words:
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| − | 1) Omission-complete lack of cultural connotation;
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| − | 2) Simple transliteration-whether the cultural connotation is transmitted or not depends on the degree of communication of the word and the cultural level of the target language reader;
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| − | 3) Transliteration plus annotations-cultural information is conveyed, but it is likely to damage the readability of the story or cause the translation to be cumbersome;
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| − | 4) Replacement imagery and even complete domestication-the cultural connotation of the original word disappears, but it is easy for readers of the target language to understand.
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| − | It can be seen that several translation strategies are not superior in the absolute sense. For the translation of culturally loaded words, the translator must not only have a deep language foundation, but also an encyclopedia-like knowledge structure, and must be careful and patient in the translation process. Culture-loaded words belong to micro-culture, and their distinctive and strong cultural color is an indispensable part of Russian culture. Although they will inevitably "make a facelift" in the process of translation, resulting in the loss of some information, translators should still work hard to understand the cultural connotations of the original language and the target language in order to build a bridge for communication and understanding between the two sides.
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| − | | |
| − | Culture is a complex social phenomenon, which is the sum total of a nation's knowledge, experience, value, rank, religion and concept of time and space. It has distinct national and regional characteristics and is used in all areas of a certain society. Language is only a part of culture, any language is a reflection of a certain culture, language is the carrier of culture, language and culture are inseparable. Russian and Chinese are both languages with a long history, yet each belongs to a completely different language family. Their differences are not only reflected in the form of language (pronunciation, grammar), but also show the rich cultural characteristics of words. Because the objectivity of language, social and cultural are casting together, language is a nation created in the long-term productive labor and social practice and service for them, so their words are bound to the social reality of the nation, the native living habits and way of thinking, language, psychology, behavior norms, moral values, political ideas and cultural traditions, and deeply stamped with this nation, this region and this era. Therefore, Russian and Chinese words are bound to carry their own specific cultural connotations. To understand the culture of a nation, in addition to observing its actual behavior, what is more important is that we can study their language, especially through the study of language vocabulary to understand their cultural traditions and connotation in the culture. Because vocabulary contains abundant cultural information, it is an important content for better cross-cultural communication.
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| − | | |
| − | To sum up, Russian idioms are an important part of Russian national culture, which fully reflect the Russian nation's daily lifestyle, beliefs, customs and psychological characteristics. Russian idioms content is rich and colorful characteristics, by strengthening the study of Russian idiom learning, can help us deeply understand the master to the traditional customs of ethnic russians, and correct use of Russian language, add more glory for language expression, and to avoid in the process of Russian social expression appeared a slip of the tongue, affect each other on both sides of the normal communication smoothly.
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| − | | |
| − | ===Reference===
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| − | [1]于建华.俄语成语与俄罗斯民族文化研究[J].散文百家,2019(11):222. | |
| − | [2]王发金.俄语成语文化的研究[J].旅游纵览(下半月),2017(22):237.
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| − | [3]袁顺芝.俄汉翻译中的语言文化现象及其处理方法[J].中国俄语教学,2014,33(04):40-44.
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| − | [4]司道权.浅析俄语成语的特点及翻译方法[J].品牌,2015(03):113.
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| − | [5]裴晓明.俄语成语翻译中的几个问题[J].科技信息,2012(30):212.
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| − | [6]王金凤.俄语成语的意义及其翻译[J].中国翻译,2008,29(05):72-74.
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| − | [7]张莹.俄语成语翻译中的文化伴随意义[J].佳木斯大学社会科学学报,2006(02):157-158.\
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| − | [8]鞠海娜.俄汉成语蕴含的民族文化比较研究[J].黑河学院学报,2021,12(04):174-175.
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| − | [9]廖七一 .当代西方翻译理论探索 [M]. 南京 :译林出版社 , 2000
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| − | [10]王淑杰.不同宗教信仰影响下的俄汉成语[J].科技信息,2009(07):531+553.
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| − | [11]张家丰.俄语成语颜色词的象征意义[J].黑河学院学报,2021,12(02):169-171.
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| − | [12]王青.中国文化负载词的英译研究[J].校园英语,2020(24):243-244.
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| | | | |
| | =8周小雪 The Translation of Culture Loaded Words in English and Japanese Versions of Medicine = | | =8周小雪 The Translation of Culture Loaded Words in English and Japanese Versions of Medicine = |
| | [[Cult_Load_Words_EN_8]] | | [[Cult_Load_Words_EN_8]] |
| − |
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| − | ===Abstract===
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| − | Language is the carrier of culture and closely related to culture. Translation of culture- loaded words has been a difficult problem for translators.The culture behind culture- loaded words made translator hard to find words that are coherent to the original text. For the same culture-loaded word, different languages have different translation methods. This paper takes the novel ''Medicine'' as an example exploring the contrast of English and Japanese translation of culture-loaded words in the same text.
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| − |
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| − | ===Key words===
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| − | Culture-loaded Words; Medicine; English and Japanese Translation
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| − |
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| − | === 题目 ===
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| − | 《药》英日译本中文化负载词的翻译对比研究
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| − | === 摘要 ===
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| − | 文化负载词的翻译一直是译者面临的一个难题。文化负载词背后的文化因素使得译者很难找到与之对应的词句。对于同一文化负载词,不同的语言有不同的翻译方法。本文以鲁迅的小说《药》为例,探讨同一文本中文化负载词的英、日翻译对比。
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| − |
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| − | === 关键词 ===
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| − | 文化负载词;《药》;英日翻译
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| − |
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| − | ===Introduction===
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| − | Translation is not the direct conversion of two languages. In the process of translating from one language to another, we should not only get faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance, but also understand the culture concepts behind each word in the original text. Culture-loaded words have always been a difficult problem in translation. Due to cultural differences, it is difficult for translators to find words that are coherent to the original text. In the process of translation, if the translation work in a comparatively mechanical manner, it is hard for us to understand the true meaning of the original text. Therefore, it is very important to do a good job in translating culture loaded words.
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| − | ===1.Culture-Loaded Words===
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| − | ====1.1 Definition of Culture Loaded Words====
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| − | Language is the carrier of culture and closely related to culture. With the development of cultural communication, more and more scholars begin to study the translation of culture-loaded words. Different people have different definitions of culture-loaded words. Mona Baker put forward the the concept of “culture-specific” .A word in the original language is often different in the target language, which often makes readers from the target language culture at a loss end. Sometimes culture-loaded words are abstract, involving religious beliefs or cultural customs, and sometimes they are specific.Spanish translator Javier Franco Aixela put forward the definition of "cultural-specific item”. It tells us that "There are some items in the text, and the translation difficulties will occur when its function and meaning are transferred from the source language to the target language. There is no coherent item in the cultural system of the target language.In China, Jin Huikang thought "Culture loaded words exist in every language and they reflect the unique characteristics of a certain culture. In translation, it is almost impossible to find a perfect equivalent. "(Jin Huikang, 2003:78). Bao Huinan viewed culture-loaded words as a kind of vocabulary vacancy,means that the cultural information carried by the source language vocabulary has no counterpart in the target language. (Bao Huinan, 2004:10) He think that"Every language is the product of the cultural development of a country and nation, and has its long historical background and rich cultural connotation. Every country and nation has its unique development history, social system, ecological environment, religious belief and national customs. Therefore, each language has its own specific vocabulary, idioms and allusions Culture loaded words reflect these concepts and things. (Bao Huinan 2001:341) Liao Qiyi, a famous translation expert in China. He thought that culture loaded words are "Words, phrases and idioms that mark the unique things in a culture.These words reflect the unique activity mode gradually accumulated by a specific nation in the long historical process, which is different from other nations."(Liao Qiyi 2000:230)Language reflects different living conditions and religious differences, which lead to different modes of thinking, values, aesthetic standards and moral differences. (Wang Chuanmei, 2008:5)
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| − | Culture-bearing words are closely related to culture and have rich cultural significance. These words are closely related to cultural, whether in concept or in connection. On the one hand, people of all nationalities live together in the world and have similar ideas about nature. Therefore, different cultures and languages have some common characteristics, which is also an important reason for all kinds of thinking to achieve communication. On the other hand, people living in different social contexts may have different concepts, emotion and subjective judgments. so some words are endowed with special meanings, which are rooted in the culture of a country or a nation and reflects the cultural characteristics.(Wu Xiaodan:2015)
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| − |
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| − | ====1.2 Classification of Culture-loaded Words====
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| − | Nida believes that cross-cultural translation is more important than linguistic translation. Therefore, the translation of culture-loaded words is very challenging. Nida divided culture-loaded words into the following five categories: Ecological Culture-loaded Words;Material Culture-loaded Words;Social Culture-loaded Words;Religious Culture-loaded Words;Linguistic Culture-Words.
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| − | 1.2.1.Ecological Culture-loaded Words
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| − | Due to the differences of living environment, the ecological and cultural systems of different nations or countries may differ greatly, and it is often difficult to understand each other.This kind of culture-loaded words refer to plants, animals, monsoon, hills and other related words in a specific region.
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| − |
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| − | 1.2.2.Material Culture-loaded Words
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| − | the main part of material culture, such as clothing, food, housing and transportation Material culture is reflected through a variety of material objects and products, such as buildings, food, clothing and various tools. In view of the different habits of life, there are great differences between nations and peoples in material things.Some things that are very common in China may not be heard of in other countries
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| − | 1.2.3.Social Culture-loaded Words
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| − | In the long history, different countries have formed their own customs, lifestyles and behavior. The words that reflect the characteristics of these fields are called social cultural loaded words.
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| − | This paper will also analyze from these five aspects, so as to provide a clear context for the comparison of the following English and Russian versions.
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| − | 1.2.4.Religious Culture-loaded Words
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| − | In the long history of development, different countries and nations have formed their own religious beliefs.Therefore, in order to better understand the culture of a nation, we must understand the religious beliefs of that nation or people. The words of religious culture reflect the religious belief and cultural tradition of a nation or nation. The difference of religious culture between countries is a big obstacle for readers to understand the words embodied in the religious culture
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| − | 1.2.5.Linguistic Culture-loaded Words
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| − | The grammatical, phonetic and constitutive characteristics of culture-loaded words. Its visual effect and linguistic effect are the biggest characteristics of this kind of words.
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| − | In the development history of a nation, it is certain to accumulate rich language and culture. And these expressions of language characteristics, usage, including a certain cultural background and other characteristics are language culture-loaded words. There are a lot of culture-loaded words in the novel medicine.
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| − |
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| − | ===2. Introduction of Medicine ===
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| − | Lu Xun was a great writer and thinker in modern China. His articles reflected the people's living conditions under the dual oppression of feudalism and imperialism. He wrote about the unfortunate people in society, trying to wake up the ignorant and numb people. He was the forerunner of China's modern ideological liberation. Lu Xun's works have always been an important treasure of Chinese modern literature and people attach great importance to them. There are many culture-loaded words in Lu Xun's novels, which bring great difficulties to the translation of his novels.
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| − | The novel Medicine is a short story written by LuXun. As part of LuXun's most influential works, Medicine contains a number of culture-loaded words, these cultural loaded words truly reflect the national culture of the times in the novel. At this point, the thesis chooses the masterpiece, Medicine as the typical representative of LuXun, the great standard-bearer of national culture. Through the story of the teahouse owner Hua Lao Shuan and his wife buying human blood steamed bread for their son Xiao Shuan to cure diseases, the novel Medicine exposes the numbness and ignorance caused by feudal rule, praises the brave and unconquerable spirit of the revolutionary Xia Yu, and points out the limitations of the revolution in not getting close to the masses.
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| − |
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| − | ===3. The Comparison of Culture-loaded words'Translation between English and Japanese of Medicine===
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| − | Lu Xun's novel Medicine contains a great deal of cultural load Words, and rich connotation.The research uses the English translation of Yang Hsien-yi in 1960 and the Japanese translation done by Inoue Kōbai in 1931 as the examples discussing the different translation strategies of culture-loaded words in English and Japanese version.
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| − | 3.1Ecological Culture-loaded Words
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| − | (1)茶馆的两间屋子里,便弥漫了青白的光 。
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| − | Yang:which shed a ghostly light over the two rooms of the tea-house.
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| − | Inoue :青白い光は茶館の中のに満ちた。
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| − | “茶馆”means a place for drinking tea and is an important place in the novel. Chinese has the habit of drinking tea, so teahouse is a unique place in China, which is translated into English as tea-house, translated Japanese as “茶館”.
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| − | (2)西关外靠着城根的地面,本是一块官地。
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| − | Yang:Originally, the land adjacent to the city wall outside the West Gate had been public land.
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| − | Inoue :西関外の城の根元にる地面はもとからの官有地で
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| − | Both Yang and Inoue used free translation to translate “官地”,which are simple and easy for readers to understand.
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| − | (3)老栓正在专心走路,忽然吃了一惊,远远里看见一条丁字街,明明白白横着。
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| − | Yang:Old Chuan was startled when he saw distinctly the cross-road ahead of him.
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| − | Inoue :老栓はひたすら歩みを続けているうちにたちまち物に驚かされた。そこは一条の丁字街がありありと眼前に横たわっていたのだ。
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| − | Yang adopted the domesticating method, translating“丁字街” as “cross-road”,Inoue adopted the foreignizing method, translating“丁字街” as “丁字街”. The translation of Yang makes it easier for readers to understand what “丁字街”is,while the translation of Inoue will give readers a sense of freshnes.
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| − | 3.2Material Culture-loaded Words
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| − | (1)衣服前后一个大白圆圈 , 远地里也看的清楚。走过面前的,并且看出号衣上暗红色的镶边。
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| − | Yang:The large white circles on their uniforms, both in front and behind, were clear even at a distance; and as they drew nearer, he saw the dark red border too.
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| − | Inoue :近寄って来ると、その白い円いものはの上の染め抜きで、のふちぬいの中にあることを知った。
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| − | The meaning of “号衣”is the marked garment worn by soldiers, officers, etc. in old times and marked with the words "soldier" or "brave". Yang translated it as a “uniform”, while Wang translates it as “のふちぬい”.Both adopted domesticating method.
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| − | (2)便点上灯笼,吹媳灯盏,走向里屋去了。
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| − | Yang:then lighting a paper lantern and blowing out the lamp went into the inner room.
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| − | Inoue :そこで彼はに火を移し、燈盞を吹き消して裏部屋の方へ行った。
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| − | Yang translated “灯笼” as“paper lantern” , while Inoue used Chinese words directly.
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| − | (3)华大妈在枕头底下掏了半天,掏出一包洋钱,交给老栓。
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| − | Yang:After some fumbling under the pillow his wife produced a packet of silver dollars which she handed over. Old Chuan pocketed it nervously, patted his pocket twice
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| − | Inoue :華大媽は枕の下をさぐって一包みの銀貨を取出し、老栓に手渡す。
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| − | The foreign currency used in China at that time was called “洋钱”.Yang adopted the domesticating method, translating“洋钱” as “silver dollars”.Because the meaning of “銀貨” in Japanese is similar to the meaning of “洋钱”in Chinese,so Inoue adopted translated“洋钱” as “銀貨”.But neither Yang nor Wang translated the meaning of foreign coins
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| − | (4)那人一只大手,向他摊着;一只手却撮着一个鲜红的馒头,那红的还是一点一点的往下滴。
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| − | Yang:This man thrust one huge extended hand towards him, while in the other he held a roll of steamed bread, from which crimson drops were dripping to the ground.
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| − | Inoue :その人は老栓の方に大きな手をひろげ、片ッぽの手に赤いをんでいたが、赤い汁は饅頭の上からぼたぼた落ちていた。
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| − | Because of bread is more common in the West, so Yang translated “馒头” into “a roll of steamed bread”. In Japan, they also have “馒头”,so Inoue translated “馒头” into “饅頭”. But it should be noted that “饅頭” are a little different from “馒头”. Both Yang and Inoue adopted foreignizing method.
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| − | (5)小路上又来了一个女人,也是半百头发,褴褛的衣裙;提一个破旧的朱漆圆篮,外挂一串纸锭,三步一歇的走。
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| − | Yang:Another woman came down the path, grey-haired and in rags. Carrying an old, round, red-lacquered basket with a string of paper money hanging from it, she walked haltingly.
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| − | Inoue :の上にまた一人、女が来た。これもの頭での著物の下に襤褸のをつけ、壊れかかったの丸籠を提げて、外へ銀紙のお宝を吊し、とぼとぼと力なく歩いて来た。
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| − | “纸锭” are made of tin foil paste silver ingot-like ghost money. Superstition holds that incineration is given to the dead so that they can be used as money. Both Yang and Inoue adopted the way of literal translation.
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| − |
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| − | 3.3Social Culture Culture-loaded Words
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| − | (1)老栓候他平静下去,才低低的叫道,“小栓……你不要起来。……店么?你娘会安排的。
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| − | Yang:Old Chuan called softly: "Son! . . Don't you get up! . . . Your mother will see to the shop."
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| − | Inoue :老栓はそののおさまるのを待って、静かに口をひらいた。「お前は起きないでいい。店はお母さんがいいにする」
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| − | Chinese people are used to calling older people “小~”younger people “小~”. Yang adopted domesticating transliteration strategy translating “老栓” as “Old Chuan”. , Inoue adopted foreignizing method using“老栓”directly.
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| − | (2)老栓倒觉爽快,仿佛一旦变了少年,得了神通,有给人生命的本领似的,跨步格外高远。而且路也愈走愈分明,天也愈走愈亮了。
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| − | Yang:It was much colder than indoors, yet Old Chuan's spirits rose, as if he had grown suddenly younger and possessed some miraculous life-giving power. He lengthened his stride. And the road became increasingly clear, the sky increasingly bright.
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| − | Inoue :天気は室内よりもよほど冷やかで老栓は爽快に感じた。何だか今日は子供の昔に還って、神通を得て人の命の本体を掴みにゆくような気がして、歩いているうちにも馬鹿に気高くなってしまった。行けば行くほど路がハッキリして来た。行けば行くほど空が亮るくなって来た。
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| − | The meaning of “神通”is getting magical powers.Yang adopted domesticating translation strategy,while Inoue adopted foreignizing method using“神通”directly.
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| − | (3)仿佛抱着一个十世单传的婴儿。
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| − | Yang:as if it were the sole heir to an ancient house.
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| − | Inoue :さながらの十世単伝の一人子を抱いているようなものであった。
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| − | The author refers to the preciousness of "human blood steamed bread" through the "十世单传". Yang adopted free translation strategy,while Inoue adopted literal translation strategy.However, both Yang and Inoue did not attach too much importance to the status of the only child, so readers cannot perceive the author's metaphorical meaning through this source area.
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| − | (4)“谁的?不就是夏四奶奶的儿子么?
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| − | Yang:"Who? Son of Widow Hsia, of course! Young rascal!
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| − | Inoue :「誰って、きまってまさ。夏四奶奶の子さ。あの餓鬼め」
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| − | Neither English nor Japanese can convey the meaning of the original text well. Yang Widow translated “夏四奶奶”into “Son of Widow Hsia”by free translation. Inoue adopted transliteration using“夏四奶奶”directly that will make people misunderstanding about the original text.
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| − | (5)康大叔见众人都耸起耳朵听他,便格外高 兴。
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| − | Yang:Seeing how they all hung on his words, Mr. Kang's spirits rose even higher.
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| − | Inoue :康おじさんはみんながを引立てているのを見て、に得意になって瘤のがハチ切れそうな声を出した。
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| − | "叔" is the title of the father's younger brother. Now "叔" also refers to an older adult man, or a man more than 20 years older than oneself. In English, "uncle" does not mean blood relationship. "Mr. Kang" does not show the relationship between people.Both Yang and Inoue used domesticating method.
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| − | (6)第一要算我们栓叔运气;第二是夏三爷赏了二十五两雪白的银子,独子落腰包,一文不花。
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| − | Yang:Our Old Chuan was luckiest, and after him Third Uncle Hsia. He pocketed the whole reward—twenty-five taels of bright silver—and didn't have to spend a cent!"
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| − | Inoue :「第一は栓じいさんの運気を取逃がさねえためだ。第二は夏三爺から出る二十五両のの銀をそっくりのの中に納めて一文もつかわねえ算段だ」
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| − | Yang Widow translated “夏三爷”into “Third Uncle Hsia”by free translation. Inoue adopted transliteration using“夏三爺”directly.
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| − | (7)夏三爷真是乖角儿,要是他不先告官,连他满门抄斩。
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| − | Yang:Third Uncle Hsia is really smart. If he hadn't informed, even his family would have been executed, and their property confiscated.
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| − | Inoue :夏三爺はすばしッこいね。もし前に訴え出がなければ今頃はどんな風になるのだろう。一家一門は皆殺されているぜ。
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| − | “乖角儿” in Chinese means a clever and intelligent person. “满门抄斩” is an ancient Chinese punishment, which means to confiscate property and kill the whole family. Both Yang and Inoue used domesticating method.
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| − | (8)“义哥是一手好拳棒,这两下,一定够他受用了。”
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| − | Yang:Red-eye is a good boxer. Those slaps must have hurt!"
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| − | Inoue :義哥は棒使いの名人だ。二つも食ったら参っちまうぜ
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| − | It was difficult to understand the local dialect.Both Yang and Inoue used domesticating method.
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| − | (9)他这贱骨头打不怕,还要说可怜可怜哩。
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| − | Yang:"The rotter was not afraid of being beaten. He even said how sorry he was."
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| − | Inoue :「ところがあの馬の骨め、打たれても平気で、そうだ。そうだ、と抜かしやがるんだ」
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| − | "贱骨头" is a common saying often used by Chinese people to scold people. It was difficult for translators to translate it. So both Yang and Inoue used domesticating method and free translation.
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| − | (10)这一年的清明,分外寒冷。
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| − | Yang:The Ching Ming Festival that year was unusually cold.
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| − | Inoue :今年の清明節は殊の外寒く
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| − | “清明” is a traditional Chinese festival. It is also one of the most important sacrificial festivals. It is also the day for ancestor worship and tomb sweeping. Influenced by Chinese culture, in Japan,they also have “清明”. so it can be directly translated as Japan’s “清明節” .Because the western countries do not have this holiday, so Yang translated it as “The Ching Ming Festival”by foreignizing method.
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| − | 3.4Linguistic Culture-loaded Words
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| − | (1)只有小栓坐在里牌的桌前吃饭,大粒的汗,从额上滚下,夹袄也贴住了脊心,两块肩胛骨高高凸出印 成一个阳文的”八”字 。
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| − | Yang:Only his son sat eating at a table by the wall. Beads of sweat stood out on his forehead, his lined jacket clung to his spine, and his shoulder blades stuck out so sharply, an inverted V seemed stamped there.
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| − | Inoue :見ると額の上から大粒の汗がころげ落ち、左右の肩骨が近頃めっきり高くなって、背中にピタリとついている夾襖の上に、八字の皺が浮紋のように飛び出していた。
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| − | “阳文”is the pattern printed on some utensils. It describes the bony appearance of Xiao Shuan. Lu Xun used the character "eight" to tell readers that Xiao Shuan is thin and weak, which is very vivid and clear to us. However, it is difficult for foreign language readers to understand. The inverted English letter "V" is very similar to the Chinese letter "八".so Yang translated it to "V". And since Japan also has the word "八", so Inoue used it directly.
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| − | (2)还要老虎头上搔痒,便给他两个嘴巴!
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| − | Yang:and then the young fool would 'scratch the tiger's head,' so he gave him a couple of slaps."
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| − | Inoue :あいつが虎の頭を掻いたから堪らない。たちまちポカポカと二つほど頂戴したぜ
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| − | "老虎头上搔痒" is a allegory of boldness, recklessness and overreach. It can also be extended to mean "seeking death" or "not afraid of death". both Yang and Inoue adopted literal translation.
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| − | ===Conclusion===
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| − | Culture-loaded words are closely related to culture and have rich cultural meanings. These words are closely related to cultural relations, whether in concept or in connection. On the one hand, people of all nationalities live together in the world and have similar ideas about nature. Therefore, different cultures and languages have some common characteristics, which is also an important reason for all kinds of thinking to achieve communication and communication. On the other hand, people living in different social contexts may have different cognitive concepts, emotional colors and subjective judgments. Because of this, some words are endowed with special meanings, which are rooted in the culture of a country or a nation. Deeply reflects the cultural characteristics.The biggest difficulty in translation is not the language itself, but the cultural implications that language carries.Medicine, as a national literary work, contains a large number of culture-loaded words. the culture-loaded words in Medicine are classified
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| − | On the basis of classification, we can learn from the comparison of English and Japanese translations that the translation strategies adopted in the translation of culture-loaded words are different due to the differences between eastern and western cultures. Due to the great differences between eastern and Western cultures, it is difficult to find a complete equivalence of some culturally loaded words in the translation of Chinese traditional literary works into English. So the English version is mainly translated by domesticating method and free translation. Since Japan and China have had a lot of communication since ancient times and were greatly influenced by Chinese culture, the Japanese translation mainly adopts foreignizing translation, literal translation and transliteration. Even if the Chinese culture-loaded words that Japanese have never seen , they can understand them and even use them directly because they have similar culture and both use Chinese characters. foreignizing translation and domestication translation, literal translation, free translation, transliteration are not in isolation, Sometimes they need to be combined to play a better role in the translation of culture-loaded words. the translation of culture-loaded word involves all aspects of culture, is a complex and worthy of further discussion. Only by fully understanding the culture of the original text and accurately interpreting the author's intention, can we better convey the cultural information of culture-loaded words to readers.
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| − | ===Reference===
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| − | [1]Yang Hsienyi and Yang Gladys (trans.)Selected Stories of Lu Hsun.Peking:Foreign Languages Press,1971
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| − | [2]Li Ying. Chinese-English Translation of Culture-loaded Words from the Perspective of Interpretation Theory: A Case Study of Simultaneous Interpretation of Important Chinese Leaders'Conference. Journal of Liaoning University of Engineering and Technology (Social Science Edition), 2017, 19 (04): 419-424.
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| − | [3]Canadian Social Science Vol.12,No.6, 2016, pp. 69-74 DOI:10.3968/8067 Canadian Academy of Oriental and Occidental Culture On Translation Strategies of Chinese Culture-Loaded Words XIANG Chunyan
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| − | [4]吴晓丹. 从目的论看《药》文化负载词英译研究[D].福建师范大学,2015.
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| − | [5]谢雯洁. 认知隐喻视角下小说中文化负载词的英译研究——以鲁迅小说《狂人日记》和《药》为例[J]. 怀化学院学报,2019,38(06):116-119.
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| − | [9]鲁迅,呐喊[M].江苏人民出版社,2015.
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| − | [10]包惠南、包昂(2004),《中国文化与汉英翻译》。北京:外文出版社。
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| − | [11]包惠南(2001),《文化语境与语言翻译》。北京:中国对外翻译岀版公司
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| − | [12]金惠 康,跨文化交际翻译[M].中国对外翻译出版公 司,203.
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| − | [13]王传梅,鲁迅小说中文化负载词的翻译[D].中国海洋大学,2008.
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| − | [14]廖七一.当代西方翻译理论探索[M].南京译林出版社,2000年 .
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| | =9 付诗雨 On Translating Chinese Culture-loaded Words in Cultural Relics Commentaries into Japanese——A Case Study of Hunan Museum = | | =9 付诗雨 On Translating Chinese Culture-loaded Words in Cultural Relics Commentaries into Japanese——A Case Study of Hunan Museum = |
| | [[Cult_Load_Words_EN_9]] | | [[Cult_Load_Words_EN_9]] |
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| − | ===Abstract=== | + | =10 丁旋 On the Translation of Culture-Loaded Words in ''The Concubine Market of Yangchow '' of Lin Yutang's Version from the Perspective of Newmark’s Translation Theory = |
| − | Museum has served as an indispensable platform for cross-cultural communication. The commentaries translation of cultural relics provided by museums, affecting the acceptability of the target text receiver directly, has a crucial impact on the inter-cultural understanding and communication. In the process of cultural relics commentaries translation, it is still an important academic subject needing further research that how to deal with the incompatibility of linguistic signs and cultural concepts between the source language and the target language, and how to accurately convey the characteristics, meanings and cultural implications of culturally-loaded words inside. Nevertheless, the academic studies on the translation of cultural relics commentaries in Chinese museums started relatively late, among which especially the researches focused on the Japanese version are not abundant enough both in quantity and content, and the intelligibility and acceptability need to be strengthened.Therefore, this thesis takes the Japanese version of the cultural relics commentaries from Hunan museum’s basic display as the research objects, adopting Eugene Nina’s translation equivalence theory as the theoretical guidance. In this thesis, culturally-loaded words with different cultural meanings are analyzed through comparing with the source text, and then the translation skills are concluded, expecting to provide some reference for future translation of cultural relics commentaries.
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| − | ===Key words===
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| − | Cultural Relics Commentaries; Culturally-loaded Words;Translation Equivalence;Chinese-Japanese Translation Skills;
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| − | | |
| − | === 题目 ===
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| − | 文物解说词中的文化负载词的日译研究——以湖南博物馆为例
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| − | === 摘要 ===
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| − | 博物馆是跨文化交际的重要窗口。其所藏文物解说词的翻译质量直接影响着目标受众对译文的接受度,制约着异文化的理解和交流。在文物解说词的翻译过程中,如何对待和处理源语言和目标语言在语言符号和文化观念不对等问题,怎样才能使其中的文化负载词的特点、含义和文化意蕴得以准确的传达,是一个亟待深入研究的重要课题。然而,中国国内博物馆文物解说词的翻译研究起步较晚,特别是日译研究在数量和内容上都不够丰富,可读性和接受性等诸多方面还亟待加强。本文选取湖南省博物馆基本陈列的文物解说词作为考察对象,以尤金·奈达的翻译等值论为理论指导,逐一对具有不同文化含义的词汇进行原、译文对照分析与改进,归纳出这类文化负载词的翻译技巧,以期为文物解说词日译提供些许参考。
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| − | === 关键词 ===
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| − | 文物解说词;文化负载词;翻译等值论;日译技巧;
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| − | ===Introduction===
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| − | Under the background of globalization, translation has become an important bridge of cross-cultural communication and transmission, rather than merely a simple conversion of language signs. With the further development of China's opening up, Chinese museums have gradually become one of the main channels for foreign tourists to know about Chinese culture, among which the translation of cultural relics commentaries play an indispensable role. Owing to their own characteristics, the cultural relics commentaries often contains numerous vocabularies carrying abundant information of history, culture, customs, habits and so on, what is called culturally-loaded words. The translation quality of culturally-loaded words directly affects the target text receiver’s acceptability of Chinese culture, influencing the intercultural communication. In order to make a better use of translation versions of cultural relics commentaries and better display Chinese culture, it is crucial to take further studies on the translation and introduction of culturally relics commentaries, especially culturally-loaded words inside.
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| − | In recent years, foreign translations of cultural relics commentaries have appeared successively in museums at different levels in China, on which more and more academic studies have been made. Whereas researches on Japanese version have a relatively later start comparing with English version, so outcomes are not abundant enough both in quantity and content. However, Japan belongs to the cultural circle of Chinese characters as well, whose culture has been also deeply influenced by Chinese traditional culture since ancient times, so there must be its own uniqueness in the translation skills of cultural-loaded words. So as to improve the display of Chinese culture to Japanese tourists, the expression selected is supposed to be understood and accepted by them, especially the Japanese translation quality of culturally-loaded words. The translation equivalence theory represented by Eugene A. Nida holds that the seek of translation is rather than the mechanical correspondence on the text superficially, but the relationship between the target text receiver and the target text information be basically the same as that in the source text. This theory is in line with the fundamental mission of commentaries translation as external propaganda, which has a practical guiding significance for the research and practice of Japanese translation of cultural relics commentaries. Therefore, based on the similarities and differences between Chinese and Japanese languages and cultural values under the background of cross-cultural communication, this thesis discusses the Japanese translation skills of Chinese culturally-loaded words in cultural relics commentaries under the guidance of translation equivalence theory and the reference of specific translation skills.
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| − | 在全球化语境下,翻译不仅是语言符号的简单转换 , 更是文化交流和传播的重要手段。随着中国对外开放的深入发展,博物馆逐渐成为了外国游客了解中国文化的主要平台之一,其中文物解说词的翻译便发挥着不可或缺的作用。文物解说词因自身特性,包含着众多承载了丰富历史、文化和风俗习惯等信息的词汇,即所谓的“文化负载词”(culturally- loaded words)。文化负载词的翻译质量直接影响着目标受众对中国文化的理解程度,影响着异文化间的交流。为了更好地发挥文物解说词翻译文本的作用,更好地介绍中国文化,对文物解说词、特别是其中文化负载词的译介研究则显得尤为重要。
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| − | 近年来,文物的外文解说词在中国各个级别的博物馆内接连出现,关于翻译文本的研究也是层出不穷。但相较于英译研究,日译研究方面起步较晚,在数量上和内容上都还不够丰富。而中日同属汉字文化圈,日本文化更是深受中国传统文化的影响,因此有关文化信息的翻译技巧必然存在着其特殊之处。为了更好向日本游客介绍中国文化,应该选取日本游客能理解和接受的语言,特别是提高其中文化负载词的日译质量。以尤金·奈达(Eugene A. Nida)为代表的翻译等值论认为翻译时不求文字表面的机械的对应,而要求译文读者与译文信息之间的关系基本上与原文接受者和原文信息之间的关系相同。该理论与解说词外宣翻译的重要使命相契合,对文物解说词的日译研究与实践具有现实的指导意义。本文以文物解说词中的文化负载词为切入点,在翻译等值论的指导下结合具体的翻译技巧,立足跨文化交际背景下中日两国在语言和文化价值观之间的异同,进而探讨中国文化的日语翻译技巧。
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| − | ===1. The Theory of Translation Equivalence and Specific Translation Skills===
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| − | Translation theories before the 20th century focused on the conversion of linguistic signs. With the increasingly frequent exchanges among different countries under the background of globalization, cultural differences have inevitably had a considerable impact on translation, leading to a cultural turn in translation theories, among which the translation equivalence theory represented by Eugene A. Nida is best-known. In 1969,the famous American translation theorist Eugene A. Nida put forward the definition of functional equivalence (dynamic equivalence) (Nida E.A.,Taber C.R. 2004:). Unlike the traditional translation theories that mainly stress the correspondence between the source language and target language, Nida‘s functional equivalence theory focus on reader's response, opening up a new perspective to translation studies. Nida further perfect his theory in the 1990s. In his book Language, Culture and Translating, he divided functional equivalence into different degrees of adequacy from minimal to maximal effectiveness on the basis of both cognitive and experiential factors, holding that the readers of a translated text should be able to comprehend it to the point that they call conceive of how the original readers of the text must have understood and appreciated it, and the readers of a translated text should be able to understand and appreciate it in essentially the same manner as the original readers did (Nida E.A. 2001:87). Therefore, in the process of translation, it is necessary to screen and process the cultural information in the source text, especially the translation of culturally-loaded words, taking into account the similarities and differences in the historical and cultural factors, and the values between the source language and the target language, so as to make the translation more in line with the linguistic norms and habits of the target text receiver.
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| − | Equivalence translation theory has exerted significant influence on Chinese translation studies since it was introduced into China. Chinese translation researchers have discussed not only the relationship between culture and translation from a macroscopic point of view, but also the translation skills of culturally-loaded words in detail, which provides important guidance for practical translation activities. In terms of specific translation skills, there are various opinions in academic circles, which can be roughly summarized as the following four types, namely literal translation, amplification, substitution and free translation, or the two kinds succinctly, namely domesticating translation and foreignization translation (Wang Enke 2002:83). Accordingly, corresponding translation skills are supposed to be applied based on different kinds of textual content and structure, distinct culturally-loaded words, to make a better achievement of translation equivalence.
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| − | 1、 翻译等值论及具体的翻译技巧
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| − | 二十世纪以前的翻译理论看重语言符号的转换。随着全球化背景下各民族交往的日益频繁,文化差异对翻译的影响愈发明显,出现了翻译理论的文化转向,其中以尤金·奈达为代表的“翻译等值论” 尤为著名。奈达在1969年明确提出了功能对等(动态对等)的概念(尤金·奈达,查尔斯·泰伯 2004:)。比起更注重语言形式一致性的传统翻译理论,功能对等理论更强调读者的反应,为翻译研究提供了一个全新的视角。奈达在90年代进一步完善了其理论,基于认知和经验因素,他认为功能对等具有不同的适合程度,提出了功能对等的两个层次:最低层次的对等和最高层次的对等。主张“译文读者对译文的理解应当达到能够想象出原文作者是怎样理解和领会原文的程度,并基本上能按照原文读者理解和领会原文的方式来理解译文”(尤金·奈达 2001:87)。因此,在翻译过程中,特别是有关文化负载词的翻译,必须对原文中的文化信息进行筛选和加工,兼顾源语言和目标语言的历史文化和价值观念的异同点,使译文更加符合目标受众的语言表达的规范和习惯。
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| − | 翻译等值论在传入中国后,给中国的翻译研究也带来了很大的影响。中国翻译研究者们,不仅从宏观上论述了文化与翻译的关系,还具体地探讨了文化负载词的翻译技巧,对实际的翻译实践活动提供了重要的指导。其中有关具体的翻译技巧方面,学界意见各有千秋,大致可以归纳为如下四类:直译法、增词法、代换法、意译法,或概括成归化法和异化法(王恩科 2002:83)。要根据不同的文本内容和结构、不同的文化负载词,选取相应的翻译技巧,以更好地实现翻译的“等值”。
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| − | ===2. The Definition and Classification of Culture-loaded Words===
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| − | Culturally-loaded words are the vocabulary in the language system, which can best embody the cultural knowledge that a language carries and reflect the social information of human life. Culturally-loaded words refer to those words or phrases which convey a certain kind of cultural connotations rooted in their own society, which may not be found in other languages. In other words, it is difficult to find ready-made equivalent words in the target language, leading to the phenomenon of lexical gaps (Hu Jie 2018:235). Accordingly, culturally-loaded words in cultural relics commentaries can be defined as words or phrases embodying unique cultural information rooted in Chinese society.
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| − | The formation of culture-loaded words is influenced by many factors: under various geographical, historical and social environments, different nations have formed their own lifestyles, ideologies, religious beliefs, customs and habits, literature and art, etc., resulting in numerous cultural differences. The essential differences between eastern and western cultures make the processing of cultural information a key problem in translation activities. Whereas Japan, as a close neighbor of China belonging to the same Chinese character circle, has had continual exchanges with China since ancient times, whose culture is profoundly influenced by traditional Chinese culture. Therefore, the research on the Japanese translation of culturally-loaded words would be inevitably different from that of other languages (Zhang Li,Wu Linan 2021:43). It should not be generalized, or limited to the single direction of Chinese culturally-loaded words, but based on the similarities and differences between Chinese and Japanese language and cultural values under the trends of cross-cultural communication. | |
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| − | On the classification of culturally-loaded words, opinions varies in the academic circles. In this thesis, taking the classification of Zhang (2002:60) as reference, culturally-loaded words in cultural relics commentaries are divided into four categories according to their contributing factors: culture-loaded Words related to material culture, social culture, religious culture, and linguistic culture, on which the translation skills are analyzed and summarized by comparing the source text and the translated version detail by detail.
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| − | 2、 文化负载词的定义和分类
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| − | 文化负载词是指在语言系统中,最能体现语言承载的文化信息、反映人类的社会生活的词汇。因为文化负载词反映的是本民族文化中特有的概念,所以往往在另一种语言中无法找到对译的词语,或者说是在译语中很难找到现成的完全对应的“等值词语”,也就形成了词汇空缺(胡洁 2018:235)。因此,文物解说词中的文化负载词可以定义为包含中国独特文化信息的词语。
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| − | 文化负载词的形成受到诸多因素的影响‚。各民族在不同的地理、历史、社会环境下,形成了各自不同的生活方式、意识形态、宗教信仰、风俗习惯和文学艺术等,从而造成了各种文化差异。特别是东西方文化之间有着本质的不同,使文化信息的处理成为翻译活动中的重点难题。而中日两国一衣带水,自古以来交流密切,日本不仅同属于汉字圈,日本文化更是深受中国传统文化的影响(张丽,吴丽楠 2021:43)。因此,关于文化负载词的日译研究必然有着不同于其他语言的特别之处,不能一概而论,更不能仅局限于汉语文化负载词的单方向,应立足于跨文化交际背景下中日两国在语言和文化价值观之间的异同。
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| − | 关于文化负载词的分类,学术界各抒己见。本文在参考张(2002:60)分类标准的基础上,把文物解说词中的文化负载词根据其成因,大致分为物质文化类、制度习俗文化类、宗教道德文化类以及文学艺术文化类的四大类,逐一对照源文和译本,进行翻译技巧的分析和归纳。
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| − | ===3. Approaches Applied in Translating Chinese Culture-loaded Words in Cultural Relics Commentaries into Japanese===
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| − | The research data in this thesis are the Chinese-Japanese translated texts that come from the cultural relics commentaries of Basic Display in Hunan Museum’s exhibition hall, totally 10145 characters. On the whole, the Chinese commentary texts do not translated to Japanese one-to-one correspondence. Among them, some introductions in Chinese do not appear in the Japanese version, meanwhile, there are also some parts in the Japanese version that are not in the Chinese text. This reflects the distinguishing feature of the commentaries translation for foreign tourists in museums as external propaganda, that it is necessary to make a choice on the content to translate according to the target text receiver, rather than the simple text translation. In view of this, a small number of Chinese culture-loaded words untranslated do not be took into account in the thesis, and according to the four categories of culturally-loaded words that related to material culture, social culture, religious culture, and linguistic culture, the representative ones are selected to be analyzed in their translation skills.
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| − | 3.本文数据来源于湖南博物馆展厅中“基本陈列”中的文物解说词,中日对译文本共计10145字。从整体上来说,解说词的日语译本并非与中文原文一一对应。其中,中文解说中的一些介绍在日语译本中并未出现,相反日语译本里也存在着一些中文解说中没有的部分。这体现了博物馆针对国外游客的解说词译本作为外宣翻译的独特之处,即不仅是简单的文本翻译,更要根据目标对象进行译本内容的取舍。鉴于此,本文将不考虑小部分未译的汉语文化负载词,基于物质文化类、制度习俗文化类、宗教道德文化类以及文学艺术文化类的四种类别,选取其中具有代表性的文化负载词进行翻译技巧方面的分析。
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| − | ====3.1 Culture-loaded Words Related to Material Culture====
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| − | There are differences in the material entities produced and used by different nations. For example, national costume, architecture, cuisine, etc. the highly traditional culture the social life closely linked, the names of which would indispensably become lexical gaps in other languages. Even the same name often carries different concepts among different nations. The names of the cultural relics, as the most representative example, can convey the information of the object intuitively.
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| − | For example, the name of “彩绘双层九子漆奁” (Two-tiered Cosmetic Box Containing Nine Small Boxes )excavated from the Han Tomb 1 at Mawangdui, in which “彩绘”and “漆”(coloured drawing or pattern and lacquer) mean its outer surface feature, “双层”and “九子”(two tires and nine small boxes) mean its internal structure, and the central part “奁”(cosmetic box) means its main application, that containing the dressing articles and other personal articles. It was translated into “彩絵二重九子漆製化粧箱” in Japanese, of which the characteristics and uses could be understood intuitively by the target readers, so that the information received by the target readers and the original readers could be equivalent, in line with the principle of "formal equivalence" in translation equivalence theory. However, it is worth noting that the concept of "奁" was translated into "化粧箱" in Japanese, which generally refers to the storage box for cosmetics (Kojien6 2008), whereas in Chinese, besides cosmetics, some daily articles are also placed. Consequently, there is an additional explanation in the Japanese version of the detail commentary, that “化粧用具と日用品の物入れである”(the box to contain cosmetics and daily articles), and an introduction of the social custom at that time as well, that “中国の古代には男女問わず、みんな髪を伸ばすので、化粧具も用意する必要がある”(Both men and women in ancient China wore their hair long and possessed dressing articles). It is so complete that the target readers could know about the cultural relic fully.
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| − | In addition, in the commentary of “素纱单衣”(Plain Gauze Gown), the concept of "右衽" (a jacket) of Hanfu, meaning the front part covering to the right, which has been the very characteristic of Hanfu and also considered as one of the symbols of the Han nationality (Zuo Na 2011:30). However, it was translated into “右衽” in Japanese directly. Although Japan's national costume Kimono also has the reference concept of "衽", for the historical connection that Japanese Kimono originated from Chinese Hanfu, the concrete part referred by “衽” is different, and "右" refers to the directionality of "covering to the right" in Chinese, while "右" may be mistaken for the orientation of "right" in Japanese. Consequently, it is obvious that literal translation is untenable, thus "前おくみ" is added to the translation to help the target readers understand it. Besides, the cultural connotations contained in "右衽", such as the philosophical view of "harmony between nature and man", and the etiquette thought of "good things is on the left" (Sun Lingling 2018:81), are also hard for the target readers to understand. The characteristics of culturally-loaded words are also convincingly demonstrated by this.
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| − | 3.1物质文化类
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| − | 不同民族生产和使用的物质实体存在着差异,例如一些民族特有的服饰、建筑、食物等,这些名称到了其他民族的语言中就会成为“缺项”。 即使是同一名称,在不同民族中所包含的概念也往往不同。而文物的名称就是其中最具代表性的例子,这些名称通常能直观地传达物体的信息。
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| − | 例如辛追墓出土的文物“彩绘双层九子漆奁”,“彩绘”“漆”说明了其外表特征,“双层”“九子”说明了其内部结构,最重要的主体“奁”说明了其用途,即“古代女子梳妆用的镜匣”。日语译成了“彩絵二重九子漆製化粧箱”,便于译文读者直观地了解该文物的特征和用途,使译文读者和原文读者接收到的信息对等,符合翻译等值论中的“形式对等”原则。但是值得注意的是“奁”这个概念,日语中译成了“化粧箱”,指化妆用品的收纳箱(広辞苑第6版 2008),而汉语中除化妆用品外,还放置一些日常用品。因此,在详细的文物介绍中,日语译文中另外增加了“化粧用具と日用品の物入れである”的解释,还配有“中国の古代には男女問わず、みんな髪を伸ばすので、化粧具も用意する必要がある”的社会习俗说明。可谓之十分完备,便于译文读者充分了解该文物。
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| − | 此外,还有关于著名的“素纱单衣”的解说中,涉及到了关于汉服的“右衽”的概念,指前襟向右掩,是汉服始终保留的特点,被认为是汉族的象征符号之一(左娜 2011:30)。而日语译文中直译成了“右衽”,虽然日本的民族服装和服中也有“衽”的参照概念,源于日本和服起源于中国汉服的历史联系。但“衽”在汉服和和服中所指的具体部位是不同的,且“右”在汉语里指“向右掩”的方向性,日语中容易理解为单纯的“右边的”的方位性,因此显然直译是难以成立的。所以译文添加了“前おくみ”的解释,能够助于读者理解。此外,“右衽”所蕴藏的文化内涵,如“天人合一”的哲学观,“吉事尚左”的礼法思想,传统医学的“阴阳观”等(孙玲玲 2018:81),也是目标读者很难领会到的。这也正充分体现了文化负载词的特性。
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| − | ====3.2 Culture-loaded Words Related to Social Culture====
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| − | Different nations have different historical development and political evolution, and also have experienced corresponding social system and traditional customs in different periods, thus producing a large quantity of words with era characteristics. Commentary concerned with the time or historical background of cultural relics often involve such words.
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| − | For example, “辛追墓非衣帛画”(T-Shaped Painting On Silk), unearthed from Mawangdui Han Tomb No.1, “非衣”(flying garment), namely “魂幡”,was the banner carried in the funeral procession and then buried in the tomb for the purpose of calling back the spirit of the deceased, which is one of the funeral customs etiquette in ancient China. Banded on the shape of the painting, it was translated into “T形帛画”, obviously neglecting the the concept of “魂幡”, which is not mentioned in the detail commentary as well. However, in the commentary of “人物龙凤帛画”(Silk Painting with Female Figure, Dragon and Phoenix Patterns”, “魂幡” was translated into “霊幡”, with an explanation additionally that “魂を引いて昇天する「霊幡」”(the banner calling back the spirit of the deceased), which could prevent the target readers from misinterpreting it literally as “the flag calling for gods" for there is no such funeral custom etiquette in Japan.
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| − | Also, in the commentary of “凤鸟纹’戈’提梁铜卣”(Bronze You with Swinging Handle and Phoenix Design and Inscription “Ge”), the inscription “Ge” on the cover and inner, is “族徽“(the emblem of “Ge” clan), which was translated into “家徽”. Nevertheless, there was a similar concept “家紋” in ancient Japan, referring to the symbol of one clan (Kojien6 2008), thus this paper holds that the latter translation is more appropriate in Japanese. However, in the detail introduction, a historical explanation about the "Ge" clan was added to the Japanese translation text, which could help the target readers understand the social background at that time.
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| − | 3.2制度习俗文化类
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| − | 不同民族的历史发展和政治演变各有不同,在不同时期也有与之相应的社会制度和生活习俗,由此产生了许多具有时代特色的词汇。而关于文物的时代和历史背景的介绍往往会涉及到这类词汇。
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| − | 例如辛追墓出土的“非衣”帛画,“非衣”即“魂幡”,指古代招引亡魂的旗子,出殡前引作前导,入葬时放置在内棺盖上,属于中国古代的丧葬习俗。日语中基于其形状,译成了“T形帛画”,显然直接舍弃“魂幡”这一概念,且在具体的介绍中也并未提及。而在“人物龙凤帛画”的解说词中,也涉及到了“魂幡”的概念,日语译成了“霊幡”,并稍作了“魂を引いて昇天する「霊幡」”的加释,因为日本没有这一丧葬习俗,防止读者从字面误解为“召唤神灵的旗子”等。
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| − | 又如风鸟纹“戈”提梁铜卣的介绍中,其上铸有“戈”字的族徽。日语译为了“家徽”,但日本古代有“家紋”这一概念,指就是“一个家族的标志”(広辞苑第6版 2008),所以笔者认为译为“家紋”更符合日语表达习惯。但详细的介绍中,日语译文中另添加了关于“戈族”的历史说明,这可以帮助读者理解当时的社会背景。
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| − | ====3.3 Culture-loaded Words Related to Religious Culture====
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| − | Religious beliefs and traditional virtues have a profound impact on people's daily production mode and life style, among which some particular concepts created which play an important part of national culture. Such words will inevitably appear in the commentary of cultural relics related to religious and sacrificial activities.
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| − | For instance, the outside painting of “黑地彩绘漆棺”(Coffin with Painted Designs an Black Lacquer Coating, unearthed from XinZhui’s Tomb), indicates that “死者灵魂进入受神灵保护的地府”(the deceased is entering a realm that is under the earth), was translated into “死者の魂は神様の保護で暗い地獄に入ること”, referring to “the deceased is entering the dark hell under the protection of the gods”, which obviously made a different comprehending to the meaning. Besides, the concept of "地府" originated from the Yin and Yang theory in ancient China, and only after the introduction of Buddhism in Han Dynasty did the system of "地狱"(hell) come into being (Pu Wenqi 2021:12). The concept of "地府" is greater than that of "地狱", which refers to the place where the spirits of the deceased who have sinned deeply during their lifetime are imprisoned and punished. The translation "暗い地獄" is easy to cause the target readers to misunderstand the deviation, thus, “黄泉”“冥土”“あの世”etc.are suggested.
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| − | 3.3宗教道德文化类
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| − | 宗教信仰和传统道德深刻影响着人们日常的生产和生活方式,其中出现的一些专用的概念,是民族文化的重要组成部分。而与宗教、祭祀等活动相关的文物介绍中不可避免地会出现该类词汇。
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| − | 例如辛追墓出土的“黑地彩绘漆棺”其上绘制的“死者灵魂进入受神灵保护的地府”的形象,日语中译成了“死者の魂は神様の保護で暗い地獄に入ること”。首先,日语译文所表达的意思是“死者灵魂在神灵的保护下进入了黑暗的地狱”,显然在理解上有一定的偏差。其次“地府”这一概念,源于中国古代的阴阳学说,汉代佛教传入后才有了系统的“地狱”体系(濮文起 2021:12),“地府”的概念大于“地狱”,后者特指囚禁和惩罚生前罪孽深重的亡灵之地。因此,译文“暗い地獄”易造成读者理解偏差,笔者建议译为例如“黄泉”“冥土”“あの世”等会更贴切。
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| − | ====3.4 Culture-loaded Words Related to Linguistic Culture====
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| − | Speech activities are the products of human spiritual activities, which produce some words concerned with historical allusions or legends. Some words have been gradually given new meanings due to folklore and usually appear in literary works. Such words are likely to be used in the commentary of cultural relics containing with idioms or proverbs.
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| − | For example, in the commentary of the ancient instrument “竽”(Reed Mouth Organ Yu), the idiom “滥竽充数”(pretend to play the Yu to make up the number for an orchestra, or in other words, to fill a post without real qualifications) indicates the popularity of the Yu at that time. Although the Japanese translation “員に備わるのみ”(to fill a post without real qualifications), a Japanese idiom with the same meaning, is in line with the principle of equivalence, the meaning of the idiom “滥竽充数” in this very context has been mainly functioned by its original fable, which is supposed to be explained additionally. Such as “『語源』斉の宣王は竽の音を聞くのが好きで、竽のできる人を300人雇ったところ、竽の吹けない南郭先生が混じって俸給をもらっていたという故事から”.
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| − | In addition, the word “凤鸟乘云”(phoenixes riding on clouds), was translated into “雲に乗る鳳鳥”in Japanese literally. The concept of "凤鸟"(phoenix) originated from the ancient Chinese legend, which is a kind of auspicious animal, and "phoenixes riding on the clouds" means good luck. Although Japan has been influenced by Sinology since ancient times and the four Rui animals that "Dragon, Phoenix, Kylin and Turtle" has had some effects on Japanese literature and culture, an additional explanation "祥瑞を寓意する" could be more easily understood by the target readers.
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| − | 3.4语言文化类
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| − | 语言活动是人类精神活动的产物,其中产生了一些隐含着历史典故或人物传说的词汇。一些词语因为民间传说而逐渐被赋予了新的指代含义,多出现在文学作品中。而与文物涉及到相关的成语和谚语等的介绍中,很有可能会使用到此种词汇。
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| − | 例如,关于古代乐器“竽”的解说中,提到了“滥竽充数”这一成语的出现来说明当时竽的流行程度。日语译成了相同意思的谚语“員に備わるのみ”,虽然在含义上做到了“功能对等”,且符合目标语习惯,但“滥竽充数”在这个特定的语境中,主要以其出典的寓言故事发挥意义功能的,所以笔者认为注解其成语故事更为妥当,例如“『語源』斉の宣王は竽の音を聞くのが好きで、竽のできる人を300人雇ったところ、竽の吹けない南郭先生が混じって俸給をもらっていたという故事から。”
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| − | 另外,如“凤鸟乘云”这一词语,日语译为“雲に乗る鳳鳥”,在形式上实现了对等。“凤鸟”这一概念起源于中国古代传说,是一种吉祥的动物,“凤鸟乘云”寓意着吉祥。虽然日本自古以来受到汉学的影响,“龙凤麟龟”的四瑞概念也在日本文学文化中有一定的影响,但是笔者认为加注“祥瑞を寓意する”等会更易于译文读者理解其中的文化概念。
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| − | ===Conclusion===
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| − | In this thesis, taking the Japanese version of the cultural relics commentaries from Hunan museum’s basic display as the research objects, adopting Eugene Nina’s translation equivalence theory as the theoretical guidance, the translation skills of culturally-loaded words with different cultural meanings are analyzed through comparing with the source text, and some suggestions for perfection are provided. In the translation of commentary on cultural relics, more emphasis is placed on the reading needs of target readers and the purpose of displaying national culture than on literal translation, and there is no strict requirement for one-to-one correspondence in translation form, with great flexibility and freedom. Especially, the translation of culturally-loaded words in the cultural relics commentaries, is supposed to take both the external literal information and the internal cultural information into consideration. Take the translation equivalence equivalence theory as the theoretical guidance, adopt literal translation and free translation as the specific translation techniques, add explanation and interpretation when necessary, and tag the difficult Chinese words with Japanese Hiragana, so that the target readers' could understand the texts easily, improving the intelligibility and acceptability of the translation. In addition, the translation of culturally-loaded words should also consider the certain text and the concrete context, according to the pragmatic principles. The most appropriate meaning of the text should be selected from the numerous cultural information contained therein to translate, along with additional annotation or explanation necessarily. Language and culture’s association are so closed that the translation of the cultural relics commentaries has to focus attention on the culturally-loaded words embodying numerous cultural information. It is suggested that commentary translation skills should be studied from multiple perspectives, and the Japanese tourists’ acceptability of the translated commentaries should be researched through the actual surveys, so as to improve the quality of commentary translation, and provide some experience for other external propaganda translation, realizing a better display of the splendid and time-honored Chinese culture.
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| − | 本文选取湖南省博物馆基本陈列的文物解说词作为考察对象,以尤金·奈达的翻译等值论为理论指导,逐一对具有不同文化含义的词汇进行原、译文对照分析,并提出了部分改进建议。在文物解说词的翻译中,比起单纯的字面对译,更强调目标读者的阅读需求和展示民族文化的目的,因此在翻译形式上不严格要求一一对应,具有很大的灵活性和自由度。特别是关于介在其中的文化负载词的翻译,应兼顾表面上的文字信息和隐藏在内部的文化信息两个层面,以翻译等值论为指导,具体翻译技巧上以直译和意译为主,必要时添加注释和解释,还可以给难读的汉字标注假名,以便于目标读者的理解,提高译文的接受度和可读性。此外,文化负载词的翻译还要考虑使用的实际文本和特定语境,即考虑语用原则,从其所蕴含的丰富的文化信息中,选取最贴合文本的含义,进行注解或者加释。语言与文化密切关联,文物解说词的翻译要考虑到这些包含大量的文化负载词的文化信息的翻译,今后可以从多个角度分析日译解说词的翻译技巧,并对日本游客对译本的理解度进行实际的调查,从而提高解说词翻译的质量,为其他外宣翻译提供一定的经验,更好地传播灿烂悠久的中国文化。
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| − | ===References===
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| − | [1] Nida E.A. 尤金·奈达, Taber C.R. 查尔斯·泰伯. (2004)翻译理论与实践[The Theory and Practice of Translation]. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press. 上海外语教育出版社.
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| − | [2] Nida E.A. 尤金·奈达. (2001) 语言与文化:翻译中的语境[Language and Culture: Contexts in Translating]. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press. 上海外语教育出版社:87.
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| − | [3] Wang Enke 王恩科. (2002) 文化负载词翻译技巧选择探讨[On the Principle of the Choice Techniques Concerning the Translation of Culture-Loaded Words]. Journal of Chongqing Institute of Commerce 重庆商学院学报(04):83-85.
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| − | [4] Hu Jie 胡洁. (2018) 从功能翻译理论看网络新闻中文化负载词的日译[Japanese Translation of culture-loaded words in Network News from the Perspective of Functional Translation Theory]. Research on Transmission Competence 传播力研究(2):235.
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| − | [5] Zhang Li 张丽, Wu Linan 吴丽楠. (2021) 中原传统文化负载词日语翻译策略研究[Strategies of translating traditional culture-loaded words of Central Plains into Japanese]. Journal of Henan Polytechnic University ( Social Sciences) 河南理工大学学报(社会科学版)(06):43.
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| − | [6] Zhang Hongyan 张红艳. (2000) 试评《红楼梦》中文化负载词的翻译[On the translation of culture-loaded words in A Dream of Red Mansions]. Journal of Anhui University (Philosophy and Sciences) 安徽大学学报(哲学社会科学版)(04):60-63.
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| − | [7]新村出(編).広辞苑(第6版) [Z].東京:岩波書店,2008.
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| − | [8] Zuo Na 左娜. (2011) “汉服”的形制特征与审美意蕴研究[The Feature and Aesthetic Meaning of Chinese Hancosfame]. Shandong: Shandong University 山东大学.
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| − | [9] Sun Lingling 孙玲玲. (2018) 汉民族传统服装之“右衽”[J].学苑教育(8):81.
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| − | [10]Pu Wenqi 濮文起. (2021) 中国人地狱观的演变进路[J].世界宗教文化(2):12.
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| − | <nowiki>--~~~~Insert non-formatted text here</nowiki>
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| − | =10 丁旋 从纽马克翻译理论看林语堂版《扬州瘦马》中文化负载词的翻译 Translation of Culture-Loaded Words in ''The Concubine Market of Yangchow '' ofLin Yutang's version from the perspective of Newmark’s translation theory =
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| | [[Cult_Load_Words_EN_10]] | | [[Cult_Load_Words_EN_10]] |
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| − | ===Abstract===
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| − | The theme of this paper is to analyze culture-loaded words in ''The Concubine Market of Yangchow'' based on Newmark’s translation theory. Surrounding this theme, much background information was discussed, such as the introduction of Zhang Dai and ''The Concubine Market of Yangchow'', the definition and categories of culture-loaded words according to Nida and Newmark’s translation theories and so on. Lin Yutang’s English version to ''The Concubine Market of Yangchow''-- an essay written in Ming dynasty, contributes a lot to disseminating Chinese traditional culture all over the world. The question--how to translate culture-loaded words for better transmission of Chinese culture has been probed in this paper.
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| − | ===Key words===
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| − | Newmark’s Translation Theory; Culture-Loaded Words; ''The Concubine Market of Yangchow''; Lin Yutang
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| − | ===Introduction===
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| − | ''The Concubine Market of Yangchow'', a masterpiece of Zhang Dai, vividly describes the industry of bringing up and selling girls in Yangchow of Ming dynasty. This phenomenon was rare and immoral in Chinese history, which is worthwhile to be probed and discussed. This essay is written in Ming dynasty and we all know that Chinese culture is broad and profound especially in ancient Chinese culture. Therefore, there must be some culture-loaded words in it. When Lin Yutang translated it into English version, how could him deal with these culture-loaded words? We may want to know that what translation theories and methods he used for translating culture-loaded words. This paper combined Lin Yutang’s translation with Newmark’s theory and used Newmark’s theory to deconstruct the methods used by Lin Yutang to translate culture-loaded words. This paper is divided into four chapters which are logically connected and clearly displayed, which helps all readers of ''The Concubine Market of Yangchow'' to better understand this work.
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| − | ===1. Introduction of Zhang Dai and ''The Concubine Market of Yangchow''===
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| − | ====1.1 Introducation of Zhang Dai ====
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| − | Zhang Dai (1597-1684), ci poet and historian of the late Ming dynasty and early Qing dynasty, born in Shaoxing city, Zhejiang province. He came from a scholarly family for three generations of successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations in his family. In the first half of his life, he indulged in entertainments, living in an extravagant life and doing himself proud for his well-to-do family. He described himself as “I was a dude in early times and I liked prosperity, delicate houses, beautiful maids, clever children, new clothes and delicious food, fine horses, colorful lanterns, fireworks...... (卜正民, 2005:43)”. When Zhang Dai was 48 years old, Ming dynasty fell and his hometown destructed. He lost everything, went to a mountain temple and lived in a poor life. Because of this huge contrast, he wrote a lot of classical works such as Pottery Recall by Buddhist Nunnery Dreams and Seeking Dreams in West Lake. Besides, he also went to a lot of brothels and Chinese theatrical places in Jiangnan region. However, he acted as a spectator in these places, observing the scene and situation carefully. Especially T''he Concubine Market of Yangchow'' discussed here, he accompanied his friends to select and buy “lean horse” many times so that he could write a passage about it, which won universal praise. (Zhang Zetong, 2021:19).
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| − | ====1.2 Introduction of ''The Concubine Market of Yangchow''====
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| − | “Concubine market” refers to some people bought beautiful girls from poor family, taught them skills of women and courtesy, cultivated them how to be good wives and sold them to the rich as concubine. “Lean horse” refers to these girls. In the dialect of Yangzhou, “marry a horse” means “marry a wife”, which is the origin of the call of “breed lean horse” (Wang Yuanhua, 1994:80). “Horse” is a humiliating word to women and “lean” manifests the low status of women in ancient time.
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| − | Ancient Yangchow, a crucial harbor for canal transportation of salt, is a prosperous city which attracts a large number of scholars and businessmen to come. As a city of Jiangnan region, the weather here is suitable and scenery is beautiful. The green willows, warm breeze, bright moon, delicate buildings and colorful lighting were very attractive with songs and music throughout the night. The laughter and sound of wine glasses spread over the city and lasted all night. The wandering scholars often indulged in this prosperity and went to the entertaining places such as brothels, however, the rich businessmen despised these places. But they also had the requirement of beauties so that the “lean horse” industry began to operate to satisfy this need. This is the origin and history of “concubine market”.
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| − | ''The Concubine Market of Yangchow'' is written by Zhang Dai after observing the transaction of “lean horse” many times. So he wrote this transaction in detail which is regarded as a classical work in later time.
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| − | ===2. Introduction of Culture-Loaded Words ===
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| − | ====2.1 Definition of Culture-Loaded Words====
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| − | In Linguistics, Spair-Whorf Hypothesis puts forward that the relationship between language and culture. Language molds our thinking patterns and expresses the unique ways of understanding the world. It is divided into two versions: strong version and weak version. Strong version refers to that language determines our thinking patterns but weak version thinks that the similarities of language are relative. The greater the structural differentiation is, the more divers the conceptualization of the world will be. Therefore, culture is encoded and transmitted by the language which influences the way of thinking and viewing of the world and embodies cultural realities. On the contrary, language is the product of culture which influences language and makes language change to fit the development of culture. Language loads a large amount of culture such as political system, living condition, religion belief and social custom and so on. Culture-loaded words are some terms, idioms and collocations full of national culture. Many masters put forward the definition of culture-loaded words. It was initially put forward in ''Culturally Loaded Words and English Language Teaching'' by Xu Guozhang in 1980. There are some other statements: “Culture-loaded words are words within a specific cultural range, and are a direct and indirect reflection of national culture in language vocabulary (Hu Wenzhong, 1999:64)”; “Culture-loaded words refer to words, phrases, and idioms that mark a particular cultural thing. These words reflect the unique activities of a particular nation that are gradually accumulated in the long historical process and are different from other nations (Liao Qiyi, 2000:232)”. We can see that culture-loaded words as a language carrier are the specific words of one nation, which loads rich national information of culture.
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| − | ====2.2 Categorization of Culture-Loaded Words====
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| − | Nida E.A. mentioned five cultural categories of translation in his famous book—''Language, Cultural and Translation'' (Nida, 1993:91). They are ecological culture, material culture, social culture, religious culture and linguistic culture. There five culture categories can be used into the concept of culture-loaded words so that the classification of culture-loaded words came out. Further, Newmark P. put forward five kinds of culture words: ecological culture, material culture, social culture, custom and religion and gesture and habit in ''A Text of Translation'' (Newmark, 2001:94). They have many similarities in culture or culture words categories. This paper mainly focuses on Nida’s theory of classification of culture-loaded words.
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| − | ====2.2.1 Ecological Culture-Loaded Words====
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| − | Ecological culture-loaded words are related with natural geographical environment, weather change, animals and plants in a certain community. For instance, in the perspective of geographical position, China is a land country but England is a water country. If we describe someone spends money without restrictions, Chinese is “挥金如土”but English is “spend money like water”. We use “土”to describe the degree of money but in English, they use “water” to express this image. In addition, “羊肠小径”can be translated into “a small twisting path”(Mei Yanhong, 2016:137). In Chinese, the conception of “羊肠”can be collocated with “小径”. However, in English, “羊肠”cannot be collocated with “小径”so that the literal meaning of “羊肠”cannot be translated directly but translated to “small twisting” to collocated “path”. The other example is “走水”. This word is loaded with Chinese culture, which means fire rather than water. So we translate it as “fire” in English rather than water.
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| − | ====2.2.2 Material Culture-Loaded Words====
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| − | Material culture-loaded words refer to the special material objects in different cultures (Chen Linlin, 2011:144). These words include food, clothes, buildings, vehicles and so on. For example, some Chinese food like “饺子”、“馄饨”、“包子”, some Chinese clothes like “旗袍”、“中山装” , some Chinese buildings like “长城”“故宫” and some Chinese vehicles like “黄包车”“轿子”. These objects only exist in China and other countries do not have such objects. So such words as material objects loaded with national culture are called Material culture-loaded words.
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| − | ====2.2.3 Social Culture-Loaded Words====
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| − | Social culture is inclusive of tradition, custom, social rules, moral principles, history backgrounds and ideology and so on (Chen Linlin, 2011:144). Besides, some words connected with social decorum, social status and some entertaining activities are also regarded as social culture-loaded words. In a word, if some words engage in society and load the special culture of one certain country, they are social culture-loaded words. For example, from the perspective of Chinese culture, “三跪九叩”—this kind of social decorum in ancient China. Some Chinese traditional festivals like “七夕节”“端午节”and so on (Mei Yanhong, 2016:137). Some ancient Chinese political status like “状元”“举人”“榜眼”“探花”and so on .
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| − | ====2.2.4 Religious Culture-Loaded Words====
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| − | Religious culture-loaded words refer to some words loaded with some ideas, beliefs and ceremony related to religions. As to religion, oriental countries have much difference with western countries. Even in western countries, they also have different religious beliefs. For example, from the perspective of Chinese religion, we have the special culture religion called “八字”“算命先生”“看风水”(Mei Yanhong, 2016:137). These things do not exist in western countries. Some “八字先生” can forecast one’s life fortune with the birth date, which is critical miraculous. So we call “八字先生” fortune-teller. Other instances are “观音菩萨”“如来佛祖”“法师”and so on.
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| − | ====2.2.5 Linguistic Culture-Loaded Words====
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| − | Linguistic culture-loaded words refer to that different spoken manner and habits in different ethnics, which are manifested in phonological, lexical and syntax levels ((Mei Yanhong, 2016:137). The examples are naming and the use of idioms. Linguistic culture-loaded words treat words from the perspective of language characteristics. For example, Chinese and English have much difference in perspective of the two languages. Chinese is made up of many short sentences and lack of structure but English are long sentences made up of a lot of clauses and have strict structures. Chinese uses many verbs while there are many stative words like nouns, prepositions and adjectives in English. In a word, there are so many linguistic differences in Chinese and English. For example, the translation of“二月二,龙抬头,大仓满,小仓流”is “When dragon raises its head, abundant harvests of crops are promised ahead”.
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| − | ===3. The Translation Theory of Mewmark===
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| − | ====3.1 Semantic Translation====
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| − | Semantic translation, similar to foreignization, struggles to keep the linguistic characteristics and original expressive manner of original works and transmit the thought process of the author. It should be initially faithful to the author and transmit the correct meaning of the original work with the permission of words and phrases structures (Zhang Jianhui, 2008:143). The focus of semantic translation is the original work and author, which tries to achieve the original text’s effect. In other words, on the basis of not undermining the meaning of original text, translators should keep the original text’s grammatical rules, semantical and syntactic structures as much as possible. Semantic translation preserves the cultural characteristics of the original works to achieve the transmission of social culture.
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| − | The art value generated by translation is as eternal as original work. For example, when Wen Xianliang translated Li Bai’s ''The Trader’s Wife''—“Lang rides a bamboo horse and makes green plums around the bed” (郎骑竹马来,绕床弄青梅), he translated “青梅”into “green plums”, which uses semantic translation to preserve the unique expression of the original text (Zhang Jianhui, 2008: 143). The other example is put forward by Feng Jiajia-- Lu Xun’s novel.
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| − | ''The True Story of Ah Q'': “所以不敢僭称,便从不入三教九流的小说家所谓“闲话休提言归正传”这一句套话里,取出“正传”两个字来,作为名目”。
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| − | I will take as my title the last two words of stock phrase of the novelist, who are not reckoned among the Three Cults and Nine Schools. ——Yang Xianyi and Dai Naidie tranlasted.
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| − | From that we can see, they translated “三教九流”into “Three Cults and Nine Schools”, which uses the method of semantic translation. “三教九流”is an saying in Chinese, foreigners cannot understand its true meaning, but Yang Xianyi also uses an annotation to interpret it. It is one method to make expression more clear when using semantic translation (Feng Jiajia, 2010:109).
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| − | ====3.2 Communicative Translation====
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| − | Communicative translation, similar to domestication, focuses on the target readers rather than the original author. The translator moves closer to the target language by adjusting syntactic structures and logical relationship without destroying the original text. As to the national culture, the translator should fully understand the culture of target language so that the target readers can understand the work better. It focuses on the meaning and content rather than the text form itself any more, which transmits the information for reader to think, feel and act (Zhang Jianhui, 2008: 143). It is used in the non-literary text, technical text and textbooks and so on.
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| − | There is an advertisement example of alcohol put forward by Zhang Jianhui for us to understand what communicative translation is——
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| − | "爽口顺喉,和醇耐味,名贵高尚"——Sensuously Smooth; Mysteriously Mellow; Gloriously Golden.
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| − | The consonant “s” imitates a lot of oohs and aahs after drinking, the consonant “M” symbolizes the expression of wine-tasting and the explosive “G” manifests the deep exaltation from wine-tasters. This advertisement uses the method of communicative translation to transmit a kind of elegance.
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| − | ====4. Analysis of the Translation of Culture-Loaded Words in ''The Concubine Market of Yangchow'' ====
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| − | ====4.1 Semantic Translation Theory in ''The Concubine Market of Yangchow'' ====
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| − | ''The Concubine Market of Yangchow'' is an essay in classical writing style belonging to the category of literature. In Newmark’s opinion, literary works should use the method of semantic translation to show the exotic custom and flavor to readers. The original linguistic characteristics and custom should be preserved. In order to disseminate Chinese culture around the world, a lot of culture-loaded words in semantic translation can be discovered in Lin Yutang’s translation version.
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| − | (1) 扬州人日饮食于瘦马之身者数十百人。(Line 1)
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| − | At Yangchow, there were hundreds of people making a living from activities connected with the “lean horses”. (Line 1)
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| − | In classical style of writing, “饮食”cannot be translated into “eating and drinking” in modern Chinese. Here, “饮食”means “make a living” in classical style of writing and Lin Yutang translated it properly. “瘦马”in this passage does not refer to the lean horse in literal meaning but the thin girls brought up to be the nobles and the rich’s concubines. But Lin Yutang translated “瘦马”according its literal meaning rather than “concubines”, which reflects the ancient Chinese cultural characteristic. Readers may be confused when reading this word but they can understand its meaning after looking through the whole passage or the content below.
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| − | (2)牙婆驵侩,咸集其门,如蝇附膻,撩扑不去。(Line 2)
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| − | The professional agents and go-betweens, both men and women, would swarm about his house or hotel like flies, and there was no way of keeping them off. (Line 4)
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| − | Here, “如蝇附膻”is translated semantically. Lin uses a metaphor to compare professional agents and go-betweens with flies crazy about the flavor of mutton, reflecting their snobbishness and worship of money. The interpretation of “如蝇附膻”in deep meaning is to describe that people serve the time and seek fame and fortune. But Lin does not translate the connotative meaning but the denotative meaning because the image of “flies” is the same in all culture and foreigners can understand in that context. This measure keeps the original feature and makes read understand easily.
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| − | (3) 牙婆扶瘦马出,曰:“姑娘拜客。”下拜。曰:“姑娘往上走。”走。(Line 4)
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| − | At once the woman agent would come out with a girl and announce, “Kuniang (mademoiselle), curtsy!” The girl curtsied. Next was said, “Kuniang, walk forward!” She walked forward. (Line 11)
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| − | Here, “姑娘”is translated into “Kuniang” in transliteration rather than “girl”, but Lin adds an annotation in the follow for interpretation. So transliteration with an annotation is one resort to semantic translation. In Chinese, we often use Kuniang to refer to a girl, which is our tradition since the ancient China and loads a long historical culture. Actually, the meaning of“上”in “姑娘往上走”is not walking upward but forward because “上”in ancient Chinses means “forward” in modern Chinese. I think Lin uses the semantic translation here to preserve Chinese culture.
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| − | (4) 高系其裙,人未出者而趾先出者,必小。(Line 9)
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| − | But if she wears her skirts relatively high and reveals her feet as she takes a step forward, you already know that she has a pair of small feet that she is proud of. (Line23)
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| − | In Chinese historical and cultural tradition, from ancient times to 1911, women should bind their feet because men regarded three- inch “golden lotuses (woman’s bound feet in feudal age) was beautiful. It was Sun Yat-sen who overthrew this system in his revolution and women were free from their feet. So in The Concubine of Market in which the story happened in Ming dynasty, women were still need to bind their feet. Lin translates “必小”into “a pair of small feet” with an annotation “she is proud of”, which helps foreigners to better understand the tradition of small feet of women in ancient China.
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| − | (5)看中者,用金簪或钗一股插其鬓,曰“插带”。(Line 12)
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| − | If the gentleman decided he would take a certain girl, he would put a gold hairpin or ornament on her hair, this was called tsatai. (Line 18)
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| − | As for the translation of “插带”, Lin translated it into “tsatai”by means of transliteration. This a special call used by people of Ming dynasty. “带”refers to a gold hairpin or ornament. The action of “插带”refers to put a gold hairpin or ornament on one girl’s hair. Lin preserves the pinyin of “插带”because he has interpreted this before. From that, readers can know more about ancient Chinese culture.
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| − | (6)用笔蘸墨,送客点阅。(Line 18)
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| − | The owner would dip the brush in ink and hold it ready for the customer to check and make any amendments he might wish.(Line 48)
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| − | “笔”here refers to “毛笔”which is used by Chinese and there is no “毛笔”in western countries. So Lin translated it according to our own object rather than finding some similar object to equalize it.
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| − | (7)礼币糕果俱齐。(Line 21)
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| − | Ceremonial papers, fruit and pastry also arrived.(Line 52)
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| − | “礼币”of the wedding in foreign countries means the gifts or money offered by guests or relatives. In China, it also has this meaning but there is a special action in ancient China or even today that hosts will record the name of gifts and givers on the papers. So Lin translated “礼币” into “ceremonial papers”, which preserves the unique Chinese wedding characteristic.
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| − | (8)而花轿花灯、擎燎火把、山人傧相、纸烛供果牲醴之属,门前环视。(Line 21)
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| − | There came back with the band, floral sedan chair, floral lanterns, torches, handled torches, sedan chair carriers, bridesmaids, candles, more fruit and roasts. (Line 54)
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| − | “花轿”is a special sedan chair used to carry the bride in Chinese traditional wedding. It is always decorated gorgeously and made in red to symbolize the celebration and auspiciousness. “花灯”, a traditional folk art, is made up by paper outside, candles inside and bamboos as the lantern bone. When at wedding, it is usually in red because red is the symbol of Chinese wedding. Lin translated the two words according to each Chinese words like “花”and “轿”, “花”and “灯”.
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| − | ====4.2 Communicative Translation Theory in ''The Concubine Market of Yangchow'' ====
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| − | If the translator uses communicative translation, he must stands on the side of readers for the purpose that readers can better understand the text. The translator must think deeply and try to find some equivalent words in other cultures. Then he uses these equivalent words which could be understood by readers to replace the original words. In Lin Yutang’s translation version of The Concubine Market of Yangchow, he used communicative translation many times.
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| − | (1) 牙婆驵侩,咸集其门,如蝇附膻,撩扑不去。(Line 2)
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| − | The professional agents and go-betweens, both men and women, would swarm about his house or hotel like flies, and there was no way of keeping them off. (Line 4)
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| − | “牙婆”refers to the women making profits from selling young girls. The original meaning of “驵侩”is go-betweens in horse sales and it refers to the between businessmen introducing the deals later. So Lin translated these in “the professional agents and go-betweens” so that English readers can understand Chinese special appellations in their thinking patterns.
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| − | (2) 牙婆扶瘦马出,曰:“姑娘拜客。”(Line4)
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| − | At once the woman agent would come out with a girl and announce, “Kuniang (mademoiselle), curtsy!”(Line11)
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| − | “拜客”, one kind of Chinese etiquette, refers to kneel on the ground and kowtow. It is not the meaning in western countries of visiting guests. So Lin translated it into “curtsy” accurate to its original meaning.
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| − | (3) 用金簪或钗一股插其鬓。(Line 12)
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| − | He would put a gold hairpin or ornament on her hair. (Line 18)
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| − | Lin used semantic translation to interpret“金簪”into “gold hairpin”. But as for “钗”, he did not find the equivalent in western culture but used “ornament” to replace it. “钗”is indeed an hair ornament used by ancient women to make their hair beautiful.
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| − | (4) 出钱数百文,赏牙婆或赏其家侍俾。(Line12)
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| − | A tip of several hundred cash was given the woman agent or the maids of the house.(Line 31)
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| − | “文”is the unit of money in Ming dynasty. But Lin translated “文”into cash, which uses the communicative translation so that readers can understand the meaning of “文钱”(Zhao Huihui, 2019:37).
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| − | (5) 心与目谋,毫无把柄,不得不聊且迁就,定其一人。(Line 16)
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| − | One does not know what to decide or which to take, and eventually makes his choice on one of them. (Line 40)
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| − | “心与目谋” means the customer is tired of watching and selecting the girls and“毫无把柄” means the customer has no thought and cannot make the decision. Lin translated these difficult phrases in their connotative meaning which can be easily understood by readers.
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| − | (6) 归未抵寓,而鼓乐盘担,红绿羊酒在其门久矣。(Line 20)
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| − | Before he arrived at his own place, drummers and musicians and carrier-loads of lamb and all kinds of wines were already here. (Line 50)
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| − | “鼓乐” means drum and song sound. “盘担” refers to huge boxes loading the precious food. “红绿”is not to replace the color of red and green but to describe the color of food especially wine are various rather than only red and green. So Lin use “盘担”to describe “羊”and “红绿”to describe wine. Besides, metonymy is used by translating“鼓乐”into “drummers and musicians”. Such adjustment and change can make the original sentence clearer.
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| − | (7)而花轿花灯、擎燎火把、山人傧相、纸烛供果牲醴之属,门前环视。(Line 21)
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| − | There came back with the band, floral sedan chair, floral lanterns, torches, handled torches, sedan chair carriers, bridesmaids, candles, more fruit and roasts. (Line 54)
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| − | “擎燎” means holding the torch in hand. “傧相”means bridesmaids in modern Chinese and Lin also translated in its modern meaning so that readers can better understand. The wedding supplies of “纸烛供果牲醴”, which are special in Chinese traditional wedding because there are some unique wedding ceremonies in ancient China such as “bowing to the groom and guests” and “entering the bridal chamber” and so on. Though Lin cannot translate its full meaning, he also find some equivalent words in English.
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| − | (8)未去半里(Line 21)
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| − | Before they had gone a quarter mile.(Line 54)
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| − | “半里”, one method of calculating distance, refers to 250 meters. Lin used “mile” , this call often used by English people, to refer to “半里”(Zhao Huihui, 2019:37).
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| − | (9)则蔬果、肴馔汤点、花棚糖饼、酒壶杯箸、龙虎寿星。(Line 23)
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| − | Vegetables, meats and sweets, followed by awnings, table service, longevity stars. (Line 58)
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| − | Though “肴馔”“糖饼”does not manifest their full meaning by “meats and sweets, westerns countries can understand this appellation. The original meaning of“酒壶杯箸”is that wine pots, cups and chopsticks. But Lin translated it into table service because these are tools for eating and drinking. “龙虎”in Chinese means longevity but in western culture, they are bad things and have inauspicious meaning so that Lin just translated them in “longevity star” (Zhao Huihui, 2019:37)
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| − | (10)新人拜堂。(Line 26)
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| − | The bride came up and performed the wedding ceremony (by bowing to the groom and guests). (Line 64)
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| − | “新人”cannot be translated into “new men” because “新人”means “bride” here. “拜堂” is a Chinese traditional wedding ceremony rather than visiting a house(Zhao Huihui,2019:38). Lin interpreted these words with new words rather than translating their meaning word by word.
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| − | ===Conclusion===
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| − | ''The Concubine Market of Yangchow'', an essay written by Zhang Dai, helps Chinese know more details about “lean horse” industry in Ming dynasty and Lin Yutang’s translation version helps western people know more about Chinese traditional culture. As for the question, how Lin Yutang translated such passage full of Chinese culture for English readers and achieved the successful cross-culture communication is probed in this paper. I used Newmark’s translation theory inclusive of semantic translation and communicative translation to analyze Lin Yutang’s translation for culture-loaded words. This paper made some contributions to analysis of culture-loaded words and enriched the realm of culture-words research.
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| − | ===References===
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| − | [1] Nida, E. ''Language, Cultural and Translation''[M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 1993: 91.
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| − | [2] Newmark, P. ''A Textbook of Translation''[M]. New York:Prentice Hall, 1988: 94.
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| − | [3] 卜正民. 《为权力祈祷:佛教与晚明中国士绅社会的形成》[M]. 南京:江苏人民出版社, 2005: 43.
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| | =11 高蜜On the Translation of Culture-loaded Words in ''Lao Can You Ji'' from the Perspective of Cultural Schema Theory 从文化图式理论看《老残游记》中文化负载词的英译= | | =11 高蜜On the Translation of Culture-loaded Words in ''Lao Can You Ji'' from the Perspective of Cultural Schema Theory 从文化图式理论看《老残游记》中文化负载词的英译= |
| | [[Cult_Load_Words_EN_11]] | | [[Cult_Load_Words_EN_11]] |
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| − | ===摘要=== | + | =12 殷慧珍 A study on the English Translation of Culture-loaded Words in ''The Spring Festival'' written by Fang Huawen Based on Domestication and Foreignization Strategies = |
| − | 在中华文化“走出去”的战略背景下,传播好优秀的中国传统文学作品是当今译者面临的重要任务。我国文学作品富含诸多文化负载词,反映我国社会的精神面貌,独具中国意味。如何把汉语文化负载词巧妙地传递到译文中去,是文学作品外译必须关注的问题。
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| − | 《老残游记》是清末晚期四大谴责小说之一,以老残的视角揭露了清末中社会中种种黑暗现实,其中蕴含着各类文化负载词。《老残游记》有多个英译本,其中哈罗德的译本最受欢迎。哈罗德译序中提到希望传播中国文化,他在翻译时直译为主,大量加注,方便译文读者了解中国文化,有利于中华文化的传播。本文将以哈罗德的译本为研究对象,根据图式理论探究哈罗德在三种图式情况下,即图式契合、图式相异和图式空缺的情况下,翻译各类文化负载词是所采取的的翻译策略。这些翻译方法,或是激活了他们在本文化中已习得的文化图式,或是对原有文化图式进行了一定程度的调整,或是以新建图式的方式来使译入语读者更好地理解译文,指的注意的是,这些新图式的创建中所提供的文化信息总是能激活译文读者的某些文化图式信息,使得新创建的文化图式发挥作用。
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| − | ===关键词:《老残游记》;文化图式理论;文化负载词===
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| − | ===Abstract===
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| − | In the context of the strategy of "going global" for Chinese culture, the dissemination of fine traditional Chinese literature is an important task for translators today. Chinese literary works are rich in culture-loaded words, reflecting the spiritual outlook of our society and having a unique Chinese meaning. How to subtly convey the Chinese cultural load words into the translation is an issue that must be paid attention to in the translation of literary works.
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| − | ''Lao Can You Ji'' is one of the four major satire novels of the late Qing Dynasty. It exposes the dark reality of society in the late Qing Dynasty from the perspective of Lao Can and contains various culture-loaded words. Of several translation versions, The Travels of Lao Ts’an translated by Harold stands out as the most popular one in English-speaking countries. The preface to Harold's translation mentions his intention to spread Chinese culture, and his translation is a predominantly literal translation with extensive notes to facilitate the understanding of Chinese culture by target readers, which is conducive to the spread of Chinese culture. This paper will take Harold's translation as the object of study and explore the translation strategies adopted by him in translating various types of culture-loaded words from cultural schema theory, namely, words with corresponding cultural schema, divergent cultural schema, and vacant cultural schema. These translations either activate the cultural schemas they have acquired in their own culture, or adapt the original cultural schemas to some extent, or create new schemas in order to make the translation better understood by the readers of the source language. It’s worth noting that the cultural information provided in these newly created schemas always activates some cultural schema information in the target readers so that they could successfully come into play.
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| − | ===Key words===
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| − | ''Lao Can You Ji''; Cultural Schema Theory; Culture-loaded Words;
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| − | ===1 Introduction===
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| − | ====1.1 Introduction to ''Lao Can You Ji'' and its Translated Versions====
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| − | Lao Can You Ji is one of the masterpieces of fiction produced at the turn of the 20th century, during the closing years of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), the last imperial period in Chinese history. Like other important novels written in that era of national crisis and cataclysmic transition from the old empire to the new republic, Lao Can You Ji is characterized by a grave concern with the perilous condition of the China of that day and its future fate and captures
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| − | “the emerging modern society of China in all its complexity, diversity and uncertainty.”
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| − | As one of the masterpieces in Chinese classics, Lao Can You Ji enjoys a high position in the domestic and overseas academic circle. It was introduced to western readers as early as 1929 when the famous sinologist Arthur Waley first translated two of this novel into English and gave the title The Singing Girl. In 1936, Lin Yutang translated the sixth chapter of the novel into English with the title A Nun of Taishan and it was published by Commercial Printing Press. In 1947, the Yangs translated it into English with the initial tile Mr. Derelict first published at home and soon published in London in 1948. Later this title was changed into The Travels of Lao Can that was chosen as one of Panda Books aiming to introduce Chinese culture to the western world in the1980s. in 1939, Harold Shadick finished the translation of Lao Can You Ji, and his version is entitled ''The Travels of Lao Ts’an''. In 1952, this version was published in New York and was the most integrated version.
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| − | ====1.2 Research Significance and Objectives====
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| − | Lao Can You Ji is abundant with culture-loaded words, reflecting the quintessence of Chinese culture that should be introduced and disseminated abroad. Cultural schema theory, as a new theory deriving from schema theory, centers on culture and provides new insights into the studies of translating culture-loaded words. in this thesis, the author attempts to analyze the translation of culture-loaded words in ''The Travels of Lao Ts’an'' by Harold Shadick from the perspective of cultural schema theory. Through a detailed case study, the author tries to verify the explanatory power and feasibility of cultural schema theory in the translation of culture-loaded words. Besides, this paper points out that translators should be keenly aware of vultures, continuously enrich their schema knowledge of cultures in order to further Chinese culture transmission and make more excellent Chinese literary works known in the world.
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| − | ===2 Literature Review===
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| − | In this chapter, an overview is to be given to previous studies on cultural schema theory and on culture-loaded words respectively.
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| − | ====2.1 Previous Studies on the Translation of Cultural-loaded words ====
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| − | Cultural schema theory is the knowledge structure about culture existing in people’s minds. Throughout the researches on cultural schema theory, it has found application in a number of fields including philosophy, cognitive psychology, intercultural communication and reading comprehension, etc.
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| − | First of all, a large number of studies on the topic of cultural schema and teaching have been conducted. Rice (1980) explores the function of cultural schema in the process of stories comprehension. Yang Yang (2008) holds that “cultural schema affects students’ usage of reader-based processing and text-based processing in reading”. Xiang Qin (2017) discusses the application of cultural schema theory in listening teaching and reveals that the activation of students’ cultural schema can improve their listening comprehension.
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| − | Besides, cultural schema theory is also applied to the field of intercultural communication. Ningbo and Tang Degen (2008) reveals that related cultural schemata can be created. Meanwhile, host and guest cultural schemata can be organically integrated during intercultural communication. Peng yunpeng (2011) elaborates the relationship between cultural schemata and intercultural communication and states that the adjustment and creation of cultural schema are conducive to intercultural communication. Nishida (2014) explicates the function of cultural schema. At the same time, nine crucial axioms are generated when cultural schema theory is applied to cross-cultural adaption.
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| − | As far as translation is concerned, both foreign and domestic researchers have proposed their opinions. In his Translation and Translating: Theory and Practice, Bell (1991) highlights the role played by the schema in cognition and introduces schema into translation studies. Researchers in China share a common belief that the focus of studies in the cultural schema is analyzing the comprehension process of language learners, especially in receptive language skills. In recent years, there have been frequent attempts to explore cultural schema theory from the perspective of translation studies. Peng Jianwu (2000) first touched upon the issue of schema theory in translation, with translation comprehension as the main focus of his research. He also noted the phenomenon of culture-related concepts and their impact on translation, which inspires more discussion about the inner working mechanism of the human mind during translation and reading comprehension. Liu Mingdong (2002) linked the two by examining schema theory in text comprehension and proposed strategies to cope with problems caused by the lack of cultural background knowledge. Later in his research, the concept of cultural schema was presented with a thorough discussion of its translatability. His three models of translating cultural schema including A-A, A-B, and A-Zero (刘明东, 2003), namely cultural schema correspondence, cultural schema conflict, and cultural schema default, serve as a guidance for culture-specific translation. he also concluded that in translation, one has to translate schema by decoding the ST schema and encoding the TT schema. He went a step further with Liang Wei by illustrating the strategies in both English and Chinese translation of cultural schema conflict through comparing cultural schema in the two languages. What’s more, he worked with Chen Xibei (2008) and gave a detailed analysis of the domestication and foreignization approach to the translation of cultural schema and brought the discussion of translation strategy up to the level of culture, poetry, and politics. They continued to give a summarized account of cultural schema theory and the research that had been done before, which greatly contributed to the full understanding of the theory.
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| − | ====2.2 Previous Studies on Cultural Schema Theory====
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| − | With the aim of promoting cross-culture communication, much attention has been paid to the task of interpreting culture-loaded words since the cultural turn in translation studies. Throughout previous studies, quite a number of scholars mainly concentrate on the translation principles and approaches of translating culture-loaded terms. Besides, applying various translation theories into the translation of culture-loaded words in different sorts of text is also highlighted.
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| − | Most scholars proposed translation methods or strategies for handling translation problems on the basis of their own translation practice. For example, in Mona Baker’s In Other Words: A Coursebook on Translation, culture-specific concepts are defined and eight methods by professional translators are proposed. Those eight methods include “(1) translation by a more general word (superordinate); (2) translation by a more neutral/less expressive word, (3) translation by cultural substitution; (4) translation using a loan word or loan word plus explanation; (5) translation by paraphrase using a related word; (6) translation by paraphrase using unrelated words; (7) translation by omission; (8) translation by illustration” (Mona, 2000:26-42).
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| − | Chinese scholars also did a lot to explore appropriate support for the translation of culture-loaded words. On the one hand, some scholars concluded translation methods to solve specific problems or express their tendency to some translation strategies in translation practice. Wang Dongfeng summarized five methods to deal with the cultural default in the translation of culture-loaded words and expressions: “(1) annotation outside text; (2) contextual amplification; (3) adaptation; (4) omission; (5) literal translation without annotation” (Wang Dongfeng, 1997:58-59). While Xu Jun (2001) believed that transliteration, literal translation, and literal translation plus denotation should be employed in the translation of culture-loaded terms.
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| − | In recent years, in response to the national strategy of “going out”, some scholars take the introduction of Chinese culture as the first priority, especially in translating culture-loaded words in literary works. Wu Wenyan summarized the translation principles of culture-loaded words in her paper, which are retaining the cultural information of the original text, making the expressive pattern of translated text conform to the target language, and ensuring the targeted text closing to the readers’ thinking mode (Wu Wenyan, 2014:166).In order to promote Chinese culture to the world, Zheng Dehu argued that “translators should try to adopt a method based on alienation when translating Chinese culture-loaded words. in his opinion, the diversification of translations may hinder the spread of Chinese culture and weaken the international influence of Chinese culture” (Zheng Dehu, 2016: 55).
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| − | Moreover, some different theories are applied to analyze the translation of culture-loaded terms, including eco-translatology theory, skopos theory, register theory, and so on. Still, much room has been left to the study of the translation of culture-loaded words based on culture schema theory. Therefore, in this thesis, the translation of culture-loaded terms will be expounded from the perspective of cultural schema theory.
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| − | ===3 Theoretical Framework===
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| − | In this chapter, the author is to give a brief introduction to cultural schema theory, including its 、 definition, main features, and classification.
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| − | ====3.1 The Definition of Cultural Schema====
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| − | To get a whole understanding of cultural schema theory, it’s necessary to know what the cultural schema is and its main features. Different scholars gave their own explanations of the cultural schema in their studies. Anderson (1978) thought that culture schema is a conceptual approach to describe one’s stored cultural knowledge. It determines the way how he or she explains cultural expressions and experiences. This cultural conceptual framework is stored in people’s minds as a series of abstract cognitive structures or schemata that consist of objects or events. Bedir thought that cultural schema is the background knowledge related to the cultural part of a learned language (1992: 8). George Yule saw it as “pre-existing knowledge structures based on experience in a particular culture” (2000: 87). According to Malcolm and Sharifian (2002), cultural schema refers to some conceptual structures where expressions and experiences relating to culture are stored.
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| − | Taking the definitions given by western scholars as references, Liu Mingdong and Chen Xibei gave their own understanding of cultural schema. In their opinion, the cultural schema is the already existing knowledge connected with the customs, traditions, and habits of a certain culture, which can be obtained from people’s past experience and stored in their minds (2011: 25-130). All the background knowledge could be concluded in culture schema, such as region, geography, custom, and so on. That is to say, people in different cultures or different districts may have a different cultural schema.
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| − | ====3.2 Main Features of Cultural Schema====
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| − | According to Zhou Wenwei and Liu Mingdong’s researches, cultural schemata entail various characteristics. The first one is the feature of similarity. People possess identical recognition towards the same things, although they live in divergent geographical environments. It is notable that “our cultural environment provides ubiquitous experiences and cultural schemata are built up through many encounters with similar events or information in one’s own culture” (Nishida,410). Endowed with the characteristics of similarity, cultural schemata are shared by people in different nations.
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| − | Uniqueness, in the second place, acts as another apparent characteristic of cultural schemata. Cultural schemata in different nations differ from one another, due to the fact that people’s recognition in different nations is affected by distinctive cultures and civilizations. For instance, the uniqueness of ancient Chinese culture. Egyptian culture as well as Greek and Roman cultures lead to people’s different perceptions of the world. “Some experiences are established on the basis of people’s past experiences. (Nishida,403)”. In view of these experiences’ idiosyncrasy, cultural schemata are evidently unique in different nations.
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| − | Inclusiveness, reveals still another feature of cultural schemata. In this sense, “cultural schemata are not immutable and frozen” (Chen and Liu, 127), instead they are plastic and can be expanded. For example, cultural schemata of Christmas Day and Thanksgiving Day in Western countries are undoubtedly embraced by Chinese people with the passage of time. Chinese people gain a good mastering of these foreign cultures, which are taken in their original cultural schemata. By the same token, Chinese Kong Fu, being alien to western people, has been widely known to them nowadays. “Experience is the impetus for the construction of cultural schemata” (Nishida, 405). With the accumulation of people’s experience, newly encountered cultural schemata can be accessible to their previously acquainted cultural schemata. In other words, cultural schemata are inclusive, which contributes to broadening peoples’ exotic cultural knowledge.
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| − | ====3.3 Classification of Cultural Schema====
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| − | According to related studies on cultural schema theory as well as Chen Qian and Liu Mingdong’s researches, it is concluded that in the process of translation there are three categories of cultural schema. They are respectively corresponding cultural schema, divergent cultural schema and vacant cultural schema.
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| − | =====3.3.1 Corresponding cultural schema=====
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| − | Corresponding cultural schema means the cultural schema of the SL text is identical or similar to that of the TL text. Under such circumstances, the pre-existing cultural schemata in the SL and the TL reveal identical or similar cultural connotations. Since people in different nations share different cultural norms and ways of thinking, “at least ninety percent of the fundamental structures of all languages are quite similar, and language universals far outweigh the divergences" (Nida, 99). As cultural schema is the abstract collection of knowledge stored in people’s minds, it is closely linked with people’s thinking modes. Accordant cultural norms and thinking modes, to some extent, gives rise to the corresponding cultural schema.
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| − | For a translator, this kind of corresponding cultural schema between English and Chinese can be found. For example, snakes in Chinese culture are symbols of evilness and cruelty, as shown in the four-character phrase “蛇蝎心肠”. While the image of the serpent can be found in the Garden of Eden, which demonstrates a similar cultural schema. Commonalities of cultural schema between Chinese and English also occur in some other expressions, such as “以眼还眼,以牙还牙” and “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”, “祸不单行” and “misfortunes never come singly”, etc.
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| − | =====3.3.2 Divergent cultural schema=====
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| − | Divergent cultural schema refers to inconsistent or opposite cultural schemata between the SL and the TL. “Schemata can represent knowledge about the meaning of a particular word and it is some configuration of these schemata that ultimately forms the basis of our understanding” (Rumelhart, 41). Cultural schemata abstracted from specific culturally salient words can supply consistent and correct comprehension among different nations.
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| − | As a matter of fact, “Schemata not only contribute toward the development of an accurate perception habit. In particular, people in different cultures hold divergent cultural schemata towards the same thing. For instance, “dragon” in Chinese culture is highly regarded as the auspicious and magnificent symbol of the Chinese nation that we Chinese call ourselves the descendants of the dragon. In western culture, however, “dragon” is a symbol of viciousness. In Bible, it’s an alternative to Satan.
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| − | =====3.3.3 Vacant cultural schema=====
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| − | The cultural schema in the SL absent in the TL leads to the default of cultural schema. As Carrell and Eisterhold point out, “one of the most obvious reasons why a particular content schema may fail to exist for a reader is that the schema is culturally specific and is not part of a particular reader’s cultural background” (Scott,2). It shows that culturally specific schema sometimes is unavailable to people in different cultures. According to cultural schema theory, texts will appear disjointed and incomprehensible when readers fail to motivate the related cultural schema, for there is an important role assigned to schema in comprehension and perception.
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| − | Vacant cultural schema can be easily found in two distinct cultures. Chinese culture and western culture are both full of cultural schemata absent from each other. For example, in Chinese culture “鸿门宴” or Feast at Hongmen is historically specific. Deriving from the Chinese literary canon Shiji, it is related to Chinese historical heroes Xiangyu and Liu Bang and refers to an ill-disposed trap. “完璧归赵”, whose literal meaning is to return the jade intact to the State of Zhao, is endowed with the implication “to return something to its owner in perfect condition”. These terms fail to arouse corresponding schemata in western readers. Similarly, “Hippies” and “The judgment of Solomon”, being peculiar to western culture, are unfamiliar to Chinese people.
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| − | ===4 Translation of Culture-loaded Words in ''The Travels of Lao Ts’an'' from the Perspective of Cultural Schema Theory ====
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| − | In this chapter, the author mainly elaborates on Shadick’s approaches of translating culture-loaded terms in The Travels of Lao Ts’an from the Perspective of Schema Theory. In terms of cultural schema theory, three types of culture-loaded terms are presented at first. Then the approaches of translating culture-loaded terms in The Travels of Lao Ts’an are analyzed.
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| − | ====4.1 Words with Corresponding Cultural Schema ====
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| − | As is mentioned in the last chapter, despite the huge gap between different cultures, people share the same or similar experience with their material life, which leads to common features in their cognition and ideas of things. In this case, mutual understanding is easily achieved through correspondent cultural schema. In''The Travels of Lao Ts’an'' by Harold Shadick, there are many cases where typical Chinese cultural elements in the ST, when translated into English, evoke cultural schema among English-speaking readers the same way as they do among Chinese readers. A few examples are given below to further illustrate the point.
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| − | [1a]这路虽非羊肠小道,然忽而上高,忽而下低,石头路径,冰雪一冻,异常的滑。(Liu, 2015:52)
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| − | [1b] Although it was winding “sheep gut path”, still it had sudden ups and downs, and the rock surface, frozen with ice and snow, was extremely slippery. (Shadick, 2015:83)
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| − | “羊肠小道” in the source text means a narrow winding trail or a narrow tortuous path, which is a tough road difficult to go through. When translating the phrase, Shadick employs literal translation. The analogy between a path and a sheep gut may be rarely seen in western culture, but the image of sheep gut is pretty vivid. Target readers could immediately understand the implicated meaning of the phrase by thinking about the sheep’s gut.
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| − | [2a]那儿不是积功德呢。 (Liu, 2015:76)
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| − | [2b] Isn’t this a way of piling up merit? (Shadick, 2015:82)
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| − | The word “功德” is from Buddhist scriptures, which refer to virtues and merits. It may be a bit difficult for westerners to understand the scripture of Buddhism as most of them are followers of Christianity, which is quite different from Buddhism. However, the two religions do share some values. They both advise their followers to respect and honor goodness and despise disgrace and evil. The word “merit” could conjure up the same mental image in westerners as the word “功德” does in Chinese people.
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| − | [3a] 虽说富贵浮云,未免太高尚了罢。(Liu, 2015:33)
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| − | [3b] “Wealth and honor” may be “floating clouds”, but aren’t you a bit too high-minded? (Shadick, 2015:41)
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| − | As seen from the above discussion, if people with different cultural backgrounds have correspondent cultural schemata, coupled with the fact that they are properly activated through translation, they would have no problem understanding each other in intercultural communication. In this case, culture-loaded words are transferred literally for the integrity of the content, during which cultural characteristics are retained along with the information for the full preservation of the original flavor of the ST. This saves translators a lot of effort. And more importantly, it makes things easier to understand as it appears more coherent by keeping the information flow of the ST. Of course, there are occasions when a certain amount of fine-tuning is needed to make the ST and TT seem more connected.
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| − | ====4.2 Words with Divergent Cultural Schema ====
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| − | Ideally, when two cultures share enough culture-related content and the gap between their boundaries is to be minimized, it’s hopeful for the translation to be on point. However, all cultures evolve relatively independently as a closed system, which invariably brings up the distinct features within the core of the culture. Therefore, more often than not, finding the right match for the cultural schema in the ST is no longer an act of taking something out from the shop window and giving it to the customer. Here comes the scenario: meet the need of the customer even if there is not the exact goods he/she demands. An accurate translation requires different strategies according to how the connection between the cultural schemata of the ST and the TT is formed. As for the case of cultural schema conflict, the main concern for the translator should be on the activation and adjustment of the preexisting cultural schema of the translation readers. From Shadick’s translation of The travels, we can see that the translator tries to transcend the cultural boundaries and create a deeper connection in translation instead of just duplicating linguistic features.
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| − | Literal Translation with Note
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| − | Literal translation, as the most common translation method, is a preferable way of preserving the linguistic meaning of the ST. However, to make up fpr the information loss resulting from the occasional cultural conflict, extra notes are often added in order to inform the readers of the implied cultural contents that may serve as the key to the proper understanding of the text.
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| − | [4a]先生必有成竹在胸,何妨赐教一二呢? (Liu, 2015:76)
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| − | [4b]But perhaps you are like the painter of bamboo who ‘had the complete bamboo in his mind’.
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| − | Note: A poem by Ch’ao Pu-chig (1053-1110) contains the lines
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| − | When Yu-k’o painted the bamboo,
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| − | In his breast he had the completed bamboo.
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| − | Yu-k’o is the tzu of Weng T’ung (1018-1079), celebrated peot, calligrapher and painter. (Shadick, )
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| − | In Chinese, “成竹在胸” is an idiom meaning “know how to deal with an affair”. This is an idiom with specific Chinese culture that can’t be easily understand by westerners. Hence, literal translation plus notation here make the target reader fully understand the meaning and origin of this idiom.
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| − | Literal translation with explanation
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| − | [5a] 老残道: “承两位过爱,兄弟总算有造化的了,只是目前尚无出山之志,将来如要出山,再为奉恳。” (Liu,)
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| − | [5b] Lao Ts’an answered, “I count myself fortunate to enjoy the good will of you two gentlemen, but just now I have no intention of ‘leaving the mountains’ and entering the official life. In the future if I want to do so I will ask your help.” (Shadick,)
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| − | Literally, “出山” means “leaving the mountains”. Yet there is a story behind the word. In ancient China, some people with talent who didn’t want to involved in a mundane world especially officialdom chose to live a secluded life in mountains. When they wanted to end such a recluse life and enter the official life, they had to leave the mountain. Gradually, “出山” bears a metaphorical meaning of being an official. When translating the word, Shadick employs literary translation with explanation, which manages to activate the cultural schema stored in the TT readers and in the meantime brings new cultural information to them.
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| − | Free translation with notation
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| − | [6a] 这一群人来了,彼此招呼,有打千的,有作辑的,大半打千的多。
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| − | [6b] As this crowd of people arrived there were mutual greetings, many genuflections, and a few low bows.
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| − | Note: The genuflection (ta-ch’ien-erh) is the salutation of the Manchu, the left leg bent, the right stretched behind, the right knee and right hand almost touching the ground. The lie bow (tsoo-i) is the common formal Chinese salutation consisting of a low bow with the hands hanging loosely below the knees and hidden by the sleeves, after which the clasped hands are raised to the level of the eyes.
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| − | Etiquette codes vary from culture ro culture. “打千” and “作辑” are etiquette specific to China. in this case, Shadick’s translation of “打千” as “genuflection” and “作辑” as “ low bow” are comprehensible to target readers. However, “打千” is different form “genuflection” after all, and “作辑” is not the same as “ low bow”. The notation here can satisfy the needs of target readers who are interested in Chinese culture.
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| − | ====4.3 Words with Vacant Cultural Schema ====
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| − | As is mentioned before, cultural differences sometimes could be a serious matter. When it comes to cultural schema default, translators are confronted with a tricky task. And the biggest challenge in this type of translation comes from when certain aspects of one culture risk getting lost in translation since no correspondent cultural schema exists in TT culture that will remind TT readers of the cultural content presented in the ST. Under such circumstances, the communication will most likely end in failure if the text is translated literally. The right way to handle the challenge is to create a new schema by laying out all the information that is needed for the full comprehension of the text in the linguistic environment suitable for TT readers. We shall see examples in the Travels of Lao Ts’an and analyze how Shadick deals with vacant cultural schema in his translation.
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| − | Free translation with annotation
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| − | [7a] 风餐露宿 (p2)
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| − | [7b] an uneventful journey (p.5)
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| − | Note: Feng ts’an lu su, lit., “eating in the wind and sleeping in the dew,” a conventional phrase.
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| − | Here, the Chinese four-character idiom “风餐露宿” is rendered as “an uneventful journey” for Lao Can was not really “eat in the wind”. Shadick sacrifices the pattern of Chinese idiom and adopts free translation, which contributes to the comprehension among western readers, adapting to their cognition. However, it is worth noting that annotation is added to enrich the cultural schema of the target readers and help promote Chinese culture.
| + | 殷慧珍 Yin Huizhen, Hunan Normal University, China |
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| − | Transliteration with annotation
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| − | [8a]“那二郎、关爷多少正神常附在他身上,难道就不管管他吗?”(p.36)
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| − | [8b] “If good spirits like Erh Lang and Kuan Yeh often visit him, how is it that they don’t retrain him?” (p.61)
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| − | Note: Erh Lang, lit, “Second Son”, was a magician variously identified as son of the Jade Emperor, a Taoist deity, and as son of Li Ping, a third-century official noted for this success in flood control. Erh Lang was given posthumous titles by several later emperors. Kuan Yeh (Old Gentleman Kuan) is another name for Kuan Ti.
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| − | Literal translation with annotation
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| − | [9a]“若要顾念 ‘父母官’ 三字,求为民除害,亦有化盗为民之法。”
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| − | [9b] If, in the other hand, you want to keep before you the ideal of a true “father and mother official”, and seek to remove those who harm the people, then there is the policy of turning robbers into honest people.
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| − | Note: The expression occurs in the Classics, e.g., Mencius. It was later applied specifically to district magistrates who are the officials nearest to the people.
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| − | Chinese culture is one with hierarchical values. In old times when China was a feudal society, ordinary people were at the bottom of the class hierarchy and deemed officials as their father and mother, who could protect them and whose order they obeyed. With the title “father and mother official”, officials also hoped to win the trust of people in their precinct. However, in western culture, no such expression as “father and mother official” exists. Literal translation plus notes employed here by Shadick successfully transmit the cultural information.
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| − | ===Conclusion===
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| − | To sum up, there is a certain correspondence between the processing of cultural schemas and their translation strategies in the translation of Chinese-English cultural load words under different cultural schemas. Therefore, identifying the types of cultural schema and dealing with them flexibly can better help translators select corresponding translation strategies in a targeted manner and improve translation efficiency. At the same time, it is important to be aware that divergent schema and vacant schema are the key points and difficulties in translating culturally loaded words, and translators need to fully activate and construct new schemas to achieve accurate transmission of cultural information.
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| − | It’s still a long way to go to have a mature opinion on the translation of culture-loaded words given the large quantity and complexity of these words. Besides, the classification of culture-loaded words may not be so scientific and somewhat subjective. Therefore, more examples should be adopted to make the study a more objective and comprehensive one for future studies.
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| − | ===References===
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| − | Bartlett, F.C. Remembering. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1932.
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| − | Nishida, Hiroko “Cultural Schema Theory” Theorizing about Intercultural communication. Ed. Gudykunst, W. B. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 2014. 401-413.
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| − |
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| − | Rumelhart, D, E. “Schemata: The building blocks of cognition”. Theoretical issues in reading comprehension. Ed, Spiro, R.J., Bruce, B.C and Brewer, W.E., New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 1980.
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| − | Shadick, Harold. The Travels of Lao Ts’an [M]. Nanjing: Yilin Press, 2005.
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| − | 陈喜贝, 刘明东. 文化图式理论研究综述 [J]. 湘潭大学学报, 2013(2): 258-216.
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| − |
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| − | 刘鹗. 老残游记 [M]. 上海:上海古籍出版社, 1991.
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| − | 刘明东. 文化图式的可译性及其实现手段 [J]. 中国翻译, 2003 (2): 28-31
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| − |
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| − | 刘明东, 刘宽平. 图式文化漫谈 [J]. 外语教学, 2004 (4): 50-52.
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| − | =12 殷慧珍 A study on the English Translation of Culture-loaded Words in ''The Spring Festival'' written by Fang Wenhua Based on Domestication and Foreignization Strategies=
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| | [[Cult_Load_Words_EN_12]] | | [[Cult_Load_Words_EN_12]] |
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| − | ===Abstract===
| + | =13 程杨 Translation of Cultural-loaded Words in ''Border Town'': A Case Study of Gladys Yang’s English translation = |
| − | Culture-loaded words refer to words with unique cultural connotations, which are powerful tools to promote cultural communication. Due to the great differences between eastern and western cultural backgrounds, the translation of culture-loaded words is a difficult task. Therefore, this essay studies the English translation of Chinese culture-loaded words in ''The Spring Festival'', which is a prose written by Chinese Writer and translator Fang Huawen, introducing many Chinese customs and activities containing Chinese culture-loaded words. According to the Nida’s classification of culture, this essay classifies culture-loaded words into ecological culture-loaded words, material culture-loaded words, social culture-loaded words, religious culture-loaded words and language culture-loaded words. Based on the domestication and foreignization translation strategies proposed by Venuti, this essay analyzes the translation strategies of culture-loaded words in Fang Huawen’s essay ''The Spring Festival'' and its translation, and summarizes the translation of culture-loaded words based on domestication and foreignization strategies.
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| − | ===Key Words===
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| − | Culture-loaded Words, ''The Spring Festival'', Domestication and Foreignization Strategies, Fang Huawen
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| − | ===1. Introduction===
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| − | Since the development of China’s reform and opening up, China's economy has improved rapidly. Culture, as a manifestation of the soft power of national development, playing an increasing role in the country. And Chinese culture is becoming more and more popular among foreign readers. As a carrier of culture, book is a powerful tool for cultural communication. Meanwhile, translation is a bridge connected different languages and different cultures and the main task of translation is to translate the content of the source language into the target language. Therefore, in China, more and more books, such as poetry collections, novels, essays and so on, are translated into foreign languages and then widely spread all over the world. However, due to the huge differences in economic system, language structure and cultural customs between China and the West, many culture-loaded words with unique characteristics of the Chinese nation, such as some idioms, sayings and idiomatic expressions, are difficult to translate. Those who do not understand the Chinese cultural background cannot fully understand the meaning of these culture-loaded words. Therefore, the translation of culture-loaded words is key to the whole translation which is well worth our research. The Spring Festival is a prose written by Fang Huawen, a famous Chinese literary translator. It talks about the Spring Festival, the most important traditional Chinese festival, and gives a detailed description of the activities during this traditional festival. Many culture-loaded words appeared in the prose represent Chinese culture, people can understand the profound Chinese culture through the authentic translation. Based on the translation strategies of domestication and foreignization, this essay explores the translation strategies of culture-loaded words in Fang Huawen’s ''The Spring Festival''.
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| − | ===2. Fang Wenhua and ''The Spring Festival''===
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| − | Fang Huawen was born in 1955, who is a famous Chinese literary translator and translation theorist. He plays an important role in literary translation in China and he was elected as a representative in the field of literary translation in China. He has translated many literary works such as ''Oliver Twist'' and ''David Copperfield'' written by Charles Dickens, ''Tess of the d'Urbervilles'' and ''Jude the Obscure'' written by Thomas Hardy, ''Jane Eyre'' and ''Pride and Prejudice'' written by Jane Austen and so on. Also, he wrote books of Chinese Culture of Editions Series such as Chinese Garden, Chinese Folk Customs, Famous Historical Cities in China and so on, which introduce Chinese culture in all areas. His representative translated work is History of Chinese Translation in the 20th Century, which elaborately introduce the Chinsese Translation theories and translators, covering more than ten million words. His translated works have made great contributions to the spread of Chinese culture, and his translation views are well known both at home and abroad. He was named "the most productive literary translator in contemporary China” by the UNESCO International Federation of Translators and his translation theories were publish in ''Babel'', the academic journal of the International Federation of Translators, which enabled the world to know the general situation of Translation in China and the characteristics of translation.
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| − | In this essay, ''The Spring Festival'' is selected as the text of analysis, which is one of the prose collected in the book Translation and Appreciation of Chinese and Foreign Selected Famous Proses and Poems, whose author is also Fang Huawen, selecting and translating famous Chinese and foreign proses and poetry. ''The Spring Festival'' is written by Fang Huawen and he selcets his own translation version in the book. The essay introduces the Spring Festival, the most important traditional festival of the China. The essay introduces the customs and activities of the Spring Festival in detail, which have been passed down from the ancient time. With the changes of the times, the words and customs have their own distinctiveness. Taking the traditional activity “post picture” as an example in the essay, Chinese people posted pictures of Shen Shu and Yu Lu with the wish of getting good luck and happiness in Nan Dynasty. While in Tang Dynasty, they posted the photos of Qin Shubao and Yuchi Jingde. If you don't know the culture background of Chinese culture, you can hardly know the connotaion of the words. For example, the names of firecrackers are of various kinds, like "Rockets", "Rolling Mines", "Fairy Scattering Flowers", "Knights in Red" and so on. The author elaborately introduces all kinds of customs and activities from the first day of the first lunar month to the 15th day of the first lunar month, among which culture-loaded words are unique to Chinese culture, and the translation of these culture-loaded words will greatly promote the spread of Chinese culture.
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| − | ===3. Culture and Culture-loaded Words===
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| − | ====3.1 The brief introduction of Culture====
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| − | Compared with the economic and political field, culture refers to the spiritual activities of human beings and the products they produce. Culture is a set of customs, traditions and values formed by people living in a specific community over a long period of time, such as the culture of a nation or country. There are various cultures in the world, and each culture has its own characteristics, including its own ethnic values, such as religious belief, world outlook, etc. It also includes spiritual products produced by specific ethnic groups, such as some artistic and scientific spiritual products. Besides, the manners and behaviors of a nation such as folk customs, spirits and so on.
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| − | Chinese contemporary writer and scholar Yu Qiuyu gave a detailed interpretation of culture. He gave a definition of culture with a concise and simple sentence in ''What is Culture'', that is, culture is a kind of spiritual value and life style called habit, and its final result is collective personality. (Yu qiuyu, 3) The first key word is spiritual value, which means that culture is not only a cultural phenomenon, but also has cultural value. Therefore, it can be explained that culture is a spiritual symbol of human beings compared with the primitive state. The second key word is lifestyle. This is the concrete realization of spiritual value. In most cases, culture, it should be concrete and acessible. The third key word is collective personality. This shows that culture not only affects people, but also concentrates on personality precipitation to maintain some stability.
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| − | That is to say, the unique spiritual value and way of life developed by a particular nation is the culture of this nation, such as Confucianism, ancestral hall culture in Chinese culture and so on.
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| − | Specifically, Culture covers nearly all kinds of fields in social life. There are many classifications of culture from different perspectives. For example, from the geographical aspect, there are local culture and foreign culture, urban culture and rural culture, Eastern culture and Western culture and so on. Also, from the perspective of time, there are primitive culture, slavery culture, feudal culture, capitalist culture, socialist culture and so on. According to Nida, he divided culture into five categories in his book Language, Cultural and Translation:(1) ecological culture, (2) material culture, (3) social culture, (4) religious culture, (5) language culture. (Nida, 1993: 91)
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| − | ====3.2 The brief introduction of Culture Loaded Words====
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| − | Culture-loaded words refer to the words or phrases carrying the unique cultural connotations of a certain nation, which are different from other nations. Chinese scholar Hu Wenzhong defined culture-loaded words as follows: "Culture-loaded words are words within the scope of a specific culture, and are the direct and indirect reflection of national culture in the language vocabulary" (Hu Wenzhong 1999:64). When these culture-loaded words are translated into the target language, it is not easy to find corresponding words in the target language. Therefore, the wide use of culture-loaded words can transmit national cultural values and promote national communication.
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| − | Based on the classification of culture of Nida, culture-loaded words also can be divided into five catergories accordingly. The first is ecological culture-loaded words, which refer to the words that reflect the unique local ecology, such as climate, lgeomorphology, natural environment, mountains, rivers, vegetation and so on. Different geographical environments breed different cultures, such as the Chinese idiom “稳如泰山”, which translates into English as stable as Mount Tai, meaning as firm as a rock, "Mount Tai" is a unique ecological environment in China. Mount Tai is very majestic in the hearts of the Chinese people, and it is worshipped by the people and enjoys a high status. Therefore, people use this idiom to praise people as stable and unshakable as Mount Tai. For English phrase, "a big fish" is literally translated into Chinese “一条大鱼”, but in English culture, it means "Great man", because Britain is an island country surrounded by the sea, which reflects the influence of the sea on British culture.
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| − | The second is material culture-loaded words, which refer to words produced in daily life to meet the development of people's material life, that is, words with cultural connotations such as clothing, food and household goods that people need in daily life. In different cultures, people have different associations with different objects. For example, in Chinese culture, since the ancient time, people have divided the universe into five kinds of things, namely are Wood (木), Fire (火), Earth (土), Metal (金), and Water (水), and called them "Wu Xing(五行)"also known as the Five Elements or Five Phases. The system of five phases was used for describing interactions and relationships between phenomena.
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| − | The third social culture-loaded words refer to words that reflect various aspects of the society according to different social backgrounds, such as unique festivals, customs, local conditions and practices, as well as the way of address and greeting. For example, "aunt" in English refers to different people in Chinese, that is, maternal aunt, paternal aunt, wife of mother's brother, wife of father's brother.
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| − | The fourth religious culture-loaded words refer to some words related to religious beliefs and concepts, reflecting the influence of religion o.n people's lives. For example, Chinese culture is deeply influenced by Buddhism. Some common sayings contain the influence of Buddhism on people's life, such as the Chinese proverb "菩萨心肠",which refers to the people with a great kind heart. Cram at the eleventh hour. "菩萨"is Bodhisattvas, who embrace qualities like self-sacrifice and morality. The Image of bodhisattva in Buddhism is different from that of Jesus in Christianity.
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| − | The last one language culture-loaded words are the reflection of different languages characteristics in speech, lexical, syntax and other linguistic aspects, usually found in dialogue, ancient poetry and colloquialisms, idioms, and so on. Chinese sentences attach importance to the connection of meaning, and clauses are often connected by meaning, while English sentences are connected by connectives. For example, the famous Chinese proverb,"经得广,知得多",the whole sentence is very concise, only with six words, and there is no conjunction to connect the sentence. However, the English translation cannot completely translate the format, but need to use a conjunction to connect the sentences in English grammar, that is if you experience more, you can know more things.
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| − | ===4. Domestication and Foreignization Strategies===
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| − | Domestication and foreignization are two different translation strategies proposed by Venuti in ''The Translator's Invisibility A History of Translation'' from the perspective of culture in 1995. According to Venuti, Domestication refers to the translation strategy in which a transparent, fluent style is adopted in order to minimize the strangeness of the foreign text for target language readers.(Shulttleworth , Cowie 1997 : 43~ 44) This was based on the Germanphilosopher Schleiermacher's famous notion of the translation that don’t disturb the reader, as much as possible, and then lead the author towards the meaning that author want to convey. That is to say, using the tanslation strategie of domestication is to localize the translated text. And translator should first consider the target language readers but not the loyalty to the author. Therefore, when translating, the translator should choose the plain and familiar words and expressions in the target language that would not be a barrier to reading for readers, so that the translation can be read nativly and vividly but do not make the readers feel stiff or unfamiliar, and it would not be like a text has been translated but an original book. When translating, he also created many plots that cater to the public’s preferences, making the novel interesting and easy to understand. Because of the cultural differences between the East and the west, some specific words in the source language have no corresponding meanings in the target language. Therefore, especially when translating idioms and allusions, domestication is often used in order to maintain their unique simplicity and expressiveness. For example, cry up wine and sell vinegar(挂羊头卖狗肉)/ live a dog's life(过牛马一样的生活)/seek a hare in hen's nest(缘木求鱼)(Fang Mengzhi 2004: 3)
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| − | Foreignization refers to the translation strategy that a target text is produced which deliberately breaks target conventions by retaining something of the foreignness of the original. (Shulttleworth , Cowie 1997 : 58~ 59) Foreignization refers to the translation strategy that the translator first considers his loyalty to the author and the original text, so the translation will preserve the language characteristics and cultural customs of the original text. The use of foreignization translation strategy will not only make readers have "exotic" reading experience so as to help them better understand cultural differences,at the same time,it also enrich the target language. Many foreign words and expressions have been well integrated into the target language and used in people's daily life. The example of foreignization in Fang Mengzhi's a dictionary of translation studies, such as "time is money", comes from the foreignization of "time is money" in English. Many foreign words have been widely spread and used in Chinese. (Fang Mengzhi, 3)
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| − | Domestication and foreignization are indispensable translation methods in cross-cultural translation. Domestication can invisibly introduce foreign cultural ideas into the country without causing exotic reading experience or bringing reading barriers to target language readers, thus increasing the readability of the text. However, with the advent of globalization, blindly domesticating other languages is a way of showing ethnocentrism, which is actually a kind of cultural aggression of other country. Venuti believes that the domestication is to use smooth translation strategy to hide the domestication in the transparency of the translation. This is not a cultural exchange but an act of culuture violence under the cover of domestication strategy with ethnocentric ideas, that is, tampering and cultural appropriation. (Fang Mengzhi, 96)Therefore, foreignization has become an increasingly important translation strategy in the process of translation. For culture-loaded words, adopting foreignization translation strategy can not only accurately express the meaning of the sentence, but also promote the spread of Chinese culture, so as to promote the mutual understanding and communication between the East and the West. Therefore, foreignization is more and more accepted by the world.
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| − | ===5. A study on the English Translation of Culture Loaded Words in ''The Spring Festival'' written by Fang Huawen Based on Domestication and Foreignization Strategies===
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| − | The prose ''The Spring Festival'' contains many traditional Chinese festival culture-loaded words such as poems, idioms, proverb and so on, so in the process of translation, appropriate methods and strategies should be selected. For these Chinese culture-loaded words, the English translation is not completely corresponding to the original text. For example, some Chinese culture-loaded words have Chinese cultural connotations but are not reflected in the translation, and the sentence format in the original text is not completely corresponding in the translation. Based on the classification of culture-loaded words mentioned above, this essay analyzes the ecological culture-loaded words, material culture-loaded words, social culture-loaded words, religious culture-loaded words and language culture-loaded words in Fang Huawen's ''The Spring Festival'' on the theoretical basis of domestication and foreignization translation strategies.
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| − | ====5.1 Ecological Culture-loaded Words====
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| − | Some words describing nature, environment, animals and plants are called ecological culture-loaded words. In the prose, the author used nature words "火树银花" to describe the scene of the Lantern Festival with bright lights. Literally, "火树" means the fire trees, "银花" means the silver flowers. If the translator uses the foreignization translation strategy to transliterate the sentence, the foreign readers who don't know the Chinese culture may not understand the meaning of the sentence, and will be confused. This is not a tree or flower, but a scene of bright lights. Therefore, the translator adopts the domestication translation strategy and translates it into "fireworks and laterns were everywhere to be seen", "火树" refer to the trees are covered with colorful lights, and "银花" refer to brightly lit scene.
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| − | ====5.2 Material Culture-loaded Words====
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| − | Material culture-loaded words refer to some words used for material production, such as medicinal wine, units of weights and measures mentioned in the prose.
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| − | Example 1: "爆竹声中一岁除,春风送暖入屠苏。"
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| − | Translation: Firecrackers are sending the old year away; People are toasting in warm breeze.
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| − | The sentence quoted the famous poem New Year's Day by Song Dynasty poet Wang Anshi, which depicted a lively scene during the Spring Festival. The word "Tusu"(屠苏) has great cultural connotation. "Tusu" is a kind of medicinal wine, called Tusu wine. According to Chinese legend, Tusu wine was first invented by hua Tuo, a famous doctor in the Eastern Han Dynasty. It is generally drunk on the first day of the first month, which plays a role in strengthening the body and defeating diseases. Therefore, drinking it on the first day of the New Year also conveys people's best wishes for the New Year that everyone can stay away from diseases and be healthy. It implied a wish, just as people in the western culture also toast on festivals, so the translator replaced the literal translation of Tusu with the familiar word toasting.
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| − | Example 2: 曾架起一座二十丈的灯山。
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| − | Translation: ...was built up a mountain of lanterns to celebrate the festival, nearly 70 meters high.
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| − | In the sentence, "二十丈", that is twenty Zhang. Zhang is a unit of length used in ancient China. The use of Chinese length units has evolved with the changes of history. The units of measurement are closely related to life, they have appeared since the beginning of human beings. The primitive people used fingers as inches, palms as feet, and stretching elbows as feet. Then Qin Shihuang unified the measurement and till now the appearance of modern measurement technology today, the evolution of ancient measurement system reflects the changes of history. In English, there is no length unit of Zhang. Therefore the translator used the domestication translation strategy that converted 20 Zhang into 70 meters.
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| − | ====5.3 Social Culture-loaded Words====
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| − | The use of social culture-loaded words reflects the specific social background of the certain period. For example, the appellation or title of people is a significant part of social culture-loaded words. In this prose, the titles of the two ancient emperors "汉武帝" and "唐睿宗" are mentioned. The translator's translation of the ruler is as follows:
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| − | Example 1:自从汉武帝以来...。
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| − | Ever since the Emperor Wu's Reign of Han Dynasty.
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| − | Example 2:唐睿宗时,长安的皇宫外庆贺元宵节
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| − | During Emperor Ruizong's Reign in Tang Dynasty there just outside the royal palace in Changan.
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| − | In Chinese history, from the Han Dynasty to the Sui Dynasty, the posthumous title of the emperor is generally used, which summarized the deeds and morality of the deceased. For example, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, whose posthumous title is "Wu", praised the moral character of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. From the Tang and Song Dynasties to the Yuan Dynasty, the temple name of the emperor was used as the appellation. Temple name is the name given by later generations when they worship in the temple after the death of the ancient emperor. For example, the temple name of the founding emperor is Gaozu or Taizu, such as song Taizu. For the successor, the last word is always Zong, which means to maintain the achievements of the predecessors. For example, Tang Ruizong's temple name is "Rui", which praises his wise. In English translation, the translator uses foreignization to translate the posthumous title "Wu" of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and the temple name "Rui" of Ruizong of the Tang Dynasty. Although the title of emperor is different from that of Di and Zong in Chinese, translator all uses the word emperor.
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| − | Example 3: 其外形有"哪吒闹海""孙悟空""猪八戒"和"沙僧"。
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| − | Translation: lanterns in forms of Nazha's Adventure in East Sea, Monkey King, Pigsy, Sha Wujing.
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| − | The words in historical allusions and legends have great social and cultural connotation. "哪吒闹海"is an ancient Chinese legend."孙悟空", "猪八戒" and "沙僧" are main characters in Journey to the West, one of China's four greatest master pieces. Chinese people have watched TV dramas or books about these characters since childhood, so they are familiar with them. However, for foreign readers, they are not familiar with these characters or plots, so it may perplex them if you don't explain the culture background here. The translator adopted the foreignization translation strategy to directly translate "孙悟空" into "Na Zha's adventure in the East Sea", "孙悟空"into the well-known Monkey King, "猪八戒" into Pigsy, and "沙僧" into his name Sha Wujing. Literal translation may confuse readers who do not understand these legends and stories, so notes can be added, that is, Nazha (a divine warrior in Chinese mythology). And Monkey King, Pigsy, Sha Wujing (main characters in Chinese classics pilgrimage to the West).
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| − | | |
| − | ====5.4 Regilious Culture-loaded Words====
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| − | Example 1:死后玉皇大帝封他为"斩祟将军"
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| − | And was appointed "ghost-killler general" by God of all gods after his death.
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| − | In the translation, the translator uses domestication translation theory to translate "玉皇大帝" into God of All Gods. In Chinese culture, people believe that there are ruler and gods in heaven, and "玉皇大帝" is the leader of the gods in Chinese Taoist mythology. In addition to ruling all gods, "玉皇大帝" also governs the affairs of the universe. People regard "玉皇大帝" as the "emperor" in heaven, the supreme ruler of the world of all gods.
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| − | In western culture, religions are numerous and varied. Ancient Greece is the land of pantheism, the ancient Greeks advocated many gods. Zeus is regarded as God of all gods and the supreme ruler of the gods in the Greek mythology. Several popular Western religions, such as Christianity, Judaism and Islam are monotheism, holding the belief that God is the only creator of the world. God is conceived of as the Supreme Being and principal object of faith. So the use of domestication can not only express the same meaning of the sentence, but also adapt to the religious culture in the west.
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| − | Example 2: 旧岁的最后一天叫"大年三十”,因"除旧岁”而得名除夕。
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| − | Translation: The last day of the old year, Danianshanshi in Chinese, is called Farewell Day, as the old year is sent away this day.
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| − | The phrase "旧岁”, "岁”is not only refers to the age, but also means year. "旧岁" refers to the past year. The last day of the year, called "岁除", and the night of the day is called "除夕". 除夕, the original meaning of "New Year's Eve", refers to the end of the year to usher in the new. New Year's Eve is a time for family reunion. Like Tomb-sweeping Day, Ghost Festival and the Double Ninth Festival, New Year’s Eve is a traditional Chinese festival for ancestor worship. This sentence uses the combination of domestication and foreignization. The use of foreignization preserves the cultural image and promotes the culture exchange.
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| − | ====5.5 Language Culture-loaded Words====
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| − | Chinese idioms usually contain the essence of language and have Chinese characteristics. Many of them use figures of speech such as metaphor. A metaphor is a comparison of something you want to say with something that has similar characteristics. In idioms, metaphors are used to describe the characteristics of something to make it vivid, so as to trigger the association of readers. The idiom in the prose like "像箭一般冲出去了", means that the children rush out quickly, but also shows that the children eager to go outside. In Chinese culture, the arrow(箭) is often used to describe high speed. For example, the idiom "离弦之箭" is used to describe high speed. "离弦之箭" refers to Time flies quikly. But there is no equivalent like arrow in English. In English, words like "bullet" or "cheetah" or "rocket ship" are used for things that are fast. Therefore, in order for readers to better understand the meaning of the sentence, the translator uses the domestication method to paraphrase as "dash out", "dash" is an act of running or moving very quickly or hastily, Although the cultural connotation of the source language is sacrificed in this way, the translator faithfully expresses the meaning of the source language.
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| − | | |
| − | ===Conclusion===
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| − | This essay finds that the prose includes plenty of culture-loaded words, which contains extensive and profound meaning about traditional Chinese culture and customs. This essay introduces the Spring Festival, the most important traditional festival in China, as well as various activities prepared by Chinese people for the Festival and customs they adhere to, which largely spread Chinese culture, promote cultural exchanges in the world, and greatly enhancing the strength of Chinese culture. For this essay, using Fang Huawen's translation text as the analysis object, analyze the translation strategies of translator used about different kinds of culture-loaded words, that is, ecological culture-loaded words, material culture-loaded words, social culture-loaded words, religious culture-loaded words and language culture-loaded words. According to Venuti's translation theory, he advocates that translators should more use foreignization to preserve the cultural connotation of the source language. However, the translator Fang Huawen adopts the domestication translation strategy more frequently, choosing the cultural images familiar to the target language readers in order to resonate with the target language readers and make the target language readers get roughly the same reading effect like the source language readers. At the smae time, culture-loaded words have complex cultural images, if the target language readers do not understand the cultural connotation behind the words, they will not be able to get the real meaning of the text, and may even misunderstand the text mistakenly. When using domestication strategies, translators most commonly use free translation, in which they replace culture-loaded words in the original text with words and expressions more familiar to the target language readers, so as to improve the readability of the translated text and reduce readers' reading barriers. For example he translates the character of Chinese legend "玉皇大帝”into"God of the gods”that are more familiar to the target language readers. However, with the development of globalization, foreignization is increasingly used in translation. When the translator encountered some characteristic culture-loaded words, he chose literal translation, such as "Danianshanshi". Although the translator uses foreignization translation strategy to bring strangeness to the target language readers, it not only retains the traditional image of Chinese culture, but also meets the needs of cultural communication in the world. Foreignization can not only express the meaning of the source language, but also retain the characteristics of the national language. Domestication and foreignization are interactive and not completely opposite. Translators can combine foreignization and domestication in translating culture-loaded words. When translating culture-loaded words, the translator can not only use foreignization translation strategy to retain the cultural image and language connotation of the original text, but also use domestication translation strategy to make the translated text easy to understand and readable.
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| − | ===References===
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| − | 1.Yu Qiuyu. ''What is Culture'' [M]. Wuhan: Changjiang Literature and Art Press, 2012
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| − | | |
| − | 2.Venuti, L. ''The Transltor’s Invisibility'' [M]. London&Newyork:Routledge, 1995
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| − | | |
| − | 3.Nida Eugene, ''A. Language,culture,and Translating'' [M].Shanghai:Foreign Language Education Press, 1993
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| − | 4.Shulttleworth, Cowie. ''The Dictionary of Translation Studies'' [M]. St. Jerome Publishing, 1997
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| − | 5.Fang Mengzhi. ''The Dictionary of Translation Studies in China'' [M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 2011
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| − | 6.Fang Huawen. ''Translation and Appreciation of Chinese& Foreign Selected Famous Proses and Poems'' [M]. Hefei: anhui science & technology press, 2014
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| − | =13 程杨 《边城》中文化负载词的翻译—以戴乃迭英译本为例 Translation of Cultural-loaded Words in ''Border Town'':A Case Study of Dai Naidie’s English translation = | |
| | [[Cult_Load_Words_EN_13]] | | [[Cult_Load_Words_EN_13]] |
| − | ===Abstract===
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| − | With the increasingly frequent cultural exchanges in the world and the increasingly exposed differences between cultures, cultural diversity plays a very important role in national exchanges. Different countries and nationalities have their own cultural characteristics and features, which are deeply rooted in their own language. Language is the carrier of culture, and word is the basic unit of language and the most active part of language. In cross-cultural communication, culture-loaded words are an important part and an important bridge and link between two languages. The study of culture-loaded words is not only an important link in the process of cross-cultural communication, but also an important mean and method for the development of a nation. There are a lot of culture-loaded words in Shen Congwen's Border Town. This paper discusses the translation of culture-loaded words in the translation based on the theory of translator's behavior.
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| − | ===Key Words===
| + | 《边城》中文化负载词的翻译—以戴乃迭英译本为例 |
| − | Culture-loaded words; ''Border Town''; Dai Naidie; Translator behavior criticism
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| − | ===Introduction===
| + | 程杨 Cheng Yang, Hunan Normal University, China |
| − | ===1.Introduction of ''Border Town''===
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| − | ====1.1 Background of ''Border Town''====
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| − | ''Border Town'' was written in the 1930s, when the society was in turmoil and the development of urban civilization collided violently with the traditional agricultural civilization. The whole traditional civilization has been challenged and impacted unprecedentedly, and the traditional society has become fragmented, but on the whole it still exists peacefully. In China at that time, conscientious and thoughtful men of letters had a strong sense of responsibility and perception for the society. They did not want to see the whole nation degenerate in the violent civilization of cities, nor did they want people to lose their way in the vanity of cities. Mr. Shen as a member of the advanced intellectuals, he hoped that through ''Border Town'' this work for the impression of Xiangxi, which is similar to the Peach Blossom Land, to the confused people in cities shows the simplicity and purity of traditional culture, but also indicate the direction for them to move forward: there is a pure and natural love in life, and life needs to be converted to the nature of natural life.
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| − | ====1.2 Introduction of the Author Shen Congwen==== | + | =14 胡舒情 On Translation Strategies of Culture-loaded Words in Traditional Chinese Medical Classics: A Case Study of ''Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold''= |
| − | The 1930s was the time when Shen Congwen had a good harvest in love and career, and his wife Zhang Zhaohe had the greatest influence on his creation. After their marriage, Shen Congwen wrote to his wife: "I have crossed many bridges, seen many clouds and tasted many kinds of alchohol, but I have only ever loved a man of the best age." Zhang's comely appearance and dark complexion are traits Mr. Shen used repeatedly in his works. Cuicui in ''Border Town'' was also based on her. At the same time, the Border Town also carries Shen Congwen's strong feelings for Xiangxi. Although his description of the stones, water plants, boatmen and other things in the Border Town is almost plain description, a close reading can feel his love for Xiangxi from the heart. ''Border Town'' is not only about the life of young men and girls born and raised in this small town, but also a beautiful, healthy, natural and human life form, which is also the original intention of Shen Congwen's creation.
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| − | Shen Congwen's style inclines to romanticism, he asked the poetic novel of effect, integrating realism, recording, symbolism be in harmony an organic whole. He also asked the language style of primitive simplicity, sentence of simple forms, and thick and pure style with rich local color. He highlighted the country unique charm with a twinkle in human nature. Shen Congwen's novels are typical rural culture novels, which not only compare with the modern civilization of the city on the whole, but also pay attention to the way of living, the footprint of life and the historical destiny of the villagers, which are determined by the collision of different cultures during the transformation of the Xiangxi Area to the modern era. The whole work is full of worries about life and philosophical thinking about life, just like his real and tenacious life, giving people lessons and enlightenment.
| + | 浅谈中医典籍中文化负载词的翻译策略——以《伤寒论》为例 |
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| − | Shen Congwen is the main expressor and introspector of the rural world with special significance. He believed that "beauty lies in life". Although he was in a hypocritical, selfish and indifferent city, he was infatuated with the beauty of human nature. He said, "In this world, there may be people who build great pavilions on sand or water, but that is not me, I just wanted to build a small Greek temple. Choose a small ground for a foundation and pile it with hard stones. Delicate, solid, symmetrical, small but not slender, it is my ideal building. It is dedicated to humanity." Therefore, it can be said that the "Greek temple" symbolizes a spiritual space full of human beauty and divine love, which transcends the "secular heart and eyes" and radiates the light of holiness. This "small Greek temple" lived those beautification, by the divinity of the ordinary women, such as Cuicui, Yao Yao, they are beautiful, healthy, vigorous, vibrant, natural harmony, simple nature, they are "the life form of the border city".
| + | 胡舒情 Hu Shuqing, Hunan Normal University |
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| − | ===2. Cultural-loaded Words===
| + | [[Cult_Load_Words_EN_14]] |
| − | ====2.1 Definition of Cultural-loaded Words====
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| − | As a complex social phenomenon, culture carries a nation's knowledge, experience, hierarchy, religion and concept of time and space. As a part of culture, language embodies the uniqueness and nationality of culture. Language is created in a nation's long-term productive labor and social practice and serves the society. As the core of language, vocabulary inevitably reflects and is influenced and restricted by national characteristics. At the same time, language can truly reflect the ecological region, material culture, religious belief, customs and habits of a country or a nation. Different languages determine the different ways of thinking, behavior and language expression of different nations. Therefore, there are inevitably huge cultural differences in languages, which produce a certain number of culture-loaded words.
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| − | Culture-loaded words are the concentrated expression of a nation's geographical environment, living habits, ideas, perceptions and national psychology in language level. It not only carries profound cultural connotation, but also closely links culture with language. In the language system, culture-loaded words are the words that can best reflect the cultural information carried by language and the social life of human beings. Language is not only a tool for the expression and communication of human thoughts and feelings, but also a carrier and an important part of culture. Therefore, culture-loaded words can best reflect the strong national color and bright cultural personality in language. The translation of culture-loaded words requires translators to accurately and appropriately understand the beliefs, customs, aesthetic values and other aspects of other cultures while faithfully conveying the essence and soul of their own cultures, so as to truly achieve the exchange of different cultures. | + | =15 陈静 The Translation of Culture-loaded Words From the Perspective of Skopos Theory: A Case Study of ''Xi Jinping: The Governance of China''= |
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| − | ====2.2 The Necessity of Cultural-loaded Words Study====
| + | 目的论视阈下文化负载词的翻译研究——以习近平《治国理政》为例 |
| − | In 1980, Professor Xu Guozhang published Culturally Loaded Words and English Language Teaching in Modern Foreign Languages, initiating the study of culture-loaded Words. At the same time, more and more attention has been paid to the study of culture-loaded words. Culture-loaded words, as the main bearing object of a national culture, are the embodiment of the most distinctive personality of culture. However, such words reflecting cultural differences have brought great obstacles to cultural communication and translation. The differences in language and culture between ethnic groups contribute to the diversity of ethnic communication, but at the same time bring great difficulties. Due to the incomplete equivalence of the functions and contents of words among different nationalities, many errors or even major errors in translation process are caused, which will not only cause a certain loss to the cultural or commercial activities at that time, but even cause a certain negative impact on the subsequent cultural exchanges. The generation and use of vocabulary is a unique way of activities accumulated by a nation in the long historical process, which is different from other nations. The translation of culture-loaded words is quite difficult. If the translation is improper, cultural loss will occur, that is, cultural differences will be mistaken for cultural common core, and the target language will be forced to adopt the cultural model of the source language, resulting in communication failure; or replacing the cultural image of the source language with the cultural image of the target language. Communication succeeds, but the regret is the cultural loss of the source language.
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| − | Culture-loaded words usually appear in literary works with ethnic characteristics. The ''Border Town'', Shen Congwen's representative work, is praised as "the purest novel text in the history of modern literature" and "the peak work in the pastoral legend of modern Chinese literature". It shows readers the harmonious life form of the Xiangxi Area. There are a large number of words which reflect the traditional customs and culture and dialect characteristics of the rural areas of Hunan, China. These culture-loaded words increase the difficulty of translation. In Dai Naidie’s translation, the translator also tries to reproduce the cultural characteristics of the original text in a variety of ways, so that the target readers can feel the local characteristics and charm of the ''Border Town'' more truly and appropriately.
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| − | ===3. Analysis of Translation of Cultural-loaded Words in ''Border Town'':A Case Study of Dai Naidie’s English translation===
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| − | ====3.1 The Introduction to Dai Naidie====
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| − | Dai Naidie (1919-1999) was born Gladys B.Tayler in 1919 to a British missionary family in Beijing. At the age of seven, she returned to England to receive education. She initially studied French language and literature, but in the later switched to Chinese language and literature because of her love for traditional Chinese culture. After marrying Yang Yixian in 1940, she settled down in China, where she and her husband hosted and translated many Chinese classics. The translated works range from pre-Qin prose to A Dream of red Mansions of more than 100 kinds. In their early works, Yang Yixian presided over the completion of the first draft, while Dai Naidie was responsible for proofreading and correcting the English expression. "Yang Yixian actually translated the Chinese into English, and I turned it into a narrative antithesis," she later recalled. With the continuous improvement of her Chinese and English translation skills, she began to try to independently translate Chinese literary works into English books, and contributed a large number of classic English translation literary works. The ''Border Town'' is one of the representative translations of Diana's independent translation period. The translation of Chinese classic literature works by Dai Naidie and her husband Yang Yixian not only promoted the cultural exchange between China and English-speaking countries, but also promoted the development of literary translation, promoted the translation process of Chinese classical novels, and contributed a huge force that cannot be ignored for Chinese culture to go out.
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| − | In the process of translating ''Border Town'', Diana was inevitably influenced by the social ideology of China at that time. As a foreigner herself, she was restricted and oppressed to a large extent, so her translation works mainly catered to the mainstream ideas of Chinese society at that time. At the same time, the powerful cultural countries represented by Britain and the United States at that time generally preferred the stereotyped works that fit their imagination in the weak culture. However, Shen Congwen's description of the backwardness and occlusion of the small town in Xiangxi was just in line with the imagination of the British and American society for the distant China, so it was once very popular in The British and American countries.
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| − | On the basis of being faithful to the original text, Diana's translation fully conveys the tendency of female translators' choice of translation strategies, which is reflected in the particularity of female translators' behavior in the process of translation.
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| − | ====3.2 Analysis on Cultural-loaded Words====
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| − | Each language has its own unique features in pronunciation, vocabulary and syntax. Due to the differences in language and culture, the translatability of the expression forms of these languages will be limited when they are conveyed as information content in communicative language. If we do not understand the language and cultural characteristics of the original language, it is bound to produce ambiguity and mis-understanding. Meanwhile, translators of different identities have different approaches to translation. As a female translator, Dai Naidie was deeply aware of Shen Congwen's attitude and view when she read his work Border Town. Therefore, when dealing with the problems encountered in translation, especially some words with the color of feminism, she carefully and rigorously screened the original author Shen Congwen's own attitude, avoiding unreasonable and inappropriate translation of words, thus improving the accuracy and readability of the translation.
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| − | =====3.2.1 Analysis on Ecological Words=====
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| − | Ecology is a branch of biology that refers to the study of the relationship between organisms and their surroundings, especially their connections with their living environments. The diversity of ecological culture is naturally caused by the differences of geographical environment and natural conditions in various countries. The difference of ecological conditions will inevitably lead to the difference of national culture, so that culture shows a distinct regional.
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| − | The ''Border Town'' is a novel with the background of Xiangxi, which involves a lot of local customs and characteristic vocabulary. Dai Naidie followed the characteristics of Chinese culture and retained the cultural characteristics of Western Hunan in his translation. In Dai Naidie's translation, all place names are transliterated. For example, “四川”Sichuan、“秀山”Xiushan、“茶峒”Chatong, etc. Dai Naidie used pinyin system with Chinese characteristics to transliterate place names, conveying Chinese characteristics and displaying the unique charm of Chinese culture to western readers.
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| − | However, the translation of ecological culture-loaded words in the translation of Border Town by Dai Naidie does not show distinct characteristics of culture of Xiangxi in the translation of some words. In the text of translation, “有人带了礼物到碧溪岨。掌水码头的顺顺,当真请了媒人为儿子向渡船的攀亲来了。” The translation of this sentence of Dai Naidie, “Sure enough, someone comes bearing gifts to Green Stream, the go-between sent by Shun Shun to approach the ferryman on behalf of his son.” “碧溪岨” was where the heroin and his grandfather lived, who made a living by a ferry boat. There was a babbling brook in front of their house, and the houses were stacked on top of each other along the zigzagging stream. In the back side of the house, the white tower stood tall and upright, and the surroundings were the winding mountain road. Hence the place was named “碧溪岨”. In her translation, Dai Naidie ignored this rich culture-loaded word and directly translated it into "Green Stream", failing to realize the aesthetic transmission of the original text. In another version of translation, "Green Creek Hill" , it faithfully reproduced the cultural connotation of the word in terms of its content and structure.
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| − | For another example, “初五大清早落了点毛毛雨,河上游且涨了点‘龙船水’,河水已变作豆绿色。” Dai Naidie translated this sentence into “A fine rain sets in at dawn on the fifth, the water upstream has begun to rise, and the whole river turns pea-green.” “龙船水” is a natural phenomenon before and after the Dragon Boat Festival in the South China. The warm and damp air flows in the south of China is active, and the cold air from the north area to the south meet, there will be sustained large-scale heavy precipitation normally. After the intense precipitation, the water level of the river will rise rapidly, providing good site conditions for dragon boat racing. Therefore, people named the heavy precipitation during this period “龙船水”. In traditional Chinese culture, “龙船水” contains the function of warding off evil spirits. Hence, people will bath their feet and play in the water to get rid of bad luck and attain luck when “龙船水” comes. Here, the Dai Naidie’s version translation just simply translated “龙船水” into "water". Although with the help of context, some readers can understand the translation, Dai Naidie’s translation ignored the cultural characteristics and connotation of “龙船水” in the culture of Xiangxi and the influence of ecological environment on translation. Therefore, as a translator, Dai Naidie should not only try to preserve and convey the original characteristics of Chinese culture, but follow the authenticity of the original text.
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| − | =====3.2.2 Analysis on Material Words=====
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| − | Material culture refers to a kind of culture between cultural relics and social relations. It involves material processes and material production, and it reflects human emotional costs and material conditions. The cultural carrier vocabulary related to material culture is a mirror image that reflects the unique material and cultural characteristics of a certain language community, including "production of transportation, daily necessities, food, medicine, clothing and measures, etc.". Taking the border town as an example, the local material culture of Hunan during this period was particularly obvious in China.
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| − | The word "杜鹃" was textured by Dai Naidie, who translated it into what readers of the target language will know as "Nightingale". Although the nightingale and the cuckoo refer to different things, they both represent sad images in Chinese and Western cultural backgrounds. The nightingale is the incarnation of the ancient Greek tragic woman Procony, and the cuckoo is the reincarnation of Wang Duyu, the General of water control during the war of the Seven Kingdoms -- the nightingale and the cuckoo are endowed with similar emotional images of the traditional eastern and western world respectively. Therefore, the use of nightingale instead of cuckoo not only does not cause the deviation of emotional expression, but helps western readers to comprehend the image in the original text. This approach, on the one hand, takes into account the comprehension ability and scope of the western readers, and at the same time takes into account the traditional eastern cultural color represented by the cuckoo in the original text, which fully demonstrates the excellent female translator's thinking.
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| − | =====3.2.3 Analysis on Social Words=====
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| − | Social culture refers to folk customs, beliefs, values, traditions, lifestyles, behavior patterns and organizational activities related to a certain society. The words related to social culture are representations of characteristics of the above aspects. In the long-term development of human civilization, these aspects in one society are significantly different from other societies, thus forming different cultural-loaded words of a society.
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| − | “……车是车路,马是马路,各有走法。……” Dai Naidie translated the sentence into “Castles and knights have different moves.” The sentence was able to refer to the discipline of chess game, but in Xiangxi, it contains an entirely different meaning. The “车路” and “马路” were related to the marriage custom of Xiangxi. In China, marriage is the command of parents and the good offices of a go-between. Here, “车路” means to entrust one's life events to a go-between. The go-between is invited to persuade the person of one’s heart to marry. The final success in a large part depends on the go-between’s eloquence and the other person's opinion, which is a passive way of proposing marriage. “马路” represents the initiative to take control of one’s own life events in their own hands, and to spend time and energy singing courtship. The final success depends on their own sincerity which belongs to an initiative way. Dai Naidie used the translation strategy of domestication to translate this sentence. Although it was helpful for the target readers to understand, the cultural characteristics of the sentence were not preserved. From my perspectives, we should preserve “车路” as "Che Lu" and “马路” as "Ma Lu" by using foreignizing translation strategy, and then further explain the actual connotation of these two culture-loaded words in this sentence. This not only preserves the cultural connotation of the original text, but also helps the target language readers understand the specific charm of Chinese culture.
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| − | “由于边地的风俗淳朴,便是作妓女,也永远那么浑厚,遇到不相熟的主顾,做生意时也得先交钱,数目弄清楚后在关门撒野……妓女多靠四川商人维持生活,但恩情所结,则多在水手方面。” Dai Naidie translated it into "Border ways are so simple that even these girls remain honest. Before entertaining a stranger, they ask for their money and count it before closing the door and getting down to business … Whereas most of the women’ s income comes from merchants, it is usually the boatmen who win their hearts."In this example, the word "妓女" appeared twice. In Traditional Chinese values, this word is derogatory, and women in this industry will not be recognized and accepted by the society. In Shen Congwen's Border Town, prostitutes in the closed Xiangxi town described by Shen Congwen still retain a simple and kind quality belonging to Xiangxi women, although they cannot belong to the mainstream group of society. They are waiting for those travelling merchants or sailors ashore, and some innocent women who had never even crossed out of town, hoping to find their true love.Dai Naidie translated the two repetitive words "妓女" in the excerpt as "girl" and "woman" respectively. These two words are neutral words, without any derogatory or discriminatory connotation, and more consistent with the original description of women who are forced to work as prostitutes for a living. In Shen Congwen's description, these women do not take pleasure in it, nor do they indulge in self-degradation. Just because they are in the closed small town of Xiangxi, they have not seen too much of the world, and they have no ability to support themselves, so they have to engage in humble and inferior occupation. These women have their own grievances, some even pitiable. Dai Naidie felt deep sympathy for the suffering of these women and could not bear it. As a woman, she consciously avoided the use of misogynistic words and used neutral words in her translation. On the basis of a full understanding of the original text, Dai Naidie described to the target language readers the innocent and simple characteristics of the women in Xiangxi, and then showed the plain local conditions and customs of the water town in Xiangxi. This way of dealing with these women not only did not become the object of public scorn, but more than a point of innocence color; not only does it not distort the original meaning of the author's writing, but it is helpful for the author to express his hometown -- Xiangxi water town nostalgia and yearning.
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| − | =====3.2.3 Analysis on Religious Words=====
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| − | Religion is the deepest source of all cultures, so differences in religion determine differences in culture. In China, religion is carried out in the daily life of people. In the West, people's daily secular life is carried out in religion. Therefore, in the process of translating vocabulary related to religion between China and the West, the translator will inevitably have a cultural gap. In this case, it is very difficult to fully convey the cultural connotations contained in the source language and make the target language readers have the same reading effect as the source language readers.
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| − | “老伯伯,你翠翠长得真标志,像个观音样子。再过两年,若我有空闲能留在茶峒照料事情,不必像老鸦到处飞,我一定每夜到这溪边来为翠翠唱歌。”Dai Naidie translated this sentence into “Uncle, your Emerald’s grown into a fine girl, a regular Guan Yin [The Goddess of Mercy]. In a couple of years, if I’m able to roost in Chatong in stead of flying off in all directions. I’ll come to this stream every night to serenade her!” “观音” is a noble and elegant figure in Chinese Buddhism. In Chinese Buddhism, Guanyin Bodhisattva can save all living beings and save people from fire and water. Therefore, it is deeply believed and worshiped by the general public. For the translation of this religious and culturally loaded word, Gladys is faithful to the original work and adopts the translation strategy of "alienation". She translated “观音” into "a regular Guan Yin" and added an endnote to explain it, taking into account the acceptability of the target language readers, and at the same time giving full play to the translator's subjectivity.
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| − | ===Conclusion===
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| − | Translation practice examines not only the translation ability of the translator, but the translator also plays a variety of roles while performing translation activities. With the improvement of women's social discourse power, women have begun to consciously assume the cultural identity of translators. As a special group of translators, in addition to choosing materials related to female growth, female translators have unique translator behavior tendencies. ''The Border Town'' translated by Gladys Dai, a female translator, embodies two typical characteristics of female translators: on the one hand, female translators tend to choose neutral words and avoid using negatively discriminatory words; on the other hand, women The translator is more keenly aware of the original author’s linguistic information, and thus puts more emphasis on emotional communication when choosing words. As an indispensable and important component of the translation community, female translators play an increasingly important role.
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| − | At the same time, although there are many existing articles on the comparison of translations of ''The Border Town'', there are not many reference translations that can be given after the comparison. There is no definite method in translation, and there is no limit to translation, and the road to translation is long. As a translator, you must dare to make breakthroughs in the process of translation and introduce new ones. When translating culturally loaded words, you must not only take into account the dissemination and acceptance of culture, the culture of the target language reader and the correct dissemination of Chinese culture, but also the loyal original language and the correct dissemination of Chinese culture. The fluent expression of the target language, flexible use of domestication and foreignization translation strategies, transliteration, and footnote methods will enable the target readers to better understand and appreciate Chinese culture in terms of vocabulary and text, and ultimately achieve the purpose of spreading Chinese culture. So as to truly realize the "going out" of Chinese culture.
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| − |
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| − | ===Reference===
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| − | Dai Naidie translated, Shen Congwen wrote戴乃迭译, 沈从文著. 边城 [M] The Border Town. 上海: 译林出版社 Shanghai: Yi Lin Press , 2013. 07.
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| − | Guo Jianzhong郭建中.翻译中的文化因素:异化与归化[J]. Cultural Factors in Translation: Foreignization and Domestication外国语 Journal of Foreign Languages, 1998(2):12-19.
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| − | Guan Xia官霞.试论《边城》中文化负载词的翻译——兼议《边城》两英译本[J]. On the Translation of Culture – Loaded Expressions in Biancheng. 海外英语, 2014, (17):139-141.
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| − | Liu Minxia刘霞敏. 翻译中的性别差异及女性身份认同 [J] The Gender Difference and Identification in Translation. 外语教学 Foreign Language Education. 2007 (02): 91-94.
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| − | Mei Qing梅晴.译者主体性视角下《边城》三个英译本的比较研究[J] A Comparative Study of Three English Versions of The Border Town from the Perspective of Translator's Subjectivity.兰州教育学院学报 Journal of Lanzhou Vocational Technical College,2018,34(10):157-159+162.
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| − | Qi Qi祁琦.戴乃迭、杨宪益《边城》译本中文化负载词的翻译策略及启示[J] The Translation Strategies and Enlightenment of Culturally Loaded Words in the Translation of "Border City" by Gladys
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| − | Dai and Yang Xianyi.海外英语 Overseas English,2020(09):163-164.
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| − | Song Jian, Cui Weinan, Luo Shuilian宋健,崔伟男,罗水莲.从翻译行为到译者行为:戴乃迭女性译者文化身份[J] From Translation Act to Translator Act: The Cultural Identity of Gladys Female Translators.文学教育(下) Literature Education,2017(08):24-27.
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| − | Tian Yi田艺. 译者行为批评视阈下《边城》中文化负载词英译对比研究[D] A Study on the Translation of Culture-loaded Words in Biancheng from the Perspective of Translator Behavior Criticism – Take the Example of Gladys Yang’s and Jeffrey C. Kinkley’s Translation Versions.北京外国语大学 Beijing Foreign Studies University,2019.
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| − | Yin Lucheng, Liu Rurong尹泸程,刘汝荣.传播学视角下中国文化负载词的英译——以杨宪益和戴乃迭的《边城》译本为例[J] On the Translation of Culture-loaded Words from the Communication Perspective:A Case Study of The Border Town Translated by Yang Hsien-yi and Gladys Yang.湖南第一师范学院学报 Journal of Hunan First Normal University,2020,20(01):124-128.
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| − | Zhou Na周娜.跨文化视域下英汉文化负载词中概念隐喻翻译现象分析[J] An Analysis of the Translation Phenomenon of Conceptual Metaphors in Culturally Loaded Words in English and Chinese from a Cross-cultural Perspective.今古文创 JinGu Creative Literature,2021,(42):125-126.
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| − | =14 胡舒情 浅谈中医典籍中文化负载词的翻译策略——以《伤寒论》为例On Translation Strategies of Culture-loaded Words in Traditional Chinese Medical Classics: A Case Study of ''Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold''=
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| − | 胡舒情 Hu Shuqing, Hunan Normal University, China
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| − | [[Cult_Load_Words_EN_ 14]]
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| − |
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| − | === Abstract ===
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| − | ''Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold'', written by Zhang Zhongjing in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, is one of the "Four Classics" of Traditional Chinese medicine which uses six channels as guiding principles of syndromes differentiation and treatment. The book concentrates the traditional Chinese medical wisdom, which is both scientific and literary. The writing is smooth and simple, and the language is straightforward and vivid. A large number of rhetorical devices such as reduplication of words are used to reflect the beauty of Classical Chinese. Its multiple values have led more and more scholars to devote themselves to research, study and even translation and promotion, and a number of outstanding scholars have emerged at home and abroad to devote themselves to the translation work of this book. However, it is not easy to translate this book. China has an long history and profound culture, and the book contains many culture-loaded words. The translation quality of such words directly affects the translation quality, so it is necessary to adopt appropriate translation strategies. Therefore, the author chooses the version translated by Professor Luo Xiwen as the research blueprint to study the translation strategies of culture-loaded words in traditional Chinese medicine classics, in order to promote the translation of this book to a higher level.
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| − |
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| − | === Key Words ===
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| − | cultrue-loaded words; Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold; Tranditional Chinese medicine classics; translation strategies
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| − |
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| − | === 题目 浅谈中医典籍中文化负载词的翻译策略——以《伤寒论》 ===
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| − |
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| − | === 摘要 ===
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| − | 《伤寒论》为东汉末年的张仲景所著,是以六经作为辩证论治的纲领,荣列为中医“四大经典”之一。该书浓缩了中国传统医学智慧,兼具科学性与文学性,行文流畅朴素,语言直白形象,其中大量运用叠词等修辞手法,体现了中国文言文之美。其多重价值致使越来越多的学者致力于研究、学习、甚至是翻译推广,国内外皆涌现出一批优秀学者投身该书的翻译工作中。但翻译此书并非易事,中国历史优秀、文化精深,书中包含众多文化负载词,这类词的翻译质量直接影响译文质量,采取合适的翻译策略必不可缺。因此,笔者选择了罗希文教授所翻译的版本,作为中医典籍文化负载词翻译策略的研究蓝本,以期推进该书翻译工作更上一层楼。
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| − |
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| − | === 关键词 ===
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| − | 文化负载词,《伤寒论》,中医典籍,翻译策略
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| − |
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| − | ===1. Introduction===
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| − | In recent years, China's international influence and national soft power have gradually improved, and the country has consciously pushed Chinese culture to all over the world. Traditional Chinese medicine culture, as an indispensable part of the excellent traditional culture of the Chinese nation, has a long history and unique theories and technical methods. Classic materials are rich and humanistic spirit of TCM is amazing, and the external dissemination of traditional Chinese medicine culture is becoming more and more important. Under this background, the translation of traditional Chinese medicine in China has been gradually carried out, and the culture-loaded words in the classics of traditional Chinese medicine are important features that reflect their rich cultural color and humanistic connotation, and the translation of culture-loaded words is the key to the translation of traditional Chinese medicine. Culture-loaded words are parts of the construction of traditional Chinese medicine culture and have basic research value. They cannot be unilaterally regarded as completely untranslatable because of the differences between Chinese and Western cultures. Facing the problems of translation, it is particularly important to put forward feasible translation strategies. A large number of translators of traditional Chinese medicine classics have also emerged in China, facing difficulties and striving to show the world the classics’ cultural accumulation and research results. Among them, the translator Luo Xiwen has translated a series of traditional Chinese medicine classics such as ''Condensed Compendium of Materia Medica'', ''Synopsis of Prescriptions of the Golden Chamber'', ''Huangdi Neijing'', and ''Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold''. As one of China's historical medical works, ''Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold'' is a classic work of traditional Chinese medicine written by Zhang Zhongjing in the Eastern Han Dynasty. It plays an important role in the development of medical history in the cultural biography of traditional Chinese medicine. This article will discuss the translation strategies of culture-loaded words in traditional Chinese medicine classics through Luo's translation of Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold.
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| − | ===2. TheDefinition and Classification of Culture-loaded Words in Chinese Medical Classics ===
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| − | ====2.1 The Definition====
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| − | Different scholars have different interpretations of culturally loaded words, but a widely accepted definition is that words, phrases and idioms which mark the unique things in a certain culture. These words are deeply imprinted by the region and times of a language society. They only exist in one culture but are blank in another culture.
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| − | In recent years, many scholars have begun to pay attention to culture-loaded words in traditional Chinese medicine classics. Some scholars have tried to give a definition of traditional Chinese medicine culture-loaded words, but there is no clear definition yet. However, scholars Zhang Miao and others put forward recognition steps and a selection standard for traditional Chinese medicine culture-loaded words. First of all, read through the text and divide the semantic groups. Secondly, judge whether the semantic group belongs to the shared vocabulary of all human culture, that is, to express one concept of things as a vocabulary in the context of one language and culture, and words that indicate the corresponding concept in another language and culture background. For example, the words "apple", "pear" and "fire" in Chinese express the same concept and corresponding words in English. If it does not belong to part of speech, then determine whether each semantic group belongs to the following three categories. First, the basic terminology of traditional Chinese medicine. Such terms are usually divided into basic theories of traditional Chinese medicine, diagnosis of traditional Chinese medicine, diseases of traditional Chinese medicine, treatment of traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture and moxibustion, and prescriptions of traditional Chinese medicine. Second, words unique to Chinese material culture, such as unique characters and things. Third, the unique language phenomenon of ancient Chinese. Such as ancient and modern synonymous words, common false words, word polysemy, etc. If it belongs to, and there is no obvious English corresponding word in the above semantic group, it is a culturally loaded word(Zhang Miao, 2020). According to this method, this paper selects the culture-loaded words in ''Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold'' in the following article for analysis.
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| − | ====2.2 The Classification====
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| − | After framed the culture-loaded words of traditional Chinese medicine, it is often necessary to classify and discuss them. Different scholars have different classification methods. Xu Xueyuan divided the culture-loaded words in the Yellow Emperor's Internal Classics into basic philosophical concepts of traditional Chinese medicine, place names, traditional Chinese medicine medical terms and organs(Xu Xueyuan, 2018). Zhang Xuan divided the culture-loaded words in Su Wen into people's names, traditional Chinese medicine terminology, traditional Chinese medicine-related philosophical concepts, and other descriptive cultural load parts of speech(Zhang Xuan, 2009). Song Conghui and others divided the words of cultural load into: symptoms of traditional Chinese medicine, symptoms of traditional Chinese medicine, etiology and pathogenesis of traditional Chinese medicine, treatment of traditional Chinese medicine, basic philosophy of traditional Chinese medicine, etc(Song Conghui, 2016). Chen Zinuo and others divide the culture-loaded words of traditional Chinese medicine into five categories: syndrome, symptom, prescription, philosophy and rhetoric(Chen Zinuo, 2021). The latter includes the classification mentioned in the first three, and also opens up a rhetorical class to make the classification more detailed and clear. Therefore, this paper adopts Chen's classification method.
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| − | ===3. Translation Strategies Used for Culture-loaded Words in ''Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold''===
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| − | ====3.1 Translation Strategy of Culture-loaded Words of Syndrome====
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| − | The translation of the disease name affects the readability of the whole translation. Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold has been written for a long time, and the simple structure of disease name carries a lot of information, so there are few modern terms that can be matched with ancient disease names. According to the methods mentioned above, most of the terms of traditional Chinese medicine diseases belong to culture-loaded words. The author selected the disease-type cultural load words in Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold translated by Professor Luo Xiwen to study the translation strategies of these words.
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| − | There are several syndromes mentioned in translation of Professor Luo: “太阳病” “阳明病” “少阳病” “太阴病” “少阴病” “厥阴病” “霍乱病” “阴阳易差后劳复病”. Sheng Jie believes that the translation of the syndrome name should be accurate first, then concise, and there is no need to overemphasize formal equivalence(Sheng Jie, 2013). When the meaning of the syndrome name has the corresponding words of Western medicine, the literal translation method should be directly used, and when there is no word to use, the method of additional translation can be selected.
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| − | Luo mainly adopts transliteration and free translation for syndrome names, first transliteration, followed by free translation, extending the cultural connotation and giving readers a way to deepen understanding. The following analysis can be seen.
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| − | “太阳病” appeares in chapter I, and Luo translates it into The Taiyang (Initial Yang) Syndromes. “太阳” does not refer to the celestial body “sun”, but to the Bladder of Foot-Taiyang. The bladder is located in the lower jiao, that is, below the belly button and above the bladder, which contains body fluid, which evaporizes to form "Qi of Taiyang", which is obvious on the body surface. This Qi has the function of protecting the body, also known as "Wei-qi". Because “Wei” meaning defensive, it is also reputed as “defensive Qi”. Because the Qi of Taiyang travels on the surface of human body, when exogenous pathogenic factors invade the human body, Taiyang must bear the brunt, and the syndromes presented as 太阳病. Professor Luo first gives the transliteration form of 太阳病, and then in view of Taiyang syndromes being the first from the law of transmission, Luo also adds “Initial Yang” as an expression of this kind of law of transmission.
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| − | “阳明病” appears in Chapter 4, Luo translates it as: The Yangming (Greater Yang) Syndrome. “阳明病” is related to the stomach channel of Foot-Yangming and the Large Intestine Meridian of Hand-Yangming, which means that Yang Qi is so strong that can be observed. Luo uses "Greater" to indicate the prosperity of yang qi to help readers understand the degree of yang.
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| − | “少阳病” appears in Chapter 5. Luo translates it as: The Shaoyang (Lesser Yang) Syndrome. Shaoyang is related to Sanjiao Meridian of Shaoyang and Shaoyang Gallbladder Meridian of Foot. It is one of the three Yang, but its ability to stand up to evil is not as good as Tiyang and Yangming, so "Lesser" is used to correspond to "少" in the name.
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| − | “太阴病” and “少阴病”, which have similar names with the “太阳病” “少阳病”, just different from Yin and Yang, have similar translations, so there is no need to go into detail. It is worth mentioning that “厥阴病”, Luo translates it as: The Jueyin (Greater Yin) Syndrome. “厥” has the meaning of “extreme”. When the disease or syndrome reaches Jueyin, Yin is extremely cold. Therefore, the degree of Yin embodied with "Greater" is similar to that of Yangming.
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| − | “霍乱” appears in Chapter 9, Luo translates it as: Huoluan (Cholera). “霍”, has the meaning of “suddenly” and “haste”, “乱” has the meaning of chaos. “霍乱” is an explosive gastrointestinal disease with vomiting and diarrhea as the main clinical manifestations. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that it is mostly caused by the combination of the six pathogenic factors and unhealthy diets. In Western medicine, Cholera is more likely to be an acute diarrheal infectious disease caused by the intake of food and water which is contaminated by Vibrio cholerae. It is not appropriate to have Cholera's literal translation of “霍乱” in Chinese medicine.
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| − | “阴阳易差后劳复病” appears in Chapter 10, Luo translated it as: The Recurrence of Disease and Yin Yang Yi Syndrome. This chapter introduces two parts: one is related to Yin Yang Yi, that is, the differentiation and treatment of Yin Yang Yi syndrome caused by patients with typhoid fever when they are not healed or just recovering, giving way to their carnal desires; the other refers to the differentiation and treatment of recurring diseases resulted from that, at the beginning of recovering from an illness or no recovery, patients start to work. In this chapter, Luo does not add interpretations, but directly arranges the free translation and transliteration in a phrase. The language is concise, easy to be accepted and understood by readers, and achieve the purpose of communication between Chinese and Western medicine. As a matter of fact, observations show that Luo's translation is relatively accurate in grasping the prosperities of syndromes, and tends to use free translation to reflect the characteristics of the progress of syndromes. However, Luo still mainly uses transliteration to convey cultural information about Yin and Yang and other Chinese-specific philosophical characters. This method also has drawbacks, that is, the transmission of cultural connotation depends on the degree of such characters’ propagation and the reader’s cultural level. For some readers who are first exposed to Chinese medicine culture, the transliteration is not friendly, which is not conducive to their reception of Chinese specific cultural information.
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| − | ====3.2 Translation Strategy of Culture-loaded Words of Symptom====
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| − | When describing various syndromes in the book, it also points out the symptoms of the patient who is attacked by those disease. Most of the symptoms are described in detail at the beginning, and Chinese medical books are quite different from Western medical books in terms of the degree of language rigor. About Chinese medicine books, they make good use of rhetoric and pay attention to flowery characters and rhyme beauty, which adds a literary flavor to Chinese medicine, while it also causes the ambiguity and non-standardization of the concept of Chinese medicine, which increases the difficulty of translation as well. Examples are as follows.
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| − | Example 1:阳浮者,热自发;阴弱者,汗自出。
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| − | Translation:Floating at the surface signifies Heat weak in depth signifies spontaneous perspiration.
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| − | This sentence is neatly formed and catchy to read. Luo's translation is roughly the same as the original in form. It is worth noting that Luo translates most of the character "热" which refers to heat symptoms caused by an exopathgen as "Heat" or "pathogenic Heat", and capitalized H to distinguish the "heat" from common heat.
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| − | Example 2:鼻鸣干呕
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| − | Translation:nauseous and with a tendency to snore
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| − | In response to “干呕”, Luo uses the adjective “nauseous” to express "disgusting". In fact, the original text “干呕” is closer to “retching”, which refers to only the sound and action of vomiting, but no food or only salivation. This is not the same as complete nausea. “Nauseous” the word chosen by Luo here does not fit the context of Chinese medicine. “鼻鸣” are sounds made when the breath enters and exits due to suffocation in the nasal passages. It is manifested as thick breathing like a squeak, and snoring is the sound of thick breathing after falling asleep. Luo use the translation of “snore” is rather accurate.
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| − | Example 3:不下利,但呕者
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| − | Translation:……not cause diarrhea, but rather cause nausea and vomiting
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| − | “下利” refers to having the trots in Chinese medicine. The literal translation of "diarrhea" here fits the context. Compared with using the previous term nauseous to indicate “干呕”, Luo treats the character “呕” more carefully, using two words nausea and vomit to expresse together. At the same time, ancient Chinese medical writings in classical style tend to use omissions and emphasize parataxis, while English paying more attention to hypotaxis, Luo uses the word “cause” to make sentences more coherent and clearer.
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| − | In summary, it can be seen that the translation of symptoms extremely tests the translator's Chinese and English levels and medical understandings, and a slight difference will lead to deviations in meaning. For such culture loaded words, translators also use more literal translation and omission methods, and less transliteration. But there is also a problem, that is, most of the symptom names in Chinese and Western medicine can not completely point to the same content, and this subtle difference may cause doctors to make mistakes in judgment and cause major accidents. Therefore, the translation of symptoms should be more careful, and comments can be added when necessary to help understand.
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| − | ====3.3 Translation Strategy of Culture-loaded Words of Prescription====
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| − | Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold is the "ancestor of all prescriptions", which contains many culture loaded words related to prescriptions. Chai Hui has carried out research on the English translation of the prescriptions of Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold, using the transliteration + literal translation + Latin notation of the "three insurances" translation method for prescription names to ensure that the translation is accurate and comprehensive(Chai Hui, 2010:703-704). Luo's translation mainly uses literal translation for such culturally loaded words. Examples are as follows.
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| − | Example 1:芍药
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| − | Translation:Radix Paeoniae
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| − | The translation of medicinal materials needs to pay attention to the phenomenon of different medicines with the same name. For example, in Zhang Zhongjing's book, there is no distinction between white peony and red peony, but in modern times, white peony and red peony are clearly classified as two kinds of medicinal materials. At present, clinical physicians generally believe that white peony’s function is rather tonic and restorative, while that of red peony refers to ejecting or diarrhea, and two medicinal materials need to be used flexibly according to the condition of the disease. Professor Luo uses Radix Paeoniae to translate it in general, without any distinction or explanation.
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| − | Example 2:潦水
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| − | Translation:rain water
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| − | In Chinese medicine, “潦水” refers to rain water. Luo Zhi literally translated it. “潦水” can be used to decoct herbal medicines whose functions are to nourish spleen and stomach and remove the dampness-heat. In fact, the translator can also explain the reasons for the use of rain water in Chinese medicine after the text, which is more conducive for readers to understand the connotation of Chinese medicine.
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| − | Example 3:苦酒汤
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| − | Translation:decoction of Bitter Wine (Ku Jiu Tang)
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| − | "苦酒汤" in Chinese medicine is actually rice vinegar. Luo translates it as "bitter wine", which means wine with a bitter taste, which is not in line with the original meaning and can be misleading.
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| − | Through the above analysis, we can find that the names of the prescriptions and the materials used in the book all have specific cultural connotations of traditional Chinese medicine. There are few corresponding words in Western languages, and even if they do, they are different from the original cultural connotations of the word in the West. We need to adopt appropriate methods in translation, which not only preserves the cultural characteristics of Chinese medicine, but also facilitates the understanding of target readers.
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| − | ====3.4 Translation Strategy of Culture-loaded Words of Philosophy====
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| − | The philosophy of Chinese medicine is the ideological basis and theoretical guidance of Chinese medicine, covering Qi, Yin and Yang, and the Five Elements and so on. Among them, the theory of Yin and Yang is the main line of Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold, which is expressed as two opposite sides of the same thing or two opposite things in a unified way. Jiang Mingde and others have analyzed the polysemous nature of the term "Yin and Yang" in Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold, and pointed out that Yin and Yang can represent multiple meanings such as pulse location, pulse condition, disease attributes, pathological characteristics, etc(Jiang Mingde, 1992:7-8). The specific meanings in terms vary according to the environment and the translators different. Some examples are analyzed as follows.
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| − | Example 1:阴阳自和
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| − | Translation:if yin and yang are still in harmony
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| − | "阴阳自和" means that after sweating, vomiting, and using the purgation method, the human body achieves Yin-yang harmony and heals through self-regulation. This is an important content of Chinese philosophy. This tends to be a kind of dynamic balance, while Luo Yi's translation of “in harmony” is more inclined to a kind of static stability, which is somewhat different from the original meaning.
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| − | Example 2:脉阴阳俱浮
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| − | Translation:floating pulse at Yin and Yang
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| − | The translations of “阴阳” here are still transliterated as Yin and Yang. As a matter of fact, the two terms here refer to “Cun” and “Chi” (the transliteration of “寸部” “尺部”) appearing as floating features. Cun pulse pertains to Yang, and Chi pulse is to Yin. Professor Luo only uses transliteration, without supplementing background knowledge and relevant contextual information, so that readers in the target language may not understand what exactly they refer to.
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| − | Example 3:伤寒阴阳易之为病
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| − | Translation:Febrile disease caused by Cold with Yin Yang Yi syndrome
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| − | Luo adopts transliteration and free translation. In regard to Yin Yang Yi, Yin and Yang here refer to sexes of male and female, among which Yin Yi is the disease transmitted from female to male; Yang Yi is the diseases transmitted from male to female. After analysis, it can be found that most of philosophical characters such as Yin and Yang are transliterated by Luo, who does not provide additional explanations or supplementary background information. Without pre-connotations, this kind of translation would make the target language readers and feel confused and think that the translated work is obscure.
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| − | ====3.5 Translation Strategy of Culture-loaded Words of Rhetoric====
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| − | The language of Chinese medicine has its unique features, which are mainly manifested in its literariness, rich philosophical thoughts, and good at comparing images and analogies. Various rhetoric techniques can be seen everywhere in the book. While deepening people’s understanding of the original text, it also increases the difficulty of literary translation into English. The correct transmission and translation of the true meaning requires a solid foundation in Chinese medicine and linguistics.
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| − | Example 1四肢烦疼:
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| − | Translation:the patient feels heavy and painful in the extremities
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| − | The "烦" in this phrase, Explanation of Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold and other books explain it as an annoyance, a kind of feeling for people. The Chinese sentence here is a non-spirited sentence to replace people with limbs. Luo’s version of the translation emphasizes people's feelings. It rather focuses on people's feelings of heavy pain in their limbs, than translates people's feelings of boredom.
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| − | Example 2:啬啬恶寒,渐渐恶风,翕翕发热
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| − | Translation:The patient feels chill and fears wind, uneasy because of a fever.
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| − | Among them, “啬啬” “渐渐” and “翕翕” manifest various kinds of rhetoric techniques. “啬啬” reflects the howling shudder look, expressing that the degree of people’s aversion to cold is severe. And “渐渐” describes the onomatopoeia of mild wind and rain, while “翕翕” describes the appearance of mild fever, but these characters are not translated in Luo's translation, and Luo adopts the omission method.
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| − | ===4. Conclusion===
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| − | Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold is a classic work of Chinese medicine and a treasure of Chinese medicine culture. The translation and dissemination of this book has extraordinary significance for the promotion of Chinese culture and the connotation of Chinese medicine. The culture loaded words are the condensed form of the unique national culture, and their translation is related to the readability of the entire book. The English translation of culture loaded words in Chinese medical classics is an extremely complex cross-cultural translation activity. It not only takes cultural characteristics into account, but also reflects the characteristics of scientific and technological styles, which is a great test for the level of translators. Professor Luo’s translation of this book is the world's first fully translated English translation of TCM classics. The book was published earlier than most translations. Under the background of that time, Luo Xiwen's translation of Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold is no doubt of pioneering significance.
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| − | The translation strategies Professor Luo chooses are basically literal translation, free translation, omission, and transliteration, with few additional interpretations. Each of these translation strategies has its own advantages and disadvantages. The ultimate goal of translation is for readers to better understand the original text, and there is definitely a great similarity between the two different medical systems of Chinese and Western medicine, which cannot be separated. Literal translation can be used appropriately, and some of Western medicine terms can be used to express some concepts of that of Chinese medicine. Literal translation is a translation method that maintains both the original content and the original form. Generally, when the target language and the original language can express the same content in the same form, we will use literal translation. However, culture loaded words are the difficulties of translation due to the vocabulary vacancy in the target language. The use of literal translation seems to be contradictory. In fact, the choice of literal translation is also for the construction of the concept of TCM culture. Although Chinese medicine culture loaded words are not only a language full of Chinese national characteristics, but also a part of the world's national culture. We should also have full cultural self-confidence. In the translation process, we should dare to retain the national cultural characteristics, express the Chinese medicine culture with the conceptual language of Chinese medicine, and present the pure and natural Chinese medicine culture to Western readers, so as to increase the understanding, recognition and respect of the Chinese medicine culture. This is why Professor Luo extensively use transliteration is his translation, which reflects his care and thought. At the same time, we have to admit that Luo’s translation also has its shortcomings, such as mistranslation or incomplete translation of culture loaded words with multiple meanings, omission of some modifiers, and no supplementary explanations for relatively large differences between Chinese and Western cultures. In the future, Chinese medicine Translation needs to continue to explore, innovate, revise and develop.
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| − | All in all, the translation of Chinese medical culture loaded words must not only maintain national cultural characteristics, but also be conducive to the understanding and acceptance of target readers. All major translation strategies are worthy of careful consideration. Only translators familiarize themselves with the original text, master the similarities and differences between the two languages, choose the most appropriate translation strategy in different contexts, and supplement the relevant cultural background when necessary to help readers understand, translations of Traditional Chinese Medicine classics can be rather outstanding.
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| − | ===References===
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| − | Baker, M.In otherworld: a course on translation. London:routledge,1992:253.
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| − | Munday J. Introducing Translation Studies: Theories and Applications[M].London and New York: Routledge, 2001:101-102.
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| − | Newmark P. A textbook of translation[M].Hemel Hempstead:prentice Hall,1988:23.
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| − | Chai Hui柴卉. 《伤寒论》方剂的英译研究[D] Research on Prescriptions in ''Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold''.南京中医药大学 Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine,2010.
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| − | Chai Hui柴卉,吴承艳 Wu Chengyan.浅谈《份寒论》方名翻译[J] Discussion on the Traslation of Prescriptions in ''Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold''.光明中医 Guangming Chinese Medicine,2010.25(4):703-704.
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| − | Cao Linyan曹琳琰. 生态翻译学视阈下《伤寒论》文化负载词英译策略研究[D] Research on the Translation Methods of Culture Loaded Words in ''Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold'' from Eco-translatology Perspective.南京中医药大学 Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine,2016.
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| − | Cao Sijia曹思佳.功能对等理论在《伤寒论》英译中的应用[J] The Application of the Functional Equibalence Theory in the Translation of ''Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold''.湖南中医杂志 Hunan Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2019,35(12):82-84.
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| − | Chen Zhile陈智乐,平文江 Ping Wenjiang.目的论视阈下《伤寒论》中文化负载词的英译策略研究——以罗希文译本为例[J] Research on the Translation Methods of Culture Loaded Words in ''Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold'' from the Perspective of the Skopos Theory -- A Case Study of Luo Xiwen's Translation.海外英语 Overseas English,2021(06):59-60.
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| − | Chen Zinuo谌子诺, Wang Jie王阶, He Haoqiang何浩强,沈艺 Shen yi.从《伤寒论》桂枝汤方证的英译谈中医文化负载词的英译方法[J] On the Translation Methods of Chinese Medicine Culture Loaded Words from the Translation of Decoction of Ramulus Cinnamomi in ''Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold''.环球中医药 Global Traditional Chinese Medicine,2021,14(09):1697-1700.
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| − | Fan Yanni范延妮.中医方剂文化负载词英译对比研究——以《伤寒论》为例[J] A Comparative Study of the Translation of Culture Loaded Words of Traditional Chinese Medicine Prescriptions——Taking ''Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold'' as an Example.西部中医药 Western Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine,2019,32(11):157-160.
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| − | Liao Qiyi廖七一. 当代西方翻译理论探索[M]An Exploration of Contemporary Western Translation Theories.南京 Nanjing:译林出版社 Yilin Press, 2000:232.
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| − | Gu feng谷峰.中医药文化传播视角下《伤寒论》中方剂名的英译[J] On the Translation of Prescriptions in ''Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold'' from the Perspective of Cultural Communication of Traditional Chinese Medicine.中国中医基础医学杂志Chinese Journal of Basic Medicine in Traditional Chinese Medicine,2021,27(01):146-148+163.
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| − | Hui Jiabei惠佳蓓. 关联理论与《伤寒论》文化负载词英译对比研究:基于两种译本[D]A Comparative Study of Different English Translations of Culture Loaded Words in ''Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold'' from the Perspective of Relevance Theory: Based on Two Translation Versions.南京中医药大学 Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine,2011.
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| − | Jiang Mingde蒋明德,何家武 He Jiawu.《伤寒论》阴阳涵义浅见[J]On the Meaning of Yin and Yang in ''Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold''.贵阳中医学院学报Journal of Guiyang College of Traditional Chinese Medicine,1992(01):7-8.
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| − | Song Conghui宋聪慧. 生态翻译学视角下《伤寒论》文化负载词英译研究[D]A Study on the English Translation of Culture Loaded Words in ''Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold'' from the Perspective of Eco-translatology.南京中医药大学Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine,2016.
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| − | Sheng Jie盛洁. 基于奈达功能对等理论的《伤寒论》病证名英译研究[D]Research on English Translation of Disease and Syndrome Names in ''Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold'' Based on Nida's Functional Equivalence Theory.南京中医药大学Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine,2013.
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| − | Zuo Gui左桂. 关联翻译理论视域下《伤寒论》通假字英译研究[D]A Study on the English Translation of Tongjia Characters in ''Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold'' from the Perspective of Relevance Translation Theory.南京中医药大学Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine,2021.
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| − | Zhang Zhongjing张仲景.伤寒论[M]Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold.罗希文Luo Xiwen,英译the English Translation,北京Beijing:新世界出版社New World Press.2007.
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| − | --[[User:Hu Shuqing|Hu Shuqing]] ([[User talk:Hu Shuqing|talk]]) 14:07, 8 December 2021 (UTC)
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| − | =15 陈静 The Translation of Culture-loaded Words From the Perspective of Skopos Theory: A Case Study of ''Xi Jinping: The Governance of China''=
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| | [[Cult_Load_Words_EN_15]] | | [[Cult_Load_Words_EN_15]] |
| − | ===Abstract===
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| − | The Communist Party of China celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2021. Xi Jinping: The Governance of China (Volume III) was published at a critical juncture. Xi Jinping's political vision is expanded in the third version. This book provides foreign readers with a window into China's leadership and insight into China's unique governance. Hence, the book is critical in assisting foreigners in understanding China's political position in domestic and international affairs. The purpose of this article is to investigate and analyze the translation strategies of culture-loaded words in Xi Jinping: The Governance of China (Volume III) using the framework of the Skopos Theory.
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| − | ===Key words===
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| − | Culture-loaded words; Skopos theory; ''Xi Jinping: The Governance of China
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| − | ''
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| − | ===Introduction===
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| − | ===1. Introduction===
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| − | ====1.1 Research Backgrounds====
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| − | Language is a cultural carrier as well as an important means of understanding specific ethnic and national cultures. Each country’s language contains more or less culture-loaded words, and the connotation of these words differs from people’s general cognition of them in the context of globalization, reflecting their own unique culture, national color, and historical context. Because each nation has its own development history, social system, ecological environment, religious beliefs, and so on, the language will inevitably derive a large number of words, allusions, and idioms condensing the national historical and cultural characteristics during the development process of history. With a five-thousand-year-long history, Chinese has amassed a large number of culture-loaded words, and translation of culture-loaded words is an important carrier for cultural readers from other countries to understand Chinese culture without relevant cultural background.
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| − | At the specific practice level, a large number of culture-loaded words will inevitably appear in the text as a material to publicize all aspects of the country. A good example is Xi Jinping: The Governance of China (Volume III). General Secretary Xi Jinping quoted classics and used approachable language in his speech. His use of words infused with Chinese culture made this series of speeches more vivid and appealing to the audience. Through careful text reading, analysis, and summarization, it has been discovered that the culture-loaded words used in Xi Jinping: The Governance of China (Volume III) primarily fall into the following categories: Chinese political words, including political slogans and political characters; a large number of ancient Chinese poems, with cultural connotation primarily reflected in the characters, allusions, and images appearing in poetry; unique Chinese sayings and idioms; and special words with Chinese cultural connotation, such as numbers, etc. The translation of culture-loaded words necessitates translators faithfully conveying the essence and soul of their national culture while accurately and properly understanding the beliefs, customs, and aesthetic values in other national cultures in order to achieve true cultural communication. As a result, in order to achieve the goal of Chinese culture spreading, translators should carefully deal with culture-loaded words and strive to accurately convey the essence of traditional Chinese culture to target language readers.
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| − | ====1.2 Research Significance====
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| − | China’s politics and policies are attracting increasing attention from the outside world as China’s overall national strength and economic development improve. The Communist Party of China celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2021. This is a significant event in Chinese ruling party's historical and political development. ''Xi Jinping: The Governance of China (Volume III)'' was published at a critical juncture. Xi Jinping’s political vision is expanded in the third version. The language in the book is rich and diverse. In addition to general political terms, the book employs rhetorical devices such as exclusion and repetition to improve the language’s persuasion. The books also contain a large number of poems, proverbs, and idioms rich in Chinese cultural heritage. A minor blunder may result in cultural misunderstanding, a negative national image, and an impact on international relations.
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| − | According to Gao Fang (2010), in the context of “Chinese culture go out”, the country has taken various measures to strengthen cultural export, but Chinese readers disregard for local literature, western readers of Chinese culture cognition, English world innate discrimination against translation work and translation strategy decisions, which reflects the difficulties in the broadcast of Chinese culture. As a result, it has piqued the interest of the domestic literary circle, the translation circle, and various publishing institutions: how to successfully realize cross-cultural communication of cultural works, how to properly and effectively solve the translation problem?
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| − | The paper uses the English translation of culture-load words in ''Xi Jinping: The Governance of China'' as the research content, and attempts to summarize and analyze the translator’s translation strategy and rationality when translating Chinese culture-loaded words from the perspective of Skopos Theory, as well as providing a reference for the English translation of Chinese cultural load words in current publicity materials.
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| − | ===2. Literature Review ===
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| − | ====2.1 Culture-loaded Words====
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| − | Nida proposed the theory of culture-loaded terms translation for the first time in 1945.
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| − | Nida classified culture-loaded terms into five categories, including ecological, material, social, religious, and linguistic culture-loaded terms. Ecological culture-loaded terms are words or phrases that are distinct due to their ecological and environmental conditions, which typically involve animals, plants, and climate. Material culture-loaded terms refer to physical objects that are specific to a culture, such as vehicles, food, or clothing. Social culture-loaded terms encompass a broader range of cultural content, encompassing all aspects of social life such as cultural background, social rules, history, traditions, and so on. Religious beliefs, including myths and fairy tales, are examples of religious culture-loaded terms. Linguistic culture-loaded terms are expressions with rich cultural characteristics, such as specific pronunciation, word, and syntax. From the author’s perspective, Aixela (1996) provided two primary classifications of culture-loaded terms: specialized nouns and common expressions.
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| − | Newmark (2001: 70) classified culture-loaded terms into five categories based on Nida’s research: proper names, historical institutional terms, international institutional terms, national institutional terms, and cultural terms. Proper names, according to Newmark (2001: 70), refer to “persons, objects, and processes distinctively owned by an ethnic community with singular references”. Brand names, trademarks, geographical names, names of newspapers, firms, journals, and private institutions, as well as proprietary names, are all examples of proper names, according to Newmark (2001). According to Newmark (2001: 74), historical institutional terms are “token words that give color and flavor to a period”. International institutional terms are words used by international organizations that have an official translation. According to Newmark (2001: 75), national institutional terms are those involving modern politics, finance, administration, and society. The scope of general cultural terms is broader, including ecological terms, loanwords with no specific cultural characteristics, and so on.
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| − | Chinese academics also proposed their own classifications of culturally charged terms. Tu Guoyuan (1996) agreed with Nida and Newmark’s classification and defined culture in a broader sense as human society's mental and practical activities. In a broad sense, culture is defined as a community's distinct way of life and how it expresses its ideas. Culture-loaded terms, according to Liao Huihua and Ge Lingling(2010: 101), are words, phrases, and idioms that represent unique items in certain cultures. These terms reflect the distinct activities of specific ethnic groups that have accrued over time and distinguish them from other cultures.
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| − | ====2.2 The Skopos Theory====
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| − | Skopos Theory, the foundation of Functionalist Translation Theory, was proposed by Vermeer, a student of Reiss. According to Skopos Theory, the primary principle determining the translation process is the purpose of translation activities.
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| − | There are three types of purposes, according to Vermeer. To begin, there is a broad goal that a translator strives for, such as translating as a source of professional income. Second, a target text's communicative purpose in a target context, such as instructing the audience. Third, the goal of a translation strategy or approach, such as displaying structural characteristics of the source language. The theory views the source text as a "offer of information in a target culture," which is a result of constructivist comprehension theories.
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| − | The Skopos Theory states that there are three basic rules.
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| − | First and foremost, the Skopos rule. It is the highest-ranking rule for any translation, implying that translation activities are determined by the translation purpose. Each text is written with a specific purpose in mind and should be used for that purpose only. Because translation behavior is determined by the purpose of the translation, the Skopos rule is the primary rule for all types of translation.
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| − | The coherence rule is the second. This rule states that the target text must be coherent enough to be understandable given the intended receivers' background and context. At the very least, the translator should ensure that the translation is understandable to people from the target culture. Furthermore, only when the target text meets the standard of being intratextually coherent can it be expected to play a presupposed role in the communicative situation and culture in which it is received, and the audience will understand it without difficulty.
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| − | The third is the rule of fidelity. This rule focuses on the intertextual coherence between the translation and the original text, which is not the same thing. The former is thought to be inferior to the latter, and both are subject to the Skopos rule. When the purpose of the function changes, the standard is no longer intertextual coherence with the source language, but adequacy or appropriateness in relation to the purpose (Reiss and Vermeer, 1984). It is critical in translation that there is intertextual coherence between the source and target texts, and the form of this coherence depends on both the translator's understanding of the original text and the translator's translation purpose. There is only one possible intertextual coherence: maximum fidelity to the original text.
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| − | Skopos Theory’s three basic rules are intended to guide the translator throughout the translation process. In most cases, the translation cannot meet all three rules at the same time because doing so causes it to deviate from the original intention of the source text. In general, the Skopos rule should be followed by the coherence rule, followed by the fidelity rule, or, to put it another way, the need for loyalty is considered to be subject to intratextual coherence, both of which are subject to the Skopos rule. When a faithful translation of the original text cannot be effectively understood by receivers of the target text, the translator should abandon the fidelity rule and follow the coherence rule, that is, to make the translation meaningful in the target language’s communicative context and culture. If the function changes, the required standard will no longer be intertextual consistency with the source text, but adequacy or appropriateness in terms of the purpose (Nord, 2001). If the purpose necessitates intratextual incoherence, the intratextual coherence criterion is no longer applicable.
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| − | ====2.3 The Translation Strategies of Culture-loaded Words====
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| − | Wang Jianguo (2019) identified four limitations in translating culture-loaded words.
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| − | First, culture-loaded words are untranslatable. Culture has a distinguishing feature that sets it apart from the culture of the target language. Culture-loaded words are difficult to translate in certain literary works because they require more explanation and thus have the potential to influence the structural and aesthetic value of the target text. Second, cultural information that is highly relevant to the theme should be translated, and explanatory notes should be included as needed. If the culture-loaded word is unrelated to the source text, the target text will most likely be deleted or omitted. If the target text translated with literal translation can be understood, then literal translation is the most likely translation strategy to be used. Third, cultural values are difficult to convey. As a result, while translating culture-loaded words with Chinese characteristics, western media translation can be borrowed. Gu Hongmin, for example, translated “君子” as “a wise man”. Western culture emphasized wisdom, whereas Chinese culture emphasized benevolence. Gu translated “君子” as “wise man” because he thought the two words were culturally equivalent. Fourth, the principle of economy should be applied in translation. Wang discovered that when culture-loaded terms in the source text have little influence on comprehending the whole article, translators can find culturally equivalent words so that the target text will be more concise.
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| − | Wang also classified translation strategies into three categories: literal translation, non-literal translation, and translating words with unique cultural information.
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| − | The first strategy is literal translation. When there are words with similar cultural meanings, a literal translation is usually used. One type of literal translation is transliteral translation, which refers to the use of pinyin to translate culturally loaded words. Because transliteral translation preserves more cultural characteristics of the source language, it is frequently used in target text of the Big Breasts and Wide Hips. A translation strategy like this can help to avoid misinterpretation of the source language’s culture.
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| − | The second strategy is non-literal translation. This translation strategy is typically used in reader-friendly texts in the target language. Such a translation strategy does not adhere to the source text and overcomes constraints in language structure, which is a widely accepted strategy among targeted readers. Nonliteral translation strategies include explanatory notes both inside and outside the main body, including footnotes and tail notes. Filling-in translation is commonly used with literal translations, but it is also one of the non-literal translation strategies. Deletion refers to the practice of translators removing unnecessary words when the original meaning is unaffected.
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| − | The third strategy is to translate words that contain specific cultural information. Wang pointed out that idioms, aphorisms and maxims, two-part allegorical saying, the common saying, idioms and proverbs are the six major categories of idiomatic expressions. In many cases, the target text contains no words or phrases that are completely culturally equivalent to the source text.
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| − | ===3. Analysis of Translation of Culture-loaded Words in ''Xi Jinping: The Governance of China''===
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| − | ====3.1 Translation Strategy of Social Culture-loaded Words====
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| − | Social culture-loaded words reflect social ideology, which refers to the system in the form of social and economic factors in specific classes or groups. Social culture-loaded words encompass all aspects of social life, such as social activities, historical allusions, and festival customs. Words or phrases containing social culture-loaded words will emerge from a specific social context. As a result, it encompasses a wide range of word collocations. Political terms with Chinese characteristics, Chinese common saying, and rhetoric in Chinese are examples of social culture-loaded terms.
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| − | ST: 中国在人类发展史上曾经长期处于领先地位,自古以来逐步形成了一整套包括朝廷制度、郡县制度、土地制度、税赋制度、科举制度、监察制度、军事制度等各方面制度在内的国家制度和国家治理体系。
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| − | TT: Over a long period of history China led the world in development. It forged a complete set of state and governance systems covering the court, administration of prefectures and counties, land, taxation, civil service examination, supervision and the military.
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| − | “朝廷制度、郡县制度、土地制度、税赋制度、科举制度、监察制度” are institutions in the past of China that international readers may not be familiar with. In this case, the translators use literal translation by looking for words with similar meanings in the target language and the source language while adhering to the fidelity rule. “郡县” is translated into the modern expression of “prefectures and counties”. Such a translation strategy is in accordance with the principle of efficiency in dealing with cultural information. When the cultural information in the source text has limited influence on comprehending the entire passage, most translators will use a common strategy of finding words or phrases with similar meanings. By doing so, the original context's structure is not jeopardized, and the target text can adhere to the original meaning, which meets the fidelity rule’s requirement.
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| − | A similar strategy is adopted in translating “税赋” and “土地”. As for“税赋”in ancient China, the feudal land tax and taxation are included. However, the purpose of this excerpt is only to provide context for China's magnificent culture. Translators look for culturally equivalent words so that the target text is more precise and coherent. When translating “税赋”, since feudal land tax is a unique expression of the social system in ancient China and has little influence on the meaning of the whole passage, the translators use deletion and only translate the meaning of “税”. “土地制度” is also translated into the brief version of “land”, also using the strategy of deletion. Instead, inline annotation is used by translators when translating “科举制度”. “科举制度” is a unique examination system for public officials in ancient China, and it is difficult to find culturally equivalent words for it. To avoid misinterpretation from international readers, the translators explain this noun through explanatory notes, employing the Skopos rule to ensure effective cross-cultural communication. The translators take into account the cultural backgrounds of international readers and used culturally equivalent words in the target language. The goal of these two different translation strategies is to make cross-cultural communication easier. The Skopos rule and the coherence rule have been followed as a result of these strategies.
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| − | ST: 广大青年要坚定理想信念,志存高远,脚踏实地,勇做时代的弄潮儿,在实现中国梦的生动实践中放飞青春梦想。
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| − | TT: To all our young people, you should have firm ideals and convictions, aim high, and have your feet firmly on the ground. You should ride the waves of your day; and in the course of realizing the Chinese Dream, fulfill your youthful dreams.
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| − | “弄潮儿” is a common Chinese saying that originally referred to swimmers who swim against the tide but has since come to refer to people who are brave and entrepreneurial. This phrase has Chinese cultural characteristics and comes from a poem written during the Tang dynasty. This phrase was translated literally by the translators in accordance with the fidelity rule. The fidelity rule requires translators to avoid contradicting the original meaning of the source text while making the translation more understandable in light of the cultural differences. In the target text, the translators use literal translation to directly translate “弄潮儿”, implying that people should follow the trend of the times, which also meets President Xi’s extended meaning. Certain cultural information has its uniqueness, making it untranslatable. “弄潮儿” is a distinctive Chinese expression, and “ride the waves” refers to enjoying the advantage or benefit of a particularly successful, popular, fortunate or interesting moment. It can be difficult to find phrases that are completely culturally equivalent, so the translated version restored as much of the original information as possible, demonstrating how the fidelity rule is applied in the target text.
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| − | The above-mentioned social culture-loaded terms demonstrate a high level of adherence to the coherence rule and the Skopos rule, most likely due to the fact that social culture-loaded terms vary greatly across cultures. Target readers may find it difficult to interpret translations that strictly adhere to the fidelity rule, whereas translations that adhere to the coherence and Skopos rules can better facilitate cross-cultural communication. According to the appendix’s collected social culture-loaded terms, the majority of social culture-loaded terms used deletion, literal translation, and inline annotation. These three strategies allow international readers with limited knowledge of Chinese society to comprehend China’s policies and read the volume fluently.
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| − | ====3.2 Translation Strategy of Material Culture-loaded Words====
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| − | Material culture-loaded words include material products and technology invented by human beings derived from the development of society. The third volume’s material culture-loaded terms can be divided into four categories: construction, items, literary works, and names. Most material culture-loaded terms use transliteration and amplification strategies when translating literary works and names, as well as substitutions when translating constructions and products. Materials can have a variety of meanings in different cultures. For example, in Chinese culture, the terms “勤务员” and “伙夫” are distinct expressions that may not have equivalent words or phrases in English. While translating these words, translators should be aware of expressions in Western culture with similar meanings.
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| − | ST: 中华民族伟大复兴,绝不是轻轻松松、敲锣打鼓就能实现的。
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| − | TT: Achieving national rejuvenation will be no walk in the park; it will take more than drum beating and gong clanging to get there.
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| − | East and Southeast Asian musical instruments include drums and gongs. Gongs and drums, with their symbolic meaning of hyping up, can be used in times of grand celebrations in Chinese culture. President Xi is emphasizing the difficult efforts that the Chinese people must make in order to achieve national rejuvenation. As a result, the translators use the translation strategy of addition to limit the boundaries the source text may transform so that the readers can have a more precise understanding, as shown in this excerpt by how the Skopos rule is applied. Meanwhile, the translators render the phrase as "drum beating and gong clanging," demonstrating the fidelity rule. The literal translation is used here to restore Chinese cultural connotations. The fidelity rule in translation requires equivalence in meaning and refers to word for word translation. In this case, the translators have kept the names of well-known Chinese musical instruments. At the same time, the translators explain their connotations, in order to maintain the fidelity of the target text to the source text and to improve cross-cultural communication. Understanding and conveying information of “rejuvenation is no easy task” to international readers is facilitated.
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| − | ST: 天宫、蛟龙、天眼、悟空、墨子、大飞机等重大科技成果相继问世。
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| − | TT: ... with major advances made in science and technology, including the successful launch of space lab Tiangong, the commissioning of the deep-sea manned submersible Jiaolong and of the five-hundred-meter aperture spherical telescope (FAST) Tianyan, the launch of the dark matter probe satellite Wukong and the quantum science satellite Mozi, and the test flight of the airliner C919.
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| − | In material culture-loaded terms, the aforementioned Chinese innovations fall under the category of "names." Tiangong, Jiaolong, Tianyan, Wukong, and Mozi are all important cultural figures in China, representing advances in science and technology. The translators use inline annotation to further explain these terms, demonstrating the application of the Skopos rule. This type of explanatory inline annotation takes into account English readers' understanding of Chinese culture-loaded terms. It is a limitation of language form of culturally loaded terms that also facilitates international readers' understanding of Chinese cutting-edge technology. Though the length of the article is longer, semantic conveyance can be realized through the explanation that Tianyan is the five-hundred-meter aperture spherical telescope, and the purpose of the book of showing international readers China’s accomplishments is achieved. The original names are faithfully conveyed through transliteration of these advances in science and technology. On the one hand, international readers can still see Chinese culture embodied in cutting-edge technology. Readers from different cultures, on the other hand, can still understand what these terms are thanks to inline annotation, which follows the Skopos and fidelity rules.
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| − | In these examples, the fidelity rule takes precedence over the skopos rule. Material culture-loaded terms are typically objects with Chinese characteristics. In most cases, these objects will have no effect on the coherence of the target text. As a result, fidelity to the original text and facilitation of cross-cultural communication are given top priority. Transliteration and inline annotation are the most widely used methods for translating material culture-loaded terms, demonstrating that translators prioritize preserving cultural information and making target text easily understood by international readers.
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| − | ====3.3 Translation Strategy of Linguistic Culture-loaded Words====
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| − | Linguistic culture-loaded words reflect phonetic meaning of language at the language family level. In contrast to English, Chinese language, particularly idioms, typically uses four-character structures. Linguistic culture-loaded terms can be found in a variety of contexts. Linguistic culture-loaded terms include idioms, classical literary prose, the two-part allegorical saying, proverbs, and so on. Linguistic terms that are culturally loaded are more difficult for international readers to understand. As a result, translators must employ translation strategies that are both effective and skillful in order to facilitate cross-cultural communication.
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| − | ST: 鸦片战争后,中国陷入内忧外患的黑暗境地,中国人民经历了战乱频仍、山河破碎、民不聊生的深重苦难。为了民族复兴,无数仁人志士不屈不挠、前仆后继,进行了可歌可泣的斗争。
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| − | TT: But with the Opium War of 1840, China was plunged into the darkness of domestic turmoil and foreign aggression; its people, ravaged by war, saw their homeland torn apart, and lived in poverty and despair. With tenacity and heroism, countless dedicated patriots fought, pressed ahead against the odds, and tried every possible means to seek the nation’s salvation.
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| − | In this excerpt, “战乱频仍”,“民不聊生”, “仁人志士”, “不屈不挠”, “前仆后继” and “可歌可泣” are Chinese idioms, with distinct national characteristics in language structure and expression. These idioms have a distinct origin in Chinese culture and are inextricably linked to national culture. It is not necessary to find culturally equivalent idioms in English when translating these idioms. The Chinese nation and Western countries share a wide range of values and aesthetics. If too many idioms are used in English translation, the same tired formulas will appear. The translations of these idioms are divided into two categories based on the coherence and fidelity rule. The first is deletion, and the second is literal translation. These idioms are intended to demonstrate that, even in difficult situations, Chinese patriots are willing to press on, which has a low chance of causing cultural misinterpretation for international readers. As a result, “战乱频仍”, “民不聊生”, “不屈不挠” and “前仆后继” adopt literal translations that improved the original meaning and demonstrated how the fidelity rule is applied. “仁人志士” is translated as “dedicated patriots” because, while it originally referred to people who were charitable, its meaning later evolved to patriots, which is also translationally adapted to the context. This translation eliminates ambiguity and allows for a more coherent reading experience. Meanwhile, “可歌可泣” was removed while translators worked from a results-oriented perspective and demonstrated the outcome of their struggle, which is "tried every possible means to seek the nation's salvation." The coherence rule was followed in this case by making the reading process for the target text readers smooth and interrupted.
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| − | ST: 应该风雨同舟,荣辱与共,努力把我们生于斯、长于斯的这个星球建成一个和睦的大家庭,把世界各国人民对美好生活的向往变成现实。
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| − | TT: We are in the same boat, and we should stick together, share weal and woe, endeavor to build this planet of ours into a single harmonious family, and turn peopled longing for a better life into reality.
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| − | The translators used two translation strategies in the passage: literal translation and full implication. These strategies adhere to the Skopos rule. When translating “风雨同舟” and “荣辱与共”,the translators restore the meaning of the two idioms, because these two idioms are an essential part of the source text in the construction of meaning. However, “生于斯、长于斯” has been translated into “the planet of ours", demonstrating the adoption of full implication. “生” and “长” are part of the process, and this process is implicated in the “the planet of ours”, which is a result-oriented structure. The translators omitted the process and presented the end results to international readers, restoring the meaning, by employing various translation strategies. The use of various strategies exemplifies the Skopos rule of facilitating cross-cultural communication.
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| − | The examples above show that the coherence rule and the skopos rule can be found frequently in the translation of these linguistic culture-loaded terms. Literal translation, inline annotation, deletion, and full implication are the most common translation strategies used when translating linguistic culture-loaded terms. Linguistic culture loaded terms are words or phrases with distinct Chinese characteristics; thus, most translators adhere to the Skopos of improving cross-cultural communication and use literal translation and inline annotation to preserve cultural value. In some cases, the linguistic culture-loaded terms are too difficult to restore their implication; therefore, the translators used deletion and full implication to improve the reading experience of international readers, demonstrating the importance of the coherence rule in the target text. With the impression that international readers will be unable to fully comprehend the meaning of such cultur3-loaded words unless they have a basic understanding of the Chinese social, ecological, and cultural environment, translators should shoulder the responsibility of selecting different translation strategies under the guidance of the Skopos theory and constructing a bridge between different cultures.
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| − | ====3.4 Translation Strategy of Ecological Culture-loaded Words====
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| − | Ecological culture-loaded words reflect the climatic features, natural environment and geographical conditions in an area. People from various regions have distinct expressions that reflect regional characteristics. There are three major categories of ecological culture-loaded terms: animals, plants, and places. Cows and oxen, for example, are animals that represent diligence and industriousness in China, whereas in Western countries, the expression "work all day like a donkey" is common. As is well known, the geographical environment of China gives rise to an agriculture-based culture with a large vocabulary for animals and plants. It explains why many idioms in Chinese and English have completely different meanings. To help international readers fully understand different cultures, translators should use different strategies when translating ecologically and culturally loaded terms. The following examples will demonstrate the use of translation strategy.
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| − | ST: 坚定不移“打虎”、“拍蝇”、“猎狐”
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| − | TT: We have taken firm action to “take out tigers”, “swat flies”, and “hunt down foxes”.
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| − | In Chinese culture, the tiger is both a revered entity and a hunted beast. Tigers are used as a symbol of vigor and vitality in Chinese idioms such as “虎虎生威” (forge ahead with the vigor and vitality of the tiger) and “生龙活虎” (with furious energy). Nonetheless, there are numerous expressions and literary works in which tigers are portrayed as ferocious villains, such as the stories of Wu Song or Li Kui beating tigers. President Xi Jinping’s expression here is reminiscent of tiger figures in fiction, in which heroes battle tigers. The image of a tiger has various meanings in Western culture as well. On the one hand, it is associated with beauty and power, but it has also been referred to as a man-eater on numerous occasions. Tigers are described as “burning bright” and “dare seize the fire”, but it also appeared in Jim Corbett's adventures in India, where he used to hunt "man-eaters," including tigers. Because the images of tigers are so similar, the translators used literal translation in their translation strategy under the rule of fidelity. To save space, translators will use literal translation when a targeted language has words with the same or similar cultural meaning as the source language. Meanwhile, the ecological culture-loaded term revealed the Skopos theory’s fidelity rule. “打虎”, “拍蝇” and “猎狐” are expressions with Chinese roots. Fighting corruption is like fighting tigers, flies, and foxes. Tigers and flies can refer to corrupt officials at various levels in these expressions, while the original meaning of the source text is preserved. It is difficult to find words in Western culture that are culturally equivalent to these ecologically loaded terms. Therefore, the translators did not change the meaning of source text by using literal translation. Such selection of translation strategy shows how fidelity rule is applied.
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| − | ST: 深入开展调查研究,解剖麻雀,发现问题。
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| − | TT: We should conduct in-depth research to identify prominent problems.
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| − | In Chinese culture, there is an old proverb of “麻雀虽小五脏俱全”, which means “A sparrow may be small but it has all the vital organs”. Sparrows can represent small but vital items, whereas such expressions are difficult to find culturally equivalent terms in Western culture. The similarity between “解剖麻雀” and “发现典型” is understandable in Chinese, but the literal translation of “anatomy of a sparrow” may be difficult to grasp for an international audience. As a result, translators use deletion to make target text more fluent without affecting the original text, and the coherence rule is demonstrated in the translation strategy selection. The translation of “解剖麻雀” is omitted, and the translation of “发现典型” encompasses the extended meaning of “sparrow as the major problems”. If both terms are translated, the English expression will be reductant and not conform to English expressions. According to the coherence rule, the author omitted the explanation of why sparrow means prominent problems to facilitate readers’ reading experience and made the reading uninterrupted.
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| − | The example above show that when translating ecological culture-loaded words, translators would consider three rules of the Skopos theory, with the coherence rule taking precedence. It is most likely because most ecological culture-loaded words are names of places or animals, which may be unfamiliar to international readers. To ensure that target readers read in a consistent manner. In translating ecologically loaded terms, the translators use literal translation (including transliteration, implication, and deletion). The mixed-use of translation strategies revealed various rules that are used in translation.
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| − | ===4. Conclusion===
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| − | Since the publication of ''Xi Jinping: The Governance of China (Volume III)'', it has served as the Chinese government's authoritative voice and a window for the rest of the world to understand China's policies. It crystallizes Chinese governance theory and practices and has high research value.This thesis is concerned with the classification of culture-loaded words, their translation strategies, and how these strategies demonstrate the application of three Skopos theory rules.
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| − | The Skopos theory, according to the analysis of these examples, can be used as a guiding principle for translating texts similar to those in ''Xi Jinping: The Governance of China (Volume III)''. The Skopos rule states that the translation strategy is determined by the purpose of the target text. The coherence rule, also known as intertextual coherence, requires readability in the target text and will not cause dyslexia in grammar or logic. Using the fidelity rule, the target text should be faithful to the original text. However, the fidelity rule does not require literal word-for-word translations; rather, it necessitates flexibility on the part of the translator.
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| − | Following a brief examination, it is discovered that culture-loaded words in ''Xi Jinping: The Governance of China (Volume III)'' can be divided into four major categories, with social and linguistic culture-loaded words accounting for the lion’s share. The coherence rule is frequently demonstrated in the translation of ecological culture-loaded words. Names of places or animals are examples of ecological culture-loaded words. To achieve coherence in the target text, the translators employ literal translation (including transliteration), implication, and deletion strategies when translating ecological culture-loaded words. The fidelity rule and the Skopos rule are frequently seen in target text when translating material culture-loaded words. The majority of material culture-loaded words are objects with Chinese characteristics. Transliteration and inline annotation are the most widely used, demonstrating that translators prioritize being faithful and making target text understandable to international readers. The translation of social culture-loaded words demonstrates a high level of adherence to the coherence and Skopos rules, which is likely due to the fact that social culture-loaded words differ greatly across cultures. The majority of social culture-loaded words were deleted, literal translated, or annotated inline. These three strategies promote coherence in the target text, making it easier to read and comprehend. Linguistic culture-loaded words are words or phrases that have distinct Chinese features. When translating terms of this nature, the translator usually adhered to the coherence and Skopos rules. Literal translation, inline annotation, deletion, and full implication are the most common translation strategies used when translating linguistic culture-loaded words.
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| − | To sum up, different translation strategies are very important and indispensable. Different translators would adopt different translation strategies when translating culture-loaded words due to the constraints of history, politics, culture, language and translation objectives. In order to better carry out the translation and transmission of literature and culture, different translation strategies should be used together to supplement each other.
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| + | Chen Jing, 陈静, Hunan Normal University, China |