History of Translation Studies

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Acknowledgement

I am indebted to the more than 300 students of the Master Course "Introduction to Translation Studies" conducted in the two fall terms 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 at Hunan Normal University, Foreign Studies College. They have enriched this monograph with their ideas, their creativity and the top students even have contributed short passages to this book on single aspects. They have also helped to arrange that the monograph could appear in different languages simultaneously. The Foreign Studies College is one of the top places of Translation and Interpreting Studies in China.

Foreword

Interpretation theories and interpretation studies are as old as human languages, since interpretation practise is not just necessary between full fledged languages, but is practised as soon as two different individuals meet, like a grandmother and her grandchild. The first lay interpreters naturally reflected on their interpreting work and this was the start of theories and studies. As soon as written language was invented, critical reflection also started and with it translation theories and translation studies.

The first thoughts about transponing the meaning of one language into a similar one of another language were prescriptive with precepts and principles, sometimes exaggerated into dogma and people not adhering to them being tortured or murdered.

In the 1960s, the translation studies started to become aware of itself as an academic discipline.

Introduction

The Emergence of Translation and Interpretation

Western Translation Theories

Impacts of Western Translation Theories on The Translator’s Guide to Chinglish

Abstract: In the west, studies on translation practices and theories have walked through the recorded history of over two thousand years, during which there exist various characters, theories, schools of translation, exerting great influences on translators an translating activities at present. The book The Translator’s Guide to Chinglish has discussed the “Chinglish” by English learners and translators in China. The author’s outlooks on translation also have shown the ideologies of western translation theories.

Keywords: Western translation theories; Translation history; Translator’s Guide to Chinglish;

摘要：据记载，西方翻译理论与实践的历史已达两千余年，这其中不乏各大翻译家、翻译理论和翻译流派等，他们都对如今的翻译工作者和翻译活动产生了深远的影响。《中式英语之鉴》这本书讨论了中国英语学习者和翻译工作者的“中式英语”问题。作者在此书中的观点体现着西方的翻译理论思想。

关键词：西方翻译理论；翻译史；《中式英语之鉴》

I. Introduction

Translating sets forth on its journey a long time ago. It has been over 2200 years since Livius Andronicus translated Homer’s Odyssey from Greek into Latin around 250 BC, which is the earliest activity of translating from recorded history. Throughout history, translation is not only involved in politics,culture, religion, language and so forth, but also keeps changing as times and social conditions roll on. On grounds of the changes of targets and contents of translation history, considering the specific periods of people’s apprehension of translation and the roles translation plays in society of different times, researchers divided the history of western translation into 3 parts, translation of religious materials, translation of literary classics and translation of non-literary materials.

The division of western translation history varies from person to person in circles of translation. Generally speaking, from about 250 BC when people translated Septuagint into Greek to the 16th century when the translation of the Bible prevailed, it is the historical period of translating religious materials, followed by period of translation of literature mainly from literary classics and great works of social sciences.(Wu & Shu 2011:76) After the Second World War, however, translation of non-literary and practical materials began to exert influence as a major force.

In the west, studies on translation practices and theories have walked through the recorded history of over two thousand years, which is very close to the one in China. Nevertheless, China had made little progress with translation studies because of closed-door policy. Before years around 1980s, the systematic study on theories of western translation had been left incomplete in China, where few books and papers related were published. And even in the western countries, there existed similar situations. However, studies on theories of western translation has made appreciable development since 1980s, especially the books on history of western translation theory written by Rener, Robinson, etc. These books and materials are indisputably of great value for us to take a closer look at theories of western translation, yet it is very hard for people of Chinese cultures to search, unearth and analyse the history of translation theories in the backgrounds of western cultures. As Tan Zaixi put it in his book The Brief History of Western Translation, “From ancient times, translation in the west has been proceeding for over two thousand years, along with extraordinary translators and divergent theories, which can not be expound within twenty or thirty thousand words.”(Tan 1991:1) And for translation studies as a independent discipline, it is a very meaningful job to study translation and its theories from all over the world, which includes the western translation theories.

Accordingly, while studying the history of western translation theories, we must understand the necessity of describing the development of western translation theories in a proper way and figure out how they are classified, especially for theories of modern and contemporary times. Based on the fundamental way of studying translation or ideologies of various schools, now people would usually divide translation studies into literary school, linguistic school and cultural school. The literary school includes the traditional philological approach and the hermernutic approach; the linguistic school consists of the equivalence approach, the functional approach and the cognitive approach; the cultural school covers translation studies approach, deconstruction approach, feminism approach, post-colonial approach and the integrated approach, of which translation studies approach can be further divided into polysystem theory, the norm theory and the manipulation theory. By contributing new thoughts to this discussion, the study aims to reach more consensus among translation studies scholars in this aspect.

II. School Classification

Beyond dispute, it’s practicable that people describe the history of western translation theories by dividing them into different schools in light of theories and ideologies of translation studies. With the modernization and integration of economy in western society, western translation theories also begin to get over the hurdles in the way of mutual development and blur the distinction among nationalities, which makes it harder to owe some ideology or theory of translation to a certain country or area. For instance, Gideon Toury was famous in the west but lived in Israel. In contrast, when some ideology or theory is proposed by someone in some place, it can probably be responded to or supported by scholars from all corners of the world. They hold it up totally out of agreement with the points someone makes, not necessarily where the points come from. Another example, Eugene A. Nida, who put forward the idea of “functional equivalence”, is American, but Kade, who is his supporter, comes from German. Therefore, it might be easier to understand the present situation and trends of western translation theories from levels of translation schools and ideologies, especially for theories of contemporary and modern times.

As one would expect, it is just one of the methods to classify western translation theories on the basis of translation schools or ideologies. From a perspective of historical development, it would be a more traditional way to classify western translation theories by times and nations. This diachronic way of studying it helps to organize the historical materials clearly and make profitable comparisons among traditions and characteristics of translation theories among western countries and regions, which enables people to understand the distribution and trends of western translation theories with an open mind. On the other hand, the diachronic way also describes the divergence and amalgamation of western translation theories. To give an example, the debate between free and literal translation never ends during which the eclecticism occurred and then literal translation was overtaken by free translation; the transfer from regarding the words as translation units to viewing sentences, discourses and even the whole passages as translation units... and so on. Despite that, as for studies on western translation theories, it is not the best way to do it only by a certain means. If we completely choose the way of describing the history of western translation theories by dividing them into different schools in light of theories and ideologies of translation studies, the relation between translation theories and specific cultural environment of society may be ambiguous and so is the relation between diachronic and synchronic development of translation. If we only decide on a more traditional way to classify western translation theories by times and nations, our research and description will inevitably be in need of subjects of translation theories. To avoid such deficiencies, we must adopt a way combining both means mentioned above to study western translation theories. In other words, we must take into consideration not only the historical connection between theories and ideas of translation but also the relation of translation theories with the specific social and cultural environment. Only by doing so, our research would be able to describe the whole process of western translation theories from an objective perspective.

From what we have mentioned above, we view western translation theories from two sides. First, we view it from the respect of historical development steadily. Cicero, was the first translation theorist in the west during times of Roman empire. As a rhetorician and orator, he categorized translation into ones by “ut interpres” and “ut orator” for the first time. Translation by “ut interpres” means translation of no creativity but translation by “ut orator” means translation of creativity which may even rival the original. As a matter of fact, Cicero put forward two fundamental ways of translating and pioneered the study of theories and methods of translation. Since Cicero’s studies on translation, western translation theories have been dealing with arguments between free translation and literal translation, word-for-word translation and excessively free translation, faithfulness and unfaithfulness and so forth.

Besides Cicero, there are an abundance of excellent translation theorists in western translation history, who have proposed assorted theories and ideas from different angles in different times. In ancient times, aside from Cicero’s categorization of “literal translation” and “free translation”, Marcus Fabius Quintlianus thought that the target ought to compete with the original; St. Jerome believed that people were supposed to follow the rules of literal translation when translating the Bible and use free translation when it came to literary classics; St. Augustine held the view that translation was inspired by God. In the Middle Ages, Manlius Boethius promoted the literal translation that would rather keep “faithful” than “elegant”; Dante was of the opinion that “works of literature are untranslatable”. During the Renaissance, Desiderius Erasmus believed that translation was not a subjection to authority of religious beliefs and translation of the Bible depended on the language of a translator; Martin Luther held the view of humanism that texts must be rendered in the people’s language; Etienne Dolet reckoned that people translated on “five principles” of understanding the content of the original, being proficient in the original language and the target language, avoiding word-for-word translation, expounding in simple languages and focusing on the style of the target text. From the 17th to 19th century, Charles Batteux was of the opinion that author was the master and translator was the servant, whose work were not allowed to be amplified, to omit and change the wording of the original; John Dryden categorized translating into metaphrase, paraphrase and imitation and he thought translation was some kind of art; Tytler put forward three principles that the target reflected the ideas exactly the original conveyed, the style and skills the target used should be of the same characteristics of the original and the target should be as expressive as the original; Friedrich Schleiermacher made a distinction between translation and interpretation, literal translation and mechanical translation; Humboldt believed his theories that language decided the translatability and untranslatability of the world; Matthew Arnold thought whether a translation was good or not depended on the experts; Francis W. Newman had the idea that it were common readers, not the experts,who determined the criteria of translation. In the 20th century, we have Fedolov’s theories that people should study translation theories from linguistics first and translation theories is categorized into history, introduction and arguments of translation; we have Roman Jakobson’s three classification of interlingual translation, intralingual translation and intersemiotic translation; we have Levy’s thoughts that “translating should make reader have an illusion of the original”, “translating is a deciding process”; we have Gachechiladze’s theories on literary translation that “translation is always a artistic and realistic reflection of the original” and “ translation of literature and art is a artistic work”; we have Carford’s theories of linguistics that translation should reach an equivalence of context; Nida thought “translating is a science”, “translating is communicating” and there exists equivalence between the readers of the original and the target; Mounin’s view of modern linguistics on translation theories; Paul Valery emphasized that the target needed to break the limits of the original. All the thoughts and ideas mentioned above have constituted the most essential parts of western translation theories.

Furthermore, we could look at the whole system of western translation theories from the other side, which is the schools of ideology. There are two branches of it: translation theories of literature and art and linguistics theories of translation. The school of translation of literature and art stems from the early drama by Terentius in Ancient Rome, ucceeded by Levy and Gachechiladze in modern times, and continues to thrive in the 21st century. People of this branch perceive translation as a kind of literary art, which draws attention to recreation of literature. Theorists have been discussing the defects and merits between faithfulness and unfaithfulness, word-for-word translation and excessively free translation, literal translation and free translation and so on. Besides, they also foreground the purposes and effects of translation. They stress both the original and the literary attributes of the language of it., as well as the idiomatic expression and tradition of literature of the original that people must respect whiling translating. They not only zero in on the style and literariness of the text very much but the talent of literature a translator or interpreter should possess. The school of linguistic theories of translation is from Augustine and people of traditional linguistics or philology in Ancient Rome to various schools of modern linguistics in the 20th and 21st century. For this situation, the core lies in language. People of this school, who think that the goal of translating is to reach the equivalence between the original and the target, combine translation theories with analysis of semantic and syntactic functions and talk on issues of translation from the characteristics of structure and sentence-making skills of a language so as to show how the equivalent texts are made from words, grammars and other features of a language.

From either branches we can see that they have their own advantages and disadvantages. Translation theories of literature and art give an emphasis to the purposes and results of translating and the artistic effects from a macroscopic view, but neither pay much heed to practical process of translating and skills of using a language nor care about whether the target and the original reach the equivalence of structures. Linguistics theories of translation is also not spotless because some theories don’t stress the aesthetic functions and ignore the recurrences of works of literature and art. They mostly focus on the structure of a language to and theoretically are limited to word, sentence or syntax only, which disregards the main structure of a text and the structure of discourse and the cultural features to a larger extent.

However, no matter it is the branch of translation theories of literature and art or linguistics theories of translation, they are not completely isolated but complement each other. Although either of two branches has its own shortcomings, there is no translation theorist of literature and art who could talk about the artistic value of literary works divorced from linguistic issues; there is no theorist of linguistics who could be immersed in linguistic structures of a text without issues of aesthetics.

III. About The Translator’s Guide to Chinglish

Joan Pinkham, a professional translator from the U.S., published the book The Translator’s Guide to Chinglish in 2000. She worked for the Foreign Languages Press and Central Compilation and Translation Bureau in China for 8 years from 1980s to 1990s. It is one of the few books by westerners that systematically discuss the “Chinglish” issues in China. In the years working for the Foreign Languages Press and Central Compilation and Translation Bureau, her job was to revise and polish the drafts from Chinese translators, which was inevitably affected by Chinese and mindset of Chinese people. For that reason, Pinkham got to know many English translations with “Chinese characteristics” and wrote this book. The Translator’s Guide to Chinglish consists of three parts, Unnecessary Words, Sentence Structure and Supplementary Examples, which reveal lots of mistakes Chinese translators tend to make.

First of all let’s take a look at examples given in the fist chapter:

promoting the cause of peaceful reunification;

reforms in the sphere of economy;

to ensure a relationship of close cooperation between.

Phrases like these can often be seen in some English papers or periodicals and they seem to make sense to English learners or translators in China. But the author regards them as negative examples in the first chapter of the first part, Unnecessary Nouns. The author mentioned that “Many of these nouns are easy to recognize. They are plainly redundant because their sense is already included or implied in some other element of sentence.”(Liu 2002:34) in the book. Here the author perceives nouns like “cause”, “sphere” and “relationship” as “category nouns”, which are the general nouns that sever only to introduce a specific noun to follow. Let’s take the first phrase as an example. In such constructions, the first noun announces the category of the second; in this case, it tells the readers that “promoting” falls into the category of “cause.” That is something they already know. Accordingly, the first noun should be deleted: “ promoting peaceful reunification.”(Pinkham 2000:16) It is the same for other two examples. What’s more, the first chapter also involves “Unnecessary Verbs.” Examples are as follows:

to bring about a change in this state of affairs;

until China realizes its modernization;

trying to entice the Korean army to launch an attack against them.

“Like unnecessary nouns, most unnecessary verbs in Chinglish occur in phrases. Usually they are combined with nouns (plus the inevitable articles and prepositions that nouns bring with them).”(Pinkham 2000:34) The commonest type is phrases like these. As for “to bring about a change in this state of affairs”, here the verb (“bring about”) is a weak, colorless, all purpose word having no very specific meaning of its own, while the real action is expressed in the noun(“change”). Since the verb is not contributing anything to the sense, it can be edited out: “change this state of affairs.”

In the second chapter, the author talks about Unnecessary Modifiers, which is not a problem easy to cope with for Chinese translators because it covers the issue of whether they should be used and using the modifiers properly. Five types of unnecessary modifiers are listed, redundant modifiers, self-evident modifiers, intensifiers, qualifiers and cliches. But the author especially points out that it is not appropriate to revise some accepted phrases, which are related to some national policies, even if they have unnecessary modifiers in the sentences, because this may cover political affairs.

In the third and forth chapter the author talks on Redundant Twins and Saying the Same Thing Twice. For instance, views and opinions, help and assistance, stir up and incite, sentiments and feelings, prudent and cautious. The author classifies the redundant words into three groups according to the relation between synonyms and clauses and offers corresponding reversion. And she adds that examples of redundant synonyms are too many to list even for native English speakers; for example, rules and regulations, bits and pieces, by leaps and bounds, betwixt and between, by hook or by crook, huffing and puffing. After centuries of development, these phrases are now accepted by native English speakers or learners probably because of their jaunty alliteration or rhythm. But the author believes that these phrases unavoidably “exert an influence not only on native speakers of English (including foreign polishers) but on Chinese translators as well, reinforcing the habits of their own language. No doubt this influence contributes to the abundance of twins in Chinglish.”

The first chapter of the second part is mainly about The Noun Plague. Here the author shows a draft: “The prolongation of the existence of this temple is due to the solidity of its construction.” She also gives a revision: “The temple has endured because it was solidly built.” The first version contains four abstract nouns, while the second has none. Not only do the nouns make the statement nearly twice as long, but they also make it pretentious, wooden and hard to understand.(Pinkham 2000:56) Yet, the author doesn’t think that “noun plague” only occurs in Chinglish but in English by native speakers, especially in theses and government documents where abstract nouns can often be seen, because they want their theses or documents to seem more “authoritative” or “scientific.” The author thinks this is a dangerous trend which we should all fight against. And she advocates to use more verbs, gerunds or adverbs instead of abstract nouns. From the eighth to the twelfth chapter, the author gives some instruction to tell English learners and translators in China how to get rid of the mindset of Chinglish by putting pronouns and antecedents first, then the adjuncts and its purposes, in a logical way. The eighth chapter discussed the improper collocation of pronouns and antecedents. In this condition, personal pronouns, relative pronouns or demonstrative pronouns show up without antecedents or are too far away from antecedents. This is exactly what the uncertainty and lack of rigor of Chinese has brought about. The ninth chapter mainly talks about where we should set phrases or clause in an English sentence. The author is of the opinion that translators should pay attention to where the phrases or clauses are in a sentence so that the logic is clear and key points are highlighted. She also thinks that the phrases or clauses ought to modify what is close to them, otherwise in the sentence may occur the illogical parts. In addition, to stress the key points, the most important information should be imparted at the end of a sentence.

IV. Discussion

From Introduction and School Classification, we have leaned that in western translation history, there are traditionally two branches: translation theories of literature and art and linguistics theories of translation. In 1959, the book, On Linguistic Aspects of Translation by Roman Jakobson, analyzed comprehensively the relation bewteen language and translation, the importance of translation and some existing problems of translating from an angle of linguistics, which had made groundbreaking contribution to linguistics theories of translation. Eugene A. Nida put forward a concept of “Translating is science” and he also applied Theory of Communication into translation on the basis of linguistics, believing that translating is communicating. He proposed the principle of “Dynamic Equivalence” and further submitted “Functional Equivalence” from the perspective of social linguistics and communicative function of language, which was instrumental in modern history of translation theories in the west as well. Nonetheless, Nida’s theories paid too much heed to content rather than form. To make up the deficiency, Peter Newmark put forward “Communicative Translation” and “Semantic Translation.” The former aimed at restructuring the language of the target in order to make it expressive and underline the effects of information; the latter emphasized the formal resemblance between the original and the target. From theories and ideas above, the core issue they care about is how the source language is transferred into the target language and “equivalence” is what they have in common. Katharina Reiss, Hans Vermeer, Justa Holz-Manttari and Christiane Nord from Germany started to use communicative theories, theories of communication, discourse linguistics and ideology of aesthetics to switch the focus of their studies from source texts to target texts, which made it an influential school in international translation circles. In 1971 in the book Translation and Limitations in Translation Criticism, Reiss’s functional theories of translation was in embryonic state, where she believed that translation should reach equivalence in respects of conceptual content, forms of language and communication and name it “integral communicative performance.” In practice, however, she realized that the equivalence was not what people expected so relation between function of the original and the target was the priority. Hans Vermeer proposed skopos theory for that matter, which looked on translating as a process with purposes and results of the original. The skopos theory has three rules: skopos rule, coherence rule and fidelity rule. Skopos rule is considered as the primary one. It means that in the context and culture of target language, translation ought to work in a way exactly the recipient of target language expects and the purpose of translation actions determines the whole process of translating, that is, “the end justifies the means.” Coherence rule is that translation must accord with the standard of intratextual coherence, which means that translation has readability and acceptability to the recipient and makes sense in communicative context and culture of the target language. The fidelity rule means that there exists intertextual coherence between the original and the target. This is actually what other theories have talked about faithfulness in translation but the faithfulness depends on the purpose of the target and how translator understand the original.

Here we also have talked about the book The Translator’s Guide to Chinglish. This book has discussed some problems English learners and translators in China have in grammar and vocabulary. For discourse and semantics, there also exits some issues. And the author is American who has the typical mindset of the west and is able to find out some problems of translation by Chinese translators. And the author tends to revise those translations in an aspect of linguistics theories of translation. For example:

the editorial calls on the Chinese people to fully implement the CPC’s basic line, deepen reform and further opening to the outside, so as to further push forward the political, economic and social development of the country in a steady way;

The author revises it into:

the editorial calls on the Chinese people to implement the CPC’s basic line, deepen the reform, and promote the opening to the outside, so as to steadily push forward the political, economic and social development of the country.

In this sentence, “fully” is deleted because the author thinks it is unnecessary for its sense can be taken for granted: policies should always be fully carried out. If the word conveys something more specific in Chinese, that must be spelled out for the reader of English. We must say, for example, “to implement CPC’s basic line in all its aspects,” or “in every respect.” As for “further”, it is obvious that at this point in history any push given to development will be a “further” push. The repetition of “further” in the draft is particularly undesirable because the word is used in two different senses. It appears first as a verb (“to further opening”), then immediately after as an adverb (“to further push ahead”), so that the reader is obliged to go back and read the sentence again in order to make sense of it.(Pinkham 2000:74)

Even though the author doesn’t talk on any translation theories directly in her book, her discussion on Chinglish and the revision she offers do involve some translation criteria, for example, domestication and foreignization. Translating is the transfer process from one language to another, during which it carries wide backgrounds of culture. To be specific, it is also the process of transferring cultures among each one. In general, there are two ways when it comes to this process: domestication and foreignization. Domestication is that features of the original are abandoned, that is to say, characteristics of translation follow ones of the target, which would, to some degree, make it easier to understand for recipients of the target language and contributory to culture exchanges. Foreignization is that translator translates in a way the original does, translation remaining characteristics of the original language.

The author defines “Chinglish” as “Chinglish, of course, is that misshapen, hybrid language that is neither English nor Chinese but that might be described as ‘English with Chinese characteristics’”in the book. And she also points out that “this book is intended to help them turn their work into real English such as might have been written by an educated native English speaker of the language.” It means that the author is in favor of domestication during the process of translating. Here’s an another example:

we should draw up correct development and construction plans for all these zones;

The author revises it into:

we should draw up correct plans for the development of all these zones.

The author thinks that two large abstractions plainly used here mean the same thing. And to avoid using the noun “development” as an adjective, we should say: “ for the development of all these zones.” That would be the simplest, most natural word order in English.(Pinkham 2000:87)

V. Conclusion

In summary, A Brief History of Western Translation Theories by Tan Zaixi recounts the history of western translation theories from ancient times by introducing main characters, translation works, translation schools and other events in the west in historical stages. The book also takes preliminary analysis and discussion into development between theories and practices of translation. There are two different directions in terms of translation theories in the west: translation theories of literature and art and linguistics theories of translation. The former one extends from the ancient dramas to modern translations. In this regard, translation is considered as literary art, which focuses on recreation of the original. Theorist mostly emphasize culture, style and literariness of the target and the literary talent of the translator. The latter direction is linguistics theories of translation, which combine theories with semantics and syntax, and believe that translating should reach semantic equivalence between the original and the target through vocabulary, grammar and skills of using a language. In the long term, linguistics theories of translation has had predominance of studies of modern translation theories. Theorists hold the view that translation studies ranges from applied linguistics and contrastive linguistics and is closely related to semantics, along with literature and art studies, sociology, anthropology, psychology, theories of communication and so forth.

The Translator’s Guide to Chinglish by Joan Pinkham summarizes the evidence of the common issues in English translation, which are ones translators in China are usually neglectful of. As Jacques Barzun, Dean of the Graduate Faculties of Columbia University, put it, “The clarity of her explanation is equaled only by the deftness with which she states the point of the English usages and the simplicity of the revisions made in faulty sentences. I know of no books as well adapted as hers to the needs of clumsy writers.” Even though the author doesn’t talk on any translation theories directly in her book, her discussion on Chinglish and the revision she offers do involve some translation criteria and the author tends to uphold domestication in this book. And we can’t deny that as a professional translator from America, with the typical western mindset, the author is inevitably influenced in the spectacular background of western translation history. More importantly, the two books this article refers to have demonstrated that theories must be applied into practice, guide practice and reveal the objective patters inside translating, otherwise theories would lose its vitality.

References:

[1]巫阿苗,束学军.西方翻译理论流派划分探索.[J].合肥工业大学学报.2011.12.25

[2]谭载喜.西方翻译简史.[M].北京.商务印书馆.1991.05

[3]刘银燕.中式英语, 你在使用吗?——《中式英语之鉴》评介.[J].外语教学.2002.09.30

[4]-[8] Joan Pinkham.The Translator’s Guide to Chinglish. [M].北京。外语教学与研究出版社.2000.05

主要参考书目:《西方翻译简史》、《中式英语之鉴》

Derrida and Benjamin

Comparison of Derrida’s and Benjamin’s Translation View

Abstract：In western traditional translation view, conveying the meaning is the first aim. However, in Benjamin’s eye, this is an agreement of language non-identity, which does no good to the development of linguistic development. Benjamin has used the non-identity of language to overturn the ideas that view language as a tool. In this way, he has been regarded by many scholars as the forerunner who rebelled against the western logocentrism. He also did quite a lot contribution to the development of translation and his idea of pure language can be called the most well-known feature of him. While another dominate figure of deconstructivism is Derrida who has put logocentrism under great challenge. He’s no doubt one of the representatives of deconstructivism and he has created many concepts like différance, dissemination, trance etc., which serves not only in linguistics, philosophy but also in translation. In the history of western translation, Benjamin has always been classified as a member of deconstructivism. However, compared with another leading figure of deconstructivism, he has totally different understanding on translation. This essay is trying to undergo the comparison study between the two predominant figure’s comprehension on translation mainly through the aspects of pure language and difference, metaphrase and relevant translation, later life and rebirth of original texts. In the conclusion, we have concluded the comparison between the two figures’ attitudes towards five dimensions, respectively, original work, author, translator, translation work and translation criterion. At last we can find that in fact, Benjamin does not belong to deconstructivism.

Key words: Benjamin, Derrida, deconstructivism

摘要：在西方传统翻译观中，传递意义是首要目的。但是，在本雅明的眼中，这是对语言不一致性的认同。因此，这种传统的翻译观对于语言的发展并无益处。本雅明运用了语言的不一致性，并以此一举推翻了传统的观念，人们认为语言知识一种工具。通过这种方式，本雅明被视为众多学者中反抗西方逻各斯主义的先驱。他对翻译的发展做出了卓越的贡献，并且他纯语言的概念深入人心，成为他身上最闪亮的思想之一，也是他被众人所知的特点之一。然而另一位解构主义的大人物，德里达亦是以一己之力推翻西方的逻各斯中心主义。毫无疑问，他是解构主义的代表人物之一并且他也创造了“延异”，“播撒”，“痕迹”等概念。这些概念不仅仅推动了语言学、哲学的发展，也推动了翻译学的发展。 在西方翻译历史中，本雅明总是被划为解构主义者。但其实与另一位解构主义的大人物相比，他对于翻译有着自己完全不同的理解。 本文打算进行这两位巨人的翻译理论对比，主要通过以下方面：纯语言与差异性，直译与“relevant”翻译，后世生命与重生。在最后的总结部分，笔者从五个角度总结了两位巨人的不同态度，对于原作的态度，对于作者的态度，对于译作的态度，对于译者的态度和对于翻译标准的态度。最终，我们能够发现严格意义上来说，本雅明完全不属于解构主义学派。

关键字：德里达，本雅明，解构主义

1.Pure Language and Difference

In its essence, translation is a kind of linguistic activity. Therefore, all translation theories involve linguistic issues. Benjamin has presumed a perfect original language as the origin of subsistent languages in real world after summarizing the deflects of subsistent languages. This original language is from God, and has full creativity and cognition, in which, language and spirit, meaning and form, signifier and signified have been united to show the truth through self-manifestation. Benjamin has pointed out that with the corruption of human, the language has no longer been one but multiple. Naming language has corrupted into the abstract conceptual language. (Cao Danhong 6) In this way, it descended to instrumental signs. It refers to things in various manual systems but it can never covey the universality through self-manifestation, so the relationship between the human and world has changed from the intersubjectivity into subject-object dichotomy where human dominates.(Wei Jiangang & Sun Yingchun 75) In another word, due to language descended from the original “being” into lower “having”. Therefore, it has become the synonyms of “abstract”, “judgement” and “meaning”. Language has never been a medium but a kind of means used in communication of “subjects” (Wohlfarth 27). As a result, meaning has been the external reference out of sign itself, instead of spirits of self-manifestation of pure language. And the relationship between signified and signifier is actually external instead of being original, direct and internal. Paul De Man has said that we think we use our language freely. We feel comfortable and familiar with the dwelling place within our language, in which we thought we weren’t alienated, but we don’t notice that this kind of alienation has been shown strongly in our relationship with our original language. It has been disintegrated already, which bring a special alienation, a peculiar pain. (Paul De Man, 99)

Benjamin has set the transcendental existence of pure language in order to make the path of salvation to human clear, that’s to say to find the lost pure language is to unite the world together. Benjamin thinks that, all practical languages have a common origin and among themselves a kind of affinity that goes beyond the history. As, Benjamin once said, “The reference of pure language just like each language that exists as an entirety, is identical. However, this reference cannot be achieved through one single language, but through the complement of various languages” (Benjamin 61) That’s to say, if we want to reconstruct pure language, we have to eliminated the external relationship of linguistic reference and restore the identical relationship between spirit and language, which means to promote the linguistic reference of all languages to form an integral complementary, which call duty on translation. Only through translation can the mode of reference of source language enter into the target language. Therefore, to Benjamin, the significance of translation is not to covey the basic meaning and content of source language but the changes to both languages after translation, thereby translation can make us to know more about the differences and complementation of each language.

What is different between Benjamin and Derrida is that Derrida has invented the concept of “la differánce", which uses infinitely flowing stream of meaning to overthrow the western logocentrism. Thereout, it has assured the translation view that advocates difference and opposes the identity. Derrida has pointed out that la differánce is the precondition of possibility of multiple meanings so that meaning is the result of its moving. While meaning cannot precedes la differánce, there would be no existence of pure and completely identical origin of meaning, just like what the Babel story reminds us. (Davis 10) In another word, as meaning is in la differánce so that there cannot be any conceptual or theoretic systems no matter it is in one language or in several languages. Meaning always presents its fluidity, uncertainty and diversity. We cannot make meaning independent of language nor can we make language independent of meaning. On the contrary, meaning is already in language so meaning is the linguistic meaning. Due to the language is so complicated, fickle, ambiguous and different with itself, thus, meaning is also unclear ambiguous and even mysterious. (Cai Xinle 200) What we can discuss is only the relationship of difference instead of the transcendental identity. In Derrida’s view, word is in a dynamic state, we can only understand it, describe it or listen to its voice in such a dynamic condition. If there is a starting point, the meaning will flow no more as it can be fixed in the very beginning. If we must establish an origin, the difference will be it. Derrida has regarded the difference as the origin, aiming to explain that in the very beginning where meaning formed, that’s to say the source has already had initial difference among meanings. The so-called purity has been contaminated and the source is rather complicated. (Zhu Gang 20)

Derrida and Benjamin all oppose to structural linguistic view. What is different is that Benjamin opposed the human control and domination of language by emphasizing the identity of language and spirit. We’d rather to say that it’s opposed to structuralism but to the opposite relation between the subject and object. In essence, Benjamin is not against the concepts like structure, order, and center etc. He just opposes the structure, order and center etc. that are based on the interference to language done by the subject-object relationship, emphasizing that language will not be constrained by the fetter of any subject-object relationship. If we consider more carefully, he doesn’t disapprove the logocentrism completely as he just emphasizes that logocentrism cannot be constructed and learned by the subject and object relation. It must be built and realized by the way of unintentionality or the “presence” of logos will be delusive. On the contrary, Derrida is refusing any metaphysics during the process of his deconstruction of any conceptual system. In his opinion, Benjamin has not cast off the set pattern of logocentrism because Benjamin’s “Pure language” is still a construction of a concept, no matter how transcendental and absolute identity it is. Videlicet, if God were the person who deconstructs, we would see that rationality dominates everything and logos will be the deconstruction in the speaker’s status. It would not be the deconstruction of deconstruction. Once there is an unshakable center, logos will take the domination and everything will obey the authority in the center. Therefore, in order to avoid constructing any central system or structure, Derrida take the difference as the origin of everything. There will be no identity and everything is constantly reproducing and differentiating, so it presents nothing but difference. At any moment, it’s different from others as well as itself. In this way, the identity doesn’t exist. All we can observe is the dynamic stuff, which constantly changes.

2. Metaphrase and Relevant Translation

As Benjamin and Derrida has different linguistic view, their comprehension about the translation criterion are also different from each other’s. Benjamin thinks that in various languages, the ultimate essence, pure language, is only relevant to the linguistic factors and its changes. In linguistic works, it bears heavy alien meaning. Translation’s unique function is to make the pure language get rid of this heavy burden, to turn the symbolic action into symbolic objects itself, to make the pure language reoccur during the linguistic transition. (Benjamin, 67) In other words, real languages, without exception, refer to things externally. To recover the identity of language and spirit, we must let the language to break the shackle of meaning while the effects of translation are to make the two languages free of the heavy burden by making the modes of reference of the two languages complementary of each other. To judge whether translation of a work is successful is to observe the combination of signifier and signified of language. Benjamin thinks Hölderlin’s translation work is the perfect sample of for instance, his works are almost perfect transition of texts because they are absolutely literal translation and metaphrase but also not readable. It dismembered the sentences, leading to the consequence that meaning is missing. (Paul De Man 104) To Benjamin, the translation that gets the language out of the shackle of meaning, and makes the language manifest itself to covey the spirits is the best translation. Anyway, translation has to turn back to language itself, to the reference of language, to reach pure language commonly shared by the two languages by complementing the modes of reference of source language and target language. Benjamin declares that the interlinear version of Babel is the prototype of all translation due to the reason that Babel is the words of God, which are so true that language identifies with spirit.

Derrida is totally different from Benjamin’s proposition that he proposes the relevant translation. In general, “relevant” is the best translation in Derrida’s view, which is also the sort of translation expected by people. It’s a kind of translation that fulfills its duty and finishes its mission. It’s that kind of translation that finds the most comparatively accurate words for the expressions in the source text, that language used is the most correct, appropriate, relevant, direct and apropos… Obviously, Derrida is trying to use a series of words to set standard for the best translation or the ideal translation. What’ a pity is that many scholars believe the literal meaning that such is what set by Derrida, ignoring the implication. (Wang Yingchong 15) However, if we reflect on the “relevant”, we can hardly make what it means clear, and Derrida himself has made no ostension on “relevant”, thus, this is actually the word game of Derrida that meaning being not assured makes translation impossible. With the trick of the untranslatability of the word “relevant”, Derrida implies the deconstruction of his standard of translation. What Derrida really wants to express is that if there was a standard of translation, and the standard would work as the same, then would the standard still support itself? The untranslatability of “relevant” has already told us the untranslatability, not mentioning the translation standard. In Derrida’s point of view, meaning is already the delayed presence, leading to the result that translation is a debt that translator can never pay off, a mission that translator can never finish. Therefore, can text really not be translated?

Derrida says that we have to know what relevant translation is, what relevant translation means and what the essence of translation is, its mission, ultimate purpose and final mission. On one hand, relevant translation, no matter wrong or right, is generally better than irrelevant translation, and is likely to be viewed as the best translation. The definition of translation skopostheorie and the definition of the essence of realization in translation are contained in the definition of relevant translation. Therefore, the question that what relevant translation is goes back to what translation is or what should the translation be. While what the translation should be seems to be equal to what the possible best translation would be. (Derrida 429)

Therefore, Derrida’s discussion about the standard of translation goes back to the translatability and untranslatability. Actually, what Derrida wants to prove is that translation itself is a paradox, that is, just in the untranslatability can translation exist and go on. The original text always owes to translation, and constantly summons translation, and in a larger sense, anything meaningful calls for interpretation. (Wang Yingchong 17). Whereas, the good translation or the translation standard can only be discussed in absolute translatability; pursuit of translation in absolute untranslatability will be nonsense, and it can only be infinitely approached but never reached as once it become absolute translatability, which means translation presents the meaning in limitless differánce in presence, the identity occurs, then the translation will be unnecessary.

In short, Derrida and Benjamin have different view on translation. Benjamin worships metaphrase through which two languages can supplement each other’s referential pattern to manifest the pure language, whose spirits are the best translation. While Derrida plays a small fraud that he sets relevant translation as translation criterion but he doesn’t make it clear, in which way he indicates his ideas of untranslatability and that pursuit of translation in absolute untranslatability will be nonsense, and it can only be infinitely approached but never reached.

3. Afterlife and Rebirth

Benjamin also differs most from Derrida in the insight of the relationship between the original work and translation work. In Benjamin’s perspective, the purpose of translation is to promote the complementation of referential modes of different languages so as to restore the identity. Therefore, translation work is never the copy or reappearance of the original work, but the supplement and succession of the original work and in turn, original work can only rely on its translation work to refresh its vitality and go on its subsistence. The relationship of the two can only be understood in the whole purpose of realizing pure language. What Benjamin expects is through constant translation, we can make the referential modes of original work and translation work interflow until we exhaust all the referential modes to realize the final identity of language and spirit in entity. To the relationship of original work and translation work, Benjamin interprets from the perspective of organism and survival. Various forms of life closely correlate with biological phenomena though it has no great significance to biological phenomena. Translation work grows out of original work or we’d rather say it originates from the afterlife. Due to the fact that original work precedes the translation work, and in the range of world literature, no great works meets a perfect translator when its author is still alive, so translation work only marks the continuity of the original work. (Benjamin 76) Benjamin has regarded the original work as vigorous organism so that translation is views as the continuity of original work, which is also the afterlife of original work. Benjamin stresses that life is a historical concept instead of the existential concept. Life doesn’t limit within biological body. Only when we view life as a historical process of organism survival, can the concept of life be understood correctly. With this sense, translation work being the continuity of original work can be comprehended. Those that was flashy will corrupt and those that was fashionable will become old. So does the linguistic form. The linguistic form of the original work will die out with time passing by, but the life of original work will not die with the existential form of original work. With the help of translation work, the life of original work will be continued, updated and expanded, thus being constantly succeeded in its life history. Hence, translation was like the source of rejuvenation. (Kramer 24) However, in Benjamin’s points, translation work is the afterlife of original work doesn’t mean it’s the end of original work’s life nor that translation work replaces the original one to be an independent organism. Benjamin stresses that continuity of life doesn’t pay much attention to the survival of organism, which means that translation is a medium that pushes the original’s life process, a medium that provides a chance for the continuity of original’s life instead of substitution. The mission of translation is to promote the original work’s linguistic life growing until it ripens and fruit the pure language.

The final purpose of language is to meet our needs to show that the relation among languages is quite close. Translation cannot reveal or build such hidden relation, but translation can reoccur it by intensification and embryotic appearance. Right through the expression of embryotic form, it makes relation among languages reoccur. (Benjamin,60) Accordingly, translation is not the birth of original work nor the death of original work but the living on of the original. It’s the birth after death and death after birth. In this way, Benjamin has assured the position of the original work which is higher than the translation work, on which the original work depends to continue its life. Translation can never be equal to the original work because only the original language has the vigor to embody the fruit of pure language.

Compared to that, Derrida thinks that translation work is the rebirth of the original work and notes that there are two implications in “rebirth”, which are given by “Fortleben and Uberleben” in Benjamin’s The Task of Translator, indicating that life will continue, consistent and survival continues, but it also indicates resurrection after death. Derrida emphasizes that original work has equal and independent position with translation work, which are complementary for each other. If the original text calls for supplement, that’s because it’s not flawless, complete, entire and self-identified. The original texts to be translated fell into exile from the very beginning. (Derrida 2003) Starting from such complementary relationship, Derrida abolished the original position of the original work as original work has no difference from translation work in that original work is the translation work of former texts, and translation work can be translated as original work for later texts. La differánce of meaning is infinite that all the texts are the limited comprehension of semantic differánce, which supplement and substitute each other, constructing a constantly flowing semantic chain. A text that depends on other texts but differs from other texts at the same time constantly waits for supplement and substitution in the semantic net. Text is a claiming process that goes beyond meaning in itself; it’s the trace of a sequence of movements. The ultimate text that can cover the infinite semantic differánce doesn’t exist and the ultimate meaning is intangible as meaning is mobile and infinite.

All in all, Derrida and Benjamin have shown their distinctive comprehension about the original work and translation work. Benjamin has claimed that translation work is the afterlife of original work and original work also depends on translation to continue its life. Due to the fact that only the original work can deliver birth to pure language, although the very relations among languages can be reoccurred in translation work, original work ranks first. Derrida holds another opinion that the two, original work and translation work are equal and complementary. There is a doubt that why Benjamin insists that the fruit of pure language is on the original work’s side, as we mentioned in the beginning that Benjamin want to realize the identity of language and spirit through exhausting all the referential modes of all languages, and making them melt with each other. Though translation is the living-on of original work which just like the baby from a mother, affiliated to the original. Why the final result will be on the original side still needs our attention. During the differánce of texts, original text can become the translation of former text while the translation can be the original text of later text, thus the chain of textual differánce are built.

4.Conclusion

In a word, through the comparative study of Benjamin’s translation view and Derrida’s translation view, we can find something in common but the two still distinct with each other and own their unique perspective and ideas.

Firstly, on the aspect of original work, translation theories of deconstructivism emphasizing infinite differánce of meaning and relativity and fluidity of text deny the originality of original works with intertextuality. Lots of texts appear, one differing from the former a little bit; all of them are the translation of translation. Each text has its unique features, and at the same time, it’s the translation of another text, thus, no text is the absolute original work plus language itself is a kind of translation. In the first place, it’s the translation of non-linguistic world and in the second place, every sign and phrase are the translation of another sign and phrase. (Bssnett 112) Nonetheless, Benjamin insists on the originality of original work, emphasizing that linguistic core is contained only in the original work and the function of translation is to liberate the relationship between the signifier and signified. Hence, if Benjamin denies the originality of original work will make the ground of his translation view lost.

Secondly, on the aspect of the author, deconstructivism emphasizes the intertextuality instead of the author, declaring that God was already dead and trying to overthrow the concept that author is the source of meaning from the ground level, so translation views of deconstructivism denies the originality of the author and even the copyright of the author(Jiang Xiaohua & Zhang Jinghua 42). However, Benjamin advocates the originality of the author. Though he has not mentioned the issues about author’s copyright, we can infer from the emphasis of originality of original work and creativity of the author that he should admit the copyright of the author.

Thirdly, on the aspect of translator, translation view of deconstructivism places the translator in the equal position of author, but at the meantime, it denies the creativity and copyright of translator. What Derrida does is to completely ignore the subjectivity of translator but focus on text. On the contrary, Benjamin does not only emphasize the position of translator and consider that translator contributes creativity as well as author, which just differs in the way of wok and he also points it out that the success of translation depends on the ability of translator.

Fourthly, on the aspect of translation work, translation view of deconstructivism has eliminated the difference between the original work and translation work, believing that original work and translation work supplements each other and coexists with each other; the original work lives on with the help of translation work while the translation work becomes independent text because it succeeds the semantic differánce of the original work. Whereas, Benjamin stresses that translation is the continuity and supplement of original life but at the same time, he disapproves the independence of translation work as the effect of translation work is only to promote the growth of “pure language” existing in original work and translation itself contains no organism of pure language so translation work has not been equipped with translatability.

Fifthly, on the aspect of translation criterion, translation view of deconstructivism has deconstructed the traditional translation view that seeks loyalty and equivalence and it has deconstructed the comprehension, extraction and transmission proposed by itself. (Wang Yingchong 18) As a result, it has treated the translatability and untranslatability in an equal way, indicating that any text can be translatable and untranslatable. Accordingly, the criterion of translation has been dissolved. Compared to Derrida, Benjamin prefers literal translation, advocating that we should promote the supplement of the referential modes of original work and translation work in the general purpose of realizing pure language. The most obvious distinction between the two is that the former has no intention to provide a solution or a conclusion after dissolving the criterion of translation, which is a little bit puzzling while the latter has set the transcendental body of pure language to declare the existence of absolute translatability, with intensified mode to present what is not in presence and to bring things far away nearer to us as distant things. (Derrida 79)

To sum up, Benjamin cannot be classified as a member of translation school of deconstructivism no matter from the perspective of ideas and the structure of his theories. Although Benjamin has many points of view that are similar with ideas of deconstructivism, but his theory system completely different.

Bibliography

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Translation Aesthetics

Study on Gladys’ Translation of The Border Town from the Perspective of Translation Aesthetics

Abstract: As a famous novel, The Border Town written by Shen Congwen maninly introduces young people’s pursuit of love in Xiangxi as well as the simple folk customs, so the novel has great aesthetic value. It is necessarily of high significance to analyze English versions of The Border Town, which is full of aesthetic features, from the angle of Translation Aesthetics. The paper tries to analyze Gladys Yang’s English translation of the novel from five aspects under Translation Aesthetics: beauty in sound, beauty in lexis, beauty in form, beauty in image and beauty in ideorealm in order to test and measure the practicality and operability of Translation Aesthetics in literary translation.

Key words: Translation Aesthetics; The Border Town; Liu Miqing; Lin Yutang

翻译美学视角下《边城》戴乃迭英译本之探究

作 者：向晓蔚

（湖南师范大学外国语学院，长沙 410081）

摘 要：作为一部名作，沈从文的《边城》以清丽的笔触描绘了湘西地区的青年人对美好爱情的追求以及纯厚朴实的民风，蕴含浓郁的审美价值。对于《边城》这样一部美学价值极高的作品，从翻译美学的角度进行探讨将具有重要意义。因此，本文从翻译美学角度入手，从音韵美、用词美、形式美、意象美和意境美五个方面对小说《边城》戴乃迭的英译本进行分析，旨在验证翻译美学理论在文学翻译中的实践性和可操作性。

关键词：翻译美学；《边城》；刘宓庆；林语堂

Translation, especially literary translation, is a creative activity in nature. Translation is the pursuit of beauty and truth, and it involves philosophical concerns. Aesthetics, the study of beauty, is an eternal theme of Chinese literature. Ever since the emergence of translation, aesthetics and translation have been closely bonded together. Translation Aesthetics is a perfect combination of translation and aesthetics.

1 About Translation Aesthetics

Translation Aesthetics is to analyze, explain and solve the aesthetic problems emerging in interlingual conversion. Its main contents are aesthetic subjects, aesthetic objects, the aesthetic subject’s experience of aesthetic objects, the methods of representing beauty in translating process, the criteria of translation aesthetics and so forth.

1.1 Development of Translation Aesthetics in China

The traditional translation theory in China originated from the translation of Buddhist scriptures more than 1700 years ago. Chinese translation theory has a close relationship with philosophy and aesthetics. In China, aesthetic thoughts have a long history. Confucius, Mencius, Laozi and other famous ancient thinkers put forward their views on aesthetics. In the process of the formation and development of literary translation, ancient aesthetic thoughts provided the ideological basis for it. Classical aesthetic thoughts made subtle influence on Chinese literary translation theories. The translation theories which contain classical aesthetics are naturally different from other countries' translation theories. Yan Fu, a Chinese scholar, once put forward the theory of faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance, and Qian Zhongshu also put forward the theory of transformation, and so on. All these theories reflect the influence of classical aesthetics on Chinese writers. Reviewing its development, it is not difficult to find that almost all Chinese translation theories have their aesthetic origin. The combination of translation theory and aesthetics is traditional Chinese feature, and Translation Aesthetics carry forward traditional translation theory. With the increasingly close communication between China and other countries, Chinese classical aesthetics and Western aesthetics have developed a certain degree of integration, which is also a special form of mutual learning between China and the West in a sense. This kind of reference promotes the development and application of Translation Aesthetics.

1.2 Lin Yutang’s theory of Translation Aesthetics

In 1933, Lin Yutang put forward three principles for translation: faithfulness, smoothness and beauty in the article of On Translation. The three principles of translation represent three responsibilities respectively: that toward the original author, that toward the reader, and that toward art. Here, fidelity becomes threefold. It is not only the fidelity to the original author, but also fidelity to the target reader and to art. In Lin Yutang’s opinion, translation is a kind of art. The main difference between art and science is that science is guided by the rule, while art is not. As for the standard of beauty in translation, he thought that “Every writing has its beauty in sound, meaning, spirit and style.”[1] The ideal translator should make his work an art. He should love it with the heart of art, be careful with it and regard translation as fine art. Especially when translating literary works, translator should pay more attention to the beauty of words. Lin Yutang believes that the most important thing in literary translation is to embody the style of the original work. That is, “not only what it says, but also how to say it”. From this point of view, Lin Yutang's translation thought is mainly aimed at literary translation. Among his three translation principles (faithfulness, smoothness and beauty), the third principle--beauty is regarded as the most important point in literary translation. Therefore, Lin Yutang's translation thought is also recognized as “translation of aesthetics” by some scholars.

So in the article of On Translation written by Lin Yutang, the main content is about the discussion on translation standards, and the core idea of the full text is that translation is an art. The most important thing in literary translation is to express the beauty of the original work, and to embody the original author's “how to say” in the translation. At the same time, Lin Yutang also affirmed that translation is creation. The translation with beauty features can make the original work be loved by the readers in the foreign culture, spread widely to the other countries, and achieve its equivalent effect in the source language environment to the greatest extent, which is the greatest responsibility and loyalty to the original text, the author, the readers and the art.

1.3 Liu Miqing’s theory of Translation Aesthetics

In 1995, Liu Miqing offers a theoretical framework of Translation Aesthetics in detail in his book An Introduction to Translation Aesthetics. “Translation Aesthetics refers to the study on aesthetic object (the source text and the target text), the aesthetic subject (translators and readers) and aesthetic activities in translation, such as aesthetic judgments, aesthetic appreciation, and creative aesthetic representation in translation.”[2] Except for paying attention to the elements of translation, translation aims to find out the ways to produce wonderful works and principles in assessing the quality of translation. Generally speaking, Translation Aesthetics does research on translation theory and practice from the perspective of aesthetics. Its major task is to analyze and elucidate the aesthetic principles, with which we can guide translation practices and assess the literary translation. Moreover, a satisfying version needs some other elements, such as the aesthetic experience of a translator, comprehension of source text, and evaluation and reproduction of beauty.

“Aesthetic object (AO) refers to the objective matters that human's aesthetic activity targets at.[3] However, not everything in the objective world is aesthetic object. For instance, The Book of Songs on the bookshelf is not an aesthetic object until translator buys and translate it. In the aesthetic process, the translator appreciate the beauty in sound, beauty in form and beauty in sense in the book. These beauty in various forms is called “aesthetic object”. Translation aesthetic object (TAO) is the source text (ST) which the translator is about to translate. But not every source text can be TAO. For example, if the source text is inconsistent, empty and has no value to translate, it cannot be translation aesthetic object. TAO possesses aesthetic values and is designed to satisfy human's aesthetic needs. It clings to the aesthetic constituents and the aesthetic effects of the ST. If one pursues or analyzes the beauty in translation without adequate consideration of the ST, it equals to fish in the air and yields nothing but vainness. The attribute of TAO is different from the attribute of AO. On the one hand, it is attached to the aesthetic composition of SL. That is to say, translator cannot add something that is not in the aesthetic constituents of ST. If there are no rhymes in the original, translators should not add rhymes. If there is no irony in the original, translator should not add irony. If there is no hyperbole, translator should not add hyperbole, and so on. On the other hand, it has flexibility for aesthetic subject. In some circumstances, we can’t find an appropriate word to translate which is in line with the ST. Under these circumstances, we should translate it in a flexible way.

According to Liu Miqing, “Aesthetic constituents of source text can be classified into two systems: formal aesthetic constituents and non-formal aesthetic constituents.”[4]. Formal aesthetic system include the scope of phonetics, morphology and syntax. While the non-formal aesthetic system is non-material, non-natural sensible. It is an indefinite, non-quantitative system. So it is also called “fuzzy sets” or “sets of fuzziness”. All kinds of beauty in the two systems are aesthetic objects, which we will experience in translation.

The aesthetic subject (AS) refers to people who carry out aesthetic appreciation activity on the aesthetic object; and translation aesthetic subject (TAS) refers to the translator. When translating, translator plays a dual role. For one thing, he is the recipient of the SL text who should first decode the aesthetic information in the SL text. In this process, his role is both passive and subjective. For another, he is identified as the creator of the target text. Being so, he undertakes the task of aesthetic representation to the target text readers. Hence he ought to play his dynamic role as the aesthetic subject.

In aesthetics, aesthetic subject and aesthetic object are two concepts and two categories that cannot be separated. There is a dialectical relationship between them. Therefore, a qualified translator should possess the dual characters as the translation aesthetic subject: objectivity and subjectivity.

Comparing Lin Yutang’s theory with Liu Miqin’s theory, we can find that their thoughts have something in common. They both agree that Translation Aesthetics plays a significant role in translation, especially literary translation. Lin Yutang believes that literary translation is a creative art with beauty as its soul, so translators should always keep a heart of beauty-pursuit during the process of translating. While Liu Miqing offers a theoretical framework of Translation Aesthetics in detail. He regards source language and target language as aesthetic objects, treats translators as aesthetic subjects, and constructs basic framework of Translation Aesthetics in a dynamic role of subject and object.

2 A case study of The Border Town from the perspective of Translation Aesthetics

The Border Town is Shen Congwen’s masterpiece, which is also the supporting pillar for him to construct Xiangxi. He adopted a pristine love story to display the pursuit of his ideal life. The love story set in a town of Hunan province which is beside Sichuan province. In the 1930s, it is a quite tranquil place without lots of people in rural area. People there live a simple and honest life. The language of the novel is simple, deep, implicit and subtle, and it is in harmony with the content. It contains rich poetic feelings and produces a beautiful and graceful beauty.

Literary translation is a very important part in translation studies, and it’s a complicated process that requires many different skills. On the one hand, the aesthetic style and aesthetic feeling are very necessary for the author to compose his work. Therefore, the translator should pick up the literary words to transform the aesthetic sense of the source text in the process of translation. On the other hand, literary translation is the representations of all-round artistic quality which can make the target reader get the similar appreciation of the original beauty in the context of the target language. In this part, a case study is conducted in detail based on Gladys Yang’s English translation of The Border Town from the perspective of Translation Aesthetics.

2.1 Beauty in sound

Sound is one of the fundamental forms which carries the aesthetic information of language, either in poetry, drama or fiction. Guided by the principle of preserving the beauty on the phonetic beauty as much as possible without hindering readers’ understanding, Gladys Yang not only reproduces the original rhyme but also tries to preserve the original sound effect of the onomatopoeias.

2.1.1 Rhyme

Generally speaking, rhymes are applied into songs and poems. However, it doesn't mean there is no rhyme in fictions. Technical fiction writers also attempt to select word and phrase patterns so as to make their works imbued with a regular beat. In regard to fiction, rhyme refers to the general way in which a passage moves and flows. “Rhythm, the beauty in sound, often takes the form of wave movement in prose”[5]. To be specific, rhyme is a linguistic phenomenon referring to the repetition of the same or similar syllable sounds. It is achieved by the means of repetition, phrase structure, sentence structure and pause. The function of rhyme is mainly of the aesthetic aspect and the semantic meaning. On the one hand, the use of rhyme adds musicality to the literary .On the other hand, it arouses the readers' resonance and satisfaction. Since the rhythmic features contribute greatly to the aesthetic flavor, translators should take them into consideration and try to present the rhyme in the source text.

Example 1: 无人过渡时，等着祖父又不来，便尽只反复温习这些女孩子的神气，且轻轻的无所谓的唱着：“白鸡关出老虎咬人，不咬别人，团总的小姐派第一……大姐戴副金簪子，二姐戴副银钏子，只有我三妹没得什么戴，耳朵上长年蜜条豆芽菜。”[6]

Translation: When no one comes she waits for her grandfather, and when he fails to come she compares the looks of the girls and chants softly: The tiger eats the captain’s daughter first; Most girls have gold and silver for their hair; Poor Emerald is the one who comes off worst-No trinkets, nothing but beansprouts to wear![7]

This folk song sings Cuicui’s heart at that moment. The density of the rhythm contributes a lot to the reflection of Cuicui’s mood. Owing to the poor condition in her family, she could only admire the landlord's daughter's dress and ornaments. The sound / i / and / ai / repeat five times and emerge in different positions of the original text. When singing, people should open and narrow their mouths forming a beautiful rhythmical meter. In Chinese the sound / i / vividly imitates the sound of weeping, and / ai / is like the sound of sighing. So the shift of the rhyme produces a sort of self-mockery effect to the audience, meanwhile arouses deep sympathy toward the pure girl in the readers’ heart.

2.1.2 Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia means that an object or something is related to some actions which can be imitated by some vivid words. It is one of the rhetorical devices that are widely used in literary works, which makes great efforts to let speech sound vivid and lifelike. There are plenty of onomatopoeias in English and Chinese, though they have different expression forms, they are all used to imitate the sound. Onomatopoetic words can add interest to the work, which also can create aesthetic effect in literary works.

The onomatopoeias in The Border Town demonstrate readers with a lively picture and put them in the scene by themselves. Meanwhile, the use of the onomatopoeias also enhances the aesthetic effect of Shen’s literal expressions. It is fortunate that in many cases English and Chinese onomatopoeias can be inter-translated. However, sometimes it is impossible to achieve. So it is often hard for aesthetic subjects to render the onomatopoeias accurately and appropriately. In some translations, Gladys Yang has selected appropriate onomatopoeias of other appropriate words not only to imitate the sound but also to denote the original meanings. In the end, the description becomes more concrete and vivid, as it is showed in examples.

Example 2: 那黄狗汪汪的吠着，受了惊似的绕屋乱走，有人过渡时，便随船渡过东岸且跑到那小山头向城里一方面大吠。[8]

Translation: Barking wildly, he dashes round the house. Next time, passengers are ferried across he follows them up the east bank and races up the hill overlooking town, yapping frantically.[9]

Example 3: 黄狗为了表示同主人的意见一致，也在翠翠身边汪汪的吠着。[10]

Translation: To show his agreement, Brownie sets up a furious barking.[11]

In the two examples, there are three “吠”(fèi, meaning bark)，which is as a modifier of the verb “叫”. In the first translation, Gladys uses “barking wildly” to show the dog’s scare. And the second one is translated into “yapping frantically”, which shows that it’s on duty. And the third one is “furious barking” to show its anger. In Chinese, we can only use different adverbs to modify the same verb. However, the same character in Chinese is translated into three different expressions. In this way, the target readers can understand the original clearly.

2.2 Beauty in lexis

Beauty in lexis is associated with word choice, register, and collocation, and there are many rhetorical devices that contribute to the formal beauty on the lexical level, such as euphemism, zeugma, oxymoron, etc. Shen Congwen, with deep affection to his hometown, writes his fiction in a language as genuine and beautiful as the frontier folk songs in his hometown. His language, which has also enriched the modern vernacularism in China, is imbued with metaphors, local jokes and ballads. As for the aesthetic representation on the lexical level, Yang’s English translation have done a satisfactory job in that she attempts to retain the aesthetic features of original lexis as much as possible, though when it comes to the lexis loaded with heavy cultural connotations, due to the cultural untranslatability, the translator has employed domestication to avoid misunderstanding.

Example 4: 翠翠在风日里长着，故把皮肤变得黑黑的，触目为青山绿水，故眸子清明如水晶。自然既长养她且教育她，为人天真活泼，处处俨然如一只小怪兽。人又那么乖，如山头黄麂一样，从不想到残忍事情，从不发愁，从不动气。[12]

Translation: Wind and sun have tanned this growing girl’s skin，her eyes rest on green hills are as clear as crystal. Nature is her mother and teacher, making her innocent, lively and untamed as some small wild creature. She has the gentleness of a fawn and seems not to know the meaning of cruelty, anxiety or anger.[13]

Shen Congwen's description of Cuicui is based on the perfect combination of a pure little girl and nature. Shen Congwen used “dark black” to describe the natural and healthy skin color of Cuicui. She described the clear and bright eyes of Cuicui as “as clear as crystal”. Only through the description of skin and eyes, the youthful image of Cuicui was vivid. In translation, like “small wild creature” and “fawn”, it shows the lively side of Cuicui. Therefore, whether or not the aesthetic value of the source language image can be reproduced in the translation becomes the key to the reader's ability to understand Cuicui’s character. For example, “dark black” Gladys Yang uses “tanned” to indicate that her skin is a natural and healthy beauty after the sun has shined.

2.3 Beauty in form

Like sound and lexis transmitting beauty, syntax and paragraphs also carry lots of aesthetic information. There are many differences existing in Chinese and English sentence structures. Chinese sentence is like a bamboo that all structures come out from the base, while English sentence is like a grape tree with branches from the stem and twigs from the branches and the clauses are strictly arranged by the grammatical rules. Sentences can express a comprehensive meaning and carries certain aesthetic information. The successful translation is always with a figure, and most works have their own way of using figures of speech to form their own characteristic style. Thus the beauty in form came into being.

Structural balance and harmony is one of the basic aesthetic principles, and it is obtained with the use of right rhetorical devices. Here the author chooses three typical rhetorical devices: antithesis, parallelism and repetition to express the beauty of sentences in translation. What’s more, the three rhetorical devices have been used in Shen’s The Border Town.

2.3.1 Parallelism

Parallelism is to use repetition in equivalent positions to enhance language expression and pay attention to emphasis, clarity and coherence of opinions. In parallel construction, it is necessary for writers to balance word with word, phrase with phrase, clause with clause, and sentence with sentence. At the same time, importance of grammar should be concerned to strengthen coherence of the sentence. In terms of the syntactic level, parallelism is a sprightly succinct rhetorical device. The identical meaning, structure or tone appeals to the readers’ eyes and ears, and heightens the readers’ aesthetic experience. It is one of the valid ways to satisfy aesthetic demands of language: balance and concordance in structure, while rhythm and harmony in tonality. The aesthetic information in parallelism is largely showed in the reoccurrence of a specific pattern, which carries lots of aesthetic value to make the original more lively and impressive. So it is widely employed in literary works. There’s no exception in The Border Town. Look at the example:

Example 5: 这事情在本地人并不希奇，边地俗语说：“火是各处可烧的，水是各处可流的，日月是各处可照的，爱情是可各处可到的。”[14]

Translation: There is nothing strange in these parts, where folk have a saying, “There is no place on earth where fire cannot spread, water flow, sun and moon shine, or love make its way.”[15]

In this example, the same concise and symmetric sentence structure reoccurred many times. The repetition “各处可”(meaning everywhere) produces rhythm, making the sentence read like a song. By comparing love to fire, water, the sun and the moon, it vividly depicts the honesty, and straightforwardness of the local people. In Gladys’ version, she transforms the original parallel structure into a simple sentence and an attributive clause. Concise as it is, it isn’t in line with the writer’s intention and obviously disobeys the style of the original. Although it has transmitted the meaning of the original sentences, it fails to render the aesthetic features of this local saying.

2.3.2 Antithesis

Antithesis, a rhetoric technique with symmetric form and harmonious tonality, is designed to illustrate different things or aspects of the identical thing by comparison, and the symmetric components can replenish and contrast each other. Look at the example below.

Example 6: 轻轻的自言自语：“每只船要有个码头，每只雀儿得有个巢。”[16]

Translation: “Boats have a wharf, birds have a nest.” he murmurs.[17]

In this sentence, “船”(chuán, meaning boat) and “雀儿”(què ér, meaning bird), “码头”(mǎ tóu, meaning wharf ) and “巢”(cháo, meaning nest) in the Chineses version make an antithesis with each other, and it is well balanced in form. The writer expresses the grandpa’s care to Cuicui. Gladys’s version is structurally well-balanced. However, the utilization of the word “have” in English version fails to show the strong sense of belonging, reducing the aesthetic value of the original. If she use “need” to replace it, I think the aesthetic enjoyment could be realized better.

2.3.3 Repetition

From the word of repetition, we know that the same word can be used several times in one sentence. The main function of this rhetoric is to emphasize some things or information. It may help to produce strong aesthetic effect. In The Border Town, Shen Congwen employs repetition deliberately to achieve his purpose of emotive intensification. The intensive repetition can be used as a powerful thematic device. Here is an example:

Example 7: 老船夫说：“翠翠我看了个好碾坊，碾盘是新的，水车是新的，屋上稻草也是新的！”[18]

Translation: “Emerald,” he tells her, “I've just seen a fine mill. Brand-new from the millstone and water-wheel to the thatch on the roof.”[19]

This sentence vividly reproduces grandfather's psychological state after he has visited the new mill. The repetition of “是新的”(meaning new) for three times echoes each other to highlight how the mill knocks the breath out of grandpa, and strengthen his envy and longing for the mill. Gladys translates it into “Brand-new from... to...” Though it fails to keep the symmetric form of the original, it still succeeds in recreating the particular aesthetic effect of the original text. The inverted sentence pattern, the shifted perspective and the emphatic words make up for the loss of the repetition to great extent. Meanwhile, the concise and paralleled sentence structure represents the aesthetic information of the original more appropriately.

2.4 Beauty in image

Image in the literary text refers to the output of the subjective intrinsic emotion of the author and the extrinsic objective substances or the incarnation of emotion produced out of language narration. It is the unity of finity and infinity, the unity of the latent and the outstanding.

Example 8: 翠翠温习着两次过节所见所闻的一切，心中很快乐，好像目前有一个东西，同早间在床上闭了眼睛所看到的那种捉摸不定的黄葵花一样，这东西仿佛明朗地在眼前，却看不准，抓不住。[20]

Translation: Going over two festivals in her mind, happily savoring what she had seen and heard, Emerald has the same sensation as when she closed her eyes in bed in the morning and sees yellow sunflowers just out of reach. Something exciting lies ahead as yet indistinct and intangible, but too lovely to let go.[21]

This sentence is a psychological description of Cuicui. She recalled the days of last two Dragon Boat Festivals when she encountered Nuosong. Her heart was filled with unnamable expectation. She wished to see Nuosong again. The above sentence describes the sprout of love in Cuicui’s heart which is implicit but brings her sweetness and dream. The image “黄葵花”(huáng kuí huā, meaning yellow sunflower) symbolizes that the love has planted its seed in Cuicui’s heart, and is in full blossoms which brings Cuicui happiness and which she would like to pluck. In the translated versions, Yang makes uses of literal translation by preserving the image of “黄葵花”and puts it into “yellow sunflower”. With the help of the context, it is easy for the target readers to understand the image of “yellow sunflower” and acquire the implicit aesthetic value in it in Yang’s version. It depicts the hope and happiness in Cuicui’s heart and brings the same enjoyment to target readers as it does to the source readers.

2.5 Beauty in ideorealm

Artistic ideorealm is defined as an artistic realm in lyric poetry and other literary works, which is an integration of subjective emotion and objective images and feelings. It is characterized as beautiful and implicit as a traditional Chinese painting, which can evoke readers’ association and imagination, and surpasses the concrete vision and ascends an extensive artistic space.

Example 9: 由四川过湖南去，靠东有一条官路。这官路将近湘西边境到了一个地方名为‘茶峒’的小山城时，有一小溪，溪边有座白色小塔，塔下住了一户单独的人家。这人家只一个老人，一个女孩子，一只黄狗。[22]

Translation: The highway running east from Sichuan to Hunan comes, just west of the border, to Chadong, a small town in the hills. Nearby a stream flows past a small pagoda, at the foot of which lives a solitary household: an old man, a girl, and a dog.[23]

This is the first paragraph of the novel. Like telling a story, it is slow and plain. From what Shen Congwen has described, we can see that he has a special writing style which expresses the beauty of nature. Here, the writer uses seven “一”(yī, meaning one) in all, and every one describes different images. What’s more, “一”represents Shen’s melancholy aesthetic sentiment and creation view. Shen uses the rhetorical device of anadiplosis which means repeating the ending words of the precedent sentence in the following sentence. This kind of discourse progression mode is not only good for the coherence of narrative and understanding of discourse but also full of interest. Gladys thoroughly adverts to the aesthetic connotation and narrative techniques contain in “一” of the original text and strive for “formal similarity” and “spiritual similarity”. In sentence structure, Gladys retains the anadiplosis rhetorical device like “一”. More importantly, the static beauty of the original text has been changed into dynamic beauty by the recreation of the translator. To sum up, the whole translation is simple and fluent which correspond to the intangible and solitary artistic conception in the original text.

Example 10: 那首歌声音既极柔和，快乐中又微带忧郁，唱完了歌，翠翠觉得心上有一丝儿凄凉。她想起秋末酬神还愿时田坪中的火燎同鼓角。远处鼓声已起来了，她知道绘有朱红长线的龙船这时节已下河了。细雨依然落个不止，溪面一片烟.[24]

Translation: This gay, haunting melody has an undertone of sadness, making Emerald feel a pang of loneliness. Her thoughts fly to the bonfires and drumming in the fields to welcome the spirits at the end of autumn. Meanwhile drums sound up in the distance. The long crimson dragon boats will soon be staring their race. A light rain falls steadily, the stream is misted over.[25]

In this example, Gladys’ translation almost reaches the realm of “spirit likeness”. In the wording, she not only carefully uses some expressive words but blends her own aesthetic attitude and aesthetic ideas into translation. Cuicui has stirred her love since she met Nousong two years ago on Dragon Boat Festival. Henceforth, she has a load in her mind, which is nothing to do with her grandfather. Dragon Boat Festival comes again, and Cuicui sits alone on the ferryboat, waiting for her grandfather. Then she go to see the dragon boat race together with him in town, where she may meet Nuosong again. The example above come about after Cuicui chanted a folk song on the ferryboat. The lonely and gloomy scenic description to some degree symbolizes that Cuicui’s love will end in tragedy. The repetition, though merely a few characters, forms an echo which achieves the artistic effect of inexhaustible sadness and sympathy of the readers toward Cuicui.

3 Conclusion

After the research and analysis, the author has found that Translation Aesthetics can be regarded as a criteria to evaluate literary works. The unique aesthetic characteristics in literature indicate that Translation Aesthetics is an effective and practical theory to analyze literature translation. A good literary translation should fully express the literary features and artistic connotations of literary works, embody the aesthetic value of the works, and make the readers realize the infinite charm of oriental art and the great vitality of literary works. On the one hand, it is necessary to reproduce the linguistic features of literary works in a proper and flexible way. On the other hand, it is necessary to take into account the cognitive level and understanding ability of readers in different countries, so as to maximize the aesthetic charm of literary works.

Culture Loaded Words

The Translation of Culture-loaded Words in Chinese-English Communication

文化负载词在中英交流中的翻译

摘要：随着经济全球化的深入发展，各国之间的文化交流日趋频繁。文化信息的成功传递是跨文化交流中的重要一环。文化负载词的翻译一直是译者面临的一大难题。准确传译文化负载词关系到译文质量的提高，跨文化交流活动的顺利进行以及文化的传播。本文将由六个部分组成。第一个部分和第二部分将分别讲述文化负载词的定义以及其翻译的难点。第三部分和第四部分将讲述文化负载词的翻译策略及其不可译性。第五部分和第六部分将分别讲述文化负载词的翻译对口译的影响并对本文进行一个简短的总结。

关键词：翻译；文化负载词；文化差异

Abstract: With the development of economic globalization, the cultural exchange among different countries becomes more and more frequent. The successful transmission of cultural message is an important link in international exchanges. In translation activities, the translation of culture-loaded words is a great challenge for translators, because the speaker and the audience come from a different linguistic and cultural environment. The accurate translation of culture-loaded words will help improve the quality of translation, enable successful cross-cultural exchanges and promote culture transmission. This paper will be divided into six parts. The first part will tell readers what is culture-loaded words. The second part will concentrate on the difficulties to translate culture-loaded words.The third part will discuss the translation approaches to culture-loaded words. The fourth part will focus on the question of translatability of culture-loaded words. The fifth part will introduce the interpreter’s translation of culture-loaded words. And the last part will briefly draw a conclusion about the paper.

Key words: translation; culture-loaded words; cultural differences

As we all know, translation plays an important role in intercultural communication. A good translator can help to promote the communication between two different cultures. With the process of globalization, intercultural communication is becoming more and more frequent. However, there exist plenty of cultural differences between different cultures, especially between the East and the West. Cultural differences make it hard for translators to translate well. Culture-loaded words belong to one of the differences between different cultures. Therefore, it is of great significance to be aware of the appropriate translation of culture-loaded words. This is because it can help translators translate better and thus make two different cultures communicate better.

1 The Definition of Culture-loaded Words

Before discussing what are culture-loaded words, we should know what is culture first. “Culture, in a broad sense, means the total way of life of a people, including the patterns of belief, customs, objects, institutions, techniques, and language that characterizes the life of the human community. As culture is so inclusive, it permeates virtually every aspect of human life and influences predominantly people’s behavior, including linguistic behavior. In a narrow sense, culture may refer to local or specific practice, beliefs or customs, which can mostly be found in folk culture, enterprise culture or food culture etc.” (Dai Weidong 2002:127) Culture is learned by human beings. A child is born without any certain kind of culture. A child gets its culture through learning. For example, a Chinese kid will speak, act and think like a Chinese if it grows up in China. An American kid will speak, act and think like an American if it is raised in the United States. Meanwhile, if a Chinese kid is raised by an American family in the USA, he will think, act and speak like American people do and vice versa. Culture is owned by all the social members. The special behavior and habit of a single person is not culture because it is not owned by every member of the society. Culture can be transmitted from generation to generation. During the transmission, culture will also develop. “Generally speaking, there are two types of culture: material and spiritual. While material culture, as the term itself suggests, is concrete, substantial and observable. Most of spiritual culture, the products of mind (ideologies, beliefs, values and concepts of time and space, for example), is abstract, ambiguous, and hidden. In contrast with nature in the sense of what is born and grows, culture refers to what has been grown and brought up with, in other words, what can be nurtured. Culture, especially material culture, is reproduced and preserved through the maintaining of beliefs, traditions, education and other institutional mechanisms, meanwhile, it changes slowly with the development of the society.” (Dai Weidong 2002:127-128)

“Language is one of the most fundamental systems of culture, with the function of storing, describing, expressing and disseminating culture. As the basic unit of language, word is of course the most direct reflection of culture. Culture-loaded words refer to the words, phrases, and idioms only contained in a culture. These words reflect the uniqueness of certain nations. This kind of uniqueness develops from the long historical process.” (Liao Qiyi 2002:232) Culture-loaded words can make a distinction between two different cultures. Culture-loaded words can also reflect a country’s social background, financial base and culture in a certain period of time. During different historical periods, different culture-loaded words occur. Different countries differ from each other because every country has its uniqueness that makes it special. Ordinarily speaking, a literary work, which shows a lot of national characteristics, contains plenty of culture-loaded words. Culture-loaded words make it difficult for translators to translate.

2 Difficulties in the Translation of Culture-loaded Words

Every country has its own cultural origin. And “every nation has its own cultural focus. So its vocabulary always develops according to the cultural focus and becomes more and more detailed and complex.” (Liao Qiyi 2002:232)As we all know, Chinese culture and western culture have different origins. Chinese culture came from the Chinese mainland. There exist two big rivers, the Yellow River and the Huanghe River, across China. So Chinese people fed themselves by fishing, hunting and farming. The vast territory provided Chinese people enough resources to support themselves. The lofty mountains and high ranges, on the one hand, protected ancient China from the invasion of other countries, while on the other hand, also prevented China from communicating with other countries. Therefore, Chinese people is more conservative and emphasize harmony.

“There is a great difference of the physio geographic condition between China and the western countries, especially the relationship between sea and land. If we say that Chinese civilization came from the land, western civilization came from the sea.”(Huang Yongyuan and Zhang Jing 2011:237) Europe is surrounded by the sea on the west, south and north, and borders on Asia in the east. The whole Europe continent is close to the sea, and the maritime climate is very significant. As the cradle of Western culture, the ancient Greece, was more connected with the sea. Greece was transportation center of the eastern Mediterranean. It had many ports and mountains but had a barren land. This kind of condition forced the ancient Greeks to operate maritime trade very early to support themselves. Therefore, people from western countries are easy to accept foreign cultures.

China’s national spirit is different from that of the western countries. For example, China’s definition of “dragon” is so far away from that of the western countries. “The dragon, in Chinese myths and legends, is a kind of god . It is a symbol of the Chinese nation. The Chinese all call themselves "the descendants of the dragon"; it is also a symbol of the ancient imperial power, and the emperors of all ages considered themselves to be the true dragon. Each feature of the dragon represents an advantage. The wide forehead represents intelligence, the sword-like eyebrows represent courage, the tiger eyes represent majesty, the lion nose represents prosperity, the horse teeth represent diligence and kindness, the crocodile mouth represents swallowing, the shrimp mustache represents free water absorption , the cattle ears represent the leadership, the antlers represent health and longevity, the fish and clam represent defense, the camel head represents drought resisting, the eagle claws represent the ability to fly, and the snake neck represents the ability of accomplishing a task with ease. The Chinese dragon can be said to be a favorite to Chinese people. In the Western world, the dragon is called Drakon in Greek, Dragon in English, and Draco is in Latin. The dragon is a derogatory term in the West and a symbol of evil. In Western mythology, the dragon is the demon that makes people fear. The Bible illustrates dragon as a demon, and the devil Satan, who is opposite to God, is called the "great dragon"; the Old Dragon is the Devil, or Satan. In a biological perspective, dragon is a kind of particularly ferocious animal. In many cases, western literature describes the dragon as a monster to be eradicated by the hero.”(Huang Yongyuan and Zhangjing 2011:238)

Apart from the examples above, there are still many example containing different meanings in different countries because of cultural differences. For example, the color “red” represents happiness, auspiciousness and success. This is because the color red came from the sun. Ancient Chinese people worshiped the sun. Thus, when getting married, Chinese bride’s wedding dress is red. People will hang red lanterns and paste red couplets in Spring festival. However, in western countries, although they have words like, “red-letter day” and “the red carpet”, which contain positive meanings, the color “red” is a kind of taboo. In English, the color “red” is the association of fire and blood. It represents the radical and violent revolutions. So many English phrases containing red have negative meaning, like red-headed, red-light district, red-handed, red ruin, red ink, in the red etc. Similarly, the color “white” contains different meanings in the East and the West. In western countries, white means innocence, honesty, kindness and so on. When getting married, the bride will white wedding dress. Although the color white contains the meaning of purity and innocence, like “白衣天使”(white angel) which represents doctors and nurses in Chinese, white is a kind of taboo color in China. The color white represents death and ill omen. When a family member died, they will hang white cloth inside and outside the house. We can also realize the different meanings of the same word in different countries. For instance, the word “狗”(dog) contains a negative meaning. However, in western countries, dog always contains a positive meaning, like a lucky dog.

3 Approaches to Translate Culture-loaded Words

Under the great progress of globalization, different cultures have more accesses to communicate with each other. According to Eugene Nida, “Translating consists in reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent of the source-language message, first in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of style.” (Nida Eugene A and Charles Taber R 1969:13) “Ordinarily speaking, there are three approaches to translate culture-loaded words, namely foreignization, domestication and translation compensation. The translation of culture-loaded words belongs to the micro aspect of cultural translation. In the context of globalization, the fundamental standpoint of exploring the translation approach is to preserve the unique cultural significance carried by culture-loaded words, which determines that we should use foreignization and translation compensation as the main translation approaches to translation culture-loaded words”.(Wang Xiang 2017:75)

3.1 Foreignization

Venuti(1995: 20) considers the foreignizing method to be ‘an ethnodeviant pressure on target language cultural values to register the linguistic and cultural difference of the foreign text, sending the reader abroad’. It is ‘highly desirable’, he says, in an effort ‘to restrain the ethnocentric violence of translation’. In other words, the foreignizing method can restrain the ‘violently’ domesticating cultural values of the English-language world. The foreignizing method of translating, a strategy Venuti also terms ‘resistancy’ (1995: 305-6), is a non-fluent or estranging translation style designed to make visible the presence of the translator by highlighting the foreign identity of the ST and protecting it from the ideological dominance of the target culture. Foreignization can preserve the uniqueness of the source language’s culture because respecting the source language culture is starting point. Compared with domestication approach, foreignization considers more about the source language’s cultural background and is more faithful to the source language’s culture. It can keep the exotic flavor of the source language text. However, foreignization is not a perfect translation approach. If the translation doesn’t pay enough attention, the foreignization approach will be abused easily. If the translator misuse the foreignization approach, the target text will be awkward and hard to understand.

The food culture contains great national characteristics. It shows the creative spirit and unique style of the Chinese nation. The words related to the food culture are rich in Chinese culture. Many examples of using foreignization approach can be found in the translation of traditional Chinese food. Firstly, the translation of traditional Chinese food can be related to Chinese allusions. Let’s take the translation of Yuanxiao or Tang-yuan(glue pudding) as an example. “It’s said that a lady-in-waiting called Yuanxiao during the Han dynasty missed her parents so much that she cried with tears in her face every single day. In order to help her, a minister named Dongfang Shuo lied to Emperor of the Han dynasty that the god of fire with the order of the Jade Emperor would burn Changan(the Capital of China in Han dynasty) on the 15th of the first lunar month. The solution to avoid this disaster was to ask the lady-in-waiting named Yuanxiao to make Tang-yuan, the favorite food of the god of fire, and to ask all the people in Changan to hang lanterns. Emperor Wu approved this plan. Finally, the girl named Yuanxiao met her parents. Thus, the tradition of Lantern Festival ( pronounced Yuanxiao Jie in Chinese, “jie” in Chinese means festival) appeared.” ( Xu Xianling and Li Xiangzhaung 2005:230) Therefore, if we translate the Chinese food “元宵” into Yuanxiao by the foreignization approach instead of translating into the glue pudding, the special Chinese culture in the food can be preserved well.

Secondly, the translation of Chinese food can be related to Chinese customs. Chinese people eat special traditional food in special Chinese festivals. For instance, people will eat double-ninth cake on the Double Ninth Festival. The Double Ninth Festival is on the 9th day of the 9th lunar month. The translation of double-ninth cake can keep the traditional Chinese culture well. Thirdly，the translation of traditional Chinese food can be related with Chinese people’s appreciation of beauty. For example, “the Chinese cuisine ‘鸟语花香’, can be translated into ‘Singing Birds and Fragrant Flowers(Steamed mandarin fish and bird-shaped shrimps)’’ and ‘青龙过海’ can be translated into ‘Green Dragons Crossing the Sea(Soup with green onion)’”. (Zhang Jiachen 2014:106) By using the foreignization approach, this kind of translation can preserve the beautiful image of these cuisines and the explanatory note can also prevent foreigners from being confused. What’s more, the translation of some Chinese cuisine can be related to the traditional Chinese medical science. For example, “‘八珍食品’ can be translated into ‘Eight Delicacies (Stimulate your baby’s appetite and better his or her growth) and ‘当归生姜羊肉汤’ can be translated into ‘ Angelica Ginger Lamb Soup(Replenish your blood and warm your spleen and stomach)’”. (Zhang Jiachen 2014:106) Translating in this way can pass the traditional Chinese medical culture to readers.

Although the foreignization approach can be of great help to pass the source language’s culture to the target readers, it requires the translator’s great knowledge between the two cultures. Therefore, translators have to do a good preparation before translating.

3.2 Translation compensation

George Steiner divides the process of translation into four parts and “By ensuring the translation is possible, compensation is the last step in the whole procedure”.(2001: 176) It should be acknowledged that translation compensation occurs and accompanies translation activity as early as cultural difference exists. It possesses a history as long as translation activity does. Scholar Mona Baker holds the view that compensation is a translation skill, which can be applied when “target language is impossible to directly make up for the losses in meaning, language style or emotional force”.(1992: 33) Due to the translation difficulties caused by cultural default and cultural differences, translators have to employ different compensation strategies to make sure their translation outcome can be totally understood by the TL readers. Hervey and Higgins divided translation compensation mainly into four kinds, namely compensation in kind, compensation by splitting, compensation by merging and compensation in place.

The translation compensation approach can be often used to translate the name of Chinese teas. China is the birthplace of tea culture. The record about tea appeared in the era of Shennong about 4700 years ago. Since ancient times, the tradition of providing to guests has been preserved. There are various kinds of teas in China like Longjing tea from Hangzhou , Oolong tea from Fujian etc. Chinese tea culture are also involved in Chinese Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism and so on. Chinese tea culture is a treasure in traditional Chinese culture.

Chinese and English belong to different language systems. There are great differences between the two languages. Due to the different social environment , life style and vocabulary, sometimes it is impossible for translators to achieve complete equivalence. Chinese people’s ways to name teas are various. Sometimes, the Chinese character “茶” (tea in English) doesn’t even exit in the name of a tea. For example, some teas exhibited in the China Tea Museum in Hangzhou, like “羊岩勾青”(Yangyan Gouqing), “庐山云雾”(Lushan Yunwu), the names of these teas don’t contain the character of tea. If translators show the English names of these teas to the target readers without explanation, readers may feel confused. Sometimes, the names of some teas are the same as the names of other stuff. For example, “ ‘茉莉花茶’ is translated into Jasmine Tea. This kind of translation mixes the tea name with the flower name. Actually, ‘茉莉花茶’ is a kind of green tea which has the aroma of jasmine. Some kind of ‘茉莉花茶’ contains jasmine flower, some don’t. Similarly, ‘竹叶青’ is translated into Bamboo Leaf Green and ‘玉露’ is translated into Jade Dew. Although the translation of these names of teas used the literal translation approach and realized the verbal equivalence, translators neglected the features of the teas. This kind of translation will mislead the target reader to think of ‘竹叶青’ as the tea made of bamboo leaves and ‘玉露’ as the tea made of jade and dew, which is totally impossible”. (Cui Shan 2019:125) The translation of tea names is also a part of intercultural communication. It can directly influence the transmission of Chinese culture in the world and can also influence the business result. If a translator doesn’t pay enough attention to the cultural differences, it may lead to bad consequences. For example, a Chinese tea called “龙虎斗” was translated into “The Fighting Between Dragon and Tiger ”. Although the translation kept the verbal meaning of the tea, it violated the western taboo. This is because dragon is referred as a kind of evil and fierce beast. A reader without the knowledge of Chinese culture will have the image of two fierce beasts fighting and killing each other when reading the translation of the tea. The target reader will feel uncomfortable to read the name of the tea, let alone buy and drink it. “珠茶” is a kind of special tea from Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province. It is round and bullet-shaped. So it was translated into “gun power”. This kind of translation can easily make people think about the violent images of war. Therefore, when being sold to India, Indian purchasers strongly asked the seller to change the translation of the tea name.

Due to cultural differences, sometimes literal translation cannot express the true meaning of the tea name well. During this circumstance, translator should compensate the important information under the verbal meaning of the tea name. This kind of purpose can be achieved through the explanation of connotation under the tea name. Let’s take the tea names we have mentioned in the last paragraph as an example. According to the background information of the tea “玉露”, “ the shape of the tea is round and its color is white like jade. So it’s better to translate ‘玉露’ into ‘Jade-green Tea’ instead of ‘Jade Dew’”. (Cui Shan 2019:126) This kind of translation can show the color and type of the tea. It is more acceptable and less confusing for the target readers. Similarly, “‘茉莉花茶’ can be translated into ‘Jasmine Scented Tea’ instead of ‘Jasmine Tea’ and ‘竹叶青’ can be translated into ‘Bamboo-Leaf-Shaped Green Tea’ instead of ‘Bamboo Leaf ’”. (Cui Shan, 2019:126) “Jasmine Scented Tea” can show the true features of the tea and distinguish the tea from jasmine flower. And “Bamboo-Leaf-Shaped Green Tea” can tell the target readers the type and features of the tea and stop misleading readers to think of it as the tea made of bamboo leaves.

4 Untranslatability of Culture-loaded Words

Catford thought that untranslatability is caused by the target language’s lack of lexical or syntactical substitute. Different languages differ from each other in the phonetic, grammatical, semantic, pragmatic aspect etc. When translating culture-loaded words, it is hard for translator to translate the culture behind these words in a perfect way. For example, “纸老虎” is translated into “Paper Tiger” in English. But if people don’t have a knowledge of Chinese culture, when they read the phrase “paper tiger”, they will think of it as a kind of artistic work. Similarly, “八股文” is translated into “Eight-part Essay”. When people read this kind of translation, they will only think of it as a kind of article containing eight parts. They cannot understand the moral imprisonment this kind of writing style brought to Chinese people. When the famous sinologist David Hawkes was translating the famous Chinese novel A Dream of Red Mansions, he translated a servant girl in the novel called “紫鹃” into “Nightingale” instead of “cuckoo”. This is because the word “cuckoo” in western countries can be used to refer the woman who cheated in a relationship. In the novel, “紫鹃” is a quite innocent girl. So the word “cuckoo”, although is literally equivalent to “紫鹃”, it was still not chosen by David Hawkes to be the girl’s name. In English, “nightingale” refers to a small brown bird, the male of which has a beautiful song. It can also refer people who can sing beautifully. Although the translator avoided cultural conflict by translating “紫鹃” into “Nightingale”, “nightingale” still cannot show the innocence of that girl. Sometimes, translators will borrow words from other cultures to help themselves translate better. For example, translators translate “a beauty in ancient China named Xi Shi into ‘Chinese Cleopatra’. However, Cleopatra is more like the first and the only female emperor in Chinese history Wu Zetian in Chinese people’s mind to western people. In Chinese phrase ‘蝙蝠迎宾’， the word ‘蝙蝠’ is translated into ‘bird’ in English instead of ‘bat’. This is because bat represents vampires in western culture. This kind of translation avoided the violation of western taboo. But it also doesn’t translate the inner ‘happiness’ behind the phrase in Chinese culture.”(Chen Junming 2013:29) Catford thought the cultural untranslatability was caused by the lack of the target target culture’s relevant situational features to the source language’s culture. Cultural untranslatability comes from cultural differences. Although it is hard to translate culture-loaded words into target language in a perfect way, translators still need to try to discover the translation of culture-loaded words. Translators can also add some explanations after the translated sentences or words to make the meaning and culture behind the source language text be understood by target readers.

5 The Interpreter’s Translation of Culture-loaded Words

Unlike translators, interpreters have much shorter time to translate. Sometimes, it is a great challenge for interpreters to translate in such a short time. As we have discussed above, culture-loaded words make it hard for translators to translate. So during the interpreting, it may be even harder for interpreters to translate utterances with culture-loaded words. An interpreter’s translation can be divided into three steps, namely comprehension, de-verbalization and reformulation. If an interpreter wants to interpret successfully, he should understand what the speaker has said. The interpreter will keep the content of what the speaker just said in his mind. During step two, the interpreter will forget the structure of these linguistic signs which formed what the speaker said and only remembers the ideas these linguistics signs wanted to express. During the last step, the interpreter uses another language to form new utterances to express the speaker’s ideas. The interpreter has to try to express all the information the speaker mentioned as possible and the interpreter also needs to try to make the translated language easy to be understood by target hearers. The striking feature of interpreting is its timeliness. Since the interpreter’s memory is limited, interpretation is more about translating the overall meaning of the discourse. Sometimes interpreters have to identify the key information of someone’s utterances and discard the unimportant information. The approach we have discussed above can also be used to interpret. For example, the interpreter can use literal translation approach to translate. By using the literal translation approach, “ ‘莫道今年春将尽，明年春色倍欢人。我期待着明年中国和世界都会变得更好’，can be translated into ‘Do not regret that the spring is departing, come next year as it will be twice as enchanting. I really hope to see that next year in China and in the whole world people will be better off.’”(Guo Huiqing 2018:94) It’s worth mentioning that interpreters have to translate in a limited time. So when confronting some special expression that is hard to find the equivalent in the target language. They will try to explain the meaning of these expression. For example, the interpreter can translate “ ‘山重水复疑无路，柳暗花明又一村’ into ‘After encountering all kinds of difficulties and experiencing all kinds of hardships, at the end of the day we will see light at the end of tunnel’”.(Guo Huiqing 2018:95) This expression is from ancient Chinese poet Tao Yuanming’s poem. This sentence just express the scenery of the countryside. But combing the poem with the utterances the speaker has said, the interpreter translates the sentence into the translation above. This kind of explanation approach can be often used in interpreting. Translation and interpreting share a lot in common like the approaches to translate. But interpreting has the feature of timeliness while translation doesn’t. This feature brings more challenges for interpreters to translate. It requires interpreter to have to quick response and a better sensibility to cultural differences.

6 Conclusion

“Since the knowledge and beliefs that constitute a people’s culture are habitually encoded and transmitted in the language of the people, it is extremely difficult to separate the two. On the one hand, language as an integral part of human being, permeates his thinking and way of viewing the world, language both expresses and embodies cultural reality. On the other, language, as a product of culture, helps perpetuate the culture, and the changes in language uses reflect the cultural changes in return.” (Dai Weidong 2002:130) Language and culture are interdependent during the process of evolution. Language belongs to culture. Translators, who translate the information from one language to another, have the responsibility to promote the communication between different countries. A good translator can help the transmission of cultures. The cultural differences among different countries lead to different culture-loaded words in different countries. The reason why we call a culture-loaded word a culture-loaded word is because it contains the special meaning of a culture. It is exactly this kind of uniqueness which makes a culture different from other cultures. Although culture-loaded words make it hard for translators to translate well, translators still have to find strategies to overcome this kind of difficulty. As long as cultural differences exist, culture-loaded words will still be there. As a bridge between two language or even two cultures, translators still have to work hard to discover better approaches to translate culture-loaded words well. If translators can translate better, the cultural communication between two countries will be better.

References

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Skopos and Functional Equivalence

A Comparative Study between Functional Equivalence Theory and Skopos Theory and My thoughts on the Two Theories

Abstract：This paper first makes a brief introduction of the two very important translation theories, which are Functional Equivalence Theory and Skopos theory, put forward by Eugene Nida and Hans Vermeer respectively. Then the paper analyzes the similarities and differences between the two theories from many different perspectives. Through the analysis of the two theories, the author finally puts forwards its own thoughts on the two translation theories.

Key words：Functional Equivalence Theory; Skopos theory; Eugene Nida; Hans Vermeer

摘要：本文首先对翻译研究中两种极为重要的翻译理论，即尤金·奈达提出的功能对等翻译理论和汉斯·弗米尔进行了简要介绍，之后从多个不同的方面对这两种理论的相似点和不同之处进行分析。最后，在对两种理论进行分析后，作者提出自己对这两种理论的看法和认识。

关键词：功能对等理论；翻译目的论；尤金·奈达；汉斯·弗米尔

(1)Introduction

1.1. Functional Equivalence Theory

In 1964, Eugene Nida, the famous American linguist and Bible Translator, first put forward the notion of “dynamic equivalence” in his book Toward a Science of Translating. According to Nida, “dynamic equivalence” refers to “ the closest natural equivalence to the source language message(Tan Zaixi, 1984: 10)”. In saying this, Nida means to appeal translators to put emphasis on expressing to the target readers both the messages conveyed in the source language and the forms and styles of the original text. Later, he realizes the name “dynamic equivalence” may confuse some translation learners and they may think he only focuses on translating the content and meaning of the source text and ignores its form and style, he then changes the name of “dynamic equivalence” into “functional equivalence”. Nida thinks that the response made by the target language receptor to the target text should generally be equivalent to the response made by the source language receptor to the source text, so when the translator cannot retain both the form and the content of the original text, he or she should give priority to the content of the original text and change the form of the source text. And in response to questions like how and to what degree the translator can change the form of the original text, Nida then points out that in translation, there are four aspects in dynamic equivalence, namely, lexical equivalence, syntactic equivalence, textual equivalence and stylistic equivalence respectively. If a translator can convey the language form, the content and the style of the source text in natural target language, and make the target readers give the same response to the target text as the source language made to the original text, then his translation can be said to have achieved the maximal equivalence. On the other hand, if a translation only transmit the content of the original text generally, then the translation can be said to have achieved the minimal equivalence.

1.2. Skopos Theory

Skopos theory was first put forward by Hans Vermeer in his book Framework for a General Translation Theory in 1978. According to Skopos theory, translation means to “produce a text at target setting for a target purpose and target addressee in target circumstances”(Liu Junping, 2009: 377). Based on this definition, Vermeer Hans concludes the three rules of Skopos theory, which are skopos rule, coherence rule and loyalty rule.

Firstly, skopos rule, or purpose principle, is the primary principle to be followed in translation. It holds that the purpose to be achieved of the target text determines the whole process of translation, including the choice of the translator in translation skills and strategies, and that all translation activities are determined by its purpose. Generally speaking, the skopos rule has under its umbrella three types of purposes: the first one is the basic purpose of the translator; the second is the communicative purpose of the translation; and the third is the purpose of specific translation strategies or means. But at most of times, “purpose” refers to the communicative purpose of the translation.

Secondly, coherence rule, also called intra-textual coherence, means that the translation must be understandable and readable to the receptors, and meaningful in the communicative environment of the target culture and the target text.

Thirdly, fidelity rule, which means that there should be inter-textual coherence between the source text and the target text. Inter-textual coherence is similar to what is usually called “信” or “be faithful to the original text”. In the traditional translation theory, “faithfulness” is always regarded as the basic translation standard to obey, but in Skopos theory, to what degree the form and style of the target text should be faithful to the original text totally depends on the purpose of the translation and the translator’s understanding of the source text.

Under Vermeer’ s Skopos theory, the skopos rule is the most important rule among the three rules, the coherence rule the second important, and the fidelity rule the least important. This indicates that in Skopos theory, the end justifies the means(Liu Junping, 2009: 377-378)

II.Similarities and Differences

2.1. The Similarities between the Two Theories

2.1.1. Both Attach Great Importance to the Target Receptor’s Status

Functional Equivalence Theory is a receptor-oriented theory. As revealed by Nida’s definition of translation, that “translation consists in reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalence of the source language, first in terms of meaning and second in terms of style”, Functional Equivalence Theory emphasizes that the primary aim of translation is such that the target text should bring the target receptors the similar or same response as the response made by receptors in the source language. Besides, to bring to the readers a similar or same response, Nida even put forward that, if it is necessary, different target texts should be made according to the needs of different receptors. All of the two points reflects that in Functional Equivalence Theory, the target receptor’s status is very important.

While the Skopos theory, too, put the reader’s needs on a high status. Of the three rules in Skopos theory, the most important one is skopos rule, which includes three purposes, the basic purpose of the translator, the communicative purpose of the translation, and the purpose of specific translation strategies or means. However, to take all the three purposes into consideration, a translator must first know what and who the target text serves, so he or she can immediately know the purpose of the translation task and do a corresponding and qualified translation. This, on the other hand, also means that in Skopos theory, the target reader’s needs indirectly determine the purpose of the translation, so it is also given priority to by the translator.

2.1.2. Both Emphasize the Communicative Function of Translation

Under the Functional Equivalence Theory, the translation should achieve a functional equivalence, bringing the target readers the roughly same experience and making them give the responses as the receptors in the source language culture. In doing this, the translator is in fact trying to achieve the communicative function of the original text by shortening the distance of the source text receptors and the target text receptors, which, on the other hand, means that the process of translation is a communicative process between the original language culture and the culture of the target language.

In Skopos theory, of the three purposes under the skopos rule, the communicative purpose is regarded as the most important purpose of a target text. Skopos theory holds that translation is a communicative activity with a purpose, and the process of translation is determined by the intended function or purpose of the target text.

2.2 The Differences between the Two Theories

2.2.1. Different Status of the Source Language and the Target Language

From the perspective of Functional Equivalence Theory, a good translation achieving the goal of translation not only needs to provide another message similar to the original message conveyed in the source text, but also needs to clearly reflect the meaning and intention of the original text, bringing to the target readers similar or even same effects and making them give a same response. From this point, one can easily see that Functional Equivalence Theory is centered on the original text, which, to some degree, reflects that Functional Equivalence still put the source language on a high status. The status of the target language is secondary to the source language as the choice of the words, sentence structures of the target text still heavily depend on the source text.

Skopos theory, on the other hand, gets rid of the point of view of the traditional text-centered translation theory, and focuses on the function and purpose of the target text. From the perspective of Skopos theory, a successful translation is not one that places the original text in a sacred and unattainable position. Vermeer further put forward the view of “subverting the source language” in Skopos theory. He stated that “the linguistic and stylistic features of the original text are no longer the only criteria to measure the translation”. All of these reflect that the source text enjoys a relatively low status in Skopos theory compared with its status in Functional Equivalence Theory. Besides, from the three rules of Skopos theory, one can easily know that, the most important one is the skopos rule, then the coherence of the target text, namely the intra-textual coherence and finally the fidelity of the target text to the source text, namely the inter-textual coherence. Therefore, we can see that the status of the source language actually lower than the target language in Skopos theory, which is different from the case in Functional Equivalence Theory.

2.2.2. Different Translation Principles

Nida believes that equivalence is the goal of translation. His translation standard is that the target text should be faithful to the original text in terms of content and style while also being expressive in the eyes of the target readers. As put forward by Nida that, “translation consists in reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalence of the source language, first in terms of meaning and second in terms of style”, the translation standard of Functional Equivalence Theory include “equivalence”, which is the equivalence of meaning and style, namely be faithful to the meaning and style of the source text. Besides, in front of “equivalence”, there is also a word “natural”, which means the target text should be fluent and be in conformity with the habits of the target culture, namely “expressiveness” in traditional translation theory.

In Skopos theory, however, “faithfulness” is no longer regarded as the primary translation criteria. As Skopos theory judges the success of a translation by its intended purpose, which reflects the requirements of the target readers. However, as the requirements of the readers are different, Skopos theory advocates the diversification of translation standards. Only when the communicative purpose of the translation requires the translation to have the same communicative function as the original text, equivalence becomes the standard of the translation process. Otherwise, the translation may be very different from the original text in its style and form.

2.2.3. Different Translation Skills and Translation Strategies Used in the Translation Process

In Functional Equivalence Theory, as determined by its definition for translation, the translation skills and strategies used in the translation process are all for one common goal, which is to bring the target readers the roughly same or same response. In order to achieve the aim, some translation skills are frequently used under the Functional Equivalence Theory, including literal translation, liberal translation, domestication and borrowing translation. And among all these translation skills, domestication and borrowing translation are two translation strategies most favorably advocated by Functional Equivalence Theory. Here, I will list the translation of a phrase to briefly explain the reason why the two translation skills are often used in translation process. We all know that to grow like mushrooms is an English phrase which means to rapidly grow or increase in number. It vividly describes the scene that after the incessant rain in London, the explosive growth of the mushrooms. While in China, there is also a similar phrase “雨后春笋”, to describe the scene that after a spring rain, the bamboo shoots sprout overnight in the forest. Therefore, when doing a E-C translation, the translator often uses domestication and translate “to grow like mushrooms” into “雨后春笋”, so as to enable the Chinese readers give a same response as English readers did.

However, Skopos theory is different. In Skopos theory, the end justifies the means, which means all the translation skills and strategies are determined by the purpose and use of the target text as well as the reader it serves. Therefore, it usually adopts different translation strategies to meet different translation purposes. Translators can freely choose the translation skills he wants to use, whether it is literal translation or liberal translation, domestication or foreignization, transliteration or borrowing translation, even simplifying translation and reduction translation, in consideration of the author's writing intention, the theme of the original text, the translator’s purpose and the needs of the readers.

Here, I want to firstly compare the difference between Functional Equivalence Theory and Skopos theory in dealing with content with cultural characteristics. As I wrote before, the Functional Equivalence Theory emphasizes the same response between the original readers and the target readers and the presence of a natural text to the target readers, so it prefers to use the existed words, phrases, and cultural images in the target language to replace the expressions in the original text, which explains why domestication and borrowing translation are often use under the theory -- that is because by using the two ways, functional equivalence can be achieved. However, in Skopos theory, the translator enjoys a higher degree of freedom. He can select translation skills flexibly according to the skopos of the text. For example, when it comes to cultural translation, the translator should carefully consider the cultural differences between the two languages and have full understanding of the purpose and usage of the original text. If the purpose of a translated text is to diffuse the language characteristics of the original author, the author’s writing intention, or the language characteristics of the source language culture, then the translator can adopt the strategy of foreignization or the strategy of literal translation with some annotations in the target text to help the target readers better understand a foreign concept. For example, in order to maintain the cultural characteristics of Chinese, the Chinese proverb “谋事在人，成事在天” should be translated as “man proposals, heaven disposes." instead of “man proposals, God disposes”. This is because the translator wants foreign people to know our beliefs -- we Chinese believe in Heaven rather than God. At the same time, sometimes, to meet the needs of some special readers, simplifying translation and reduction translation are also used in the translation process. For example, there are some publishers in China which publish the simplified version of those foreign classics to meet the the children’s needs in reading.

2.2.4. Different Status of the Translator

In what Nida thinks of, the translator is only a cultural envoy, transmitting the idea of a culture to people in another culture. Nida believes that as the second source of information, the translator’s role is mainly to convey the original author’s intention to the readers. Therefore, the translator must understand what the original author thinks. The translator’s role is mainly to convey the original author’s intention to the readers. In addition, the translator should not introduce any personal ideas into the translation of the original text, no matter whether the original point of view is consistent with his own. “The translator should not intervene in, edit or rewrite the original text even if it has shortcomings and errors, nor should he improve the original text even if he has the ability”(Tan Zaixi, 1984). Of course, we can critically accept Nida’s words. When there are obvious mistakes in the original text (such as the original text not conforming to the facts), we should correct them in the translation.

Skopos theory improves the position of translator. The translator is the receptor of the original text and transmits the information of the original text to the reader. Skopos theory allows the translator to determine the faithfulness of the translation to the source text and determine the proportion of the faithfulness of the target text to the original text. It adopts the translation strategies such as “modification, abridgement and reduction”, and denies that there is only one “correct or best” translation of the source language. Therefore, the translator has more freedom in the process of translation, and can transfer the original text according to the needs, expectations and knowledge background of the readers, so as to achieve the purpose of a translation task.

2.2.5. Different translation processes

In order to achieve functional equivalence, Nida proposed the famous back translation theory by referring to the concepts of core sentence, non-core sentence and transformation. In Functional Equivalence Theory, translation is a complicated process, which includes four stages: analysis, transfer, reconstruction and test (Tan Zaixi, 1984, 144). Specifically speaking, as far as Nida is concerned, when doing a translation task, the translator needs to transform the original text from the surface structure to the deep structure or pseudo-deep structure on the basis of grammatical and semantic analysis, and then translate the deep structure or pseudo-deep structure of the original text to the deep structure of the target text, and finally from the deep structure of the target text to the surface structure of the target text. After the translation is done, the translator needs to re-examine and test the translation.(Peng Changjiang, 2017: 09) Skopos theory, however, unlike the Functional Equivalence Theory, it does not put forward specific translation procedures. The Skopos theory does not give detailed guidelines for the translation of words, phrases, paragraphs and texts, but it do gives some guidance to the translator from the macro perspective, giving the translator more autonomy to do translation and enabling them freely translate a text.

III.My Thoughts on the Two Theories

3.1. My thought on Functional Equivalence Theory

3.1.1. Strengths and Contributions of Functional Equivalence Theory

Firstly, the Functional Equivalence Theory brings modern linguistics, communication studies, information theory, semiotics and aesthetics into the field of translation. From the macro perspective, it breaks through the limitations of the traditional thoughts on translation and provides a new perspective for translation research. It studies translation in a more detailed way from multiple perspectives, applies new thoughts, concepts and methods to translation studies, and provides many new methods for translation research. Besides, it also lays a solid foundation for modern translation studies.

Secondly, it must be emphasized that, Functional Equivalence Theory has given many constructive suggestions to translators. From a micro perspective, Functional Equivalence Theory has solved the long-standing dispute between literal translation and liberal translation. It requires the translator use the target language to reproduce the meaning of the source language as fully as possible in different language structures, thus both breaking the restrictions of traditional word-for-word translation and limiting the free and random play of the translator. To some extent, Functional Equivalence Theory has greatly promoted the translation of some types of literary works, such as the translation of prose, help avoiding the creation of many pseudo--translation and translationese cases. At the same time, it eases the argument of domestication and foreignization from the perspective of language and culture, and seeks the balance point of domestication and foreignization from the perspective of multiple disciplines.

Thirdly, Functional Equivalence Theory provides with the target readers a chance to know other country’s culture in their own language. Traditionally, translation is to transform the original language that are different from ours into the familiar language that we use. It can let the people who have not learned a foreign language also understand and appreciate the message under some phrases written in a foreign language. For example, if one has no common sense in English, he will regard “a piece of cake” as “一块蛋糕”. This example reflects the culture gap between the people of two countries. Good translation is one that overcomes these culture gaps and turn them into what the target readers is familiar with. So, it is better for the translator use the Functional Equivalence Theory to translate “a piece of cake” with the well-known Chinese proverb “小菜一碟” .

3.1.2. Deficiency of Functional Equivalence Theory

Although Functional Equivalence Theory has made many contributions to the translation studies, it is not without its deficiencies. Here I list three disadvantages of it.

First, Nida’s Functional Equivalence Theory is concluded from the translation of the Bible. It is, in fact, cannot be a guideline for all kinds of translation. For example, some texts, including some articles with profound historic significance and cultural characteristics, some scientific articles, some lyrical articles, movie subtitles, government reports, actually need different translation standards. Functional Equivalence Theory can play an important role in appropriate fields, but it is not universal or omnipotent rule. Though, in fact, there is nothing omnipotent and flawless in the world. Functional Equivalence Theory can play an important role in appropriate area. If it is used in the right place, it can help the translator present a more brilliant translation. Second, the Functional Equivalence Theory requires the target text to be written in a “common language”, which should be understood by the less educated readers and accepted by the readers with high literacy, but this turns out to be very difficult to achieve in practice. It can be said that the requirements of this theory are way too demanding. Although this is a goal worth pursuing, it is nearly impossible to achieve, as even in the same country, different knowledge levels, different regional cultures and even different life experiences will lead to different understanding abilities.

In addition, Nida also ignores an important thing, that is, culture is very complex. The generation, evolution and creation of each nation and its culture are different from each other. Some cultural images in foreign works may be something the other country’s readers have never seen and cannot understand. In translation process, it is certainly ideal if the translator can find a corresponding cultural object in the target culture. But at most of times, it is in fact very difficult for the translator to find such a substitute. This makes the so called “functional equivalence” very difficult to achieve, and even show its loopholes -- which is also a difficulty in translation process -- it is usually difficult for translators to translate and explain certain words with special cultural meanings. In fact, the differences between different cultures are absolute and inevitable, while the similarities are rare and precious. For example, in order to avoid the danger and inauspicious emotions of the word “red” in western culture, some British translators translate the original title of the book 《红楼梦》 into “The Story of the Stone”. This kind of translation, however, fails to transmit the message of a rich, luxurious, dreamy life hidden in the original book name, let alone bring the western readers the same response.

3.1.3. My Point of View towards Functional Equivalence Theory

The great influence of Functional Equivalence Theory on the whole translation field is obvious to all, but it is not a universal theory. The advantages and disadvantages of the theory of functional equivalence should be treated in a dialectical way. Functional Equivalence Theory is the product of a particular historical period, and it may have some inconsistencies with contemporary translation theories. Therefore, we should take a comprehensive view of Nida’s translation theory. On the whole, Nida’s translation thought can be regarded as a bright gem in the treasure house of western translation studies.

3.2. My thoughts on Skopos Theory

3.2.1. Strengths and Contributions of Skopos Theory

Skopos theory has many advantages. First of all, as a major breakthrough in the study of contemporary western translation theory, Skopos theory breaks the limitations of Functional Equivalence Theory at the linguistic level and puts forward a translation standard dominated by skopos principle. Skopos theory provides the translator with another perspective in translation practice, which is more conducive to the choice of translation strategies.

Secondly, Skopos theory focuses on the requirements of the translation client, points out the influence of the client on the translation process, and breaks the limitation of traditional translation theory, which only takes the original author, the translator and the target reader into consideration. From this perspective, Skopos theory can be called a real breakthrough in the history of translation studies.

Thirdly, Skopos theory emphasizes the initiative and participation of the translator, and holds that the original text mainly plays the role of providing information. Therefore, it shifts the focus of translation from faithful reproducing the source text to the creation of the translation. It overthrows the central position of the original text and establishes the central position of the target text and the translator, which gives all translation learners and researchers a new insight towards translation studies.

Finally, Skopos theory further studies the development of translation from the perspective of culture. From the perspective of Skopos theory, translation is a kind of cultural comparison and a kind of cross-cultural communication in a certain cultural context, which benefits the target readers a lot.

3.2.2. Deficiency of Skopos Theory

However, all thing is not perfect, Skopos theory is no exception, of course.

Firstly, Skopos theory allows the translator to rewrite the original text to a certain extent, but it does not indicate the extent to which the translator can rewrite the original text. It gives the translator too much freedom, which may let the translator easily translate the source text out of its context. Besides, the original meaning and usage of the source text may be distorted if the translator unscrupulously use every means in order to achieve the so-called “purpose of translation”. Accordingly, the translator will fall into the whirlpool of random translation, which may violate the intention of the original text.

Secondly, the Skopos theory overemphasizes the purpose of translation, the purpose of the translator and the purpose of the target language, so that the translator may easily change or omit many stylistic features of the original text in the target text. This makes it not suitable for some styles of text, such as poems. Because if a translator translates a poem into a prose or a descriptive passages out of the purpose of the translation client, he or she may be better said to rewrite or recreate something than translate. After all, translation is based on the original text, otherwise it cannot be called translation.

Last but not least, there are tens of thousands of readers. To meet the needs of different people, a translation must adopt multiple standards. When there are contradictions among various standards, the translator will be at a loss and the multiple standards will be equal to no standards. For example, if a translator receives the mission of the translation client that he should translate a song faithfully but also retain the beauty of the original text for both the children and adults to appreciate it, then the translator may feel hard to do the translation task with the three contradictory translation requirements.

3.2.3. My Point of View towards Skopos Theory

There are more or less deficiencies in every translation theory, and Skopos theory is no exception. To some extent, the shortcomings of Skopos theory mentioned above are also a major feature of it. It is this distinctive theoretical feature that can make it stand out in many translation theories and attract the attention of many scholars and translation enthusiasts. The author believes that the contribution of Skopos theory to the development of translation theory and its guiding significance in translation practice is far greater than its shortcomings and deficiencies. People should treat it with a more objective and rational attitude and let it play its due role in the field of translation. Generally speaking, the Skopos theory put forward by Hans Vermeer is regarded as a major theoretical breakthrough in the study of western translation theory, and it also plays an important role in guiding the successful translation practice.

IV.Conclusion

Through the above comparison, we find that both Functional Equivalence Theory and Skopos theory have their own advantages and disadvantages, and their differences are greater than their similarities. Functional equivalence pays attention to the equivalence between the form and content of the translation and the original text as well as the reader’s response. Skopos theory can solve some problems that can not be solved by Functional Equivalence Theory and widen the research perspective of translation theory, which is to some extent the inheritance and development of Functional Equivalence Theory. The scope of application of the two is different, but both of them have their own unique excellencies.

Reference books: 《奈达论翻译》by谭载喜&《西方翻译理论通史》by刘军平

Bibliography：

[1] Eugene A. Nida. Toward a Science of Translating [M]. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1964.

[2] Eugene A. Nida, Charles Taber. The Theory and Practice of Translation [M]. Leiden: the Netherlands, E. J. Brill, 1969.

[3] Hans Vermeer. Framework for a General Translation Theory [M] ,1978.

[4]谭载喜.奈达论翻译 [M].北京：中国对外翻译出版公司,1984.

[5]刘军平.西方翻译理论通史 [M].武汉：武汉大学出版社,2009.9.

[6]百度百科：功能对等理论

[7]百度百科：翻译目的论

[8]百度百科：目的论的优点与不足

[9]百度百科：功能对等理论的贡献与局限性

[10]彭长江.英汉--汉英翻译教程[M].长沙：湖南师范大学出版社，2017.8.

[11]百度百科：功能对等理论与目的论的比较

Comparative Study on Functional Equivalence Theory and Skopos Theory

摘 要

近几十年来，翻译理论层出不穷，翻译理论也带有多元化倾向。奈达从语言学的角度出发，根据翻译的本质，提出了功能对等理论，在这一理论中，他指出“翻译是用最恰当、自然和对等的语言从语义到文体再现源语的信息”。功能主义目的论的代表人物弗米尔认为翻译是一项有目的的活动，并且以实现译文的预期功能和效果为首要原则。 这两种理论都是具有较大影响力的西方翻译理论。它们在不同的时期由不同流派提出，本文着重分析两大理论在理论基础、翻译标准、文化观等层面上的差异性，并分析其相似性。通过对这两种理论的共性和差异进行比较，旨在加深我们对这两种貌似神离的翻译理论的认识与了解，让我们在不同的领域中能恰当地使用这两种翻译理论,更好地发挥各自的指导作用。

关键词：功能对等；目的论；差异性；相似性

Abstract

In recent decades, translation theories have emerged in an endless stream, and translation theories have a tendency to diversify. From the perspective of linguistics, Eugene Nida puts forward the theory of functional equivalence according to the nature of translation. In this theory, he points out that "Translation consists in reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent of the source language message, first in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of style". While one of the representatives of functionalist skopos theory, Hans J. Vermeer, considers that translation is a purposeful activity, taking the realization of the target text’s intended function as its first principle. These two theories have great influence in western translation theories. They are proposed by different schools in different periods. This paper will focus on the differences between these two theories in terms of theoretical basis, translation standards, and cultural direction, and then analyze their similarities. By comparing the differences and similarities between the two theories, it will deepen our understanding of these two translation theories so that we can properly use them in different fields, thus better playing their respective guiding roles.

Key words: Functional Equivalence; Skopos Theory; comparison

Introduction

Research background

Contemporary western translation theories are flourishing, providing a new perspective for translation studies. In the 1960s, Eugene A. Nida proposed a translation theory based on reader response, namely "functional equivalence theory". With the development of the times, people have further understanding of the complex phenomenon of translation. The theory of equivalence sets the translation within the scope of the language level. However, the essence of translation is not only the conversion of pure language, but also the communication between different cultures based on language form. In the 1970s, translation studies oriented to the target language culture appeared in the West, breaking the traditional translation theory of textual centralism, which made the translator pay more attention to the translation and the target language receivers, the social and communicative functions of the translation. The German functionalist translation theory got rid of the shackles of the equivalence theory that prevailed at that time, broadened the field of translation theory research.

Significance of the study

By comparing the differences and similarities of these two translation theory, it can deepen our understanding of them. Therefore, when we do translation, we can choose the most appropriate translation theory to guide us to translate according to the specific situation. So it is very necessary to make a comparison between functional equivalence theory and skopos theory.

Layout of this chapter

This thesis will be divided into three chapters. In the first chapter, a brief introduction of functional equivalence will be presented, such as the definition of functional equivalence, and its four criteria: conveying information; conveying the spirit and style of the original work; fluent language; and similar reader response. The second chapter involves three parts, that is, the development of skopos theory; the definition of skopos theory and the three rules of skopos theory. The final chapter falls into two part: the differences and similarities between these two theories.

1. A brief introduction of Functional equivalence theory

1.1 The definition of functional equivalence theory

Functional equivalence theory is the core of the famous American translator Eugene Nida’s translation theory. It attaches great importance to the response of the target language receivers, that is, the target language receiver and the source language receiver produce the same viewing response. He holds that translation should not only ensure the correctness of information exchange and achieve information equivalence in lexical sense, but also take into account the cultural background and behavioral patterns of the target language receiver and achieve information equivalence in style, semantics and other aspects in the process of translation, that is, to achieve functional equivalence of language. In the process of translation, we should not only consider the formal factors such as vocabulary and grammar, but also pay attention to the linguistic factors such as context, culture and social background, which are very important to translation. Nida’s definition of translation indicates that translation is not only equivalence in lexical sense, but also equivalence in semantics, text and style. The information conveyed by translation includes both surface lexical information and deep cultural information. This kind of “dynamic equivalence” includes four aspects: 1. lexical equivalence；2. syntactic equivalence；3. textual equivalence；4. stylistic equivalence. Among these four aspects, Nida believes that “meaning is the most important and form is the second”(张春柏，1998：50).

1.2 The criteria of functional equivalence theory

Nida’s functional equivalence translation theory has four criteria (Nida, 2001:117):

1.2.1 Conveying information

The “information” includes all kinds of information conveyed by the original language: semantics, style, literary image, scene and psychological effect. In the theory of functional equivalence, the criterion of “conveying information” means that the target language information conveyed by the translator to the target language receiver should be basically the same as the original text information conveyed by the original author to the target language receiver.

Example: “presidential historian...”

“总统的史学家......”

It is not clear that the message conveyed by “presidential historian” to Chinese readers is not the same as that conveyed by “presidential historian” to English readers. However, according to Nida’s functional equivalence theory, the translator translates it into “研究总统的历史学家” by adding words, so that Chinese readers can correctly understand the true meaning of “presidential historian” in the original text.

1.2.2 Conveying the spirit and style of the original work

From Nida’s point of view, translation is to reproduce the original text in the most natural way in the target language, first of all, meaning, then spiritual style, so that the receivers of the translated text can produce basically the same psychological response as the receivers of the original text.

Example:“来吧，朋友!”

It is a column broadcast by CCTV. If translated into “come on, friends!”, it seems to be close to the original in form, as a column is not solemn enough. And “solemnity” is the style of “来吧，朋友！”in the original Chinese text, which should be reproduced in the translation. Therefore, “A time to make friends” is quite different from the original Chinese in form, but it accurately conveys the spiritual style of the original to the target readers.

1.2.3 Fluent language: fully in line with the norms and conventions of the target language

This criterion means that, on the premise of conveying the information and spiritual style of the original text, the process of translation should not be constrained by the linguistic form and structure of the original text, and should grasp the connotation and spirit of the original text.

Example：“车来了！”

“Here comes the car / truck / bus / minibus / lorry / taxi!” In Chinese, the category word “car” is used to replace any form of vehicle. But this method is not found in English. On the contrary, English is accustomed to using specific vocabulary. Therefore, when translating similar Chinese into English, it is necessary to make clear the means of transportation and to translate the specific means of transportation according to the habits of English expression. If you cross the street, remind your peers to say “车来了！”You should translate it into “Be careful!” according to English expression habits, so that English readers can really understand the meaning of the original text.

1.2.4 Similar reader responses

The first two standards focus on the transmission of linguistic information, content and style, while the latter two focus on the acceptability of the translation to the audience：The relationship between the target reader and the target text should be basically the same as that between the original reader and the target text, so as to achieve the spiritual fit between the translator and the original author, thus enabling the target reader to get the same feelings as the original reader. Example: “as white as snow.”

It can sometimes be translated into “very white” because people in the translated culture may not know what snow is. We can also translate “to grow like mushroom” into “如雨后春笋般地成长起来”, because “mushroom” means exactly the same in English as“春笋”in Chinese.

Ⅱ. A brief introduction of Skopos theory

Skopos theory is the core concept of German functionalist theory, which is put forward by Hans. J. Vermeer. Skopos theory holds that the purpose of translation determines the translation methods and strategies that are to be employed. Vermeer thinks that translators should follow three basic rules in the process of their translation, which are respectively skopos theory, coherence theory and fidelity theory.

2.1 The development of Skopos theory

Before the 1970s, the focus of translation studies was equivalence. In fact, this kind of equivalence was hard to achieve because the differences between cultures are hard to eliminate. In order to solve this problem, translation theorists put forward new theories, using functional and communicative methods to study translation. In this context, functionalist skopos theory continues to develop, and boldly shakes off the bondage of equivalence, taking the skopos as the general principle. So translation is examined in the framework of behavioral theory and intercultural communication, which opens a new path for the world translation theories, including the Chinese translation (Li Changshuan, 2009:11). The development of skopos theory has experienced the following four stages:

The first stage: Katharina Reiss firstly introduced the concept of equivalence into translation criticism, proposing the prototype of functionalist theory. On the one hand, Reiss still insisted on the equivalence theory with the original text as the center, and pointed out that the ideal translation should be equivalent to the original text from the conceptual content, language form and communicative function. She believed that the ideal translation should be comprehensive communicative translation. On the other hand, Reiss also realized that some equivalence is impossible. For example, the translation and the original text have different functions. In this case, Reiss believes that the translator should give priority to the functional characteristics of the translation rather than the equivalence principle (Zhang Jinglan, 2004:1). Reiss's research laid the foundation for skopos theory.

The second stage: Reiss’s student Hans J. Vermeer proposed skopos theory, taking the skopos of the translation as the paramount principle during the process of translation. Vermeer believed that translation is a kind of human behavior, and any kind of human behavior is purposeful, so the purpose of translation should be determined before the translation begins. Vermeer thinks that translation should be based on the original text, and translation is a purposeful behavior that must be completed by negotiation. In addition, translation must follow three basic rules, of which the skopos rule is the most important. After these three rules are put forward, the criteria for judging the good or bad translation are no longer “equivalence”, but whether the translation fully achieves the expected goal of translation or not.

The third stage: Based on communication theory and action theory, Holz-Manttari proposed translational action. Translational action views translation as purpose-driven, outcome-oriented human interaction and focuses on the process of translation as message-transmitter compounds involving intercultural transfer (Jeremy Munday, 2001:77). Translation is a communicative process involving a series of roles and players Manttari regards text as a pure tool for achieving communicative function, and believes that its inherent value is completely subordinate to its purpose. The translator only needs to be responsible for the purpose environment, and the target text can be completely independent of the original text, thus further developing the functionalist translation theory.

The fourth stage: Christane Nord comprehensively summarized and perfected the functionalist theory. Nord proposed the principle of "function plus loyalty", which systematically elucidates the internal and external factors that need to be considered in text analysis of translation, and how to formulate a translation strategy that is consistent with the purpose of translation based on the original text.

2.2 The definition of skopos

Skopos theory was originally put forward by the German scholar Han J. Vermeer in 1978. “Skopos is a Greek word for 'aim' or 'purpose' and was introduced into translation theory by Vermeer as a technical term for the purpose of a translation and of the action of translating”(Munday, 2001: 78). Translation actions have many purposes, but Vermeer divides them into three categories: translator’s basic purpose, such as make a living; the target text’s communicative purpose, like enlightening the readers; and the purpose realized by selecting some special translation strategies or steps, for example, translating one language word by word aims to show the structure feature of this language. Generally speaking, the skopos theory refers to the communicative purpose of the source text.

2.3 Three basic rules of skopos theory

In this part, a detailed analysis of these rules will be presented with examples.

2.3.1 The skopos rule

In the three rules of Skopos theory, Skopos theory is the prime principle to be followed in any translation. Vermeer explains this rule as follows:

Each text is produced for a given purpose and should serve this purpose. The skopos rule thus reads as follows: translate/interpret/speak/write in a way that enables your text/translation to function in the situation in which it is used and with the people who want to use it and precisely in the way they want it to function.(Vermeer, 1988:20)

Therefore, skopos theory believes that any translation action is determined by the purpose of the translation. That is to say, “The ends justify the means” (Reiss &Vermeer, 1984:101) the purpose of translation determines the translation methods and strategies.

Example: I wear nothing but a few drops of Channel No.5

无限芬芳的超脱，点滴即可创造。

If using the literal translation, this sentence can be translated as “我什么都不穿，除了滴几滴香奈儿五号”. However, this kind of translation extremely lacks of beauty and there is no more elegance. Considering that the ultimate goal of advertisement is to induce consumers to buy the products and services it promotes. This advertisement adopts free translation and combines with Chinese traditional culture, which makes it like a ancient poem with quaint charm. It not only expresses the meaning of the advertisement, but also injects the characteristics of art, thus letting Channel No.s full of magic. It satisfies some people's pursuit high quality of life, and also makes consumers deeply impressed. So it can be called a successful translation.

2.3.2 The coherence rule

Coherence rule is also called intratextual coherence rule. It holds that the translated text must be coherent, readable and acceptable. In other words, the TT receivers can understand the TT according to their cultural and intellectual background. Any text is a provider of information and functions, but the information and functions are not always obvious from a linguistic point of view. The translator selects aspects and components that serve the purpose according to the skopos rule, and then translates the source text through language processing to make the translated text become a new information provider. In the language processing process, translators must be concerned that translation is readable and understandable in the translated language. Only the translation is meaningful in the communicative context of the TL receivers can the culture and information of the source text be effectively transmitted to the target language readers.

Example: Enchanting medieval house with five acres of delightful gardens.

这里是迷人的中世纪住宅，外有五英亩的美丽花园。

This is a part of the travel propaganda. In order to ensure that translation is smooth and coherent, the original prepositional phrase is changed into a complete sentence with a subject-predicate structure, which doesn’t make the relationship among sentences appear loose.

2.3.3 The fidelity rule

Fidelity rule is also called inter-textual coherence and states that there must be coherence between the ST and the TT. It is similar to the “faithfulness” of Yan Fu’s theory. Fidelity rule maintains the status of the original text and constrains translation actions of different translation purpose. However, the concept of Fidelity rule is relative. The form and degree of faithfulness is determined by the purpose of translation and the translators’ understanding of the original text.

Example: Free entry into farm, Dogs on lead.

OPEN DAILY: 1 March--30 November 10:00 am--5:00 pm

农场免费进入，宠物狗请带好狗绳。

开放时间：3月1日--11月30日 上午10点--下午五点

The time, place and various precautions in the travel text are very important, because the error of this kind of information will bring unnecessary trouble to the tourists. Therefore, the translation, according to the fidelity rule, faithfully and effectively conveys the original information to the reader for the purpose of facilitating the tourists.

There exists a hierarchical order of these rules. The skopos rule is the most important one and other two rules are subordinate to it. At the same time, the fidelity rule is also subordinate to the coherence rule.

Ⅲ. Comparative study on Nida's functional equivalence theory and functionalist skopos theory

This chapter will mainly discuss the differences and similarities between functional equivalence theory and skopos theory.

3.1 The differences

3.1.1 Different theoretical basis

The early equivalence theory was directly influenced by American structuralist linguistics and human linguistics. Later, Nida combined translation studies with the syntactic structure analysis method, semantic component analysis method and Chomsky's transformational-generative grammar that were popular in the United States in the 1940s and 1950s, took structural analysis of language expressions and translation procedures, and injected fresh blood into translation studies (Chen Gang, 2011: 145). Using communication theory and cross-cultural content as the starting point, Nida revised Chomsky's deep transfermation grammar, paid attention to the psychology of information receivers, and stimulated the potential of information receivers as .much as possible.

German skopos theory is an emerging school in the late 1970s. It criticizes that the translation theory based on linguistic school pays much attention to form, and is developed on the basis of communication theory, information theory, behavior theory, discourse linguistics, and text theory. Based on the behavior theory, Skopos theory proposes the concept of translation action, which extends translation to a new field. That is to say, translation is a kind of purposeful and conscious intercultural communication action of human. As the name suggests, Skopos theory regards translation activities as a kind of "action", and any action has its goals or skopos. One of the representatives of the skopos theory, Hans J. Vermeer, summarizes the essence of skopos theory in a concise language: the ends justify the means, that is, the purpose of translation determines the translation process.

3.1.2 Different translation principles and standards

Nida's functional equivalence refers to “the closest natural equivalence to the source language information”. “Natural” here means that the translation must conform to the language and culture of the target language, in line with the context and the requirements of the target receivers. "Equivalence" here, he clearly stated that it is not "equivalence" in mathematics, but "approximation", that is, the approximation of functional equivalence from varying degrees. From the above Nida’s dynamic equivalence theory, the translator must conform to four criteria in order to achieve "close and natural equivalence": (1) conveying meaning; (2) conveying the spirit and style of the original work; (3) fluent; (4) similar reader responses. In order to achieve these four standards, there will be contradictions between content and form from time to time. It is either the content giving way to form, or the form giving way to content. The two form a unified whole.

Skopos theory advocates that translation should follow three rules: the skopos rule, the coherence rule and the fidelity rule, of which the skopos rule is the highest principle. The main purpose is to make the translation achieve the expected function of the target language receivers in the target language environment. In addition to the highest principle, the translation must follow the coherence rule and the fidelity rule. The former requires the translation to be "coherent within the text," that is, the translation needs to meet the communication context and cultural background of the target language so that the target reader can understand. The latter requires the translation to be coherent between the ST and the TT. That is, the translation should try to imitate the original text, whether it is formal imitation or content imitation is permissible, which depends on the purpose of the translation. The latter two rules are subordinate to the highest rule-- the skopos rule.

But this also makes the translation theorists produce questions. Is the translator free to do anything for the purpose? Then Nord put forward the theory of “function plus loyalty”. Nord believes that "there is no translation without the original text", and free rewriting does not belong to translation; "Translators should be responsible for both the original text and the translation environment, and be responsible for both the sender of the original information and the recipient of the translation." This responsibility of the translator is "loyalty"(Zhang Meifang, 2005:60-65). The principle of "function plus loyalty" avoids the skopos theory to go to extremes, and complements skopos theory, highlighting the responsibility of translators, and limiting the translator's freedom. Because the skopos theory believes that the success of the translation is judged by whether the expected purpose of the source text is realized or not, and the expectation also reflects the requirements of the target language reader. Since the target language readers reflect differently, so the translation standard of the skopos theory is also diversified.

3.1.3 Different cultural directions

Nida tried to overcome the cultural difference and eliminate the cultural atmosphere in the source text. His theory is mainly oriented to the original text. That is, the source language culture, emphasizing the consistency of cultural environment between the source language and the target language. At the same time, Nida is a support of language commonality. His theory reflects the translation thought of structuralist linguistics, that is, the "mirror reflection" of the objective world and the universality of language expression. The translators’ full imitation and the independence of express the value of their culture, especially the cultural consistency of the target language culture and the source language culture.

Vermeer regards translation as a purposeful action, firstly in its outcome, that is, the target text. The target text is oriented towards the target culture, and the target culture determines the suitability of the target text. Therefore, Skopos theory believes that Translation is an irreversible transmission of information to the source language culture or language in the target culture. There is no intermediate position, it is intercultural communication action, and it is communicative and cultural. In addition, Skopos theory is oriented to the context of macro-postmodern culture, especially the habits, traditions and norms of the target language culture (Fan Derui, 2019:67).

3.2 The Similarities

3.2.1 Both are a combination of translation and language function

The skopos theory represented by Hans J. Vermeer and Christane Nord, and the functional equivalence theory of Nida are put forward by different schools in different periods, but there are still many internal connections and intercommunity. There is no doubt that both have their rationality of existence and show progress in their translation activities of their respective periods. Whether it is "skopos theory" or "functional equivalence theory", both their ultimate goals are to achieve smooth communication between different languages and reduce misunderstandings and conflicts arising from information exchange. In particular, both combine translation with language functions, focusing on the role of language functions in translation. Skopos theorists believe that translation is a purposeful communicative activity, and the translation process is determined by the expected function or purpose of the translation. This purpose is to a great extent influenced by the target receivers and the context and cultural background of the target receivers. Therefore, the translator should decide the choice of the original text information, the use of the translation strategy and the expression of the translation according to the requirements of the clients, combined with the purpose of the translation and the specific situation of the target receivers

Nida also put forward the translation principle of functional equivalence from the perspective of language function, and also combines translation with language functions. He pointed out that due to the differences in language and culture, it is impossible for translation to obtain the formal equivalence between the source text and the target text, but only functional equivalence. Although the expressions of various languages are different, they have the same expressive power and have the same or similar language functions, that is, expressive, cognitive, interpersonal, informative, imperative, empathetic, sympathetic, empathy and aesthetic function. If the translation of these aspects is basically the same, then the functional equivalence of translation is achieved. According to this, he put forward that "the preservation of the original content must change the form, the degree of change, and must depend on different languages in the distance between language and cultural." In order to produce efficacy, the adjustment of the translation from form to content is the specific application of functional ideas. However, Nida did not develop further in the direction of functionalism, but still focused on the concept of equivalence. Therefore, his theory is fundamentally different from the views of the German functional translation school.

3.2.2 Both emphasize the role of the readers and the intelligibility of the translation.

Vermeer believes that the recipients of the translation, that is, the readers, as an important part of the translation requirements, is one of the most important factors in determining the purpose of translation; the target language receivers is the recipient or listener of the translated text with the knowledge, expectation and communication needs of his own specific culture world. Translation is the text in the environment of the target language produced for the purpose of the target language and the reader of the target language in the context of the target language. In addition, the coherence rule of skopos theory emphasizes that the translation must meet the criteria of "coherence within the text" that is, only the text is fully understood by the recipient can they make sense. It can be seen that the skopos theory emphasizes the role of the readers and the intelligibility of the translation.

Nida's functional equivalence theory is also readers-oriented. Nida believes that the research object of translation is the reader; the recipient is not a passive target of language communication, but an active participant in communicative activities. The reader's response is the only criterion for judging the quality of the translation. Therefore, the translation must be fluent and understandable. In order to achieve the intelligibility of the translation, it is even possible to delete parts that the reader cannot understand, such as metaphors.

Conclusion

By comparatively analyzing Eugene Nida's functional equivalence theory and the German functionalist skopos theory, skopos theory critically inherited the rational factors of Nida's functional equivalence theory, and abandoned its irrational part. Skopos theory gets rid of the shackles of equivalence theory, breaking the traditional perspective of single translation studies, turning attention to the study of other relevant factors in translation activities other than language. Skopos theory broke through the framework of equivalence translation theory, and proposed a theoretical system of diversification of translation standards led by the skopos rule. The diversification of translation standards makes the function closer to reality. This is clearly more scientific, more operative and more versatile than Nida's theory that takes functional equivalence as the sole criterion. Moreover, compared with the traditional language translation theory that emphasizes the internal study of translation, Skopos theory denies that translation is a simple language conversion, and pays more attention to the external of translation. Compared with Nida, Skopos theory are more concerned with the humanity and sociality of translation activities. In addition, the Skopos theory shifts the focus of translation from the reproduction of the original text to the more challenging creation of target text, which enhances the active participation of the translator as the main body of the translation, overturning the center status of the original text, and establishing the central status of the target text and the translator. The functionalist skopos theory puts translation in a dynamic cultural context, emphasizing the translator's active intervention. Therefore, it solves some problems that the functional equivalence theory fails to solve, broadens the research perspective of traditional translation theory, is a major breakthrough and important supplement to the functional equivalence theory, and erects a distinctive flag in modern translation theory.

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On the Comparison between "Sublimation" an "Functional Equivalence" Theories

Abstract: Qian Zhongshu and Eugene Nida are outstanding and renowned translators in the history of Chinese and Western translation respectively. It is believed that Mr.Qian’s “Sublimation” theory and Nida’s “Functional Equivalence” theories have a broad and profound impact on Chinese and Western translation theories and practices. This paper will recognize the theoretical value of these two theories from the dialectical point of view by comparing the similarities and differences between “Sublimation” and “Functional Equivalence”. It aims to better apply translation theory to translation practice, and advocate us to view Chinese and Western translation theories from a historical and contradictory perspective, and thus making Translation Studies become more systematic and scientific.

Key words: sublimation; functional equivalence; Qian Zhongshu; Eugene Nida

Introduction: As a famous master of literature, translation and academy, Qian Zhongshu is considered as “the Kunlun Mountain of culture” by many scholars on account of his remarkable achievements and a wide range of knowledge. His literary masterpieces include “Pipe-awl Chapters” , “Discourses on Art”, “Seven Patches”, “Selected Essays of Qian Zhongshu”, “Fortress Besieged” and so on. What’s more, he proposed “Sublimation” theory in translation field, which does great contribution to traditional Chinese translation theory and make Translation Studies more systematic. As Chinese scholar Chen Fukang said: “He (Qian) has made a great many outstanding achievements in some important fields like literature and academic research. Although the discussion on translation is only a carved railing in his academic palace, it can have a huge impact in the field of translation studies.” (Chen Fukang 2000: 417).

Eugene Nida is a famous American contemporary linguist and translation theorist. He has been devoted to the translation of the Bible and has summarized a set of translation theories from his own translation practice. The core point of his translation theory is “Functional Equivalence” (initially called “Dynamic Equivalence”). From his point of view, “Functional Equivalence” is to refer to the type of equivalent reflected in a TT which seeks to adapt the function of the original to suit the specific context in and for which it was produced” (Shuttleworth & Cowie, 2004: 64). It requires that the translation should focus on the meaning and spirit of the original text, instead of being constrained by formal correspondence. According to this theory, he deems that the translation must have four criteria: (1) conveying meaning; (2) expressing spirit; (3) natural and smooth wording; (4) similar receptor response. In his book “From one language to another”, he replaced “Dynamic Equivalence” with “Functional Equivalence” and put forward two levels of meaning, say, referential meaning and associative meaning.

1.The theoretical origin of “Sublimation” and “Functional Equivalence”

1.1 The theoretical origin of “Sublimation”

The idea of Qian Zhongshu’s translation theory of “Sublimation” comes from his book “Lin Shu's Translation” written in 1963 and “The Pipe-awl Chapters” published by Zhonghua Book Company in 1979. He proposed that the process of translation is actually a process of employing “enticement”, avoiding “misinformation” and pursuing “sublimation”. Then he pointed out: “The highest ideal of literary translation is ‘sublimation’. When you translate the literary works from one language to another, you can not only avoid the trace of stiffness and awkward expressions resulting from the different habits of language use, but also completely preserve the flavor of the original. Then we can say, that's the realization of ‘Sublimation’ ” (Qian Zhongshu, 2002: 77). According to his explanation, it can be easily seen that the core of his translation theory is “Sublimation”. What’s more, we can extract 3 levels of “Hua” (Sublimation) from his theory, the first is to transform the source text to target text, and then use the domesticating method to make the source language be naturally and smoothly expressed in target language without any transparent feeling of translation caused by the differences of culture and language. Finally, it is the ultimate goal of “Sublimation” that is to say, “the transmigration of souls”, replacing the external shell and retaining the inner spirit and style without the slightest deviation. In other words, a translation should cleave to the original with such fidelity that it would not read like a translation, for a literature work in its own language will never read as though it were through a process of translation (Kao, 1975: 8-9).

1.2 The theoretical origin of “Functional Equivalence” Nida first proposed the concept of dynamic equivalence in the 1964 book “Toward s Science of Translating”. He believed that there were two kinds of equivalence in translation, namely formal equivalence and dynamic equivalence. Specifically, formal equivalence is the “quality of a translation in which the features of the form of the source text have been mechanically reproduced in the receptor language”. On the contrary, dynamic equivalence is the quality which characterizes a translation in which “the message of the original text has been so transported into the receptor language that the response of the receptor is essentially like that of the original receptors” (Nida & Taber, 1982: 200-201). Nida’s translation theory has its origin from his own translation practice of the Bible, in which he emphasized the communicative function of translation from the perspective of semantics and information theory. What's more, he regarded translation as interlingual translation, and he stressed the importance of paying attention to the receptors' response, in order to pursue the standard that target readers could have the same response as the original readers. In his book “From one language to another”, he changed the term “Dynamic Equivalence” to “Functional Equivalence” and he emphasized that we should try to achieve formal equivalence on the basis of the accordant information conveyed from the source text to the target language. In addition, he divided the translation process into three steps, say, “analysis, transfer, restructuring and check”. Through these four steps, the original information can be accurately conveyed, the response of the target receptors is also concerned, and the purpose of communication will be well achieved.

2.Similarities and differences between “Sublimation” and “Functional Equivalence”

2.1 Similarities between “Sublimation” and “Functional Equivalence”

(1) The same concern for the translation processes: As we mentioned above, Mr. Qian Zhongshu proposed that the process of translation is actually a process of employing “enticement”, avoiding “misinformation” and pursuing “sublimation”. To put them specifically, “enticement” refers to the role that plays in cultural exchanges by means of translation. In this sense, translation can be regarded as a guide that will lead target readers to understand the original language and culture and to better understand foreign excellent works. This process is of great significance because If the readers have little interest in the source language culture and foreign literature; then the translation works will lose its value. So we can say that translation is not only a conversion of two languages, but also a collision between different cultures and thoughts. The so-called term “Misinformation” refers to the distortion and wrong expression of the translation. Since “Misinformation” is the inevitable shortcoming of translation, no matter how excellent a translator is and no matter how smooth his translations are, he can not avoid making mistakes of one sort or another in one way or another, but he can exhaust every means to reduce misinformation to its minimum (Yu Chengfa,2003: 43). This is due to the gap between different languages, the gap between the translator's understanding, the style of writing and the form of original content, and even the gap between the translator's comprehension and his ability of expression. The final step is called “Hua Jing”; here “Hua” means “Sublimation”,which is the highest ideal of literary translation and also the ultimate goal of translation processes. A translator should try to figure out what the original writer means and ponder over what he imagines so so to immerge oneself with the writer(Luo Xinzhang, 1984: 511). Qian Zhongshu's explanation of the process of translation is the essential condition for the realization of “Sublimation” (Hua). Therefore, when doing translation practice, the translator has to make each step be well prepared, which requires a high standard of the translator's ability and quality.

Similarly, based on the theory of “functional equivalence”, Nida proposed a “four-step model” of the translation process from the perspective of linguistics, namely, “Analysis, Transfer, Restructuring and Check”. Nida and Taber claim that all languages have between six and a dozen basic kernel structures and “agree far more on the level of kernels than on the level of more elaborate structures” such as word order. First of all, “Analysis” denotes that we have to analyze the surface structure of the source text and then to master the grammatical meaning of the sentence, in other words, the referential meaning and connotative meaning of the source text. In order to convey the original information correctly, the translator must analyze the text from surface structure to the deep structure. Then, “Transfer”, it means that the translator renders the analyzed source text to the target text. This step contains the conversion of two different language symbols and language forms, and it is also an exchange of different thinking modes. Next, “Restructuring” is the re-processing and re-creation of the original text, in which the translator will translate the original text into the target one that conforms to the expression of the target language, getting rid of the constraints of the surface structure of the original text, thus further excavating the meaning of the deep structure. Restructuring is thus defined as forward translation, or in other words the process which is the reverse of back-transformation (Shuttleworth & Cowie, 2004: 145). Last but not least, "Check" refers to the process of comparing the text of the original language with the target language so as to avoid semantic errors in the translation works, and pursue the maximum equivalence between the content of the target text and the content of the original text. Nida and Taber’s own description of the process (1969: 63–9) emphasizes the ‘scientific and practical’ advantages of this method compared to any attempt to draw up a fully comprehensive list of equivalences between specific pairs of SL and TL systems (Jeremy Munday, 2016: 63).

(2)The same concern for the response of the target readers: Since ancient times, the domestic and foreign translators have different opinions on the criteria of excellent translation. Yan Fu proposed his famous three-character guideline, namely, “Faithfulness, Expressiveness and Elegance” in his translation work “Evolution and Ethics and Other Essays”. Similarly, western translator Alexander Fraser Tytler put forward the “Three principles of translation”. To put it simply, that the translation should give a complete transcript of the ideas of the original work; that the style and manner of writing should be of the same character as that of the original; that the translation should have all the ease of the original composition. From the analysis of Yan Fu’s and Tytler’s description of translation criteria, we can see the fact that the study of the principles and standards of translation is precisely the translator’s emphasis on the target readers, and also reflects the translator’s sense of responsibility for the target culture. Qian Zhongshu's “Sublimation” theory stressed that translators should guide our readers to read foreign literary works or let our readers be attracted by the foreign culture and introduce foreign writers to them. “Sublimation” is not only a standard for translation, but also a reflection of translators’ care for the target readers. Mr. Qian said: “The translation should be faithful to the original work, so that it does not read like a translation work, because the original work will never be read like a translation in the situation of source culture.” A good translation can stimulate the reader's curiosity about the original work and also give the reader the enjoyment of beauty. What’s more, Mr. Qian also commented the three principles proposed by Yan Fu:

“Faithfulness in translation should include expressiveness and elegance. Expressiveness gives full scope to faithfulness, and elegance is not just to adore expressiveness. To convey the original in the same style---that is faithfulness. ...Many have come to understand that a translation is not supposed to beautify or polish to attain elegance. Yet few have realized that a translation has to give up the words for the spirit. A translation can be intelligible without being faithful to the original, yet can be faithful to the original without being intelligible to the reader.”(Qian Zhongshu, 1986: 1101)

In the meanwhile, Nida deemed that the accuracy of the translation depends on the extent to which the ordinary readers correctly understand the original text, that is, whether the target reader can obtain similar or identical feelings when reading the translation works. The purpose of “functional equivalence” is to satisfy the communication needs of the readers. In order to achieve this goal, we have to change the form of the original text if it is necessary and consider the reader's acceptance of the translation work. Nida's “Functional Equivalence” requires not only the faithfulness to the original text, but also the accountability to the target readers and the original readers. Nida describes various “scientific approaches to meaning” related to work that had been carried out by theorists in semantics and pragmatics. Central to Nida's work is the move away from the old idea that a word has a fixed meaning and towards a functional definition of meaning in which a word acquires meaning through its context and can produce varying responses according to culture.

From what we has discussed above, we can see that both Nida’s “Functional Equivalence” and Qian Zhongshu’s “Sublimation” must take the reader’s reaction into consideration. Therefore, as a standard for translation, these theories avoid mechanical textual equivalence and bilingual conversion, which promotes the development of translation practice.

(3)The Domesticating tendency of the two theories: As we mentioned in the very beginning, Mr. Qian’s “Sublimation”(化) theory has three meanings, namely “Transfer”(转化), “Domesticating”(归化) and “Sublimation”(化境). It can be seen easily that “Domesticating” is a bridge connecting the transformation of source text and the realization of Sublimation in target language. In the book “Seven Patches”, he wrote: “whether the target version is ‘European-oriented’ or ‘Chinese-oriented’, the translation is always based on the language system from the original country to the language system of the target country(2002: 78). Although he did not explicitly state whether the translation should be “domestication-oriented” or “foreignization-oriented”, he compared the translation to the “reincarnation” of the original and regarded that the translation was an “out form” of the original. In addition, he appreciates Lin Shu’s translation works, and comments that he would rather read Lin Shu’s translation than read Haggard’s original text. In this way, Mr. Qian Zhongshu seems to prefer the text of “Chinese-oriented” style, which demonstrates the tendency of “Domestication”. In the theory of “Functional Equivalence”, Nida advocates the use of the expression habits of the target language to transform the original text. He believes that language is the means of communication, and communication is the ultimate goal and an important role of translation, so he pays more attention to the receptors' response to the target text. In order to allow the target readers to accept the translation, it is necessary to make the translation correspond to the cultural traditions and language habits of the target language. At the same time, the translator has to make the translation natural and smooth under the premise of ensuring loyalty. Nida's “Domesticating” translation tendency can be seen from the above view. Please look at the following example:

S: “white as snow”

T: “白如木棉花” or “白如鹭毛” or “白如蘑菇”

From the point of view of traditional translation standards, the above example runs counter to the original information. However, for those who have never seen snow will never know what snow is alike, and therefore he can't understand what "white as snow" means. Through the strategy of “Domestication”, the target readers can have a similar response to the original readers, so as to better achieve the purpose of communication.

2.2 Differences between “Sublimation” and “Functional Equivalence”

(1) Different theoretical basis: Qian Zhongshu's “Sublimation” theory is based on Yan Fu’s criteria of translation “Faithfulness, Expressiveness and Elegance”, which is the development of Chinese traditional translation theory. Qian Zhongshu's “Sublimation” theory has pushed the study of translation to the extreme of art from the category of aesthetics. Eventually, the “Sublimation” theory was included in the course of the development of Chinese translation thought, say, “Case - Seeking faithfulness - Spiritual likeness - the Sublimation”. These four concepts, are independent, but also interconnected. They developed gradually to constitute a whole translation system and this whole system works as an important part of our traditional translation theory (Luo Xinzhang, 2009: 20).

Nida’s “functional equivalence” was established on the basis of his Bible translation practice. Under the guidance of Chomsky’s transform-generating grammar, Nida’s functional equivalence requires that the translator analyze the given text from the surface structure to the deep structure; then transform it from the deep structure of the original text to the deep structure of the target text, and finally adjust the target language structure to obtain the surface structure of the translated version. From a series of steps, we can see that the hierarchical and theoretical property of translation studies, so Nida put forward his opinion that translation could be considered as a science. Qian Zhongshu thought that the translated works could surpass the original works and sometimes even should be much better than the original; while Nida did not choose the advantageous version between the original and the target text- his more emphasis goes to the equivalence between the two languages and the response of the target receptors thus more priorities were given to the communicative function.

(2)Different scopes of their application: “Huajing” (Sublimation) was proposed by Mr. Qian Zhongshu for literary translation standards; hence it may be more appropriate for the translation of literary genre. He considered that translator should “break through” the barriers of cultural differences and make the translation “surpass” the original work. However, it seems unreasonable for the translations of applied styles which relates to politics, economics, law, trade, etc. In addition, some scholars believe that Mr. Qian’s “Sublimation” has over-emphasized the mystery of art and has become a vague standard that could be hard to reach (Gao Huali, 2009: 154). The “highest ideal” of the literary translation he described will inevitably produce the problems of “Misinformation”, which would limit the scope of application of “Sublimation”. Despite the fact that scholars and experts of one generation after another have made their fruitful efforts to shed light on “Sublimation” from various aspects, it remains theoretical unexplainable and practical unattainable, like “an attic, in the air” to many people in the translation circle (Yu Chengfa, 2003: 8)

On the contrary, Nida’s translation of Bible carries religious culture with integrity and solemnity. He preached to people from all walks of life in order to spread the will of God; therefore, his translation must not only meet the needs of the aristocracy, but also the needs of ordinary people who lack knowledge of religious culture. The target readers of the “functional equivalence” theory is the masses from all walks of life in the society, and its range of application is more practical. Nida’s equivalence of translation is derived from the translation practice of the Bible. As we know, western languages have a lot in common in culture and words of expression, so Nida’s “equivalence” is relatively easy to achieve between two European languages. In English-Chinese translation, it may be more difficult to achieve complete “equivalence”, because Chinese and English belong to different language systems, and their cultures are rather divergent. Nida strictly divides the translation steps into four, which can be used as a practical translation method to guide the translation of some scientific and technical articles, announcements, and application articles. For literary genres, such as the translation of poetry and prose, the translator's creativity may be more important. It is difficult to convey the literary nature of the original text by mechanical methods and steps.

3.A Critical Understanding of “Sublimation” and “Functional Equivalence”

3.1 Is “Sublimation” faithful ?

According to traditional translation theory, the translator is always regarded as the "servant" of both the original and the translated text. He must be faithful to the original author while concerning the target readers. Xu Jun (2003: 321) wrote in his book “On Translation”: “Three points are often emphasized in traditional translation theory: first of all, translators should not incorporate their own subjective thoughts in translation; then they should not express their individuality in translation; in the end, translators should render the text on the basis of original message, and loyally follow the thoughts of the original writer. From the analysis of Qian Zhongshu’s “Sublimation” theory, it is clear to see that he is more inclined to the translation strategy of “Domestication”, which emphasizes that the target version can surpass the source text. He, himself appreciates Lin Shu’s translation works, because of their common advocacy and similar historical background. From the point of view of historical materialism, “social existence determines social consciousness, and social consciousness has an adverse effect on social existence.” For example, Lin Shu was living in a closed country and at that time , Qing Dynasty was extremely arrogant or even ignorant. His style and characteristics of the translation were naturally influenced by this national sentiment. Therefore, his translation had tendency to “Domestication” or even an unfaithful translation. Qian Zhongshu lived in a period of prosperity in literature and art since the establishment of People's Republic of China and at that time Chairman Mao proposed the policy of “All flowers blossoming and hundreds of schools contending (百花齐放，百家争鸣). So our Chinese people were overflowing high spirit and proud emotion; some translators’ translation works are more inclined to take the advantages of “Domestication” and make the translation work more excellent than the original one. Such a translation strategy will be somewhat “disloyal” to the original text, and will not “sincerely imitate” the original text as Lu Xun advocates from his “Foreignization” method. It is difficult to concretely implement “Sublimation” theory, because it has become an “unattainable” goal. Whether the translation should be “Chinese-oriented” or “European-oriented”; be “faithful” or “creative”, and whether the translator should be “visible” or “invisible” in translation are all difficult standards to measure since these factors are inevitably affected by the subjective and historical objectivity of the translator. Is “Sublimation” really a faithful translation to the original text? Perhaps just as Mr. Qian himself said: “The translator’s ability to use his native language is more flexible and smooth than the original author’s ‘source language’ and that is what always happens in the history of translation.” We can consider that such “disloyal” is “faithful” in a certain sense.

3.2 Problems of Nida’s “Functional Equivalence”

The questions of meaning, equivalence and translatability became a constant theme of translation studies in the 1960s and were tackled by a new ‘scientific’ approach followed by one of the most important figures in translation studies, the American Eugene Nida. Eugene Nida’s theory of translation developed from his own practical work from the 1940s onwards when he was translating and organizing the translation of the Bible, training often inexperienced translators who worked in the field. As for Nida's “functional equivalence” theory, praise and opposition to his theory are always existing in the translation circle. Some people think that the theory is a representative of the science of translation science and has a good guiding role in translation practice. However, there are also some scholars who disagree with this theory and for example Peter Newmark is one of its critics. He believed that Nida’s equivalence theory takes the reader too seriously, but sometimes sacrifices the actually original thoughts of the writer. It is also doubtful whether “functional equivalence” can be applied to the original texts of various subjects. If the translator partially pursue “functional equivalence”, which will makes it difficult for the target readers to fully understand the original cultural information and it is not conducive to the mutual communication between different countries and cultures. For the above example: if we render “White as snow” as “白如鹭毛”, target readers may understand the meaning of the original author, but they still have no idea of what the word “snow” actually means. This has become a situation where we cannot get two things at the same time, or in Chinese “鱼和熊掌不可兼得”. However, If the original text is literally translated as “white as snow”, then the translator continues to explain what substance a “snow” is and what characteristics it may have and why we say its color is as white as egret’s feathers. In this way, not only can the readers of the translation work have the same response as the readers of the original, but also it is conducive for them to learn to understand new things and new concepts, which will gradually promote the communication of different cultures and the mutual interests of different countries.

4.Conclusion

Mr. Qian Zhongshu’s “Sublimation” theory and Nida’s “Functional Equivalence” respectively represent huge progress in Chinese and Western translation studies, and they played an important role for the reference of translation studies and practice. Their theory is likened a treasure-house that requires more investigation and more exploration. Their theory is likened a treasure-house that requires more investigation and more exploration. Furthermore, we must learn their theories with a critical view, so as to strive for innovation and establishment of a new era for translation studies.

References

[1]Chen Fukang. A History of Chinese Translation Theories in China [M].Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.2000.

[2]Gao Huali. A Short History of Translation And Interpretation in China And Other Countries [M].Hangzhou：Zhejiang University Press.2009.

[3]Kao, Gorge. (trans.) Lin CH'in-nan Revisited [A]. By Qian Zhongshu. Renditions [J], autumn, 1975: 8-21

[4]Luo Xinzhang.On Translation [M].Beijing：The Commercial Press.1984.

[5]Mark, Shuttleworth, Moira Cowie. Dictionary of Translation Studies [M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press. 2004.

[6]Munday, Jeremy. Introducing translation studies: Theories and applications. Routledge, 2013.

[7]Nida, Eugene A. & Charles R.Taber (1969/1982) The Theory and Practice of Translation, Leiden: E. J. Brill.

[8]Qian Zhongshu.Pipe-awl Chapters [M].Beijing：Zhonghua Book Company.1986.

[9]Qian Zhongshu.Seven Patches [M].Beijing：SDX Joint Publishing Company.2002.

[10]Xu Jun.On Translation[M].Wuhan：Hubei Education Press.2003.

[11]Yu Chengfa. Interpreting Sublimation [D].Central China Normal University,2003.

Theory and Practise

Translators' Views on Translation Influence Their Translation Behavior

Abstract: A translator plays an essential role in the translation process. Translators’ views on translation is their understanding of translation, embodied in their translation strategies and value orientations, which are different from each other due to their social and cultural context and also their personal experience and philosophy. The translators’ view on translation, as a part of the translators’ ideology, exert a great influence on their translation behavior. For translators, translation is never a individual activity, but a responsibility to the author, the SL culture, the reader, the TL culture and eventually themselves.

Key words: translator’s view; translation behavior; translation principles; responsibility

译者翻译观对其翻译行为的影响

摘要：译者在翻译中处于核心位置。译者的翻译观指译者本身对于翻译的理解，其中包含了译者的翻译策略和价值取向。不同的译者受其社会与文化及个人经历和意识形态的影响，会有不同的翻译观。翻译观作为译者意识形态的一种，对翻译行为有着很大的影响。对于译者来说，翻译从来不是个人行为，而是一种对原作者、原作、读者及译入语文化的责任。

关键词：译者；翻译观；翻译行为；翻译原则；责任

A translator plays an essential role in the translation process. Translators’ views on translation is their understanding of translation, embodied in their translation strategies and value orientations, which are different from each other due to their social and cultural context and also their personal experience and philosophy. And “translation behavior”, in a broad sense, includes the translators’ linguistic translation behavior and the social transcend-translation behavior. In a narrow sense, it only means the translators’ translation as a “pure” translator (Zhou 18). The “translator behavior” in this thesis is a broad one, that is, translators’ translation behavior can be influenced by their social and cultural context, their motivations for translation, their views on translation and the linguistic translatability of the SL and their translation competence (Xu Jun 199-254). Specifically, the translation behavior we will discuss is “what to translate (what works they translated)” and “how to translate (their translation principles)”. According to A. Lefevere, ideology and poetics together dictate the translation strategy and the solution to specific problems (39). The translators’ view on translation, as a part of the translators’ ideology, exert a great influence on their translation behavior.

So how is translation behavior associated with translator’s views?

From the very beginning the research of translation was limited in a certain extent, and then there were some scholars starting to study on the relationship between translation and other systems, including Even-Zohar, Bassett, Lefevere and Venuti.

I.Some Previous Studies

A.Even-Zohar’s Polysystem

According to Introducing Translation Studies:

“Polysysten theory was developed in the 1970s by the Israeli scholar Itamar Even-Zohar borrowing ideas from the Russian Formalists of the 1920s and the Czech structuralists of the 1930s and 1940s . . . For the Formalists, a literary work was not studied in isolation but as part of a literary system . . . Literature is thus part of the social, cultural, literary and historical framework . . .” (Munday 165).

In 1978, Even-Zohar in his “The position of translated literature within the literary polysystem”, first gives a new term, the polysystem (Even-Zohar 22), emphasizing the translated literature operates as a system in itself:

(1)in the way the TL culture selects works for translation;

(2)in the way translation norms, behavior and policies are influenced by other co-systems (Even-Zohar 22).

Thus, translation is not isolated, but associated with other systems, for instance, the TL culture. And the ST that chosen by a culture correspond to the organized system rather than arbitrary decisions made by individuals. Also translation works occupies different position in different cultures and has something to do with the position of the national literature.

B.Bassett and Lefevere

Later, “Bassett and Lefevere go beyond language and focus on the interaction between translation and culture, on the way in which culture impacts and constrains translation and on ‘the larger issues of context, history and convention (11)’ ” (Munday 192).

C.Lefevere: Rewriting and Manipulation

Furthermore, “Lefevere focuses particularly on the examination of ‘very concrete factors’ that systemically govern the reception, acceptance or rejection of literary texts; that is, ‘issues such as power, ideology, institution and manipulation (2)’ . The people involved in such power positions are the ones Lefevere sees as ‘rewriting’ literature and governing its consumption by the general public. The motivation for such rewriting can be ideological (conforming to or rebelling against the dominant ideology) or poetological (conforming to or rebelling against the dominant/preferred poetics)” (Munday 194). And translation is the most obviously recognizable type of rewriting (Lefevere 9).

Translator’s view on translation, for example, reflecting the translators’ ideology, can conform to or rebel against the social dominant ideology. For Lefevere, the literary system in which translation functions is controlled by two main factors, which are: (1) professionals within the literary system, who partly determine the dominant poetics; and (2) patronage outside the literary system, which partly determines the ideology. The “professionals within the literary system” include translators themselves, who decide on the poetics and at times influence the ideology of the translated text (Munday 194).

Thus, the role of translator is essential and the translator’s ideology have an great influence on the translation text and the text reader. “For Lefevere, the most important consideration is the ideological one. In this case, it refers to the translator’s ideology or the ideology imposed upon the translator by patronage. The poetological consideration refers to the dominant poetics in the TL culture. Together, ideology and poetics dictate the translation strategy and the solution to specific problems” (Munday 197).

D.Venuti

Then Venuti insists that the scope of translation studies needs to be broadened to take account of the value-driven nature of the sociocultural framework.

“Norms may be in the first instance linguistic or literary, but they will also include a diverse range of domestic values, beliefs, and social representations which carry ideological force in serving the interests of specific groups. And they are always housed in the social institutions where translations are produced and enlisted in cultural and political agendas” (29).

Munday suggests, the groups and social institutions to which Venuti refers would include the various players in the publishing industry as a whole . . . Each of these players has a particular position and role within the dominant cultural and political agendas of their time and place. The translators themselves are part of that culture, which they can either accept or rebel against (217).

Therefore, being part of the culture, translators are influenced by the social and patronage ideology, and the poetics. Nevertheless, translators more or less enjoys some autonomy. For example, translators’ views on translation, i.e. the understanding of translation, can be conformed to or rebellious against the culture. And then their views on translation, influence their specific translation behavior such as the works they choose to translate and their translation principles. Next are three examples for us to discuss how the translators’ views on translation immediately influence their translation behaviors.

To narrow the differences of the social ideology down, three translators in modern period of China (after 1949) will be discussed in this thesis. However, because they are born in different climate and stage of the society, no doubt that they have distinctive world outlook from each other, resulting in their distinctive views on translation. But focus will still be on the influence exerted by their views on their translation behavior.

II.Three Examples in Modern Period of China

A.Xu Yuanchong (1921-): Translation is translators’ responsibility.

For Xu Yuanchong, Chinese translators have a responsibility to translate the foreign masterpieces into Chinese and Chinese excellent works of literature into foreign languages, in order to introduce the advanced ideas to China and also bring the foreigners the splendid culture of China, during which the world will be more culturally rich and diversely civilized.

In this case, Xu Yuanchong further puts forward that the histories and evolution of the two cultures are very different from each other, with distinct advantages and disadvantages If they can learn the strong points from each other to offset their weakness, they can both be improved. In this respect, translation can be considered as a rivalry between two different cultures. The translation can even surpass the original work. If we make full use of the advantages of one culture to perfect another , the culture of all the humanity will be developed. This is the ultimate goal of the translator (“Surpass” 47). Based on this view, Xu Yuanchong proposed the Rivalry Theory and the Theory of Advantage.

Therefore, in order to exchange the advantages between cultures, the foreign works Xu Yuanchong had translated are some western masterpieces includes: Madame Bovary, Le Rouge et le Noir, Jean Christophe, etc. And also some Chinese classical works especially the classical Chinese poetry: 150 Tang Poems, 100 Tang and Song Poems, 300 Poems Chinois Classiques, Selected Poems of Mao Zedong, The Romance of Western Bower, Earth-shaking Songs (the selected poems written by Chinese modern revolutionists), etc. By translating the essence of one culture and ideology into another languages, he demonstrates our advantages and at the same time offers Chinese people the opportunities to enjoy the classics of another culture.

Xu Yuanchong’s view on translation also influences his translation principles. Take the first sentence of Jean Christophe as an example:

Le grondement du fleuve monte derrére la maison. (Jean Christophe)

From behind the house rises the murmuring of the river. (English)

江声浩荡，自屋后上升。(Fu Lei)

江流滚滚，声震屋后。(Xu Yuanchong)

The french word “grondement” means “roaring” or “murmuring” in English. The English translation seems to be coherent in the paragraph and the following content. However, as to the whole work, Xu Yuanchong considers that “浩荡” in Fu Lei’s translation is more powerful and symbolic of the spectacular river cutting through Europe, and some readers even take Fu Lei’s translation as “the classical opening sentence” of the work, which proves it a translation that surpasses the original one.

And then Xu Yuanchong also translated this sentence (as above), replacing “浩荡” with “滚滚” for its more similar sound to “grondement”. And “声震屋后” is also a symbol of the impact of the great achievement of the musician in the work (Yang et.al 35-38). Here appears another translation principle of Xu Yuanchong: “literary translation is art (Art 20)” and “beauty in three aspects”, namely, “beauty in sense, beauty in sound and beauty in form”, having developed Lu Xun as well as Lin Yutang’s theory of beauty. This is the reason why Xu Yuanchong emphasizes the similar sound of “滚滚” to “grondement”. Another example is still a sentence in Jean Christophe:

Il marchait sur le monde. (Jean Christophe)

他踏着全世界直立着。（鲁迅）

他顶天立地的在世界上走着。（傅雷）

(qtd. “Re-creation” 222)

Which translation corresponds to the original best? Lu Xun’s translation is similar in from while Fu Lei’s is in style. In this case, Xu Yuanchong considers there is one solution, that is to change the question as “Which translation is more beautiful and delightful for readers?” He also quotes “Qu’ importe celui qui crée? Il’y a de réel que ce qu’on crée” said by Romain Rolland to indicate that the translator ought to make the translation more of art to give readers an enjoyment of beauty rather than to captiously keep the author’s style. So he is in favor of Fu Lei’s translation.

The last example goes to the translation of the last sentence of Uprising Songs (《起义歌》) written by Sun Zhongshan, collected in Earth-shaking Songs:

顶天立地奇男子，要把乾坤扭转过来。(Uprising Songs)

Heroes of indomitable spirit, arise!

Let us transform the old world and reverse the tide! (previous translation)

Heroes who would move heaven and earth, arise! (Xu Yuanchong)

Xu Yuanchong suggests that in the previous translation, translating “顶天立地” only into “indomitable spirit” is in want of the image of “天” and “地”. Also, as it were, the readers cannot enjoy the beauty of the SL, which is thus a failure in the rivalry of two cultures. So he translated the sentence as above, keeping the impression of “天地” to have the readers appreciate the beauty of the original work, in other words, to win the rivalry between the ST and TT (“Re-creation” 221-222).

For Xu Yuanchong the translation is an art, a rivalry between tow cultures, so the classics works of western world and China are chosen and the feeling of beauty in the translation is emphasized. The translation not only should be faithful to the original, but also be powerful and infectious to readers, even giving an much more profound impression than the original work.

B.Liu Zhongde (1914-): Translation is a way to make foreign masterpieces to serve China.

In order to make the western masterpieces more popular in China, Liu Zhongde decided to devote himself to a career in translation. By translating the western works into Chinese, as far as he concerns, the advanced thoughts can serve Chinese intellectuals and further improve the whole country. He was the first person who introduced Jane Austin’s Emma to China. But he were not satisfied with his first translation of Emma and at last in 1990s he re-translated it and corrected the errors he had made, which reflected his spirit of improving himself constantly and his rigorous scholarship (Ten 178 ).

Thus, most works Liu Zhongde translated were the western classics such as Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Confessions of an English Opium-Eater, Emma, Darwin, etc. He seldom translated Chinese works into English.

In order to convey to the Chinese readers the exact ideas and original style and content of the ST, Liu Zhongde puts much emphasis on the “closeness” of the translation. He says the translator should always remember what he is working at is a literacy work written by somebody else and try his utmost to turn his translation into a work of art which is in conformity with the thought, feeling and style of the original. Thus, the translation will be as moving and vivid as the original work and the reader may be aesthetically entertained as well (Ten 122-123).

Therefore he developed from Yan Fu’s three principles－“信达雅 (faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance)” into “信达切 (faithfulness, expressiveness and closeness)” as a set of principles for translation reference: “The style of your translation must correspond, or at least, be close, to that of the original you are working at . . . the ideological content, linguistic expression and stylistic characteristics of a literary work constitute a unified entity, and the translator should reproduce the three elements as a whole” (Ten 122).

Being different from Xuyuanchong, Liu Zhongde holds that “literary translation has a double nature. That’s to say, on the one hand, it is a science with its own laws and methods and on the other, it is an art” (Ten 2).

So how exactly does Liu Zhongde’s views on translation influence his translation principles? There are two examples as follows.

Here is a translation of “回乡偶书” by Liu Zhongde:

回乡偶书 少小离家老大回，乡音无改鬓毛衰。 儿童相见不相识，笑问客从何处来。 (the original poem)

Homecoming I left home quite young, and I come back very old. My accent remains the same, but my hair turns gray. Kids don’t know me when one another we behold. “Where do you come from?” with a smile to me they say. (Liu Zhongde’s translation)

This translation adapts so well the style and features of TT to the ST that it seems to be an original work written by Liu Zhongde himself. We can appreciate the same meaning and emotion the original work expresses. The TT keeps the the same number of lines just as the ST: each of the sentence has 12 syllables. The rhyme pattern of ST is also kept: the first line rhymes with the third, and the second with the forth. The TT is exactly an expression of sound, form and sense of the ST (Jiang 196-197).

The next two examples are from Liu Zhongde’s re-translation of Emma:

(1)The truth is, Harriet, that my playing is Just good enough to be praised, but Jane Fairfax’s is much beyond it.

事实是，赫蕊埃特，我的弹奏恰恰好到值得称赞，但简·凡凡可斯的弹奏却是神乎其技了。(Previous translation)

事实是，赫蕊埃特，我的弹奏恰恰好到值得称赞，但简·凡凡可斯的弹奏却大大超过我的弹奏。(Liu Zhongde)

“神乎其技” in the previous translation does not correspond to the plain style of “much beyond it” in ST. It is true that a Chinese four-character-word can embody a complex meaning, but the style it can be applied to is supposed to be formal and academic. In this sentence, the style of “神乎其技” is not appropriate at all, while a simpler word should be used. Thus Liu Zhongde replaced “神乎其技” with “大大超过我的弹奏”.

(2)“Just as they always do-very vulgar.”

还不是像他们平常那样——俗不可耐。(Previous translation)

还不是像他们平常那样——很庸俗。(Liu Zhongde)

(Jiang 278-279)

The four-character-word “俗不可耐” in the previous translation does not conform to the plain or colloquial style of ST, either, just like “神乎其技” mentioned above. Liu Zhongde changed it into “庸俗” to be in line with the original style.

For Liu Zhongde, translation is a science, a way for Chinese to learn the advantages of westerners, thus the western masterpieces are selected by him and the “closeness” in translation is underlined to convey the closet meaning and style of the original.

C.Li Jihong (1980-): Translation after all is one of the material production activities of human beings.

As to Li Jihong, translation after all is one of the material production activities of human beings. In an article called “The Literary Translation Should Keep Pace with the Times: The Translation Speed and Pay” against the view of another translator, Shi Kangqiang, he says that the pay of translation in the new period is different from that of the old times, mainly because of the translation tools which belonging to the production tools, have already been developed today into computers, digital data, Internet, etc. As a result, the translation speed is supposed to be improved. Therefore, a professional translator nowadays can definitely earn a decent life by translating 1000 words each hour, 8 hours a day. And for every 1000 words they can earn 60 yuan.

The article aims to oppose to Shi Kangqiang’s opinion that the appalling pay translators receive influence the quality of the translation, but it also reveals Li Lihong’s view on translation from his borrowing lots of economic theories and activities, numbers, calculation of the pay to support his opinion, his favors to the publishers’ increasing reward on the sales of the translation work and his announcement that he have translated The Kite Runner (written by Khaled Hosseini), 195190 words, for only 10 days, 15 hours a day.

In this article he also says: “Any responsible translators will not translate for the personal income,” but he adds next, “ In fact, the support for his translation is the letters from readers, in addition to the high income.” Although the total contradiction in his saying is confusing, it still can be inferred that money is an important motivation for his translation, if not the most important one.

The works Li Jihong translated are foreign classics such as Le Petit Prince, The Old Man and the Sea, Animal Farm, The Great Gatsby, Walden, The Moon and Sixpence, Pride and Prejudice and The Sound and Fury. However, all those works and the values of them have already been well received in China, with several translations in market.

To begin with the work that he have translated “for only 10 days, 15 hours a day” as he says, The Kite Runner written by Khaled Hosseini:

(1)We left the old man on the steps of that building. I meant to take him up on his offer, come back and see if he’d unearthed any more stories about my mother. But I never saw him again (Hosseini 251).

我们离开了坐在那座房子台阶上的老人。我原想带他到他的办公室去，看看他能否想起更多关于我妈妈的事情。但我再也没有见到他 (Li 243)。

In this text, “take somebody. up on something” means “to accept an offer, an invitation that somebody has made 接受（提议或邀请）” in Phrasal Verbs Dictionary (438). Also according to the whole context, the old man, a beggar, had been a colleague of “my” mother who I had never met. He told me a story about “my” mother and promised me more details about her: “ The old man smiled. ‘I’ll try to remember and that’s a promise. Come back and find me ’ (Hosseini 250).” It can be inferred that the old man offered the narrator a chance to know more about his mother. Thus, the “offer” means “邀请” instead of “办公室 (office)”. What’s more, It seems like the word “offer” is misread as “office” by the translator. Perhaps the translator is too busy translating as fast as possible to check his translation carefully.

(2)“Your job today is to pass gas. You do that and we can start feeding you liquids. No fart, no food.” He laughed again (Hosseini 297).

“你今天的工作是排便。你完成之后我们才能开始喂你吃流食。不见粪便，不给食物。”他又哈哈大笑 (Li 287)。

The speaker was a staff in hospital, and he was asking the patient who had just come to himself from a surgery “to pass gas”. The relevant meaning of “gas” in The New Oxford Illustrated English-Chinese Dictionary is “[物理]气体、瓦斯” (726), of “pass” is “通过” (1338). And “fart” as a noun means “放屁 (emit wind from the anus)” (632). In conclusion, “排便” does not correspond to the original meaning of the ST. So the translation can be righted as “你今天的工作是排气。你完成之后我们才能开始喂你吃流食。不放屁，不给食物。” This is also a very small and simple mistake. The translator should be more cautious about translating. This summer holiday I have read another book translated by Li Jihong: The Moon and Sixpence written by William Somerset Maugham, and also find some odd translation and neglect. Here are two examples:

(1)“Do you think it’s likely that a man will do any good when he starts at your age? Most men begin painting at eighteen.”

“I can learn quicker than I could when I was eighteen (Mauguam 48).”

你认为一个人从你这个年纪开始学画能学得好吗？大多数人从十八岁就开始画了。”

“如果我今年十八岁，我可以学得快一些 (Li 54)。”

The second sentence, a very simple one, means that even if “I” am old now, I can learn even quicker than I could when I was at eighteen. In Chinese it can be translated as, for instance, “我能比我十八岁的时候学得还快.” But Li’s translation “如果我今年十八岁，我可以学得快一些” means “I can learn quicker if I were eighteen,” which has a totally different meaning from the ST.

(2)...for they felt themselves freemen of a country whose frontiers include them all, the great country of Cockaigne (Mauguam 169).

因为他们觉得大家都是自由民，同属于想象中的天堂之国 (Li 203)。

According to Encyclopedia Britannica, “Cockaigne, also spelled Cockayne, imaginary land of extreme luxury and ease where physical comforts and pleasures are always immediately at hand. References to Cockaigne are especially prominent in medieval European lore. These accounts describe rivers of wine, houses built of cake and barley sugar, streets paved with pastry, and shops that gratuitously give goods to everyone. Roast geese wander about inviting people to eat them, and buttered larks fall from the skies like manna.” Being ignorant of the rich meaning of this word, Li Jihong translated it to “天堂之国” without any explanation. In fact, in this book, Li Jihong adds 206 explanatory notes for the words like “Shakespeare (莎士比亚)”, “Balzac (巴尔扎克)” and “Footnote (生丁)”, however, “Cockaigne” is not included.

Li Jihong’s translation is popular for his elaborate introduction of the work and explanatory notes, which as he says, can help readers to understand the work easier. And some famous people also recommend his translations for his translation is more understandable than others. However, as far as I am concerned, being understandable is not the essence of a translation.

From Xu Yuanchong and Liu Zhongde we know there are various translation principles, for instance the former’s “beauty in three aspects: sense, sound and form” and the latter’s “faithfulness, expressiveness and closeness”, nevertheless, the “faithfulness” to the original is emphasized.

III.Conclusion

This is how the views of translation influence the translators’ behavior, specifically the translation work choosing and their translation principles demonstrated by the translation examples of the three translators.

For Xu Yuanchong the translation is an art, a rivalry between tow cultures, so the classics works of western world and China are chosen and the feeling of beauty in the translation is emphasized; while for Liu Zhongde, translation is a science, a way for Chinese to learn the advantages of westerners, thus the western masterpieces are selected and the “closeness” in translation is underlined to convey the closet meaning and style of the original. In fact, for both of them translation should be a responsibility that should be treated serious by translators, while as for Li Jihong, translation is just a production activity, a tool to make money or to gain the population, fame and the sense of superiority. Therefore, the economic effect and the speed is highlighted, the minor mistakes were made, and the translator’s personality was manifested so much that it even overshadowed the style and meaning of the original work.

For those responsible translators, their translations, imprinted all their individual ideology, experience and reflection, almost like an original work, are supposed to be a special thing. As Thomas C. Foster puts at the end of his How to Read Literature Like a Professor, “My favorite was the apology to the poem itself: ‘Well, little book, you’re not that much but you’re the best I could make you. Now you’ll just have to make your way in the world as best you can. Fare thee well.’” (129), a lot of care and attachment will be taken to the work you made, whatever it is, a poem, a fiction or a translation work. Only if you devote yourself to the translation with painstaking effort, can the translation be respected and appreciated by your readers.

Fu Lei had ever said, “translation should be based on the knowledge of art: without a sensitive soul, earnest sympathy, appropriate appreciation, relative social experience or sufficient common sense (i.e. broad knowledge), a translator neither will understand the original work thoroughly nor grasp the essence of it” (qtd. Xu Jun 253). Because that translators’ views on translation have a great influence on his translation, he should first be earnest to “translation”, and then be diligent, especially when the translation work is carrying the weight of the original work. For translators, translation is never a individual activity, but a responsibility to the author, the SL culture, the reader, the TL culture and eventually themselves.

Work Cited

胡塞尼· 卡勒德. (Hosseini, Khaled). 《追风筝的人》 (The Kite Runner). 李继宏译 (Tran. Li Jihong). 上海: 上海人民出版社, 2008.

蒋坚松 (Jiang Jiansong) 彭利元 (Peng Liyuan), ed. 《刘重德翻译思想及其他》(Liu Zhongde’s Tanslation Theories and Others). 长沙(Changsha): 湖南师范大学出版社 (Hunan Normal University Press), 2003. Print.

李继宏 (Li Jihong), 《文学翻译也需与时俱进：谈谈翻译速度和稿酬问题》 (“The Literary Translation Should Keep Pace With the Times: The Translation Speed and Pay”). 豆瓣网 (douban). 13 Jan. 2013 <https://site.douban.com/179084/widget/articles/10191245/article/23864139/?dt_dapp=1>

刘重德 (Liu Zhongde), ed.《文学翻译十讲》(Ten Lectures on Literary Translation). 北京(Beijing): 中国对外翻译出版社 (China Duiwai Translation Press), 2000. Print.

毛姆·威廉. (Maugham, William). 《月亮和六便士》 (The Moon an Sixpence).李继宏译 (Trans. Li Jihong). 天津 (Tianjin): 天津人民出版社 (Tianjin Renmin Press), 2018. Print.

许钧. (Xu Jun).《翻译论》(Translation Theory). 武汉 (Wuhan)： 湖北教育出版社 (Hubei Education Press), 2003. Print.

许渊冲. (Xu Yuanchong). 《译文能否胜过原文》(“Can the Translation Surpass the Original”). 《教学研究》(Teaching Method Research), no. 2 (1982): 39-47. ---. ed.《再创作与翻译风格》(“Re-creation and Translation Style”). 《文学与翻译》 (Literature and Translation). 北京 (Beijing)：北京大学出版社 (Beijing University Press), 2016. 221-229. Print.

---.《翻译的艺术》(The Art of Translation). 北京 (Beijing): 五洲传播出版社 (Wuzhou Chuanbo Press), 2006. Print.

杨绛(Yang Jiang), 李文俊 (Li Wenjun, et al.) 等. 《一本书和一个世界》(A Book and A World). 北京 (Beijing): 昆仑出版社 (Kun Lun Press), 2005: 35-38. Print. 周领顺. (Zhou Lingshun). 《译者行为批评：理论框架》(A Theoretical Framework for Translator Behavior Criticism). 北京 (Beijing)：商务印书馆 (The Commercial Press), 2014. Print.

Bassnett, S. and A. Lefevere. Translation History and Culture. London and New York: Pinter, 1990. Print.

Cockaigne. Encyclopedia Britannica. 27 Jun. 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2019 <https://www.britannica.com/topic/Cockaigne >

Even-Zohar, Itamar. The position of translated literature within the literary polysystem. Papers in Historical Poetics. Tel Aviv: The Porter Institute, 1978. 21-7. Print.

Fart. The New Oxford Illustrated English-Chinese Dictionary. Beijing: Renmin University of China, 2004. Print.

Foster. C. Thomas. How to Read Literature Like a Professor. New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc. 2003. Print.

Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. New York: The Berkley Publishing Group, 2003. Print.

Lefevere, A. Translation, Rewriting and the Manipulation of Literary Fame. London and New York: Routledge, 1992a. Print.

Maugham, William. The Moon an Sixpence. London: Pan Books Ltd, 1974. Print.

Munday, Jeremy. Introducing Translation Studies. New York: Routledge, 2012. Print.

Take sb. up on sth.” Phrasal Verbs Dictionary. 2013. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Publishing Co., Ltd, 2017. Print.

Venuti. L. The Scandals of Translation: Towards an Ethics of Difference. London and New York: Routledge, 1998. Print.

Contemporary Translation Studies

An Analysis of the Book of Contemporary Translation Theories and Introducing Translation Studies: Theories and Applications

摘要：爱德温·根茨勒的《当代翻译理论》和杰米里·芒迪的《介绍翻译理论：理论与实践》被视为翻译史上不可多得的巨作。本文通过对两本巨著的介绍之后，节选了其中有名的翻译理论即尤金·奈达的形式对等理论和功能对等理论以及亚历山大 弗雷泽·泰特勒和严复的翻译原则进行比较，来阐述了翻译的基本准则。通过对比尤金·奈达的形式对等和功能对等理论，找出其优缺点并结合适当的例子，有利于读者把握奈达的翻译思想来更好地指导其翻译实践。同时，通过分析亚历山大 弗雷泽·泰特勒的翻译原则的优缺点再将其与严复的翻译理论做比较，有利于读者理解中西方翻译的差异，来更好地理解在跨文化的语境中如何做好翻译。

关键词：爱德温·根茨勒、《当代翻译理论》、杰米里·芒迪、《介绍翻译理论：理论与实践》、尤金·奈达、形式对等、功能对等、亚历山大·弗雷泽·泰特勒、严复、翻译原则

Abstract: Edwin Gentzler’s Contemporary Translation Theories and Jeremy Munday’s Introducing Translation studies: Theories and Applications are both regarded as the masterpieces in the discipline of translation. After giving a brief introduction of these two great works, this paper tends to select the famous translation theories from the book namely Eugene Nida’s formal equivalence and functional equivalence and the translation principles of Alexander Fraser Tytler and Yan Fu to define the basic principles of translation. After analyzing the Nida’s theories of formal equivalence and functional equivalence, it is better for the readers to understand the Nida’s translation ideas to better guide him in the translation practice by combining the concrete examples to illustrate its advantages and disadvantages. In the meantime, by analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of Tytler’s translation principles and the comparison between the translation principles of Tytler and Yan Fu, it’s better for the readers to understand the influence of difference in the eastern and western cultures on translation. In such a way, it’s better for the translators to do the translation practice in the cross-cultural situation.

Key words: Edwin Gentzler; Contemporary Translation Theories; Jeremy Munday; Introducing Translation Studies: Theories and Applications; Eugene Nida; Formal Equivalence; Functional Equivalence; Alexander Fraser Tytler; Yan Fu; Translation Principles

Introduction:

In this essay, it presents the author’s understanding of the two books: Contemporary Translation Theories and Introducing Translation Studies: Theories and Applications. After a brief introduction of these two books, this paper tends to concentrate on the discussion of four important translation theories. This paper will be divided into three parts. Firstly, after a brief introduction of the great book: Contemporary Translation Theories, and then it will focus on the analyzing of the Eugne Nida’s two famous translation theories namely formal equivalence and dynamic equivalence. By giving out its definition, it’s easier to find the advantage and disadvantage of these two concepts. Then, this paper will go on introducing briefly the Chomsky’s translation studies. And then it will find some commonness and distinction in Nida’s and Chomsky’s opinions in translation. Secondly, it will give a short introduction of the book Introducing Translation Studies: Theories and Applications and it will fix its attention on the translation principles of Tytler and then make a comparison of Yan Fu’s translation principle “Faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance”. By deeper analyzing these two similar translation theories, we can find some commonness and difference in these two translation theories by taking the culture and thinking modes into consideration. At last, this paper intend to give a brief comparison between these two great books by taking the consideration of writing style and content arrangement. All in all, this paper intends to give the readers a better understanding of these two great books and provoke their reflection about these two books.

I Analysis of the book Contemporary Translation Theories

Recently, it is a great pleasure to read a very famous book called Contemporary Translation Theories whose author is called Edwin Gentzler. The second edition of this book has received great success. The publication of this book is significant to the global translation study academia. “Since the mid-19th century, translation theory has maderapid progress, Edwin Gentzler finds out what is useful and rejects what is useless on the translation of today's theories in this book”(Li 2014:111). He also makes a Detailed description in detail several major schools of translation:The North American Translation Workshop, the “Science” of Translation, Early Translation Studies, the Polysystem Translation and Deconstruction. In this book, it presents what is happening in different parts within the discipline. “Gentzler uses his provoke thinking viewpoint to trace the development of literary translation studies from the American translation workshop program, through the polysystems research to deconstruction and postcolonial translation theory and beyond”(Xu and Wang 2000:42). This book not only provides us with a deep way of theorizing the translation but also is effectively a translation practice . At the end of this book, he also points out the future of translation and sends his positive attitude about the translation’s future. The author turns a whole number of the complex theoretical material into accessible language, so that everyone who doesn’t read any books about translation can read this book freely. Apart from that, each chapter in this book is separated so you can read each chapter alone without relying on your understanding of the other chapters. By this way, it is more convenient for us to find the topic of translation that we are interested in to read and find valuable informationfor us. Gentzler’s book provides us with a precise analysis about what the translation school achieved so far and gives his insight into the future of translation.

“This book stands as a continuing translation textbook with some of the most important theories in the field such as “the same aesthetic experience, dynamic equivalence, corresponding literary function, or the deconstruction theory of Derrida”(Li 2014:112). Despite distinct focus, each theory is completed by a conceptual framework that thinks original existence and an understanding of it in the target society. At present, “all translation theories have kept rigid distinction between original texts and their translations text”(Xu and Wang 2000:43).

In the chapter 2, this book introduces the American translation workshop. In this chapter, it mainly introduces the A. Richard’s new criticism and translation, Ezra Pound’s theory of luminous details, Frederic Will’s the paradox of translation and Lawrence Venuti’s rethinking translation. In it workshop, “it emphasizes that translation is a marginal activity, not considered as a proper field of study”(Gentzler 2001:5). However, as time goes by, the process of growth and acceptance of translation boost when many translation courses and workshops were being offered at many universities. There appears many works about this translation workshop but it does not have many books about the translation theories. “In this workshop, the personal opinions may offer some help, but it still lacks the consistent theory to support translation”(Gentzler 2001:44). Therefore, it needs urgently a classified theory for the translation and it yields the coming of the “science” of translation. In this book, it mainly introduces Eugene Nida’s formal equivalence and dynamic equivalence and Noam Chomsky’s syntactic structure and generative-transformation grammar. Here, it will illustrate my understanding of these two concepts about formal equivalence and dynamic equivalence. Edwin Gentzler illustrated the concept of dynamic equivalence in his book Contemporary Translation Theories, Translating consists in reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent of the source language message, first in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of style. The relationship between the target language receptor and the target text should generally be equivalent to that between the source language receptor and the source text(2001:48).

In the dynamic equivalence, Nida focus on the correspondence of the feeling between the target language and the receptor and the source language and the learner. By his understanding, these two feeling should be the similar. More specifically, “dynamic equivalence considers more about the relationship between the reader and the information, which means that the target reader's response to the target text should be the same as that of the source reader's response to the source text”(Liu 2012:242). “Any foreignness and translationese should be avoided in the target text”(Ju 2000:203). Now, it will list the advantages of dynamic equivalence.

“On the one hand, the dynamic equivalence is “somewhat like the free translationwhich emphasizes the translation should achieve the same effect instead of being limitedin the content and form” (Li 2014:112). “It concentrates on the correct way of translating the content of the original text”(Shakernia 2013:2). On the other hand, “it focuses on readers' reaction and analyzes the translation process from the viewpoint of target readers”(Nida 1995:225). In this way, translation is not a single activity, but more social elements are added to make the translation concrete and specific. Moreover, in the dynamic equivalence, due to its classified translation principle it is more suitable to the translation of technology and science essays. The dynamic equivalence provides us a detailed rule of translation during our process of translation so when we translate, we can find the reasonable principles to rely on. These essays should be more formal and official.

However, although the dynamic equivalence has gained a lot of praises it still deserves some limitations. Firstly, “it is just a language conversion and ignores the cultural information taken by the language, resulting in cultural domestication”(Liu 2012: 245). In fact, cultural differences are objective and can not be inevitable, and no one can avoid them. If you have to maintain a dynamic equivalent translation, it will definitely have a negative impact on cultural communication. For example, “‘dongfeng’ is a positive image in Chinese culture while in western society it thinks the west wind is goodmorality”( Shakerni 2013:2) Therefore, it is strange that Shelley's singing of the west wind is translated into "ode to the east wind", because it will hinder the Chinese readers' understanding of the western world. What's more, to judge whether the target readers have similar effects is uncertain and unpractical because they are different in gender, age,educational background and life experience, etc. Strictly speaking, the reader's response is a variable that cannot be regarded as equivalent to the standard effect. Finally, dynamicequivalence information in the text does well, just like the Bible, but it is difficult to realize literary translation, text language is different from general language. Dynamic equivalence, as a concept, puts an .an overly narrow focus on the response of the active hearers, perhaps sometimes at the expense of other factors which are also crucial to adequate translation, such as the accuracy of the message, the uniqueness of the original historical setting.

Next, it will list the definition of formal equivalence. “Formal equivalence is simple and source-oriented. It is like a word for word literal translation”(Shakernia 2013:2). Formal equivalence concentrates on the message itself, in both form and content. “One is concerned that the message in the receptor language should match asclosely as possible the different elements in the source language”(Shakernia 2013:3).The use of formal equivalents might at times have serious implications in the target text since the translation will not be easily understood by the target readership. For example, “in the translation of the sentence of greet others with a holy kiss, these two different equivalence can have distinctly different translation”(Shakernia 2013:3). In the formal equivalence translation, we need to translate it into the translation of saying hello to others with a holly kiss. But it seems strange to others because what’s the meaning of holy kiss. Then, we need to add one explanation of holy kiss which is in the old testament the holly kiss is usually treated as a usual way to greet others. However, in the dynamic equivalence, we need not to take the correspondence of the structure into consideration. We only need to pay attention to the reaction of receptorsof language. We can translate it into the translation of shaking hands with others enthusiastically. From the above example, it’s clear to find the focus of these two equivalences is very different therefore the translation can be different.

Here, it will try to figure out the advantages and disadvantages of formal equivalence. One of the most distinguished advantage of the formal equivalence is that in this translation, “the formal equivalence is keenly oriented towards the source language structure, which exerts strong language influence in determining accuracy and Correctness”(Nida 1995:223). Because the formal equivalence emphasizes the completetranscript of the original text’s content and form so it will have the consistent structure of the original text.Another advantage of formal equivalence is that it put much focus on the accuracy.Because in such translation theory, the target language will try to find a equivalent in the source language. For example, in the sentence of “Please fetch me a glass of water” when translating it into Chinese, we will try to find each word equivalent in Chinese. We will try to find each word such as “please”“fetch”“me” and so on. Then we can find the equivalent in Chinese which can be transliterated into Chinese as “Qing gei wo yi bei shui”. Apart from that, let’s move on to the disadvantages of formal equivalence. One of the obvious disadvantage of the formal equivalence is that sometimes it will neglect the intent of the original text. Because the formal equivalence isreferred as to the literal translation and in such way it may overlook the author’s intent. For example, we often hear Chinese people say:“Ni chi le ma?” In fact, it’s a way to greetpeople in Chinese custom while we cannot translate it into English as “Have you eat your dinner or lunch?”. Instead we should translate it into English as “Hello!”or “Hi!”

Among these two theories, Nida puts the dynamic equivalence in the first place. It has been viewed as his core contribution to the modern translation filed. “Nida pays attention to readers' response and advocates replacing the expression of foreign culture in the original text with the expression habit of the receiving language, namely, domestication”(Nida 1995:224). By far, “Nida has achieved a lot in translation study. He simplifies Chomsky’s theory and adopts only the later two part of the model in order to validate his science”(Gentzler 2001:52). “He is aware of the nature of a practice-oriented approach, attempts to scientifically validate his methodology and apply it to translation as a whole” (Panou 2013: 1) . In this chapter, it also talks about Noam Chomsky’s contribution to the linguistic and translation. In Chomsky’s opinion, the linguistic is a study of science and we can apply many linguistic principles to translation, therefore, the translation can also be said a study of science. Among the Noam Chomsky’s contribution is his transformational-generative grammar. “It is a theory that talks about why people can talk and how people can learn new sentences. It is a theory about language ability. Chomsky holds his opinion that basics and transformation form grammar” (Zhou 2019:5). The basics form deep structure and deep structure transforms to surface structure. Word’s meaning belongs to deep structure . Besides, “he thinks thatlanguage is a unique human natural constitution. Language ability should be more focused on not rather language behavior”(Zhou 2019:6). “The TG Grammar tries to reveal the unity of particular grammars and universal grammars, to explore the universal rules with the hope of revealing the human cognitive system and the essential nature of human being”(Zhu 2018:241).

Both Chomsky and Nida believe that deep, coherent and unified entity exists behind whatever manifestation language takes. However, there exists some difference between their opinions. “Chomsky would not jump to conclusions based on correlations between just two languages, nor assume that a grammar to a particular to one language would work systematically for another” (Li 2011:395). While Nida holds the belief that deep structure and transformatio-nal rules which is divorced from all the problems of translation are similar across languages. All in all, these two great persons all make a big contribution to translation and their theories are still widely used today.

II Analysis of Introducing Translation Studies: Theories and Applications

As for the second book: Introducing Translation Studies: Theories and Applications , it is a very populary book which has undergone through the fourth edition. Introducing Translation Studies: Theories and Applications remains the definitive guide to the theories and concepts that make up the field of translation studies. This fourth edition has been fully revised and continues to provide a balanced and detailed guide to the theoretical landscape. “Each theory is applied to a wide range of languages, including Bengali, Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Punjabi, Portuguese and Spanish”(Liu and Deng 2010:54). It starts with the definition of translation and then presents us the translation theory before the twentieth century to the modern translation theory. It focus on many important translation theories such as systematic translation theory, polysystem theory translation, functional theories of translation, and so on. There are three reasons why I like this book very much. Firstly, this book is full of content which is arranged carefully and skillfully for the readers to read. It contain an introductory table clearly presenting key terms and ideas, the main text, describing in detail the models and issues under discussion, an illustrative case study, which applies and evaluates the main model of the chapter, suggestions for further reading, a brief evaluative summary of the chapter and a series of discussion and research points to stimulate further thought and research. I am extremely fond of the case study in this book which is also a unique feature of this book. In the case study, it will list a related case about the translation issue in this chapter for readers to think and then this book provide us with a discussion of case studies for us to reflect our thinking. I think it’s a good way for us to relate the knowledge of book into reality which it’s more helpful and useful for us to remember the knowledge in the book. And by applying our knowledge to the real problem in reality, it’s more helpful for us truly understand the essence of translation studies.

Secondly, there are a large number of charts are cited, and the names of the charts are listed on a special page after the table of contents at the front of the book for easy reference. In this way, it is easier for readers to absorb much information contained in the charts. In the meantime, it is clear for the readers to relate the knowledge with the information in the charts. It is also a good way to sort out the large number of information in an ordered way for the readers to have a quick way to absorb the information.

Thirdly, the book includes an appendix to the web sites relevant to translation studies before the final notes and index. These include two web sites that publish information about conferences, recent publications and research, six web sites for international translation journals and four web sites for translation organizations that often contain useful links. In this way, it becomes much easier for the readers to search the information on the websites for further reading and studying.

Now, let’s move on to talk about the content of this book. In the second chapter, this book lists the debate about the word-for-word and sense-for-sense translation which is debate that dominated much of translation theory. “Faithful translation” is an attempt to reach a compromise between the two. Many great translators object to word-for-word translation and they advocate the sense-for-sense translation”(Munday 2013:18). For example, Cicero oppose the word-for-word translation strongly by saying “that I did not hold it necessary to render word for word, but I preserved the general style and force of the language”(Munday 2013:19). “The issues of free and literal translation were for over a thousand years with the translation of the Bible and other religious and philosophical texts”(Munday 2013:22). As for the translation of Bible, there must mention the Martin Luther whose major influence is made by his translation of the New Testament and later the Old Testament. Martin Luther advocates the revolutionary nature of translation. “At that time, the Bible was only available in Europe in a Latin translation. This meant that the majority of the people had no access to the Bible in their native languages”(Stolt 2014:373). He is concerned with the German readers. “Here, he supports the idea of using of “pure, clear German and the building of new languages in translation. Therefore, he used a non-literal translation in his translation of Bible”(Stolt 2014:373). Also, his use of a regional yet socially broad dialect went a long way to reinforcing that form of the German language as standard. “His aim is to keep communication with readers and listeners, but the audience for his new translation of the scriptures was composed not of scholars but plain speakers of vernacular German”(Stolt 2014:374). And thanks to Martin Luther’s efforts of translating Bible, the Germany people now could read Bible freely. Later, the book talks about the translation principle of Dryden, Dolet and Tytler. Here it will put emphasize on the Tytler’s translation principles. As for Dolet has five translation principles while Tytler proposes his three translation rules. “They are the translation should give a complete transcript of the ideas of the original work. Secondly, the style and manner of writing should be of the same character with that of the original. Thirdly, the translation should have all the ease of the original composition.” (Munday 2013:26) Here, we can see that Tytler pursues the balance between the source language and target language. The translator must have the capacity of employing the exact manner and skill in translating his target language. For example, “there are two sentences which express the same meaning but they are different in their writing style”(Xi 2009:41). One is on Monday morning, the park is usually crowded with too many people. The other is on Monday morning, the park attracts many people. It’s obvious that the first sentence is in a negative mood while the second sentence is in a positive mood. These two sentences all convey the same meaning but they differs each other in the mood and style. To be a good translator, you need to be skillful in bringing the same style of the source language to the target language.

The advantages of his translation principle are as follows. First of all, “he abandons the traditional translation idea of dichotomies and he tries not to use these controversial term such as literal translation, free translation to give his translation rules a better and clear way to present”(Bie and Huang 2007:164). Here, in his translation principles, we cannot see the mentioning of the literal translation and free translation which can cause misunderstanding in the translation studies. Secondly, “he clarifies and extends people’s understanding of the metaphor that translators are painters. In his opinion, he advocates that the job of a translator is distinct different from the painter” (Bie and Huang 2007: 166). Although the translator does not use the same color as the original, he must give his "picture" the same power and effect. The translator cannot copy the original style, but must use his own style to translate the perfect script. The more he studies a imitation, the less his copy will reflect the ease and spirit of the original.

Now, let’s move on to talk about the disadvantages of his translation principles. Tytler’s translation thoughts are mainly on the base of his exact experience and subjective observation. “Some people even say that the book just looks like a textbook addressing the translation arts. In the meantime, from his translation theories, we can know that he imitates other translator’s theory, especially Dryden”(Firdaus 2012:285). For example, his first principle “That the translation should give a complete transcript of the ideas of the original work, which is almost same as the Campbell’s accurately reproduce the original meaning”(Firdaus 2012:286). Tytler, “points out that the three principles are in a necessary order. The order arrangement is appropriate, natural and is arranged according to their importance to the translation which cannot change casually”(Firdaus 2012:287). In this way, we can concluded that his idea that if in a case of need to sacrifice a certain principle, the translator should notice the importance of order of translation principle. The translator cannot try to get a beautiful and fluent translation at the expense of the faithful translation of the script. Tytler’s translation has exerted great influence on the later translation studies and left a big influence on the later translators such as our Chinese great translator-Yan Fu. Here, it will list the Yan Fu’s translation theories and then we can have a brief comparison between Yan Fu’s translation principles and Tytler’s translation principles. “Yan Fu is our Chinese great scholar and translator, most famous for introducing western ideas, including Darwin’s natural selection to China in the late 19th century”(Wang 2008:70). Just as Shi Chunrang and Zhao Wei proposed their opinions in their essay Thoughts on Yan Fu's “Faithfulness, Expressiveness and Elegance” and Tytler's Three Principles—a Case Study of Comparative Translation that Yan Fu proposed three difficulties in translation: faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance in the preface to his translation of Evolution and Ethnic.

“Faithfulness” means the full and complete conveying or transmission of the original content or thought. It emphasizes the right way of expressing content of the original source. “Expressiveness” demands that the version must be clear and follow without any grammatical mistakes or confused logic and sense. The translation should convey freely the content of the original source. “Elegance” means that the target translation should be similar to the source text in style(2005:96).

It means that the mood of the target translation should be almost same as the source language. By analyzing carefully, it’s clear to find there are many things in common between these two translation theories.

Firstly, “the first principle and second principle of Tytler are the same as the saying that translation should be faithful to the source language’s content and mood which is similar to the first principle of Yan Fu that emphasizes on the full and complete conveying of the original content”(Shi and Zhao 2005:97). Secondly, these two translation theories all focus on stressing the conveying the thought and content of the source language. And the translation should be available for people to read. “These two theories all emphasize on the conveying the complete transcript of the source text”(Shi and Zhao 2005:98).

It’s clear to see many differences between these two translation theories. Firstly, “they are different in thinking mode. Yan Fu does not make a clear and detailed explanation of his translation theory. Instead it relies on others’ explanation of his translation theory”(Xi 2009:41). Just as a saying, “Everything is clear without saying a word”. To better understand Yan Fu’s translation theory, we need to have the associated “relation and reflection about the great thought of our great ancestors. As we all know, “traditional Chinese mode of thinking is perceptual which tends to make the theory obscure and received. However, westerners attach great importance to rational thinking which makes the theory more concrete”(Shi and Zhao 2005:98). The thinking mode of western is putting emphasize on the rational thinking and it emphasizes one’s rational understanding of the objects and people. Also, “it concentrates on the formal explanation of the objects and people”(Shi and Zhao 2005:98). Therefore, the Tytler’s three translation principles all give respect to the object to the original text. And it repeatedly emphasizes on the importance of the original text and treat the original text as it start point. Apart from that, it also gives the literal explanation in a detailed way. In this way, after analyzing the different thinking between the western and eastern, we can say that Yan Fu do not give a literal explanation of his translation principle. Thus, we can say that his translation principle understands tacitly.

Secondly,“they are distinctly different in the importance. Since the three principles of faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance are presented, the importance of them has not been clearly classified”(Shi and Zhao 2005:99). One of the most important features of Yan Fu’s translation standard is its ambiguous semantic meaning. But in fact, “Yan Fu put emphasizes on the free translation and he proposed the principle of expressiveness to support the principle of faithfulness”(Xi 2009:41). “Since during the process of translation, except adhering to the expressiveness of the original text, the principle of faithfulness is the most difficult task to finish as to the conveying the original text’s mode and style”(Xi 2009:42). Therefore, we can draw a conclusion that principle of expressiveness is vital in his three principles and then is the expressiveness and the last is elegance. We should stick to the general principle of “original meaning”, only then can we have a reasonable logic to give an order on the importance of “faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance”. “While Tytler thinks the order of his three principles is suitable, natural and could not be changed”(Wang 2008:71). Tytler proposes that we can make the conveying the faithful translation of the content at the expense to pursue the beautiful and fluent translation of the original text. “If we must give up one of principles he proposes, he advises that we can give up the least important principle namely the third principle”(Wang 2008:71). In other words, it is the first sacrifice of the original “style and effectiveness”. What's more, the style and mood of the original painting must be conveyed in order to convey a faithful picture of the sense.

Thirdly, “these two translation theories are different in the aspect of value orientation. The reason of this difference is due to the difference in the academic tradition of the emphasizing on the practice and theory level of the east and west”(Wang 2008:73). As is known to all, traditional Chinese translation paid more attention to practice rather than theory. The idea of translation should guide translation practice and should be of reference value. Yan Fu's “faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance” was originally used to describe the difficulty of translation, not as a translation standard. He summed it up from his own practice and was concerned with practice rather than theory. However, western translator put practice and theory at the same level. Tytler's three principles are three levels of difficulties in detail, from the content loyal to distinct style. The reflected logical form is clear and obvious, which is significantly different from the implicit three translation principles of “faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance”. “Western translation theories focus on detailed analysis, rational abstraction and theoretical deduction, and pay attention to logical organization, hierarchy and clarity of content in language expression”(Wang 2008:73). Influenced by traditional philosophy, western translation theories have a strong sense of subject and object throughout the whole process. Taking “expressiveness” as an example, Yan Fu's “expressiveness” and Tytler's third principle “translation should have all the ease of the original composition” have roughly the same meaning, but it’s obvious that they are different in thinking mode. “The Chinese adopt a thought pattern of intuition and understanding while the Englishmen follow a thought pattern of logic and reason, which makes a profound impact on each language”(Chen 2012:126). To this extent, the difference between understanding and rational thinking, as well as the degree of respect for the original text can be best reflected. At last, “these two translation theories are distinct in their motivation. Yan Fu’s criterion is purposeful which aims to attract the elite’s attention”(Wang 2008:73). The literature works that Yan Fu translated from the western world are mainly the great and famous work in the period of western capitalism. “He fully understand this mode of thinking is difficult for the Chinese intellectuals at that time so in this way, he need to make the translation principles easier for the Chinese intellectuals to absorb”(Chen 2012:127). In this regard, he chose this way of spreading his translation ideas which makes his translation principles purposeful. While Tylter just wants to make the whole translation system more systematic and cover content, form and text these three aspects. “His aim in his translation principle is simply trying to make his translation principle known by people and suggest a reasonable translation principle for translators to follow”(Xi 2009:42).

III Comparison between the book of Contemporary Translation Theories and Introducing Translation Studies: Theories and Applications

1.From the aspect of arrangement of the content

Both of these two books all take the line of main translation workshops as its main chapter and then list its contribution to illustrate the content. “In the contemporary translation studies, the author compare the translation group’s advantages and weakness and then give out his own understanding of the study of the translation group” (Li :2014 111).” In the Introducing Translation Studies: Theories and Applications , the author lists the introduction of each translation workshop’s contribution and achievement to translation” (Liu and Deng 2010:54). While these two books’ difference in arrangement is that in the book Introducing Translation Studies: Theories and Applications adds a case study to extend the readers’ inflection about the translation study listed in the book. Apart from that, this book also adds the discussion of case study, summary, further reading and discussion and research points into the book which are lack in the Contemporary Translation Studies. These added parts to the book Introducing Translation Studies: Theories and Applications helps extend the readers’ personal study and help the readers relate the theoretical knowledge with the translation practices.

2.From the content of the material

Both of the books all list the major contribution of each translation workshop but they differ in their focus and approach. In the contemporary Translation Theories, the author will “analyze the advantage and weakness of the each translation workshop and then study the interrelationship between these translation workshops and at last describe the importance of each translation theory to the world and then pose its questions to the presupposition of each translation theory”(Li 2014:111). While in the Introducing Translation Studies: Theories and Applications, the author firstly gives a brief introduction of the chapter content and then illustrates the introduction of each translation workshop in a detailed way. To make the book in a more precise way, the author also lists the summary, case study, discussion of study, further reading and discussion and research points in his book to make the readers to have a more comprehensive way of the book.

Apart from that, these two books all take a method of incorporating the theories and practices into the whole. In these two books, each book all include the material of theories and practices as its contents. For some important parts, the authors all give out their questions in the book. For example, in the Contemporary Translation Theories, the author poses his question about Pound’s translation idea“ Was he talking about intuition, guessing the author’s original intention, or something else?(Gentzler 2001:20) After this question, the author gives out his opinions about Pound’s translation idea emphasizing the translator should both inside a tradition and outside any institutionalized logic. While this point of asking question in the Introducing Translation Studies: Theories and Applications is more obvious. At the end of each chapter, the author will give several questions in his part of discussion and research points. Some of these questions can find the answers in the textbook while some will require the readers to do some additional researches.

Conclusion:

All in all, after this paper’s careful introduction of these two books and detailed analyzing of the translation theories, it hopes to help the readers to have better understanding of these two books. After the deep analysis of the two theories of Nida’s translation theories and the comparison between Tytler’s three translation principles and Yan Fu’s translation rules, it’s better for the readers to understand the basic rule of translation. And also after analyzing the two big translation theories, it’s clear to draw a conclusion that to be able to be a good translator, the translator should not only be skillful in adapting to two kinds of different language and also he needs to have the solid translation practice experiences. He needs to have the complete transcript of the original text by conveying the content of the original text, but also he should imitate the style and mood of the original text.

Works Cited

Gentzler, Edwin. Contemporary Translation Theories. Vol. 21. Multilingual Matters, 2001.

Munday, Jeremy. Introducing Translation Studies: Theories and Applications. Routledge, 2013.

Li Jiangchun. “The comment of the second edition of the Contemporary translation theories.” Foreign Language Education. 35.1(Jan. 2014): 111-114. CNKI. Web. 1 Nov. 2019

Xu Dongping and Wang Dongfeng. “Giving comment about the Edwin’s Contemporary Translation theories.” Foreign Language and Their teaching.12(2000):42-44. CNKI. Web. 1 Nov. 2019

Nida, Eugene A. “Dynamic equivalence in translating.” An Encyclopaedia of Translation: Chinese-English English-Chinese [C/Z]. Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press (1995): 223-30.

Shakernia, Shabnam. “Study of Nida’s (formal and dynamic equivalence) and Newmark’s (semantic and communicative translation) translating theories on two short stories.” Merit Research Journal of Education and Review 2.1 (2013): 001-007.

Liu Dayan. “Dynamic equivalence and formal correspondence in translation between Chinese and English.” International Journal of Humanities and Social Science 2.12 (2012): 242-247.

Panou, Despoina. “Equivalence in translation theories: A critical evaluation.” Theory and Practice in Language Studies 3.1 (2013): 1.

Miao, Ju. “The limitations of ‘equivalent effect.” Perspectives: Studies in Translatology 8.3 (2000): 197-205. CNKI. Web. 3 Nov. 2019

Zhou Wenmei. “Interpreting the linguistic idea in Chomsky’s generative-transformational grammar construction.”Yinshan Academic Journal. 32.3(Jun 2019):5-10. CNKI. Web. 4 Nov. 2019

Zhu Enlue. “A brief analysis of Chomsky’s generative-transformational grammar.” Overseas English. (2018):241-242. CNKI. Web. 5 Nov. 2019

Li Zhiwang. “An analysis of Chomsky’s generative transformational grammar and Nida’s ideas about translation.” Journal of Inner Mongolia Agricultural University. 3(2011):394-396. CNKI. Web. 5 Nov. 2019

Liu Fang and Deng Jie. “The comment of the new edition of Introducing translation studies: Theories and applications.” Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies. 4.(Apr 2010):54-58. CNKI. Web. 6 Nov. 2019

Stolt Birgit “Luther’s Translation of the Bible.” Lutheran Quarterly 28.4 (2014): 373-74.

Shi Chunrang, Zhao Wei. “Thoughts on Yan Fu's “Faithfulness, Expressiveness and Elegance” and Tytler's Three Principles—a Case Study of Comparative Translation.” Foreign Language Research 5 (2005):96-100. CNKI. Web. 5 Nov. 2019

Xi Yan. “ Faithfulness-Expressiveness-Elegance, Tytler's three principles and Dynamic Equivalence——New Analyses on the Differences and Similarities of the Standard of Translation and the Causes.” Journal of Cangzhou Teachers' College 3 (2009): 40-42. CNKI. Web. 8 Nov. 2019 Bie Fangfang, and Huang Qin. “Dolet’s Translation Principles and Tytler’s Translation Principles: A Comparison.” Foreign Language Education 2007.0 (2007): 30. CNKI. Web. 9 Nov. 2019

Firdaus, Sonia. “Evolution of translation theories and practice.” The Dialogue (2012):272-294

Wang Chenjie. “A Systematic Comparison between Yan Fu's Theory of Faithfulness, Fluency, and Expressiveness and Tytler's Three General Rules of Translation.” Journal of Ningbo Institute of Education 1 (2008):70-73. CNKI. Web. 10 Nov. 2019

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The Emergence of Translation and Interpretation

The Influence of Eugene Nida’s Translation Theory on Chinese Translation Development

蒋凤仪 Jiang Fengyi

Abstract

Key words

摘要 奈达作为一位翻译史上的重要人物，对于世界翻译进程影响重大。本文拟从其翻译思想在中国翻译界的接受和传播程度，及其翻译思想对中国翻译学者的影响，探究其翻译理论对中国翻译发展进程的影响。

关键词 奈达, ...

Introduction

1.Eugene Nida and His Translation theories

2.The Translation Theories of Eugene Nida in China

2.1 Studies on Nida in China

2.1.1 Numbers of Papers, Books and Seminars on the Translation of Nida

2.1.2 Focuses of the Studies on Nida's Translation Theories

2.2 The influence of Nida's translation Theories on Chinese Theorists

2.2.1 The attitudes Towards Nida's Translation Theories in China

2.2.2 The Transformations of Theorists in China

3. The influence of Nida's translation Theories on Chinese Translation development

3.1 The positive influences

3.2 The problems

Conclusion

Acknowledgements

References

An analysis of main factors influencing the choice of translation strategies, the example of Hongloumeng 解帆 Xie Fan

A Study on the History of Interpretation and the Prospect of Interpretation in China 雷旷溪 Lei Kuangxi

Abstract

This paper combed the 40 years of reform and opening-up in China the development course of interpreting research, introduces its experienced four stages: in the late 1970 s to 80 s "bud", "initial development" of the 1990 s, the first decade of the 21st century "new period", the second decade of the 21st century in the "" development". Finally, the author makes a review and analysis of the achievements and main performances of Chinese interpretation studies and comments on the current development status and future prospects of Chinese interpretation studies.

Key Words

Interpretation, historical development, interpretation studies, development trends

摘要

本文简要梳理改革开放40年来中国口译研究的发展历程，介绍其所经历的四个阶段：20世纪70年代末到80年代末的“萌芽期”、20世纪90年代的“初步发展期”、21世纪头十年的“新兴期”、21世纪第二个十年进行中的“多元发展期”。并回顾分析中国口译研究的成就和主要表现，最后就目前中国口译研究的发展现状和未来展望进行评析。

关键词

口译，历史发展，口译研究，发展趋势

1.Introduction

2.The development and overview of The study of Interpretation in China

2.1 The four development stages of Chinese interpretation research

2.1.1

2.1.2

2.1.3

2.1.4

2.2 Representative achievements in The study of Interpretation in China

3.Current situation of domestic interpretation research

4.The development trend, characteristics and prospect of Chinese interpretation research

5.Conclusion

Bibliography

Reflections on the Development of Chinese Cultural Self-confidence in Translation from the Perspective of Chinese Translation History 郑华君 Zheng Huajun

Abstract

Key words

摘要

关键词

Four translation climaxes in Chinese translation History

The expression and development of Chinese cultural self-confidence in the four translation climaxes

The characteristics of Chinese cultural self-confidence in Chinese translation History

Discussion

Conclusion

References

--Zheng Huajun (talk) 02:23, 30 October 2020 (UTC)

Western Translation Theories

An Analysis of the Limits of Translatability from the Perspectives of J.C. Catford and Eugene A. Nida's Translation Theories 文晓艺 Wen Xiaoyi

Cultural differences on English interpretation and the coping strategies 陶冶 Tao Ye

On Lefevere's manipulating theory 孔亚楠 Kong Yanan

Abstract

In 1980s, the research object of translation studies changed from text itself to culture. Cultural factors were brought into translation studies. Andre Lefevere, as the founder of cultural transformation, puts forward the famous manipulation theory and its three elements-poetics, ideology and patron. He believes that translation is not a simple change between languages, and translators' translation activities are influenced and restricted by social factors such as ideology, poetics and patronage. He points out that translation is a form of rewriting the text, and it is "manipulating" the original text to make it compatible with the cultural background of the target text. The main body of the thesis is divided into three parts, which explore the rewriting phenomenon caused by poetics, ideology and sponsors in translation activities by displaying different versions.

摘要

20世纪80年代，翻译研究的研究对象从文本本身转向文化，将文化因素纳入翻译研究之中。安德烈勒弗菲尔作为文化转换的奠基人提出了著名的操纵理论及其三要素—诗学、意识形态和赞助人。他认为翻译不是一件简单的语言间的转换，译者的翻译活动受到意识形态、诗学和赞助人等社会因素的影响和制约。他指出翻译是改写文本的一种形式，是对原文的“操纵”，使其与目的语文本所在的文化背景相容。论文主体主要分为三部分，分别通过展示不同的译本，探究诗学、意识形态和赞助人在翻译活动中造成的改写现象。

关键词:Poetics; Ideology; Patronage; Manipulate

Introduction

Before the 20th century, western translation theories mainly fell into the category of literature and art, which regarded translation as an art and emphasized the translator's creative reproduction of the original text. Until the mid-20th century, translation theorists introduced the theories and achievements of modern linguistics into translation studies, thus producing a linguistic school.Linguistic school regarded translation as a science of mutual transformation at the linguistic level, emphasizing the language equivalence between the original text and the target text. Compared with the literary school, the linguistic school has deepened translation studies and achieved fruitful results, which was beyond doubt. However, it only limited translation studies to the linguistic level, ignoring external linguistic factors such as discourse and context, which led to the fossilization of translation studies.Since the 1980s, under the influence of post-modernism and cross-cultural studies, translation studies have ushered in a "cultural turn", which has gradually transformed translation studies from a linguistic perspective to a cultural perspective, and thus a cultural school of translation has emerged. The cultural school broke through the traditional text comparative study mode of literature and linguistics, and paid attention to many social factors that influenced translation under the broad cultural background, thus broadening the scope of translation studies and injecting new blood into translation studies. Manipulation school was one of the most influential schools of culture. The development of Manipulation School was based on comparative literature research, which mainly studied literary translation. The representative figures were Hermans and Lefevere. In 1978, Even Zohar put forward the theory of multiple systems which idicated that there was no primary or secondary system, but the importance was different at different stages and from different angles. Sometimes literature was in a dominant position, and sometimes it was in a secondary position.On this basis, the manipulation theory in the school of translation culture studies was formed. Hermans, a contemporary English translation theorist, published a paper entitled "The Position of Translation Studies in the Multi-system of Literature", which highlighted the position of target literature, and shifted from focusing on the original text to focusing on the target text. He first applied "manipulation" to the study of translation theory, forming the embryonic stage of the manipulation school.In the book "Manipulation of Literature: Studies of Literary Translation", Hermans gave the programmatic view of Manipulation School: Manipulation School thinks that literature is a complex dynamic system; Theoretical models and practical case studies should promote each other. The method of studying literary translation should be descriptive and systematic, and should pay attention to purpose and function; We should study the norms and limitations of the production and acceptance of translation, the relationship between translation and other text processing, the position and role of translation in a particular literary system, and the status and function in the interaction between different literatures. As Hermans said: "From the perspective of the target text, all translations are manipulations of the original text for some purpose." (Hermans, 1985, 10-11) Andre Lefevere, a famous Belgian American comparative writer and translation theorist, pointed out that literary translation always came into being in a certain historical period and a certain cultural context. Because of using a different language from the original, facing a completely different readership and operating in different cultural categories, the translator, as the representative of the target culture, would be restricted by various target cultural conditions from the choice of the translation text at the beginning to the selection of translation strategies in the translation process until the acceptance of the final version. Moreover, the translator would have various considerations in translation. Therefore, it was impossible to reproduce the exactly identical translation of the original text. In this sense, translation was a rewriting of the original text and a form of creating the text. Lefevere further pointed out that literary criticism, biography, literary history, film, drama, reader's guide and so on were all rewriting the text and creating another form of text image. In other words, translation created the original author, the original text and the literary and cultural images of the original text. All rewritings, regardless of its intention, reflected certain ideology and poetics under the influence of the patronage. He thought that translation was rewriting, and rewriting was manipulation. The rewriting in different historical periods should be controlled by the ideology and main stream poetics, which was finally related to power and became a means to serve them. He believed that translation cannot truly reflect the original appearance, which was mainly manipulated by these three factors: ideology, poetics and patronage.

Three Elements of Lefevere's manipulation Theory

Ideology

Generally speaking, ideology refers to the concept system that reflects the interests and requirements of specific economic forms, specific classes or social groups, and its basic contents include people's political, legal, moral, philosophical, artistic and religious views, etc. Social ideology reflects a social group's cultural value orientation and conceptual belief system. Through observing its surroundings and its own existence, social, ideology can influence and control the activities of the whole society. In Lefevere's view, translation practice is a practice related to certain historical reality, a practice of reinterpreting the original text according to the interests of a certain social group in the new historical environment, and it is essentially a practice of culture and politics. (Fang Mengzhi, ) Manipulation school is most concerned about not how the translation should be translated, but why it is translated like this. Translations are not made in a vacuum. Translators function in a given culture at a given time. The way they understand themselves and their culture is one of the factors that may influence the way in which they translate. (14) Translation, as a cross-language and cross-cultural communication activity, is inevitably influenced by ideology. It includes the translator's personal ideology and the ideology imposed on the translator by the authority or sponsor. These personal, social or upper-level ideologies will limit the selection of the theme of translated works and the form of expressing the theme and affect the translator's basic translation strategies and the interpretation of the original language and culture. Therefore, under the control of ideology, the translator will arbitrarily add, delete or change the original text, so that the translated text serves his own political purpose. (Zhang Xiaojuan, 130)

Poetics

Poetics involves two parts: literary technique and translator's view of literary function. Literary technique mainly includes genre, symbol, theme, etc. Translator's view of literary function refers to the role or function of literature in the whole social system. Translators not infrequently use their translations to influence the evolution of the poetics of their time. The compromises translators find between the poetics of the original and the poetics of their culture provide fascinating insights into the process of acculturation and incontrovertible evidence of the extent of the power of a given poetics. (26) According to Lefevere, the translation method adopted by translators is carried out and developed under a certain system of factors of poetics, and the object of the study of poetics is as small as one word or as large as one sentence and the style of the whole chapter, translation strategies and other aspects of the rewriting of the poetics, which are the important components of the cultural system where the rewriting writers are engaged in their creation. In order to conform to the ideology and poetics which occupied the dominant position in the period where they live and to achieve the goal of making the rewritten works accepted by as many readers as possible, the original works will be adjusted in a fixed degree. (Zhang Xiaojuan, 131)

Patronage

Generally speaking, sponsors refer to individuals and groups that can promote or hinder the production and dissemination of literary works in a certain historical period, and institutions that regulate the dissemination of literature and literary thoughts. Patrons can encourage the publication of translations they consider acceptable and they can also quite effectively prevent the publication of translations they do not consider so. (19) Lefevere regarded various rewriting forms, such as literary translation, as one of the various systems of the society. This department of philology has double factors of operation and control. One is the internal factor of the department of philology, which is composed of various professionals including critics, critics, teachers and translators The other is the patron who plays a role in the external department of the department, "The patron is usually more interested in the ideology of literature than in poetics of literature", "that are all kinds of powers (people or mechanisms) that promote or stop reading, writing or rewriting , such as religious groups, orders, government departments, publishing agencies, mass media mechanisms, or individual power. (Zhang Yuanyuan) Sponsors can encourage works that they think are suitable, and can also effectively curb works that they think are inappropriate. Generally speaking, they play a vital role in the dynamic direction of translation, the development of translated literature, and the social meeting place where translators are located. (Zhang Xiaojuan, 131)

Analysis of translations

1:In the dialogue between Wang Lifa and Cui Jiufeng in the second act of Teahouse, Wang Lifa said, "可是住在我这里, 天天念经" Cui Jiufeng replied, "我现在只能修持, 忏悔!" As for "念经" in the sentence, Ying Ruocheng's translation of "chanting Buddhist scriptures" is rich in Christian color; Huo Hua's translation "chanting sutras" abandons the meaning of Buddhism. From this, it can be seen that in order to meet the requirements of mainstream ideology, translators will choose corresponding translation strategies and delete or euphemistically treat some of the original texts in the process of translation. From the perspective of manipulation theory, this is the manipulation of ideology on translation. There is such a scene in the third act of Teahouse. “美国针、美国线、美国牙膏、美国消炎片。还有口红、雪花膏、玻璃袜子细毛线。” Ying’s translation: Yankee needles, Yankee thread; Toothpaste white and lipstick red. Patent potions, facial lotions; Nylons sheer, you’ll find here. Huo’s translation: Yankee needles, Yankee notions, Yankee toothpaste, Yankee potions. Lipsticks red, and cold cream white; Nylon stockings, sheer delight. By comparing these two translations, in order to better conform to the rhythm of English poetry and make the whole ditty read fluently, Ying Ruocheng splits the structural meaning of the original text and then reorganizes it. He adopts more alienation translation strategies in order to achieve the same rhythm as the original text. On the other hand, because of his love for Chinese culture and the influence of Chinese traditional literature, Huo Hua is more faithful to the original text in his translation, and translates the whole ditty in the order of the original text. From this, it can be seen that Huo Hua's translation is mostly based on domestication, so as to truly reproduce the cultural level in the source text. In the first act of Teahouse, Grandpa Four often complained to Wang Lifa, "我也得罪了他?我今天出门没挑好日子! " In this sentence, Ying Ruocheng translates "没挑好日子" into "This is not my lucky day!" The big reason is that his translation publishing house is China Foreign Publishing House, and Ying is more suitable for the traditions and habits of foreign readers, so as to facilitate the acceptance of foreign readers; On the other hand, Huo Hua translates it as "I should've taken the Almanac's advice and stayed home today." Based on his understanding of Chinese traditional culture, Huo Hua knows that this is what Chinese people usually say orally that going out depends on the lunar calendar, so he translated it as "Take the Almanac's advice and stayed home", which is more faithful to the connotation of Chinese traditional culture. (Huang Mingjuan, 144-145) 2:Facing globalization, the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation must be strongly supported by the prosperity of culture. Under the background of vigorously advocating the use of literature output to improve the soft power of Chinese culture, we should treat the translation of Chinese literature more rationally. China has been a collectivist country since ancient times and advocated unity and unity. For families, there is a saying that "home is harmonious and everything is prosperous"; For the neighborhood, there is the advocacy of "good neighborliness and friendship". Therefore, when translating the report of the 19th National Congress into English, it is inevitable to be influenced by the feelings of home and country, which can be seen everywhere in the text.例1：原文：大会的主题是：不忘初心，牢记使命…… 译文：The theme of the Congress is: Remain true to our original aspiration and keep our mission firmly in mind... Analysis: There is no human appellation like "we" in the original text of the sentence, but it appears in the translation that “our original aspiration” and “our mission”. Thus, its text translation is manipulated by our country's ideology, which is intended to show the collectivism consciousness of the Chinese nation and show that all ethnic groups in our country are united and love each other dearly. The opening report of the 19 th National Congress contains a large number of words with Chinese characteristics, and its English translation is manipulated by the socialist culture with Chinese characteristics. For example：Translate“不忘初心，方得始终”into “Never forget why you started, and you can accomplish your mission” “行百里者半九十”into “As the Chinese saying goes, the last leg of a journey just marks the halfway point”. English translation of such words with Chinese characteristics must be carried out on the basis of fully understanding the connotation of Chinese culture, which also well reflects the translator's own literary accomplishment and mastery of poetic ability. The report in the opening ceremony of the 19th National Congress belongs to the official documents of the party and government organs, and its sponsors are obviously the Communist Party of China and its leaders. Therefore, the report represents the will of the party and the people, in which every word, phrase and sentence collocation must be carefully screened before being finalized and must conform to the will of the country and represent the interests of the party and the people. This also requires translators to keep a clear head and high political acumen at all times, and to represent and safeguard the national image at all times. (Jia Shanshan, 169) 3;Throughout Chongqing's literary translation activities during the Anti-Japanese War, the influence of ideological manipulation is everywhere. The translated works in this period fully reflect the high unity of mainstream ideology and individual ideology. Personal translation behavior serves the ideological needs of mainstream society, thus promoting the development of translation career. In Chongqing from 1937 to 1945, the Anti-Japanese War became the main theme, the national significance was constantly awakened, and the desire for national independence was extremely strong. People from all walks of life in society fight in various ways, and the literary world is engaged in a spiritual and cultural war of resistance with its unique and appealing style. Therefore, most of the translation subjects in this period are anti-war works. Mainstream poetics and ideology are often inseparable. Under the influence of the mainstream ideology of the Anti-Japanese War, realistic literary creation and translation become the mainstream poetics. During this period, Chongqing's translation activities show that literature and art should serve reality. Whether it is genre, theme, language or ideological content, it can quickly stimulate readers' anti-war enthusiasm and resonance. In this period, the theme of translated poetry is full of realistic feelings, and the translated language is simple, free in form, catchy, emotional and easy to tell. From theme to target language, mainstream poetics of target language is fully considered. The original texts are often deleted, combined with Chinese native characteristics and literary factors, and naturalized in China, all of which reflect the mainstream poetics. During the Anti-Japanese War in Chongqing, the sponsors of translation activities are mainly social organizations, newspapers, periodicals, literary intellectuals and so on. These sponsors make full use of their social appeal to organize and encourage Chongqing's literary translation activities. It can be said that these "sponsors" have a great influence on Chongqing's literary translation activities during the Anti-Japanese War, especially in promoting the exchange of Chinese and foreign anti-Japanese literature works, and achieve remarkable results. In this period, the sponsors of translation are united as never before, actively guiding the translation and introduction of anti-war literature works, providing a publishing platform for translated works, guiding the trend of public opinion, and fully integrating the mainstream ideology into translation practice. For example, Xinhua Daily, Sino-Soviet Culture and other newspapers and media as well as anti-Japanese literature and art circles have translated and introduced many famous Russian and Soviet writers and literary works. Some American literary groups and journalists have set up a series of publications, such as China Monthly and Far Eastern People, which translate and introduce anti-Japanese literature works of Mao Dun, Lao She, Yao Xueyin, Ai Qing and others to the United States, showing the influence of sponsors on translation activities. (Yu Jinyan, 98) 4:As an important media of cultural communication, American TV drama not only has an eye-catching story, but also contains a lot of foreign cultural factors, such as authentic American slang and spoken language, strange historical allusions, and novel network neologisms. As a bridge between Chinese and American cultures, subtitle translation of American TV drama is particularly important. First of all, when the social values of the translation and the source text conflict, ideology will manipulate the translator to rewrite the sensitive parts of the text to meet the social ideology requirements of the target language. In addition, American TV series contains a lot of local cultural factors, which is difficult to find the corresponding symbols in the process of translation and introduction, so the rewriting of culture in subtitles is inevitable. Example 1: English version: Hewlett and Packard Chinese version: 休利特和帕卡德 (比尔·休利特和戴维·帕卡德是惠普(HP)公司创始人，两者均为男性。) -Quoted from the Big Bang Theory Many Chinese audiences are familiar with HP brand, but know little about its founders. Therefore, in addition to translating the names of the two founders literally at the bottom of the screen, the subtitle group members also added their identities and remarks "Both are male" at the top of the screen. This not only preserves the characteristics of the source language culture, but also helps the audience enjoy the movie-watching activities smoothly, and also increases the comedy sense of the play From the perspective of mainstream poetics, Chinese and Western translation circles tend to combine "domestication" with "foreignization" in translation practice, which can not only solve the differences between Chinese and Western cultures, but also reproduce the characteristics of the source culture in the target language as much as possible. Example 2: English version: Look at that, the problem solved itself. Chinese version: 你瞧!不攻自破了。 English version: Preparation can only take you so far. Chinese version: 谋事在人，成事在天。 -Quoted from the Big Bang Theory Influenced by mainstream poetics, translators rewrite the subtitles of American TV series by combining domestication and foreignization. If literal translation is adopted, the over-colloquial expression lacks poetic aesthetic feeling, while subtitle translators use “不攻自破” “谋事在人，成事在天”. These Chinese idioms with profound traditional culture not only accurately convey the meaning of the original sentence, but also cater to the audience's preference of the target language. In order to obtain social and economic resources and establish their own influence in the target language society, the sponsors will actively encourage the media system to produce as many film and television works as possible and meet the needs of the audience. In order to achieve this goal, they will introduce the mainstream social value orientation in the selection of film and television dramas, and also manipulate subtitle translators to adjust and change the subtitles of American TV dramas to some extent according to the target people's acceptance ability and expectation horizon. (Long juan & Tang Bo, 63-65) 5:In 1930s, the western world knew very little about Chinese culture at that time, and most people thought that China was a savage and backward nation. The Chinese people in Westerners' minds were ignorant, superficial and vulgar. Facing the misunderstanding and discrimination of Westerners towards China, Lin Yutang tried to show the western world the true philosophy of life and attitude of Chinese people by translating “浮生六记” which told the story of a Chinese couple's quiet and simple life. He adopted the translation strategy of combining domestication and foreignization, which made the translated works not only retain the characteristics of Chinese culture, but also be easily understood and accepted by western readers. Original text: 彼非作《琵琶行》者耶? English translation: Isn’t he the one who wrote the poem on The Pi Pa Player? Here, Lin Yutang translated "琵琶行" into "The Pi Pa Player" rather than "lute" and other forms that were easy for western readers to understand. He adopted the translation strategy of alienation and retained Chinese cultural characteristics, with the aim of making Chinese culture go abroad and giving western readers a certain understanding of traditional Chinese culture. In order to make the target readers better understand and accept and spread the translated version smoothly, Lin Yutang adhered to the translation criteria of "faithfulness, fluency and beauty" and adjusted the original text to a certain extent. Original text: 桥南有莲心寺。寺中突起喇嘛白塔,金顶缨络,高矗云霄,殿角红墙,松柏掩映,钟磬时闻;此天下园亭所未有者。 English translation: On the south of the bridge there was the Lotus-Seed Temple, with a Tibetan pagoda rising straight up from its midst and its golden dome rising into the clouds, with the terracotta walls and temple roofs nestling under the kind shade of pine-trees and cypresses and the sounds of temple bells and ch’ing [musical stone] coming to the traveler’s ears intermittently——all combining to achieve a unique effect that could not be duplicated in any other pleasure garden of the world. The original text described the beautiful scenery of Lianxin Temple in concise language. Lin Yutang combined the two sentences of the original text into a long sentence, forming a compact and clear structure, which vividly presented the scene of Lianxin Temple to western readers. This beautiful sight of China can bring unique aesthetic feeling to western readers, realize the function of literature, and conform to the mainstream poetics at that time. Sponsors not only have a profound influence on the publication of translated works, but also have an inseparable connection with translators' selection of translation materials. For Lin Yutang's translation of “浮生六记”, the monthly magazine Tianxia and the couple Pearl Buck are influential patrons. (Zhang Baiye & Hu Yajie, 105-108) 6:In the Chinese translation of Peter Pan, Yang Jingyuan chooses the combination of written language and spoken English in Beijing, and downplays the indecent language in the original text. The choice of this language translation strategy must be determined by his ideology. In the original text, the topic of "mother" appears in many occasions, such as storytelling and character dialogue, and Yang Jingyuan translates it into written language "母亲" in most occasions. "Twins" in the original text is translated by Yang as "孪生子" in written language. Yang Jingyuan tends to use the northern dialect to translate, which is reflected in her translation sequence: when it comes to children's pleasure in never having a hometown, "他们不用上学读那些劳什子的书" "Sweater" is translated as "线衣" and "frock" is translated as "罩褂". "劳什子", "线衣" and "罩褂" are typical northern dialects. In the story, the fairy Ding Keling has a pet phrase "You silly ass", which Yang translated as "你这笨蛋". The severely abusive language in the original text is treated as generally critical language in the translated text. Yang Jingyuan was born into a scholarly family and received higher education. Therefore, when she translated words, she intentionally or unintentionally chose the combination of written language and spoken English in Beijing, and downplayed the indecent language in the original text. Therefore, the translator's ideology really controls her translation process. Yang Jingyuan definitely affirms Peter Pan's literary value and aesthetic value in the translation sequence. Under the control of this poetics, the translator builds a bridge of fantasy with exquisite and beautiful language in his translation, and poetry is perfectly reflected. The original story happened in Neverland, and Yang Jingyuan translated it as "永无乡". This translation method accurately grasps the spirit of the original work-although this place is good, it is the other side that can never be reached in reality, and the depth of melancholy and helplessness are expressed incisively and vividly. The following examples more fully reflect the manipulation of the original text by the poetics of the target language Original text: when children died he went part of the way with them. Translated text: 孩子们死了, 在黄泉 Original text: she used to say afterwards to her husband. Translated text: 她老是对丈夫说这些事后诸葛亮的话。 The translator deliberately chooses the words "黄泉" and "事后诸葛亮" in a way of additional translation, which are unique in Chinese culture. The manipulation of the target text by the poetics of the target language culture can be seen. Yang Jingyuan was suffering from severe cataract at that time. It was difficult for her to read and write. In order to relieve her distress, her husband helped her translate the book. After reading Peter Pan, Fan Yong especially appreciated it and published it. It can be seen that Peter Pan was originally a spontaneous academic behavior of Yang Jingyuan. The initial sponsor was her lover, and later Fan Yong, general manager of Sanlian Bookstore, so the publishing house was also one of the sponsors. Together, they contributed to the publication of this book. (Xie Chengfeng, 179-181) 7:Zhu Shenghao translated King Lear in 1942. At that time, China was economically backward and politically turbulent. "Saving the country and the people" and "national liberation in an all-round way" became the mainstream ideology of the society at that time. When it was learned that Japanese translator laughed at the backwardness of Chinese culture, which was a barren place without Shakespeare's complete works, Zhu's patriotic enthusiasm was thoroughly aroused. In order to make the people with low education level understand this western classic better, he paid special attention to the harmony of phonology and the smoothness of the whole article in the process of translation. Meanwhile, he wanted to keep the verve of the original as far as possible. Therefore, he mainly adopts domestication. (Act II, Scene IV) Lear: No, rather I abjure all roofs, and choose To wage against the enmity o’the air; To be a comrade with the wolf and owl, Necessity’s sharp pinch! (Shakespeare, 1972) Zhu’s translation: 不, 我宁愿什么屋子也不要住, 过着风餐露宿的生活, 和无情的大自然抗争, 和豺狼鸱鸮做伴侣, 忍受一切饥寒的痛苦! Zhu Shenghao is inspired by national honor and disgrace. His three parallelism sentences are full of momentum, like flowing water. Words such as "风餐露宿" and "无情的大自然" also pour out his inner anger and patriotic enthusiasm for the domestic status. With the rise of the New Culture Movement in China in the 1930s, foreign literature and ideas were constantly introduced by translation. The creation of vernacular Chinese was valued and welcomed. With the principle of letting the general public enjoy Shakespeare's plays, he adopted a more colloquial prose style as the main translation style. (Act I, Scene I) Cordelia: But yet, alas! stood I within his grace, I would prefer him to a better place. So farewell to you both. (Shakespeare, 1972) Zhu’s translation: 考狄利娅:可是, 唉!要是我没有失去他的欢心, 我一定不让他依赖你们的照顾。再会了, 两位姊姊。 Zhu Shenghao abandoned the framework of the original text and translated its meaning directly in the form of easy-to-understand prose, reflecting his preference for more colloquial prose translation. Zhan Wenxu and Zhu Shenghao worked together in the World Publishing House for many years, and Zhan quite appreciated Zhu's literary talent and translation level. Later, Zhan was appointed editor-in-chief of the World Publishing House. He suggested that Zhu Shenghao translate Shakespeare's works, which coincided with Zhu's own ideas. So Zhu signed a contract with the World Publishing House in 1935 and started the process of translating Shakespeare. So Zhan helped Zhu a lot in the road of translation. (Zhou Ya, 176-178)

Conclusion

Lefevere's manipulation theory has a wide influence in the translation field, holding that translation is a creative process, and the translator will inevitably be influenced by the culture of the target language, and emphasizes three major elements: ideology, poetics and patron. Leffert emphasized the translator's position and role in literary translation, and pointed out that the translator's subjectivity is extremely complex, and its exertion is restricted by subjective and objective factors such as ideology and custom system. Ideology can be divided into mainstream social ideology and translator's personal ideology. Its influence on translation is everywhere, and the translator's thoughts, viewpoints, writing style and even his surroundings will be manipulated by invisible ideology. In the process of translation, the intended readers and clients in the translator's mind come from the target language system, and the translator himself is immersed in the culture of the target language system. Therefore, the mainstream poetic form of the target language system and the popular literary view at that time are largely used in the whole process of translation literature creation. Sponsors have a certain status and can provide remuneration and other help to translators. They can restrict the translation norms and decide the publication of translated works, and even decide the translator's translation goals and strategies and the acceptance of translated works.

Bibliography

Roger T.Bell’s Special Outlook on Translation Studies 陈江宁 Chen Jiangning

A Brief Introduction to the Translation Theories of Catford and Eugene Nida 杨晨婷 Yang Chenting

On the Differences of Nida's and Newmark's Theory

康灵凤 Kang Lingfeng

摘要

尤金·奈达和彼得·纽马克是西方著名的翻译家和翻译理论家，经过多年的翻译实践，他们各自提出了一套自己的翻译理论系统。奈达提出了翻译功能对等理论。彼得·纽马克提出了语义翻译和交际翻译的概念。两人处于同一时代背景，他们的翻译理论不可避免的有相似之处，但是两人的翻译理论也有不同，本文将对比两者的翻译理论，着重分析奈达和纽马克两人翻译理论的差别。

关键词

功能对等；语义翻译；交际翻译

Abstract

Eugene A. Nida and Peter Newmark are noteable translators and translation theorists in the western world. They respectively ever proposed a set of tanslation theory system after many years of translation practice. Nida put forward functional equivalence theory. Their translation theories inevitably have some similarities in that they are under the same social background. This thesis will compare translation theories of them, and analyze the differences between Nida’s and Newmark’s translation theories. I hope to provide useful references for translation colleagues.

Eugene A. Nida and Peter Newmark are noteable translators and translation theorists in the western world. They respectively each proposed a translation theory system after many years of translation practice. Nida put forward the 'functional equivalence theory'. Their translation theories inevitably have some similarities in that they were created under the same social background. This chapter will compare their translation theories, and analyze the differences between Nida’s and Newmark’s translation theories.--Root (talk) 10:12, 23 November 2020 (UTC)

Key Words

Functional equivalence; semantic translation; communicative translation

Chapter 1 Introduction of Nida’s and Newmark’s Translation Theories

Nida worked for translation department of American Bible Society and organized Bible translation, and drew some conclusions when translating Bible. According to these experiences, he published Toward a Science of Translating in 1964, The Theory and Practice of Translation in 1969, etc. His translation theory and the phrase-dynamic equivalence was first introduced in the former book with many examples about Bible translation. Peter Newmark and Eugene A. Nida are the same century and Newmark is two years younger than Nida. But Newmark’s translation theory appears 20 years later than Nida’s. Since 1974, Newmark has begun to teach students translation theories in the university and try to write passages about translation problems. It is said that Newmark’s ideas are from his classes. His first works-Approaches to Translation was published in 1981, which gained widespread praise immediately. Semantic translation and communicative translation were put forward in this book.

1.1 Introduction of Nida’s Translation Theory

1.2 Introduction of Newmark’s Translation Theory

Chapter 2 About Research Methods of Translation

Chapter 3 About Translation

3.1 About Content and Form in Translation

3.2 About Degree of Emphasis on the text

Chapter Four About Translation Evaluation Criteria

Conclusion

References

Impacts of Western Translation Theories on The Translator’s Guide to Chinglish 赵茜 Zhao Xi

Chinese Translation Theories

A breif introduction to Xu Yuanchong's translation theories 杨逸 Yang Yi

Abstract

Xu Yuanchong has been engaged in literary translation for more than 60 years and has published more than 120 translated works in Chinese, English or French at home and abroad, almost half of his works focus on the translation of ancient Chinese poems. He was honored as "the best one who translate poems from Chinese to English and French " and was presented with "Aurora Borealis" Outstanding Literary Translation Award. So this paper will be divided in three parts, based principally on his poetry translations, to introduce briefly Xu Yuanchong’s translation theories : his principle of three beauties, his principle of three transformations and his principle of three purposes.

Key words

Xu Yuanchong ; principle of three beauties ; principle of three transformations ; principle of three purposes

摘要

许渊冲从事文学翻译工作超过六十年，已经在国内外出版中、英、法文著作一百二十多部。这其中中国古代诗词几乎占到了一半。他被誉为“诗译英法唯一人”，曾获“北极光”杰出文学翻译奖，是首位获此殊荣亚洲翻译家。因此本论文主要将分为三部分，结合他的诗歌译本来浅析他的翻译理论：“三美论”,“三化论”和“三之论”。

关键词

许渊冲；三美论；三化论；三之论

Introduction

Chapter 1 principle of three beauties

Chapter 2 principle of three transformations

Chapter 2 principle of three purposes

Conclusion

Bibliography

Ji Xianlin’s view on translation 马淑雅 Ma Shuya

Translation Thoughts and Theories in China 雷方圆 Lei Fangyuan

Comparison between the History of Chinese and western Translation 张佩闻 Zhang Peiwen

Reflections of Translation Theory Books 李丽琴 Li Liqin

A Brief Introduction to Lu Xun's Translation Theories 张瑜 Zhang Yu

Abstract

Lu Xun, as China’s renowned writer, thinker and one of founders of Chinese modern literature, has left a great amount of precious spiritual wealth. His representative works include Outcry, A Madman's Diary, Dawn Blossoms Plucked at Dusk, Wild Grass and so on, which are the bright pearls of Chinese literature. We have a general understanding of him when he served as a writer. In fact, as a translator, Lu Xun has also left profound translation works for generations including translations of literature and theory works. Even seeing from the time line, the records of his translation activities were far prior to his literary creation. His earliest novel, Nostalgia, was finished in 1911, while his earliest translation, Mournful World, as finished in 1903. In the process of translating different works, Lu Xun gradually formed his own translation theory. Therefore, learning more about his translation theory is conducive to comprehensively recognizing him. This paper mainly introduces Lu Xun's translation theory as well as its formation and development.The purpose is that make everyone have a more profound understanding to Lu Xun's theory.

Key Words

Lu Xun, Translation Theory, Literal Translation, Hard Translation,

摘要

鲁迅作为我国著名的文学家、思想家、中国现代文学的奠基人之一，给我们留下了一大批宝贵的精神财富，如他的代表作品《呐喊》、《狂人日记》、《朝花夕拾》、《野草》等，都是我国文学宝库中璀璨的明珠。而我们对他的了解可能始于他的作家身份，但事实上，作为翻译家的鲁迅也给后人留下了内容丰富的翻译作品，其中包括文学作品翻译和理论著作翻译。甚至从时间上来看，他从事翻译活动要远远早于文学创作活动，鲁迅最早的小说《怀旧》创作于1911年，而他最早的译文《哀尘》则完成于1903年。鲁迅在从事翻译活动的过程中，逐渐形成了自己的翻译思想，所以了解鲁迅的翻译思想有助于我们更加全面地了解鲁迅。本章回将主要介绍鲁迅的翻译思想及其形成与发展,以此让大家对鲁迅的翻译思想有一个更深刻的了解。

关键词

鲁迅，翻译思想，直译，硬译，宁信不顺

1.Introduction

It is estimated that Lu Xun translated 144 pieces of works of 110 writers from 15 countries and regions in his whole lifetime (Xu Lan, 2017:447). Meanwhile, Lu Xun was engaged in translating foreign literary works from 1903 to 1936, which lasted a long period. Therefore, his identity serving as a translator cannot be neglected. In fact, in the process of undertaking translation, Lu Xun has made great contributions to the Chinese translation history, such as coming up with a series of translation theory. This paper intends to introduce Lu Xun’s translation theory, including his purpose of translation, literal translation and hard translation, the speech and syntax of translation, retranslation and translation criticism. Then it discusses the formation and development of Lu Xun’s translation theories, such as the translation methods developing from free translation to literal translation and even hard translation.

2.Lu Xun's Translation Theories

2.1 Purpose of Translation

From 1903 to 1936, the works and articles translated by Lu Xun can be divided in two categories. One includes scientific literary theories and revolutionary literary works; another includes other articles and works different from the first one. However, the purposes that he translated the two categories of works are different.

For the first category, he hoped that these translation works were able to service for the revolution and serve as the “guide of future revolutions”. In the Hard translation and Hierarchy of Literature published in 1930, Lu Xun responded that it worked for me, for some who claimed proletarian literary critics, and for some readers who were willing to learn more about the theory in spite of having difficulties. From the remarks of Lu Xun, we can see that these works translated by him aimed at not only improving and introspecting himself, but also helping those literature workers who stand with him. In his essays, he usually compared the importance of translation to the Greek mythology that the hero Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to earthly mortals. In his point of view, he believed that these scientific literary theories and revolutionary literary works were able to bring “fire and light” for people. For example, the purpose of translating the Russian work, Destruction (written by A. Fadeyev, translated by Lu Xun) was to introduce steel-willed characters and struggles without fear of sacrifice, encourage Chinese people to engage themselves in revolutionizing the old society, and provide references for Chinese revolutionary writers to create more inspiring works.

For the second category, Lu Xun hoped that these translation works were able to provide reference materials for people. In the preface of his translation, Ideology, Landscape, Figure, he mentioned that “my translation and introduction aim at making part of readers learn the existence of these things, persons, ideology and remarks…Therefore, if I believe that it’s useful and beneficial, I would attempt to translate it.” For example, he claimed that young people could read some books about imperialists to know more about the foreign countries. There is an old saying that “know the enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles with no danger of defeat”.

2.2 Free Translation and Hard Translation

2.3 The Speech and Syntax of Translation

2.4 Retranslation

2.5 Translation Criticism

3.The Formation and Development of Lu Xun's Translation Theories

4.The Application of Lu Xun's Translation Theories

5.Conclusion

Bibliography

• 陈福康.中国译学理论史稿（修订本）[M]. 上海：上海外语教育出版社，2000年.
• 顾钧.鲁迅翻译研究[M].福建：福建教育出版社，2009年.

Japanese and English--Contrastive analysis and Linguistic typology 谢子熠 Xie Ziyi

A Brief Introduction to Eco-translatology Theory 刘怡瑜 Liu Yiyu

Translation Theories

A study on a History of Translation Theory 李梦 Li Meng

A Comparative Study of Translation Theory between Bell and Liu Zhongde 林鑫 Lin Xin

A Comparative Study of Nida's Theory and Jin Di's Theory 罗维嘉 Luo Weijia

摘要

关键字

Abstract

key words

Jin Di's Translation Theory of Equivalent Effect

Nida's Translation Theory of Dynamic Equivalence

Difference Between Jin's Theory and Nida's Theory

Conclusion

Bibliography

Translation , Translating and interpreting 漆凯 Qi Kai

A Brief Introduction to Chinese Translation Theories Around the Turn of 20th Century 郭露 Guo Lu

Abstract

In this chapter, I define theory as a group of ideas meant to explain a certain topic, and translation theory comes from, explains and in turn guides translation practice. The relationship between translation theory and translation practice ideally could be that of interacting, mutual constructing, complementing and enhancing each other. Besides that, translation theory may help a translator to open his or her horizon, enriching his or her knowledge, enhancing his or her skills, and finally promoting him or her to a master. Therefore, this chapter gives a brief introduction of translation theories and helps translators to learn more about them.

Key Words

Translation theory, Chinese translation theories, Western translation theories

摘要

理论旨在对某一话题进行解释，翻译理论来源于翻译实践，同时又对翻译实践进行了阐述，并反过来指导实践的发展。翻译理论和实践之间的关系在于两者之间相互关联、相互补充和完善。除此之外，翻译理论还能帮助译者拓宽视野，丰富译者的理论知识和技能，有利于译者在翻译这一领域更好的发展。因此，本文对各翻译理论进行简要介绍，以帮助译者更好的了解主流翻译理论。

关键字

翻译理论；中国翻译理论；西方翻译理论

Chinese Translation Theories

1.1 Buddhist Scripture Translation Theory

1.2 Chinese Translation Theories Around the Turn of the 20th Century

1.3 Chinese Translation Theories in the 20th Century

Early Western Translation Theories

2.1 Translation History of the West in Ancient Times

2.2 Early Bible Translation

2.3 Translation in the Early Middle Ages

2.4 Translation Theories in the Renaissance Period

2.5 Translation in Early Modern Europe

Modern Western Translation Theories

3.1 The Structuralist School

3.2 The linguistic School of Translation Studies

3.3 The School of Communicative Translation

3.4 Functional Theories of Translation

Conclusion

References

The Influence of Cultural Differences on Translation Methods 张宇星 Zhang Yuxing

Comparison of Translation Theories

Comparison Of Translation Theory Between Yan Fu And Tytler 陈涵 Chen Han

Abstract

Yan Fu and Tytler are outstanding translators in the history of Chinese and Western translation respectively. Tytler’s “Three Principles of Translation” and Yan Fu’s “Faithfulness, Expressiveness and Elegance” are one of the most important translation theories. It is believed that the two theories have a broad and profound impact on Chinese and Western translation theories and practices. Although they lived in different times, their theories were quite similar which aroused much controversy. This paper will expound “Three Principles of Translation” and “Faithfulness, Expressiveness and Elegance” and focus on the similarities and differences between these two theories in terms of content, theoretical basis and culture. It aims to figure out the relationship between the two theories, better apply translation theory to translation practice, and advocate us to view Chinese and Western translation theories from a dialectical perspective, thus making Translation Studies become more systematic and scientific.

Key words

Faithfulness, Expressiveness and Elegance; Three Principles of Translation; Yan Fu; Tytler

摘要

严复与泰特勒分别是中西方翻译史上的杰出翻译家。严复的“信达雅” 与泰特勒的“翻译三原则”分别是中西翻译史上最重要的翻译理论之一，对翻译理论与实践方面有着广泛深刻的影响。严复与泰特勒二人虽处于不同的时代，但他们的翻译理论却十分相似，从而引起许多争议。本文将系统阐述二人的翻译理论，从这两种理论的内涵、文化背景和理论基础等方面比较二者的相似点和不同点。这种做法有助于理清两个理论之间的关系，更好的将翻译理论应用于翻译实践，并主张我们辩证看待中西方翻译理论，从而使翻译研究更具有系统性与科学性。

关键词

信达雅；翻译三原则；严复；泰特勒

Introduction

In the history of translation, many outstanding scholars and translators have emerged both in China and in the West. They have never stopped discussing translation, and most of them have systematically summarized translation standards. In ancient China, many translation thoughts and translation theories emerged, including Shi Daoan’s “Five Instances of Losing the Source and Three Instances of Difficulties” and Xuan Zang’s “Five Guidelines for Not-Translation a Term” (Zhang Peiyao, 2014). Later, Yan Fu’s “Faithfulness, Expressiveness and Elegance” and Qian Zhongshu’s “Sublimation” theory appeared successively. Prominent representatives of Western translation theory include five elements of translation put forward by a French linguist Etienne Dolet in the 16th century, seven rules of translation put forward by a German translation theorist Martin Luther, three principles of translation by a British translation theorist Tytler in the 18th century, semantic translation and communicative translation of Newmark in the 20th century, and the dynamic equivalence of Nida.

In this process, Chinese and Western translation theories have been developing independently in a relatively isolated state. It was not until about the beginning of the 20th century that initial exchanges and dialogues began. Translation standards are the core issue of translation theory and practice. At the beginning of the exchange, the translators were concerned about it. At the end of the 18th century, Tytler proposed three basic principles for translation and evaluation of translation, which had a great impact on later translation theorists. More than 100 years later, Yan Fu’s translation standard of “Faithfulness, Expressiveness and Elegance” was put forward. This chapter will discuss two representative translation theories from China and the West—Yan Fu’s “Faithfulness, Expressiveness and Elegance” and Tytler’s Three Principles of Translation, and analyze the two theories from the historical and cultural background and their theoretical basis of. Through comparison, we can grasp the similarities and differences between the two theories, so as to contribute to translation studies and guide future translation practices.

An Overview of the Two Theories

Yan Fu’s “Faithfulness, Expressiveness and Elegance” and Tytler’s Three Principles of Translation have had a profound impact on the history of translation at home and abroad. If we compare and analyze the two theories, we must first correctly understand the connotation of each theory.

1.Yan Fu’s Translation Principles of Faithfulness, Expressiveness and Elegance

Yan Fu was a Chinese scholar and translator, most famous for introducing western ideas. His three translation principles—faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance first made its appearance in Yan’s preface to his own translation of T. H. Huxley’s Evolution and Ethics (1898):

“Translation involves three requirements difficult to fulfill: faithfulness (xin), expressiveness (da) and elegance (ya). Faithfulness is difficult to attain but a translation that is faithful but not expressive, or fluent, is no translation at all. Expressiveness is therefore of prime importance. Since China’s opening to foreign trade by sea, there has been no lack of interpreters and translators. But if you assign them any book to translate and tell them to meet these two requirements, few can do so.” (Yan Fu, 2009: 202)

In his words, the three principles indicate that the translator should be faithful in conveying the message of the original text, fluent in the expression in the target language and elegance in style. Faithfulness emphasizes the fidelity to the original. Yan believes that the translator cannot begin his work until he has mastered the connotation of the original text. Expressiveness stresses the fluency and acceptability of the translation. As for elegance, Yan holds that dictation without elegance cannot reach far. So far, elegance has led some discussions in the study of translation.

Based on his understanding of ancient Buddhist Scriptures translation and his own translation practices, Yan Fu put forward “faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance” which has become the fundamental tenets of 20th Chinese translation theory.

2 Tytler’s Three Principles of Translation

Alexander Fraser Tytler is an eminent British translation theorist. In 1790, he proposed three principles of good translation in his book, Essay on the Principles of Translation. When it comes to a good translation, he described that the merit of the original work is so completely transfused into another language, as to be as distinctly apprehended, and as strongly felt by a native of the country to which that language belongs, as it is by those who speak the language of the original work. (Tytler, 2007: 8-9)

According to his description of good translation, it can be easily seen that Tytler has attached great importance to mastery of ideas in the original texts. Therefore, he put forward three principles on the basis of good translation: (1) That the Translation should give a complete transcript of the ideas of the original work; (2) That the style and manner of writing should be of the same character with that of the original; (3) That the Translation should have all the ease of original. (Tytler, 2007: 9) From Tytler’s point of view, the order of these three principles is appropriate and natural, and it is arranged by importance. If translating a text, one cannot pursue the smoothness and elegance at the cost of ignoring the ideas in the source language.

The appearance of Tytler’s Three Principles of Translation laid a good foundation for Western translation studies. And it created a research method of induction through theory.

The Social and Theoretical Background of the Two Theories

Similarities and Differences Between the Two Theories

Comparison of Eileen Chang’s Self-Translation and Conventional Translation from the Perspective of Gender 纪甜甜 Ji Tiantian

摘要： 张爱玲作为中国女性主义文学的代表人物，在她的创作过程中，女性主义思想、性别意识得到了充分的体现。张爱玲本人除了是一个作家外，也身兼译者的身份，从性别视角研究其自译与他译文本中所采取的翻译策略及其体现出来的性别意识，有助于张爱玲翻译研究的进一步发展，弥补中国翻译史中女性翻译史的欠缺，也有利于性别研究在中国语境下的进一步发展。

关键词： 张爱玲，性别，自译，他译

Abstract: As a representative figure of Chinese feminist literature, Eileen Chang’s feminist thoughts and gender consciousness have been fully reflected in her creation process. Besides, she is not only a writer, but also a translator. Studying her translation strategies in self-translation and conventional translation and exploring the gender consciousness reflected in her process of translation can help to the further development of translation studies of Chang, make up for the lack of translation evaluation of Chinese women and it also conducive to the further development of gender study in the context of China.

Key words: Eileen Chang, gender, self-translation, conventional translation

Introduction

Eileen Chang, as a Chinese well-known female writer in the 20th century, her novels and prose has attracted much attention, so that many scholars focus on her literary creation achievement but ignore her translation, numerous books aiming to introduce the Chinese translation history make no mention of Eileen Chang's identity as a translator. In fact, Eileen Chang should be reckoned with in the translation field in that she has also made significant contributions in translation. Mao Dun has pointed out that “ People who can translate literature books must be someone has talent in creation”, looking through the Chinese history, we can find that there are not so much Chinese writers who can also translate, but Eileen Chang is one of them. She, with her powerful creative talent and bilingual skills, has translated diverse works, including a variety of novels, prose and poems, at the same time, she has also made her contributions in compiling movie scripts. Here, the translations will be talked about are her self-translation of Jin Suo Ji (The Golden Cangue) and conventional translation of The Old Man and The Sea.

Eileen Chang, as a leader of feminist literature in China, the feminism thought profoundly embodied in her literary creation and translation, however, speaking up for women has not limited her exploration of male identity,in the process of depicting the typical characters with different genders, Eileen Chang, as the author or the translator, represents different gender identities.--Ji Tiantian (talk) 12:33, 22 November 2020 (UTC)

Ⅰ Gender and Translation

Since the rise of feminism in the western continent in the 20th century, the topic of gender has always been placed at the core of its theoretical development. Feminist translation theory thought that between women and translation there was some kind of similarity - both of them were placed in the inferior position. So they combined feminism and translation, advocating from the feminist standpoint, using language to create positive intervention to change women’ s weak position in translation, so that it can criticize the traditional translation theories which degrade women and translation to the bottom of the society or literature phenomenon. During this period, the research on the relationship between gender and translation has seen the influence of gender identity on translation, which is a big development. However, the over-emphasis on the opposition between the two sexes has its limitations.

As Sherry Simon has pointed out, “Men can adopt the rules of feminist translation theory, and women can successfully translate men’ s works...Another interesting area for study is how gender identity can be disguised through translation” (1996: 168), that is, gender identity can be disguised during translation, or the identity represented by the translator is not a single fixed one.With the development and innovation of various theories, translation studies from the perspective of gender, when developed into the 1980s, under the influence of post-structuralism theory, its focus has shifted from the over-emphasis on the opposition between men and women to the exploration of meaning and gender fluidity.

This thesis, facing such a change of gender translation studies, aims to study Eileen Chang’ s translations from the perspective of gender liquidity. To some extent, this thesis breaks the status quo that the study on Eileen Chang is onefold about feminism and explores her gender identity transformation in translation to dig out the influences different gender identities make to the translation.

Ⅱ The Gender Identities in Eileen Chang’ s self-translation -- A Case study of the English translation of Jin Suo Ji

As one of the most representative works of Eileen Chang, Jin Suo Ji was once honored as “the greatest novella in the history of Chinese literature” by Xia Zhiqing, while Fu Lei also gave a high evaluation of this work, and he said that it was “one of the most great achievements in our literary world”. In order to perfectly present the culture and thought of the original work, Eileen Chang chose to translate it herself. It took her nearly 10 years to rewrite or self-translate Jin Suo Ji, including four different versions: Pink Tears, The Rouge of The North, Yuan Nv and The Golden Cangue. However, due to the cultural differences between English and Chinese contexts, the English version is far less successful than the Chinese version especially the first two English versions did not receive much attention. It was not until 1971 that her fourth English version was produced and chosen into Twentieth - Century Chinese Stories.

Eileen Chang’ s works overturns the traditional patriarchal discourse, turning to the female as the center of her literature creation, and in her works, the main objects are those ordinary women who live a tragic life. These works fully show her sympathy to the fate of women, and reflect her intense gender consciousness which is also reflected in her translation.

1. Translator’ s female identity used to show the emotional resonance to female characters

In Jin Suo Ji, Ch’ i-ch’ iao is definitely a beautiful and healthy girl. However, due to the economic reasons and family pressure, she has to marry a disabled husband with an ugly appearance. In the face of such a marriage, Ch’ i-ch’ iao’ s sorrow is obvious, and hoping for love, she turns her eyes to Jiang Jize. However, the reality proves to her that Jiang Jize’ s so-called emotion is just a use. Eileen Chang, as a female translator, is full of sympathy for Ch’ i-ch’ iao’ s situation, and this sympathy is fully reflected in her translation.

ST： （七巧的手直打颤，扇柄上的杏黄须子在她额上苏苏摩擦着......）七巧低着头，沐浴在光辉里，细细的音乐，细细的喜悦.....这些年了，她跟他捉迷藏似的，只是近不得身，原来还有今天！

TT： ( Ch’ i-ch’ iao’ s hands trembled until the yellow tassel on the fan handle rustled against her forehead...) Ch’ i-ch’ iao bowed her head, basking in glory, in the soft music of his voice and the delicate pleasure of this occasion. So many years now, she had been playing hide-and-seek with him and never could get close, and there had still been a day like this in store for her.

Comparing the source text with the target text, it can be found that Eileen Chang made three main additions here: “of his voice”, “of this occasion” and “in store” to explicate the implied information in the source text, which more powerfully revealed Ch’ i-ch’ iao’ s strong feelings of love and uneasiness for Jiang Jize all the time. From then on, It can be seen that Qiqiao once placed her hope in Jiang Jize for love. However, from the description in the following text, we can find that for Jiang Jize, the affection with Ch’ i-ch’ iao is just for regulating his life. Eileen Chang clarified Ch’ i-ch’ iao’ s emotion in the translation and revealed Jiang Jize’ s so-called emotion in the later text, which could show the tragic color of Ch’ i-ch’ iao to express the translator’ s sympathy for the character.

2. The Translator’ s Male Identity Used to Show the Passive Position of Women

In Jin Suo Ji, the author used a large number of metaphors and suggestive words to describe the traditional women’ s survival condition. In order to more intuitively present such a state to the readers, Eileen Chang tried her best to translate from the male identity, which to a certain extent derogates the female consciousness of the text, to show the passive and helpless of female characters under a specific era background.

ST： 娟姑娘扶了正，做了芝寿的替身。

TT： Miss Chuan was made a wife and became Chih-shou’ s substitute.

The source text describes that after the death of Ch’ i-ch’ iao’ s daughter-in-law Chih-shou, Chuan, as a concubine of Ch’ ang - pai, was supported as his wife. The expression of “扶了正” is full of metaphorical color, “正” is a metaphor for the official wife, and “扶” indicates that Chuan is a passive object controlled by the feudal family. In the translation, Eileen Chang used the passive voice to translate “扶了正” into “was made a wife” to convey the manipulated situation implied in the source text. In addition, here Chang uses the article “a” instead of “the”, just as there will be others to take the place of Chih-shou after her death, the position of the official wife is also low in the feudal family.

Another typical example in which the translator expressed herself as a male to show the passive position of the female is reflected in the translation of Ch’ ang-an and Ch’ ang - pai’ s separation scene:

ST： 长安和长白分了家搬出来住。

TT： Ch’ ang-an got her share of property from Ch’ ang - pai and moved out of the house.

The original describes the scene in which Ch’ ang-an and Ch’ ang - pai split up after Ch’ i-ch’ iao’ s death. Here “分家” is a phrase with metaphorical color, instead of translating it directly into “divide the property”, Eileen Chang, from the perspective of male identity, conceals the hidden information of the original in the translation. She translates the sentence “长安和长白分了家” into “Ch’ ang-an got her share of property from Ch’ ang-pai”, which reveals the fact that in the feudal familyof China, men had the right to inherit the family while women were subordinated.

3. The translator reveals the reality objectively under the disguise of gender identity

In the process of translation, Eileen Chang not only used the identity of male or female to flexibly express the meaning of the original text, but also appropriately concealed her gender identity in some situations to reveal the reality of all characters including both sexes.

ST： （去年她戴了丈夫的孝，今年婆婆又过世了。）现在正式挽了叔公九老太爷出来为他们分家。 TT： （Last year, she wore mournings for her husband and this year, her mother - in - law had passed away.）Now her husband’ s uncle, Ninth Old Master, was formerly invited to come and divide the property among the survivors.

The source text shows us that after the death of the old woman in power of Jiang Mansion, a group of men and women gathered to separate their families.In the translation of the text, Eileen Chang did not make too many adjustments, but only abstracted the word “他们” which indicates “them” into “survivors”, a word with multiple meanings.Firstly, the survivors were indeed “alive” relative to the old woman who died, so the “survivors” conveyed the meaning of the original text. Secondly, to some extent, in Eileen Chang’ s eyes, both men and women were struggling in the mud in this turbulent era shrouded by feudal ideology, “everyone is a survivor of suffering”. Therefore, she used the word “survivors” to reveal the abuses of the era and sigh over life.

Due to the work itself has strong female consciousness, therefore, as a translator, Eileen Chang inevitably translates from female perspective most of the time, but this does not mean that female translators do not have the male consciousness, from the second case, we can see that the identity of the translator can be transformed. In addition, the fluidity of the translator's gender identity is not only reflected in Eileen Chang's translation of female texts, but also reflected in her translation of male texts.

Ⅲ. Eileen Chang’ s Gender Identity in her conventional translation -- Taking the Chinese translation of The Old Man and the Sea as an example

The Old Man and the Sea is an outstanding masterpiece of the famous American writer Ernest Miller Hemingway. It was published in 1952 and won the Pulitzer Prize in the second year. In 1954, Hemingway won the Nobel Prize of Literature by virtue of this work. Eileen Chang left Shanghai and arrived in Hong Kong in 1952, just after the publication of The Old Man and the Sea. Invited by the press Office of the U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong, Eileen Chang began to participate in a large-scale Chinese-translation project of American literary works, including The Old Man and the Sea.

When it comes to The Old Man and the Sea, in the prologue of its Chinese version, Eileen Chang expressed her affection of this work many times and different from the self-translation in which she has taken a bold rewriting, in the translation of The Old Man and the Sea, Eileen Chang was more faithful to the original, and only presented her subjectivity in the choice of the gender identity. Eileen Chang expressed her understanding of the gender of the source text in the prologue, and then creatively translated the gender-loaded words in the text accordingly.

1. The Translator’ s Female Identity Used to Deepen the Work’ s Emotion

It is undeniable that female translators depict emotions more deeply and delicately than male translators. Therefore, in the process of translating The Old Man and the Sea, Eileen Chang, as a female herself, is particularly adept in showing the emotional characteristics of Sandiego. “...In her translations, she uses rephrasing, color words and onomatopoeia words which are full of feminine characteristics. Those words hint about her feminist thoughts and subtly reveal her identity as a female translator.” (Mao Pingping, 2018)

ST： “Come on.” the old man said aloud. “Make another turn. Just smell them. Aren’ t they lovely? Eat them good now and there is the tuna. Hard and cold and lovely.”

TT： “再兜一个圈子。你闻闻看。这沙丁鱼可爱不可爱?好好地吃它们吧，不时还可以吃吃那鳍鱼。硬硬的，冷的，可爱的。”

Here Eileen Chang uses a number of reduplicated words “闻闻”, “可爱不可爱”, “好好地”, “吃吃” and “硬硬的” to translate the dialogue between the old man and the fish, or in other words, the old man’ s self-talk to soften the whole image of Sandiac and also show his loneliness.

2. The translator concealed gender identity to break the arbitrary male discourse

As a work of men power, the word “man” can be found throughout the whole novel, and translation of this word has mainly two kinds of different ways, one is to follow the novel emotional qualitative, translating it into “男子汉” or some words having the similar meaning, and this way is often taken by many male translators. The second way is to expand the scope of objects, translating it into “人” or “人类” which includes both men and women. To some extent, this way blurs gender identity or conceals gender identity to achieve gender balance in the meaning. Eileen Chang adopted the second method in her translation:

ST: It is what a man must do．

TT: 男子汉就应该这样。(海观译) 男子汉就该这么干。(吴劳译) 活总是要干的。(张爱玲译)

Wu Lao and Hai Guan both translated “man” into the concept of “male”, while Eileen Chang avoided using such words in translation. Here she translated the original text into a sentence pattern without subject, omitted the subject with gender description, and in fact blurred the gender boundary of the words, thus breaking the arbitrary power of male discourse.

3. The translator’ s male identity used to recognize the limitation of male power

For the translation of “man”, Eileen Chang also adopted another translation method:

ST： “But man is not made for defeat,” he said. “A man can be destroyed but not defeated.”

TT： “但是人不是为失败而生的，”他说。“一个男子汉可以被消灭，但是不能被打败。”（张爱玲译） “可是一个人并不是生来要给打败的，”他说。“你尽可把他消灭掉，可就是打不败他。”（海观译） “不过人不是为失败而生的，”他说。“一个人可以被毁灭，但不能给打败。”（吴劳译）

Here, contrary to the previous example, Hai Guan and Wu Lao translated “man” into “人”, while Eileen Chang translated “man” into “男子汉”which means male, pointing out that “a male can be destroyed”. Compared with Hai and Wu's translation, Chang’ s translation, though excluding the female crowd, emphasizes the limitation of male power. Eileen Chang's translation is very characteristic. By taking advantage of different gender identities to give play to her translator's subjectivity, Eileen Chang transformed the image of Santiago, a tough man who fought bravely against nature created by Ernest Hemingway in the original text, into the image of a fisherman, a symbol of gender equality and a representative of all mankind.

Through the self-translation and conventional translation of Eileen Chang, we can see that the gender identity of the translator is not unchangeable, either in the feminist text (Jin Suo Ji) or in the text expressing the male discourse power (The Old Man and the Sea). The translator can adjust his/her gender identity to represent different genders and thus achieve his/her translation purpose.

Ⅳ. Reasons for the change of gender identity in Eileen Chang’ s Self-translation and conventional translation

1. The influence of cultural context on the transformation of translator's gender identity

Malinowski, a Polish anthropologist, first put forward the concept of “context” and he divided context into cultural context and situational context. Here the author mainly expounds the influence of the cultural context on the transformation of the translator’ s gender identity in the two literary works Jin Suo Ji and The Old Man and the Sea. “The literary creation of any country or region cannot be separated from the rendering of the corresponding cultural context...A good translation cannot be achieved without a profound understanding of the context of the text.” (Xi Peihua, 2017)

The creation context of Jin Suo ji is different from that of The Old Man and the Sea, and the social background of the readers of the target language and the source language is also different, which all affect the choice of the translator’ s gender identity.For example, Eileen Chang’ s work Jin Suo Ji reflects the difficult survival of Chinese women in the feudal family under the background of the 20th century. The original text uses many metaphors and suggestive words to describe the traditional women’ s survival, and it’ s not difficult for the source language readers who are in the same social background to understand the indicating meaning of those words, however, when the text is take into a different context while the text content is presented in the same way, it is not easy for the target language readers to understand, just as the expression “分家” in the sentence “长安和长白分了家搬出来住” has not only the surface meaning of “separation” but the implied cultural meaning that “Ch’ ang-an got her share of property from Ch’ ang-pai” which is the hidden information the target language readers won’ t get if the translator did not take appropriate measures to make up for the difference of context.Therefore, in her translation process, Eileen Chang clarifies the cultural characteristics of the source language through the transformation of gender identity.

2. The gender of the translator and the purpose of translation

As a female translator, Eileen Chang’ s female thought is inevitably reflected in her process of translation. And in addition to some potential unconscious female thinking, it is believed that Eileen Chang's adoption of different gender identities is more consciously chosen according to her translation purpose. For example, in the translation of Jin Suo Ji, Eileen Chang translated from the perspective of her own or the gender identity of the opposite sex, with the ultimate purpose of expressing the struggle and survival of the female characters in the patriarchal society and expressing her lament for that era.

On the other hand, in The Old Man and the Sea, Eileen Chang expressed her different understanding of this work in her translation preface: “The old fisherman showed astonishing perseverance in his struggle with the sea -- not superhuman, but a kind of grace and spirit due to all human beings.”Therefore, Eileen Chang, based on her understanding of the work, attempts to abstract the image of “old fisherman” into all mankind through her translation, and either from a female identity perspective, from a male perspective or conceal her gender identity in her translation the purpose is to soft the male discourse in the original text.

Conclusion:

Through this comparative study on Eileen Chang’ s self-translation and conventional translation, we can see that Eileen Chang, as a female translator, can not only translate feminine literature from a female perspective, but translate male literature from heterosexual gender perspective. On the other hand, in the same literary work’s translation, her gender identity is not fixed, for example, in translating the female literary, in order to better achieve the purpose of translation, the translator can translate from a male perspective. In a word, this thesis provides the corresponding empirical evidence for the fluidity of translator's gender identity, breaking the current situation that the research on Eileen Chang's translation mainly focuses on her feminism.

参考文献

[1]Chang Eileen, trans. The Golden Cangue. Twentieth-century Chinese Stories[M]. NY: Columbia University Press. 1971.

[2]Simon, Sherry. Gender in Translation: Cultural Identity and the Politics of Transmission[M]. London: Routledge, 1996.

[3]马悦, 穆雷. 译者性别身份流动性 :女性主义翻译研究的新视角[J]. 解放军外国语学院学报. 2010(6): 66-70.

[4]毛萍萍. 张爱玲《老人与海》译作中女性主义的东方色彩[J].大众文艺. 2018：171-173.

[5]欧内斯特· 海明威. 老人与海[M]. 张爱玲译, 香港: 香港今日世界出版社. 1979.

[6]王璟. 性别意识与文学翻译——张爱玲翻译个案研究[J]. 中国外语. 2011(8): 102-106.

[7]王晓莺. 离散译者张爱玲的中英翻译——一个后殖民女性主义的解读[M]. 广州:中山大学出版社. 2015.

[8]席培华. 浅谈语境文化对英美文学翻译的影响[J]. 黑龙江教育学院学报. 2017(10): 121-123.

[9]张爱玲. 金锁记[M]. 上海印书馆. 1955.

Comparison between Nida and Newmark 李丽丽 Li Lili

Abstract Eugene Nida and Peter Newmark are famous representative of the Western linguists. Their translation theories are based on linguistics. Nida put forward the famous "dynamic equivalence" theory and "functional equivalence" theory, which has made outstanding contributions to the translation of the Bible. Newmark devoted himself to teaching, and put forward some famous theories such as semantic translation, communicative translation and relevance translation. Their translation theories have many similarities and differences. This paper will make a systematic comparison from the same and different points, and represent my own views on their advantages and disadvantages.

Keywords: Nida; Newmark; similarities; difference

摘要 尤金·奈达和彼得·纽马克是著名的语言学家。他们的翻译理论建立在语言学的基础上，奈达提出了著名了“动态对等”理论和“功能对等”理论，为翻译《圣经》做出了杰出贡献。纽马克一声致力于教学工作，由此提出了著名的“语义翻译”，“交际翻译”，“关联翻译”等理论。他们的翻译理论有诸多相同之处和不同之处。本论文将从相同以及不同之处来进行系统综合的比较，并就其优缺点提出自己的看法。 关键词：奈达；纽马克；相同；不同

A study on the division of western translation theories 刘柳 Liu Liu

A comparative study on the translation theory of Eugene. A. Nida and J. C. Catford 陈莎 Chen Sha

Comparison of translation theories--a case study of Liu Zhongde's translation theory(faithfulness,expressiveness and closeness) and skopos theory 肖伊宁 Xiao Yining

Comparison of Ezra Pound's and Wen Yiduo's Poetry Translation Principles 徐梦蝶Xu Mengdie

徐梦蝶 Xu Mengdie

Abstract

Ezra Pound is a representative poet and literary critic at the beginning of 20th Century in western literary world. Together with T.S. Eliot and other important literary figures, he started a new trend in poetry creation and study, and at the same period, China was also experiencing an essential transition from old style poetry to free verse written in vernacular language. Inevitably, associations were build between them. Wen Yiduo's poetic theory was thought to be heavily affected by Pound's but growing out of specific cultural and social background, Wen's theory still has his own features to be distinguished from Pound's.Therefore, it's necessary for us to distinguish these two theories so as to better comprehend both of them. This paper aims to analyse the differences and similarities between Ezra Pound's and Wen Yiduo's poetry translation theories from contrasts of their translation principles in rhyme, image and structure.

Key words

Poetry translation; Wen Yiduo; Ezra Pound

摘要

20世纪初,在西方文学世界,埃兹拉·庞德是一位具有代表性的诗人和文学批评家。 他和艾略特以及其他重要的文坛人物一起开创了诗歌创作和研究的新潮流。在同一时期的中国，一场重要的文化运动也正在进行，即从旧诗向白话新诗的转变。这两场运动之间也难以避免地有所联系。人们认为闻一多的诗歌理论深受庞德的影响，但是考虑到闻一多诗歌理论诞生的文化和社会背景，该理论中许多观点和庞德的观点有类似之处和不同之处。因此，为了更好地理解两者，我们有必要进行对比研究。 本文通过对比分析闻一多和庞德在诗歌韵律，意象，结构三方面的翻译原则，来看两者观点的相同点和不同之处。

关键词

诗歌翻译理论； 闻一多；埃兹拉·庞德

I.Introduction

1. Research Background

With the quick development, China begins to play a much more important role in global stage and naturally the need of recommending Chinese culture to the world has been aroused. From traditional Chinese literary creation to today's modern culture, there is a movement worthy of our attention, that is the vernacular writing movement. At the beginning of 20th century, China is urgently in need to open up and to learn from the western world and some extreme ideas even caused the division between Chinese classical literary composition and modern composition but at the same time Chinese traditional culture was revived by western scholars like Ezra Pound， Amy Lowell， and etc. Ezra Pound published Cathyin 1915 and started imagist movement (1909-1917). Wen Yiduo is a representative of vernacular writing movement，whose first new poem composing might be A Rainy Night(雨夜) and Moon and Men(月亮和人) (闻黎明，2014) and he distinguished himself from the other representatives by his relative complete frame both in literary composition as well as in literary criticism. Besides, Wen Yiduo's personal painting learning experience and his contact with western poets at that time are materials also worthy of discussion. The reason why these two characters are chosen to be compared in this paper is because, first they lived at the same time period and were both involved in two important literary movements at that time; second, both of them interpreted and applied Chinese traditional poems in modern composition but in different ways. Therefore, comparison on their understandings of poetic translation is a way to comprehend the role of Chinese traditional culture in modern times and to get to know these two poets and translators better.

2. Research Method

Close reading: this paper has collected relative works of Wen Yiduo and Ezra Pound and papers on them at first. By closing reading their works to understand their ways of poem composing and their principles of poetic translation. Works involved in this chapter are,Complete Collections of Wen Yiduo(闻一多全集), Biography of Wen Yiduo, Cathy of Ezra Pound, and etc.

Comparison study: since there some common points between these two poets and translators, comparisons are made between them to better distinguish them from their roles relatively in vernacular writing movement and in imagist movement as well as their roles in inheriting the old and making the new, and lastly on their poem translation theories.

II.Literature Review

Wen Yiduo is widely studied as a new poet composer, painter,classical poetry researcher, as well as a revolutionist. Papers of Wen Yiduo focuse more on him as a poet composer, than on him as a translator and this chapter mainly studies on him as a translator with his poet identity as supplement.

Papers on Wen Yiduo have covered almost all subjects including his multiple identities as well as his further studies on traditional Chinese mythologies, classical poems etc. From 1970s to today, this chapter chose recent papers on Wen Yiduo as a translator, and we can see from this picture that study on Wen Yiduo continues to be a favor to scholars and in recent years even more papers were published on his translation principles. In 2005, a paper of Lv Jing is a watershed, for he announced a new age of modern metrical poem's coming. Wen Yiduo is a pioneer of metrical poem at the begging of 20th C but he's inevitably constrained by his time and with culture development, and now we are gradually entering a new era of modern metrical poetry(吕进，2005). Major works often cited by scholars and these two black dots are work of Qian Liqun's (钱理群等，1998) Chinese Literature in Recent 30 Years(中国现代文学30年)and Collection on Translation Theories(翻译论集：罗新璋等，1984)

As for comparison between Wen Yiduo and Ezra Pound,there are 18 essays published in recent years found within China.

There are 18 papers in total and phrases mentioned the most often are "Chinese new poetry", "poem translation", "the beauty of painting". Most of these papers study Wen Yiduo and Ezra Pound from the general comparison between two movements(vernacular writing movement and imagist movement) and there is only one paper directly compares them, which was written by Fu Jianan(傅建安) and Zhang Li（张立） in 2019. In this paper, the authors pointed out that Wen Yiduo was heavily influenced by Ezra Pound, which could be seen from his three principles of beauty: the beauty of music, the beauty of painting, and the beauty of architecture.Besides, they also believed that Wen Yiduo was affected by nationality and creativity of Ezra Pound.

III.Discussion

Wen Yiduo is a representative poet and translator in China at the beginning of 20th Century. At that time, China was experiencing a social and cultural upheaval with collapse of the old and emerging of the new. Since Wen Yiduo was born in a family with avant-garde thoughts, he came to get revolutionary idea at an early age. Although Wen Yiduo didn't participate directly into May 4th movement, he demonstrated his firm support of students through a passionate patriotic poem. Clearly, Wen Yiduo's literary creation is indispensable from his social ideas. This could be revealed in his subjects of poems for instance, Songs of Seven Sons(七子之歌), Song of the Sun（太阳吟）, Silent Night(静夜), and etc. As for his ideas in translation which are also closely associated with his understanding in poem composing, basing on his personal learning and experiences. Wen Yiduo had experienced several transition in his life in poem composing. He was first a poet of classical poems(1916-1925) and had works like, Ode on Horse(马赋), Ode on Pine（松赋), Spring Willow（春柳),and etc. Later influenced by Hu Shi and vernacular writing movement, he devoted himself to new poem writing and criticized that classical poem shouldn't be composed and it should be totally abandoned (评本学年《周刊》里的新诗). After several tries in composing new poems, Wen Yiduo later arrived at America to continue his study on painting and literature. Here he had contact with Chicago poets and American Imagists and this was where his another transition occurred. He then again criticized Hu Shi's absolute abandonment of rhyme and rhythm and advocated to trace back to Chinese classical culture for nourishment and this was partly enlightened by his painting and classical poem study experiences in Chicago and after being back to China, he pioneered in creating metrical poems which associated western new poems' features together with image and structure of classical Chinese poems. He asked for beauty in music, beauty in image, and beauty in Architecture. His best work realized his principles could be seen in Dead Water(死水)(闻一多全集，1993). Ezra Pound had a same starting point of doing translation which is to find an answer to his epoch, to solve problems existing. He even leveled the importance of Confucianism to the height of Christianism which has unrivalled importance in Western culture. He believed that the "order" and "benevolence" mentioned by Confucius was exactly what was needed to conquer the social plight posed by industrialism, periodic economic crisis, isolation between human beings, and etc.(蒋洪新，2001) Ezra Pound denied that poem translation should be word-to-word translation but to maintain connotations behind it. He decided the name "imagism" for the writing movement in 1912 and later published Cathyin 1915. He was delighted when he discovered Chinese character was full of beauty of images and classical poems like The Books of Songsall could be a good source for imagist movement. In A Pact, Pound compared Whitman as a father and himself was his son. Although he held some disagreements with his father,they two had to share the same root and sap.Whitman is like Hu Shi in China, who highlighted the importance of free expression, direct use of vernacular language, and relatively neglected the significance of structure, rhyme and rhythm. Wen Yiduo had also mentioned that he disagreed with Hu Shi's composition of absolute free verses in his Experiment(尝试集). To Wen Yiduo, sound and music is what contained in words and only poem, this concise expression, can have more powerful emotions with their syllables. This is natural and artistic (《冬夜》评论).

1. Contrast of Wen Yiduo's and Pound's principles in image translation

Wen Yiduo started painting when he was young and he continued his study of painting in Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. All these experience provided him a chance to paint poems and he had unique understanding of images basing on his study on both classical Chinese poems and new poems. At the beginning of his composing of new poems, poems on nature took a great part of them. Yet he later found that his direct use of a lot of common images in classical poems made his poem too direct and superficial. He therefore decided to use more uncommon images.When he came to America and knew Chicago poets like Carl Sandberg as well as imagists like Amy Lowell, he was affected by their ideas in poem composing.Chicago poets use direct language and free verse to paint out the world in a vivid way. Images are important to Chicago poets but they put rhythm and rhyme in a non-essential position (焦建平，2001). Wen Yiduo therefore, at the earlier period of his poem composing, he paid great attention to image use and also disregarded rhythm and rhyme. Here we have one short poem of his earlier composition:

太阳辛苦了一天， 赚得一个平安的黄昏， 喜得满面通红， 一气直往山洼里狂奔。

This excerpt was from one of his earlier vernacular poem and it's very direct and daily, yet lacking beauty in music, image, and depth, and he soon gave up this style. He agreed with Hu Shi's idea in liberating human mind by literature revolution, but he still enhanced the importance of literary form (北塔，2011). Wen Yiduo therefore, criticize Hu Shi's writing for lack of beauty in music and in image.As a translator, his principles of poem translation are heavily impacted by his identity as a poet. He believed that translator of poem should be a poet himself and the process of translation could be viewed as a process of recreation. Wen Yiduo compared poem composing as traditional Chinese painting; colors blending with colors create new harmonious image and words should be like colors (闻一多，1926). Take Wen Yiduo's poem Red Candleras an example, he used the image of red candler to praise the spirit of selfless sacrifice and affirmed his belief in brightness. From Wen Yiduo's own writing, we could see the transition of his using color image, which shifted from bright ones to dim ones as we can discover from Red Candler (红烛), Reminicence of Chrysanthemum(忆菊) and Color(色彩) to Backwater(死水). Images of colors in his poems are often studied by scholars. And it is taken as a clear combination of his idea of both painting and poetry composing. And as we've mentioned above that, Wen Yiduo's poetry contained his patriotic idea which is not only shown in subjects but also in his insistence on the form of poetry. As we can see in both Reminicence of Chrysanthemum(忆菊) and Backwater(死水), Wen Yiduo pursued a visual presentation of described pictures. Although Wen Yiduo had studied painting in America, he had shown more free hand sketch in his poem rather then western fine brush work.(辛春生，2011) All his principles in poem composition were applied to his translation later. Wen Yiduo asked for concrete image rather than mystery one which also coincides with Pound's idea.

"这种空空疏疏模模糊糊的描写法使读者丝毫得不着一点具体的印象，当然是弱于幻想力底结果。"（《冬夜》评论）

"Don’t use such an expression as "dim lands of peace." It dulls the image. It mixes an abstraction with the concrete. It comes from the writer’s not realizing that the natural object is always the adequate symbol."(A Few Don'ts by an Imagiste)

Ezra Pound can be taken as an orientalist for his love and study on eastern cultures. Before he came to know Chines, he was captured by the conciseness but rich connotation contained in Chinese traditional culture. His interests in Chinese traditional poems was started by A History of Chinese Literature (Herbert Giles) and later became addicted to it for Fenollosa's introduction of oriental art（郭为，1988). In the process of translating Chinese traditional poem he formed his poem composing principles. He believed that poem should not be written in superfluous words; abstraction should not be mixed with concrete natural symbols; and expressions should be polished with good ornaments.(Ezra Pound, A Few Don'ts by an Imagiste) Pound had many practices of image-using and he was known for his superimposition of images.

“落叶依于重扃。（落叶哀蝉曲 刘彻）”"A wet leaf that clings to the threshold."

This sentence has well shown Pound's superimposition of images.Here "wet leaf" and "threshold" are two different images but the verb "cling" is used well to paint a picture of deep autumn and to arouse the feeling of departure. Even the leaf is hesitating of leaving, how about humans? Both "fallen leaf" and "threshold" are classical image used in Chinese poems. Pound chose concrete images to convey the abstract melancholy just as Chinese classical poem did. In Cathy, The Beauiful Toilet has shown that Ezra Pound also had his own understanding of color image. "Blue, blue is the grass about the river", "White, white of face, hesitates, passing the door." There are 6 duplicated words in original poem but Pound only kept the duplicated form of color words "青青" and "皎皎", which reflects his high attention to color image although he didn't mentioned that in his essay.

Both Wen Yiduo and Ezra Pound drew nourishment from classical Chinese poems and attached great importance to image using. Yet, since Wen Yiduo had experiences as a painter, he was more sensitive to color images than Pound, though Pound also had his own preference to images. Therefore, we may assume that Wen Yiduo was affected by imagisma and by Ezra Pound but Wen Yiduo also had his personally preference and choice of image application basing on his understanding of classical Chinese poems and painting just as what was shown in Reminicence of Chrysanthemum(忆菊).

2. Contrast of Wen Yiduo's and Pound's principle in rhyme translation

Wen Yiduo composed poems in classical Chinese with traditional style at first, when he was at school. Later deeply affected by ideas of vernacular poem composing as highlighted by Hu Shi, he accepted that we should liberalize citizen's mind by freeing them from constraints of classical writing and shifted his composing from classical style to vernacular free verse.When Wen Yiduo started his new poem composing, he realized too direct an expression was would lose the hazy beauty. Different from Hu Shi, Wen Yiguo attached great importance to rhyme and rhythm of poems. This might have some association with his experience of Tang poem studies. He appreciated the beauty of classical poem and even believed that it's almost impossible for us to translate these poems into English, or it's a waste of classical poems. To translate Yuefu folksongs, free verse is thought to be the best choice to him, for their similarity in form and translator is given more space to think about rhyme (Wen Yiduo, 1926). As his comment on Shigeyoshi Obata's translation on Li Po's poems, Wen blamed the translator used free verse to translate Li Po's metrical poems.Because Wen himself is a big fan of Li Po, he denied that Li Po's grander style and imposing manner could be kept in free verses(黄焰结，2014). He then practiced his translation believes into his own writings. In the next year(1927), he translated a poem of John Masefield.

Sea Fever by： John Masefield I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky, And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by, And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking, And a gray mist on the sea's face, and a gray dawn breaking. I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied; And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying, And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying. I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life, To the gull's way and the whale's way, where the wind's like a whetted knife; And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover, And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.

我要回海上去

我要回海上去，再回到荒凉的天涯海角，

我要求的是一只楼船，一颗星儿做她的向导，

还有龙骨破着浪，风声唱着歌，白帆在风里摇，

海面上一阵灰色的雾，一个灰色的破晓。

我要回海上去，因为那一阵潮水的呼声

是狂暴的呼声，嘹亮的呼声，你没有法子否认

我要求的是一个刮风的天儿，还飞着些白云，

再加上海水翻着浪花儿，海鸥也在叫你。

我要回海上去，再过那漂泊的生涯才好！

走上海鸥的道，鲸鱼的道，那里的风像把快刀；

我要的是做完了的活，大伙儿谈着天儿说着笑，

临了，来一场甜蜜的梦，一宿安稳的觉。

John Masefield's Sea Fever is a rhymed poetry and Wen chose end rhymed to echo the original version, in order to achieve the musical beauty in poem. Besides a lot alliterations "a star to steer/ a clear call,and etc." are used in the original poem to form the enormous power and repetition is another figure of speech in this poem, "I must go down to the seas again", which could emphasize the poet's emotion.To maintain the original feature, Wen Yiduo kept the original repetition and parallels in translation. Wen Yidou thought that art is what human decoration plus natural beauty and in his translation, to achieve the parallel structure and concise expression, he had chopped off unnecessary conjunctions and shift the order of words coordination. For example, "I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky, And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by," "again" this world was shifted into the latter part of the translation and "lonely sea and the sky " was translated as a Chinese four-character idiom "天涯海角". "To steer" this infinitive was translated as a verb-object structure-"做她的向导" to ensure the balance of translation. Compared with the original version, we can discover the translated version even more concise and has clear beat to form the music. To form parallel structure and clear rhythm, Wen Yiduo had added some decorative elements or eliminate some unimportant elements to achieve his ideal music. “龙骨”，“风声”，“白帆”are words chosen by translator basing on original expression, in order to match both requirements of images and readability. “还”，“临了”，“天儿”， these are words added by transaltor which are rich in Chinese culture and are tainted by vernacular feature , which can help to achieve an effect of balance between loose and tense within poem. Wen Yiduo believes that poems should have multiple rhythms serving for one theme and this can help to catch reader's attention and arouse emotions. It's more natural and in this poem, it well conforms to the rhythm of waves(诗歌节奏的研究). Different from Wen Yiduo's insistence on the rhyme and rhythm of poems, Ezra Pound believed that "It is not necessary that a poem should rely on its music, but if it does rely on its music that music must be such as will delight the expert." (Ezra Pound, A Few Don'ts by an Imagiste) Take The River-Merchant's Wife: a Letteras an example, Pound translated Chinese poem more into a prose than a rhymed poem, and to this extent his emphasize is more on the other sides as what was said by himself that he agreed that music was important but he didn't take it as a priority. He believed that poems could be divided into three kinds, and poems of sounds is one of the three. Poems of sounds could be appreciated without translation for its musicality and it, to some extent is untranslatable. But he regarded images are conveyable and was devoted to it. Thus we can see, Rhyme and rhythm are as important as images to Wen Yiduo, for he thought these were also necessary ways to convey emotion and to arouse feeling. Wen Yiduo asked for not only beauty in image but also beauty in music and he showed no preference between these two, yet, to Pound, as what was said in A Few Don'ts by an Imagiste, "It is not necessary that a poem should rely on its music". Wen Yiduo attached so much importance to music, so that he once said some five-character quatrains of Li Po could not be translated into another language. For he believed that Li Po's five-character quatrains were ancient soul in modern cover with decorations. The beat and syllables form the imposing manner of his poem so once these verses were transplanted into another container, the favor might be lost. (英译李太白诗，1926)

3. Contrast of Wen Yiduo's and Pound's principles in translation of architecture

Pound studied both Chinese poems and Japanese poems. Therefore the structure of his translations can often be traced back into parallelism of Chinese poem as well as the Japanese Haiku.

In a Station of the Metro The Apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough.

This is one of Pound's most famous poems and Pound took it as his proud work of imitation of Japanese Haiku. However, some scholars hold a different view, like Wu Di, he thought this poem is more close to imitation of Chinese parallel sentence. He listed reasons as: First, there are parallel compositions like time and space and color contrasts of bough and petals. Second, Wu thought that metrical unit of this poem is "word", which is distinct from "syllable" in English poems and Japanese Haiku. Haiku highlighted more artistic conception than metrical harmony.Besides, this poem paid more attentions to the notional words than functional words. (吴笛，2007) Pound's translation of poems are influenced by forms of folk songs, sonnets, Greek-style lyric poems, and elegy, etc. and it can be traced back to Provence love song, Japanese Haiku and Chinese traditional poetry.(王贵明，刘佳，2006)

Wen Yiduo is the pioneer of new metrical poems in China and asked poets to learn from western metrics and combined it with Chinese traditional poems. He advocated that the highest form of art should be "pure form". So he appealed to "beauty of architecture" and in Chinese architecture, balance is taken as beauty in tidy form which is also asked for in poem by him(陈历明，2016). Wen Yiduo once said that in Chinese aesthetic appreciation, balance was very essential, we could see it in both architectures and poems. Pattern, syntax, diction and coordination are elements required in a well composed poem.

Thursday ——Edna St. Vincent Millay

And if I loved you Wednesday, Well, what is that to you? I do not love you Thursday— So much is true. And why you come complaining Is more than I can see. I loved you Wednesday, —yes—but what Is that to me?

礼拜四 即使我礼拜三爱你， 你管它做什么？ 礼拜四我并不爱你， 却一点也不错。 我真不懂，你何为还 找着我来纠缠。 礼拜三我爱你—对— 可是那与我又何干？

This is a poem translated by Wen Yiduo which reflects his ideas in poem translation, especially in achieving beauty in architecture. First this poem consists of two stanzas and in each stanza, the second and the fourth lines are shorter than the first and the third lines. We can see that the translator maintained the original form of the poem into the translation but did a little alternation to achieve a better presentation. In this sentence, "—yes—but what/Is that to me?", to balance the length of sentences, the translator shift the word "—yes—" into the verse before the last one, "礼拜三我爱你—对—" to match the number of words. Another instance in this poem is this sentence -"And why you come complaining/Is more than I can see". To ensure the balance of two stanzas, the translator broke the sentence, "你何为还找着我来纠缠" into two verses,"你何为还/找着我来纠缠". Besides, there is a semantic symmetry designed by the translator. There is no obvious transitional word before the last line of the first stanza but has a dash to indicate it, therefore the author added "却" to echo "可是" in the last line of the last stanza and replace the dash to achieve the balance in form as well as in meaning. All these efforts of the translator are devoted to achieve the aesthetic sense in architecture. In one word, both Wen Yiduo and Ezra Pound ask for beauty in form but they draw their nourishment from different places and have different focus, for example, Ezra Pound learned and composed Provence love poems and Japanese Haiku. In Cathy, we can see that many classical Chinese poems were translated into prose which are more loose but in Wen Yiduo's translation, he highlighted the balance of structure and was stick to Chinese traditional sense of beauty in architecture.

4.Conclusion

To sum up, Ezra Pound as a imagist had absorbed elements in Chinese traditional culture and reinterpreted Chinese images in his translation. What should be emphasized is that his understanding of Chinese poems and images come from Fenollosa's writing which is rewriting of Fenollosa's writing. In translation, Ezra Pound asked for artistic conception through image superimposition. And as for his form of translation, it's more loose than Wen Yiduo's for Ezra Pound though required order in literary works, he didn't take "order" as "balance". His order may exist in his position of images but it does not have to be balance in number of words or pattern of expressions. Being a fan of Li Po, Wen Yiduo even though influenced by vernacular writing movements, Chicago poets and imagist movements, he advocated the importance of form and highlighted artistic feature of poems, the metric, which was a combination of the old and the new. Basing on comparisons of Ezra Pound and Wen Yiduo in these three aspects, we come to know that Wen Yiduo was influenced by imagist movement and he did pay high attention to image-using later in his works but Wen Yiduo's literary understanding should also be attributed to his personal growing background, China's social environment at that time and his life experience. Before his identity as a poet, he is a patriotic citizen. Wen Yiduo's literary works have a solid patriotic foundation and that's why he always tried to maintain Chinese traditional culture and spread Chinese culture through literary creations. This explains elements of Chinese traditional painting and Chinese aesthetic sense of architecture in his poems as well as specific Chinese images contained in his poems like chrysanthemum, candler, red bean, etc. We shall better say that Wen Yiduo and Ezra Pound are two poets and translators born in a similar social environment rather than saying one is totally the other's imitator. Since they two have their unique culture background and are both passionate lover of Chinese poems, they naturally share some common features in literary presentations but there are also distinctions reflecting their own culture identity like we can discover in both their compositions and translations.

V.Reference

Ezra Pound. Cathy. London: Elkin Mathews, Cork Street Mcmxv.

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Theories

Passive and hypotaxis- Chinese Culture and CE translation 杨海容 Yang Hairong

1.Concepts of Passive in Chinese and English

On metaphors 游雨婷 You Yuting

The Brief Introduction of Linguistic School and its Representatives 王源 Wang Yuan

Polysystem and Cultural Turn 吴琪 WuQi

A Brief Introduction to Deconstruction and Venuti's Translation Strategy of Foreignization 徐佳 Xu Jia

Translation Aesthetics

Aesthetic Representation of Two Versions of Wang Wei's Niao Ming Jian from the Perspective of Translation Aesthetics 凌子瑾 Ling Zijin

凌子瑾 Ling Zijin

Abstract

Wang Wei is a master of landscape poetry, and his poems have important aesthetic value. Niao Ming Jian is a representative work of His landscape poetry, which has a relatively high aesthetic significance. Aesthetic reproduction is an important factor to judge the success of a translation. Based on Liu Miqing's theory of translation aesthetics, this paper makes a comparative analysis of the two English translation versions of Niao Ming Jian to explore how these two translators make the aesthetic elements in the source text reproduced in the target text.

Key words

Translation Aesthetics; Aesthetic Representation; Poetry Translation; Comparative Study

摘要

王维是山水诗的集大成者，其诗歌具有重要的美学价值，《鸟鸣涧》是王维山水诗中的代表作品，具有较高的美学研究意义。审美再现是评判译文是否成功的重要因素。本文从刘宓庆的翻译美学理论出发，对《鸟鸣涧》的两个英文译本进行对比分析，探究不同的译者是如何使得原文中的美学要素在译文中得到再现的。

关键词

翻译美学；审美再现；诗歌翻译；对比赏析

1.Introduction

With the increasingly close communication between China and the international community, the translation of poetry has become an important part of telling Chinese stories. Translation is the basis for the international dissemination of literary works. Translation is one of the ways of information transmission, which is not only a technology, but also an art. Poetry itself is a literary and artistic form with aesthetic thoughts. Due to the close relationship between poetry translation and beauty, whether the translation can convey the beauty of the original poem has become the main criterion to judge whether the translation is good or not. On this point, Liu Miqing proposed translation aesthetics and systematically explained this subject in his An Introduction to Translation and Aesthetics. He incorporated aesthetics into translation and proposed to reproduce the beauty of the original text in translation. Inheriting from Tao Yuanming and Xie Lingyun and laying a foundation for the landscape poetry in Song Dynasty and Yuan Dynasty, Wang Wei's landscape poetry represents the highest achievement of landscape poetry in the flourishing Tang Dynasty. In the history of the development and the aesthetic formation of Chinese classical poetry, it has an influence and status that cannot be underestimated. Niao Ming Jian is the representative work of Wang Wei's landscape poems, so its aesthetic value is self-evident. Written in the stable and unified Tang Dynasty, this poem focuses on the tranquil beauty of the spring mountain at night. In this poem of Wang Wei, you can not only see the charming environment of the spring mountain dotted with bright moon, falling flowers and birds, but also feel the peaceful and stable social atmosphere of the Tang Dynasty. Both Yang Xianyi and Xu Yuanchong have made great contributions to translation studies. The two translators are recognized for their translation skills, but they have different views on literary translation, which can be seen from the comparative study in chapter 4. From the perspective of translation aesthetics, this paper takes Niao Ming Jian and its two English versions as research objects to explore how the two translators realize the aesthetic representation of the Chinese version in their English translation.

2.Translation Aesthetics

In the history of Chinese literature, the earliest development of translation aesthetics can be traced back to the time of the Three Kingdoms. At that time, someone proposed that "it is necessary to follow the essence without decorations". Up to now, there have emerged such related aesthetic translation theories as "faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance", "spirit likeness" ,"delivering" and “principle of three beauties” . In A Dictionary of Translation Studies of Fang Mengzhi, translation aesthetics is defined as: revealing the aesthetic origins of translation studies, discussing the special significance of aesthetics to translation studies, interpreting the scientific and artistic nature of translation with the aesthetic point of view, putting forward standards of beauty in translating texts with different style using the basic principle of aesthetics, analyzing and solving the aesthetic problem in dealing with interlingual transference.Translation aesthetics is the marriage of translation and aesthetics. Almost all traditional translation theories in China are related to aesthetics, and translation aesthetics is one of the basic characteristics of Chinese translation studies. Based on Chinese traditional aesthetics, translation aesthetics, starting with the aesthetic subject and object of translation, not only emphasizes the aesthetic information on the level of sounds and words, analysis of the rhythm, rhyme and translation methods, but also explores the aesthetic factors of emotion, aspiration, meaning and image in the non-formal system, thus laying a practical theoretical foundation for translation aesthetics. From the perspective of translation aesthetics, the purpose of translation is to achieve aesthetic representation between languages. Translation is an artistic experience of perceiving, understanding, transforming and reproducing the aesthetic information of the translation object (source language). The concept of translation aesthetics was put forward by Professor Liu Miqing in 1994. At first, it combined aesthetics and translation to examine the aesthetic feeling of ancient poetry translation. In An Introduction to Translation and Aesthetics, Liu Miqing specifically explains the general process and specific strategies of translation aesthetics. According to Liu Miqing, "the theories and propositions of traditional Chinese translation theory are basically derived from Chinese classical philosophy and aesthetics, especially classical literature and art". In addition, he also stressed that "theoretical proposition and methodology of Chinese translation theory can be traced back in Chinese classical philosophy and aesthetics.” The aesthetics as the theoretical basis of translation, not only pay attention to the correspondence at the language level, but also the correspondence of the beauty represented in the target text and that in the original text, in order to show the beauty of the original text as possible. Translation aesthetics holds that translation contains the aesthetic subject and aesthetic object. The aesthetic subject refers to the reader and translator of the text, while the aesthetic object refers to the target language text and the source language text. By subjectively transforming the source text, the aesthetic subject maximizes the aesthetic value of the source text into the target text in the process of transforming one language text to another, so as to ensure that the aesthetic elements in the source text can be reproduced in the target text. In An Introduction to Translation and Aesthetics, Liu Miqing divides aesthetic object into formal system and non-formal system, that is, aesthetic appreciation of the linguistic form of the original text and the emotion expressed in the text. The beauty in the linguistic form (including pronunciation) of the original text is aesthetically called the beauty in the form of material existence, which is usually "intuitive and sensible" and generally appeals to people's vision and hearing. In the aesthetic composition of the original text, what opposed to the representational elements is the non-representational elements. The non-formal beauty of the original language has no direct relationship with the language form, and it is usually non-intuitive. Because it is not directly reflected in the structure and form of words, sentences and sentence groups, it is usually "uncounted", which is called "non-quantitative factor". The aesthetic composition of linguistic forms can often be counted, such as the number of parallel sentences, rhymes and figures of speech in a paragraph. Generally speaking, it can be counted to obtain a number, the non-formal beauty of language can not. It is impossible for us to get any quantitative results after analyzing the temperament of a text, such as artistic conception, beauty, momentum, modality, charm, style and so on. But these elements are crucial to the aesthetic value of a text. In short, from the perspective of aesthetics, these non-formal aesthetic compositions of a language is called non-quantitative obscure collection. In Chinese classical poetry, the concentrated expression of this collection is artistic conception. The "representation" of aesthetic representation is to transform the source language into the target language, and the aesthetic representation is to transform the beauty of source language into the beauty of the target language. The essence of the representation in the art of translation is to transform the introspective understanding of the source language text (SL) into an explicit and intuitive form (TL), that is, to find the best artistic expression form for the source language.

3.Appreciation of Niao Ming Jian

The original text of Niao Ming Jian 人闲桂花落， 夜静春山空。 月出惊山鸟， 时鸣春涧中。 The main idea of this poem is: in this quiet place, sweet osmanthus flowers gently fall in the quiet night, making the spring forest more empty and quiet. As the moon rose, it made the birds who was perching among the trees to sing, with their crisp calls reverberating through the open mountain stream. This poem is supposed to be written between 713 and 741 ( The Flourishing Kaiyuan Reign Periond of the Tang Dynasty), when the poet was in a trip to the regions near the Yangtze River. This poem is the first of five poems written by Wang Wei in yunxi Villa where his friend Huangfuyue lived. It is the work about the poet’s life in Wuyunxi (namely Ruoyexi), southeast of Shaoxing County. The poem describes the quiet and beautiful scenery in the mountain on a spring night, and focuses on the tranquility and calmness of the spring mountain at night. The whole poem is intended to highlight the tranquility, but Wang Wei treated it by moving scenes. This kind of technique of contrast shows the poet's meditative mind to a great extent. "人闲桂花落，夜静春山空" is the poet’s depiction of scenery by sound, which skillfully uses the technique of synesthesia to combine the dynamic scene “花落” and "人闲" together. Both the blossom and fall of the flowers belong to the sound of nature. Only people who let their hearts really free down, put down the sincere infatuations to worldly thoughts can promote their spirits to a state of “空”. It was late at night, obviously the viewer could not see the falling scene of osmanthus, but because of the "夜静" and the calmness of heart of the viewer, he can still feel the blooming osmanthus falling off the branches, floating down and landing. And we readers also seem to have entered a "fragrant forest and flower rain" scenery. The "春山" here also leaves room for us to imagine, because it is "春山", we can imagine the noisy picture of the day: singing birds, green trees, lovely flowers, children’s laughter and so on. When night falls, the environment becomes quiet, the tourists leave, the daytime noise disappeared, the mountains are empty. In fact, "空" not only refers to the empty of the mountain, but also the heart of the poet because only people who have free and easy mood can capture the scene that others can not feel. The last two lines “月出惊山鸟，时鸣春涧中” describe a dynamic scene to highlight the quietness of the mountain stream. “惊” and “鸣” seem to break the tranquility of the night, but in fact serve as a foil to describe the empty and leisure in the mountain by sounds. The moon emerges behind the clouds, quiet moonlight streams down, a few birds awake from their sleep and twitter from time to time. These beautiful things, with the spring streams running in the hill, put a colorful picture in front of the reader and has the similar effect with the "蝉噪林逾静，鸟鸣山更幽" of Wang Ji(a poet of Liang Dynasty). The birds, of course, accustomed to the silence of the mountain, seemed to have a kind of freshness and excitement when the moon rises. But the brightness of the moon changes the landscape immediately before and after its rise. The so-called "月明星稀，乌鹊南飞" (from Duan Ge Xing of Cao cao) is available for readers to associate. But Wang Wei was in the heyday of Tang Dynasty, which was different from the chaos of war in the Jian 'an Period in which even birds and animals could not help feeling nervous. The background of Wang Wei's "月出惊山鸟" is a stable and unified society in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. Although the birds suffer from shock, it is by no means the kind of shock like "绕树三匝，无枝可依". They will not fly out of the spring stream, or even take off at all, but occasionally chirp among the trees. "时鸣春涧中", they are not so much "startled" as feel fresh to the moon. Therefore, if we compare Niao Ming Jian to Cao cao's Duan Ge Xing, in Wang Wei's poem, you can not only see the charming environment of the spring mountain dotted with the bright moon, falling flowers and birds, but also feel the relatively more peaceful and stable social atmosphere of the Tang Dynasty. In his landscape poems, Wang Wei inclines to create a quiet atmosphere, which is also true of this poem. But what this poem is about is the falling of flowers, the rising of the moon and the singing of birds. These moving scenes not only make the poem full of vitality but also highlight the tranquility of the spring stream by dynamic scenes. Moving scenes, on the contrary, have a static effect, because the two sides of an object in conflict are always interdependent. Under certain conditions, the reason why movement can occur, or can be noticed by people, is based on the premise of static environment. "鸟鸣山更幽"can be seen as an entity containing dialectics of art.

4.Appreciation of Two English Versions of Niao Ming Jian

(1) The Gully of Twittering Birds Yang Xianyi Idly I watch the cassia petals fall; Silent the night and empty the spring hills; The rising moon startles the mountain bird Which teitter fitfully in the spring gully.

(2)The Dale of Singing Birds Xu Yuanchong I hear osmanthus blooms fall unjoyed; When night comes, hills dissolve into the void. The rising moon arouses birds to sing; Their fitful twitter fills the dale with spring．

4.1 Formal System

The formal system of poetry mainly consists of rhyme and form, an audible one and a visual one, both of which are objective and perceptive. The existence of the formal system is the basis for poetry, that is, the reason why poetry is poetry rather than any other literary genre is that it has its own unique formal system. Therefore, most translators advocate translating poetry into poetry in order to represent the beauty of the poetic form. Below, the author will appreciate the two English versions by Yang Xianyi and Xu Yuanchong from the two aspects of rhyme and form.

4.1.1 Beauty of Rhyme

Zhu Guangqian thinks that "poetry is a pure literary form with melody". In literary works, especially in poetry, sound is the most basic unit of delivering aesthetic value. Although the translator cannot find the phonetic rules corresponding to Chinese poetry in English language, he can reproduce the "phonetic beauty" of the original poem by using English language rules. The beauty of rhyme in poetry mainly includes the beauty of rhythm and rhyme. First of all, in terms of rhythm, the original poem basically conforms to the basic meter of rhythmic poetry. In Yang Xianyi's translation (hereinafter referred to as translation 1), the rhythm of the poem is roughly as follows: /--/--/-/-/（11） /--/--/--/-（11） -/-//--/-/（10） -/-/--/-//-（11） In dealing with each line, translator basically take the trochaic form. Although its antithesis is not neat but it is easy to read, largely represents the musical aesthetic feeling of the original poetry. Besides, the trochaic rhythm can give readers a kind of feeling that firstly there is a sound, and then fell silent, which is in accordance with the tranquil atmosphere in Niao Ming Jian. The rhythm of Xu Yuanchong's translation (hereinafter referred to as translation 2) is roughly as follows: -/-/-/-/-/（10）-/-/-/-/-/（10） -/-/-/-/-（9）-/-/-/-/-/（10） The translator adopts iambic pentameter to translate the poem, which has a strong sense of rhythm and can be called as a standard English metrical poem. In terms of the representation of rhythm, both translation 1 and translation 2 are well done, while the rhythm of translation 2 is more in line with the characteristics of the original poem, so translation 2 is better. The rhyme in poetry is an important factor at the level of rhythmic beauty. Rhyme can make the rhythm of a poem produce harmonious auditory aesthetic satisfaction. In terms of rhythm, the original poem strictly adheres to the rhyming rules of Lüshi (poetry). The rhyme at the end of the second and fourth lines is used to create a echoing effect of distant bells in the mountains, making the mountain seem more empty and lonely. In translation 1, the translator uses many assonance in his lines, such as "silent", "night" in the second line; "Fitfully" and "gully" in the fourth line. The translator also used alliteration, such as "idly", "I" in the first line; "moon", "mountain" in the third line. However, translation 1 does not rhyme at the end of the line. It has the advantage of being free from the restrictions of meter and the language is accurate and fluent. But it also has disadvantage that it loses the beauty of rhyme to some extent. As for the translation 2, we can find the end rhyme of the translation 2: /d/ in the first and second line; /ing/ in the third and fourth line. And the rhyme scheme of this translation is aabb. This scheme type can convey the rhythmic beauty of Chinese traditional poetry for its end rhyme is complete. In addition, the first two lines of poetry end with a phone /d/, giving us a feeling of an abrupt stop. The last two lines end with/ing/, leaving a sense of melody for the reader, which is in line with the /ong/ rhyme in the original poem. It can be said that in terms of conveying the rhythmic beauty of the original poem, translation 2 not only represents the original poem, but also makes the target text sounds better than the original one. Therefore, compared with translation 2, translation 1 is slightly inferior in representing the rhythmic beauty of original poem.

4.1.2 Beauty of form

Liu Miqing (2005) believes that the beauty of symmetry and antithesis in Chinese classical literature can be called "The elegance of Beauty", which is unique to Chinese. Externally, the four lines of the original poem, with five words in each line, form regular rectangles. From the inside, we can see that the first line and the second line form a parallel structure: “人闲” and “夜静”; “桂花” to “春山”; “落” to “空”. Antithesis constitutes the important factor of the beauty at the level of the form. The beauty of the translated poem at the level of form is that its words and sentences are in accord with the length and symmetry of the original poem in antithesis and meter. In the translation 1, the number of words in each line is 7, 8, 7,and 7. In translation 2, the number of words in each line is 6, 8, 7 and 8. Both versions conform to the formal characteristics of the poem. From the appearance of the two translations, both of them have achieved the demand to translate poetry by poetry ,representing the formal characteristics of the original poem; In terms of syllables, the number of syllables in each line of translation 1 is 11, 11, 10 and 11. The number of syllables in each line of translation 2 is 10, 10, 9 and 10. Both of the form of the two translations are in compact structure, thus achieving the representation of beauty of the original poem. In addition, the third and fourth lines of translation 2 adopt parallel structure, which to some extent represents the antithesis beauty of the original poem.

4.2 Non-formal System

The non-formal system of poetry is mainly embodied in the artistic conception of poetry. Artistic conception is an important category in Chinese poetics. Artistic conception consists of two aspects: meaning and context. Meaning refers to subjective thoughts and feelings, while context refers to objective life and scenery. In artistic works, meaning and context blend together to form artistic conception. The conveying of artistic conception is directly related to the intuitive and sensible overall linguistic image, but the essence of its beauty is not intuitive and sensible. It usually comes from the feeling, ambition, intention of the artist and the overall artistic beauty of the work, which can easily remind us of the so-called "不著一字，尽得风流". In poetry, the meaning that a poet wants to express is often conveyed through the images in ancient poems, which are either embodied in scenery or embodied in things. Therefore, when translating Chinese ancient poems, finding the right images is the key point to catch the artistic conception of the whole poem. In order to achieve the aesthetic representation of artistic conception in the translated poem, the translator's poetic sentiment, knowledge of literature and language skills are indispensable. Sometimes the inaccurate translation of a word will change the whole artistic conception and cause the translation to deviate from the original text. In the process of translating poetry, the representation of rhyme and form is the basic step, and that of artistic conception is the completion of the task of translating poetry.

4.2.1 Beauty of artistic conception

Yang Xianyi and Xu Yuanchong, the translators of the two translations selected in this paper, have different views on the transfer of the beauty of artistic conception. When talking about the principle of literary translation, Yang Xianyi points out that the general principle is that the content of the original text should not be increased or decreased. He has emphasized the principle of faithfulness for many times, saying that "the translation must be very faithful to the original one". He doesn't think the translator should explain too much when translating. The translator should try to be faithful to the image of the source text, neither exaggerating nor carrying anything else with it. If there is no equivalent in translation, some of the meaning of the original must be sacrificed. Xu Yuanchong, on the other hand, believed that among the beauty of sound, form and meaning, meaning was the most important, followed by sound and form. Translators play two roles in the process of translation: text reader and text producer. Translators must give full play to their subjectivity on the basis of a deep understanding of the content and aesthetic value of the original text, and creatively reproduce the verve and artistic conception of the original text, so that the readers of the translated text can truly experience the beauty in reading. In the following, the author will start from the title and analyze the two translators' representation of the artistic conception of the original poem. The title of the original poem is "鸟鸣涧", which is a modifier-head structure. In this structure, "鸟鸣" modifies "涧". This structure emphasizes the static state of the noun "涧". Translation 1 and 2 respectively translate the title as two noun phrases "The Gully of Twittering Birds" and "The Dale of Singing Birds" , which are similar to the modifier-head structure of the original poem. The head nouns "The Gully" and "The Dale" are modified by "of Twittering Birds" and "of Singing Birds", highlighting the quiet state of the mountain, which conforms to the artistic conception of the original poem. Two title is identical structurally, but differ in the words used. The translation 1 translates "涧" as "gully", which the Oxford Advanced Learner's English-Chinese Dictionary (hereinafter referred to as "the dictionary") interprets as: "a small, narrow channel, usually formed by a stream or by a rain". "涧" in the Xinhua Dictionary is defines as a gutterway in the mountain, so the translation 1 corresponds to the original poem; Translation 2 translates "涧" into "dale", which is defined as "Valley, ESP, in Nortern England" in the dictionary. But "涧" in original poem just refers to an ordinary mountain stream, which is still far from a dale. Then is the translation of "鸟鸣", defined in the dictionary as "when birds twitter, they make a series of short high sounds"; Translation 2 translates "鸟鸣" as "singing". Translation 1 uses onomatopoeia to translate it, which is more vivid in sensory image; While translation 2 uses personification to highlight the melody of bird songs, which brings people a more graceful feeling and a more harmonious artistic conception. It can be said that translation 1 adopts literal translation while translation 2 adopts free translation. Although both of them can reflect the activity of bird, translation 2 compares it to singing, on the basis of being faithful to the original text, adds a more poetic aesthetic feeling from the aesthetic point of view, and the images described are more easily accepted by readers. Next comes the translation of the poem's first line. First of all, in terms of the treatment of "人", both translation 1 and translation 2 add the subject "I" to translate "人" into the poet himself, because Chinese sentences do not necessarily have the subject while English must indicate the subject. Although it is difficult to achieve complete equivalence, it is also a relatively reasonable translation method. On the translation of "闲", translation 1 cut to the chase, using the word "idly" indicates that the state of the viewer, it is in line with the original text in the idle state of mind; Translation 2, which puts "unenjoyed" at the end of the line, meets the need of rhyme but adds translator's creative content. But there is not unenjoyed feeling in the original poem, so translation 1 is better here. Next, on the translation of "桂花", two translation appear difference. In translation 1, "桂花" is translated into "cassia petals". The author looked it up in the dictionary and discovered that its meaning is the petal of cinnamon tree; in translation 2 it is translated into "osmanthus blooms" , which is almost synonymous to the translation 1. Both translation 1 and translation 2 take the same way to translate it, that is, using the proper noun. As for the "桂花" in this poem, scholars have different explanations. One explanation is that there are different kinds of "桂花", such as spring flowers, autumn flowers and perpetual flowers. What is written here is a kind of spring flowers. Another view is that literary and artistic creation does not necessarily follow life. It is said that the painting by Wang Wei called Yuan An Lying in the Snow has green plantains in the snow. Things that cannot appear together in real life are allowed in literary and artistic creation. However, this poem is one of five poems that written for his friend's house. Each of these five poems is written in a realistic way, which is similar to the landscape painting. Therefore, it is reasonable to translate "桂花" to the osmanthus that blossoms in spring. However, in English, there is not so fine classification of osmanthus, so it is difficult to find a counterpart. The two translators have tried their best to translate it, and their translations of "桂花" are understandable. In addition, it should be noted that the way the two translators deal with the connection between the viewer and osmanthus. Translation 1 uses "watch" to see the flowers falling down, while in translation 2, the word "hear" is used, which is different from the usual setting of appreciating flowers and is the result of the translator's thoughtful and creative translation. Hearing the sound of falling petals can better reflect the empty of the poet's heart than seeing, thus better representing the tranquility of the mountain stream. Translation 1 Adopts the parallel structure when translating the second line, using the literal translation method to combine the silent night with the empty mountain stream. It is a static description without the description of the sequence of the events, reproducing a kind of vague beauty; in translation 2, "夜静" and "山空" are in time sequence, belongs to the dynamic description, showing the night's coming and the mountain becomes silent. The stationary state in the original poem becomes a process from a dynamic situation station to static one, successfully represent the hidden grammatical relations in the original poem. Therefore, for the transltion of the second line, both the two translators have strong point. In the translation of the third line, the translation of "惊" is of great importance for it serves as a key to show the skills of polishing words of Wang Wei. In translation 1, it is literally translated into "startled", which means"cause a person or animal to feel sudden shock or alarm" in the dictionary. But are birds really startled? According to the appreciation of the original poem in the last chapter, the birds are not startled but only disturbed by the moonrise. "Startled" here is somewhat abrupt and the beauty of the original poem is not respresented, so it is not an appropriate translation; Xu Yuanchong translates it into "arouse", which is defined as "evoke or awaken a feeling, emotion, or response”in the dictionary. Compared to the translation 1, translation 2 is not only more natural but also gives the reader a sense of harmony between human and nature. The last is the translation of the fourth line. The two translations are basically the same in terms of words and translation methods, except the difference in sentence pattern. The translation 1 uses a non-restrictive attributive clause to combine the third line and the fourth line together, which means that the translator deal with the "月出" and "鸟鸣" as two simultaneous events, that is to say, there is no sequence between the moonrise and bird's singing, which is inconsistent with the original poem. The translation 2 deals these two lines with two sentences, perfectly embodying the relationship between the rise of the moon and the song of birds, which fits well with Wang Wei's state of "painting in poetry, poetry in painting".

5.Conclusion

By analyzing the above two translations, the author finds that Yang Xianyi attaches importance to form and Xu Yuanchong to meaning in poetry translation. Yang Xianyi prefers literal translation while Xu Yuanchong prefers free translation. In terms of formal system translation, Yang Xianyi's grasp of the beauty of rhyme is a little bit inferior to that of Xu Yuanchong, but in terms of the grasp of antithesis in poetry, both translators have demonstrated exquisite translation skills, each with its own advantages. Therefore, it can be seen that the mastery of source language and target language is very important in translation. In terms of the translation of non-formal system, namely artistic conception, both translators represent the image beauty of the original poem to a large extent, but Xu Yuanchong's translation is better because Yang Xianyi uses more literal translation, which is slightly rigid. Xu's translation is more cohesive and readable, giving people a dynamic and harmonious aesthetic feeling. Although there are differences between Chinese and Western cultures, a good translation can still represent the appearance, scenery and feelings of the original poem. From the perspective of translation aesthetics, the combination of literal translation and free translation is necessary in order to realize the aesthetic representation of poetry in translation. In terms of translation, both formal system and non-formal system should be taken into account to represent the beauty of poetry in sound, form and meaning. This also gives the corresponding aesthetic requirements for the translator, the translator must constantly improve their language skills and appreciation ability, in order to achieve continuous breakthroughs in aesthetic representation.

V.Reference

[1]陈洁.王维山水诗的意境美[J].宁波教育学院学报, 2015(4):52.

[2]方梦之.译 学 词 典[M].上 海:上海外语教育出版社, 2004: 296.

[3]黄婧，李仕俊. 从翻译美学角度对比《鸟鸣涧》四种译文[J]. 外语, 2010(31): 130.

[4]劳琴姚，罗正婷.翻译美学视角下审美效果的再现——以《醉翁亭记》两译本为例[J]. 安徽文学, 2017(9):49-51.

[5]刘宓庆.翻译美学导论[M].北京：中国对外翻译出版公司, 2005.

[6]陶迎年.从音、形、意三美对比《鸟鸣涧》五种英译本[J]. 语言应用研究, 2017(8):143-145.

[7]王力.诗词格律[M].北京：中华书局, 2000:133.

[8]吴桐，李淑华.从翻译美学角度看中国古诗翻译[J]. 2018(16): 151.

[9]王洁.杨宪益文学翻译思想探析[J]. 西安文理学院学报,2020(23): 111.

[10]谢文利.诗歌美学[M]. 北京: 中国青年出版社, 1989．

[11]余恕诚等. 唐诗鉴赏辞典[M]. 上海：上海辞书出版社, 1983:183-185.

[12]朱光潜.诗论[M].北京：生活读书新知三联书店出版, 1998.

An Aesthetic Study on Ezra Pound's Four Poems of Departure in Cathay- From the Perspective of Xu Yuanchong's "Three Beauties" Principle 石迪文 Shi Diwen

Abstract

At the dawn of the 21st century, Ezra Pound, intrigued by Chinese classical poetry, gave fresh impetus to the American New Poetry Movement. One of his works in this period, Cathay, involves nineteen Chinese poems selected and translated from Ernest Fenollosa’s notes, with contents spanning a thousand years from Spring and Autumn period (770 B.C.-476 B.C.) to Tang Dynasty (618-907). It not only rose against the exaggerative and mannered expression of Victorian style to boost the development of Western poetry but also set one of the important achievements in the history of Sino-Western cultural exchanges. The chapter focuses on his Four Poems of Departure, all originally written by Li Bai （李白）, including "Separation on the River Kiang", "Taking Leave of a Friend", "Leave-taking near Shoku" and "The City of Choan". Its main contents involves interpretation and further exploration of the Chinese aesthetic values in Pound's version from the perspective of Xu Yuanchong's "Three Beauties"-Principle, i.e. beauty in sense, sound and form, by which it will prove that Pound's creative translation of Chinese classical poetry possesses some Chinese classical aesthetic concepts.

Key Words

Ezra Pound, Cathay, Chinese classical poems of departure, Three Beauty Principle, Chinese classical aesthetics

摘要

二十一世纪初，伊兹拉·庞德所领导的新诗运动从中国古典诗歌中寻找推动力，他在此期间所创译的《华夏集》从费诺罗萨笔记中选取了19首中国古典诗，横跨历史千年，从孔子编纂《诗经》的春秋时期(公元前770-公元前476年)到李白诗歌十二首的盛世唐朝(618年-907年)，这段时期中国古典诗达到艺术巅峰, 孔子所提出的诗教观兴盛,成为古代中国主流诗教观。这部作品既反维多利亚式夸大其词、矫揉造作的文风，推动了西方诗歌发展，又成为了中西文化交流史上的重要成果。本篇论文将聚焦于四首诗人挑选成章的离别诗，其均来自李白，分别是《黄鹤楼送孟浩然之广陵》、《送友人》、《送友人入蜀》以及《登金陵凤凰台》。论文主要内容是从许渊冲三美原则（意美、音美和形美）阐释和进一步发现庞德译作中保留的中国美学价值。通过这种方式，本文试图证明庞德对中国古诗的创造性翻译中仍具有一些中国古典美学观念。

关键词

伊兹拉 · 庞德，《华夏集》，中国古典离别诗，三美原则，中国古典美学

Introduction

Ezra Pound (1885-1972), one of the most influential and controversial figures in American literature, has received floods of praises and condemnation since the first appearance of his Cathay, a collection of nineteen poems, which introduces Confucian principles of poetry to American Imagist Movement. Cathay was published in 1915 when the Western countries suffered an alarming death toll in the First World War. Most of literary men were so drown in the darkness of terror and suspicion that they felt lost and trapped in despair while during this period Pound found his muse in Chinese classic poetry. It not only rose against the exaggerative and mannered expression of Victorian style to boost the development of Western poetry but also set one of the important achievements in the history of Sino-Western cultural exchanges. The work involves nineteen Chinese poems selected and translated from Ernest Fenollosa’s notes, with contents spanning a thousand years from the Spring and Autumn period (770B.C.-476B.C.) to the Tang Dynasty (618-907), in which Chinese classic poetry reaches its acme and Confucian philosophy of poetry education attains prosperity and dominates.

The article puts Pound's version in comparison with Li Bai's original one and intends to explore the aesthetic values of translation by virtue of Confucian aesthetic philosophy and Qian Zhongshu's "Hua jing". The former (Confucian aesthetic thoughts) mainly involves two aspects: one is the neutralization beauty of "gentleness" and "sincerity“ (温柔敦厚）; the other is the imagery beauty of Chinese classical images. More precisely, Confucius advocates that the personal emotions expressed in poems should not be observed directly or thoroughly but be clouded, or to say, recorded emotional experiences of the real or imagined world should be presented in a roundabout and implicit way and brim with a beauty of moderation in content, i.e. “joyous but not indecent, mournful but not distressing, without resentment and slander” (乐而不淫, 哀而不伤, 怨而不谤). On the other hand, a variety of images are employed to help moderate poets' powerful emotions like homesickness, lovesickness and grief of parting, and all of them echo the neutralization beauty in poetic content. The latter ("Hua Jing") proposed by Qian Zhongshu, who is one of Chinese great writers and translation theorists, is a well-known translation theory that contains Chinese classical qualities and inherits the traditional aesthetic thought. Firstly, "Hua" means the transmigration of souls in texts, by Qian which is considered as the top pursuit of literary translation. It requires that literary translators naturally and ingeniously convert texts of one language into words of another while at the same time the elusive charm of the original and its natures can be well preserved. In other words, language serves in a text just like man's flesh and blood and thus what translation can change only is the language but not the soul of the original. In this way, its immortal spirit can transmigrate to another language and reborn.

The study concentrates on Four Poems of Departure in Cathay, including "Separation on the River Kiang" (《黄鹤楼送孟浩然之广陵》), "Taking Leave of a Friend" (《送友人》), "Leave-taking near Shoku" (《送友人入蜀》) and "The City of Choan" (《登金陵凤凰台》), all of which originally written by Li Bai, who was born in the most glorious age of Tang Dynasty. By virtue of Confucian philosophy and Qian's thoughts, the four poems can be well interpreted from the perspective of translation aesthetics, and by this way the essay helps enlarge the scope of translation study into Cathay and deepen the learning of Chinese classical aesthetics.

Aesthetic Representation of "Separation on the River Kiang"

"Separation on the River Kiang" is the first poem in Four poems of Departure and tell a story of waving farewell to a friend along the River Kiang. The first two lines of the original poem is "故人西辞黄鹤楼，烟花三月下扬州“, which Pound translates into "KO-JIN goes west from Ko-kaku-ro,/ The smoke-flowers are blurred over the river." Literally, the translator mistranslates "故人“，”黄鹤楼“ and exactly he simply transliterates the Japanese version of the two nouns ("こじん" and “こうかくろう”) into English one （KO-JIN and Ko-kaku-ro). Furthermore, Pound maybe not a good Japanese learner because "こじん"(KO-JIN) refers to a dead person but not "故人" (an old friend).

Aesthetic Representation of "Taking Leave of a Friend"

Aesthetic Representation of "Leave-taking near Shoku"

Aesthetic Representation of "The City of Choan"

Conclusion

Bibliography

A Study on the Four Levels of Translation Based on Newmark’s Theory 张玲 Zhang Ling

18.3.1 Abstract

18.3.2 Key Words

18.3.3 摘要

18.3.4 关键词

A Study on Translatability and Untranslatability of English and Chinese Puns and Corresponding Strategies of Translation 曾心媛 Zeng Xinyuan

18.4.1 Abstract

18.4.2 Key Words

18.4.3 Contents

18.4.4 Bibliography

The Untranslatability of Chinese Classic Poems and its Translation Strategies 姚诚 Yao Cheng

Abstract

It is commonly believed poetry translation, of all kinds of translation, is the most difficult and demanding, yet possibly most worthy of our study. Though poems translation has been practiced through time and theories regarding to poetry translation heavily outnumbered these of prose or drama translation. Yet people remain divided over the translatability and untranslatability of poems and even the definition of untranslatability. This paper will discuss the translatability and untranslatability of poems from the perspectives of imagery, “yijing”, the use of allusion, sound and form. Then some corresponding strategies will be given so as to guide our poetry translation practice.

Key words

poetry translation, untranslatability, translatability, translation strategies

摘要

It is commonly believed poetry translation, of all kinds of translation, is the most difficult and demanding, yet possibly most worthy of our study. Though poems translation has been practiced through time and theories regarding to poetry translation heavily outnumbered these of prose or drama translation. Yet people remain divided over the translatability and untranslatability of poems and even the definition of untranslatability. This paper will discuss the translatability and untranslatability of poems from the perspectives of imagery, “yijing”, the use of allusion, sound and form. Then some corresponding strategies will be given so as to guide our poetry translation practice.

关键词

诗歌翻译，不可译性，可译性，翻译策略

Introduction

Poetry is some sort of art that raises our sensuality of beauty through language. Through poetry, poets are able to express their pleasure, anger, sorrow and joy in a specific way which concentrates on sense, sound, rhyme, and now in a direct now in an oblique manner. In poems powerful emotions, remarkable imagination, bountiful rhetoric, and musical rhymes can be easily found. These elements altogether create the uniqueness of poetry. However, facing with the same Muse, an Englishmen, a Germany or a Greek may adapt a different way to present it since poetry owing to its artistic features, is deeply rooted in its native culture. Consequently, poems though may be appreciated by readers, they can be hardly reproduced by translators. Though poetry translation has been practiced through time and theories regarding to poetry translation heavily outnumbered these of prose or drama translation. Yet people’ opinion about the translatability and untranslatability of poems remain divided. Some translation theorists and translators seem to agree with translatability for the fact that there exist common grounds of culture in different nations. Such common grounds make it possible for people of different nation and culture to communicate with each other and such possibility constitutes the basis of the translatability of poems: these common grounds enables people of different culture and nation to appreciate the meaning and emotion of poems and echo with each other though they are written in different language. However, different nations also greatly differ from each other in historical reality which bring us to the very discussion of untranslatability. As poems are mainly appreciated from sense, sound and form, the untranslatability will be further argued in these three aspects. Then some corresponding strategies will be discussed to guide our actual translation practice.

The untranslatability of poetry

The nature of untranslatability

Though there are numerous scholars in home and abroad believe that poetry is untranslatable for example Xu Guangqian, Wang Yizhu, Yu Guangzhong, Shelley, Robert Frost etc, people appear to hold different definition of untranslatability. Catford thinks that both language and cultural are untranslatable to some degree. Linguistic untranslatability exists in the inaccurate correspondence of different linguistic structure while cultural untranslatability is shown by the bare correspondence of meaning connoted in different culture. But Bassnett holds that the untranslatability nature should be discussed in the role that the context plays during the translation process. Few translations are totally untranslatable while many untranslatable sentences manifested by the lack of cultural correspondence can be compensated or replaced with translation methods. Some scholar simply maintained that the translatability of poetry means that possibility of poetry translation while equating untranslatability to the difficulties in translation. For example “人曾是僧，人弗能成佛。女卑为婢，女又可称奴。” The first part of the couplet was made by Su Xiaomei, sister of Su Dongpo with intention to ridicule Fo Yin and the second part was completed by Fo Yin as a response to Su Xiaomei. This antithetical and net couplet is famous for the meaning connoted in the form and anagram game. It was thought to be totally untranslatable until Xu Yuanchong gave his translation: “A Buddhist cannot bud into a Buddha A maiden maybe made a house maid” Xu Yuanchong’s translation is undoubtedly an excellent one no matter in its meaning or antithesis. Thus, they concluded that form the point of historical development, the translatability nature runs though poetry translation while the untranslatability nature is temporary and can be eliminated as long as the difficulties are solved. However, Xu Yuanchong himself appears to stand against this idea. In his opinion, a translated poem is the crystallization of the enormous efforts made both by the original poet and translator. when the original poet is compared to a father, the translator can be considered to be the mother and the translated poem a child. The child will never be utterly same to neither his father nor his mother. The same is also true of pome translation. The translated poem won’t be exactly the same as the original poem not will it be reproduced without the influence of the translator. Thus, Xu Yuanchong concluded there is no such question of translatability or untranslatability but the matter of the degree a poem can be translated to. Xu Yuanchong gave the following example: “流水落花春去也, 天上人间” Any translation of a poem should take various functions at different levels into consideration. Take meaning for example, what is concerned with the reality or thoughts about the world the poet wants to deliver is commonly regarded as the core of the reproduction. However. The author’s thought is usually connoted in the poem which leads to different interpretation or understanding of the poem. As understanding is the first step in any translation, there would be different kinds of translation of one poem according to the translator’s understanding. And there are at least four versions of translation of this verse:

(1)“Flowing waters and faded flowers are gone forever As far apart as heaven is form earth” (Tr. Chu Dagao)

(2)“The river flows – The blossoms fall – Spring going – gone in Heaven as on earth ”(Tr. Lin Tongji)

(3)“One’s spring and youth has passed never to return One’s destiny is not of heaven’s Concern.” (Tr. Xu Zhongjie)

(4)“Without flowers fallen on the waves Spring’s gone away So is the paradise of yesterday.” (Tr. X.Y.Z)

Xu Yuanchong argues since there are at least 4 versions of translation, poetry is of course translatable. Also, similarities and differences can be easily found in the four translated work. Then similarities represent what the original poet wants to convey and the differences exhibit different expression methods adopted by the translator. Different expression methods also reveal the “translated degree” which means to which degree a poem is subjectively translated by the author within his ability. Then “translatable degree” should be discriminated form “translatable degree” which refers to the degree to which a poem can be objectively translated. When Xu Yuanchong’s translation of “人曾是僧，人弗能成佛。 女卑为婢，女又可称奴。” is reassessed with his definition of “translated degree” and “translatable degree”, it is clear that the difficulties that others equate untranslatability to fall into the category of “translated degree” since Xu Yuanchong solved the problem of meaning and anagram game but the form is not fully translated at least in this point: in the original verse, two short clauses “人曾是僧” and ”人弗能成佛” altogether constitute the whole meaning, but in the translation “A Buddhist cannot bud into a Buddha“ there is only one complete sentence. In this sense, this couple is only translatable to a certain degree. So our discussion of translatability will be confined to the field of “translatable degree”

The untranslatability of imagery

Image is defined by J.A. Cuddon to be a general term that covers the use of language to represent objects, actions, feelings, thoughts, ideas, states of mind and any sensory or ex-sensory experience (1998:413). Qin Xiubai believes, “imagery is the soul of poetry”. This illustrates the critical status of imagery in literary translation, especially in poetry translation. Though Chinese and foreign poets attach great importance to the use of imagery, they, due to disparities in social and cultural background, differ from each other in tradition, ideology and mode of thinking. When comparison is made between Chinese and Western imagery theory, we can conclude the following features of Chinese imagery: At first, imageries in ancient Chinese place overwhelming importance on the meaning an imagery delivers rather than the imagery itself. Chinese tend to express their feelings in a very implicit way. The use of imageries consequently became prevalent among Chinese poet. As a result, imageries turn out to be the organic combination of the subjective feeling and an object. For example，“浮云游子意，落日故人情”（李白《送友人》） and “杨柳岸，晓风残月”（柳永《雨铃》）. Chinse imagerys boast unique connoted meaning. “浮云”(floating clouds)”落日” (setting sun)、”杨柳”(willow) 、”晓风”(breeze) 、”残月” (wane moon)are typical imageries that Chinese poets used to express the feeing of farewell. When these imageries are literally translated, it can barely intrigue the same feeling in target readers. Another example can also clearly explain this untranslatability of imageries of Chinese poetry. “鸿雁” or “飞鸿” is commonly employed by poets to express the lovesickness while “wild swan” or “wild geese” is but some sort of bird. When “鸿雁” or “飞鸿” is simply translated into “wild swan” or “wild geese”, English readers can’t appreciate the translated work as much Chinese reader appreciate the original poem due to the untranslatability of imagery. On the basis of its appealing to human sense, five types of imagery can be outlined as follows: visual imagery, aural or auditory imagery, tactile imagery, olfactory imagery and other sensory imagery. In addition, since any subject in the globe is either static or dynamic, imageries can also be divided into static and dynamic imagery. Then there come to the other prominent feature of imagery of Chinese poetry: Chinese much prefer static imageries to dynamic ones. Static imagery is comprised of adjectives and adjective phrase, nouns and nouns phrase as well. For instance, in the Chinese poem 《早发白帝城》 by Li Bai “朝辞白帝彩云间，千里江陵一日还。两岸猿声啼不住，轻舟已过万重山。” At dawn I left the walled city of White King, Towering among the many-colored clouds; And came down stream in a day One thousand li to Jiangling. The screams of monkeys on either bank Had scarcely ceased echoing in my ear When my skiff had left behind it Ten thousand ranges of hills “彩云”(colored clouds)、“轻舟”（skiff）、“万重山”（Ten thousand ranges of hills） can be categorized into static imagery. These three images are not only the objects the poet describes, but the very psychology equivalence reflecting the poet’s feeling. The poet express his great delight upon his absolved from exile through the image “彩云”while “轻舟”passing“万重山”shows the poet’ eager to return home. Reading the translated work, readers can hardly grasp the mood of the original poet. Despite the large quantity of static imagery, the use of dynamic is vivid and picture-evoking. Dynamic imagery refers to the dynamic description in chinse ancient poems such as imageries presented by the verbs of “还” and “过” use in Li Bai’s《早发白帝城》.There are other abundant examples of dynamic imagery: “绿” in “春风又绿江南岸”(王安石《泊船瓜洲》), “闹” in “红杏枝头春意闹”（宋祁《木兰花》）and “弄” in “云破月来花弄影”（张先《天仙子》）bring enormous vivacities to these verses. But such dynamic imageries can’t be hardly translated since exactly corresponded words can’t be found. Even so, the mood can barely be reproduced as “还” and “过” in examples above are translated into ”came down” and “left behind”.

The untranslatability of “yijing”

The artistic kingdom has been sung high of throughout the history of Chinese poetry development, and assigned the name as “意境”(“yijing”). The phrase “意境” was translated into “artistic conception” or “ideorealm” by some. However, both of these two terms fail to fully express the core of “意境”（”yijing” ). ”yijing”, too mysterious and intangible as it is, is deemed to be the sprit of poetry. Though “yijing” originated from imagery, it is never a simple aggregate of images but an organic integration of imagery. Poets us concrete images to express their feeling and these two elements then become fully blended in “yijing” which altogether brings and far-retching philosophical effects. For example, in 《江雪》(柳宗元) 千山鸟飞绝，万径人踪灭。 孤舟蓑笠翁，独钓寒江雪。” River Snow A hundred mountains and no bird, A thousand paths without a footprint; A little boat, a bamboo cloak, An old man fishing in the cold river-snow. （Tr. Witter Bynner）

At first glance, the poem seems to present a snow picture. However, through images including “大雪”、 “孤舟”、 “老渔翁”、 “寒江”、 “鸟飞绝” and “人踪灭”, a vivid picture of an old man fishing alone in the wild cold snow unfolds before our eyes and delivers us the image of the old fishman who exhibits loneliness and pride and forbears no sacrilege. In actuality, this old man by which the poet expresses his thought of getting rid of the secular and holding himself aloof from the world, is an incarnation of the poets’ sprit. Though any single image has no specific meaning, the organic integration of thess simple images attributes to the profound “yijing” which is exactly the charm of Chinese poems. However, in Bynner’s translation, nothing but a snow picture can be seen. The other typical example is 《天净沙》（马致远） “枯藤老树昏鸦， 小桥流水人家， 古道西风瘦马。 夕阳西下， 断肠人在天涯。” It seems that the poet randomly puts “枯藤”、“老树”、“昏鸦” and other 7 images together, but the last sentence“断肠人在天涯” fully revels the core concept of the poem and leave us roomy space for imagination. When Chinese sentence characterized by parataxis is translated into English features hypotaxis, the beauty of “yijing” of Chinese classical poetry vanishes to a large degree, if not completely.

The untranslatability of allusion

As a gem of Chinese national culture, allusion is characterized by rich cultural connation, highly-concentrated structure and compact expression. In the course of more than five thousand years, numerous Chinese allusions are widely spread. Poets, to avoid direct expression of feeling, would naturally resort to such allusions like myth, legends, or historic event. Due to cultural difference, western reader can hardly understand what is connoted in the poem as much as Chinese reader can appreciate. If these allusions are translated completely translated by explanation, the whole translated poem will be lengthy and no longer be poem in form. On the contrary, if the allusion is simplified, connotations and space for imagination would no longer exist. For example: 古别离 孟郊 欲去牵郎衣，郎今何处去？ 不恨归来迟，莫向临邛去！ You wish to go, and let your robe I hold. Where are you going- tell me, dear – today. Your late returning does not anger me, But the another steal your heart away. (Tr. Fletcher) Undoubtedly, the basic meaning is reproduced when “莫向临邛去” was translated into “But the another steal your heart away.” However, the loss of image leads to the deviation of original information. Actually, “临邛” in the original poem is an allusion which tells the love story between Sima Xiangru, an prominent litterateur of West Han dynasty and an widow Zhuo Wenjun. The widow dared to break tradition hierarchy and ran way with the litterateur and married him at last. Obviously, here “临邛” is no longer a name for a place but a media the poet used to express the widow’s anxiety that her husband would fall in love with someone else in his journey. This anxiety is implicitly express in the original poem. However, the translated poem delivers this feeling in a blunt and frank manner, which doesn’t coincide with the characteristic of ancient Chinese women. Thus, the translation is by no means the perfect reproduction of the original poem. The translation of《琴瑟》（李商隐） can also illustrate this point: 锦瑟无端五十弦, 一弦一柱思年华。 庄生晓梦迷蝴蝶, 望帝春心托杜鹃。 沧海月明珠有泪, 蓝田日暖玉生烟。 此情可待成追忆, 只是当时已惘然。 “Why should the sad zither have fifty strings? Each string, each strain evokes but vanished springs: Dim morning dream to be a butterfly; Amorous heart poured out in cuckoo’s cry. In moonlit pearls see tears in mermaid’s eyes; From sunburnt emerald let vaporize! Such feeling cannot be recalled again: It seemed lost even when it was felt then.” (Tr. Xu Yuanchong) Five allusion including “琴瑟”、 “庄周梦蝶”、“望帝春心”、“沧海月明”、“蓝天” in used in a poem of only 64 words to express the beaty of obscurity. Though Xu used interrogative and exclamatory sentence as well as such words like “amorous”、”cry” to reproduce this beauty. Butt westers, with little knowledge of Chinese culture will be confused by the relationship between of “string” and ”vanished things” or the connotation of “butterfly”、“cuckoo” and “pearls”.

The untranslatability of sound

Poetic language has a natural connection with sound. The monosyllable nature and the four tones of Chinese character make it possible for Chinese poets to have a sometime deep, sometime high rhyme and rhythm which however are hardly limited in Chinese poem for the following three aspect: the harmonious balance between level and oblique tones, requirement for antithesis and rhyme which means the regular repetition of the same vowel. However, it is still much more difficult for English poets to enhance the musicality due to the uncertain syllable of words, stress shift between words, and limitation of rhyme. Consequently, the beauty of sound itself of Chinese classical poems can barely reproduced in English. For example, 海水朝朝朝朝朝朝朝落, 浮云长长长长长长长消。 Sea waters tide, day to day tide, everyday tide and everyday ebb. Floating clouds appear, often appear, often appear and often go (Tr. Nida) Though the meaning of the original poem was fully translated, but the reiterative locution, reduplication words and antithesis which can impress the original reader at their first glance disappear. Here is the other example； “寻寻觅觅，冷冷清清，凄凄惨惨戚戚。《声声慢》（李清照） “Seek, seek, search, search,” Cold, cold, bare, bare, Grief, grief, cruel, cruel grief, Now warm, then like an autumn Cold again How hard to calm the heart. (Tr. Clara Candlin) There are seven couple of reduplication words bring the musicality that remind us the poet’s deep sorrow and grief though no single word regarding to sadness is used. The translated works is pale when compared to the original poem in terms of neither meter nor”yijing”. The word-for-word translation in attempt to maintain the repetition of sound reduces the sense of beauty to the most and can scarcely trigger the deep sorrow and grief in the target reader.

The untranslatability of from

Since Aristotle, heated debates on the difference of poetry and prose have been hold. Yet, poetry should be discriminated from prose in the first place for its form. A translated poetry must be poetry in form for the following reason: at first, the charm of a poem somewhat lies in the beauty of form. Second, target readers should have accesses to the feature and charm of the original poetry, and it is the supreme duty of the translator to ensure that to happen. Third, the translator should be royal to the original poem. However, because of the opaqueness and connotation pervading in Chinse poems, translator in one way or other are prone to translate them into poetry and thus the beauty of form is lost. Even though the translator is determined to keep the original form, he can hardly do so. As mentioned earlier, because of implicit character of Chinese, they tend to express their intention or feeling in a direct way so much so that some special form in adopted in classic poetry such as the anagram mentioned earlier. 凡鸟偏从末世来，都知爱慕此生才。 一从二令三人木，哭向金陵事更哀。

This bird appears when the world falls on evil times; None but admires her talents and her skill, First she complies, then commands, then is dismissed, Departing in tears to Jinling more wretched still. (Tr. Yang xianyi & Gladys)

This phoenix in a bad time came, All praised her great ability. “Two” makes my riddle with a man and a tree, Returning south in tears she met calamity. (Tr. David Hawkes)

The original poem was use by Cao Xueqin to make hints of Wang Xifeng’s destiny. Here, “凡” and “鸟” altogether constitute the traditional Chinese character “鳳” which refers to the word “feng” of Lady Wang Xingfeng. Thus, the first couplet tells us though Wang is lady of high caliber but she came at a bad time. Neither “bird” nor “phoenix” can deliver us this hint. Also in the first part of the second couplet, “木” and “人” make the character “休” (“repudiation”) which implies Wang Xifeng would be dismissed by her husband at last. Though the first translation literally tells us her destiny, the anagram is gone. It is still worser of the second translation, target reader will be utterly confused when he come to “‘Two’ makes my riddle with a man and a tree,”

Translation strategies of Chinese classical poetry

Much as a poem can’t not be fully translated in all aspects, some strategies can be adopted to make the translation as lose to the original poetry as possible:

Addition of word

Chinese classical poetry features terse wording so much so that some words are omitted. Thus, considerable words should be added to make the translation more exact in sense. For example, “十年生死两茫茫” “Ten years now, I’m here, you’re gone. Though not thought, not forgot.” “For ten long years, the living of the dead knows nought.” (Tr. Xu Yuanchong) In the second translation, the preposition “for” is added to meet English expression and more importantly, it can strength readers’ feeling the span of time and echo the grief. Besides, connotation should added to prevent target reader from confusion resulted from culture difference. For example, “纤云弄巧，飞星传恨，银汉迢迢暗渡” “Clouds float like works of art，Stars shoot with grief at heart． Across the Milky Way the Cowherd meets the Maid ( In a fairy tale in ancient China，the Cowherd and the Maid were married，but theywere restricted by the Queen Mother to meet each other once a year) ”， An allusion is used for the implicit expression of lovesickness, it would be extremely difficult for target readers to appreciate the full sense of this poem.

Deletion of word

Reduplicated and repetitive words are used to trigger strong emotion. Such word can be sometime deleted to avoid redundance in English. For example, in “飞流直下三千尺” and “千锤万凿出深山”， “三千尺” and “千锤万凿” are actually hyperbolized. If they are literally translated into “It flows down three thousand feet” and “Only through tens of thousands of blows，can it be extracted from the mountains”，not only the beauty of sense but space for imagination are totally lost. After fully understanding of the poem, the numbers can be omitted and thus hyperbole is transformed into typical English adjective used for description.: “an incredible height” and “a hard hammer blows”.

Conversion of word class

English and Chinese differ from each other a lot in terms of linguist form and structure. In order to make the translation faithful, Conversion of word class is frequently used. For example， “明月几时有，把酒问青天” 《水调歌头·明月几时有》（苏轼） “How long will the full moon appear? Wine cup in hand, I ask the sky.” (Tr. Xu Yuanchong) “How rare the moon，so round and clear! With cup in hand, I ask of the blue sky,” (Tr. Lin Yuntang) If “把酒” and “问青天” are separably translated into “hold the wine glass” and “ask the sky”, there will be two predicate which is inconsistent with English expression. When we take a close look to Xu’s and Lin’s translation, it is clear that the verb phrase ”把酒” are translated into prepositional phrase. By doing this, the focus ‘问青天” is empathized so that the sense is closer to the original poem

There are of course many other ways for poetry translation such as reconstruction of sentence and the use of annotation. No matter what strategies we adopted, it borders on impossibly for us to 100% translate a poem. But we should also bear it in mind that we can always find a way to make the translated work closer to the original poem with brainstorm and ingenuity.

Conclusion

In spite of the very fact that poetry translation has been practiced since very long ago and theories of poetry translation have been much produced. Different opinion was still hold of translatability and untranslatability. This paper confined the definition of untranslatability first and then explained the untranslatability from image, “yijing” the use of allusion, sound and form. Some strategies are given not in the fancy of the full reproduction of the original poem but with wish to reproduce it to as much greater degree as possible.

References

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A Study on Untranslatability and Compensations 朱旭 Zhu Xu

Abstract

Key words

摘要

关键词

Introduction

Conclusion

Bibliography

Study on translations of Vanity Fair from the perspective of poetics 许鹏飞 Xu Pengfei

许鹏飞 Xu Pengfei

Abstract:

This chapter aims to discuss function losses and poetic values in translations of Vanity Fair from the perspective of poetics. In literary translation, translators may not strictly follow forms and structures corresponding to original texts due to various reasons, which can help translators convey emotions and content of original texts but also do damage to some functions and poetic effects of originals unconsciously. This chapter chooses some excerpts from two versions translated by Yang Bi and Peng Changjiang respectively. Under the guidance of poetics theory, this part will discuss the advantages and disadvantages in their translations and compare them to the original text. And the author will analyze their function losses and poetic values in aspect of literariness in the excerpts from two versions of Vanity Fair’s translation.

摘要：

本章节旨在从诗学角度探讨《名利场》不同译本中的功能损失和诗学价值。在文学翻译中，译者时常不会严格遵从原文的形式与结构，这有利于译者对原文情感内容的传达，但也在无形之中损害了原文的某些功能和诗学效果。本文节选了杨必和彭长江二人译本中的部分文段，在诗学理论指导下，通过分析二者翻译的优缺点，以及与原文进行比对，来探讨这两个译本选段翻译中存在的功能损失以及他们在文学性方面的诗学价值。

Key words:

Literary translation;Vanity Fair;Poetics theory;Departure;Literariness

关键词：

文学翻译；名利场；诗学理论；偏离；文学性

Chapter 1 Introduction

When it comes to literary translation, it cannot escape from controversy and difficulty. It is considered that literary translation is quite hard because sense of beauty and emotions may be lost in the process of translation before they reach target receptors. And one or more translators seek to give a good translation of a same original, hence re-translation often occurs. Vanity Fair is a novel written by English writer William Makepeace Thackeray in 1847 which depicts English society in early nineteenth century. About a hundred years later, Yang Bi translated it into Chinese in 1957. Her translation is free from the shackles of the original language structure, showing charm and original style of Vanity Fair. After Yang Bi’s translation, a lot of people re-translated this book. Among them, Peng Changjiang’s work is an impressive one. His translation, published in 1996, follows the original structure which is quite different from Yang Bi’s version in style, wording and many other aspects. Both of them give their unique translations to Chinese readers and their translations own their characteristics and merits. Nevertheless, it is inevitable that something in source text may be lost in target text. Besides, their different choices of translation strategies are worthy of discussion. To explore these, this chapter will discuss some discourses excerpted from the two versions compared with the original text under the guidance of poetics theory. And how literariness in original text can be retained in their translation will also be involved. According to comparisons and study, it will analyze their poetic values and function losses in translation in perspective of poetics.

Chapter 2 An Overview of Relevant Theories

Before discussing the comparison between Yang Bi’s version and Peng Changjiang’s translation, this part will briefly introduce the theoretical basis of this chapter. In this section, the author will first give an introduction on relevant parts of poetics theory and then expounds the functions of language proposed by the Roman Jakobson, especially poetic function. And then this part will discuss internal connections between poetics theory and poetic function.

2.1Poetics theory

Poetics originated in ancient Greece. Poetics in tradition is a study on poetry based on Aristotle’s Poetics, while Jakobson enlarges its fields. Roman Jakobson proposed that poetics can be applied in research on literature because its object of study is art of language(1987: 69). According to Jakobson(1987: 63), the main question that poetics studies is what transforms verbal message into arts. Poetics theory proposes that literariness in literature distinguishes it from other text types and gives it poetic effects. And it is literariness that makes literature a kind of verbal art. Correspondingly, literariness is the object of literature research(Jakobson, 1973: 62). As a result, a vitally important issue in literary translation that needs to figure out is how to retain literariness in original works. This is closely connected with functions of language, especially poetic function, which is dominant and crucial for literature. Besides, cognitive poetics theory considers that the more efforts a reader makes to understand a work, the stronger poetic effects it will produce(Pilkington, 2000:161 -169). The unfamiliar expression is a skill of creating art and grabbing readers’ attention in poetic perspective(Shklovsky, 1998: 16). And poetic language is a kind of self-focused message, different expressions can build different informational capacity of messages(Jakobson, 1987:67, 85). Therefore, choices of words and structure in literary works cannot be ignored and should be seriously concerned in literary translation.

2.2Functions of language

At first, the Prague Circle proposed that there are three functions of languages, that are expressive, conative, and referential function. Then, linguists of the Prague Circle also proposed a fourth function—aesthetic function. This function indicates that language can serve art. In 1960, Jakobson raised another three functions: phatic, metalingual, and poetic function. Based on functions, he distinguished six elements in his model of functions that are necessary for communication to occur: context, addresser(sender), addressee(receiver), contact, common code and message(as cited in Feng Zongxin, 2006:19-34). Poetic function originated from literariness is the main function of literature and it focuses on the message(Jakobson, 1987: 69). How to use various linguistic devices to achieve the desired purpose is always the focus of scholars who study various kinds of linguistic communication(Roman Jakobson, 1981a: 19). In other words, different communicative purposes determine that linguistic devices should perform different tasks and fulfill different functions. As poetic function pays attention to message itself and its expressive device is a kind of self-focused message, carriers of information should be focused on(Jakobson, 1987: 85). Therefore, form of original works should be taken into consideration. Combined with poetics, form of original works can influence literariness, which cannot be ignored in translation.

2.3Poetics theory and poetic function

In view of formalism, no matter what the art, it needs to be expressed through certain forms. The medium used in literature is language, and studying art of literature is actually studying language itself. Jakobson argues that poetics is an integral part of linguistics(1958: 63). Thus, the main research method of poetics is studying language through linguistics. As mentioned in 2.1, it is literariness that makes literature a kind of verbal art. And literariness is produced by certain permutation and combination of language. And Jakobson argues that, whereas most language is concerned with the transmission of ideas, the poetic function of language focuses on the ‘message’ for its own sake. Formalist scholars led by Jakobson believe that the intentional violation of conventions results in variation of forms, and thus forms defamiliarization(Wand Dongfeng, 2010: 8). The process by which readers gain understanding from reading and decoding these novel and inexplicable forms of language will produce poetic effects and aesthetic feelings(Shklovsky, 1998: 16). In a short, analyzing poetic function of language in literary works is a indispensable method to appreciate literature in perspective of poetics.

Chapter 3 Comparative Analysis of Translations of Vanity Fair

3.1Lexicon

3.2Sentence structure

Chapter 4 Conclusion

Chapter 5 References

A Study of the Chinese Prose Translation from the Perspective of Translation Aesthetics 赵晓燕 Zhao Xiaoyan

A Study on the translations of Cosmetic Trademarks from the Perspective of Translation Aesthetics 张琪 Zhang Qi

Culture Loaded Words

Foreignizing Translation of Culture-loaded Words in Chinese Food Culture 全美欣 Quan Meixin

全美欣 Quan Meixin 湖南师范大学 外国语学院，湖南 长沙

Abstract

Chinese food culture, as an important part of Chinese traditional culture, is rich in ethnic characteristics. Some words related to Chinese food culture are also abundant in cultural information. By adopting the foreignizing translation, Chinese language and cultural information can be preserved to the greatest extent. This paper will be divided into four parts. The first part will give a brief introduction of culture-loaded words and foreignizing translation. The second part will explore culture-loaded words in Chinese food culture from the strategy of foreignizing translation in three categories: words of historical allusions, words of local customs and words of food aesthetics. The third part will put forward that we should use comprehensive translation techniques to achieve foreignizing translation, which is beneficial to retain the characteristics of Chinese food culture, reflect the value of national culture, and promote Chinese food culture to go out. The fourth part will draw a concise conclusion about this paper.

Key Words

food culture; culture-loaded words; foreignizing translation; cultural communication; translation skills

摘要

中国“食”文化是中国传统文化一个重要组成部分，极具民族特征，与“食”文化有关的词语也富含中华民族文化信息。采用异化翻译能最大限度保留中华民族的语言和文化信息。本文分为四部分：第一部分简单介绍文化负载词和异化翻译；第二部分对“食”文化负载词中历史典故词、民俗习惯词和饮食审美词三个类别的异化翻译策略进行探讨；第三部分提出运用综合的翻译技巧实现异化翻译，保留中国饮食文化的特色，体现民族文化的价值，推动中国“食”文化走出去；第四部分对本文进行一个简短的总结。

关键词

“食”文化；文化负载词；异化翻译；文化传播；翻译技巧

1.Introduction

1.1 Culture-loaded words

1.2 Foreignizing Translation

2.Categories of Culture-loaded Words in Chinese Food Culture

2.1 Words of Historical Allusions

2.2 Words of Local Customs

2.3 Words of Food Aesthetics

Translation of Cultural words Based on Interpretive Theory 何长琦 He Changqi

Study on the translation of culture-loaded words from the view of cultural self-confidence. 刘博 Liu Bo

Abstract

Today, China's growing international influence is inseparable from cultural development. Without a high degree of cultural self-confidence, no country or nation can flourish. Language is an important carrier of cultural inheritance, development and prosperity, so in the context of cultural self-confidence, the translation of culture- loaded words is of great significance to the spread of Chinese traditional culture.

Key words

culture-loaded words, cultural self-confidence, translation strategy

摘要

如今中国的国际影响力日益提升，离不开文化的发展。没有高度的文化自信，便没有一个国家和民族的兴盛。而语言又是文化传承、发展、繁荣的重要载体,因此在文化自信的语境下，文化负载词的翻译对中国传统文化的传播具有重要的意义。

关键词

文化负载词，文化自信，翻译策略

Introduction

China is a major cultural nation, and its long cultural history gives it reason to be confident in its own culture. As Xi Jinping said, "In today's world, if any political party, country or nation can be confident, the Communist Party of China, the People's Republic of China and the Chinese nation have the best reason to be so. With the courage to 'live a life of 200 years with confidence, we will be able to face all difficulties and challenges without fear, and we will be able to open up new horizons and create new miracles with unswerving determination. However, in the course of China's development, we have also absorbed Western culture while neglecting the development of Chinese culture. This phenomenon is still going on today. As China's economic development has entered a new stage, and reform has also entered a critical period, social values have become complex and diverse. The mainstream and the non-mainstream co-exist, and the advanced and the backward are intertwined, presenting a pluralistic and changeable character. Therefore, China needs a force to unite the complex and diverse social consciousness, and the importance of traditional Chinese culture is once again highlighted. Therefore, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has proposed the concept of "firm cultural confidence", which has been widely accepted by the Chinese people. Against this backdrop, English language learners should take on the task of communicating the cultural loaded words of Chinese culture to the world, so that the world can learn more about Chinese culture through language, and thus increase China's international influence.

Subtitle Translation Strategies of Cultural-Loaded Words from the Perspective of Skopos Theory 刘金惺琦 liu Jinxingqi

Translation of Culture-loaded Words in Mao Zedong's Poems from the Cognitive View of Translation—A Case Study of Xu Yuanchong's Version 曾芳缘 Zeng Fangyuan

曾芳缘 Zeng Fangyuan

Abstract

Characterized by profound meaning, majestic style, and concise language, Mao Zedong's poems shows the essence of his life and revolutionary experience. Mao's unique artistic charm and philosophical wisdom make him deeply respected by the people around the world and translation of his poems are also widely concerned. His poems are written in the style of classical metrical verse, in which the culture-loaded words are the crystallization of Chinese culture. Because of the specificity and complexity of culture meaning, there exists much challenge in the translation of such words. Nowadays, translation theorists both at home and abroad have gradually swerved their focus from discourse analysis and cross-cultural communication to a deeper factor—cognition as a way to explain the phenomenon.

In this sense, based on Nida's classification of culture-loaded words, this chapter selects Xu Yuanchong's translated version of Mao's poems as an example to discuss the translation of culture-loaded words from the perspective of cognitive view in translation.

Key Words

Culture-loaded words; Mao Zedong's Poems; cognitive view of translation; Xu Yuanchong's translation.

摘要

毛泽东诗词意境深远，气势磅礴，语言自然简洁，是毛泽东人生和革命经历的精华，独特的艺术魅力和哲理智慧让其深受世界人民的推崇。他的诗词都用古典的中国格律诗体写就，其中的文化负载词是中华民族思想文化的结晶。但由于其文化意义独特复杂，给翻译带来了较大挑战。当下，国内外的翻译研究焦点由文本分析和跨文化交流的角度渐渐转向了一个更深层的要素——认知来解释文化负载词翻译的现象。

本篇基于奈达对文化负载词的分类，选取许渊冲所译的毛泽东诗词为实例，根据认知语言学翻译观，浅谈文化负载词的翻译。

关键词

文化负载词；毛泽东诗词；认知翻译观；许渊冲译文

Conclusion

Works Cited

Translation Strategies of Words under the Guidance of Translation Methodology 肖婷 Xiao Ting

Analysis of the Translation of Culture-loaded Words in Vanity Fair常慧月 Chang Huiyue

Skopos and Functional Equivalence

On the Relationship among Translation Theories, Strategies and Techniques ——From the Perspective of Skopos Theory

谌孙福 Chen Sunfu

Abstract

One fact known to be existent in the learning of translation is students' ignorance of the discrepancy between translation studies and translation practice. Bluntly speaking, central to translation studies are diverse translation theories. However, some strategies, methods and skills accordingly applied are at the core of translation practice during the process of translation. Given the fact that translation theories, strategies, methods and skills are always misunderstood as concepts in the same level, this paper aims to expound the relationship among them on the basis of Hans Vermeer's Skopos Theory as well as the exhaustive analysis of examples of pragmatic translation. With the citation of several examples of pragmatic translation, including those of tourism translation, literary translation and business translation, this paper elucidates the principal points vividly.

Key words

translation theories; translation strategies; translation techniques; Skopos Theory; pragmatic translation

摘要

学生翻译学习过程中普遍存在的一个现象是混淆翻译学研究和翻译实践的区别。简言之，翻译学研究的核心是形形色色的翻译理论。相比之下，翻译实践关注的重点则是翻译过程中运用的翻译策略、方法和技巧。鉴于翻译理论、策略、方法和技巧常被误认为是同一层面的概念，基于汉斯•弗米尔的功能目的论和对实用文本译例的详尽分析，本论文旨在阐明翻译理论、策略、方法和技巧之间的关系。文中出现的实用文本译例清楚展现了论文要点，如旅游文本、文学类文本以及商务文本的翻译等。

关键词

翻译理论；翻译策略；翻译技巧；目的论；实用类文本翻译

I.Introduction

1.1Skopos Theory

Skopos Theory, one of the most profound contributions made by German Functionalist School, is basically put forward by Hans Vermeer as a new way to deal with translation, especially the relationship between ST (the source text) and TT (the target text). Here, the original German word "Skopos" refers to "purpose" in English, indicating that Skopos Theory can be also interpreted as "the principle of purposes". According to Vermeer, there are mainly three rules to be abided by, namely skopos rule, coherence rule and fidelity rule, among which the skopos rule is of overriding importance. Now an exhaustive explanation will be given in the following text with regard to those rules.

The first one to be illustrated is the overwhelmingly significant skopos rule. In the eyes of Hans Vermeer, "each text is produced for a given purpose and should serve this purpose. The skopos rule thus reads as follow: translate/interpret/speak/write in a way that enables your text/translation to function in the situation in which it is used and with the people who want to use it and precisely in the way they want it to function." (Nord, 2001:29). Seeing from his remarks, what matters most in the process of translation is not so much the equivalence between ST and TT as the manifold purposes. These purposes encompass those of the translator and the text, the latter one of which is greatly highlighted. That is to say, the translator need not obstinately stick to the form and style of ST but rather give top priority to what the TT actually wants to convey and transfer to TT readers. Hence, the adoption of pertinent translation strategies and techniques is by no means haphazard but in accordance to the skopos rule. Moreover, Skopos Theory also provides translators an efficacious way to free themselves from the restraint of ST. Their obligation lies in tailoring TT rendered by them to the ultimate goals of the translation activity, such as informing TT readers about something new, persuading them or so.

Then, here comes the second rule, coherence rule, also called the intra-lingual rule. It has been widely held that this rule lays much emphasis on the readability and acceptability of TT for TT readers. Imaging there are two translation version of a text, one of which is transparent and intelligible whereas another one of which is rigid and eccentric for people to understand, then which one will be the ideal version for TT readers? The answer is definitely the latter one. The case is that readers are more prone to read TT which conforms to their expressive habits and conventions. This is why the translation strategy, domestication has been frequently adopted when translating some exotic or foreign texts, with a view to catering to TT readers' knowledge.

The last but not least one rule to be demonstrated is the fidelity rule, or the well-known inter-lingual rule. Here, the loyalty of TT to ST cannot be overstated any more. Bearing a resemblance to Yan Fu's "faithfulness" or Nida's Functional Equivalence Theory, TT must be rendered in conformity with ST. Quite different from Yan Fu's and Nida's standpoints, such a kind of fidelity, however, is determined or constrained by the purposes of TT and the translator's comprehension of ST to a great extent.

To conclude, in spite of the respective roles played by the above-mentioned three rules in translation practice, the coherence rule and the fidelity rule are outshined by the skopos rule for purposes of TT and translators are the most crucial elements to be considered when we view translation practice from the unique perspective of Skopos Theory.

1.2Translation theories,strategies and techniques

Translation theories are the fruitful outcomes yielded thanks to our predecessors'assiduous and relentless work in terms of translation studies. Broadly speaking, translation theories are some guidelines and benchmarks used to facilitate translation practice. They are quite abstract notions but informative and enlightening knowledge to be relied on. With the elapse of time, translation theories also take on historical characteristics, each one of which can be attributed to a certain school, such as the literary school, the linguistic school, the translation studies school and the deconstructionism school. In our modern translation studies, the linguistic school has been deeply rooted in students'minds, including Nida's Functional Equivalence Theory, Vermeer's Skopos Theory, Catford's Translation shift theory, New Mark's semantic translation and communicative translation. Given the limited space in this paper, other prominent translation theories will not be delineated here.

The interpretation of the word "strategy" by Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary reads as "a careful plan or method for achieving a particular goal usually over a long period of time." Applying this word to translation studies, the definition of translation strategies can be defined as a series of principles and plans used to address difficult problems emerging in the process of translation practice. They are subordinate to and influenced by certain translation theories. In translation studies, some prominent dichotomies of translation strategies can be found if viewing from various angles, like the contrast between literal translation and free translation, the juxtaposition of domestication and foreignzation, as well as the comparison between semantic translation and communicative translation. One thing to be underscored here is how to make a rational decision when it comes to the selection of various translation strategies. The aforementioned sentences remind us of the fact that translation theories will exert more or less impacts on our preferences toward some translation strategies. In order to clarify this point, the translation theories of the linguistic school are taken as an example to corroborate the effect of theories on translation strategies. Nida's Functional Equivalence Theory and Vermeer's Skopos Theory are none other than two epoch-making monuments in the translation theories of the linguistic school. In spite of their belongings to the same school, their core concepts and values are distinct from each other to a large extent, thereby offering translators different channels to select translation strategies. Since Functional Equivalence Theory attaches great importance to the natural and exquisite equivalence between TT and ST, the translation strategies of free translation and domestication are often the optimal choice to evade clumsiness and opacity of TT when the literal translation or the word-for-word translation does not work out. Another thing to note is how Vermeer's Skopos Theory helps to elaborate translation theories' function on translation strategies. The purposes of TT and translators are integral factors to decide which translation strategies will be chosen. For example, the translation strategies of foreignization will be considered if the TT aims to promulgate exotic and overseas culture.

An authoritative concept of the word "technique" given by Collins describes it as "a particular method of doing an activity, usually a method that involves practical skills." Therefore, translation techniques are quite a few concrete methods and skills helping facilitate and polish the process of translation practice. A list of translation techniques includes amplification, omission, conversion, division, combination, negation and so on. For the reason that English and Chinese are different from each other in terms of lexicon, syntax and culture, the emergence of translation techniques is exceedingly necessary to transfer information from ST to TT by means of translation. Specifically speaking, English and Chinese are unique in their dictions in that English allows more freedom for the usage of nouns while Chinese is a verb-oriented language. This accounts for the plausibility of applying the translation technique of conversion. Besides, the discrepancy between English and Chinese also lies in their respective thinking modes and expressive conventions, thus making the technique of negation come into being.

1.3The relationship among translation theories, strategies and techniques

Now that clear and vivid definitions of translation theories, strategies and techniques are provided in the preceding paragraphs, it is high time that the relationship among them should be manifested. Here, the relations among them will be unveiled from two respects. One is the mutually restraint relation among translation theories, strategies and techniques while another is the relationship between the macroscope and the microscope.

On the one hand, the intricate relationships among those three entities can be said to mutually restrain and complement each other. Translation theories are the most inclusive and macroscopical because of their guiding effects on the application of translation strategies and techniques. They are the overriding important benchmarks around which many other translation strategies and techniques should revolve. It is imperative to note that diversified translation theories beget diversified strategies and techniques. Examples proving this point are innumerable. The theories of deconstructionism promote the use and spread of foreignization. Nida's Functional Equivalence Theory justified the necessity of adopting pertinent translation strategies and techniques to achieve the most natural equivalence between ST and TT, like domestication, literal translation and so on. Translation strategies and techniques are none other than the extension and embodiment of translation theories. For example, the translation strategy of domestication can be only realized with diversified translation techniques. While translating culture-loaded words, the translator can resort to translation techniques of transliteration, amplification to put the domestication into practice. To sum up, translation theories are guidelines for translation strategies and techniques, and those strategies and techniques are in turn the true reflection of theories. It is likely that translators are not aware of this fact for all those theories and strategies have been deeply etched into their mind. Imaging such a situation that a translator is totally fatuous about translation theories, how could he render high-quality translation? What he will do is to translate a text word for word from beginning to end, ultimately producing crude translation. Without exaggeration, it is the collaboration and complementation among translation theories, strategies and techniques that help translators perfectly fulfill their missions.

On the other hand, another noteworthy relationship among translation theories, strategies and techniques can be regarded as the dichotomy between the macroscope and the microscope. Translation theories are the most high-leveled concept, just like a notion occurring in English linguistics, the superordinate. Thus, certain strategies and techniques are derivations and products of translation theories. Almost for every translator, their translation practice, including the selection of translation strategies and techniques, is always reliant on translation theories. Translation strategies, a concept lying between the two extremes of translation theories and translation techniques, are contained by theories but pave the way for using extraordinary translation techniques. Just like the above-mentioned contents, the most commonly found translation strategies of domestication and foreignization must be guided and restrained by translation theories, like Skopos Theory or Functional Equivalence Theory. But the selection of translation techniques is more or less limited by translation strategies. A good example of that is the application of transliteration to consolidate the effect of foreignization. Ultimately, translation techniques seem to be the most low-leveled concept lying beneath translation theories and strategies. But it is the existence of those techniques that offered translators and scholars a definite direction to conduct translation studies.

II.Case Analysis

2.1The translation of tourism texts

Tourism texts are one of the most typical genres of pragmatic texts, which are characterized by meticulous depiction of the certain scenery, brilliant dictions and sentence patterns as well as attractive or compelling informative messages for potential tourists. They consist of several pervasive types in people's daily life, such as the introduction to scenic spots, commentaries of tourist guides, tourist pamphlets, tourist contracts, monographs and thesis concerning tourist investigations. Viewing from a much more professional and functional perspective, all those enumerated above can be included into three types: tourist reception, tourist administration and tourist investigations. Accordingly, the translation of tourism texts also revolves around those three kinds. Albeit the diverse classification of texts, central to people's commonplace life are doubtlessly some tourists brochures, also known as a branch of tourist promotional materials (TPMs). "TPMs are described as the collection of media, such as brochures, leaflets, posters, flyers, postcards and websites, used to support the sales of tourism products." (M. Zain Sulaiman & Rita Wilson, 2019, p.17) Since this paper manages to unfold the relationship among translation theories, strategies and techniques from the perspective of Skopos Theory, the case analysis of tourism translation in the following words is not an exception. Considering that tourism texts, particularly TPMs, are destined to captivate tourists and accomplish lucrative goals, sensible decisions must be made so as to cater to tourists' tastes. Therefore, sometimes considerable superfluous information should be deleted and sometimes other complementary information that is conducive to customers' comprehension should be added. This calls for consideration of Vermeer's Skopos Theory for its overemphasis on functions and purposes of TT. Furthermore, the translation theory just decided will influence and constrain the adoption of translation strategies and techniques. Usually, whether to use amplification or omission will be pondered over by the translator to achieve goals of TT. Apart from the restraint on translation strategies and techniques imposed by translation theories, the former is also an authentic and lengthy reflection and extension of the latter. To say more simply, translation strategies and techniques are selected according to translation theories but also conversely embody or represent notions and connotations of translation theories. Several representative examples are shown here to illustrate the relationship among those concepts pertaining to translation.

Example 1

ST:这里三千座奇峰拔地而起，形态各异，有的似玉柱神鞭，立地顶天；有的像铜墙铁壁，巍然屹立；有的如晃板累卵，摇摇欲坠；有的如盆景古董，玲珑剔透……神奇而真实，迷离又实在，令人叹为观止。——《武陵源风景》画册

TT 1: 3000 crags rise in various shapes. They are like whips or pillars propping up the sky; or huge walls, solid and sound; or immense eggs piled on an unsteady border; or miniature rocky or curious… Fantastic but actual, dreamy but real! One cannot help marveling at the acme of perfection of Nature's creation.

TT 2: 3000 crags rise in all shapes——pillars, columns, walls, shaky egg stacks and potted landscapes——conjuring up fantastic and unforgettable images.

Analysis: The ST in example 1 is abridged from a tourism brochure informing tourists of the spectacular, imposing and captivating landscapes of Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area. Adjectives and images abound in here to intensify the mystery and solemnity of this renowned scenic spot. There is no doubt that Chinese readers of the ST will take it for granted that the usage of all those idiomatic expressions added more melodious and semantic beauty to the ST. On the contrary, the TT, if rendered by translating the ST word for word, is bound to baffling a great majority of TT readers whose native languages are not as abstract as Chinese. Compared with TT 1's awkward literal translation, TT 2, instead of retaining all sentences of the ST, boldly obliterated adjectives and figures of speech, including "立地顶天", "摇摇欲坠", "玲珑剔透" and etc. Only some essential elements can be found there to indicate principal messages of that tourist attraction, which not only reduced TT readers' burden of comprehension but also achieved the goal of the TT. For the purpose of satisfying TT readers' requirements, the translation theory, here represented by Skopos Theory, played a leading role in selecting relevant translation strategies and techniques to eliminate the clumsiness and rigidity of version 1. The translation technique of omission is also an extension and reflection of Skopos theory. The relationships among translation theories, strategies and techniques are overt.

Example 2

ST:被誉为“童话世界”的九寨沟位于中国四川省阿坝藏族羌族自治州境内的九寨沟县中南部，是长江水系嘉陵江中上游白水河源头的一条支流，因景区内有荷叶、书正、则查洼等九个藏族村寨而得名。 ——《九寨沟风景名胜区简介》

TT: Jiuzhaigou, known as the "Fabled World", is located in the mid-south of Jiuzhaigou County of Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture. A Jialing tributary of Yangtze River, Jiuzhaigou is named for the nine Tibetan settlements in the mountain valley.

Analysis: Similar to Example 1, this ST is also a tourism text whose aim is to spread enough information of the resort to approaching tourists. Taking tourists' stances, a brief introduction of major scenic spots in Jiuzhaigou enjoys more popularity than its geographical location. Here, the translator, in dealing with TT, should distinguish the basic from the secondary, which is the reason why the names of villages like "荷叶", "书正" and "则查洼" in the ST disappeared in the TT. Apart from the emphasis on the most important message, other factors also account for the deletion of the redundant words, such as the limited space of tourist brochures, the succinct and simple writing style of travel guides and so on. Actually speaking, it is all those functions and demands of tourism brochure that regard Skopos Theory as the ideal translation theory to be taken into consideration. Under the guidance of the Skopos Theory, the translation technique of omission makes it possible to underscore more key information about Jiuzhaigou rather than some background information serving no function in helping tourists. The complementary relations among translation theories, strategies and theories are also suggested.

Example 3

ST:刘备章武三年病死于白帝城永安宫，五月运回成都，八月葬于惠陵。——《成都武侯祠》折叠式导游图

TT: Liu Bei died of illness at 233 at present day Fengjie County, Sichuan Province, and was buried here in the same year.

Analysis: Despite the fact that this ST is also part of a tourist brochure, there are some nuances among it and the above two examples for this is a pamphlet about historic sites whereas the other two are concerned with natural sites. Given this difference, some words and phrases suggestive of cultural elements peculiar to China resulted in the selection of appropriate translation strategies. Here in example 3, "章武三年", "白帝城永安宫" and "惠陵" are all closely associated with ancient Chinese culture. If translated literally as "the third year of Zhangwu", "Yongan Palace in Baidi City" and "Hui Mausoleum", these phrases will leave TT readers an obscuring impression because of foreign readers' loopholes in learning about Chinese culture. Under this circumstance, the translation strategy of domestication applied increased the lucidity, intelligibility and simplicity of the TT. "章武三年" is translated into "233" which is applicable and comprehensible to TT readers from all countries. "白帝城永安宫" is flexibly treated as "Fengjie County, Sichuan Province", a present place known to reduce TT readers' strangeness towards it. After all, one cannot deny the fact that the adoption of domestication is due to the influence of Skopos Theory whose ultimate aim is to live up to the expectations of TT readers. This is also in line with the main point of this paper that translation theories are standards and guidelines of translation strategies and techniques, and translation strategies or techniques are authentic reflection of translation theories.

2.2The translation of literary texts

Literary texts are materials having to do with literature. Genres like poems, novels and dramas can be all classified into this category. Unlike applied translation whose principal subject is characterized by austere, transparent and common dictions, literary texts, represented mainly by prose, are always hard to explore their implicit connotations, let alone translating them in an ideal way. This is because literary works are often a medley of rhetorical devices, beautiful words and phrases as well as some abstract sentences without too much logic. It is this exceedingly difficult trait that requires the translator to rationally inspect translation theories. In the case of translating literary texts, two translation theories will come to translators' minds, which are Skopos Theory and Functional Equivalence Theory. Making a detailed comparison between them, one will attach great importance to Skopos Theory rather than its counterpart. After all, Functional Equivalence Theory pays more attention to dynamic or functional equivalence between ST and TT, which is a little bit unrealistic to be materialized for the translator sometimes cannot find perfect substitutes to replace the opaque ST. Nevertheless, Skopos Theory can be a plausible translation theory to better balance ST and TT by means of omitting some unrelated information provided that the purposes of the TT can be ensured. This is also indicative of the point that translation theories play a significant part in restraining the adoption of translation strategies and techniques. Then translation strategies and techniques are in the same way a reflection or a microcosm of translation theories. For example, the appearance of omission during the process of translating literary texts must be the outcome of Skopos Theory since only that theory will take the bold action to omit lots of sentences in an article, which is impossible when the translator complies with the credence of Functional Equivalence Theory.

Example 4

ST: One of the parties, however, when critically examined, didn't seem, strictly speaking, to come under the species. He was a short, thick-set man, with coarse, commonplace features, and that swaggering air of pretension which marks a low man who is trying to elbow his way upward in the world. He was much over-dressed, in a gaudy vest of many colors, a blue neckerchief, bedropped gaily with yellow spots, and arranged with a flaunting glass tie, quite in keeping with the general air of the man. His hands, large and coarse, were plentifully bedeckeded with rings; and he wore a heavy gold watch-chain, with a bundle of seals of portentous size, and a great variety of colors, attached to it--, which in the ardor of conversation, he was in the habit of flourishing and jingling with evident satisfaction. His conversation was in free and easy defiance of Murray's Grammar, and was garnished at convenient intervals with various profane expressions, which not even the desire to be graphic in our account shall induce us to transcribe.——Uncle Tom's Cabin

TT:其一人狞丑，名曰海留，衣服华好，御金戒指一，镶以精钻，又配一金表。状似素封，而谈吐鄙秽，近于伧慌。（林纾译）

Analysis: The TT is rendered by one of the most distinguished translators in Late Qing Dynasty, Lin Shu, whose major contribution is his translation of voluminous foreign novels, such as Ivanhoe, Uncle Tom's Cabin and so on. Against the backdrop of the depraved and backward Qing Dynasty, What Lin Shu emergently wanted to do is to learn from foreign literature and culture, thus arousing people's awareness of national rejuvenation. For this reason, Lin Shu's translation seems to be infidel to the ST for his deletion of a plethora of dictions but can be rational if viewed from the perspective of Skopos Theory. With the consciousness that Linshu's translation aims to transferring the most outstanding information conveyed in the ST, one will not consider it eccentric to translate in that way although the translator omitted so many elements in that short paragraph, including the typical portray of the environment, the descriptive sentences about the outfit and accessories of the protagonist together with some other summary expressions. In a word, the aim of the TT justified Skopos Theory and then, decided the translation technique of omission to take the essence and discard the dross of the ST. And the translation technique of omission is in turn an embodiment and representation of Skopos Theory.

Example 5

ST: 宝玉忽想起来辞黛玉，因又忙至黛玉房中来作辞。彼时黛玉才在窗下对镜理妆，听宝玉说上学去，因笑道：“好，这一去，可定是要‘蟾宫折桂’去了。我不能送你了。”——《红楼梦》

TT1: Pao-yu, remembering that he had not say good-bye to Tai-yu, hurried to her room. She was sitting before her mirror by the window and smiled when he told her that he was off to school. "Good," she said, "So you are going to 'pluck fragrant osmanthus in the palace of the moon.' I am sorry I can't see you off." (Yang Xianyi)

TT2: Bao-yu suddenly remembered that he had not yet seen Dai-yu and hurried to her room to say good-bye. He found her by the window making herself up at the mirror. Her answer to his announcement that he was off to begin school was smiling but perfunctory: 'Good. I wish you every success. I'm sorry I can't see you off.'(Hawkes)

Analysis: The ST is a small part excerpted from A Dream of Red Mansions written by an extremely eminent novel writer named after Cao Xueqin in Qing Dynasty. This abridgement delineated the scene that Jia Baoyu went to say goodbye to Lin Daiyu for he was to off to school. Accordingly, there are two deceivingly similar but actually different versions of the TT rendered respectively by Yang Xianxi, a renowned Chinese translator and David Hawkes, a world-famous sinologist specializing in translating Chinese classics. At the core of this case analysis must be the translators' rendition of the specific Chinese phrase "蟾宫折桂". Yang translated it literally and directly as "pluck fragrant osmanthus in the palace of the moon", maintaining the exclusive Chinese images "osmanthus". In contrast, Hawkes transformed the ST into "I wish you every success", exquisitely circumventing words which may be difficult to understand for foreign TT readers. Frankly speaking, the superiority and inferiority of the two versions cannot be arbitrarily dealt with. Now that Skopos Theory states that "aim justifies end", the TT can be produced to tailor the purpose and need of TT readers. In the first version, the translation strategy of foreignization retained the exotic Chinese plant name and increased strangeness of TT readers. This strategy is an advisable one to disseminate some certain cultures to foreigners. Nonetheless, Hawkes's translation is easier to be accepted by foreign TT receptors for he applied the translation strategy of domestication to make the translator get accustomed to TT readers' reading habits and multiple cultures. Now the phenomenon that translation theories serve as a guide for translation strategies and techniques is corroborated once again. Similarly, translation strategies and techniques are the best representation of translation theories, just like domestication and foreignization are the representation and extension of Skopos Theory in this example.

Example 6

ST: 她像是受了炮烙似的缩手，脸色同时变作灰黑，也不再去取烛台，只是失身的站着。——《边城》

TT: She withdrew her hand as if scorched, her face turned ashen-grey, and instead of fetching the candlesticks she just stood there dazed.

Analysis: The ST is abstracted from Remote City written by Shen Congwen. This long novel takes country life in West Hunan as the writing material to display the seemingly mediocre but specifically meaningful human nature. It is known to all that the novel Remote City is brimmed with cultural-loaded words in order to deeply extract hidden mysterious things of the human nature. Of course, this source text is not an exception. In example 6, the Chinese word "炮烙" is a ruthless penal created by King Zhou of Shang Dynasty to fasten people on a large pillar heated by strong fire so that people will be scalded gradually until to their death. But if the translator translates this word literally, foreign TT readers will at a loss especially when they are not familiar with the history of Shang Dynasty. Consequently, the translator here just converted "炮烙" into “scorched” by adopting the translation strategy of domestication, assuaging TT readers' fatuity and strangeness towards the ST. This translation strategy is also impacted by Skopos Theory but in turn validates and broadens the usage of the translation theory. Seeing from this, the entangled relationships among translation theories, strategies and techniques cannot be overemphasized.

2.3The translation of business texts

Business English, an increasingly inevitable term for people to encounter in today's world, has permeated into almost every corner of people's daily life. As for its definition, scholars of different eras vied with each other to illustrate it. For example, Wang Xingsun defined business English as "English used in the business context". "It is also English for Special Purposes (ESP)." (王兴孙,1997:24) Nowadays, researches about business English have been formalizing and standardizing the definition and application of business English. A relatively precise and comprehensive concept of business English reads as "Business English refers to a certain type of English emerging along with the advancement of economic globalization. It is used in various fields, ranging from economic to public and societal affairs." (陈准民,王立非,2009) Then business texts must be carriers of business English, with their type encompassing business logos, business advertisements, business contracts, business letters and the brief introduction of corporations. A subtle but unavoidable thing to note is that business English is by no means the simple combination of "business" and "English". Instead, it brought out a multitude of new features to showcase its complexities, including its utility in professional domains and its highly functional usages. So the most tenable translation theory is more apt to be Skopos Theory in consideration of the functional characteristics of business texts. Subsequently, the restraining and guiding translation theory will work out to match proper translation strategies and techniques to the translation practice to meet the requirements of both TT readers and the TT itself. What is more, the reflective translation strategies and techniques appearing during the process of translation help people better understand Skopos Theory. On account of that, there is no denying that the interplay among translation theories, strategies and techniques is further proved.

Example 7

ST: Fresh food and fresh air. The perfect recipe for a healthy life. I've chosen. It's Candy.——Candy冰箱广告词

TT1:新鲜食物和新鲜空气。健康生活的最佳处方。我已经做出选择，它就是Candy冰箱。

TT2:新鲜食物+新鲜空气。健康生活的绝妙处方。我选定了Candy冰箱。

Analysis: This is a task of translating an English business advertisement into Chinese. Notwithstanding this short sentence, a satisfying and applicable translation is hard to be rendered for so many limitations imposed by business advertisements. Business advertisements, known for their adherence to the "economic principle" of expressing the most detailed information with the least words and sentences, are doomed to pose several challenges for translators. To translate those advertisements near perfectly, translators must recourse to Skopos Theory to transfer the information conveyed by the ST to the TT readers in a succinct way. Here come to those two translation versions. TT 1 is doubtlessly the outcome of literal translation, which not only increased the cost of issuing that advertisement for many words of it but also left TT readers an impression of redundancy. Compared with TT1, TT 2 dexterously omitted "我已经做出选择" and superseded the Chinese word "和" with the punctuation of "+", taking on the creativity and agility of the translator. At this time, the relationship among translation theories, strategies and techniques can be reaffirmed. The former offered a reasonable direction to the latter two concepts, and the latter two also reinforced the existing functions of the former.

Example 8

ST: Next is Now. ——三星S6系列手机广告词

TT1:未来即现在。

TT2:让未来，现在就来！

Analysis: The ST in example 8 is also a business advertisement attentive to the selling of Samsung cellphones. This one justly accorded with all the remarkable traits of business advertisements, namely the conciseness, lucidity and catchiness. Generally speaking, both the two versions of translation are acceptable. But to delve into more details, version 2 is overwhelming greater than version 1 because of the fact that it can better cater to the future developing trend of Samsung cellphones. Through this advertisement, the advertisers actually want to do is to give top priority to the future. The translation version of "未来即现在" will easily lead people to be engrossed in the present while the version of "让未来现在就来" paid more attention to the future of Samsung cellphones. Also, TT 2 sketched a scene of early approaching of the future, suggesting the fact that the cellphones invented now can anticipate some of high-ended functions of future electronic products. Without doubt, Skopos Theory is the main driver of this translation practice. The translation technique of adaptation can be found here by changing the sentence pattern of the TT, thus achieving some unimaginable effects. Here, it is Skopos Theory that decided and guided the selection of the translation technique of adaptation. Also, that technique will exert counter-effects on Skopos Theory to expose the functions and purposes of the TT.

Example 9

ST:三元产品设计工作室虽然身处竞争激烈、你死我活的商业环境之中，但是我们对完美、创新设计的追求却一如既往、不折不扣。我们的作品风格总是别具一格、独一无二。——《三元产品设计工作室简介》

TT: 3 Elements Product Design Studio works in a highly competitive market. Our pursuit of perfection and innovation is as ever. Our design is always unique.

Analysis: The ST in example 9 is excerpted from the introduction of a corporate named after 3 Elements Product Design Studio. The key point in the TT is the translation of Chinese four-character phrases into single English words. On the one hand, such an action is in line with J.C. Catford's translation shift theory, especially the unit shift theory. On the other hand, it is also Hans Vermeer's Skopos Theory that underlies that transformation. Idiomatic expressions, like proverbs, four-character expressions, are known to abound in Chinese, which bewildered countless western Chinese learners. What translators are obligated to do is to change the complex into the simple. Then several four-character expressions in the ST, including "一如既往", "不折不扣", "别具一格" and "独一无二" have been translated into " as ever" and "unique". More specifically, the translation techniques of adaptation and division are also adopted here just like that in example 8. As for the translation technique of adaptation, the phrase structures of the TT have turned into word structures. About the translation technique of division, the 2 sentences in the ST have been divided into 3 sentences in the TT with a view to underlining topic of each sentence. This opened up a new world for TT readers that the same translation technique can be guided and constrained by different translation theories. Hence, translators have to be sensitive and acute enough to perceive differences among translation theories, strategies and techniques so that the translation practice can yield fruitful outcomes. To conclude, translation theories still guide translation strategies and techniques. Those strategies and techniques still complement translation theories.

III.Summary and conclusion

This paper is persistently talking about the relationships among translation theories, strategies and techniques, aiming to solve more puzzles haunting translators when they are engaged in relentless translation practice. With so many spaces left to the elaboration of such a complicated issue, this paper thus arrived at the conclusion that the relationships among translation theories, strategies and techniques lie in two respects. One is the relationship between the macroscope and the microscope, translation theories being the most inclusive and translation techniques being the most subordinate, with the translation strategies lying between those two extremes. Another is the relationship of guiding and complementing. To be honest, translation theories bear a resemblance to the lighthouses, which are always offering clues for the selection and adoption of translation strategies and techniques. Of course, translation strategies and techniques are also indispensable to translation theories for they can put translation theories into practice. Lacking those strategies and techniques, the connotation, significance and function are just the illusion.

This paper starts with the introduction of Vermeer's Skopos Theory, the definition of translation theories, strategies and techniques, and the interpretation of the relationships among those three concepts. After all those preparatory steps, the case analysis part analyzed the relationships among translation theories, strategies and techniques from the perspective of three different kinds of texts, embracing tourism texts, literary texts and business texts. Almost all the translation of those texts are on the basis of Skopos Theory, with many other translation strategies and techniques applied, such as domestication, foreignization, omission, adaptation and so on. Finally, here comes the concluding and summary part of this paper, in which the rough structure and the motif of this paper have been clarified again.

IV.References

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[8]熊兵. 翻译研究中的概念混淆——以“翻译方法”、“翻译策略”和“翻译技巧”为例[J].中国翻译,2014(3):82-88.

[9]董川, 陈玲.武术翻译的策略、方法和技巧研究[J].体育世界（学术版）,2020(1):55-56.

[10]焦炭,张辉.旅游景点解说词翻译方法与策略——以亳州市旅游景点解说词英译为例[J].中国民航飞行学院学报,2019(3):42-46.

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[13]莫红利.目的论视角下企业简介的英译原则与策略[J].考试周刊,2014(6):79-81.

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Contemporary Study on Nida's Functional Equivalence and Skopos Theory 聂晓楼 Nie Xiaolou

On the concept of equivalence in translation 彭娟 Peng Juan

The Application of Functional Equivalence to Translation of Rhetorical Devices in The Nightingale and the Rose 彭小玲 Peng Xiaoling

Exploration of Translation Studies and Comparison Between Skopos Theory and Nida’s Functional Theory 彭育志 Peng Yuzhi

On the Translation of English Film Title from the Perspective of Skopos Theory 杨悦 Yang Yue

On the Translation of Resume from the Perspective of Skopos Theory 肖双玲 Xiao Shuangling

Abstract

With the rapid development of China’s economy and the deepening of reform and opening up, more and more foreign-funded enterprises are coming to China to invest and set up factories, and more and more Chinese are going to work in foreign companies or abroad. For foreign job seekers, English resumes are often more important than Chinese ones. Many job seekers think that the English resume is verbatim translation into English, however, the result not only fails to reflect their own English level, but also brings obstacles to the job search, leading to the opposite effect. By analyzing the differences between Chinese and English resumes, this paper attempts to solve the problems in the translation of Chinese resumes based on Skopos theory, so as to improve the quality of the translation and make the job-seeking process more successful. Skopos theory is the basic principle of translation activities. Based on the differences of the object, role and emphasis between Chinese and English resumes, analysis of the differences and the problems that arise in the translation process are necessary. This essay tries to find out effective methods for C-E translation of resumes under Skopos theory approach and thus makes job-hunting easier for applicants.

Key words:

Skopos theory; resume; translation

摘要:

中国经济的快速发展和改革开放的深入，越来越多的外资企业来中国投资建厂，越来越多的中国人去外企或国外工作。对于外国求职者来说，英文简历往往比中文简历更重要。很多求职者认为英文简历就是自己的中文简历逐字翻译成英文，然而，这样的结果不仅不能反映自己的英语水平，还给求职带来了障碍，导致了相反的效果。本文通过分析中英文简历的差异,试图从目的论的角度来解决中文简历翻译中存在的问题，从而提高翻译质量，使求职过程更加顺利。目的论是翻译活动的基本原则。基于中英文简历的对象，作用和重点的差异，分析翻译过程中出现的差异和问题是必要的。本文试图找到在目的论理论方法下简历英译的有效方法，从而使求职者更容易找工作。

关键词:

目的论；简历；翻译

Introduction

For job seekers, when applying for foreign-funded enterprises, a standardized English resume is essential, which not only reflects the applicant's personal information, ability and qualifications, but also reflects the applicant’s English level and awareness of cross-cultural communication to a certain extent. This paper focuses on the English translation of Chinese resumes and the characteristics and norms of English resumes, and puts forward solutions to the above problems. This paper suggests that the translation of resumes should be oriented towards the communicative purpose. By studying the characteristics and functions of resumes, the author discusses the C-E translation of resumes from three aspects: words, sentences and texts. The study has found that simplicity and clarity are the two criteria for resume translation. In addition, when translating resumes, translators should give priority to free translation with literal translation as a supplement. This paper can be divided into three parts. Chapter one is an overview to resumes, including linguistic features and qualities of translators. Then in the second chapter, the development and basic principles of Skopostheory will be discussed. In the last chapter, the application of Skopostheory on the translation of resumes will be explored at lexical, syntactic and stylistic levels.

Chapter 1 Introduction of Resume

A resume is a written communication document that shows a prospective employer that you have the skills, attitude, qualifications, and confidence to meet specific job requirements. In order to attract employer’s attention and interest, a qualified resume is definitely indispensable. In this part, definition and features of resume and differences between Chinese and English resume are going to be explored.

1.1 Definition of Resume

According to the explanation from the noted and authoritative encyclopedia—Wikipedia, a résumé or resume is a document used by a person to present their backgrounds and skills. Resume can be used for a variety of reasons, but most often it is used to secure new employment. A typical resume contains a “summary” of relevant job experience and education. The resume is usually one of the first items, along with a cover letter and sometimes an application for employment, which is typically used to screen applicants, often followed by an interview.

1.2 Features of Resume

Resume needs to be optimized but the connotation is more important. Before the resume is submitted, it must have a clear career direction. This is the key to the success of the application. However, many people do not know their job search direction before writing a short calendar. Most people are confused about their job search direction, so it is not advisable to write a job search intention or write too much on the resume. Just as you can see a wide variety of advertisements every day, hiring managers also face a variety of resumes every day. How can a resume stand out? How do you let the recruiter notice you at a glance? How do you let the recruiter believe that you are the “talent” they are looking for and generate ideas for further interviews? In fact, as long as you follow the features when you create your resume, you will get an interview.

1.2.1 Conciseness

When you’ve done with your resume, weigh it and see whether you can read all the things that you think are important in ten seconds or not. Generally speaking, the length of a resume should be limited to 1 page of A4 paper. The longer a resume is, the less likely it is to be read carefully. High-end talents can sometimes prepare resumes of more than 2 pages, but they also need to have a brief and clear overview of the qualifications at the beginning of the resume, so that readers can grasp the basic situation in a short period of time and have the desire to read further.

1.2.2 Clarity

The purpose of clarity is to make it easy to read. Just like making a print ad, the layout of the resume needs to take into account factors such as font size, line and segment spacing, and highlighting of key content.

1.2.4 Pertinence

If you submit the same resume for different industries, different companies and different positions, then what is deficient in such a resume is pertinence. If Company A requires you to have relevant industry experience and good sales performance, you clearly stated the relevant experiences and facts in your resume and put them in a prominent position. This is targeted; if Company B requires you to have good oral English ability, you described your experience in amateur foreign-related business translation in your resume, which is targeted; if Company C explicitly requires candidates to have Shanghai hukou, you indicate in your resume that you are a resident of Shanghai Pudong District, this is targeted. It is not only a resume, but also a very important principle when writing job letters, follow-up letters, and thank-you letters.

1.2.5 Objectivity

I am a person who is rigorous and responsible, and I have a very good job performance in my past work. Similar sentences can often be seen in many people's resumes. Perhaps it is true, but the wise human resources director will never believe in such subjective confession. Therefore, the resume should provide objective proof or facts and data supporting your qualifications and abilities. For example, in 2008, I was awarded by the company for ranking the first in sales performance or I was praised by the manager for my good coordination and organization ability in an exhibition activity. The latter is obviously less objective than the former. Also, to be as objective as possible, first-person “I” should be avoided in your resume.

1.3 Differences between Chinese and English Resumes

Although resumes in both Chinese and English are basically the same in form and content, the English resume is not a hard copy of the Chinese resume. Recognizing the difference between the two is the first problem to be faced in the translation work. HRs pointed out that the Chinese and English resumes have the following differences.

1.3.1 Role of Resume

If you apply for domestic enterprises and institutions, the submission of a Chinese resume is the first step of the job, English resume plays a supplementary role to the Chinese resume; But for the foreign capital enterprise and the multinational corporation's candidate, the English curriculum vita is a stepping stone for job hunting, and will reflect the candidate’s ability and the quality, which is the key to obtain the interview opportunity.

1.3.2 Reading Target of Resume

According to the different reading objects, the Chinese resume should conform to the Chinese reading habits, and the English resume should meet the reading habits of English-speaking people. An introduction to job hunting at the Harvard Career Center said: “The US resume does not include information on age, gender, weight, height, nationality, health, marital status, number of children, etc. Employers are prohibited by law from referring to this information when evaluating whether a candidate meets the job requirements.”① Chinese enterprises, especially state-owned enterprises, will require applicants to attach personal information, while English resumes without special needs generally do not involve gender, age, marital status and race and other relevant personal privacy content. Companies that are accused of hiring in violation of the law involving appearance, gender, age or race pay huge compensation. Many foreigners believe that whether a job applicant meets the requirements of a certain position mainly depends on the individual's professional experience and skills, and has nothing to do with personal information.

1.3.2 Reading Target of Resume

According to the different reading objects, the Chinese resume should conform to the Chinese reading habits, and the English resume should meet the reading habits of English-speaking people. An introduction to job hunting at the Harvard Career Center said: “The US resume does not include information on age, gender, weight, height, nationality, health, marital status, number of children, etc. Employers are prohibited by law from referring to this information when evaluating whether a candidate meets the job requirements.”① Chinese enterprises, especially state-owned enterprises, will require applicants to attach personal information, while English resumes without special needs generally do not involve gender, age, marital status and race and other relevant personal privacy content. Companies that are accused of hiring in violation of the law involving appearance, gender, age or race pay huge compensation. Many foreigners believe that whether a job applicant meets the requirements of a certain position mainly depends on the individual's professional experience and skills, and has nothing to do with personal information.

1.3.3 Focus of Resume

In order to attract attention in the fierce competition, the design and packaging of some resumes of Chinese job seekers are extremely beautiful and long, more than 2 pages or even 3 pages, all of which are not obvious, and some are accompanied by art photos and various certificates. Pieces make the resume as thick as a magazine. English resumes are often only one page long, concise, relevant, personal, and focused on key words and action words. The keywords describe the practical experience and professional skills necessary for doing a good job. Today, when the computer screening resume system is widely used, the specific keywords appear in the resume is the only rule for job seekers to successfully obtain interviews with foreign companies. Behavioral verbs are mostly transitive verbs, indicating a specific action required to complete a task. Behavioral verbs play a behavior-oriented role in resumes. The so-called behavior-oriented meaning is to use facts to speak, not just to present results. Here are examples:

①expressing personal accomplishments:accomplish, achieve , improve, promote, etc.; ②indicating administrative capabilities: arrange, administer, execute, decide, etc; ③representing interpersonal communication skills:negotiate, persuade, present, etc; ④expressing innovation:create, develop, design, launch, etc.

The use of behavioral verbs is essential for job seekers to demonstrate the core competencies and personal talents that companies require. For example, manage a group of 20 employees and motivate the whole sales team are more attractive than in charge of 20 employees, responsible for the whole sales team, giving a kind of action-like impression and enabling candidates to quickly get the attention of HR and stand out from the crowd.

Chapter 2 Theoretical Framework

Skopos theory, unveiled by German functionalist scholar Vermeer and Christiane Nord, is a theory that applies Skopos concept to translation. Its core concept is that the main factor of translation process is the purpose of overall translation behavior. In this context, the translator should adopt strategies or methods appropriate to the translation purpose. This theory represents an innovation compared with the existing translation theories and defines translation as a creative activity. In this chapter, the author of the dissertation focuses on the introduction of Skopos, which involves the background information and principles of Skopos theory.

2.1 Overview of Skopos Theory

In the 1970s, functionalist translation theory emerged in Germany. Its development has gone through the following stages.

The first stage: Katharina Reiss introduced functional categories into translation criticism for the first time, connected language functions, discourse types and translation strategies, developed a translation criticism model based on the functional relationship between source text and target text, and thus proposed the rudiments of functionalism. Reiss thought that the ideal translation should be a comprehensive communicative translation, that is, the translation should be equivalent to the original in terms of conceptual content, language form and communicative function, but the functional features of the translation should be given priority in practice.

The second stage: Hans Vermeer put forward Skopos theory, which freed translation studies from the bondage of original source-centered theory. This theory holds that translation is a purposeful and resultful behavior based on the original text. Translation must follow a series of rules, among which the law of purpose takes a leading role. In other words, the translation is dependent on the purpose of the translation. In addition, translation should follow the “law of intra-linguistic coherence” and “law of inter-linguistic coherence”. The former implies that the translation must be internally coherent, which is understandable in the eyes of the recipient, while the latter means that there should be coherence between the translation and the original. After these three principles are put forward, the criterion for judging translation is no longer “equivalence”, but the adequacy of the translation to achieve the desired goal. Vermeer also put forward the concept of translation commission, that is, the translator should decide whether, when and how to complete the translation task. That is to say, translators should adopt corresponding translation strategies according to different translation purposes, and have the right to decide what content of the original text can be retained and what needs to be adjusted or modified according to the translation purpose.

According to Vermeer, the supreme law in translation should be the law of purpose. That is to say, different translation purposes, translation strategies, methods are also different. In other words, the purpose of translation determines the strategies and methods of translation. “Skopos theory” has given a good explanation of the disputes between domestication and foreignization in the history of translation between China and the west, as well as the widely discussed formal equivalence and dynamic equivalence in the translation field in the past 20 or 30 years. Whether to adopt domestication or foreignization in translation depends on the purpose of translation. Since functional translation theory takes “the principle of purpose” as the highest criterion and any translation activity is a purposeful act, the ultimate goal and main function of film title translation is to help people understand the main content of the film and stimulate the audience's desire to watch. Therefore, we need to have a brief understanding of functional translation theory, especially Skopos theory.

The third stage: Justa Holz Manttaridrew on the theory of communication and behavior, proposed the theory of translation behavior, and further developed the functionalist translation theory, which regarded translation as the interaction between people driven by purpose and oriented by translation results. This theory and teleology have a lot in common, and Vermeer later merged the two.

The fourth stage: Christiane Nord comprehensively summarized and improved the functionalist theory. For the first time, Christiane Nord systematically elaborated the internal and external factors to be considered in text analysis in translation, as well as how to formulate translation strategies suitable for the purpose of translation based on the functions of the original text. Christiane Nord sorted out various theories of functionalism and proposed that translators should follow the guiding principle of “function plus loyalty”, thus improving the theory.

2.2 Principles of Skopos Theory

Skopos rule, coherence rule, fidelity rule and loyalty rule are four principles of Skopos theory, among which there exists inter-relationships. In the following part, Skopos theory will be explained in a detailed way.

2.2.1 Skopos Rule

From the perspective of Skopos theory, the primary principle to be followed in all translation activities is the “purpose principle”, that is, translation should be able to function in the context and culture of the target language in the way expected by the recipient of the target language. The purpose of the translation behavior determines the process of the entire translation behavior, that is, the method of decision-making. However, translation activities can have multiple purposes, which can be further divided into three categories :(1) the basic purpose of the translator (such as making a living); (2) the communicative purpose of the translation (such as enlightening the readers); (3) the purpose to be achieved by using a particular means of translation (such as literal translation according to the structure of a language in order to illustrate the special features of the grammatical structure). However, in general, “purpose” refers to the communicative purpose of the target text, that is, “the communicative function of the target text in the socio-cultural context of the target language for the target language reader”. Therefore, the translator should make clear his specific purpose in a given translation context, and decide which translation method to adopt-- literal translation, free translation or something in between.

2.2.2 Coherence Rule

Coherence rule, also known as intra-textual coherence rule, holds that the target text should meet the criteria of textual coherence. In other words, the translator should understand the reader’s cultural background and social environment when translating the text. Under the guidance of coherence rules, the comprehensibility of the target text is prior to the authority of the original. That is to say, the recipient’s feelings must be taken into account.

When the translator applies the coherence principle, the target language must be coherent enough to make the recipient understand the whole text. In other words, the translator should follow the principle of coherence and properly adjust the syntactic structure or words in the target language, so as to maintain the coherence of the original text.

2.2.3 Fidelity Rule

According to the fidelity rule, the relationship between source text and target text can be regarded as the fidelity of source text to target text. However, the degree of fidelity depends on the translator, because it is important for him or her to translate and understand the purpose of the original text. At the same time, the translator should be faithful to both the original author and the intention of the author. Therefore, faithful teleology attaches great importance to and tries to determine the relationship among the translator, the author and the receiver.

2.2.4 Loyalty Rule

This was put forward by Nord. She found two major defects in Skopos theory. First, people from different cultural backgrounds have different views on a good translation due to the differences in cultural models. In addition, if the communicative purpose of the translation required by the principle of purpose is just opposite to the intention of the original author, then we will abide by the principle of purpose and violate the principle of fidelity. Therefore, Nord proposed the loyalty principle to solve the cultural differences and the relationship between the participants in translation. According to Nord, translators have a moral responsibility to the recipients of the translated text and must explain to them what they have done and why. This is one aspect of the loyalty principle. Another aspect of this principle is that the translator should be loyal to the original author. The translator should respect the original author and coordinate the target language of the translation with the intention of the author. Therefore, the principle of loyalty mainly focuses on the relationship between the translator and the original author, the client, the recipient of the translation and other participants in the translation process. Nord proposed that translators should follow the guiding principle of “function plus loyalty”, thus improving the theory.

In a word, these four principles constitute the basic principles of Skopos theory of translation, but the principle of coherence, the principle of loyalty and the principle of loyalty must be subordinated to the principle of purpose, which is the primary principle of Skopos theory.

Chapter 3Application of Skopos Theory in C-E Translation of Resume

From the above, the author has studied some basic knowledge of resume and Skopos theory. In this chapter, the applied of Skopos theory on C-E translation of resume will be discussed, especially, we are going to analyze the translation from lexical, syntactic and textual respectively, which is the most crucial part in the dissertation.

3.1 Application of Skopos Theory in Lexical Translation

The selection of English words plays an important role in the translation of resumes. On the one hand, the choice of a good English word can help shorten long sentences and make the resume more convenient and comfortable to read; on the other hand, due to the ambiguity of English words, correct choice of words can solve the ambiguity problem. In order to solve the above problems, using a large number of action verbs, terms and abbreviations are recommended. Next, the above content will be introduced separately.

3.1.1 Action verbs

A resume shows the author’s education and work experience. There are lots of action verbs used in resume translation. And most of the sentences that describe job duties and self-evaluation begin with action verbs, such as负责、开发、管理、提出.

Example 1: 1.提出新的流程，在减少工作压力的同时，提高了员工的生产能力，成功的向潜在的购买者解释并演示了技术产品的相关科技 2.开发了销售和市场项目，使购物中心的利润提高了33个百分点 3.负责华东地区的23家商店的销售和损益 4.为新华出版社管理23家生产厂家的代表公司的国际和国内销售力量 Translation: 1. Proposed a new process to reduce the work pressure, improved the production capacity of employees, and successfully explained and demonstrated the technology related to technical products to potential buyers. 2. Developed sales and marketing programs that increased shopping center profit by 33 percent. 3. Took charge of sales and profit and loss of 23 stores in East China 4. Managed the international and domestic sales force of representative companies of 23 manufacturers for Xinhua Publishing House

These examples are selected from job hunters’ resumes. For those who want to apply for a job on sales, it is common to see the action verbs like “propose”, “develop”, “take charge of” and “manage” in their resume. Through those action verbs, it is conspicuous for readers to know the achievement the job seekers have done during their previous job experiences. When translating, in order to make each sentence start with an action verb, the job hunter adjusts the words order. In this way, it not only gives HR a kind of visual beauty, but also shortens the sentence of translated resume. In addition, frequently using action words shows a more effective, organized and positive job hunters. Obviously, Skopos rule works here since the main purpose of the job hunters is that readers can grasp the core information in a few second so as to add the opportunity of getting an interview among thousands of them.

Recombination and omission are the vital translation skills here. And the above selection parts employed omission translation skill so as to delete a lot of qualifiers which may cause disturbance for reader to get useful information. However, such a kind of English resume is simple and clear which is convenient for readers to grasp the significant parts. In addition, it is in accordance with the conciseness feature of resume as well.

3.1.2 Terminology and Abbreviation

Different fields have different terminologies, which is the product of the advancement of science and culture. With the emergence of the concept of the new things, people adopt a variety of approaches to make appropriate words in their language to label them which can be easily understood by employers. Thus it can be seen that terminology has great impact on resume translation.

Example 2: 负责宝马5系，5系混动，1系认证：协调试验工程师，环保申报工程师完成工作，确保认证按节点完成② Translation: Take lead of BMW 1 series, 5 series and 5 PHEV models homologation process; coordinate the cooperation of test engineer and EPA specialist to achieve the target on time

From the example above, we can see that abbreviations in some resumes are sometimes frequently employed, such as PHEV(Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle), BMW(Bavarian Motor Works) and EPA(Environmental Protector Agency). Abbreviations will make the translated resumes look more concise and clear and will not hinder employers to understand what job seekers try to convey.

Under the Skopos theory, the purpose of a resume is to provide HR with key information about whether a candidate is suitable for the target position, so as to get an interview. Therefore, long and complex sentences should be avoided. Terms and abbreviations are necessary. In this way, the author also proves the use of action verbs, which makes the translated resume more attractive because the reader can immediately get the main information.

3.2 Application of Skopos Theory in Syntactical Translation

It usually takes about 30 seconds for an HR to read a resume in English, so neither long sentences nor compound sentences are frequently used in a resume, as this may pose a barrier for HR to attain the key information. Similarly, English resumes should be concise. In order to achieve this goal, non-subject sentences and unified sentences are generally used. Through analysis, the author found that declarative sentence is the most commonly used question, negative sentence. In addition, present and past tense are generally used to introduce personal information and work experience.

3.2.1 Non-subjective Sentence

Example 3: 担任加油站项目开发经理，负责加油站项目的实地调研、车辆分析、投资回报分析及项目可行性报告的完成；对外与政府进行沟通协调、各类准建文件和营业证照的申办等；对内督促工程部门推进站体建设、质量、安全管理等工作。 Translation 1: As the project development manager of the gas station, I was responsible for the field research, vehicle analysis, investment return analysis and the completion of the project feasibility report of the gas station project. Externally, I communicated and coordinated with the government on the application of various kinds of construction documents and business licenses, and internally urged the engineering department to promote the construction, quality and safety management of the station. Translation 2: 1. Served as the gas station project development manage 2. Was responsible for the field research, vehicle analysis, investment return analysis and project feasibility report of the gas station project 3. Communicated and coordinated with the government to apply for all kinds of construction documents and business licenses 4. Urged the engineering department to promote the construction, quality and safety management of the station

In translation 1, since the language of the resume is complimentary, the use of “I” gives people a sense of pride. In addition, it does not conform to western culture, because westerners are used to simple and direct description. By contrast, translation 2 is much simpler and clearer by omitting the subject “I”. Usually, a non-subject sentence is an elliptical sentence that omits the subject, while the omitting subject is usually the applicant himself. In conclusion, the non-subjective sentences conform to the Skopos theory, and the translated resumes are shorter, which increases the chances of the interviewee getting the interview. Therefore, ellipsis plays an important role in resume translation. By omitting the first person I, the sentence becomes more concise and to the point. Therefore, it doesn’t take much time for the reader to grasp the key information.

3.2.2 Syntactic Unity

When translating resumes, we pay attention to the unified sentence structure to reflect the professional qualities of job seekers, and also meet the requirements of reading fluency. In order to achieve this, translation transformation will be used. For example, verbs in the original text can be converted into adjectives or nouns instead of adjectives. By complementing this sentence structure, the translated resume looks more standardized and attractive because it stimulates HR’s desire to read.

Example 4: 1.能熟练操作财务软件，能很好的与人交往，同时学校的生活使我锻炼了团队合作精神 2.责任心强，工作效率高，认真仔细，具有创新意识，善于分析和解决问题 3.熟练掌握MATLAB， MS office software。 计算机二级VB，三级数据库。 Translation: 1. Proficient in operating financial software, good at communicating with others, stronger in teamwork spirit in school life 2. Strong sense of responsibility, high efficiency, careful, innovative and good at analyzing and solving problems 3. Skilled at MS office software and MATLAB. Passed National Computer Rank Examination Grade 3(database) and Grade 2(VB)

Through the translation of examples selected above, each sentence is begun with a phrase led by an adjective or the past participle of a verb which is consistent with the principle of syntactic unity. Considering the background of western culture, as well as the convenience for readers, such an approach seems practical in resume translation. Syntactic unity not only makes the translated resume more attractive, but will also let our resumes stand out among thousands of competitors. Because for one thing, it provides readers with a sense of visual beauty, and for another, more information will be attained. Under Skopos theory, the unification of non-subjective sentences and syntax is an effective means of Chinese-English translation. Moreover, the author also found that English resumes use declarative sentences because of their narrative usage. Sentences such as questions and negatives are rarely used. In addition, the present and past tenses in English resumes are widely used for their objectivity. Generally, a job seeker will present his or her personal information and experience objectively, which is why the above tense is used.

3.3 Application of Skopos Theory in Textual Translation

In previous parts, the author of the essay has studied application of Skopos theory in lexical translation and syntactical translation. And in the following part, application of Skopos theory in textual translation will be further analyzed, which includes translation of personal information and concise style.

3.3.1 Translation of Personal Information

There is a big difference between the English resume, because the use of the English resume for the international environment, such as multinational companies, so the Chinese resume English translation should follow the principle of alienation, and the English resume should be easy to be accepted by the reader. Here is an example.

Example 5:

姓名：张三

性别：男

年龄：25

身高：185

政治面貌：团员

婚否：已婚

地址：湖南省长沙市岳麓区

电话：1337658xxxx

电子邮件：Zhangsan2008@163.com

Translation:

Zhang San

Yuelu District, Changsha, Hunan Province

Tel:1337658xxxx

Email:Zhangsan2008@163.com

By comparing the above resumes in both Chinese and English, we can clearly see that English resumes are much simpler than Chinese resumes, and a lot of private information has been deleted, such as date of birth, political status, marital status, height and photos, etc. The purpose is to avoid discrimination. In addition, the writing of addresses in Chinese and English resumes is also very different, so the author adopted a translation method of word order adjustment.

3.3.2 Concise Style

As we know, simple and concise are two core principle of resume translation, because it achieves the purpose of high efficiency. Therefore, job seekers do not have to repeatedly emphasize the various scholarships or grades they have achieved between school or work. This not only makes people feel that job seekers have limited work experience, but also seem boring. Next, the author will give an example of the above.

Example 6:

2016.9湖南师范大学2015~2016年度“校三等奖学金”、“校三好学生”及“优秀学生干部”

2017.9湖南师范大学2016~2017年度“国家励志奖学金”、“校三好学生”及“优秀共青团员”

2018.9湖南师范大学2017~2018年度“校二等奖学金”、“校三好学生”及“优秀学生会干部”

Translation 1:

2016.9 Third-class Scholarship、 Excellent Student and Fine Student Leader in Hunan Normal University

2017.9 National Scholarship for Higher Motivation、Excellent Student and Outstanding League Members in Hunan Normal University

2018.9 Second-class Scholarship、Excellent Student and Fine Student Union Leader in Hunan Normal University

Translation 2:

Third-class and Second-class Scholarship

National Scholarship for Higher Motivation

Excellent Student(2 Times)

Fine Student Leader and Fine Student Union Leader

Outstanding League Members

The above example is taken from the resume of an undergraduate student. The first version was translated by the applicant himself, and the second version was modified. By comparing the two versions above, we can know that the second version is more concise and clear compared with the first one. It uses ellipsis and combination of translation skills to describe the academic achievements and honors of the applicants, without repeating the name and time of the school as the first one did. It's easier to stand out.

Conclusion

When translating Chinese resumes into English, Chinese people often copy and ignore the habits of English resumes in terms of format, language and cultural traditions. Therefore, in the process of translating Chinese resumes into English, we must pay attention to the format characteristics of English resumes and the key points of language writing, as well as the cultural differences between China and the West, and the awareness of cross-cultural communication.

A resume is an indispensable application style for job application. It is a written introduction showing the image, expertise and experience of the job seeker. No matter what kind of briefing, the purpose is to seek job interviews for job seekers and get the job opportunities. Therefore, in order to reduce the obstacles encountered in job hunting and achieve a smooth job search, in the process of translating Chinese resumes, it is necessary to use the translation teleology as a guide, and according to the reading habits of English readers, the necessary arrangement and reorganization can be used to maximize the role of resumes.

Although this paper can provide some inspiration for job seekers, there are still limitations in the paper. The biggest limitation is that there are too few samples of resumes cited in the article, so the cases may be less than typical and comprehensive. Taking into account the limitations of the paper, the author believes that in the future research, the cases should be involved in a wider range and more numbers, so as to make a more comprehensive and convincing analysis.

Notes

① 高琳. 跨文化视角下中英文简历的语类分析[D]. 天津: 天津商业大学, 2015: 10.

② 胡婷婷. 目的论指导下的简历的英译[D]. 吉林: 吉林财经大学, 2018: 22.  

Bibliography

[1] Baker, Mona. Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies[M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 2004.

[2] Bhatia, K. Analysis Genre: Language Use in Professional Settings[M]. London: Longman, 1993.

[3] Nida, E.A. The Theory and Practice of Translation[M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 2004.

[4] Nord, Christiane. Skopos, Loyalty, and Translation Conventions[J]. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: Benjamins, 1991(4).

[5] Nord, Christiane. Translating as a Purposeful Activity: Functionalist Approaches Explained[M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 2001.

[6] Peter, Newmark. A Textbook of Translation[M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Education Press, 2001.

[7] Reiss, Katharina and Vermeer, Hans J. Groundwork for a General Theory of Translation[M]. Tubingen: Niemeyer, 1984.

[8] Swales, M. Genre Analysis: English in Academic and Research Settings[M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.

[9] 楚天舒. 求职简历不容忽视的九大细节[J]. 中国大学生就业, 2008,(8).

[10] 胡婷婷. 目的论指导下的简历英译[D]. 吉林: 吉林财经大学, 2018.

[11] 连淑能. 英汉对比研究[M]. 北京: 高等教育出版社, 2010.

[12] 高琳. 跨文化视角下中英文简历的语类分析[D]. 天津: 天津商业大学, 2015.

[13] 张培基等. 英汉翻译教程[M]. 上海: 上海外语教育出版社, 1980.

[14] 朱理萍. 求职简历汉英小译[D]. 上海: 上海外国语大学, 2008.

[15] 庄绎传. 英汉翻译简明教程[M]. 北京: 外语教学与研究出版社, 2002.

= The Translation of English Film Title—Under the Perspective of Skopos Theory 杨悦 Yang Yue

Functional Equivalence

On functional equivalence and formal equivalence and their application in translation 陈静静 Chen Jingjing

Abstract

Translation plays an indispensable role in modern cross-cultural communication. In this process, translators are supposed to achieve the equivalence between the source text and the target text to the greatest extent. Translation theory is of great importance to steer them towards this. Nida put forward the well-known theory of formal equivalence and functional equivalence which pursues the equivalence in form and content and that in function between the two languages separately. This paper focuses on their introduction and differences as well as their application in translation so as to provide more guidance for translators and promote people’s deeper understanding on functional equivalence and formal equivalence.

key words

functional equivalence, formal equivalence, translation

摘要

翻译在现代跨文化交际中起着非常重要的作用，而在这一过程中，译者需要尽可能实现源文本和目标文本之间最大的对等。翻译理论在其中则对译者具有非常重要的指导作用。奈达提出了“形式对等”和“功能对等”理论，“形式对等”是以源语为中心，追求原文形式和内容之间的对等，而后者强调实现两种语言之间功能上的对等。该论文主要对形式对等和功能对等进行简单介绍并分析两者之间的差异以及它们在翻译之中的运用，以使译者对它们有更为深入的了解。

关键字

功能对等，形式对等，翻译

Introduction

Functional Equivalence

In order to set a standard for the transition between the source language and the target language, Nida, based on the essence of translation, put forward the theory of dynamic equivalence but later replaced it with the name of functional equivalence as he was convinced that it will better reflect the communicative function.

Functional equivalence mainly includes lexical equivalence, syntax equivalence, textual equivalence and stylistic equivalence. According to Nida, when translating, you need to use the most appropriate, natural and equivalent words to express the information of the source text, that is to say, functional equivalence is prior to formal equivalence. Therefore, we need to try to achieve equivalence in form when we pursue the equivalence in content. In the book “Language, Culture, and Translation”, Nida divides functional equivalence into “minimal equivalence” and “maximum equivalence”. The basic point of “functional equivalence” is to compare the way of understanding and appreciating the original text by the readers of the target text, and requiring the readers of the target text to be able to perceive the translation. The extent to which readers of the original text understand and appreciate the original text( the minimum functional equivalence), the readers of the target text should basically be able to understand and appreciate the target text in the way that the original reader understands and appreciates the original text( the maximum functional equivalence).

To accurately reproduce the source language culture and eliminate cultural differences, the translator can follow these three steps. First, the translator should strive to make the translation not only conform to the semantics of the original text but also reflect the cultural characteristics of the original text. However, two kinds of languages represent two completely different cultures and similar elements may exist in the two cultures but they can't be exactly the same. Therefore, it is impossible for a translator to fully display the cultural connotations of the original text. Second, if meaning and culture can’t be taken into account at the same time, the translator has to abandon the formal equivalence and achieve the purpose of reproducing the semantics and culture of the original text by changing the form of the original text in the translation. Third, when changing the form still doesn’t work, the translation technique of “reconstruction” can be used to achieve the equivalence in meaning between the source text and the target text. It means transforming the deep structure of the source text into the surface structure of the target text , that is, the cultural connotations of the source text could be elaborated by words of the target language. In terms of the the status of source text and the translator, according to this theory, minor adjustment of the source text is allowed when necessary but we are not encouraged to modify it. Consequently, it seems that the source text is in a high position so the translator must give preference to it. From the perspective of translation standard, domestication is preferred in functional equivalence when we consider the cultural factors. What’s more , it is commonly used in literary translation. Functional equivalence is of great importance for it brings the contest between the literal translation and free translation to an end and provides a new translation standard, but on the other way, it turns the translation into an activity merely concerned with language.

Formal equivalence

Relationship between functional equivalence and formal equivalence

Application of functional equivalence and functional equivalence in translation

Lexical equivalence

Syntax equivalence

Texual equivalence

Stylistic equivalence

Discussion

Conclusion

References

My understanding of Translation Equivalence Nguyen,Thuy Hien Nguyen, Thuy Hien

Functional Equivalence in the Translation of Ken Liu 肖茜 Xiao Xi

Abstract

Hao Jingfang’s science fiction Folding Beijing won the Hugo Award for Best Novelette in 2016. The success of this fiction is inseparable from Ken Liu’s rigorous translation work. Focusing on the response of the target readers, the translation of this fiction not only retains the meaning and style of the fiction, but also effectively transmits the Chinese culture, which is in line with the requirement of the theory of Nida’s functional equivalence to “quality of a translation in which the message of the original text has been so transported into the receptor language that the response of the receptors essentially like that of the original receptors”. The theory of Nida’s functional equivalence, one of the earliest translation theories introduced into China, has produced a profound effect on translation studies in different literary genres. This paper studies the English translation of Folding Beijing and analyses Ken Liu’s application of functional equivalence in translation, and proves the value of functional equivalence theory in the translation of science fiction.

Key words

Functional Equivalence; Folding Beijing ; meaning; style; culture

摘要

郝景芳的科幻小说《北京折叠》获得了2016年的雨果奖最佳中篇小说奖，该小说的成功，离不开刘宇昆严谨的翻译工作。该小说的翻译以关注译文读者反应为出发点，既保留了小说的意义与文体风格，又有效传递了中国文化，这与功能对等理论提出的“努力创造出既符合原文语义又体现原文文化特色的译作”的要求相契合。奈达功能对等理论，是最早被引进中国的翻译理论之一，对中国各文学类型的翻译研究影响深远。本文对《北京折叠》的英译本进行研究，分析刘宇昆在翻译时对尤金奈达功能对等理论的运用，展现功能对等理论对科幻小说翻译的价值。

关键词

功能对等；《北京折叠》；意义；风格；文化

Introduction

In the science fiction Folding Beijing, the future Beijing is overpopulated. In order to solve this crisis, people transform it into a folding city with strict hierarchy. The folding city is divided into three spaces. They share 48 hours, and the first space is occupied by the upper classes of society, who have a 24-hour time cycle at their disposal; The second space is occupied by the middle class, who can spend 16 hours; The third space is inhabited by the lower classes, who have only eight hours of the night. Lao Dao belongs to the third space. He wants his daughter to go to a good school, and he ventures into the second and third space to deliver letters to others in order to make money. Although the novel is a futuristic science fiction, it is also realistic, revealing the class differences in the process of urbanization and modernization. This science fiction novel has many Chinese characteristics and has many local Chinese words. The cultural differences between China and the West caused by regional factors and customs are a big problem for translation. The translator should not only consider the readers’ understanding and feelings, but also ensure that the local colors in the works are not deleted. Functional equivalence theory shows that translation should not be limited to form, and translators can make necessary adjustments to the form and structure of the original text, so as to achieve the equivalence of content and information. Nida’s functional equivalence theory has exerted a far-reaching influence on China, and also brought new and effective translation guidance methods to translators. We can see that when Ken Liu translated science fiction, he was also trying to achieve the balance and coordination between the translation and the original text. From the perspective of functional equivalence theory, this paper analyzes the English translation of Folding Beijing from the perspectives of meaning, style and culture, and discusses how the translator achieves the closest equivalence with the original text and whether the ideal equivalence is achieved.

1.Eugene A. Nida and His Theory of Functional Equivalence

Eugene A. nida, an American scholar and translator, he explains the dynamic equivalent translation in his influential work Toward a Science of Translating. Dynamic equivalence aims at the closest and most natural equivalence between the target text and the source text, and focuses on the equivalence of readers’ response, not just the equivalence of content and form. In his book The Theory and Practice of Translation, Nida defined dynamic equivalence as follows: Dynamic equivalence is therefore to be defined in terms of the degree to which the receptors of the message in the receptor language respond to it in substantially the same manner as the receptors in the source language.（Nida，2004：24）Nida’s dynamic equivalence theory requires that the translation readers’ response to the translation should be consistent with that of the original readers. Since dynamic equivalence is controversial in some aspects, Nida replaced dynamic equivalence with more perfect functional equivalence in 1993. There are a number of related principles that govern the degree of adjustment necessary to produce a satisfactory equivalent translation. As functional equivalence translation is defined as the closest and most natural equivalent translation of the source language information, three principles should be followed by translators to achieve functional equivalence. In order to achieve functional equivalence, the translator must make the translation fit(1) the context of the source-language message, (2) the receptor-language reader’s response, (3) the receptor language and culture as a whole. Nida defined the reader’s response as the essence of his functional equivalence theory, that is, from the form and content of information to the reader’s response. It is different from the traditional translation theory, which emphasizes the comparison of verbs between the original text and the target text. Functional equivalence concerns reader’s responses. If the target language reader’s understanding and appreciation of the target language is essentially the same as that of the original language readers, the target language can be regarded as a functional equivalence. In other words, the functional equivalence of Nida emphasizes the reader’s response to the translation.

Conclusion

Bibliography

On Translation of EST into Chinese-- From the Perspective of Functional Equivalence 周园曲 Zhou Yuanqu

Applicaton of Translation Theories

Study of Application of Interpretive Theory in Escort Interpretation 韩宛真 Han Wanzhen

Abstract

Key words

摘要

关键词

I.Introduction

Theory and Practise

The Development of Translation in Chinese Buddhist Scriptures and Western Biblical Scriptures 陈佳欣 Chen Jiaxin

An Analysis of the Books of Translation，History and Culture: A Sourcebook and A Comparative Study of Chinese and Western Translation Thoughts 成于思 Cheng Yusi

Abstract

Key words

摘要

关键词

安德烈·勒菲弗尔，《翻译，历史与文化论集》，刘宓庆，《中西翻译思想对比研究》

I.Introduction

II.Analysis of Translation, History and Culture: A Sourcebook

Translation, History and Culture: A Sourcebook, written by a famous American scholar André·Lefevre, is a collection of seminal statements or texts of thinking about translation in Western Europe, spanning twenty centuries from 106 BC to 1931 AD. A number of texts collected in this book were published in English for the first time, which served as an important supplement to the system of thinking of translation. The collected excerpts are arranged in eight themes, including the role of ideology, the power of patronage, poetics, universe of discourse, translation, the development of language and education, the technique of translating, central texts and central cultures, and longer statements. Such an exclusive arrangement is intended to highlight the important thinking of translation, to effectively illustrate the constraints imposed on translation, to discuss the position of culture, the role translation played in education, and to give out technique of translating concerning translation practice, thus dwarfing the traditional chronological arrangement. As such, the book is proved to be worth reading for those who study translation.

III. Analysis of A Comparative study of Chinese and Western Translation Thoughts

IV.Comparison between the books of Translation History and Culture: A Sourcebook and A Comparative study of Chinese and Western Translation Thoughts

Conclusion

The Implications of Luther's Translation Principles amid Renaissance for Modern Literature Translation 方洁玲 Fang Jieling

The development and future trend of translation Theory 张慧 Zhang Hui

A Cultural Critique of Foreignization and Domestication 吴子佳 Wu Zijia

Abstract

Domestication and foreignization ，as two important translation methods, play an important role in many areas, the language is the carrier of culture, the differences between different cultures is the important obstacle of cross-cultural communication.And each of the two translation strategies has its own advantages and disadvantages. During translation, an interpreter is required not only to have good command of translation, but also need to grasp a foreign cultural psychological and ideological values, cultural knowledge reserve purpose countries and consider the national psychological acceptance, while standing in the source language, on the basis of national culture, realize the cultural exchanges between the two countries. This paper intends to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of domestication and foreignization in the translation of different cultures (such as tourism culture, food culture, literary works, etc.), and to select the essence and discard the dross in order to find better translation methods and achieve better cultural promotion and cross-cultural communication.

Key words

摘要

关键词

摘要

关键词

Contemporary Translation Studies

On the Influence of Linguistics on the Construction of Translatology 孔祥慧 Kong Xianghui

Translation, History and Culture and Introducing Interpreting Studies 李璐伊 Li Luyi

Reflection on the Learning of Translation Studies in China 许晶 Xu Jing

The influence of translator's cultural identity on translation 周玉娟 Zhou Yujuan

The Application of Domestication and Foreignization in Howard Goldblatt’s Translation of Mo Yan's works 邹鑫雨 Zou Xinyu

Yan Fu from descriptive translation studies 曹润鑫 Cao Runxin

Translation Thoughts

An Analysis of Translator’s Subjectivity from the Perspective of Cognitive Metaphor李玉 Li Yu

On the study and analysis of three kinds of beauty and transformation in the mid autumn festival prelude to water melody under the guidance of functional equivalence 林敏 Lin Min

Lexical Gap between English and Chinese and its translation strategies 孟莹 Meng Ying

On Form and Spirit in Translation 文偲荇 Wen Sixing

Abstract

Key words

translation methods，form，sprit

摘要

关键词

翻译方法，翻译的形与神

The form of translation

The sprit of translation

Discussion

Conclusion

Bibliography

Comparison of Nida's and Newmark's Translation Theories——Taking "2017 APEC Speech" as sample 周诗卿 Zhou Shiqing

Translation Strategies

The Study on the Translation Strategies, Translation Methods and Translation Techniques in Seeking Happiness for People: 70 Years 朱素瑶 Zhu Suyao

Translator's invisibility vs. Translation Studies 胡百辉 Hu Baihui

Translation of Business Contracts from the Perspective of Functional Equivalence Theory 胡瑾 Hu Jin

The translator's invisibility 张毓婕 Zhang Yujie

Study of Domestication and foreignization in Cross-cultural Translation 顾东方 Gu Dongfang

The Translation Strategies of Chinese Political Terms under the Standard of "Political Equivalence" 高明珠 Gao Mingzhu

Abstract

With the development of globalization, the political communication among countries is more and more frequent, and the translation of political terms has gradually become one of the heated topics in the translation field. Political terms translation is challenging, because not only does it concern the relationship between countries, national status, political attitude and other important issues, but also it is developmental. Political neologisms will keep emerging, and some political terms will contain new connotations with the advancement of the times. In addition to the above characteristics, Chinese political vocabulary has many affixes, abbreviations, four-character phrases, metaphors.In 2008, Yang Mingxing and other scholars put forward the "Political Equivalence" based on Eugene Nida's "Functional Equivalence" theory for the translation of Chinese political terms, which pointed out that the translation of political words should follow the three principles of "political", "dynamic" and "balanced". On the basis of some related papers, this chapter will sum up the specific strategies such as supplement, omission, keeping or converting analogical body, adding explanation and narration for translating Chinese political terms with characteristics of having lots of affixes, abbreviations, four-character phrases and metaphors following the guidance of "Political Equivalence".

Key words

political equivalence Chinese political terms translation strategies

摘要

随着全球化的发展，各国间的政治交流愈加频繁，政治词汇的翻译也逐渐成为翻译界讨论热点之一。政治词汇的翻译是具有挑战性的，不仅是因为它关系到国与国之间的关系、国家地位、政治态度等重要问题，而且因为政治词汇是发展性的，政治词汇中会不断有新的词汇涌进，且某些政治词汇会随着时代的发展而增加新的内涵。而中国政治词汇除了具有以上特点，它还有多词缀、缩写、四字短语[1]，多用隐喻等修辞手法的特点。2008年，杨明星等学者针对中国政治词汇的翻译，基于尤金·奈达的“功能对等”理论提出了“政治等效”翻译标准，该标准指出政治词汇的翻译要遵循“政治性”、“动态性”、“平衡性”三大原则。本文基于相关文献，总结出在该标准下，对中国政治词汇在具有多词缀、缩写、四字短语及多采用隐喻这几个特点下的翻译可采用的具体的翻译策略，如增补法、省略法[1]、喻体保留法（完全保留、部分保留）、喻体转换法、喻底补充法、喻义直叙法[2]等。

关键词

政治等效 中国政治词汇 翻译策略

1. The Significance of Translating Political Terms

2. The Difficulties in Translating Political Terms

3. The Proposal and Connotations of Political Equivalence

4. The Three Principles of Political Equivalence

5. Translation Straties under The Standard of Political Equivalence

(1)The Characteristics of Chinese Political Terms

(2)Translation Strategy---Supplement

(3)Translation Strategy---Omission

(4)Translation Strategy---Keeping or Converting Analogical Body

(5)Translation Strategy---Adding Explanation and Narration

6. Conclusion

7. References

Translation Appreciation

Appreciation of Translation from the Stylistic Perspective - Use Walden as a Case Study 袁诗琦 Yuan Shiqi

27.1.1 Abstract

27.1.2 Key words

27.1.3 摘要

27.1.4 关键词

27.1.5 Introduction

27.1.5.1 Introduction to Walden

27.1.5.2 Introduction to Xu Chi's translation of Walden

27.1.6 Stylistic Features of Walden

27.1.6.1 Lexical Features of Walden

27.1.6.2 Syntactic Features of Walden

27.1.6.3 Rhetorical Features of Walden

27.1.7 Conclusion

27.1.8 References

A Comparison Beteewn the Translation Systems Proposed by Tan Zai and Yi Jing 石海瑶 Shi Haiyao

The Implications of Luther's Translation Principles amid Renaissance for Modern Literature Translation. 王美玲 Wang Meiling

王美玲 Wang Meiling

Abstract

The Renaissance is the fourth peak in the history of Western translation and a great development in the history of Western literature. During the 16th century and the period following the Renaissance in Europe, translation reached an unprecedented climax in the fields of thought, politics, philosophy, literature and religion. At that time, the German translation of the Bible by the Martin Luther is the most well-known one in the whole translation circle, and its influence is unique and long-standing in Germany as well as in the whole Europe continent. Since the Reform and Opening-up, China has gradually stepped into the center of the world arena, and its literary works bearing the quintessence of Chinese culture has become a crucial bridge connecting the rest of the world with China. Despite the rise of machine translation, it can never replace the overwhelming role of human translation in the literary translation. Luther’s translation thoughts have exerted an important influence on the development of Western translation theories, so what sparks can be drawn between his translation principles and Chinese modern culture and literary works? This paper makes a brief comment on the main translation activities of renaissance, then compares the translation thoughts of Luther and Lu Xun, and applies Luther’s detailed translation rules to the actual translation practice,finally analyzes the influence of Luther’s translation thoughts and principles on modern translation practice and their significance for reference.

Key words

Renaissance; Luther; literary works; translation principles; influence;

摘要

文艺复兴运动是西方翻译史的第四次高潮，也是西方文学史上的一次大发展。文艺复兴在欧洲普遍开展的16世纪以及随后一个时期，翻译活动达到了前所未有的高峰，深入思想、政治、哲学、文学宗教等各个领域。在整个翻译界，德国马丁·路德的《圣经》德译本是该时期最负盛名的译本，其影响不论是在德国乃至整个欧洲都是独一无二且源远流长的。改革开放以来，中国日益走进世界舞台中央，承载着中华文化精髓的文学作品成为了重要桥梁。纵然机器翻译兴起，但绝不能替代人工翻译在文学翻译领域的绝对性地位。路德的翻译思想对西方翻译理论的发展产生了重要影响，那么其翻译思想和理论原则与中国当代文化及文学作品又能擦出什么样的火花呢？本文将通过对文艺复兴时期的主要翻译活动进行简评，再对比路德与鲁迅的翻译思想，接着将路德的翻译细则运用到实际的翻译实践中，分析路德的翻译思想及理论原则对于当代翻译实践的影响以及借鉴意义。

关键词

文艺复兴；路德；文学作品；翻译原则；影响；

Introduction

The Protestant Reformation Movement in Germany in the 16th century ushered in a new era of translation and dissemination of Bible.Under the protection of Protestantism, Martin Luther devoted himself to the German translation of the Bible. By the time of 1544 Luther’s death, 430 versions of his Bible translation had been published. In order to make common people more directly understand the meaning of the Bible, Martin Luther translated it in national language. He insisted on his translation thought and fought against the church power and his opponents. He made unremitting efforts in the great project of the Bible translation, which promoted the unification of German language and created a graceful literary language.His translation thoughts are still of great significance to the current translation theory and practice."First of all, from a historical point of view, translation has two main functions in promoting the birth and development of national culture and the transformation of national culture into world culture: one is to promote cultural exchange; the other is to disseminate ideas."

Since the beginning of reform and opening-up, China has gradually stepped onto the world arena. China persists in its cultural development geared to the needs of the world and actively promotes cultural development to the world. Literary works bear the essence of Chinese culture, whose export is an crucial way to spread Chinese culture to the world. Over the years, despite the rise of machine translation, which has a certain practical role, it can not replace the overwhelming role of manual translation in literary translation. So what significance does Luther’s translation thought and theory born in the reform era have in guiding modern translation theory and practice, especially in the field of literary translation?

Chapter 1 Brief comments on translation thoughts in the period of Renaissance

1.1

1.2

1.3

1.4

Chapter 2 Comparison of translation thoughts between Luther and Lu Xun

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Study on Interpreter's Memory and Translation Memory in Interpreting 康浩宇 Kang Haoyu

Abstract

摘要

Chapter 1 Introduction

1.1 Background

Memory plays an important role in interpreting and it is a kind of interpreting competence. The information processing in interpreting is complicated. When the information is input, interpreter first recognize and keep the information, which will then be analyzed, encoded, stored and retrieved. And the interpreter finally decode the information into target language(Wang Jianhua, 2019).Because of the fast input of information and limited time for pausing, great memory is required for interpreters. Whether a good or poor memory has a direct effect on the quality of interpreting. With the development of science and technology, machine translation and computer aided translation, which is also called CAT, was invented as two effective and efficient ways for translation. In CAT, there is a concept called translation memory. Different from human beings’ memory, translation memory is more likely a database. Nowadays, translation memory of CAT has been put into wide use in translation. And in recent years, translation memory has also been applied as a tool in interpreting. As the technology is not yet mature, there are still some limitation and weakness.

1.2 Significance of the Study

There are some studies on the memory of interpreters. But most of them focus on its practical aspects such as how to improve interpreters’ memory or how to make the best of memory in interpreting, instead of substantial facts. The nature of memory and mechanism of memory is also worthy to be studied, so readers can have better understanding and cognition of what is memory and how it works. Therefore, readers can better address our problems in memory of interpreting. The study will fully analyze memory from the aspect of psychology and science. And then it will study on memory of interpreting in details including systems, mechanism, coding and theories. Translation memory is quite a novel topic as it belongs to a sort of science and technology. As the world stepped into information era, digital era and even Artificial Intelligence era, translation memory has been used more widely than ever before. It really facilitates the translators as it both saves a lot of time and greatly improved the translation efficiency. However, there are few studies on the translation memory application in interpreting field. Actually, in many situations, interpreters also uses this kind of technology to help their interpreting. They study will research on the fact of translation memory in interpreting.

1.3 Structure of the Study

This thesis will be developed in five chapters. Chapter 1, the introduction part, is initiated by introducing the background, research problems, and significance of the study. Chapter 2 is functioned to define and categorize the memory. Chapter 3 will present the memory mechanism and related theories in interpreting. Chapter 4 will mainly focus on the translation memory technology at present and its application in interpreting. The concluding chapter generalizes the content of the study and put forward the limitations.

Chapter 2 Study on Memory

2.1 The definition of the Memory

Memory has different definitions in different fields. Generally speaking, human memory is a reflection of what the brain has experienced. From the perspective of psychology, memory is the recognition, maintenance, reappearance of experienced things by the human brain, and it is the basis of advanced psychological activities such as thinking and imagination. It is the retention and extraction of past experience by human brain. It is a psychological process in which individual experience is accumulated and preserved in the mind. All things that have been perceived can be kept in people's minds, and can be reproduced when necessary. This refers to the process in which the human brain encodes, stores and extracts meaningful information input from the outside world(Peng Danlin，1991). From the perspective of neurology, human memory is closely related to the changes of chemical composition in hippocampus and brain. All memory that exists in the brain depends on various nerve cells of the brain, which are called neurons. According to information processing theory, memory process is the process of encoding, storing and extracting input information. Only coded information can be remembered. Coding is the process of processing and transforming the input information, and coding is the key stage of the whole memory process.

2.2. Memory Systems

Based on the structure, memory can be categorized into three systems. There are sensory memory, short term memory and long term memory. The later two systems are also often referred as STM and LTM. The three memory systems are different from each other but closely related.

2.2.1 Sensory Memory

As the shortest memory system, sensory memory is the first channel for human brain to get the information. It has some capacity. According the research in Cognitive Psychology(Wang Su, Wang Ansheng, 1992), People’s visual sensory capacity is more than 9 chunk while their auditory sensory memory capacity has less capacity, which is about chunk. chunk here are memory units, and the size of chunk varies with people's knowledge and experience. A chunk can be a word, a number, a phrase, a sentence, a word list, etc. Sensory memory works as temporary storage for sensory information. It depends on the physical nature of external stimulus to code the information and it is the real copy and transcription of the external stimulus. Most sensory memory can stay for one to two seconds and then disappear. Only with more attention and focus can the sensory memory be processed and then become short term memory(Bao Gang, 2005). People’s visual sensory memory can just keep for less than one second while their auditory sensory memory can keep for 4 seconds. It is inevitable that information will lose with the disappearance of sensory memory.

2.2.2 Short Term Memory

Short term memory is the second memory system. Short term memory is based on the neuron network in hippocampus. It keeps the information that has been selected in the hippocampus of human brain. In some cases, part of information will move from the short memory in hippocampus to long term memory in cerebral cortex. In psychology, short term memory can keep for about one minute with the capacity of about 7 chunks. That means that people can memorize seven unrelated numbers or phonemes for about one minute with their short term memory. However, the capacity of short term memory is not decided by the amount of stimulus but by the modes of chunk and coding. Chunks can effectively expand the capacity of short-term memory. When processing information, people can use the knowledge and experience stored in long-term memory to combine several single stimuli into larger information units, which can effectively expand and increase short-term memory span and improve memory efficiency. Moreover, the coding of short-term memory is mainly auditory coding, and there are also visual coding and semantic coding. Instead of chunk and information unit, people can also use retelling to transfer short term memory to long term memory. Retelling refers to the psychological operation process of repeating the materials just memorized by language to consolidate memory. In the case of retelling, the learning materials kept in short-term memory will transfer to long-term memory. The content of short-term memory can be transformed into long-term memory by retelling.

There is a special type of short term memory, working memory. The concept working memory was first proposed by Baddeley and Hitch. It is used to describe the process of a person temporarily memorizing the fact and thoughts when addressing problems or working(Baddeley, 2006). In spite of limited resources and storage time, working memory is still different from short term memory in temporary storage of information(Hitch, 2012). Compared with short term memory which store information passively, the working memory process is more dynamic. Generally speaking, there are three differences. First, working memory emphasizes storing and processing information at the same time, while short-term memory only focuses on information storage. Secondly, working memory is a multi-factor system, while short-term memory is a single system. Third, working memory is more important than short-term memory for many advanced brain functions and even almost all human cognitive work(Wang Jianhua, 2019). The disappear of short term memory is often due to the interruption.

2.2.3 Long Term Memory

Different from short term memory, long term memory is stored in human’s cerebral cortex where there is more room for storage. Long term memory is very important in keeping information for long time. It can keep information for more than one minute and even for a whole life. Its capacity is unlimited. All the information kept by long term memory has been selected and filtered.According to Tulving, long term memory is stored mainly as two types(Tulving, 1974). They are episodic memory and semantic memory. Episodic memory is about one’s experience of some specific situations. Semantic memory refers to knowledge such as words, concepts, rules and other abstract things.

Appreciation of Translation from the Stylistic Perspective - Use Walden as a Case Study 王轩 Wang Xuan

Machine Translation

On the C-E Translation of Traditional Chinese Medicine Instructions from the Perspective of Adaptation Theory - A Case Study of Yulin Pharmaceutical Company

陈永相 Chen Yongxiang

Abstract

Traditional Chinese Medicine (hereinafter referred to as TCM), the precious property of Chinese medicine culture, boasts the favorable curative effect and a good reputation across the world. With the smooth development of “The Belt and Road Initiative” and national economy, TCM has been playing an increasingly significant role in international trade, attracting more attention of foreign medical experts and consumers. As the essential attachment of a medicine, medicine instructions belong to the genre of practical writing, characterized by the unique language structure and stylistic features, guiding doctors and patients to learn and understand the medicines, such as usage and dosage, actions and indications, contraindication, etc. The translation of TCM instructions is a significant part of TCM translation, the quality of which determines whether the Chinese medicines could be understood and used properly by doctors and patients, as well as the prosperity of TCM in international trade. Due to the inevitable differences in language and culture between English and Chinese, however, plenty of problems appear on the C-E translation of TCM instructions.

According to Adaptation Theory proposed by the Belgian pragmatist Jef Verschueren, language use is a dynamic process of continuous choice-making and adaptation. Translation is a cross-cultural communication activity, which involves language usage and requires translators to make choices of words, translation strategies and so on between source language and target language, and to adapt with different contexts, mentalities, cultures, etc. so as to achieve the ideal goal, from which the Adaptation Theory can be applied exactly into the study of translation. This paper will apply Adaptation Theory, therefore, as the theoretical framework, to study the C-E translation of TCM instructions of Yulin Pharmaceutical Company. Employing the core concepts and investigating aspects of Adaptation Theory, the author tries to further discuss how to better translate TCM instructions.

Key words

Traditional Chinese Medicine instruction translation, Adaptation Theory, Yulin Pharmaceutical Company

摘要

中药是我国医药文化的瑰宝，有着良好的疗效和口碑。随着“一带一路倡议”的稳步推进和中国经济的平稳发展，中药药品在国际贸易中所占比重日益增加，得到了国外许多医疗专家和消费者的关注。药品说明书作为药品的重要附件，是一种实用文体，有其自身的语言结构和文体特点，能够指导医生与患者了解和熟悉药品作用、用法用量、适应症和禁忌等。而中医药品说明书英译作为中医英译的一个重要组成部分，其英译质量决定了药品能否被医生和患者正确理解和使用，以及中医药产品的国际贸易繁荣。然而，由于英语和汉语之间存在着不可避免的语言和文化差异，中医药品说明书英译依然存在着较大问题。

比利时语用学家维索尔伦提出的语言顺应论认为，语言的使用是一个不断作出选择和顺应的动态过程。翻译作为一项跨文化交际活动，需要在源语与目的语之间，就用词、翻译策略等方面进行选择，对不同语境、心理、文化等层面作出顺应。可见顺应论适用于翻译研究。因此本文以顺应论作为理论依据，通过对广西玉林制药公司中医药品说明书英译进行分析研究，运用顺应论的核心概念和研究视角，进一步探讨如何更好地翻译中医药品说明书。

关键词

中医药品说明书翻译，顺应论，玉林制药公司

1.Introduction

1.1 Research Background of the Study

As the precious property of Chinese medicine culture, TCM has been through a profound history in China. Since “The Belt and Road Initiative” proposed for the first time, as an indispensable part in medical industry, TCM has tapped the potential of development opportunity to boost its reform so as to better make inroads into the international market. Guangxi Yulin Pharmaceutical Company is a renowned TCM pharmacy enterprise mainly engaged in R&D, production and sales of Chinese medicines, one of the China Top 50 TCM pharmacy enterprises, boasting 12 national protected TCM varieties. In 2015, Consun Pharmaceutical Group Lt. has successfully brought partial share of Yulin Pharmaceutical Company, which, in return, brought opportunities for the IPO and industrialization of the company. As the essential attachment of TCM medicine, the instructions guide doctors and patients to learn and understand the medicine correctly, which closely relates to consumer safety and are of great significance. The translation of TCM instructions is a significant part of TCM translation, the quality of which determines whether the Chinese medicines could be understood and used properly by doctors and patients, as well as the prosperity of TCM in international trade. The high quality translation versions of TCM instructions will accelerate TCM to enter into the international market, to occupy more competitive market share, and to better popularize the excellent TCM culture.

1.2 Significance and Purpose of the Study

It is noticed that studies and researches on TCM at home and abroad have boomed since the ancient Silk Road period. Regarding the translation of TCM instructions, however, little attention has been drawn from experts. Because of the inevitable differences in language and culture between English and Chinese, a lot of problems appear on the translation of TCM instructions. And against such a backdrop, there are still no settled rules or translation standards to be applied and favored in the translation of TCM instructions, hence it’s quite essential to touch upon the area of C-E translation of TCM instructions in a more comprehensive and systematic way so as to find out more effective methods and strategies for the instruction translation. Adaptation Theory is proposed by Jef Verschueren, he thinks that language use is a dynamic process of continuous choice-making and adaptation. As a cross-cultural communication activity, translation is a type of language use and requires translators to make choices of words, translation strategies and so forth between source language and target language. A good translation version of TCM instructions can appropriately guide both doctors and patients to understand the pharmacological functions, usage and dosage, actions and indications and contraindications of medicines. Therefore, the quality of instruction translation has a direct impact on whether TCM can be favored and obtained a good reputation among overseas medical industry and consumers. This paper studies the C-E translation of TCM instructions of Yulin Pharmaceutical Company under the guidance of Adaptation Theory, trying to take the Company as a case study to further discuss how to translate TCM instructions in a better way.

2.Literature Review

2.1 Features of TCM Instructions

Being the essential attachment of a medicine, the instruction contains important information that explains what the medicine is, how to take it and the effects after taking it, guiding doctors and patients to understand and use medicines properly. It closely relates to consumers’ safety. Thus, TCM instructions must be objective, accurate and concise. However, the information covered in most TCM instructions is drug name, ingredients, actions and indications, usage and dosage, while adverse effects, precautions, pharmacological effects, drug interaction, contraindications etc. are quite simple, even without any description of these items, failing to meet the requirement of international standards.

Besides, due to the profound history of TCM developed in China, most of the unique TCM languages derived from the abstract philosophical concepts of ancient times remain being used until now, say, classical style and semi-classical style, which are accepted and favored by the TCM community, causing difficulties in translating them into English. And hence four-character structure, vagueness and ambiguity of the language, and no equivalence between Chinese and English are the main features of TCM instructions.

The four-character structure is concise but comprehensive in meaning, implying the extensive and abstract medical concepts of TCM. The tradition of using it to describe the symptoms and ways of treatment in TCM hasn’t been changed over time but continued to be applied and advocated in modern society. The TCM instructions are difficult to understand and translate, for the peculiar traits of TCM language, as well as the technical terms coming, directly or indirectly, from the abstract medical concepts of TCM, characterized by the unique treatment method as a whole in human body, and seeking to find answers and balance principles in nature to explain the causes and treatments of diseases, which is usually not the literal one but beyond cognition. In addition, there are gaps and non-equivalence between TCM and Western Medicine. Most TCM instruction translations apply technical terms from Latin in terms of ingredients, but adopt simple words and phrases for describing actions and indications, since the TCM language with Chinese characteristics finds no match in English. Ordinary people, as well as translators, who do not have the professional knowledge may have great difficulty in understanding and translating them.

2.2 Studies of TCM Instruction Translation

Traditional Chinese Medicine wasn’t legal once in the United States until 1975, as many scholars and experts were skeptical about its medical theory and way of treatment. Since the establishment of China, the government has been devoting great efforts to the recognition and popularization of TCM across the world. And from then on, a lot of studies and researches based on the translation of TCM have been published at home and abroad. Regarding the translation of TCM instructions, however, little attention has been drawn from the experts. In view of the special wording and the abstract theory of TCM, the translation of TCM instructions is of great difficulty and complexity.

Currently, the translation of TCM instructions on the market, to a large extent, lacks readability and translation standards. Against such a backdrop, some scholars have striven to make some breakthroughs yet. Nigel Wiseman (2000) systematically elaborates the concept of “oriented by the source” in his dissertation, Translation of Chinese Medicine Terms: A Source Oriented Approach, in terms of the translation of TCM language, believing that the translation of TCM, as well as the instructions, should respect the original style and keep it in the target text as much as possible. In 2002, Translation of TCM Directions (《中医药说明书的英译》) written by Ouyang Lifeng (2002) put forward some practical methods for the translation of TCM instructions. He advocates “naturalization” and “readjustment”, namely, adaptation strategy, should be applied in translation, and if necessary, some additions and deletions are acceptable on the basis of faithfulness to the original text. Guided by Professor Ouyang, his student, Xiaoqiong, applies Peter Newmark’s Communicative Approach in her master’s thesis, On the Translation of TCM Booklets of Direction-The Communicative Approach (2008) to study the features of TCM instructions, suggesting that different approaches should be adopted regarding to different parts of the instructions. On translation Strategies of Chinese Medicine Instruction from the Perspective of Functionalist Approaches written by Luo Haiyan (2009) conducts a relatively profound research under the guidance of Functionalist Approach in terms of each part of TCM instructions. She finds out the translation of TCM instructions is not very identical and comprehensible. Cao Qing’s thesis, A Study on Translation of Chinese Pharmaceutical Instruction (2011) states the common problems of translation instructions and advises three translation methods, namely literal translation, conversion and free translation under the Skopos Theory. There are still other scholars aiming at one aspect or another to further study the translation of TCM instructions, all of which exert a significant impact for references in translating TCM instructions. From the perspectives of Zhang Mengjing (1995), Ning Zhishou and Liu Cuiwei (1997), and Fu Wei (2006), the current TCM instruction translation lacks faithfulness, readability and incompatibility with conventional norms, suggesting that more attention should be paid in this field.

Conclusion can be drawn from the above literature that studies on TCM instruction translation can be conducted from a wide scope. For the great distinction between western and Chinese culture, and the abstract medical principles of TCM, much has to be done to make the translation of TCM instructions more comprehensible and compatible with target cultures and consumers.

3.Adaptation Theory Applied in Traditional Chinese Medicine Instruction Translation of Yulin Pharmaceutical Company

From what has been mentioned above, as the important attachment of TCM, the instructions provide the correct and detailed medical information to doctors and consumers, guiding them to take medicine scientifically and properly, and hence the medicine instructions must be objective, accurate and concise. As one of the China Top 50 TCM pharmacy enterprises, Guangxi Yulin Pharmaceutical Company is a famous brand in the whole country, boasting 12 national protected TCM varieties, and the buyout also boosts the process of IPO and reform. Through observation of the C-E translation instructions of TCM for foreigners and export, hence there are some certain instructive significance for the translation of TCM instructions. Because of the special characteristics of TCM instructions and the limited information included in the instructions of the company, this part tries to analyze the C-E translation instructions from the perspective of Adaptation Theory, mainly employing the contextual correlates of adaptability, structural objects of adaptability and dynamics of adaptability, to further discuss how to better translate TCM instructions.

3.1 Contextual Correlates of Adaptability in TCM Instruction Translation

As introduced earlier, according to Verschueren, the ingredients of contextual correlates of adaptability largely include the physical world, social world, and mental world. However, the author will mainly concentrates on the adaptation to the mental world and social world due to the limited materials collected.

3.1.1 Adaptation to the Mental World

Regarding the mental world, it involves the personality, emotions, beliefs, cognitive levels, motivations, intentions and so on of both sides of language users. In the translation process, translators should take target readers’ mind into account, not just concentrating on personal mental world or literally translating the original text from one language to another language without any adaptation.

Basically, consumers of drugs tend to rely on more renowned brands when facing a bunch of medicines displayed on the shelves. The key to attract their attention not only counts on the high quality of TCM, but also on the instructions with rigorous standards, concise specification and overall comprehensibility, delivering a sense of authority and credibility.

To begin with, the name of drugs is the most direct information delivered to the consumers. Thus, a good name of the TCM can catch the eyes of buyers in the very beginning. “正骨水” is the most famous and important product of Yulin Pharmaceutical Company, however, the translation of its name in the instruction simply applies transliteration and Chinese Pinyin, namely, “Zheng Gu Shui” , which fails to adapt with the mental world of target readers. Apparently, Pinyin isn’t the way of expression that they are familiar with. Translators should consider their mental expectation and make adaptation with their familiar ways of expression. In that point, “Bone-setting Liquor” would be a better name for the medicine. “Bone-setting” means the medicine is effective for the symptoms of bone problems, and “liquor” implies the ingredients involved alcohol and other irritating ingredients so that consumers can be aware of the precautions and avoid using it on fragile mucous membranes and anabrotic wounds. Also, the same type of medicine can apply the same way of translation, such as, “金装正骨水” can be translated to “Golden Bone-setting Liquor”, and “极品正骨水” is rendered as “Superb Bone-setting Liquor”. Such a name conveys the correct medical information to consumers and better adapt to their thinking patterns.

Another example is “睡安胶囊”, the translation version is “Shui’an Jiaonang” . Obviously, it will confuse foreigners since they don’t recognize Chinese Pinyin in their cognitive levels. Translators should at least use “capsule” to indicate the medicine is some type of capsules effective for the sleeping problems. A well-recognized name will arouse attention and interest among consumers, attracting them to purchase the medicine. In order to adapt with their mental expectation and intention, as Ouyang (2002) advocates, naturalization or domesticating translation can be applied in translation. “Sleep Mate” or “Insomnia Killer” can better attract their attention and adapt with their beliefs and cognitive levels. In English, “mate” is a common word, which will be more acceptable and natural in such combination, and “killer” combined with “insomnia” implies the meaning of solving the insomnia problems, which is also more suitable and adaptable with their emotions and motivations.

A good name of the medicine can not only imply the function of the medicine, conveying the essential information to customers, but also can draw their attention and arouse their desires to purchase the medicine. Meeting the demand and preference with the mental world of target people is also one of the requirements of medicine instructions. Under the guidance of Adaptation Theory, if transliteration or simply adopting Chinese Pinyin to translate the names of medicines will confuse customers and cause misunderstanding, adaptation is required, and not just words, but also translation strategies should be taken consideration when making adaptation.

3.1.2 Adaptation to the Social World

Verschueren (2000:91) states that there is no principled limit to the range of social factors that linguistic choices are inter-adaptable with. Basically, social settings and culture play a significant role in the process of translation. What distinguishes TCM from Western Medicine mainly lies on the cultural differences. Language is the carrier of culture, and the cultural differences can be embodied in different languages, and then shown and reflected in society. Instruction translation, as the cross-cultural communication activity, is influenced largely by cultural differences in different social worlds. Followings are the very typical translation examples to illustrate the point:

Example 1(感冒止咳露)

Source Text (ST): 用于感冒或流感发热，头痛鼻塞, 伤风咳嗽，咽痛，肢痛

Target Text (TT): Used for the treatment of cold, flu and fever, headache and nasal congestion, wind damage cough, angina and melalgia

Revised Text (RT): Used for cold, flu, fever, headache, snuffle, cough, sore throat and pain in muscles

Traditionally, “伤风” in Chinese means getting cold because of the invasion of “风” into the human body. “风” is actually one of the six exogenous pathogenic factors according to the medical theory of TCM, which cannot be explained from the perspective of Western Medicine. In western society, people have no concept that the natural phenomenon, say, “风” or “火”, will cause diseases in the human body. So the revised text deletes this term with TCM characteristics to avoid ambiguity and makes it more natural and understandable in English. In addition, most common patients who seek to buy medicines in pharmacies might not have the specific knowledge of medical field due to different social settings and backgrounds, thus, “angina” and “melalgia” might be beyond recognition and acceptance. Western world highlights the importance of brevity and conciseness in their society, and they place emphasis on simplification and efficiency, seldom using the very technical terms in their lives. Such social settings and cultural differences must be considered so as to make adaptation when translating. Besides, “nasal congestion” is the word-for-word translation and may cause misunderstanding among foreigners. So the revised text adopts “snuffle” and “sore throat” to indicate the meaning of “鼻塞” and “咽痛”, applying these simple words to make adaptation with cultural differences in different social worlds, and renders “melalgia” into “pain in muscles” to better deliver the meaning of “肢痛”.

Example 2 (治咳枇杷露)

ST: 治疗儿童伤风呃逆，咳嗽痰盛

TT: Used for children’s wind-damage hiccup, cough and exuberant phlegm

RT: Used for cold, hiccup, cough and sputum in children

Similarly, example 2 also translates “ 伤风” into “ wind damage”, which is not appropriate in such description. As mentioned above, additions and deletions, if necessary, can be applied to make adaptation in translation. So the revised text deletes “wind damage” and “exuberant phlegm”, adopting noun coordination and making it more readable and adaptable to the social world of target readers.

Literal translation of instructions is not always the first option in the C-E translation of instructions. For translators, the first thing they should consider is to be faithful to the original meaning of the text, not the text itself. They need to make adaptation to the target readers’ social world, for instance, social status, social settings, social background, cultural differences, etc., striving to make the translation concise and easy to understand in their society. Amid such different social worlds, translators must bear in mind to render localization of different cultures to make adaptation without causing ambiguity and misunderstanding while successfully keeping and delivering the implied meanings as much as possible.--Chen Yongxiang (talk) 04:26, 30 November 2020 (UTC)

3.2 Structural Objects of Adaptability in TCM Instruction Translationn

3.2.1 Adaptation to the Lexical Level

3.2.2 Summary

3.3 Dynamics of Adaptability in TCM Instruction Translation

4.Conclusion

References

--Chen Yongxiang (talk) 12:41, 31 October 2020 (UTC)

Will Machine Translation Replace Human Translation or not? 莫玲 Mo Ling

Abstract

Science and technology constitute a primary productive force. In the contemporary era, with the continuous development of science and technology, artificial intelligence has shown more and more mighty strength, and machine translation has also been derived in the field of translation. In this regard, many people are beginning to worry that machine translation will one day replace human translation. When it comes to me, science and technology is people-oriented, and the continuous development of it aims at servimg mankind in a better standard. Therefore, it is not realistic to separate science and technology from humanities. The appropriate way to solve this dilemma is to integrate the two to achieve the perfectly qualitative change of "1 + 1 > 2". This paper will first analyze the cons and pros of human translation and machine translation, and then explore the development of computer-aided translation based on the combination of the two types above.

Key Words

Human Translation, Machine Translation, CAT, Compatibility

摘要

科技是第一生产力。在当代，随着科学技术的不断发展，人工智能展现出越来越强大的实力，在翻译领域也相应地衍生出了机器翻译。对此许多人都开始担心机器翻译终有一天会取代人工翻译。在笔者看来，科技以人为本，科学技术的不断发展是为了更好的为人类服务。因而将科技与人文割裂开来的观点是并不现实的，最好的解决办法应是将二者结合起来，实现1+1大于2的完美质变。本文将分析人工翻译与机器翻译各自的优势和劣势，进而探讨二者相结合的后的计算机辅助翻译的发展。

关键词

人工翻译，机器翻译，计算机辅助翻译，融合

Introduction

A Brief Analysis of the Chinese-English Public Sign Translation 袁天翼 Yuan Tianyi

浅析汉语公示语的英译

英语笔译 袁天翼

摘 要：在这个经济全球化、政治多极化、文化全球化、科技现代化、信息共享化的时代，全球经济纵深发展，人类命运共同体日趋形成，人与人、国家与国家间的联系日益密切，这时，汉语公示语的英译问题便被提上了议程。尽管中国汉语公示语的英译翻译员越来越多，但是汉语公示语的英译问题层出不穷。本文简析了汉语公示语定义，例举了生活中常见的一些汉语公示语的英译典型问题，并针对此给出了一些翻译方法与策略，并进行了未来展望。

关键词：汉英翻译；公示语；翻译策略

A Brief Analysis of the Chinese-English Public Sign Translation

MTI Yuan Tianyi

Abstract: In this economic globalization, political polarization, cultural globalization, technological modernization and informative sharing age, the global economy is deeply developing, and the human community with a shared future is coming into shape day by day. The relations among people and among countries are increasing day by day. At this time, the problems of Chinese-English public sign translation become the topic of us. Though the number of Chinese-English public sign translators in China grows daily, the problems of Chinese-English public sign translation emerge endlessly. This passage offers a brief analysis of the definition of Chinese-English public sign, points out some typical problems in Chinese-English public sign translation we see in daily life, analyzes some methods and strategies of Chinese-English public sign translation, and gives some outlooks on the future of Chinese-English public sign translation.

Key Words: Chinese-English translation; public sign; translation strategies

A Brief Analysis of the Chinese-English Public Sign Translation

I. Introduction

The public sign is a specially applied literary form that was formed in modern times, which has a long history. It is used in public places and seen by the masses thus realizing unique communicative purposes. The public sign has become a crucial link in the communication between China and other countries in the international community. In the meantime, there are increasingly more experts and scholars paying attention to the translation of Chinese public signs into English. (Reiss, 2004).

As an important tool for international communication, Chinese-English public sign translation plays an extremely important role in foreign friends’ understanding of Chinese culture（Wang Huili, 2019）. Its applied range is so wide that nearly covers every aspect of our daily life, including: Introductions of tourism trips, propaganda languages, warning languages, road signs, shop signs and advertising boards. It is mostly used on public infrastructure: Subway, airport, taxi, pier, tourist spot, park, street, community, shop, supermarket, restaurant, bank, hotel, cinema, hospital and etc. It uses simple words or sentences, or pictures only, or combines words and pictures to pass useful information to the masses, which not only serves Chinese people, but also is shown to the foreigners, which can help foreigners in China study, work and live.

II. The Current Situation of Chinese-English Public Sign

Public signs are an art of convincing others through effective verbal means, which are also components of language activities. They, in essence, belong to a special kind of communication. However, it is not a kind of face-to-face communication that takes place in a specific period of time, and none of the participants will appear as individuals. The object is for all the people with social behaviors in the place, regardless of gender, age, class or education level. Public signs belong to “one-way communication”, and its binding force or influence will not be as big as direct communication, but it is also used to act with words and deeds, and affects the behavior of the audience with a clear purpose.

Public signs are everywhere, so what are their functions? Zhou Shuxia (Zhou Shuxia, 2017) thinks that, their functions can be divided into showing, warning, profiting, encouraging and eulogizing such five functions.

Firstly, the public sign that has showing function offers all-round information about service, order, or informing service. Such as “Car Rental” and “Children and Senior Citizens Free”.

Secondly, the public sign that has warning function comes up with restrictive or obligatory demands to typical people, which is often used through order, ban, information or persuasion tones. Such as: “Stand in Line” , and “Thieves Beware”.

Thirdly, the public sign that has profiting function promotes consumption, thus realizing enterprises’ economic profits. Such as: “Daily Special”, “Daily Service”.

Fourthly, the public sign that has encouraging function calls for or encourages people to take actions for certain goals or tasks. Such as: “One Family, One Child”, and “Working together, we can make a world of difference”.

Fifthly, the public sign that has eulogizing function gives wishes and chants to certain events or people to reach the goals of propaganda or education. Such as: “One World, One Dream”.

Eugene Nida (Eugene Nida , 2004) said, Chinese-English translation of public signs embraces the conversion of two different languages and two different cultures, which is not only to achieve the language equivalence, cultural equivalence, but also to enhance the possibility of understanding and the reading of Chinese-English translation of public signs.

Public signs are the translation with strong humanistic color (Wu Haoxi , 2019).

However, there are many problems in Chinese-English public sign translation.

In 2003, Clive W. J. Granger, a Nobel Economics Prize Winner talked of the settings and problems of public signs in Beijing when he was interviewed by a program of Beijing TV Station. He said: “Foreigners will feel a little bit nervous when they come to China, because they can not understand public signs in China. ” Clive’s comment extremely shows current problems in Chinese-English public sign translation (Lv Hefa, 2005).

On June 20th, 2017, a national standard conference of the Standard for English Translation and Writing in the Field of Public Service was held in Beijing. The Vice Minister of the Education Ministry and Director of the National Language Commission stressed in the meeting: “The language and character industry of China is expanding from ‘striving to promote and normally use the national common language, scientifically protecting every nation’s language and character’ to ‘managing social foreign language use and improving foreign language service quality’. ” The national standard of the Standard for English Translation and Writing in the Field of Public Service is the standard of English translation and writing quality in public service fields, which stipulates the English translation principles, methods and requirements of transportation, tourism, culture, entertainment, physical exercise, education, medical health, postal service, telecommunication, catering, accommodation, commerce and finance these thirteen service fields.

To sum up, there are still many major problems in China’s public sign translation, common and ubiquitous, which make foreign experts comment like that and the government use national force to normalize translation standards. Whether the translation of public signs in scenic spots into English is harmonious and unified has a great influence on cross-cultural communication (Pinkham John, 2000).

III. The Causes of Chinese-English Public Sign Translation Mistakes

3. 1 The Basic Linguistic Mistakes

To be a proficient Chinese-English public sign translator, one must, fundamentally, grasp basic linguistic rules of English and Chinese, otherwise he or she must make stupid mistakes, and some even primary learners will not make.

No.1 [1] for original source.

No.1 is a public sign put on a glass wall in a mall, the Chinese reads“全年无休(QUAN NIAN WU XIU)”, and it tries to use English to express that “This business runs the whole year”, so the precise translation should be “NO REST DAY ALL YEAR”. But there, we can see it was translated as“365DAY SA TEAR”, which does not belong to the grammatical law of English. So this is a big mistake. Only one who understands Chinese can understand. But for ordinary foreigners, they can not. So, when translating Chinese-English public sign, the translator must be clear about the target language, and know the basic grammatical venation, then begin to translate, instead of randomly putting some letters together and finishing. Otherwise, the translator will make a big mistake like this picture.

A public sign in Haichang Ocean Park of Chengdu City, Sichuan Province reads "Jellyfish Museum, the 2th floor". More specifically, it is a floor direction sign. Here, the correct English for the second floor should be “2nd”, not “2th”. Apparently that the translator has poor knowledge of English vocabulary, which led he or she to make such a ridiculous mistake. Actually, in English language, if there is a number contains “11”, “12”or “13”, its ordinal numeral should be written as “11th”, “12th” or “13th” respectively; And if there is a number contains“1”, “2”or “3”, its ordinal numeral should be written as “1st”, “2nd” or “3rd” respectively. For example, “101st”, “111th”, “201st”, “211th” and etc.

No.3 is a warning sign of a tourist spot, reads "The rockery danger, pleases no climb", whose Chinese meaning is “There stands a rockery, it is dangerous to climb, every one is forbidden from climbing it. ” The Chinese meaning is alright. But, when it was translated into English, a big mistake occurred: “The rockery danger Pleases no climb.”

First, there should be “climbing” after “no”, not “climb”, this is just English grammar knowledge that can be learned in primary school; And the “Please” is followed by a “s”, why does the translator use third person singular at the top of a imperative sentence? Second, if the translator wants to tell the tourists that the rockery is dangerous and mustn’t be climbed, he or she should write: “The rockery is dangerous. Please don’t climb” or “Dangerous rockery. No climbing” or just “No climbing”. Unless the foreigners who see this sign have supreme understanding ability, they will not easily make sense of it.

3. 2 The Tendency Towards Chinglish and Mechanical Translation

Knowing a little about English, then begin to translate public sign. This is ridiculous, which is definitely going to cause obvious mistakes. Especially when translating, there is a high probability that the translator will make Chinglish errors, or tend to seek for mechanical translation, which are the most common public sign translation problems in mainland China. With regard to the tendency towards Chinglish, it only proves that the translator’s basic skills of English are not so proficient, and he or she does not fit for translation work. For the tendency towards mechanical translation, on the one hand, it demonstrates that the translator is lazy, who is not willing to think about how to translate. On the other hand, it reveals his or her lack of basic English language knowledge. In fact, these two both can be easily avoided, only if the translator pays a little more attention to it or is earnest and dedicated to their work. All those mistakes should not have been made.

No.4, this is a sign that is hung in an Internet celebrity milk tea shop: Sexytea of Changsha City, Hunan Province. It reads "out of the cup area". It originally means that the customers should queue here to get their milk tea after finishing paying. The translator should have easily translated “出杯区（CHU BEI QU）”into “FETCH AREA”, but it was translated as “OUT OF THE CUP AREA”, what a joke! Purely it was translated word-for-word. The translator did not understand its true meaning. Probably it was translated by a machine. As an Internet celebrity milk tea shop runner, when dealing with such kind of cultural issues, he or she should be extremely careful, earnest and cautious, instead of casually simply copying the contents given by a machine or hiring a third-rate translator and asking him or her to randomly translate. Large scale milk tea shops must shoulder their required obligations, and undertake necessary responsibilities and duties on public sign translation. Imagine that a foreigner, who can not understand it, stand there and think: What? Standing here is standing outside the cup? Maybe something interesting would happen. Let me try! All those will bring big and standing jokes.

No.5 is a public sign in Mount Emei of Emei City, Sichuan Province. It reads" tourists get off area". Its Chinese meaning is: This is the place that tourists get off from a bus. But, it was translated as “Tourists get off area”, which fully shows the ignorance and lack of English language knowledge of the translators. People may can not help doubting whether it is copied from the translation given by a machine. Famous tourist spots like this, especially this kind of 5A tourist spot, can not even shoulder the cultural obligations, let alone developing in the long run. They should make big mistakes in such a little public sign translation! Do they only want to serve Chinese well while ignoring foreigners?

Similarly, No.6 is a public sign in Mount Emei of Emei City, Sichuan Province, and it reads "up the mountain". The Chinese meaning is “This is the passage that leads tourists to climb the mountain”. The translation should have been a very easy and fun job, but when the sign is showed to tourists, a big big joke was born: “Up the mountain”. We can say “uphill way” or “uphill passage”, but, the translator obviously did not realize it. What’s more, when “up” is used as a verb, it is completely another meaning. It is also the symbol of such irresponsible spot management.

No.7, it is a napkin given by an Internet celebrity milk tea shop (Sexytea of Changsha City, Hunan Province ) for free after buying its milk tea. It reads "more China, more fashion". At first glance, everything seems okay. But more carefully, we can find the mistake. The Chinese meaning is “If there are more elements with Chinese characteristics, it will be more fashionable.” But when translating, maybe with the aid of machine, or lack of a solid English knowledge foundation, it becomes “More China, more fashion”. If the customer is a Chinese, it does not matter, for he or she can understand it, and just shows a smile. But if foreigners see, they will be pretty shocked by the sight: What the hell is this? They will think that this shop lacks money to hire a good translator, and the managers are stupid. Furthermore, the Chinese national image will be badly affected. In fact, this sentence can be translated as “The more sinicization there is, the more fashion there will be” or “With greater Chinese characteristics come more fashion”. Easier? It can be “More sinicization breeds more fashion”. Translated like these, won’t it be much more correct and intelligible?

3. 3 The Misunderstanding of the Public Sign Translators

It is the little knowledge of English of the translators that makes them can not even spell a basic word correctly; Or due to carelessness, they make mistakes on public sign translation, thus causing mistakes on the meaning of the sign. All these are significant reasons why there are so many mistakes in Chinese-English public signs.

No.8 [2] for original source.

No.8. The Chinese meaning of it is “The door or passage that leads you to the outside”, in short, “EXIT”. But the public sign was translated as“EXPORT”, so, what is “EXPORT”? In a word, it means trade among different countries. The commercial goods pass through the customs, being transported from one country to another country. Distinctly, the maker was careless, who has mixed the meaning of “出口（Chu Kou）”in Chinese, thus resulting in an obvious translation error. As for public sign translation, translators must weigh every word, and think over and over and over again, not just search online, and grab all the words you “discover”, which is a highly irresponsible behavior, an extremely irresponsible behavior to the society and the country .

No.9 [3] for original source.

No.9 is from a hospital department. Its Chinese meaning is: Here is neurology emergency department. It uses a special logogram in Chinese. But, the maker was misled, so, he or she translated it as “God Medical”. If a person has a little common sense, he or she will be made to laugh wildly. It is completely the “Understanding of a sentence simply by a word”! That should be translated as “ Department of Emergency Neurology”. Such a casual translation will make Christians think that they can see God for real. Whether can he see death here or a way to heaven with a passionate God serving you? To some extent, this is disrespect for Christians, which can even cause disputes.

No.10 [4] for original source.

No.10 is photographed in a company building. Here, the Chinese means: this is the place where you can get boiled water. However, the translator of this public sign made a huge mistake, because he or she disintegrated the three Chinese words one by one, and thus translating them one by one, which can not be understood as a whole, let alone enable foreigners to understand the meaning of this public sign, and as a result, foreigners may not receive the service that they deserve. What’s worse, many people, including intelligent Chinese, when seeing this disqualified translation, will definitely be amused, and feel funny: What is this guy’s literate level?

As a matter of fact, this public sign can be translated as “Boiled Water Room”. “开水”means “boiled water” in English. Certainly, the translator treated the “开”as a verb “open”, which is absolutely wrong.

Further, this is a single room, not two or more, so we must use “room”, which is the plural form, instead of the singular form “rooms”.

3. 4 The Falsification and Loss of Information

Originally, the managers want to use signs to warn people, but due to mistranslation, the information is tampered and missed, resulting in an opposite consequence, and producing big jokes.

No.11 is a public warning sign in Liuxiang Barbecue Restaurant. It reads " carefully hot". Is it a true warning? In the foreigners’ opinion, it is not. People who speak Chinese can realize that this sign was designed to warn customers not to be burned by the hot oven. However, the English translation is far from what it originally means. The correct translation can be “Careful! Hot!” or “Be Careful of the Hot Oven!” But according to the translation on the sign, it means “Carefully burn yourself”. Luckily, this is a small scale restaurant, if it were a large one, its reputation would be badly affected.

No.12 [5] for original source.

No.12 is a public sign in a large shopping center. As we all know, modern shopping centers now always use smooth and shiny tile floor as the ground, which makes the shopping centers look beautiful and attractive. However, smooth though it is, one big safety problem then comes into shape: The ground is too smooth to make shoppers slide and fall. Later, the managers made public signs like No.12 to warn people not to fall. The Chinese warning is okay, Chinese shoppers can understand, but when foreigners see this, he or she will burst out laughing: What? You order me to slide on the floor with care? What on earth do you mean? I have even seen an Internet celebrity girl posting an video clip that tells us a story that satirizes this mistranslation: The girl and her father slide joyfully on the ground in a shopping center while murmuring “Carefully slide! Carefully slide!” As a matter of fact, The correct Chinese-English translation should be “Caution! Slippery!” or “Beware of Wet Floor” or “Caution! Wet Floor”. Each one of the three is okay.

No.13 [6] for original source.

No.13 is a public sign that is put on the ceiling of a restaurant’s stair. Here, the translator wanted to pass such information by Chinese and English: Watch your head, do not hit the low ceiling of the stair. Be careful. Though the Chinese information is okay, the English, however, can not by understood by others, especially foreigners.

Here, the makers wanted to warn the danger of the low ceiling, not to ask people to purposely hit the ceiling. So we can correct it as: “Watch Your Head”, or “Be Careful”. Both are okay.

Here, the translator made a mistranslation, which reversed the original meaning when translating, thus producing a huge laughingstock. First, “碰”is not “meet”, but “hit”, according to this specific environment. It does not mean “meet someone”. Second, “小心碰头” means not to hit the ceiling, not to “meet carefully”.

Throughout so many examples, every one can see that the mistakes of public sign translation are ubiquitous and common in daily life, which you can even randomly pick up one from any store you meet. Pervasive errors like these in public signs will negatively affect China’s reform and opening-up and the integration into international community, which will not only make foreigners misunderstand the meaning, but also seriously damage China’s national image. Therefore, the study of the public sign translation is extremely urgent and imperative. At present, translators must start from basic demand of Chinese-English public sign translation, endeavor to learn English well, cultivate a good sense of utilizing English and a great mindset of English utilization, proactively take part in English translation practice, and be highly alert and form a sense of “Using English language in a proper, correct, suitable and decent way”. Only then will the situation of Chinese-English public sign translation turn better.

IV. Public Sign Translation Methods

There is a saying goes: “Nothing can be accomplished without norms or standards. ” So is the Chinese-English public sign translation. Zhang Yan (Zhang Yan, 2015) maintains in her paper that, the public sign translation methods can be summarized as four kinds.

4. 1 Amplification

Many new words that are with Chinese characteristics, especially combined with numbers, need using amplification to introduce to foreign readers. For example, in the past, “五讲四美三热爱(Wu Jiang Si Mei San Re Ai）”was translated as “Five Stresses, Four Beauties and Three Loves”. Many foreigners said that they could not understand it. Later, it was revised as “Five Stresses, Four Beauties and Three Loves” with the notation “ stress on decorum, manners, hygiene, discipline and morals; beauty of the mind, language, behavior and the environment; love of the motherland, socialism and the Communist Party”. Hence, foreigners can easily understand its connotation.

4. 2 Ellipsis To make sure that the translation is concise and intelligible, when doing Chinese-English translation, translators must properly delete unnecessary words according to English expressing habits to achieve overall generalization. Such as: “Food Paradise”.

4. 3 Re-translation Due to cultural differences, many folk adages with Chinese characteristics will not be understood by readers once simply read literally. So translators can moderately reorganize those sentences that can not be translated or understood. Such as: “Drinking and Driving Costs Your Life”.

4. 4 Backward Translation

There are two cases: Translating the cultural expressions that are borrowed from translation back into their original forms in the target language; Translating the expressions with obvious cultural characteristics into the idiomatic expressions in the target language. Such as: “Venus Florist”. The English public sign has its own cultural and pragmatic meanings. When doing the Chinese-English public sign translation, translators should consider about the cultural differences and avoid any form of ambiguity, misunderstanding or mistranslation, and offer high quality information service, thus making public sign translation advance with the times.

V. Public Sign Translation Strategies

He Xueyun (He Xueyun, 2006) holds in her thesis that, theoretically, semantic translation and communicative translation differ much. Semantic translation strives to keep the language specialty and unique express method of the original work, in order to express the original work’s thinking process; However, communicative translation’s key point lies in spreading information and enabling people to think, feel and act, giving play to the function of information that language conveys and the consequences it causes. Public sign translation must focus on results, and put readers first, only by this can we improve the current situation of public sign translation, thus achieving the purposes of public sign translation.

Before beginning to do anything, we all need a world view and methodology to guide us to behave well. Likewise, when doing Chinese-English public sign translation, we also need guiding ideology to direct us. Here, I will show you four Chinese-English public sign translation strategies, which act as guiding ideology, which are definitely going to be a powerful weapon for you. Just remember them and practice them, you will gain a lot.

5.1 No Grammatical, Semantic and Logical Error

The most basic prerequisite of public sign translation is that there is no language error: No grammatical error, no vocabulary spelling error, no language context error, no Chinglish or machine-aided translation error.

“This is office area, tourists mustn’t enter” can be translated as “Staff Only”, not “OFFICE AREA PLEASE DON’T COMING”, or you will make a grammatical and redundant error. “Be careful, don’t slip into water” can be translated as “Caution! Deep Water!” instead of “TAKE CARE! FALL INTO WATER CAREFULLY!” Otherwise, people will can not help laughing.

One translator was not able to translate “The grass is so beautiful, are you sure you wan to walk on it?” into English public sign, so here comes “Fangcaoqiqi riding the Heren”. What a laughingstock! This is a combination between Chinese and English, without any grammar structure. Not to translate it will be a much better choice. We can concisely translate it as “Don’t Walk on the Beautiful Grass!”

5. 2 Concise and Intelligible Translation

One prominent character of public sign is conciseness. It asks people to ensure the translation is crystal clear and precise, without any compound or obscure sentence. Only by achieving this can the signs become popularized, instead of making people think over and over and over again to discover their cryptic meaning.

The public sign translation must be concise and intelligible, which means that you not only need to precisely convey what the maker means to people, but also must be concise. People can understand it immediately without comprehension deviation or ambiguity.

5. 3 Understanding of Cultural Background Differences

When translating, every translator must thoroughly understand the culture of the targeted language. Translators must comprehensively understand each specific use of the targeted language under different cultural backgrounds. If not doing so, it may cause severe disputes, and even cause irresistible outcomes. Here are several examples.

“Dragon” is a legendary animal in traditional Chinese culture. Chinese people often view themselves as “dragon”, and even say that they are “Descendants of the Dragon”. Thus, “Dragon” means holy and sacred thing in Chinese culture. But in English speaking countries, the meaning of “dragon” is not so. In these countries, “dragon” means something evil like Satan, sometimes it is even used to describe thugs, scoundrels or other bad behaviorists. Therefore, invariably coping the icon of “dragon” and using it in other cultures is a definite mistake. In a word, a public sign language translator must totally comprehend the cultural background differences.

5. 4 Obedience to Certain Norms and Standards

As long as someone is translating, he or she must obey certain rules, norms and standards. He mustn’t translate according to his will. This is a truth. For example, according to China’s first set of standards on how to regulate the use of foreign languages in China, which was jointly issued by the State Standards Commission and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine on November 20, 2017 and officially implemented on December 1, 2017, some of the standards have been specified in detail.

Names of tourist spots: Names of mountains, rivers and lakes should be written in Chinese pinyin. Translations of names of temples should vary according to different situations, so are the towers’ names. In line with external service needs, English explanations can be added.

VI. The Future of Chinese-English Public Sign Translation

China is a major powerful country, and is the country with the second highest Gross Domestic Product in the world, which is why China should keep close economic and cultural relationships with other countries. In order to integrate China with international community in a better way, there must be high quality public sign translation.

High quality public sign translation must improve the China’s influence power in international community. High quality public sign translation represents that China is rich in translators and intellects, and shows that China can fulfill obligations and shoulder responsibilities as a major country. Achieving this means China not only takes responsibilities for Chinese people, but also for all human beings. Good quality public sign translation is definitely going to significantly synergize the course of reform and opening-up.

High quality public sign translation is obliged to facilitate foreigners to travel in China, boost domestic consumption demand, form a new growth point for economy, promote the rise of Gross Domestic Product, and accelerate the comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable development. High quality public sign translation is also an integral part of the New Development Philosophy: Innovation, coordination, green, open and share. High quality public sign translation corresponds to the New Normal of Chinese economy. At present, the economy of China has been changing from developing at a high speed to develop at high quality, and is at the stage of changing economic development mode, transforming driving forces of economic development and optimizing the economic structure, so high quality public sign translation is badly needed. Thus, considering the big change of Chinese economy, achieving high quality public sign translation is an urgent affair.

High quality public sign translation has the duty to embody a city’s humanism spirit, cultural speciality and charm, which is the inevitable requirement of core socialist values and system. It also promotes the spreading of Chinese culture, and improves the influence power of Chinese culture. High quality public sign translation also levels up Chinese people and overseas Chinese’s sense of identity and belonging. What’s more, it can narrow the gap between Chinese and foreigners, and acquire more recognition from them towards China. Domestically, high quality public sign translation can strengthen national cohesion; Externally, it will strengthen China’s soft power, and increase China’s international speaking right while creating national radiation power. It is an important measure to improve China’s public service and governance capability by establishing an evaluation mechanism and promoting the standardization of English translation. It is of great benefit to further improve China’s service level of opening to the outside world, demonstrate its cultural soft power and enhance its international image (Guo Jinghong, 2019).

In short, looking forward to the future of Chinese-English public sign translation from a strategic perspective, translators must remain true to their original aspiration and keep their mission firmly in mind, which is: To be devoted to the future of socialism with Chinese characteristics, to be dedicated to the landscape of translation of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and to be committed to the sustainable development of Chinese-English public sign translation of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

We must treat Chinese-English public sign translation with the point that advances with the times (Tian Guomin, 2019). The English translation of public signs of tourist attractions belongs to the category of cross-cultural communication, and the translator should have certain cross-cultural knowledge and awareness, so that the English translation can be more understood and accepted by the audience and truly achieve the purpose of cross-cultural communication (Yang Hongyu, 2019). The communicative translation theory aims for the target readers (Gutt, 1991). Translation of public signs is a very important task in China with the increasing connection to the outside world (Newmark, 2001). Since reform and opening-up, China has been integrating into the international community day by day. To fully achieve this, as regards of Chinese-English public sign translation, we still have a long way to go. There is no time for us to delay the work of strengthening, proceeding, and improving public sign translation. The rising level of quality of Chinese-English public sign translation will improve both city image and urbanization level. He Xueyun contends in her article that, many people take it for granted that if one knows a foreign language, he then can translate. As a matter of fact, basic skills of public sign translation not only includes foreign language level, but also the knowledge of foreign cultures.

VII. Conclusion

So, how to facilitate the overall development of Chinese-English public sign translation？Firstly, we need to keep pace with the times. Language is constantly changing, so are many words and idioms, and so are public signs. In order to accurately convey information to the audience, it is essential to integrate the latest, most reliable and most accepted language into public signs. Secondly, it is necessary to fully understand the idiomatic usage of public signs, because public signs are mainly aimed at English speakers, so it is necessary to strengthen the accumulation of words, phrases and idioms, which is also the basis of translation. Thirdly, the translators of Chinese-English public signs should use accurate words and phrases in combination with specific environment and objects, and should not fail to convey the meaning or deviate from the original meaning, which otherwise will result in misunderstanding. Of course, only achieving the above is not enough. In order to do a good job in the translation of Chinese-English public signs, we need to keep improving our translation attitude and spirit of study, and constantly improve and summarize and innovate on the basis of the original, so as to make the translation of Chinese-English public signs more perfect and recognized by the international audience. It is very important for the academic community and people from all walks of life to analyze the problems in the application of public signs and put forward corresponding improvement countermeasures (Liu Xiaoping, 2019).

A Chinese-English public sign translator must fully realize and shoulder the responsibilities that translators must carry, form a sense of community of a shared future, fully acknowledge the current situation of Chinese-English public sign translation, completely learn lessons from the predecessors who have made mistakes in Chinese-English public sign translation, totally implement the four public sign translation strategies I mentioned before, to make Chinese-English public sign translation serve the construction of a moderately prosperous society in all respect, the construction of modern powerful socialist country, the construction of building China into a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful, and the realization of the great Chinese dream, that is: the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

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Research on the Features of Machine Translation and Its Relationship with Human Translation 欧阳静兰 OuYang Jinglan

Foreignization and Domestication

Domestication and Foreignization in Translation: Functionalist Approaches Explained 汤蓓 Tang Bei

Abstract

摘要

Introduction

Definition of Domestication and Foreignization

Functions of Domestication and Foreignization

A Brief Introduction to Functionalist Approaches

Skopos Theory

Theory of Translational Action

Text Typology

Account for the Choice of Domestication and Foreignization with the Notion of Functionalist Approaches

From the Viewpoint of Skopoos Theory

From the Viewpoint of Translational Action

From the Viewpoint of Text Typology

Conclusion

The Application of Domestication and Foreignization in Howard Goldblatt’s Translation of Mo Yan’s Works 欧蓉 Ou Rong

  摘要：一直以来，中国文学的独特风格在世界文学中备受瞩目，在流向海外的过程中，翻译成为了跨文化沟通的桥梁与传播的媒介。莫言是中国著名代表作家，2012年获得诺贝尔文学奖，外国对其作品的翻译研究从未断过。葛浩文是美国著名中国当代文学翻译家，莫言所有作品的英译本都来自于他。本文旨在通过分析葛浩文在翻译莫言作品过程中体现的归化和异化，从而指出其过人之处，从而思考中国文学作品被英译时应注意的事项，加强与提高不同文化之间交流的理解度与流畅度。  

关键词：归化；异化；葛浩文；莫言的作品  

Abstract: For a long time, owing to the unique style, Chinese literature has attracted much attention among world literature. In the process of flowing overseas, translation has become a bridge of cross-cultural communication and a medium of transmission. Mo Yan is a well-known representative Chinese writer, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2012. The study on his works about translation abroad has never stopped. Howard Goldblatt is a famous American  translator specializing in contemporary Chinese literature, and all English versions of Mo Yan's works are from him. Through analyzing the domestication and foreignization that reflects in the translated version of Mo Yan's works by Howard Goldblatt, the thesis aims to point out the extraordinary of this application and consider the matters that should be paid attention to when translating Chinese literary works into English to strengthen the understanding and improve the fluency of the exchange between different cultures.  

Key words: Domestication; Foreignization; Howard Goldblatt; Mo Yan’s works  

1.Introduction

2. Domestication and Foreignization

2.1. The Definition of Domestication

2.2 The Definition of Foreignization

3. Howard Goldblatt’s Translation Strategies on Chinese Literary Works

4. The Embodiment of Domestication and Foreignization in Mo Yan’s works

5. The Enlightenment under the Application for Translation

6.Conclusion

Bibliography--Ou Rong (talk) 15:39, 6 November 2020 (UTC)Ou Rong

Domestication and Foreignization in the Course of Translation Under the Direction of Skopostheorie 谭星越 Tan Xingyue

Study of domestication and foreignization in cross cultural translation 周罗平 Zhou Luoping

Abstract

Language is the carrier of culture and the medium of communication between cultures. Language and culture are closely connected. Nowadays, cultural exchanges are becoming increasingly frequent; hence, it’s particularly important to use translation to convey information between different cultures. Translation is a process not only about transforming one language into another, but also about noticing the history and cultural tradition behind languages. Therefore, in cross-cultural translation, translators should master two methods to deal with culture: domestication and foreignization. This article will introduce the two translation strategies of domestication and foreignization and explore how to reasonably use them in cross-cultural translation.

Key words

Domestication Foreignization Cross-cultural Translation

摘要

语言是文化的载体，是文化间传播和交流的媒介。语言和文化之间密不可分。在文化交流日益频繁的今天，用翻译去传递不同文化之间的信息就显得格外重要。翻译不仅仅是将一种语言转化为另一种语言，更要关注不同语言背后所承载的历史背景和文化传统，故在跨文化翻译中，译者应掌握处理文化的两种翻译方法：归化和异化。本文将系统地介绍归化和异化这两种翻译策略，并探究在跨文化翻译中如何选择这两种翻译方法。

关键词

归化 异化 跨文化翻译--Zhou Luoping (talk) 00:55, 1 November 2020 (UTC)

Introduction

Influenced by different geographical environment, historical development and other factors, different nations and countries form their unique culture. Translation plays an important role in cross-cultural communication. The translator as the main body of translation activities should convey the culture of one language in another language. In this process, the translator is faced with how and to what extent to show the cultural connotation of source language; therefore, the translator is bound to face the choice between domestication and foreignization. Domestication, oriented by the target language culture, aims to eliminate the strangeness brought about by the source text, but it also reduces the opportunities for the target readers to contact with foreign cultures. While foreignization, oriented by the source language culture, aims to retain the unique style and cultural characteristics of the source language, but it will increase the reading difficulty. The best way is to combine domestication with foreignization. Therefore, the translator should fully consider the type of the text and the readers of the translation to choose the translation strategies and methods reasonably. This paper will be divided into five parts. The first part is the introduction of this paper. The second part is the introduction of domestication and foreignization, as well as a brief introduction of the representatives of domestication and foreignization. The third part is an analysis of the factors that influence the choice of domestication and foreignization. The fourth part introduces the translation methods under domestication and foreignization. The fifth part is the conclusion.

Domestication and Foreignization

The terms domestication and foreignization were first put forward by Lawrence Venuti in his work The Translator’s Invisibility. The two concepts of foreignization and domestication are defined by Venuti based on Schleiermacher’s distinction between the two different translation orientations. In his speech "On the Different Methods of Translating" in June 1813 Schleiermacher clearly pointed out that there can be only two ways of Translating. Either by keeping the author as still as possible, so as to lead the reader to the author; the other is to keep the reader as still as possible, thereby guiding the author to approach the reader (Jiang 2016). Venuti, on the basis of Schleiermacher’s distinction, called the former foreignization and the latter domestication.

Introduction of Domestication According to Venuti, domestication is actually an ethnocentric practice, bringing foreign texts into the cultural values of the target language and thus “bringing the author back home” (2009).Therefore, in the process of translation, the translator follows the target language culture and adopts conservative methods to assimilate the original text so as to meet the needs of the target language readers. In this sense, the biggest advantage of the domestication is that it make the translated works more easily accepted by the target language readers and that readers can better understand the connotation of the source text. In addition, In addition, domestication well reflects the coexistence of different cultures in the process of communication, and shows that translators seek common ground when facing culture differences and conflicts. Of course, every coin has two sides. Domestication translation method also has its shortcomings. When translators adopt domesticating method, they tend to assimilate part of the original content with different language style or unique national culture, which makes the translation lose the characteristics of the original text, thus affecting the communication and spread of different cultures and hinders readers' understanding of foreign culture. Eugene Nida is the representative figure advocating domestication. Nida's functional equivalence theory or dynamic equivalence theory shows that he is a supporter of domestication translation. His dynamic equivalence theory shows that he pursues the most natural equivalence translation. He once said that “dynamic equivalence is therefore to be defined in terms of the degree to which the receptors of the message in the receptor language respond to it in substantially the same manner as the receptors in the source language” (Nida 2004). In other words, dynamic equivalence means that the reader's response to the translation is consistent with that of the original. Nida's dynamic equivalence theory fully considers the reader's language culture and the reader's ability to appreciate the translation. Therefore, in the course of translating, the translator should take the completely natural and smooth language expression as the goal. In order to make the translation natural and smooth, the translator must make some adjustments to the original text. Some heterogeneous cultures which are not accepted by readers should be eliminated as much as possible. Nida's dynamic equivalence theory takes the reader into full consideration. It aims to eliminate the readers' strangeness to the original content and let readers better understand the thought and meaning of the original text, which precisely reflects the characteristics of domestication translation.

Introduction of Foreignization According to Venuti, foreignization is an ethnodeviant practice, keeping language and cultural differences of the original texts as far as possible and thus sending the reader abroad (2009). In other words, in order to show the cultural characteristics of the source work, translators use foreignising method during the translation to retain the characteristics of the source text and try to keep the writing techniques used by the author of the source language. Hence, for the readers of the target language, the translation is exotic and unfamiliar. Same to the domestication, foreignization also has its advantages and disadvantages. Foreignization, by transplanting the culture of the source language into the culture of the target language, enriches the culture of the target language to a great extent. For example, the Chinese phrase “武装到牙齿” is translated as “armed to the teeth”, which greatly spreads Chinese culture and enriches the English and Chinese language culture. Of course, foreignization also has its limitations. Some cultural differences and language differences are difficult to overcome. If foreignization is adopted blindly in the process of translation, there will produce some translations that readers cannot understand and accept, and translation will also lose its function of cultural communication. Schleiermacher and Venuti are strong supporters of foreignization. Schleiermacher’s preferred strategy is to accommodate the reader to the author. He claims that translations need not be same as the original author writes in the source language. The translation does not conform to the general expression habits of the target language. He believes that a translator who knows the target language can help target readers who are not proficient in the foreign language but have a strong understanding of the original text. In order to achieve this goal, the translator must adopt the foreignization translation method, emphasize the value of heterogeneous culture, and ensure the faithfulness to the original text by subordinating the words in the target text to the source language (Jiang 2016). In this way, the translation can be faithful to the meaning of the original text and can introduce heterogeneous cultures and concepts to readers of target language. In his book The Translator's Invisibility, Venuti expressed his understanding and support for foreignization translation in detail. He believes that foreignization translation is a kind of translation strategy that preserves and highlights the heterogeneity of the original text in the translation. First, he believes that foreignization is reflected in the selection of translation materials. He mainly aims at the classic translation of literature and culture of the target language. In fact, in the process of foreignising translation, the translator chooses a foreign text which is different from the mainstream culture of the target language, which can change the cultural composition of the target language. Second, foreignization translation is reflected in the language used by the translator in the process of translation. This means that in the process of translation, the closer the language style of the translation is to the language style of the original, the more heterogeneous the readers will feel. Moreover, Venuti advocates that in the process of translation, the translator should use words that are not commonly used and non-standard. Translators should mix slang, neologism or archaic words to achieve heterogeneous effects. In this way, the foreignization style of translation highlights the heterogeneity of foreign texts and challenges and resists the mainstream culture of the target language. Thirdly, foreignization translation is embodied in cultural alienation. By highlighting the cultural differences caused by language differences, foreignization translation promotes the development of cultural diversity, helps to resist the hegemony of European and American culture, and helps to promote the development of culture and language of weak and small nations. Fourthly, foreignising translation highlights and enhances the status of the translator, which changes the phenomenon that the smooth translation makes the translator invisible in the past, thus promoting translation research to gradually move to the academic center (Jiang 2016). Venuti believes that smooth translation has long occupied the mainstream position in the history of western translation, and the fluency of translation has become the standard to judge whether a translation is good or not. Venuti challenged and questioned this phenomenon. He said that the smooth translation covered up the translator's intervention and interpretation of the original text, and covered up the language and cultural differences of the original work. Therefore, he put forward the concept of resistant translation to expound his translation thoughts. Resistant translation refers to a translation strategy that preserves some heterogeneity in literary translation. The object of resistance is the prevailing translation thought in British and American culture, that is, fluent translation is acceptable translation (Fang 2011). Venuti challenged the dominant position of British and American culture and introduced the idea of weak culture by advocating resistant translation. Translation is not only a process of seeking similarities between languages and cultures, but also a process of facing the differences between languages and cultures. Translators cannot completely and thoroughly eliminate these differences. Therefore, a good translation must be the blending and collision of different cultures, from which the readers can better understand the cultural diversity.

The Application of Domestication and Foreignization in the Translation of Chinese Allegorical Sayings 龚钰冕 Gong Yumian

Abstract: Chinese Xiehouyu (allegorical sayings) is a unique part of Chinese folk culture, and people are familiar with it. The translation of Chinese and English allegorical sayings is a kind of cross-cultural communication activity that spreads the Chinese national language and culture to the English world. In depth study of the connotation and translation methods of Chinese allegorical sayings has played a significant role in promoting and improving the Chinese-English translation and cross-cultural communication between Chinese and English. Based on the theory of domestication and foreignization, this paper attempts to analyze the types and components of Chinese allegorical sayings, and to explore their translation strategies.

摘要：汉语歇后语是中国民俗文化特有的一部分，人们耳熟能详。汉英歇后语翻译是一种将中华民族语言文化传播到英语世界的跨文化交流活动，深入学习研究汉语歇后语的内涵和翻译方法，对汉英语言的互译和跨文化交际都起到了很好的促进和提高作用。本文试图用归化和异化理论出发，分析汉语歇后语的类型及其构成，探讨汉语歇后语的翻译策略。

Key Words: Chinese Allegorical Sayings, domestication and foreignization, translation strategy

关键词：汉语歇后语；归化和异化；翻译策略

Title Translation

A Study on the Translation of Movie Titles 陈惠 Chen Hui

A Study on Movie Titles Translation from the Perspective of Skopos Theory 罗雨晴 Luo Yuqing

Abstract

Key words

摘要

关键词

I.Introduction

Translation of Cultural Words

Translation of Culture-Loaded Words in Li Qingzhao's Ci-Poetry Based on Scopos Theory

周思庆 Zhou Siqing

Abstract

This paper attempts to illustrate the influence of Skopos theory on translation strategies and the influence of translation strategies on translation effect by analyzing the different translations of culture-loaded words in Li Qingzhao’s Ci-Poetry based on Scopos Theory according to Nida’s classification of culture-loaded words. This research is of great significance to refresh blood into the study of Li Qingzhao’s Ci Poems and promote excellent Chinese traditional culture to go abroad.

Key words

culture-loaded word, Li Qingzhao, Scopos Theory

摘要

本文主要以目的论为指导，以奈达对文化负载词的分类为依据，从对不同英译版本的李清照词中文化负载词的翻译进行分析，说明目的论对翻译策略的影响以及翻译策略对译文效果的影响，旨在为李清照词的英译研究注入新鲜血液，推动中国优秀传统文化走向世界。

关键词

文化负载词， 李清照， 目的论

Introduction

Li Qingzhao, is the representative of the graceful and restrained school well-known for her elegant, fresh and refined language as well as rich and vivid images. Her poetry is an unparalleled cultural treasure in the history of Chinese literature. Culture-loaded words are those words rich in cultural connotations. Nida divided culture-loaded words into five categories, namely ecological, material, social, religious and linguistic culture-loaded words. As the representative of the “German school”, Hans J. Vermeer proposed the Scopos Theory and continued the functionalist tradition. Analyzing the culture-loaded words in different translations of Li Qingzhao's Ci Poems according to Scopos theory is conducive for the readers to grasp the elegant style of Li Qingzhao's, to figure out the proper translation strategies, and to encourage more creation of excellent translation works.

Chapter 1 Introduction of Li Qingzhao and her Ci-Poetry

1.1 Brief introduction of Li Qingzhao

Li Qingzhao, a well-known poetess in Song Dynasty, is the only woman who is generally compared with the most outstanding poets. As a female writer, she suffered a lot in that unstable age full of oppression and discrimination, but still kept a resolute and resistant attitude toward life no matter how much turns and twists in the process of struggle. Li Qingzhao was born in a rich and cultured family in 1083. Thanks to her father Li Gefei, the Minister of Rites, and her well-educated mother, she had a peaceful and favorable circumstance in her childhood and received a good education, which paved the path for her literary career. Unlike most ignorant women in that age, she had great talent in many aspects, such as painting and music, especially writing. She was a versatile writer whose Ci Poems and prose are both excellent. Her contribution in literature earned great fame for herself.

She married to Zhao Mingcheng, the son of a vice-president of the Board of Rides when she was eighteen years old. The marriage life was happy and idyllic in the early years. They collected and appreciated rare books, paintings and antiques together. However, their peaceful and harmonious life was ruined by the invasion of the Jurchens in 1127. They were forced to fled to the southern areas and separated with each other. The bulk of precious collections, including the ancient paintings, vessels, and books, lost during the fugitive way. Her husband was dispatched to a new official post in Zhe Jiang province and died on the way. Since then, Li Qingzhao lived lonely and homelessly in endless sorrow. The miserable and painful life experience didn't destroy her poetry proposition but deepened the theme of her literary works. The concern for the fate of the masses and country showed her great integrity and patriotic passion.

1.2 Development and characteristics of Li Qingzhao's Ci-Poetry

As a literary form, Song Ci, also called Ci Poems or long-short lines, emerged in Tang Dynasty and popularized in Song Dynasty. Ci Poems revolved from a kind of folk music used for expressing the emotions through its original melody. Li Qingzhao is regarded as the representative of the graceful and restrained party.

Generally, Li Qingzhao's proposition of Ci Poems can be divided into two periods according to the critical historical events in Song Dynasty and her personal life experience. The former period works most depicted her delightful life as a young girl. The theme includes the praise of nature and beauty, her pure love to her husband, and the memories of the innocent childhood, such as Rumengling( 如 梦 令 ), Dian Jiangchun( 点 绛 唇 ), Jianzimulanhua( 减 字 木 兰 花 ) ， Cai Sangzi( 采 桑 子 ), Zuihuayin(醉花阴), Yijianmei(一剪梅) and so on. As for the latter period, her works changed dramatically because of the downfall of the Northern Song Dynasty as well as the death of her husband. The theme of her poems turned to homesickness, the grief for the instability of the nation and the melancholy meditation of the miserable life. She transmitted her feelings in the images implicitly rather than cry out her sorrow directly. The poems written in this period include Spring in Wulin(武陵春), Shengshengman(声声慢), Yongyule(永遇乐) and so on.

To conclude, her elegant and pure language and sensitive emotion were demonstrated in both of her literary period. Her Ci Poems are full of accurate and vivid images, leaving the readers a wide imagery space. No other poetess in Song Dynasty can replace her position in the Chinese history of literature.

Chapter 2 Introduction of Scopos theory

2.1 Historical development of Scopos theory

Functional approaches emerged in 1970s and developed through three stages: (1)Katharina Reiss introduced the functional category of translation criticism; (2) Hans J. Vermeer proposed Scopos theory; (3) Justa Holz-Manttari put forward the theory of translation action.

In the first stage, Katharina Reiss proposed the text function and translation strategy, which paves the way for the Scopos theory. The theory foundation of Reiss’s theory is the functional equivalence theory, which aims to establish a model of translation criticicm based on the functional relationship between source text and target text (Zhang Chenxiang, 2007:32). Katharina Reiss divided text into three categories: expressive text, informative text and vocative text. The proposal of functional translation theory signifies that translation study gradually get rid of static linguistic typologies.

In the second stage, Hans J. Vermeer established the initial theory of functional group, Scopos theory, further developing the functional translation theory. He pointed out that translation is a human activity and a kind of transformation. Every human activity has its purpose and will create certain consequence , a new situation or event or a new thing (Zhang Chenxiang, 2007:34). This is the origin of Scopos theory. Reiss mentioned that, “the source text can be assigned to a text type and a genre, and in making this assignment, the transoat0r can decide on the hierarchy of postulates which has to be observed during target-text production” (Reiss and Vermeer, 1984:196). Vermeer thinks that translators needn’t be restrained to certain translation method, instead, the translators should consider the purpose of translation and the psychology of the target audience and use the translation strategies flexibly. In the process of translation, the translator can adapt literal translation or free translation according to the situation to make sure the expected effect can be realized.

In the third stage, Justa Holz-Manttari developed Vermeer’s theory and proposed the theory of translation action 1n 1984. She avoid using the term “translation” and focus on the process of translation which concludes traditional translation and other text building activity. In Holz-Manttari’s model, translation is defined in a broader sense as “a complex action designed to achieve a particular purpose”, or an intercultural communication whose product is the target text which achieves appropriate function in a particular cultural context. According to the functional approach, all participants have certain functions or roles in the interaction. The TT addressees are crucial in specification of the purposes of translation(Nord, 2001:20).

2.2 Basic rules of Scopos theory

In the Scopos theory, there are three basic rules, namely skopos theory, coherence rule and fidelity rule. Among the three rules, scopos rule is the most significant one. “Each text is produced for a given purpose and should serve this purpose. The skopos rule thus reads as follows: translate/interpret/speak/write in a way that enables your text/translation to function in the situation in which it is used and with the people who want to use it and precissely in the way they want it to function.” This rule can help solve the contradiction between literal translation and free translation. It means that the choosing of translation strategies depends on translation purpose. When the scopos focuses on the original language, as long as the features of the original culture is well expressed, literal translation or even word for word translation can be adopted.

The coherence rule is also named intra-textual coherence by functionalists. It requires that the translated text should make sense on the communicative situation in which it is received. It specifies that a translation should be acceptable in a sense that it is coherent with the receivers’ situation (Reiss and Vermeer, 1984: 100) Being coherent means being “part of the receiver’s situation”, so the cultural aspects should be taken into consideration. Besides, the target readers’ culture-specific world-knowledge, expectations and communicative needs are also important factors which may affect the way of handing a text, translators ought analyze these factors carefully. (Li Zhao, 2011:24)

Since the source text is the offer of information , it should also be taken into account. Fidelity rule is also named “intertextual coherence”. This coherence balance the source text and the target text and the form and degree of such intertextual coherence are determined by the translator’s interpretation of the source text and the translation skopos. However, intertextual coherence is subordinate to intra-textual, and both of the two are subordinate to the skopos rule.

Chapter 3 Introduction of culture-loaded words

3.1 Definition of culture-loaded words

Since Bassnett and Lefervere put forward the concept of “cultural turn” in 1990, the interaction between translation and culture has been drawn more attention. During the five thousand years’ civilization, China has accumulated its unique culture due to the unique geographical locations, living environments, historical background, etc.

Many scholars has made different definitions to cultural loaded words. J. F Aixel gives these words another name “cultural-specific items” and defined them as: “some items appearing in the source text do not have equivalent items in the target reader’s cultural systems” (J. F Aixel, 1996:58). Later, Mona Baker defined culture-loaded words as: “The source-language word may express a concept which is totally unknown in the target culture. The concept in question may be abstract or concrete; it may relate to a religious belief, a social custom, or a type of food. Such concepts are often referred to as ‘cultural-specific’.”(Baker, 2004:21). This paper studies the translation of culture-loaded words according to Nida’s classification of cultural elements. Nida divided culture into five categories: ecological culture, material culture, social culture, religious culture and linguistic culture. This paper will analyze the culture-loaded words according to the five categories.

3.2 Classification of culture-loaded words

3.2.1 Ecological culture-loaded words

Culture develops in certain ecological environment, so different region has different culture. Ecological culture-loaded words refer to those words that reflect the distinctive geographical conditions, the natural surroundings, feature of the climate, plants and animals, etc. in a language. Even the connotations of the same thing in western and eastern culture are different or even opposite.

For example, the “west wind” in China is totally different from that in western countries. Because China lies in the Eastern Hemisphere, with mountains to the west and oceans to the east. This location makes it dry and cold in autumn and winter when the west wind blows. Therefore, the west wind in Chinese culture often refers to the cold wind in autumn an winter, which is often used to describe the desolate, cold, and sometimes also compared to the decadent force of the fall of the sun with a derogatory meaning. Such as “古道西风瘦马” in Ma Zhiyyuan’s 《天净沙·秋思》. On the contrary, Britain is located in the western hemisphere, the west Atlantic island, and the east is the continent of Europe. When the west wind blows from the Atlantic Ocean, Britain is in the season of revival. Therefore, in English culture, the west wind is the symbol of hope and strength. For example, the Ode to the West Wind, a famous British poem, reflects this meaning. Obviously, through the above analysis, we know that “西风” and the west wind have the same conceptual meaning but have very different associative meaning due to different ecological environment.

3.2.2 Material culture-loaded words

Material culture-loaded words include the words related to the economic life, daily supplies, commodities, food, transportation, etc. Different nations have different living habits, so the material products are quite different. For example: “旗袍”(qi pao), “麻将”(ma jiang),”馄饨”(Wonton), etc.

3.2.3 Social culture-loaded words

The tradition, custom, living habit, social activity, etc. All belong to the category of social culture. Due to different historical background, political feature, tradition and custom, the social culture-loaded words formed and developed. For instance, “重阳节”(chong yang jie) is a traditional Chinese festival to give the blessings to the old people, which is familiar to Chinese but unfamiliar to foreigners.

3.2.4 Religious culture-loaded words

Religious culture is composed by the religious faith and and ideology under the different nation’s cultural background, which demonstrate in the difference in psychology and language behavior. Chinese people advocate Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism whereas western people mainly believe in God. Therefore, the cross-cultural communication barriers and language translation barriers emerged. Religious culture-loaded words reflects the characteristics of religious beliefs, so it is quite difficult for the foreigners to understand the Chinese religious culture-loaded words. For example, western people believe in God while Chinese people believe in “天”(tian), “菩萨”(pu sa), “佛”(fo).

3.2.5 Linguistic culture-loaded words

Language as one part of culture also produces translation problems. Since the two languages belong to two different language systems, their different language features will be involved in translation. These particularities may be reflected in phonetics, morphemes, vocabulary and syntax. For example, reduplicative words and four-character words and expressions are frequently seen in Chinese but are rarely seen in English.

Chapter 4 The application of Scopos theory in the translation of culture-loaded words

Chinese culture and western culture are so different due to different geographical location and historical background. And these differences also reflect in the two language systems, which is also known as cultural gap. In the process of translating Li Qingzhao’s Ci-Poetry, the translator may face all kinds of problems due to the cultural gap. In this chapter, the focus is on analyzing the suitable translation strategies from the perspective of Scopos theory.

Conclusion

Acknowledgements

References

A Study on Culture-loaded Words in Six Chapters of a Floating Life Translated by Lin Yutang from the Perspective of Domestication and Foreignization 蒋淇玮 Jiang Qiwei

Abstract

Six Chapters of a Floating Life is an autobiographical prose written by Shen Fu, who was a Chinese scholar in Qing dynasty, in 1808. It is popular among readers for its genuine words and sincerity between the lines. Among the current English versions of this book, Lin Yutang's Six Chapters of a Floating Life is written first and the closest with the original version in style, which enables lots of foreign readers to catch a glimpse of the life of an obscure Chinese scholar. Six Chapters of a Floating Life is written in classical Chinese and has a long history, which both make the translation more difficult, especially the translation of its culture-loaded words. Culture-loaded words refer to words, phrases and idioms that demonstrate specific things in a culture. As we all know, China has a centuries-old history and rich civilization, possessing plenty of unique cultural phenomena, not to mention numerous culture-loaded words. In Six Chapters of a Floating Life, there are many culture-loaded words that are worthy of study. By consulting relevant materials, I find that there are only a few works analyzing cultural-loaded words in Six Chapters of a Floating Life from the perspective of domestication and foreignization. This pair of translation terms was put forward by Lawrence Venuti, a famous American translation theorist, in The Translator's Invisibility in 1995. As a matter of fact, domestication and foreignization are a unity of opposites and complement each other. Neither absolute domestication nor foreignization exists. There are different degrees of domestication and foreignization in all translation activities and works. Therefore, it is reasonable, scientific and feasible to analyze Mr. Lin’s translation from this perspective, which can fill certain research vacancy and benefit future studies in this field. Thus, in this thesis, the author will subdivide domestication and foreignization into several detailed translation methods so as to analyze representative culture-loaded words in Six Chapters of a Floating Life. By doing this, this paper aims to prove the instructiveness of the translation strategies of domestication and foreignization, find out the reasons of the success of Mr. Lin’s translation, point out the positive role of this translation in the "going out" of Chinese culture, and provide reference for the translation of culture-loaded words.

Key Words

domestication; foreignization; Six Chapters of a Floating Life; Lin Yutang; culture-loaded words

摘要

《浮生六记》是清代文人沈复于1808年所著的自传体散文，以真言诉真情，为历代读者所推崇。目前流传较广的《浮生六记》英译本中，林语堂先生的Six Chapters of a Floating Life成文最早且与沈复原文风格最为接近，让不少外国读者得以一窥中国一无名文人的若梦浮生。 沈复此书以文言文著就，加上距今年代较为久远，译者的翻译之路可谓困难重重，这其中文化负载词的处理更是值得反复推敲。文化负载词是标志某种文化中特有事物的词、词组和习语。众所周知，中华民族的历史文明源远流长，独有的文化现象数不胜数，应运而生的文化负载词自然不在少数。《浮生六记》一书中就有相当数目的文化负载词具有研究价值。 通过查阅相关资料，本人发现从归化和异化角度来解读林译中文化负载词的研究还少之又少。归化和异化这对翻译术语是由美国著名翻译理论学家劳伦斯·韦努蒂（Lawrence Venuti）于1995年在《译者的隐身》中提出的。作为两种翻译策略，归化和异化是对立统一、相辅相成的，绝对的归化和绝对的异化都是不存在的。所有的翻译活动及作品都存在不同程度的归化和异化现象，故而，从这一角度来分析林译具有合理性、科学性和可行性，且能填补一定的研究空缺，为之后的相关研究提供可参考的思路与借鉴。 因此，本文作者将聚焦这一文学经典，将归化与异化这两种翻译策略细分为不同的翻译方法，对林译中有代表性的文化负载词进行分析解读，以小见大，从词见章，进而证明归化与异化的翻译策略的指导性，找出林译在国内外成功的原因，指出其在中国文化“走出去”中所起的积极作用，并为文化负载词的翻译难题提供解题思路及开口，引起大众对于文化翻译的重视与思考。

关键词

归化，异化，《浮生六记》，林语堂，文化负载词

Chapter One Introduction

With globalization surging ahead, cultural communication and exchange have become rising tides that no one can fight against. Chinese and English, as the language with the largest number of users and the language most widely used in this globe, are both crucial languages, which work as vital bridges in cultural world. However, as is known to all, China is a nation of age-old history and rich civilization. On her vast earth, there grows plenty of unique cultural phenomena. As a result, quite a number of culture-loaded words have been emerging. For culture-loaded words have their specific cultural connotations, it is hard to render them so that foreign readers could understand, which is a real and tough task for translators. Six Chapters of a Floating Life is an autobiographical prose written in classical Chinese by Shen Fu, who was a Chinese scholar in Qing dynasty, in 1808. It is popular among readers for its genuine words and sincerity between the lines. In this book, there are many culture-loaded words, which are worth studying. Among the current English versions of it, Lin Yutang's Six Chapters of a Floating Life is written first and the closest with the original version in style, which enables lots of foreign readers to take a look at the life of an obscure Chinese scholar. Thus, in this thesis, under the guidance of translation strategies, domestication and foreignization, the author will subdivide them into several detailed translation methods so as to analyze representative culture-loaded words in Six Chapters of a Floating Life. By doing this, this paper aims to prove the instructiveness of the translation strategies of domestication and foreignization, find out the reasons of the success of Mr. Lin’s translation, point out the positive role of this translation in the "going out" of Chinese culture, and provide reference for the translation of culture-loaded words.

Chapter Two Literature Review

2.1 A Study on Six Chapters of a Floating Life For the sake of carrying on this study, we must have a basic understanding of both our original and translated text sources: Six Chapters of a Floating Life. Hence we will have a brief review of its original version and English version translated by Mr. Lin in the following paragraphs.

2.1.1 A Brief Review of Its Original Version Six Chapters of a Floating Life is an autobiographical prose written by Shen Fu, who was an unknown scholar in Qing dynasty, in the 13th year of Jiaqing (AD 1808). It includes six chapters, of which only four remain, recording Shen Fu’s wedded bliss, pleasures of life, ups and downs, travel experiences, experiences in Formosa and the way of life. The phrase in this book’s title "floating life" derives from a passage in Li Po's poem, “ Our floating life is like a dream; how often can one enjoy oneself ?” Shen Fu, whose courtesy name is Sanbai, and alternative name Meiyi, was born in Suzhou, Jiangsu province in China in the 28th year of Qianlong (AD 1763). He was a man of letters, who was once an assistant to ranking officials and a merchant. The remaining four chapters of Six Chapters of a Floating Life was accidentally found on the stall in Suzhou by a man called Yang Yinchuan. Yang passed it on to Wang Tao, his brother-in-law, who then published it with movable type in 1877. Subsequently, this book gradually established itself on the literary field. This book is a pure and fair record of Shen Fu's ordinary but difficult life, which is still full of unforgettable and beautiful moments. It is incredibly touching, for Mr. Shen wrote down his real experiences and sincere feelings in plain words naturally, without traces of sham. Nowadays, Six Chapters of a Floating Life has become a classic and owned a mass of readers. Many people even called it “little A Dream in Red Mansions” for its description of the conflicts in the feudal family and society, which highly affirms its literary value and achievements.

2.1.2 A Brief Review of Its English Version Translated by Lin Yutang In the spring and summer time of 1935, Lin Yutang successively translated Six Chapters of a Floating Life into English and serialized them in the English magazines T'ien Hsia Monthly and Hsi Feng published in Shanghai. For the sake of better work, Mr. Lin has modified his translation no less than ten times. Now, his translation version has been acknowledged as the most popular one for it is the closest to the original text in terms of writing style. Lin Yutang once highly praised Shen Fu’s wife Yün, “Yün, I think, is one of the loveliest women in Chinese literature.” Mr. Lin said he translated the work for two reasons, one is to let the world know Yün by her name, and the other is that he has found lots of things in the simple life of this couple, the pursuit of beauty, the experience of ups and downs, and unswerving love for carefreeness. In February of 1999, Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press reprinted Six Chapters of a Floating Life with Mr. Lin’s translation in the form of picture book. Its introductory notes claim that the reprinting is first due to Mr. Lin’s translation work, which has contributed a lot in the promotion of Chinese culture, secondly Mr. Lin’s superb artistic attainments and extraordinary cultural accomplishments, and lastly his beautiful and skilled use of English language. It demonstrates that Mr. Lin's translation has a far-reaching influence.

2.2 An Introduction of Culture-loaded Words Here we will focus on another important item in this study: culture-loaded words. This introduction covers three aspects, including definition, categorization and previous studies on them in Six Chapters of a Floating Life, which enable us to distinguish, select and analyse culture-loaded words in future steps.

2.2.1 Definition of Culture-loaded Words There are many definitions for culture-loaded words, and I have presented three different versions below. First, Mona Baker claims that "the source-language word may express a concept which is totally unknown in the target culture. The concept in question may be abstract or concrete; it may relate to a religious belief, a social custom, or a type of food. Such concepts are often referred to as `culture-specific' " (2000:21). This definition mentions three fields, namely religion, custom and food, which are now recognized to be among the main sources of culture-loaded words. Second, it means that the cultural information words carry in the source language finds no equivalent in the target language (包慧南，2001：10). In this version, the focus is “no equivalent”, which reveals why it is significant to study the translation of culture-loaded words. For in numerous cases, there is no equivalent in the target language. Third, J.F. Aixelá, a Spanish translator and translation theorist, defines them as "culture-specific items" and states in his book Culture-specific Item in Translation that "Some items appeared in the source text do not have equivalent items in the target readers' cultural system or these items have different textual status with those in the target readers' cultural system, thus leading to translation difficulty while transferring the function and meaning of the source text to the target text" (张南峰，2004：19). From this definition, we are able to get a new perspective. Besides “no equivalent”, it makes a point that culture-loaded words can exist in the target cultural system but with different function and meaning. To sum up, as barriers to translation, culture-loaded words have no equivalent in other cultural systems and are marks and mirrors of a nation’s distinct environment, which are often seen in fields like religion, custom, food etc.

2.2.2 Categorization of Culture-loaded Words Eugene Nida considers that "if translators want to do a good job in cross-cultural translation, there are five types of cultural factors: 1) ecological culture; 2) material culture; 3) social culture; 4) religious culture; and 5) linguistic culture"(胡壮麟、姜望琪，2002). In line with Nida's categorization of cultural factors, culture-loaded words can also be classified into five types accordingly, namely ecological culture-loaded words, religious culture-loaded words, material culture-loaded words, social culture-loaded words and linguistic culture-loaded words. This thesis will analyze Lin Yutang’s translation of culture-loaded words in Six Chapters of a Floating Life on the basis of Nida's categorization.

2.2.3 Previous Studies on Translation of Culture-loaded Words in Six Chapters of a Floating Life Among those studies of the English versions of Shen Fu’s Six Chapters of a Floating Life, the studies of Mr. Lin’s account for a large proportion of it. In Quan Shulian’s article “Translator’s Cultural Orientation: Comparative Study of Translation of Culture-loaded Words in Six Chapters of a Floating Life”, she compares the translation of culture-loaded words done by Mr. Lin and Shirley Black and then claims that Shirley Black tends to use domestication while Mr. Lin applies foreignization more frequently. With a different focus, Li Yi, who has studied the culture-loaded words in Six Chapters of a Floating Life translated by Lin Yutang, analyzes the translation of culture-loaded words in three aspects: wording, Chinese idioms and the looks of women, and concludes that it is the purpose of translation determines which translation strategies to use and domestication and foreignization are a unity of opposites which should not be discussed apart.

Chapter Three An Analysis of Translation Strategies Based on Six Chapters of a Floating Life

3.1 Translation Strategy of Domestication Domestication, as opposed to foreignization, refers to a translation strategy, which aims to translate the source text into target language in a transparent, fluent and natural style so as to minimize the strangeness for target readers. As free translation is the most widely used translation method pertaining to domestication, we will discuss it and its two branches paraphrase and idiomatic translation.

3.1.1 Free Translation Free translation refers to a translation method that reproduces the transferred meaning of the source text, which can be further divided into paraphrase and idiomatic translation.

3.1.1.1 Paraphrase When applying paraphrase, the translator translates the source text explanatorily, without application of collocations and idioms in the target language as replacement of those parts in the source text.

1a. 合卺后，并肩夜膳，……（沈复，2018：7） 1b. After the drinking of the customary twin cups between bride and groom, we sat down together at dinner… (Lin Yutang, 2019: 35)

The Chinese phrase “合卺” refers to a characteristic part of ancient Chinese wedding ceremonies that the newlyweds drink cross-cupped wine in their wedding room. Foreign readers would have difficulty comprehending this phrase as there is no such a rite in their countries. Thus, Lin Yutang applies the translation method of paraphrase, explaining exactly what the custom is, which enables foreign readers to understand this special activity.

3.1.1.2 Idiomatic Translation Idiomatic translation is an explanatory method of translation as well, with application of collocations and idioms in the target language as replacement of the parts in the source text.

2a. 井井然未尝稍失。（沈复，2018：9） 2b. Whatever she did was done well, and it was difficult to find fault with her. (Lin Yutang, 2019: 40-41)

“未尝稍失”means that someone handles things incredibly well, without anything wrong. And we can translate this Chinese phrase just in such an explanatory way, for it is clear and correct in meaning. But it is comparatively lengthy. That’s why here Mr. Lin adopts the English phrase “find fault with”, which is quite familiar to English users. For it conveys the meaning of the source text precisely and concisely, and improves the smoothness of foreign readers’ reading activity.

3.2 Translation Strategy of Foreignization Compared to domestication, foreignization refers to a translation strategy that retains the original expressions and differences between source and target languages to a larger extent. This translation strategy can offer foreign readers more exotic information if they are willing to explore, but the reading process is less natural and efficient. And foreignization consists of three translation methods, namely transliteration, word-for-word translation and literal translation, which will be presented below.

3.2.1 Transliteration Transliteration refers to the rendering of alphabets, words or phrases in one language with symbols of similar or even the same pronunciations in another language.

3a. 服余衣，长一寸又半；于腰间折而缝之，外加马褂。（沈复，2018：31） 3b. As my gown was found to be an inch and a half too long, she tucked it round the waist and put on a makua on top. (Lin Yutang, 2019: 108)

The Chinese phrase “马褂” refers to the mandarin jacket worn over a gown, which is a kind of special costume of Chinese characteristics. It is popular in Qing dynasty and the Republic of China. Originally, it’s worn by the Chinese Manchu people on horseback. “马” means “horse” in English. “褂” means a short gown. And that is the reason why this costume is called “马褂”in Chinese. Though foreign readers barely know this kind of clothes and its origin, Mr. Lin translates it as “makua” tersely according to its Chinese pronunciation, which offers foreign readers an opportunity to get a clue of the new item “makua” and shows his confidence of Chinese history and culture.

3.2.2 Word-for-word Translation Word-for-word translation is the rendering of text in which a word is used to replace another in the source text without considering the differences between the two languages in morphology, syntax and semantics, so as to translate a word in accordance with the paraphrasing method.

4a. 一场，主考得香钱百文。（沈复，2018：57） 4b. The official examiner would get one hundred cash “incense money”. (Lin Yutang, 2019: 253)

“Incense” translated into Chinese is “香”, while the English equivalent of “钱” is “money”. From this we can find that “incense money” is a word-for-word correspondence with “香钱”. There are much fewer people in English-speaking countries who are Buddhists, compared with China. So the concept of “incense money” may be strange to them. Here, Mr. Lin translates this phrase literally without transforming or considering morphological differences in two languages, which shows a brand-new concept to plentiful foreign readers. And it might arouse their interest to figure out what this phrase implies and what’s the culture connotation behind it.

3.2.3 Literal Translation Literal translation, or directed translation, is the rendering of text in which a word is used to replace another word in the original text correspondingly, with consideration of the differences between the two languages in morphology, syntax and semantics, so as to enable the translation to conform to the lexical and syntactic norms of the target language.

5a. 急人之难，成人之事，嫁人之女，抚人之儿，指不胜屈，挥金如土，多为他人。（沈复，2018：63） 5b. He used to help people in trouble, bring up other people's sons and marry off other people's daughters in innumerable instances, spending money like dirt, all for the sake of other people. (Lin Yutang, 2019: 299)

“挥金如土” in Chinese means to throw one’s money about. There is a set expression in English both in meaning and construction, which is “spending money like water”. But instead of the image “water”, which is more common and well-accepted among English people, Mr. Lin keeps the original image “dirt” in his translation. That’s because the image “dirt” is more acknowledged by Chinese people, who have been rooted in agriculture civilization and dealt with dirt all the time. Hence, the literal translation of “dirt” into English is able to let readers of different culture background grasp more of the source text and aware of the culture differences.

3.3 A Brief Conclusion on the Translation Strategies In this Chapter, we have mainly discussed five translation methods based on Six Chapters of a Floating Life. Among them, two belong to the translation strategy of domestication while three the translation strategy of foreignization. The former instances from the book have proved that the application of the translation methods under domestication enables foreign readers to comprehend and accept literary works in a closer and more natural way, while the translation methods under foreignization provides them with a choice to feel the cultural differences and find out more valuable information. There is no absolute domestication or foreignization and no perfect choice of translation strategies. It is the purposes of translation that determine which translation strategy or methods to use. As to Mr. Lin, he has combined the usage of both the two superior strategies and their translation methods in his translation of Six Chapters of a Floating Life.

Chapter Four An Analysis of the Translation of Culture-loaded Words in Six Chapters of a Floating Life

4.1 Domestication Applied in Culture-loaded Words In this part, we will center upon some culture-loaded words in Six Chapters of a Floating Life that are translated by Mr. Lin with the adoption of domestication.

4.1.1 Free Translation of Culture-loaded Words As we have mentioned before, free translation is the most commonly used translation method pertaining to domestication and it includes paraphrase and idiomatic translation. Therefore, we will discuss them with examples of culture-loaded words in the book.

4.1.1.1 Paraphrase of Culture-loaded Words The following two examples are able to demonstrate the brilliant use of paraphrase by Mr. Lin in his translation of culture-loaded words. 6a. 自此耳鬓相磨，亲同形影。（沈复，2018：9） 6b. And so every day we rubbed shoulders together and clung to each other like an object and its shadow… (Lin Yutang, 2019: 42)

The Chinese phrase “耳鬓相磨” is culture-loaded, which just derives from this book of Shen Fu. It literally means the rubbing of people’s ears and sideburns, whose extended meaning refers to the close relationship among people. Here Mr. Lin applies the new image of shoulders instead of the original images of ears and sideburns, for it would be hard for foreign audience to grasp the connection between ears and sideburns and the intimacy within them. Meanwhile, rubbing shoulders can accurately express the meaning of closeness in English. So he uses the phrase “rubbed shoulders” to convey the original meaning in an explanatory way.

7a. 粉颈 （沈复，2018：8） 7b. Beautiful white neck (Lin Yutang, 2019: 38)

In China, scholars conventionally adopt the word “粉”, which is “pink” in English, to modify one’s face, neck, etc. to show that one’s skin is white touched with red. However, if translating the Chinese term “粉颈” literally, we will get the phrase “pink neck”. There is no doubt that it will be odd for foreign audience. Therefore, Mr. Lin uses “beautiful white” rather than “pink” to modify “neck”, which expresses the meaning of “粉” briefly and precisely without causing troubles to readers and makes their reading activities more natural and pleasant.

4.1.1.2 Idiomatic Translation of Culture-loaded Words The following example is able to demonstrate the fine use of idiomatic translation by Mr. Lin in his translation of culture-loaded words.

8a. 大醉而卧（沈复，2018：7） 8b. I fell asleep drunk like a fish. (Lin Yutang, 2019: 37)

This four-character Chinese phrase means one is lying in a state of terrible drunkenness. In the processing of this phrase, Mr. Lin uses a set English phrase “drunk like a fish”, which describes that one is terribly drunk. The adoption of this ready-made phrase in translation does convey the meaning of the source text correctly and vividly, which makes it easy for foreign readers to catch on and picture the scene. From this we can see that wise use of idiomatic translation may yield twice the result with half the effort.

4.2 Foreignization Applied in Culture-loaded Words In this part, we will center on some culture-loaded words in Six Chapters of a Floating Life that are translated by Mr. Lin with the adoption of foreignization.

4.2.1 Transliteration of Culture-loaded Words The following two examples are able to show the use of transliteration by Mr. Lin in his translation of culture-loaded words.

9a. 故上下呼芸为“三娘”。后忽呼为“三太太”……（沈复，2018：63） 9b. hence they used to call Yün “san niang” at home, but this was later suddenly changed into “san t'ai t'ai”. (Lin Yutang, 2019: 301)

“San” refers to “number three” in Chinese. “Niang” generally means a young married woman in a big household, while “t’ai t’ai” suggests the mistress of an independent home. “Niang” and “t’ai t’ai” are two of those unique terms of addressing people in ancient Chinese society, so there are no equivalents in English. That’s why Mr. Lin chooses to introduce their Chinese sounds to foreign audience, which leaves them a hint to learn two interesting addresses with era characteristics and know the distinct Chinese system of addressing. 10a. 余则从之学画，写草篆，镌图章…… （沈复，2018：56） 10b. They would then either write “grass-script”, or “chüan-script” or carve seals… (Lin Yutang, 2019: 247)

“篆书” refers to a style in Chinese calligraphy, often used on seals. If we translate the Chinese character “篆” literally into English it would be “seal”. However, Mr. Lin abandons the easy translation of “seal- script” and renders this calligraphy style as “chüan-script” according to its Chinese pronunciation, which exhibits an individual kind of Chinese writing style to foreign readers. There will be problems that most people who know little about China will feel difficult to understand this ancient “script”. And if they desire to figure it out, they need to do extra work beyond reading this book. Nevertheless, in this way, they have chances to know much more about China, which is an efficient way of spreading Chinese culture and driving cross-cultural communication.

4.2.2 Word-for-word Translation of Culture-loaded Words The following example is able to show the masterly use of word-for-word translation by Mr. Lin in his translation of culture-loaded words.

11a. 芸笑曰：“白字有缘，将来恐白字连篇耳。”（沈复，2018： 13） 11b. “It is all right,” Yün smiled and replied. “to have one's life bound up with the Po's, only I am afraid I shall be writing Po characters all my life.” (Lin Yutang, 2019: 54-55)

The so-called Po characters are words written wrong. This kind of words indeed exists in Chinese writing system, but they are used in a wrong way by people for they are of similar pronunciations and forms while in different meanings. In translation of this sentence, Mr. Lin renders “白字”, which means misspelt words, as “Po characters” word for word. “Po” is close to the pronunciation of Chinese character “白”, while “character” literally means “字” in Chinese. Mr. Lin translates the culture-loaded phrase like this to demonstrate a new term to foreign readers, instead of “misspelt word” which is easy to grasp but lack of Chinese charm. In this way, foreign readers can be more conscious of the original cultural genes lie behind those English words.

4.2.3 Literal Translation of Culture-loaded Words The last two examples will show the tactful use of literal translation by Mr. Lin in his translation of culture-loaded words.

12a. 但李诗宛如姑射仙子，有一种落花流水之趣，令人可爱。 （沈复，2018：12） 12b. but Li Po’s poems have the wayward charm of nymph. His lines come naturally like dropping petals and flowing waters, and are so much lovelier for their spontaneity. (Lin Yutang, 2019: 53)

In Chinese, “落花流水” is an idiom, which usually refers to the beauty of the scenes is waning in the late spring or one is defeated utterly. But this phrase is used here to compliment Li Po’s poems’ fluency and naturalness. Even though this expression is full of Chinese features, it is not too hard for foreign readers to get its implication from the images of “dropping petals” and “flowing waters”. For we have a common sense about these two natural scenery that they are both in the state of harmony and fluency. So Mr. Lin’s adoption of the method of literal translation is quite appropriate here and leaves some space for readers to imagine and taste by themselves.

13a. 芸曰：“世传月下老人专司人间婚姻事……” （沈复，2018：27） 13b. “It is said that the Old Man under the Moon is in charge of matrimony,” said Yün. (Lin Yutang, 2019: 92)

“月下老人” is the god of marriage who is in charge of human love relationships in Chinese mythology. This image is peculiar to China, so it stands to reason that there is no equivalent expression in other countries. When rendering this culture-loaded phrase, Mr. Lin chooses the method of literal translation with words of capitalized initial letters, which enables readers to feel that it is obviously a new culture symbol for them and the Old Man may be a Chinese god. Then it is up to the readers themselves if they want to search for some more information about this “Old Man under the Moon” or not. In this way, the translation becomes briefer and it rests with the readers concerning how much information they will get beyond the lines.

Chapter Five Conclusion

Concerning the current fact that different cultural systems around the world are becoming increasingly connected, translation activities have been literally taking place at every moment. However, the cultural differences in different counties have made it an arduous task. In view of the tremendous differences between China and English-speaking countries, the translation works are no easy tasks as well. As symbols which carry lots of cultural information, culture-loaded words are obstacles in translation, for they have no equivalents in other languages. So when translating these words, translators need to be alert and adopt the most proper translation strategies and methods so as to achieve the translation purposes to the deepest extent. In this thesis, guided by domestication and foreignization, the author has discussed several culture-loaded words in Six Chapters of a Floating Life, which translated by Lin Yutang. Different from other theses focusing on this issue, the author probes it in five detailed translation methods under the two translation strategies we have mentioned before. Through the analysis of former examples, we can come to the point that domestication and foreignization are the unity of opposites. There is no standard answer that which translation strategy should be used in which circumstances. It is the purposes of translation that determine our choice. In the translation of Six Chapters of a Floating Life, Lin Yutang has proved this to us by using different translation methods in accordance with his purposes, which contributes to his translation success both at home and abroad and the cultural exchanges between China and other countries. In total, this thesis has basically fulfilled its tasks to prove the instructiveness of the translation strategies of domestication and foreignization, and find out the reasons why Lin Yutang’s translation version turns out to be a huge success and receives warm responses. At the same time, it points out that this translation has played an active role when Chinese culture steps out to the global stage, and provides reference for the translation of culture-loaded words.

Bibliography

[1]. Lawrence, Venuti. The Translator’s Invisibility [M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 2004. [2]. Eugene, A. Nida. Language and Culture: Contexts in Translating [M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 2001. [3]. Eugene, A. Nida. Toward a Science of Translating [M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 2004. [4]. Mona, Baker. In Other Words: A Coursebook on Translation [M]. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 2000. [5]. 包惠南. 文化语境与语言翻译[M]. 北京：中国对外翻译出版公司，2001. [6]. 冯丽. 浅析文化视角下的林语堂译本《浮生六记》[J]. 漯河职业技术学院学报，2013(3)：116-117. [7]. 胡壮麟，姜望琪. 语言学高级教程[M]. 北京：北京大学出版社，2002. [8]. 刘艾莉. 认知翻译观视角下《围城》中文化负载词的翻译研究[MA]. 广东外语外贸大学硕士学位论文, 2015. [9]. 梁林歆，许明武. 国内外《浮生六记》英译研究：回顾与展望[J]. 外语教育研究，2017(4)：53-59. [10]. 李懿. 从归化和异化论林语堂《浮生六记》译本中文化词的翻译[J]. 英语广场·学术研究，2013(11)：43-44. [11]. 沈复. 《浮生六记》（双语版）[M]. 湖南：湖南文艺出版社，2019. [12]. 沈复. 《浮生六记》[M]. 浙江：浙江工商大学出版社，2018. [13]. 吴华玲. 林语堂中庸观在其译作中的审美再现——以林译《浮生六记》为例[J]. 云梦学刊，2010(3)：113-116. [14]. 王维维. 从形合与意合角度分析林语堂《浮生六记》译本[J]. 英语广场·学术研究, 2012(10)：46-47. [15]. 熊兵. 翻译研究中的概念混淆[J]. 中国翻译，2014(3)：82-88. [16]. 张南峰. 艾克拉西的文化专有项翻译策略评介[J]. 中国翻译，2004. [17]. 朱怡天. 《浮生六记》林语堂英译本中文化负载词的翻译[MA]. 上海外国语大学硕士学位论文, 2013. [18]. 翻译理论与翻译技巧论文集[C]. 北京：中国对外翻译出版公司选编，1983.

How to keep "Chineseness " in Idiom Translation from Chinese to English 瞿淼 Qu Miao

摘要：俗语是流传在人民群众口头上的，结构相对稳定的通俗语句，一般包括谚语、歇后语、惯用语和俗成语。汉语俗语承载着中国语言文化特色，蕴含着丰富的文化信息。在汉英俗语翻译中，因为汉语和英语属于不同的语言系统，并且文化差异较大，所以常常出现译文丢失了中国特色的情况。本文从归化和异化的角度，对比了分别使用归化和异化翻译方法的译文的效果，讨论汉英俗语翻译保持中国特色的方法，得出结论，在汉语俗语英译过程中应该采取异化为主，归化为辅，并结合注释的方法，以此来最大限度地保持俗语的中国特色。 Abstract

Translation of English Proverbs from the Perspective of Culture 韩海洋 Han Haiyang

Abstract

under the context of close communication between eastern and western countries, cultural influence now is increasingly enjoying more importance than before in language exchanging. As for translation of English proverbs, proper translation strategies should be considered in order to better understand their meaning and characters. By looking up thesis and documents, some translation strategies need to be concluded. In terms of cultural influence and social communication, foreignization and domestication are chosen in which the former is used more frequently that the latter. It arrives the conclusion that foreignization applied for translation of English proverbs is on the increase.

Key Words

proverbs; culture; translation strategies

摘要

由于文化因素在不同语言之间的交流具有一定的影响，特别在中西方交往日益密切的背景下。为了更好的翻译英语谚语，使其达到应有预期效果，适当的翻译策略可以在翻译过程中更好地了解谚语的含义与特色。通过查阅资料和文献，总结出合适的翻译方法。根据现在的社会背景和文化影响，对于归化和异化两种方法，异化的选择得到了更多的倾向。在翻译的过程中，将文化因素考虑进去对于语言翻译上面，异化的趋势将会逐渐增大。

关键词

谚语; 文化; 翻译方法 

Introduction

With the advent of 21th century, society has been changed in a wide scope, and shed light on the unparalleled interaction of culture and economy as most exemplified phenomenon happening everywhere. Translation is thereby a way to transfer from one culture to another, in which the effect of cultural background is behind language the essence of best fruit of translation. The history of translation has been lasted for a long time, for example when it comes to English proverbs, which can be traced to centuries ago, like Bible and works of Shakespeare. It is not rare to see that each country has its own unique culture, and under the cover abundant resources mirroring a country can be exploited. English proverbs as a product of culture the bridge for cultural exchange is been studied since centuries ago. The strategies of proverbs translation also have been experimentally discussed from time to time as the rapid development of culture and economy. Translation plays a key role in promoting a country’s own culture, because that is the way of importing and exporting knowledge of culture to another country. Proverbs is the product of culture that cannot be understood directly without any effort to digest it. So translation is needed, which could impose exotic flavors to new conception or understanding, but the premise is that translation is properly chosen in regard to nowadays strongly cultural promotion awareness.

Usually proverbs are concise, concrete and pithy words which are rhythmed and organized for the sake of being simple to remember and spread to people. Proverbs are summarized by certain people from all walks of life in a specialized area, including eating habits, farming, belief, customs and so many. Proverbs composed of words the exact symbol of language, are named as the crystal of culture in a easily understandable way. Culture awareness is highly appreciated whatever it is developed country or developing country. For the fulfillment of translation of English proverbs, therefore this thesis aims to translate English proverbs with appropriate translation strategies-mainly foreignization and domestication from the perspective culture.

Chapter 1 General Introduction to English proverbs

1.1 Definition of Proverbs As far as history is concerned, proverbs can be dated back to the times that language is produced. According to Dictionary of Proverbs, proverbs are “a succinct and memorable statement that contains advice, a warning or a prediction, or an analytical observation”. Maybe the first definition is given by Socrates that a proverb is noted as brevity, philosophical tone, and common usage. In the 15th century, Michael Apostolius of Byzantium wrote, “A proverb is a statement which conceals the clear in the unclear, or which through concrete images indicates intellectual concepts, or which makes clear the truth in furtive fashion”(Honeck, 1997: 12). Champion (1966:xi) has claimed his idea “a proverb in my opinion is a racial aphorism which has been, or still is, in common use, conveying advice or counsel, invariably camouflaged figuratively, disguised in metaphor or allegory.”

According to Mieder (1993), “A proverb is a short generally known sentence of the folk which contains wisdom, truth, morals, and traditional views in a metaphorical, fixed and memorable form and which is handed down from generation to generation”. Although definition is definitely different from one to another, one thing is for sure is that proverbs have been proved to exist for a long time. From all the above have been talked, proverbs can be boiled down to a simple, culture-loaded, and wide-circled saying enjoying great popularity throughout the whole country. Considering it that a majority of elements are included in proverbs, especially when it comes to perspective of culture, some feasible measures should be properly taken to handle it.

1.1.1 Origin of Proverbs from Abroad Proverbs are not come out from nowhere, and the amount and meaning of them do not stay the same eternally. As a rule, comparison between at home and abroad is always been found. From abroad, English proverbs could be seen in Bible, and works from Shakespeare and other fables. Part of old proverbs are stemmed from Bible, which largely related to God and so many fairy tales, or in other word like “God” or any related implication are sometimes recorded in proverbs. Like the famous one said: “man proposes, God disposes”, it shows that in western country people faithfully believe in God who is enshrined in most western religions, especially Christianity. .

Except from Bible, in the times of Renaissance Shakespeare’s works can be found in which some proverbs are known from that time. For example, in Romeo and Juliet there is one sentence “a rose by any other means would smell as sweet”. It means that irrespective of how things’ names are changed, the essence embedded in them would still intact. Shakespeare is as one of the most brilliant play writers just on the behalf of renaissance period. There are still amounts of proverbs created by other scholars like Francis Bacon, John Milton and so on.

1.1.2 Origin of Proverbs at home

In china, proverbs can be traced to Spring and Autumn periods. At that time, people mostly work at farm, so there are a lot of proverbs related to farming or country life. with Zuo’s Commentary( 左 传 ) deserves the first.(ibid,2003:31) In it, the Chinese proverb “山有木，工则度之；宾有礼，主则择之”has its track, and most of the proverbs mentioned in Zuo’s Commentary are from Zhou Dynasty as “Zhou proverbs”(周谚). Besides, terms like “Xia proverbs(夏谚)” can also be found in Mencius(孟子). Like the proverb “吾王不游，吾何以休？吾王不豫，吾何以助？一游一豫，为诸侯度”from Mencius, though have not been handed down, it is regarded as the earliest proverb that have been recorded (ibid,2003). Xia is an extremely ancient dynasty in Chinese history, as far as over 4,000years from today. So maybe proverbs are not as popular as today, they are definitely has records and can shed light on Chinese history.

Proverbs in China are said to date back to as early as before the words came into being. People at that time did not pass down their knowledge and experience by writing, while they made it by speaking and saying in a simple and memorable way. With time moving forward, proverbs are gradually been regarded as important as written words which play a great role in future generation in dealing with culture and heritage. No matter what kind of proverbs are produced, from the historical evidence it can be observed that proverbs can across ocean and land, moving to another country, another culture domain.

1.2 Characteristics of Proverbs Proverbs are memorable, vivid words which are succinct and simple in form summarized by people from all walks of life. Both Chinese and English are bountiful in considering the thousands of proverbs have been recorded and there are still more proverbs to be created as time goes on. For the record, proverbs are not spoken at random and created at one’s free will. Some rules can be depended on, such as the lifestyle, living environment, education, social value, and so on. Take environment for example, the British lived near to ocean or sea, and therefore it is common to see proverbs related to sea spoken by English people “In a clam sea, every man is a pilot.”

1.2.1 Cultural Characteristics of Proverbs

Broadly speaking, culture contains all the aspects of the society and gives its people ability viewing the world. Meanwhile, culture also can be regarded as a deciding element on distinguishing the difference from each country. It is no exaggeration to say that a country’s most standing heritage is its culture, which keeps changeable in line with the history. Although nowadays similarities of culture are seen more easily than ever before, the reason is under the influence of globalization-culture import and export take place here and there. The logic is culture formed from all walks of life, which means language is included, and proverbs are product of language. Therefore, proverbs carry characteristics of culture whatever the country is and how singular its culture is. Social customs is one of the big parts in a cultural society, there are some symbols or people are widely used in proverbs. Jack and Jill usually refer to man and woman in general such as: “every Jack has his Jill”. The counterpart in china is also easy to find. To name a few, there are more could be found in each cultural community. The next indispensable one is religion. It is well acknowledged that western countries like America and the UK, are religious countries, in which the words like: “God, devil, and church” are seen here and there. Like it has been said before, language is the product of culture, which contains every aspect of people’s life from individuality to the whole society. What is more, value concept is also included since it reflects how a country embodies its culture to the outside world. Giving respect for the aged in china is a necessary and ethic social value passed on and on for thousands of years. In Chinese, there is proverb saying that: “不听老人言，吃亏在眼前”. It means youth should listen to what the old men told you, or you will pay the price of what you have done. Instead, traditional values favor in masculinity, people think that men are superior to women and they have direct control over them. Ego and individuality in America is felt deeply, because they think that they are going to be successful by themselves from any given chance. They seldom make big achievement by working in group rather than enjoying doing it by their own hands. Proverbs like “near is my shirt, but near is my skin” is emphasizing that someone himself is more important than others.

1.2.2 Rhetorical Characteristics of Proverbs

As proverbs express concrete meaning by only a few words, sometimes it has to apply some kind of rhetorical devices for perfectly presenting the delicacy of proverbs. Some meaningful proverbs are not understood directly by adding each word all together, however, it only can be realized by using proper rhetorical methods to give their deep meaning, in another word, connotative meaning.

Simile is often seen in proverbs, and it usually compares one thing to another thing, in order to showing its vivid or obscure picture to receptor who may not understand directly from plain words. In sentences with simile, “like” and “as” are widely used for example, “March come in like a lion and goes out like a lamb”, and “time tries friend, as fire tries gold”. The former means that the changes of March is different from how it is coming and ending, and the latter means that friend like gold needs to be tested then you would find who is your real friend. Both of them impressively express the core meaning from unfamiliar thing or abstract thing to specific and easily understandable thing. Metaphor is seemingly like simile, but it is more implicitly explaining meaning than simile. Like “brevity is the soul of wit” and “an empty bag cannot stand upright”. The former means brevity is so important to wit like the soul of a person, the latter one translated in Chinese is “人是铁，饭是钢，一顿不吃饿的慌。” Hyperbole is a rhetoric that uses overstatement or obvious exaggeration to emphasize something, such as “Our life is but a span” and “An unfortunate man would drown in teacup”. The former means life lasts in a few times as short as span, which is obviously overstated. The latter means if a person is feeling unlucky at that day, whatever you do will bring bad lucky. Personification is the ability to endow common lifeless things with features of human-being. For instance, “Money is a good servant but a bad master”, and “fortunate knocks once at least at every man’s gate”. The former means money should be rationally handled or it may be a burden for you. The latter means everyone has a chance to be fortunate at least once.

From all above have been discussed, they are just the most common figurative devices formed into proverbs. In terms of the function of rhetorical, proverbs can come into being in a simple, memorable form. It can be inferred that proverbs in a much degree use rhetorical to express refined and concrete meaning. Meanwhile it reflects the problem that when doing translation of proverbs, focus are more than just words themselves needed to be considered, as well as culture, form and connotative meaning.

1.3 Differences Between Proverbs and Maxims, Sayings, Idioms It seems that proverbs are looked the same as maxims, sayings, and idioms one way or another, but in fact there still exists some differences between them. For one thing, the existence of proverbs is across the whole world, therefore, no one can precisely calculate how many of them are recorded, and how many of them are still unknown to us. In terms of the number of proverbs is uncertain, so making a convincing definition is unrealistic, at least not perfect. If referring to it could be found that the definition in the dictionary is also easy to distinguish from each other.

Some researchers disagree with each other on the definitions of these similar terms. Fergusson (1983) states some proverbs are simple folk sayings. Burton Stevenson (1987)’s idea about proverb is that― “A maxim is the sententious expression of some general truth or rule and it becomes a proverb when it gets its wings by winning popular acceptance.” Some scholars believe that sayings are one stream in the vast ocean of proverbs while others argue that proverbs should be included in the realm of sayings. In one source defining idioms and proverbs, NTC’s American Idioms Dictionary (1987) mention that ― “the idiom ‘a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush’ is a proverb meaning that something you already have is better than something you might get.” As for classifying maxims and proverbs, Cordry (1997) suggests that “one defines a maxim as a rule of conduct and a proverb as a comment or observation with regard to the universal experience of life, the distinction is not always clear.” And as given in Concise Oxford English-Chinese Dictionary (2003), saying is defined as “a maxim, proverb, adage, etc.” Even so, there must be some obvious features we could rely on to categorize them in general. It could be concluded that maxim and saying are mostly the expression of principle or behavior of man or the rules that summarized by famous writer or philosopher. Thus maxim and saying are seldom heard or seen except reading in the books and hearing from author himself. As a number of them are in a serious or form expression, there they are not as popular as proverbs which are created from daily experience by common people. In regard to idiom, its meaning is not the each word put together, but by understanding it form local people who made them and made it spread in his surrounding places. Idioms sometimes are not complete sentences but simple phrases. While, proverbs enjoy great popularity and are universally spread because of their concrete, succinct and vivid description.

In conclusion, proverbs are prevalent in the world enjoying widespread social value and abundant sentence structures, but for sayings and maxims they are carrying the color of literature. Idioms have local color that is only understood within the same or similar speech community. With such understanding, it lays the foundation for researcher to better study and distinguish the distinctions form others.

Chapter 2 Relation Between Culture and Proverbs Translation

2.1 Definition of Culture

As many scholars have been studied the definition culture, there have been existed sorts of definitions, in which they do not have big difference in one way or another. Culture is a general word that could take language, customs, religion, and others into account. One of the oldest and most quoted definitions of culture, which is frequently mentioned regardless of so many entries of definitions, was formulated by the 19th-century English anthropologist Edward Burnett Tylor in the first paragraph of his Primitive Culture (1871) as “Culture… is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, morals, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society. …” (Katan,2004:16). While Nida, a famous linguistic and translation theorist, gives his definition of culture as “the totality of beliefs and practices of a society” in the book Language and Culture (2001:139) and as “the way of life and its manifestations that are peculiar to a community that uses a particular language as its means of expression” by New mark given in his book of A Textbook of Translation (2001:94).

From the mentioned above, culture includes every aspect of human life such as housing, transporting, communicating with people, recording of history and so on. Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that proverb, or even language is a part of culture. Some scholar even put that language is the medium of culture, without language there may be no existence of culture. So the importance of culture cannot be ignored in order to better understand the deep meaning when studying proverb, a culture-loaded word, and more attention should be given to perspective of culture.

2.2 Language and Proverb

It is no exaggeration to say that language is the product of culture since culture is culturally transmitted from the view of linguistics. Therefore, proverbs are composed of a set of words, which are selected from a particular language community. Take English and Chinese for example, they both represent their special culture and unique characteristics respectively. More importantly, proverbs are the crystal of language, which can be used as a convenient tool to understand different cultures for language is the bridge leading to culture.

2.3 Value and proverbs

Value is associated with sorts of people’s live and is defined by these people living in a specific area. Value of appreciation on people is an obvious example that eastern and western countries have extreme angles on how to appraise a person. Tanned skin and jeans clothes are symbols as to select people whom they like more, but for eastern, white skin and Qipao maybe are thresholds for people to judge a person whether he or she is more stylish. Value of eating is still a big mark to differentiate race or natality. Cooked meal in china and salad in the west make the difference that eating habit is so little sameness on each other. There are still more, living environment and national policy if is related to country. All of them shape all kinds of values which are on behave of its countries or people. Like east or west, home is the best means “金窝，银窝，不如自己的狗窝.” Proverbs are not just created form nowhere but they are existed for ages and still available only if they are still reflecting meaningful viewpoints.

Language is a part of culture and also at the same time a reflection of culture. Taking Chinese and English for example, they belong to different language families, therefore there exist some distinctions between them. Chinese people usually don’t say daring or family name directly, which is so different from western people who call their parents’ name and say sweet words without any concerning of awkwardness or shyness. It works to proverbs, and that is the social custom defining a society what is their core valve. As far as we know, social value between western country and eastern country are of great differences. In western country, self-awareness and individuality are mostly emphasized, but for eastern, more attention is given to collective wisdom and working in groups. Like Chinese proverbs “ 三个臭皮匠，顶个诸葛亮。”and in English proverbs such as “ God helps those who help themselves.” From above being said that it has a lot benefits to study proverbs to better understand culture and language.

2.4 Cultural Similarity on Chinese and English Proverbs

Without any effort it can tell that Chinese and English are defined by different language families. Even so, Chinese and English proverbs shared some similarities in various ways, which are performed in different form and speech of proverbs. Because there exist universal truths and life styles, they are more or less understood by people from society to society. Like the truth of the universe in the definition of right and wrong and subjects including philosophy, math, chemistry, they are all developed separately in different areas but shared and summarized by all members form all the world. In this point, proverbs play the role in spreading some common knowledge and experience to the outside world, though forms are created by different society, they are carrying the same meaning or implying one way or another. Examples like “a snow year, a rich year(瑞雪兆丰年), strike while the iron is hot, and a neighbor is better than a distant cousin.” All of them are proved to share universal life experience and truth in the everyday life. Because people live under the same sky, sun, star, they go on making their living by hard working.

It is no exaggeration to say that cultural exchanges are rapidly happening all over the word, and foreign culture may be assimilated by domestic culture or rejected by its opposite expression of culture. In this sense, we have same expressions in different ways of forms, like “情人眼里出西施” (Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder). They are describing the same thing but with different cultural background, therefore they sometimes have similarities in one way or another.

2.5 Cultural Difference in Chinese and English Proverbs

Without a doubt that cultural similarities surely make translation easier in understanding foreign proverbs, but they are not silver bullets to taking all the proverbs into consideration. When it comes to separate boundaries which cut the Earth into serval parts, under this context, local culture will be formed and promoted in its own birth place. One of the most common features of culture is religion in western and eastern country, because western people have belief in God, Chinese people believe in Buddhism, which are of two great differences. That is the reason why in the process of translation, factor of culture has to be reckoned, especially in the new eras. As Nord have ever put forward in Translating as a Purposeful Activity that ―A culture-specific phenomenon is one that is found to exist in a particular form or function in only one of the two cultures being compared‘‘ (Nord,2001:34), therefore culture will be compared at a time when people have different perceptions on things, in which language would be the first. The grammatically sentence structure and the pronunciation for example, have little in common regarding they belong to different language family.

Living environment is an element on deciding the formation of proverbs. Traditional Chinese people were busy doing farming, agriculture, so there are proverbs associated with them. Like “ 瓜熟蒂落” means things will be done when they are mature, and “人靠血样，苗考水活”means blood is a necessity for existence of human being as well as water to seedlings.” Moreover, a fruitful harvest is dependent on the weather, producing proverbs such as “三月三，著蓑衣，三月十五冷凄凄”, which means lunar early month has heavy and the middle is heavily cold. But for English proverbs, which are to a large extent related to fishery or marine affairs such as “to sink or swim”, “to keep one’s feet above water” and so many. Therefore both of the proverbs are created surrounding environment.

Except for living environment, living customs are also reflected on formation of proverbs. In different communities, people have different perception of things like animals. In Chinese proverbs, “杀鸡取卵” which equals to “kill the goose that lays golden eggs”, in which different animals are choose represent local customs. English proverbs would say that “look for a needle in a haystack”, which has a Chinese counterpart as “大海捞针”. It means that doing something is as difficult as finding out a small piece in an immerse container. Dog is also a featured sign that stand for different views in Chinese and English proverbs. In China, although dog is loyal to his master, it always leaves unrespectable impression on people, on the contrary, English love dogs and cherishes them so much sometimes even more than their family. Different cultural heritage and religious beliefs are also play a key role in the formation of proverbs. It is not hard to refer that understanding proverbs on the bases of translation is convenient for study foreign culture. With all the differences and sameness, within the range of translation, culture is a must during translation

Chapter 3 Translation Strategies for English Proverbs

Translation strategies have long been studied for a long time, during that time, domestication and foreignization have been considered as dominating strategies that were applied by a lot of scholars. Cross-culture exchange has gained great trend, especially in those years global communication between countries develops rapidly. It is true that here exists another method like “functional equivalent” created by famous scholar Eugene Nida who claims that in the process of translation source text and target text are both considered as author and reader are separated by the language or culture. The best function of translation is aiming to make source text as readable as reader-oriented text, which is popular in centuries ago in the era of underdeveloped cultural exchanges. In Chinese culture, the history of translation can also be traced to hundreds of years ago, some brilliant point of view like “信，达，雅”by Yan Fu, then it was changed into “信，达，切”by Liu Chongde. It means that translated text in which the flavor of text should be close to its original color of its culture. Taking what translation strategies into consideration should comply with the trend of culture exchange and its development.

3.1 Domestication and Foreignization

Domestication is a target language oriented translation device, which is to change the flavor into reader’s meet. It is compatible with the taste of people who think their country is strong enough to set international standard and in which all other countries will prepare for the transmission of culture. It is the assimilation that causes translator to change resource text into native flavor. But for this phenomenon, the reason is that people’s recognition is limited and their hold self-importance to the most, therefore, everything from outside will be transmitted into domestic flavor. As communication of culture and technology grows rapidly and each country would like to strengthen its comprehensive power by take into foreign culture. As for translation strategies, which are still be reckoned which one should be adapted. Foreignization is a source language oriented translation device, which is to change the flavor into author’s meet. The roots of the terms “domestication” and “foreignization” can be traced back to the German philosopher Schleiermacher‘s argument in 1813 in a lecture on the different methods of translation, he found only two methods of affecting the domestic reader‘s understanding of the foreign author, “Either the translator leaves the author in peace, as much as possible, and moves the reader towards him; or he leaves the reader in peace, as much as possible, and moves the author towards him.” (Venuti, 2004:19-20).

In China, some scholars also have put forward their own opinions about the definitions of domestication and foreign. Among them, Lu Xun’s opinion is famous. He claimed that domestication was as “rewriting, changing the foreign story into Chinese story and changing the foreigners into Chinese” (罗新璋,1984:301), while foreign was “translation is like going abroad traveling, it must reflect the scene and flavor of the foreign country concerned.”(ibid,1984:301) Expect the definition of domestication and foreignization, translator when doing the work of translation should consider the perspective of culture and the intention of the writer as well as reader whether they want to the culture of source text to be originally intact or changed into readers’ culture.

3.2 Foreignization over Domestication for Translation

As far as social development is concerned, cultural exchange is more frequent than now or ever. In previous centuries, domestication is always been advocated by Chinese and western translators, as the exchange of economy and culture is not as common as today. Countries blindly think themselves as the leading one, so naturally take translated text as a respect from other countries. In translated works, any trace of alien culture is eliminated, in favor of own country’s culture to be admired and promoted. The awareness of culture is not developed people only unconsciously find that in their mind anything enters into their country is no foreign at all, because every product from aboard will be transferred into familiarly native fruit with sense of closeness. In another way, people at that time are barely having the chance to access to education, in particular for poor family most of them are illiterate. It is without saying that no room is left for people in their countries to study culture abroad while native culture still did not gain completely popularity. From the above being mentioned, at an early age, domestication has upper hand indeed. So in choosing translation strategies, it is no doubt that it should be domestication centered.

For another thing, as technology and economy develop from nowhere, cultural exchange between countries has witnessed great changes in the past decades. In highly developed areas, people in their countries universally receive full education in which their counties’ historical culture has been deeply absorbed. So, in the process of translation, foreign culture as novel things fulling with exotic flavor has attracted people a lot to see the differences and experience a foreign journey. The untouchable place of domestication did not enjoy its popularity an anymore for its limitation of spreading of foreign culture. Therefore, foreignization became more and more important as translation tool in the view of people’s eye. It not only translated the original foreign text into native character, but also carried the foreign special into domestic text. Take china for example, although as a developing country in the Asian, china has so much say in the stage of the world in the aspect of culture and world peace. Language as the bridge of communication, have to be understood by others in the way of translation. In one way or another, domestication and foreignization can both play the role in the translation, but from the perspective of culture, foreignization seems to weigh more in nowadays choosing translation strategies.  

Conclusion

Proverbs are culture-loaded words that has been transmitted and renewed from generation to generation as well as the changes of different eras. As a part of language and the product of culture, it is no exception that proverbs can be a medium, which offer the opportunity to learn language and culture. With the advent of new technology and wide economic communication, translation is playing an indispensable role in this process. Proper translation strategies are essential that whether foreign culture should be taken into consideration since it stands as the soft strength of a country. By considering this, foreignization has more superiority when compared with domestication. Foreignization as a trend translation, keeping the original culture intact to target readers, meanwhile can enrich a native country’s culture and expand vocabulary. There is no doubt that domestication is not totally worthless, regarding proverbs has multiple varieties, which cannot be translated simply by foreignization, therefore domestication is worked as supplementary tool assisting foreignization in translation.

Foreignization leaves the culture of source text untouched, wishing to give target reader exotic environment where readers experience different aspects of culture, like religion, belief, custom and others.

In the end, as cultural development and social progress is moving forward, foreignization has more advantages than domestication.  

Bibliography

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Subtitle Translation Strategies of Cultural-Loaded Words from the Perspective of Skopos Theory 刘金惺琦 liu jinxingqi

Translation of Chinese Neologisms from the Perspective of Cross-cultural Translation Theory

解帆 Xie Fan

Abstract

With the continuous enhancement of China's overall national strength and international influence, Chinese is playing an increasingly important role in communications and exchanges among countries all over the world. An increasing number of Chinese neologisms are used to express and describe the status quo. These neologisms invigorate Chinese culture, however, meanwhile, they make it harder for the world to understand Chinese.

On the one hand, each language has its own uniqueness in terms of word construction and expression. In reality, there are no two completely equivalent sign systems. On the other hand, different ethnic groups have different historical traditions, religious beliefs and way of thinking, which increases the difficulty of understanding. Therefore, cross-cultural translation becomes indispensable in popularizing Chinese culture. Through reviewing relevant paper, it’s easy to find that the late start of English translation of Chinese neologisms results in the immature translation of Chinese neologisms both at home and abroad, with some problems existing in the process of the translation of Chinese neologisms. Previous articles have pointed out these problems, but how to improve the quality of translation by avoiding them hasn’t been mentioned. This paper introduces the classifications and characteristics of Chinese neologisms, explains the significance of cross-translation theory to Chinese neologisms translation, and discusses ways of translating Chinese neologisms based on the previous viewpoints combining with examples.

Key words

Chinese neologisms; cross-cultural theory; English translation; strategies

摘要

随着我国综合国力和国际影响力不断增强，汉语在世界各国沟通与交流中起到越来越重要的作用，用来表达和描述社会状态的汉语新词也日益增多。这些新词给中国文化带来生命力的同时，也给世界人民理解汉语带来了困难。

一方面，语言本身存在着不可译性，每种语言在其组词造句、表达方式上都具有其独特性，现实中并不存在两种完全对等的符号系统。另一方面，不同的民族有着不同的历史传统、宗教信仰、思维方式，这尤其增加了语言理解的难度。因此，跨文化翻译成为中华文化传播过程中的重要一环。通过翻阅相关资料，不难发现由于汉语新词的英译起步较晚，国内外相关翻译研究尚未成熟，因此在英译汉语新词的过程中出现了一些问题。前人已有相关文章指出过这些问题，但没有提出如何才能避免这种问题、提高译文质量。基于前人的相关理论和观点，并结合实例，本文将首先介绍汉语新词分类及其特点，然后说明跨文化翻译理论对于英译汉语新词的意义，最后介绍在跨文化翻译理论下英译汉语新词时的几种方法，希望为后续规范汉语新词英译行为提供必要参考。

关键词

汉语新词；跨文化翻译；英译；策略

Introduction

With the growing power of China and the further improvement of the globalization, China's contact with other countries in the world has become closer. And how to maintain Chinese culture’s uniqueness when it is introduced to the world has been the top priority for translators. The development of China has given birth to a large number of Chinese neologisms with its uniqueness. The society changes with each passing day, covering from international affairs to domestic matters. Against this background, neologisms are likely to be derived. These words attract widespread attention and gradually enter people's daily life. Since the implementation of the reform and opening up to the outside world, a great number of Chinese neologisms have appeared.

Not only do these neologisms with Chinese characteristics vividly show Chinese people’s understanding of their unique phenomena, but also they largely enrich the expression of Chinese. However, at the same time, these words pose serious problems for translators as well. On the one hand, the differences between Chinese culture and western countries’ culture are numerous, which makes it hard to find equivalent of Chinese neologisms in English. On the other hand, with the times going forward, the number of Chinese neologisms is steadily increasing, which results in difficulties in translating Chinese neologisms into English. Therefore, Cross-cultural translation of Chinese neologisms into English becomes prevailing. Cross-cultural translation theory was proposed by Mary Snell Hornby in her well-known representative book Translation Studies: an Integrated Approach. She believes that translation is not a process of decoding or the transformation of language symbols, but also the transformation of cultural patterns. Due to the rapid development of Chinese society in the past decade, more and more translators have turned to Chinese neologisms, making the study of English translation of Chinese neologisms a new focus. Chinese Translators Journal, Lexicographical Studies and other authoritative academic journals have set up columns for translation of Chinese neologism. There are also vocabulary books compiled according to the specific types of Chinese neologisms, such as Chinese-English Expressions of Current Events by Yang Quanhong and English Translation of Buzzwords and Sayings by Chen Dezhang. In addition, the most representative ones include Yang Quanhong's Approaches to Translation of Chinese Words and Expressions into English and Zhang Jian's On Translation of Chinese Press Neologisms into English. In the age of information, it is not hard to find English translation of Chinese neologisms on English learning websites such as https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/, https://www.en84.com/ and so on. These websites have launched platforms for English translation of Chinese neologisms and updated them timely. So far, scholars have studied Chinese neologism from different perspectives. This paper is based on 138 related articles including these key words such as “cross-cultural theory” “Chinese neologisms” and “English translation” on http://kns.cnki.net. Fu Rong narrated the difficulties and methods in The English Translation of Chinese Neologism from a Cross-cultural Perspective. Zhou Hongjie elaborated on the basic principles, methods and key points in The English Translation of Chinese neologisms from a Cross-cultural Perspective. In addition, a majority of articles analyzed the status quo in the English translation of Chinese neologisms from the perspective of cross-cultural translation theory, but few dwell on strategies of solving the problems during the course of translation. This paper introduces Chinese neologisms and its classifications and characteristic in the second section, the significance of cross-translation to Chinese neologisms in the third section and ways of translating in the fourth section. It is based on the previous viewpoints and puts forward practical strategies to be followed in the translation of Chinese neologisms from the perspective of cross-translation theory combining with examples.

Chapter 1 Overview of Chinese Neologisms

Neologisms are words new in connotation or form. In other words, they can either be new words created to express new concepts and phenomena in line with times or existing words given new meanings. These words help the further development of language, embody Chinese people's latest understanding of the world with the times going forward, and enrich the expression and promote transmission of Chinese language. (Fu Rong, 2015: 80) To better translate Chinese neologisms into English, we need to have a deeper understanding of Chinese neologisms, including its classifications and characteristics.

1.1 Classifications of Chinese Neologisms

Generally speaking, Chinese neologisms can be classified into four categories, namely, old words endowed with new meanings, Chinese abbreviations, newly generated words and loan words.

Old words endowed with new meanings, as the name suggests, are existent words that have been endowed with new meanings for reuse even though have been forgotten for a long time. (Li Chunjiang, 2015: 62) Take “备胎(spare tire)”as an example, which refers to an extra tire carried in a motor vehicle for emergencies. It now refers to a back-up, second line, just-in-case, or a B-plan or contingency, in other words, someone who is benched now. Besides, “粉(powder)”originally refers to fine powder used for makeup or paint, while it means having a crush on or adoring a famous celebrity now. With the changing society of China, the essential characteristics of the things or phenomena referred to by the old words have changed as well. Because of the uniqueness pf Chinese words, it may be defective to use substitute words and fail to reflect the pun. Not only does endowing the existing words with new meanings produce connection between old words and new meanings, but also reduces the trouble of creating new words.

Chinese abbreviations are the result of refining existing words. The process of extracting mainly depends on the importance of each part of the words. Those significant parts are selected to replace the lengthy words. The most common Chinese abbreviations can be divided into three forms. First, extracted initials. Such as “哥哥(brother)--GG”, “笑死我了(It’s so funny that I have a shortness of breathe)” and “漂亮小姐姐(good-looking sister)--PLXJJ”. Second, syllable imitation. Such as “呜呜呜 (onomatopoetic words of cry)--555”, “我爱你一生一世(I love you forever)--5201314” and “不要这样子(don’t do like this)--表酱紫”. Third: reduced words. Such as “很累，感觉不会再爱了(feel so tired that will not fall in love again)--累感不爱” and “躺着也中枪(a lying person can be shot as well)--躺枪”. Chinese abbreviations have their own laws of forming, so it is easy for us to understand as long as we recognize the laws of them. Besides, in the premise of reflecting the principle of simplicity and the purpose of economy frugality, Chinese abbreviations are helpful to ensure goog rationale and high semantic transparency. Nowadays, people are always pursing a simple and peaceful life, which gives rise to the frequent use of abbreviations. Nevertheless, the abbreviations of words should neither be arbitrarily imitated, nor be simply carried out by way of analogy. Instead, the abbreviations with the widest social acceptance should be selected through investigation and evidence collection from multiple aspects.

Newly generated words can be roughly divided into two types. The first is generated through metaphors, similes and metonymy. For instance, “虎妈(tiger mom) is defined as strict disciplinarian mothers who demand high achievement from their children and maintain control of their activities”, and“猫爸(cat dad)”refers to fathers who take a more softly approach to parenting, preferring to be emotionally sensitive, gentle and relaxed about rules and discipline, and they are in the belief that this kind of parenting will make their offspring self-sufficient and independent. With new things coming in, people need words to describe them but there are no ready expressions at hand. The metaphorical use of some expressions will do the job as it will reflect the same essence of the objects through metaphor. The second type is created with the arrival of new phenomenon. For instance, “APEC蓝” is employed to describe the quality air and the exceptionally blue sky in Beijing during the APEC meeting in 2014. And “蒜你狠”is used to illustrate the price of garlic which soared more than 100 times in 2010, even outstripping meat and eggs. A great number of new phenomena and new concepts spring up, however, it’s hard to describe them with the existing words. Under this circumstance, the vocabulary system needs to produce more new words to meet the requirements of social communication.

The advancement of globalization, communication and cooperation in some fields among countries are deepening day by day, which inevitably bring changes in language, and that is so-called “Chinese localization”. Loan words are “transformed” into Chinese words in accordance with the rules of pronunciation, semantics, structure and grammatical system of Chinese. In the mid-1970s, Taiwanese used “show--秀” as morphemes to match with "做" and "作". To the surprise of the editor, these newly created words were so well-received in the entertainment industry that a large number of words such as “歌舞秀、双人秀、真人秀、脱口秀”were produced. Nowadays, the neologism “秀儿” referring to those who like to show off their resources is widely accepted. Similarly, “博客、思客、播客、朋客、创客”appeared one by one. “客” was derived from “黑客(hacker)”, in other words, the word group of “X客” were generated.

1.2 Characteristics of Chinese Neologisms

In order to have better quality of translation of Chinese neologisms, translators need to have a deep insight into its characteristics. Chinese neologisms are characterized by cultural uniqueness, simplicity, vividness and uncertainty.

Chinese neologisms come from a wide range of sources, but they all have roots in China. Some are based on Chinese culture. For instance, “山寨(mountain fastness)”originated from Water Margin, which used to refer to the place where the poor live. But when used online, the original meaning is transformed to plagiarism, imitation, parody and other popular cultural phenomena. Others are on the basis of customs. Take “红色炸弹(red bomb)” as an example. Since Chinese traditional wedding ornament is red, the word "红色炸弹(red bomb)" is used to describe the overwhelming wedding invitations.

We are living in a fast-paced era. The speed of generation and transmission of information are accelerating. Under this situation, we crave for cost-effective communication. This status quo requires concise language. Chinese abbreviations exactly exemplify the simplicity. Abbreviations are condensed with rich information content, and effectively reinforce the expressiveness of Chinese vocabulary. Therefore, the number of abbreviations in vocabulary increases rapidly.

The appearance of Chinese neologisms meets people's needs to describe an object or a phenomenon more vividly. Such as “人艰不拆” means that since life has been so hard, some things should not be exposed. And “酸菜鱼”is used for persons who are jealous, ugly, and redundant to make fun of themselves. “剁手党”refers to the addicted shopping crowd. They buy countless things, but often regret after calming down, even vow to chop off their hands if they don't act rationally next time. The vividness of Chinese neologisms adds humorous effects to the expression.

With the crazy tempo of life, Chinese neologisms emerge in an endless stream. For one thing, with the increasing influence of network to people's life, online language is a shock to traditional language since many words are not compatible with Chinese language system. For another, neologisms fade away with the end of an event and are quickly replaced by neologisms with the times.

Chapter 2 Cross-cultural Translation Theory and Its Significance

As Chinese neologisms are rooted in Chinese culture, translators are supposed to turn to cross-cultural translation theory when translating Chinese neologisms into English. Hence, having a deep insight into it and its significance helps improve the quality of translation.

2.1 Hornby’s Cross-cultural Translation Theory

Cross-cultural translation theory refers to translation across cultural divide and be less influenced by factors such as politics, religions, regions and ideologies. Cross-cultural translation theory was put forward by German translation theorist Mary Snell-Hornby. From her perspective, translation is a kind of cross-cultural communication. In this way, translators should not only have a bilingual ability, but also the cultural backgrounds of the source language and the target language. In reality, there are no two completely equivalent language systems. Each language has its own uniqueness in terms of word formation, sentence construction and expression, which is even more distinctive in translating into the target language with totally different economic, political, social and cultural backgrounds. Therefore, cross-cultural translation becomes a rigid demand. In the process of cross-cultural translation, translators are supposed to strike a balance between Chinese style and maximize the recipients’ understanding and acceptances’ of Chinese culture. Mary Snell-Hornby proposed that translators should skillfully switch the two languages in the process of translation as well as deeply dig into the culture backgrounds behind the two languages. In other words, translation is more bicultural transformation than bilingual transformation. (Wang Weidong, 2011: 78).

In the process of translation, the cultural deposits have a direct bearing on the expression of words, its connotations and emotions. Hence, translators must take these factors into consideration in translation. Cross-cultural translation theory has the following requirements for translation, which can be divided into three aspects: first, to express the meaning of the source language. Second, to dig out the cultural connotation of the source language. Third, to convey the emotion of the source language. Only when translator meets the three requirements above can the quality of the translation be guaranteed.

2.2 Significance of Cross-cultural Translation Theory

The significance of Cross-cultural Theory to English Translation of Chinese Neologisms can be divided into the following three aspects. The British historian Dr. Toynbee once said, it is not surprising to say that the 21st century belongs to East Asia led by China for China’s control over East Asia is not merely political, but cultural. Though East Asian countries such as Korea and Japan maintain their political independence, they are strongly influenced by Chinese culture.” Therefore, promoting English translation of Chinese neologisms is very important for enriching the world language system, improving China’s soft power and introducing Chinese culture into the world.

2.2.1 Learning the Chinese Idiomatic Expression

Translators can learn the rules of Chinese word-formation and characteristics of Chinese expression in the process of translating from the perspective of cross-cultural translation theory. There are great differences between Chinese and English word-formations. Take the three main forms of Chinese neologisms as example. Subject-predicate forms, such as “私聊” and“群聊”; Verb-object forms, such as: “煞风景”“抬杠”; Complementary forms, such as: “吓尿”and so on. In English vocabulary system, most compound words are in the form of nouns, while Chinese has a variety of parts, such as verbs, nouns and adjectives. Translators can grasp the characteristics of Chinese word-formation through the translation and readers can understand the Chinese idiomatic expression.

2.2.2 Spreading Chinese Culture Contained in Chinese Neologisms

Chinese neologisms are produced in China’s distinctive environment, containing culture with Chinese characteristics. It is an effective way to spread Chinese culture contained in Chinese neologisms through cross-cultural translation. For example, “打虎” and “拍蝇” have become buzzwords in China these years. In fact, both above two neologisms are political terms. The “tigers” refer to corrupt officials at higher level and “flies” at grassroots level. Chinese neologisms are epitomes of China's development in a certain period, carrying much social information. The world can learn about the development of China through Chinese neologisms. Accordingly, determination of Chinese government to take out “tigers” and swat “flies” can be seen through these coinage of new terms such as “打虎” and “拍蝇”. Therefore, cross-cultural translation helps spread Chinese culture contained in Chinese neologisms.

2.2.3 Conveying Emotion Expressed by Chinese Neologisms

Emotional expressions are essential to translation of Chinese neologisms. Translation of Chinese neologisms from the perspective of cross-cultural translation theory helps to convey emotion expressed. For example, it is not proper to translate“和事佬”into“peacemaker”. In Chinese, “和事佬”refers to persons who are unprincipled and blindly promote reconciliations, with derogatory meaning. While in English, “peacemaker” refers to those who create and safeguard peace, with commendatory emotions. Therefore, if the cross-cultural principles are violated in translation, there will be differences in the expression of emotions, which will hinder the expression of real emotions and lead to misunderstanding.

Chapter 3 Methods of Chinese Neologisms Translation

To improve the quality of Chinese neologisms translation, translators need to have a full knowledge of problems existing in the process of the translation of Chinese neologisms, and then avoid them by choosing appropriate ways of translating and following principles of cross-cultural translation theory. The late start of English translation of Chinese neologisms results in the immature translation of Chinese neologisms both at home and abroad, with some problems existing in the process of the translation of Chinese neologisms.

Nowadays, it is common to see rigid translation, which leads to failure to convey its true meaning. For example, if “我好方”is translated into “I’m so square”, it will confuse readers. In fact, this neologism refers to people in panic. As its word “方”pronounces similarly to the word “慌”，it is employed to make fun of those who can't distinguish between “f”sound and “h” sound. Similarly, “蓝瘦，香菇” can’t be translated into “blue monsters and shiitake mushrooms” for it refers to “I’m so sad that I’m going to cry”. Hence, rigid translation will result in misunderstanding. Not only should we make translations interesting, but also we need to ensure they are correct.

Many Chinese neologisms, after being translated into English, can express their meanings accurately, though fairly lengthy. For instance, if“无语”is translated into “have nothing to say”, it seems a little bit lengthy. We can translate it into“speechless”, instead. When translating Chinese neologisms, translators are supposed to use as few words as possible to accurately convey as much information as possible, making readers spend as little time as possible to understand them.

Till now, many neologisms lack Chinese uniqueness after being translated into English. For example, “杠精”will lose the uniqueness the word“精”carries if it is translated into“argumentative person”. In China, “精”commonly describe demons and ghosts, with derogatory meaning, such as those used in“白骨精”“蜘蛛精”and“蜈蚣精”. In this case, it is not proper to translate“精”into “person”. Therefore, we need to ensure Chinese culture be spread in the process of translation.

3.1 Transliteration

Transliteration is the translation of Chinese neologisms into English which sounds similarly to Chinese. Transliteration of Chinese neologisms into English can fully retain the pronunciation of Chinese and traditional Chinese culture. What’s more, it is more efficient.

Zeng Lisa once proposed that translators should accurately convey more information with as few words as possible, so that the audience can obtain the clearest and smoothest information with as little time as possible. Transliteration gives priority to efficiency and can meet the requirements of the fast pace of modern society, improve the communicative efficiency of readers, and save space for readers' cognitive ability to play.

For example, "大妈" is transliterated into "dama" and entered the Oxford dictionary. In addition to this, there are a sea of transliterations of Chinese neologisms in modern English vocabulary, for example: "风水" (fengshui), "八卦" (bagua), "太极" (taichi), "气功" (qigong), and "武术 "(wushu), "功夫" (kungfu), "胡同" (hutong), "麻将" (mahjong), "叩头" (while), and so on. Transliteration makes Chinese neologisms widely spread and its culture behind. However, if translators stick to the literal interpretation or explanatory translation of some words, it may lead to cumbersome words and poor quality.

3.2 Literal Translation

Literal translation is one of the efficient way of translation. Literal translation enables us to directly find equivalent expressions in English in terms of form, style and connotation, which is the perfect embodiment of "commonness" between English and Chinese. Above all, literal translation helps promote Chinese culture.

Language carries and transmits culture, as it is the heart of the cultural system. Culture influences and even shapes language, which is the foundation of language and the source of innovation. In the current context of cross-cultural communication, translation is not only a process of language conversion, but also a process of cultural transplantation.The transmission between eastern and western cultures is practical in theology, but it is limited in reality. Chinese neologisms are the most active part of Chinese vocabulary, which reflect the way of thinking, values, customs and lifestyles formed by the Chinese people in the new natural and social environment. Therefore, literal translation works for spreading Chinese culture.

In modern English, examples of literal translation of Chinese neologisms can be found everywhere, such as “一国两制--one country, two systems”, “二孩政策--two-child policy”, “希望工程--Hope Project” and “好久不见long time no see” and so on. Literal translation is straightforward, concise and efficient. Not only can it effectively reduce the boredom caused by the transformation from Chinese to English, enrich the expressiveness of English, but also maximize the retention of Chinese cultural.

Therefore, it is necessary to interpret or add annotations in the context, otherwise it is difficult to convey its Chinese characteristics and cultural connotation.

3.3 Free Translation

Free translation is another way of translating, which emphasizes the relative independence of both Chinese and English. On the one hand, differences exist in different language systems including grammatical constructions and expressions. On the other hand, there are quite a few distinctions between different cultures including historical traditions, religious beliefs and even ways of thinking, ways of thinking. Therefore, sometimes free translation is required to avoid misunderstanding and disputes.

Free translation refers to reproduce the matter without the manner, or, the content without form. Put another way, it explains the general idea of Chinese neologisms. For example, “豆腐渣工程” refers to the construction project that collapsed or did not comply with relevant regulations due to cutting corners in the construction process. It is translated into English as “jerry-built project”. “白色污染”, the pollution of the environment by plastic waste that is difficult to degrade, is translated as “plastic pollution”. In a word, although the paraphrased neologisms need not strictly stick to Chinese, it can better reflect the meaning of Chinese.

Conclusion

The emergence of Chinese neologisms demonstrates a new face of China. Neologisms are new in content, form, and content, which are produced to express new concepts and phenomena. However, due to the obvious cultural differences between China and western countries, there are many obstacles in the course of translating Chinese neologisms into English. Neologisms are perhaps the number one problem for non-literary translators and professional translators. Under this circumstance, cross-cultural translation of Chinese neologisms becomes a prevailing trend. Cross-cultural translation refers to translating crossing cultural divide and being less influenced by factors such as politics, religions, regions and ideologies. In a way, translating Chinese neologisms into English from the perspective of cross-cultural translation theory can help to promote understanding of Chinese. In another, it can effectively convey the emotions expressed by neologisms. Moreover, it can help to promote the spread of Chinese culture. In spite of the continuous standardization and improvement of translation, there are still some problems in the process of translating Chinese neologisms into English, such as rigid translation, wordy translation and translation with cultural loss. English translation of Chinese neologisms may be a daunting problem, so we need translators with joint efforts, both stick to effective translation methods, flexible and innovative, and latest changes, in order to improve the overall quality of translation of Chinese neologisms, thus speak up aloud in the international community. In this paper, three main strategies are suggested, and they are transliteration, literal translation, and free translation. To better translate Chinese neologisms from the perspective of cross-cultural translation theory, translators need to adopt compatible ways of translating with different types of Chinese neologisms and target readers. On the one hand, it is necessary to fully grasp Chinese neologisms, which requires translators to have more knowledge of Chinese cultural background and Chinese idiomatic expression. On the other hand, we should find the way of translating which is most accepted by readers.

Moreover, Chinese neologisms are constantly updated with the development of the society. If we do not keep pace with the times and know the latest meaning of Chinese neologisms, it may lead to misunderstanding. (Tian Longjiao, 2013: 160) Therefore, translators should constantly supplement, update or revise the English translation of those Chinese neologisms without definite translation, which is an important guarantee to keep the English translation of Chinese neologisms accurate. Advancing with the times often requires translators to pay close attention to the post-translation effect. On the other hand, translators should also constantly draw on new English words. Chinese neologisms have strong timeliness, especially with the increase of Internet users, hence, at any one time emerge Chinese neologisms which are closely associated with the society. In short, in the process of translation, translators must pay attention to riding on the trend of the times so as to update the expression of the target language and readily accepted by readers. Update expressions means keeping up with the development of the times and use idiomatic English to illustrate new things, new words and new expressions. In other words, on the basis of grasping the exact meaning of Chinese neologisms, we should make it understood in English. Translators should not only improve their ability to understand Chinese, enhance their ability to translate Chinese into English, but also be keeping with the times so as to introduce more Chinese neologisms into English and continuously inject more Chinese elements into English. In this way, Chinese culture can be spread and the expression of English can be innovated.

References

[1]Baker Mona. In Other Words: A Coursebook on Translation [M]. London/New York: Routledge, 1992. [2] Jing Huang. Study on the Influence of Cultural Construction and Cultural Deficiency on English Translation[A].He Nan: Proceedings of 2019 International Conference on Humanities,Cultures,Arts and Design, 2019. [3] Kata. An introduction for translators, interpreters and mediators. [D].Manchester: St Jerome, 2004. [4] Min Deng. Cultural Differences between Chinese and English Color Words and Their Translation[A].Hong Kong: Proceedings of 2019 International Linguistics, Education and Literature Conference, 2019. [5] Newmark Peter. A Textbook of Translation [M].Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 2001. [6] Pym. Translation and text transfer. An essay on the principles of intercultural communication [A].Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 1992. [7] Snell Hornby, Mary. Translation studies: An Integrated Approach. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 1995. [8] 付蓉. 从跨文化的角度探讨汉语新词新语的英译[J]. 北京:语文建设, 2015. [9] 亢世勇. 《新词语大辞典》的编撰[J].辞书研究, 2003. [10] 李春江. 汉语网络新词的英译探究[J]. 宁波:宁波工程学院学报, 2015. [11] 廖颖颖． 论中国主流英语新闻报刊对中国特色词语的英译策略[J]. 长沙:湖南师范大学学报, 2008. [12] 刘宓庆. 新编当代翻译理论[M]. 北京:中国对外翻译出版公司, 2005. [13] 刘晓骏. 汉语网络新词英译中的文化因素[J]．内蒙古:语文学刊，2012. [14] 欧阳因. 朗文中国流行新词语[M]. 北京:北京大学出版社, 2000． [15] 丘柳珍. 汉语网络新词的英译[J]. 赤峰学院学报:自然科学版, 2014. [16] 田龙娇. 对外汉语新词新语教学研究[D]. 四川师范大学, 2013. [17] 王维东. 网络热词汉译英探究[J]. 北京:中国翻译, 2011. [18］吴秋芬,杨司桂. 汉语新词英译研究十年述评[J]. 燕山大学学报, 2014. [19] 杨全红. 高级翻译十二讲[M]. 武汉:武汉大学出版社, 2009. [20] 张健,唐见端. 略谈汉语新词新义的英译[J]. 中国翻译, 1996.

Translation of Dish Names

On the C-E translation of Chinese dish names:From a Functional Equivalence Perspective 刘洋诺 Liu Yangnuo

Abstract

With increasing global influence, the task of cultural communication is a formidable project. Translation as a media plays a important role in cultural communication. A Bite of China, a TV program to introduce Chinese dishes, has gained popularity at home and abroad, thus broadcasting Chinese dishes. But difficulties in translating Chinese dishes are evitable considering abundant culture-loaded expressions and complex cooking skills. The essay discusses theoretical and practical significance of researching Chinese dish names. We summarize some point of views from other scholars. Also, we analyze the difficulties in translating Chinese cuisines from a functional equivalence perspective. Combined with translation examples, we discuss three strategies for translating Chinese dish names.

Keywords

Chinese-English translation; Chinese dish names; functional equivalence

摘要 中国国际影响力不断提高，文化交流的使命更加艰巨。翻译作为文化交流媒介，其重要性也不容忽视。中国饮食文化节目《舌尖上的中国》在海内外热播也进一步推动了中国特色饮食文化的传播，但是其丰富的文化内涵和多样的烹饪技巧也给译者带来不少困难。本文探讨研究中国菜名翻译的理论和实践意义，总结中国菜名翻译目前的研究成果。从功能对等理论出发，分析中国菜名翻译的困难，同时也结合翻译实例，提出三个中国菜名翻译的策略。

关键词 中译英；中国菜名；功能对等

I.Introduction

As the old Chinese saying goes, food is the God of the people. In other words, we regard food as the primary need. Chinese cuisine has a firm connection between our daily life and Chinese culture. But when it comes to Chinese cuisine, there are many aspects left for us to consider, such as the etiquette of dining table, dietary structure or habits, the art of dietary decorations and cultural connotation. In the essay, we will mainly focus on Chinese dish names. From semantic linguistic point of view, there are two structure in a language. The surface structure is Chinese dish names themselves, but the deep structure is the meaning behind these dish names. It’s not surprising that we will discuss the relationship between some Chinese dish names and their cultural connotation in the later part of this essay. Chinese dish names are endowed with Chinese culture through culture-loaded expressions or idioms. When we dive into our research, it’s easy to find out that behind some dish names from historical stories and anecdotes are layer upon layer of meanings. Although the majority of us understand the importance of translating Chinese dish names, good translations still remain in the dark. The reasons abound, ranging from a great variety of Chinese dishes and difficulty in fully understanding of cultural connotation behind Chinese dishes.

The essay takes functional equivalence coined by Eugene Nida as a theoretical basis. In the first part, we discuss the importance and significance of researches on Chinese-English translation of Chinese dish names. In the second part, we look back on functional equivalence theory and summarize current results on this topic. At the same time, we try to discuss difficulties in translating Chinese dish names in terms of basic information and cultural backgrounds. In the last part, we turn to discuss the possibility of applying the theory into translation practice on Chinese dish names in order to improve C-E translation of Chinese cuisine. We consolidate commonly used strategies into three combined with translation examples in reality. The last part is to summarize what we have discussed before and to point out limitations of this essay. The purpose of our research is to have a better understanding of our own culture and transmitting Chinese culture to foreigners. Apart from cultural aspect, cultural communication interconnects with economic and political aspect, which is one of reasons why China attaching much importance to cross-cultural communication and transmission.

  II.Literature Review

2.1 Previous Studies on the C-E translation of Chinese Dish Names

There are some scholars who have paved the way for our further researches. Some of them describe strategies for C-E translation of Chinese dish names based on several translation theories. Others Zhang Tingli (2015) summarized six characteristics of Chinese dish names based on A Bite of China, a popular TV program in China. Below are six characteristics: place names plus ingredients, personal names plus ingredients, main ingredients plus supplementary ingredients, cooking procedures, various flavors and cultural elements. Li Weiwei (2017) wrote a report on Chinese-English cuisine interpretation under the guidance of Skopos Theory, including the Skopos rule, the coherence rule, the fidelity rule and the loyalty rule. Che Yimo (2019) summarize three principles to analyze the menu translation quality of a Chinese restaurant based on cross-cultural communication theories. The three principles include semantic proximity, cultural communication and aesthetics. Xue Jingnan (2015) involves an analysis of the translation of Chineseness by Chinese-Candians in food discourse from a cultural perspective, which providing a glimpse into Chinese culinary identity. Similiarly, Lee Yi Yan (2016) mainly focus on cultural and sociological phenomenon behind Chinese food. His research is based on two types of popular Chinese food narratives: Ang Lee's Eat Drink Man Woman published in 1994 with a televisual documentary series A Bite of China released in 2012. Under the guidance of their papers, we are able to explore more in this infinite sphere. We pay tributed to great efforts they have paid. While researches on the C-E transllation of Chinese dish names have spread into most sectors, researches from a functional equivalence theory are few because previous scholars mainly apply Skopos theory and cross-cultural theory into their researches. In the paper, we will discuss the C-E translation of Chinese dish names coupled with functional equivalence theory. In the next part, we will turn to existing problems in the C-E translation of Chinese dish names.

  2.2 Existing Problems

2.2.1 Problems in Transmitting Basic Information of Chinese Dish Names

Different translation versions of a Chinese dish always make foreigners confused. For example, there are at least three versions of 炮弹鱼, including Shell fish, bullet mackerel and trigger fish. We often blur the lines between scientific name and general name in our translation. Also, sometimes we seem to ignore distinct difference between two things by using the same name to define them. For example, some translators use bamboo fungus and edible tree fungus to stand for竹笋 and 木耳 respectively, but in reality 竹笋is completely different from 木耳. There are some subtle differences among Chinese dishes. As Mo Chuanxia and Yue Lin (2020) mentioned in their essay, 水米籺is cooked rice pounded into paste with stuffing inside for worship or diet. 籺is a defining food for South China, especially in Guangdong provinces. It is totally different from cake or pastry in Western culture. The best way to translate it is to use explanatory words. Below are some C-E translations related to Chinese dishes: 黄馍馍(yellow steamed bun), 肉夹馍(the marinated meat in baked bun), 榴莲酥(crispy durian cake) and蒿子粑粑(crown daisy rice cake). Everyone who has ever eaten these four kinds of food will have an inkling of knowledge about the different flavor and shape between 黄馍馍and肉夹馍. Likewise, the word “sausage” is insufficient to translate 血肠, 腊肠 and 香肠. For some well-known Chinese food such as tofu, it’s unnecessary to translate it into bean curd as in 油豆腐(fried bean curd puff). It seems to be nonessential part in translating Chinese dish names because we often are encouraged to create our own translation. But for long-term effects, chaos will lead to negative impact on economic benefits of those Chinese dishes and cross-cultural communication.

Judging from a great variety of cooking techniques in many Chinese dish names, they bring a lot difficulties in the rendering of Chinese cuisine. In Chinese, there are a lot of verbs to describe how to cook. I list some common verbs below: 炒, 煮, 炖, 炸, 煎, 煲, 蒸, 烧, 焖 and 拌. But when it comes to C-E translation, we translators seem to ignore these verbs and use the same "with" structure to translate all of them as in 莴笋炒火腿(Stir-fried ham with asparagus lettuce), 莲藕炖排骨(Stewed ribs with lotus root) and 虾子焖茭白(Shrimp roe stewed with cane shoots). On top of these commonly used verbs, some verbs are really difficult to understand for native speakers who are unfamiliar with cooking, let alone for foreigners. The four words list below is a case in point: 煸, 焙, 焗 and 烩. The reason behind this phenomenon lies in lacking language about cooking techniques. The word list in this paragraph is more about the duration and degree of heating while cooking Chinese cuisine. As a translator, we should not only know general translation skills that can applied to a large number of texts, but also should have the inkling of other fields. Without background knowledge on cooking procedures, they will be stumbling blocks for translators striving for concise and accurate renderings.

After discussing cooking techniques in Chinese dish names, we will turn to the different flavor of Chinese cuisine. When burying myself into oceans of Chinese dishes, I divide all sorts of flavors into two categories. In the first category, word list includes 酸辣, 三鲜, 川味, 麻辣, 卤味, 家常, 酱香, 五香, 香辣 and 酥. In the second category, 孜然, 铁板, 鼓汁, 姜汁, 泡椒, 糖醋 and 蒜泥 will put in a group because these nouns mainly derived from ingredients and cooking utensils rather than the flavor itself. Beautifying function aesthetic beauty

2.2.2 Problems in Considering Different Cultural Backgrounds

Culture-loaded Chinese dish names 

III.Functional Equivalence Theory

Functional Equivalence put forward by Eugene. A. Nida, a renowned American linguist and translation theorist. Functional equivalence theory developed from dynamic equivalence. He defined dynamic equivalence as "the quality of a translation in which the message of the original text has been so transported into the receptor language that the response of the receptor is essentially like that of the original receptors. Translating consists in reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent of the source language message, first in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of style” (Nida, 1969). In the later works, he thought that the adequacy of a translation depended on “the reliability of the text itself, the discourse type, the intended audience, the manner in which the translated text is to be used, and the purpose for which the translation has been made” (Nida, 1993, p.127). Under the influence of Eugene. A. Nida, other subsequent scholars also put forward their own understanding of functional equivalence. In the views of Christian Nord, the translator recreates the text in target language by keeping some source-text information or linguistic elements invariant and adapting the rest to the receivers’ background knowledge, expectations and communicative needs or to such factors as medium-restrictions and deixis requirements (Nord, 2001). The term the closest natural equivalent implies that the rendering must be readable (related to the language form) and understandable (related to the content) to the target receptors, since different languages have different features of grammar and lexicon. Functional-equivalence requires the highest degree of proximity (Zhang Qing & Wang Jiaqi,2010: 880-888). The translation is a reproduction process of source text in target language, observing the target culture. The target language features in terms of contents, sentence structure and lexis should be considered as criteria to adapt the source text before translating. The source text elements that do not fit in target culture should be revised or even neglected in translating so as to transfer the flavor of source text while not violating target culture. (Yue Siwei, 2013: 61-68)

  IV. Application of Functional Equivalence Theory in the C-E translation of Chinese Cuisine

4.1 Princples of C-E translation of Chinese Cuisine

4.2 Strategies for C-E translation of Chinese Cuisine

(1)Literal translation：

  (2)Transliteration

  (3)Free translation

V. Conclusion

What I discussed in the essay is only a panoramic view of Chinese dish names. There are eight classifications of Chinese famous cuisines ranging from Lu Cuisine and Chuan Cuisine, Yue Cuisine and Min Cuisine, Su Cuisine and Zhe Cuisine, Xiang Cuisine and Hui Cuisine. Under these eight Chinese cuisines, there are distinct difference in dish names considering region and ethnic group. As we know, one size can’t fit all. Aside from researches on Chinese dish names, cultural elements behind idioms related to Chinese dishes deserve more attention.   Bibliography

The Untranslatability and Loss of Meaning in Chinese Dish Names Translation 袁雨晨 Yuan Yuchen

Abstract

Key words

摘要

关键词

Introduction

Conclusion

Bibliography

A Study of English Translation of Chinese Dish Names from the Perspective of Domestication and Foreignization -- Taking Hunan cuisine an Example 邬香 Wu Xiang

Abstract

As a bright pearl in the storehouse of traditional Chinese culture, catering culture plays a more and more important role in the increasingly frequent cross-cultural communication. However, there are many problems in English translation of Chinese dish names, such as the use of direct and rigid expressions, the neglect of cultural connotations of dishes, and the lack of unified translation standards. Foreignization and domestication can effectively solve the above problems. From the perspective of foreignization and domestication this chapter takes the English translation of Hunan cuisine as an example, and uses different translation strategies for realistic and freehand dishes from the linguistic and cultural levels. Although domestication and foreignization can not remove all the obstacles in English translation of dish names, they can help to accurately express the meanings of dish names, reflect their cultural connotations, and promote cultural exchange and dissemination.

Key words

Chinese dish names; English translation; domestication and foreignization; cross-cultural communication

摘要

饮食文化作为中国传统文化宝库中一颗璀璨的明珠，在如今日益频繁的跨文化交流中的作用愈发重要。但是目前中国菜名英译中出现不少问题，主要包括使用直接生硬的表达方式、忽略菜肴文化内涵、缺乏统一的翻译标准。运用异化和归化翻译策略能有效解决上述问题。本章拟从异化和归化的视角出发，以湘菜英译为例，针对写实型和写意型菜肴从语言和文化层面使用不同的翻译策略。尽管归化和异化不能清除菜名英译中所有的障碍，但其有助于准确表达菜名含义，体现其蕴藏的文化内涵，促进文化交流与传播。

关键词

中国菜名；英译；归化和异化；跨文化交流

1.Introduction

After thousands of years of precipitation and inheritance Chinese food culture has emerged on the international stage and gradually gained the favor and recognition of foreigners. In today's society cultural exchanges between countries and nations are increasingly frequent. As a cross-cultural communication activity, translation refers not only to the process of language conversion, but also to the process of cultural transformation and dissemination. Because Chinese food contains a large number of cultural and artistic features, which reflect the Chinese cultural landscape, we have different translation versions in the process of translating Chinese dishes. This is not conducive to the spread of Chinese culture. It’s known that translation strategies of domestication and foreignization can retain the cultural elements in the original text to the greatest extent. As one of the eight major cuisines in China, Hunan cuisine has its unique characteristics and rich cultural heritage, so it is suitable to adopt domestication and foreignization in English translation. Many domestic scholars focus on specific translation methods and skills in the research on translation of dish names, and rarely consider the translation strategies of foreignization and domestication. However, it is necessary to clarify what kind of translation strategy to adopt before choosing appropriate translation methods and skills, because the implementation of the former is reflected in the application of specific translation skills, while the application of the latter requires certain translation strategies (熊兵, 2014). Therefore, this chapter will discuss the application of translation strategies of domestication and foreignization in the English translation of traditional Chinese dish names based on the corpus of Hunan dishes.

2.Exiting problems in English translation of Chinese dish names

Chinese food culture is extensive and profound. It has a long history. The importance of English translation of Chinese dish names in cross-cultural communications between China and foreign countries is self-evident. However, there are many problems in the English translation of Chinese dish names, such as the use of direct and rigid expressions, the lack of unified translation standards, and the ignorance of the cultural connotation of dishes. These problems make foreigners and some domestic English learners confused. In the following, I will analyze in detail with examples.

2.1 The use of direct and rigid expressions

China has a vast territory and abundant resources. The eating habits and cooking methods in different regions of the country are different. Some dishes are named after myths, legends and allusions, while others are complex in cooking methods and various in ingredients. Direct and stiff expressions can‘t express the rich connotations of these dishes, and even make people funny. For example, if "Jiaohua chicken, a whole chicken roasted in caked mud"(叫花鸡) is translated into "beggar's chicken"(叫花子的鸡), it does not reflect the origin and the cooking method of this dish. It is said that in the late Ming Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty, a beggar in Changshu（常熟，a city of Jiangsu province） got a chicken by chance. He had no cooking utensils and seasonings. So he had to put the chicken into the mud to simmer and roast it. When the chicken was cooked, it knocked off the mud shell, and the aroma overflowed. It became a delicious dish. Another example is that "木须肉" is translated as "wood mustache meat"（木头胡子肉）. This translation is confusing and does not reflect the main ingredients of this dish. I think that it is appropriate and reasonable to translate it into "stir fried pork with eggs and black fugus".

2.2 The lack of unified translation standards

At present there is no uniform international standard for the translation of Chinese dish names, which leads to the emergence of multiple translation versions in the book market and restaurants. It brings inconvenience and trouble to foreigners and seriously affects the spread of Chinese catering culture. For example, there are several different translations of "麻婆豆腐" in China: bean curd with minced pork in hot sauce; Mapo Tofu; tofu made by woman with freckles. The last translation is not very appropriate and easy to cause disgust. Foreigners are familiar with the translation of "Mapo Tofu" and have already accepted it, so it is acceptable not to explain it. The first translation is to make people salivate. It reflects the method and raw materials of this dish. There are also many ways to translate "宫保鸡丁", including "Kung Pao chicken", "fried diced chicken in Sichuan style" or "sautéed chicken cubes with chili and peanuts". So many translation versions will not only make readers confused, but also fail to reflect the characteristics and cultural connotation of Chinese dish names. Therefore, the translation of the unified dish names is one of the problems to be solved in correctly understanding Chinese cooking culture.

3.Translation strategies of domestication and foreignization

4. Application of domestication and foreignization in English translation of Hunan cuisine

5. Conclusion

Bibliography

Translation Studies

A Review and Reflection of Holmes and Toury’s Descriptive Translation Studies 曾雁湖 Zeng Yanhu

Foreignizing Tanslation and National Culture Development 邓锦霞 Deng Jinxia

Abstract

In the context of economic and social globalization, human civilization in the 20th century is developing towards diversification. In the process of multicultural exchanges, the impact of translation on local national culture has become a new topic of discussion. Foreignizing translation takes the source language as its destination and can retain the cultural characteristics of the source language to the greatest extent, which has gradually attracted the attention of contemporary translators. This chapter discusses the relationship between foreignizing translation and national culture from three perspectives: the necessity of foreignizing translation, the limitations of foreignizing translation and the influence of foreignizing translation on national culture.

Key words

foreignizing translation; national culture

摘要

在经济与社会全球化发展的背景下，20世纪的人类文明正在向多元化发展。在多元文化交流的过程中，翻译作品对本土民族文化的影响成为新的讨论话题。异化翻译以源语言为归宿，能够最大限度地保留源语言文化特色，逐渐受到当代翻译家的重视。本文章从异化翻译的必要性，异化翻译的局限性以及异化翻译对民族文化的影响三个角度出发，讨论异化翻译与民族文化发展的关系。

关键词

异化翻译：民族文化

1.Introduction

The debate between domesticating translation and foreignizing translation has a long history. When contemporary translators choose translation strategies, domesticating translation is the dominant one, for the translated text will be more easily accepted by the target language readers. Although this may attract more target language readers, in the translation process of "domestication", we allow the source language culture to adapt to the target language culture, and even replace the source language culture with the target one. Such translations cannot truly achieve the purpose of cross-cultural communication and dissemination. As far as the quality of cultural production and transformation is concerned, this is likely to cause the development of the homogeneity of the cultures of various ethnic groups, and this does not conform to the general trend of cultural globalization, and is not conducive to maintaining the cultural uniqueness of various ethnic groups. A typical domesticated translation in Chinese-English translation is David Hawkes's translation of "red" in The Dream of the Red Chamber. Considering the different understanding of red in Chinese and Western cultures, he translated "怡红公子" as "green boy". Although this translation is conducive to the understanding of western readers, it also loses the cultural connotation of Chinese red. In the context of Chinese culture, "red" mostly symbolizes auspiciousness and joy. With such kind of domesticating translation, western readers can never really understand the real Chinese culture. Compared with domesticated translation, source-oriented foreignizing translation has better retention of the original text in terms of language and culture.

2.The Necessity of Foreignizing Translation

Translation circles have different definitions of foreignizing translation, but generally believe that foreignizing translation is a translation strategy that preserves the characteristics of the source language, which will help readers get closer to the author. Although the background and purpose of different theorists’ perspectives on foreignizing translation are different, we should uphold the attitude of foreignizing translation as a translation strategy, and treat the role of foreignizing translation in the development of national culture objectively.

2.1.The Need of Language Development

As the carrier of culture, language has never been self-sufficient and isolated from external factors. On the contrary, it is an open system with strong tolerance and attractiveness. With the deepening of exchanges among countries and ethnic groups, various languages are now enriched in varying degrees. The foreignizing translation played a very important role in this process. The change of language is firstly reflected at the lexical level. Some vocabulary did not exist in the target country, but through the translator's foreignizing translation, a large number of words with foreign cultural customs were gradually accepted by people. And it can be widely disseminated and used in popular culture. For example: "honeymoon" (蜜月), this word had no corresponding expression in Chinese at the time, and its meaning (the first month of the wedding) did not exist in Chinese at that time. It was Lin Shu's method of alienation. The two parts of the compound word are translated and arranged together according to their literal meanings (honey "蜜", moon "月") to form the word "蜜月". This undoubtedly injected fresh blood into Chinese at that time and developed modern Chinese. There are also many other words, such as "咖啡（coffee）", "丁克（DINK）", and "可乐（cola）", which have been understood and accepted by Chinese readers. Words such as "Jiaozi(饺子）", "tofu（豆腐）", "Kungfu（功夫）" originated from Chinese have also entered the English thesaurus and have become part of the English family. The inclusiveness of language is evident. Once these foreign words are accepted by the society，they are established by convention and become new members when they are added to the traditional language and culture. As a result, they will inevitably enrich the way of language expression, promote language proximity and communication, and enhance the vitality of language. In a sense, the process of language development is also a process of language alienation. The alienation of language is the general trend, and it cannot be blocked by manpower. The translator's use of foreignizing method actually follows the universal law of language development.

The influence of foreignizing translation is not limited to the lexical level, but also to the syntactic level (Wang Kefei, 2002:458). When Liang Qichao investigated the translation of Buddhist scriptures, he discussed a dozen of foriegnizing translation of syntaxes. Facts have proved that the foreignized syntax of these Buddhist translations took root in Chinese with the widespread spread of Buddhism and became the origin of the Chinese vernacular. Modern Chinese is also influenced by Western languages, and the frequency and scope of passive voice use have expanded. Passive form was used as early as in ancient Chinese, but it is rare, and it is generally used to express misfortune or unpleasant experience. Affected by the translation of Western languages, the passive form in modern Chinese can also express pleasant things. It means that the syntax of source language in foreignizing translation can be accepted as a part of the target language.

It can be seen that the use of foreignization translation method can enrich and expand the vocabulary and syntax of the target language, which is beneficial to the maturity and perfection of the target language. Around the 19th century, when German romantic writers and translators were translating foreign works, they paid great attention to absorbing some vocabulary and special expressions from foreign literary works to enrich the German language. In their view, the development of German is not yet perfect, and it is necessary to enrich and expand the German language through translation. Under the guidance of this kind of thinking, they showed great importance to the language form of the original text.

In China, Mr. Lu Xun has always advocated foreignization translation for the purpose of importing new expressions to develop vernacular Chinese. "Chinese are too imprecise...To solve this problem, I thought I had to endure a little bitterness one after another and put in strange, ancient, foreign syntax. Then we could take it as ourselves." (Chen Fukang, 1992:298). In the fifteen or sixteen years after the May Fourth Movement, many writers and translators consciously adopted the foreignization translation method under the advocacy of Lu Xun, Qu Qiubai and others. Their works not only absorbed a large number of Western vocabulary, but also used some syntactic structures of Western languages, which gradually overcomed the lack of vocabulary and thin sentence structure of ancient Chinese, and promoted the final development and maturity of the vernacular.

2.2.The Need of Culture Development

The Limitations of Foreignizing Translation

The Influence of Foreignizing Translation

Conclusion

Work Cited

Analysis on the Key problems in Chinese-English Translation and Corresponding Solutions ----- Based on Contrastive English-Chinese Studies and Chinese-English Translation 姜好 Jiang Hao

A Comparative Study of Chinese Versions of Uncle Tom’s Cabin: From the Perspective of Hermeneutics 管钦清 Guan Qinqing

解释学视角下Uncle Tom’s Cabin译本的对比研究

ABSTRACT

Hermeneutics is a discipline that studies understanding and interpretation, and its development is inseparable from translation. Both literary translation and non-literary translation are inseparable from the understanding and interpretation of the original text. The nature of translation determines that the relationship between hermeneutic theory and translation studies is extremely close. This article is guided by Gadamer's hermeneutics. Based on the core concepts of historical understanding, prejudice, and fusion of horizons, this article will discuss how these related factors, such as historical ideology, translator's attitude, language fusion, cultural filtering, and translator's subjectivity, work and embody in the Chinese versions of Uncle Tom's cabin. This article first explains Gadamer's hermeneutics. Then the author and translator of Uncle Tom’s Cabin are introduced. Under the guidance of the above theory, the different translation strategies adopted by different Chinese versions and their reasons are analyzed from different perspectives. Through the above analysis, I draw some inspiration from it: the existence of multiple translation versions and the retranslation of literary works are reasonable. Translation works from different historical contexts can reflect the spirit of a particular era. And hermeneutics can provide reasonable explanations for some translation phenomena that are influenced and determined by the context of social culture and history, and it is very suitable for studying translation works that appeared in different periods.

Key words: Hermeneutics; Uncle Tom’s Cabin; historicity of understanding; fusion of horizons; effective history

摘 要

解释学是一门研究理解和解释的学科，其发展与翻译密不可分。无论是文学翻译还是非文学翻译，都离不开原文的理解和解释，翻译的这种性质决定了解释学理论与翻译研究之间的关系是极其密 切的。本文主要是从伽达默尔的解释学角度出发，根据理解的历史性、偏见和视域融合这几个核心概念，论述历史意识形态、译者态度、语言融合、文化过滤以及译者主体性等相关因素在斯托夫 人的Uncle Tom’s Cabin中译本中的体现及作用。本文首先对伽达默尔的解释学进行了阐述。随后介绍了Uncle Tom’s Cabin的原文作者以及译者，并在以上理论基础的指导下，从不同的角度对 译本所采取的不同的翻译策略及其原因进行了分析。通过以上分析，笔者从中得出启示：多个译本同时存在以及文学名著重译现象的存在是合理的。产生于不同历史环境的译作，能够反映特定的 时代精神。而解释学能为一些由社会文化历史语境影响和决定的翻译现象提供合理的解释，并且十分适用于研究不同时期出现的译作。

关键词：解释学；Uncle Tom’s Cabin；理解的历史性；视域融合；效果历史

Introduction

Uncle Tom’s Cabin is a novel against slavery published by American writer Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852. The novel's views on African-Americans and American slavery have had far-reaching influences, and to some extent intensified local conflicts that led to the American Civil War. The novel was the best-selling novel of the 19th century (and the second best-selling book, second only to the best-selling book, the Bible), and was considered a major reason for the rise of abolitionism in the 1850s. In the first year of its publication, it sold 300,000 copies in the United States. The impact of Uncle Tom’s Cabin on American society was so great that during the early days of the Civil War, when Lincoln met Mrs. Stowe, he said, "You are the little woman who caused a great war." The influence of Uncle Tom’s Cabin on the Chinese translation industry is self-evident. As the first American novel was translated into Chinese, this novel first appeared in China in the form of classical Chinese in 1901. Its name was《黑奴吁天录》 and translated by translators Lin Shu and Wei Yi. After the publication of《黑奴吁天录》, it caused a strong response from readers and caused a certain impact on the consciousness of Chinese readers. The second version of Uncle Tom’s Cabin in China was translated by Mr. Huang Jizhong, entitled 《汤姆大伯的小屋》 and published in 1982. A major feature of Huang Jizhong's Uncle Tom's Cabin was its fidelity to the original text. The translation was very popular once it was launched. 59,000 copies were printed in the first edition, and another 30,000 copies were soon printed, all sold out. These two translation works had different production time and different translation methods, but they were both enduring and have many readers. Why can a foreign novel be re- translated many times in China, and all kinds of completely different translation works can enjoy their respective reputations, and have been sought after by readers of different times? Why these two very different translation methods so successful? The above issues aroused my attention.

Hermeneutics is a philosophical theory that explains and understands text. For the first time in the 20th century, translation theorist George Steiner put translation into hermeneutics and pointed out that language is constantly changing. With the continuous development of hermeneutics, the German philosopher Gadamer established a systematic philosophical hermeneutics and put forward the three principles of "history of understanding", "fusion of horizons", and "history of effects" in his works. These three principles can be used to explain many translation phenomena and translation theories in the history of Chinese and foreign translation, and have high reference value. In view of this, the author decided to use Gadamer's hermeneutics as a theoretical guide. Focusing on the analysis of the two versions of Uncle Tom's Cabin, I will research and discuss the issues raised above, and draw inspiration from them to provide a way for literary translation.

1.Literature Review

This chapter will give a brief introduction to hermeneutics from three aspects: the development of hermeneutics, Gadamer's Philosophical Hermeneutics, and Hermeneutics' Guide to Translation Studies.

1.1. Development of Hermeneutics

Hermeneutics has a profound historical origin and is an ancient and well-established science. Traditional hermeneutics is not a specific philosophical school, but a philosophical theory of meaning, understanding, and interpretation. Its history can be traced back to ancient Greece. The term Hemeneutics is the name of Hemes, the messenger of the Greek gods. He accepted the will of Zeus and explained it to human beings, and also passed on the human claims to Zeus and the gods. The core of hermeneutics is the "interpretation" of problem. The academic community generally believes that hermeneutics can be divided into three stages: classical hermeneutics, modern hermeneutics and philosophical hermeneutics（郑立平，易新奇，2015：101-104）.

The core of classical hermeneutics is theological hermeneutics, which mainly involves the translation and understanding of the Bible. As a translator, the interpreter must explain the ambiguous and vague words that appear in the Bible. Therefore, classical hermeneutics is mainly a technique to convert hidden divinity into a language understandable to ordinary people, which mainly serves the spread of religion and promotes the promotion of the Bible and its teachings. With the continuous secularization of religious classics, hermeneutics has evolved from a single interpretation of the Bible into an interpretation of classic literary works. After the introduction of literary research, it gradually became a research method that pursued objectivity and tried to get rid of subjective will. Both F. Schleier-macher and W. Dilthey were deeply influenced by this methodological consciousness, and continuously promoted the development of hermeneutics, making hermeneutics a subject of interpretive methods. Modern hermeneutics began at the end of the 19th century, and its representative was Dilthey. Dilthey put forward the hermeneutics of "historical rational critique", concerned about how the hermeneutics in a specific historical context can objectively understand other historical performances. Hermeneutics is no longer considered as an inquiry into the author's psychological intentions, but rather as an interpretation of the world of existence shown in the text. Philosophical hermeneutics, represented by German philosophers Heidegger and Gadamer, is a fundamental change in hermeneutics. They changed the ontology of philosophical hermeneutics, so they are called philosophical hermeneutics. “Unlike previous practical philosophy, this type of hermeneutics as a dual task of theory and practice lies in restoring Aristotle's concept of practical wisdom” (洪汉鼎，2010:459).And this article uses Gadamer's philosophical hermeneutics as a theoretical guide to analyze the translation.

1.2. Gadamer's Philosophical Hermeneutics

Gadamer always believed that the term "Hermeneutics" came from Hermes "Hermes", one of the twelve main gods of ancient Greece, so he believed that the interpretation must include the acceptance and performance of the recipient, that is, understanding and explaining. On the basis of inheriting Heidegger's thought, Gadamer deepened his thought of understanding. He further developed hermeneutics into philosophical hermeneutics, and pushed hermeneutics to prosperity. Gadamer opposed the hermeneutics that stood before him in an objective position. He believed that understanding is not an act of reproduction, but should be an act of creation. He believed that the author's "intent" does not exist, and the search for the author's "intent" is also futile.

As mentioned earlier, Gadamer's hermeneutics has three main principles: historicity of understanding, fusion of horizons, and history of effects. From the "historicity of understanding", Gadamer believed that understanding is historical, and the history of understanding constitutes the bias of understanding, which determines the creativity and generation of understanding. Gadamer believed that the historicity of understanding will inevitably lead to prejudice, but the existence of such prejudice is reasonable. The second is the principle of horizon fusion. Gadamer believed that understanding is the way of existence of history, so both the subject and the object of understanding are the existence of history, and both have their own horizons. In the process of understanding, the translator should be as close as possible to the original horizon of the original author to achieve a fusion of horizons. The last principle is effect history. The effect history principle emphasizes understanding the work from the effect history of the work, which closely links history with the present and fully affirms the significance of ancient texts to contemporary society. Understanding Gadamer's history of effects helps us understand the need to retranslate a classic. These three principles of Gadamer provided an important theoretical basis for us to understand and explain some long-running issues in translation theory and translation practice.

1.3. Hermeneutics' Guide to Translation Studies

As mentioned earlier, literary translation and hermeneutical theory are inseparable. Essentially, literary translation is an art of understanding and expressing meaning. It is a process of re-creation through interpretation. At present, hermeneutics is recognized as a valid theory for translation studies. Translation studies based on hermeneutics have broken the traditional inherent understanding of traditional translation theory on some issues, and raised questions and challenges to traditional translation theory. Among them, the guidance of hermeneutics on translation studies is mainly reflected in the following aspects.

First: the historical nature of understanding explained the misreading phenomenon. The historical nature of understanding means that the specific historical environment, historical status, and historical conditions of the translator are different from the object of understanding. Readers always have historical prejudice in the process of understanding the original text, because they cannot transcend historical space and time to objectively understand the original text. Hermeneutics' re-understanding and definition of this prejudice also provides a philosophical basis for the translator's subjectivity and the rationality of creative treason in the field of translation studies. Gadamer believed that there is no so-called normative interpretation of a text（章启群，2002:77）. And this prejudice is a positive factor formed in history and tradition. Scholars should treat this existence correctly and should not regard it as a part that should be eliminated.

Second: The principle of fusion of horizons explains the phenomenon of cultural filtering. The principle of horizon fusion theoretically confirms the historical roots of cultural filtering phenomenon in translation and the inevitable existence of cultural filtering phenomenon. Although the translator should strive to approach the original vision of the original author and understand the author's original intention, in fact, the translator always inevitably brings the world he is familiar with into the strange world of the original text.

Third：The principle of effective history explains the multiple translation versions of famous works. Gadamer believed that the text is open and its meaning is never endless. The text goes beyond the historical era in which it was created. This provides the possibility for people of different ages to understand the same text differently. Human beings are constantly developing. In the process of development, they constantly surpass themselves, renew their history, and rethink themselves and their culture. This provides a reasonable explanation for the phenomenon of retranslation of famous works.

2.A Brief Introduction of the Original Author and Two Translators

This chapter will give a brief introduction to the original author and two translators to strengthen your understanding of the background of the original text and the two translation versions.

2.1. Harriet Beecher Stowe

Harriet Beecher Stowe is an American writer. She was born on June 14, 1811 in a well-known pastor family in North America, and died in 1896. The American Civil War was fought in the 1860s. But since the 1920s, the issue of abolition of slaves has become a central issue in American progressive opinion. At that time, many famous American writers were on the side of abolishing slaves, calling for the liberation of slaves. Mrs. Stowe was one of the most outstanding among these slave writers. Mrs. Stowe has been influenced by theology since she was a child, and she has spent her entire life in a religious atmosphere. When Mrs. Stowe was fourteen, their entire family has moved to Boston and has moved to Cincinnati a few years later. At the time, the outskirts of Cincinnati were dotted with large serf farms. It was one of the centers of the abolitionist movement in North America then, and heated speeches against slavery were often heard in urban areas. Mrs. Stowe had fugitive slaves in her home, which gave her the opportunity to hear the tragic experience of fugitive slaves. After that, Mrs. Stowe got another chance to visit several plantations in Maysville, Kentucky with her friends, and witnessed the tragic situation of slaves. Those plantations were the prototype of the Shelby plantation in Uncle Tom's Cabin. This novel extensively describes the brutal oppression and exploitation of slaves by slave owners throughout the southern United States, and portrays the cruelty of slaves in various forms. The novel also describes different types of slave images. Once Uncle Tom's cabin came out, it attracted great attention and response at home and abroad. When the former President of the United States Lincoln met Mrs. Stowe, he jokingly called her “a little woman who brought a war". This joke also fully reflects the huge influence of Uncle Tom's cabin.

2.2. Lin Shu

Lin Shu, a famous writer and translator in modern China, has made outstanding contributions to the translation of Chinese literature. Lin Shu had a profound and solid knowledge of ancient writing. But he did not understand foreign languages, and his translations were all done in cooperation with others. In cooperation with others, Lin Shu has translated 246 works involving 107 writers in 11 countries, and made indelible contributions to the introduction of Western literature. Uncle Tom's cabin was Lin Shu's second translation work, and it was also a popular work translated at the peak of his translation career. This translation work can reflect Lin Shu's translation technique and his characteristics.

At that time, China was facing aggression by the Allied Forces of the Eight Kingdoms, and the Qing government signed the Peace Protocol of 1901. In this context, Lin Shu's enthusiasm for anti-imperialist and national salvation was stirred. He wanted to translate some works that can open up people's wisdom and inspire them. So Lin Shu and Wei Yi co-translated Mrs. Stowe's Uncle Tom's cabin. Both of them had a strong sense of political mission in translating this work. After the publication of 《黑奴吁天录》, it caused a great response among the readers at that time. Translator Lin Shu ’s anti-imperialist thoughts in his translation work resonate emotionally with readers, directly stimulating readers’ anti-imperialist consciousness. In the treatment of the original works, Lin Shu made conscious cuts. Most of the unfaithful parts of his translations have adopted translation strategies of amplification and omission. From the perspective of traditional linguistic translation theories, Lin Shu may not be a successful translator. But from the perspective of hermeneutics and culture, the existence of Lin Shu's translation method is reasonable.《黑奴吁天录》was Lin Shu's representative translation, which can fully reflect Lin Shu's translation style. Far from Lin Shu's translation style was Huang Jizhong's Unc《汤姆大伯的小屋》，and I will elaborate on the translator Huang Jizhong below.

2.3. Huang Jizhong

Huang Jizhong was born on September 28, 1923 in a literary family in Ji'an, Jiangxi. He lost his father in his early years, and he followed his grandfather studying in Shanghai since childhood. He is good at Chinese and English and loves literary translation. In addition to teaching related courses, he has devoted himself to the translation of famous books for many years. As early as 1956, Huang Jizhong accepted the invitation of Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House to translate Uncle Tom's Cabin. His original plan was to complete the translation work in two years, but due to external shocks, it could not be published as scheduled. Later, this novel was retranslated in 1982 and published by Shanghai Translation Publishing House. Once this edition of Uncle Tom's Cabin was published, it was warmly welcomed by readers. A major feature of Huang Jizhong's《汤姆大伯的小屋》 was its faithfulness to the original text, and another feature was the use of translation method of foreignization. The translation style of Uncle Tom's cabin in Huang Jizhong's version was very different from Lin Shu's version, which was of great research value. Therefore, I chose the translated versions of Huang Jizhong and Lin Shu for comparative research.

3. A Comparison of Two Chinese Versions from Gadamer's Hermeneutics

The professor of Poetics and Comparative Literature Gideon Toury once said that translation is inevitably involves at least two languages and two cultural traditions (Toury, 2001:56). Professor Chen Hongwei of China also said that translation involves not only language conversion, but also cultural translation（陈宏薇，2004：24）. Therefore, in the following chapter, the two translation works will be analyzed from a cultural and linguistic perspective.

3.1. Comparative Analysis from a Linguistic Perspective

The two translators use different languages because they are in different eras. Lin Shu used classical Chinese, while Huang Jizhong used vernacular Chinese. Then they must have many differences in translation. Next, under the guidance of hermeneutics, we will analyze the differences between the two translation works from a linguistic perspective in three aspects.

3.1.1. Contrastive Discourse Analysis

Since the two translators come from different historical times, the translation methods adopted by the two translators are also different. In terms of translation methods, Lin Shu adopted intercompilation while Huang Jizhong adopted complete translation. Examples are as follows:

1. “Here the door opened, and a small quadroon boy, between four and five years of age, entered the room. There was something in his appearance remarkably beautiful and engaging. His black hair, fine as floss silk, hung in glossy curls about his round, dimpled face, while a pair of large dark eyes, full of fire and softness, looked out from beneath the rich, long lashes, as he peered curiously into the apartment. A gay robe of scarlet and yellow plaid, carefully made and neatly fitted, set off to advantage the dark and rich style of his beauty; and a certain comic air of assurance, blended with bashfulness, showed that he had been not unused to being petted and noticed by his master.”(Stowe, 2011:3)

林译：语至此，门辟，陡入一稚子，约四五岁，貌绝慧黠，雏发未燥，笑处辄动微涡，两目精光耿然。见海留，意殊骇。海留见其服饰之善，心知此奴必为主人主妇所厚昵者。(林纾&魏易，1981：4)

黄译：正在这当儿，房门开了。一个四、五岁左右的第二代混血男孩走了进来。这孩子相貌长得分外清秀，特别逗人喜爱。圆圆的脸蛋上有一对酒窝，头上覆盖着一圈圈光滑、鬈曲、细如绢丝的黑头发；一双又大又黑、柔和而炯炯有光的眼睛，从两道浓浓的长睫毛下面好奇地向屋内张望着。他身穿一件黄格子花呢的罩衫；手工精制，剪裁合身，越发衬托出这孩子黝黑、浓郁的俊秀劲儿；那种悠然自得、滑稽有趣而又略带羞涩的神态，表明他惯常得到东家的青睐和宠爱。（黄继忠，1993:3）

This paragraph comes from the first chapter of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, where the original book vividly describes the cute image of the son of the slave Eliza who owned by Shelby. Comparing the two translations, Lin Shu's translation is in classical Chinese, and in his character description, Lin Shu used a compilation method，omitting many details. However, Huang Jizhong's translation is in vernacular form, and every detail of the original text has been translated in detail by Huang Jizhong. The original text of this paragraph consists of 122 words. Lin Shu's translation is only 62 words, while Huang Jizhong's translation is as many as 183 words. Before the New Culture Movement in the late Qing Dynasty, vernacular Chinese were not welcomed by literati and intellectuals, let alone let them write or translate in vernacular Chinese. The specific society in which Lin Shu lived formed his inherent horizon, which also determined his choice to translate in classical Chinese. In the era of Huang Jizhong, vernacular Chinese have been popular throughout the country, and have become popular in all classes. Therefore, Huang Jizhong must also translate in vernacular texts. According to hermeneutics, translating a work is a process in which the translator brings his own specific horizon into the historical horizon of the text. It is not a process of letting the interpreter abandon his own horizon, nor is it a horizon replacement. In this example, two translators both are in their own specific field of horizon and try to merge with the field of horizon of the original author, resulting in different translated texts. Gadamer's view of the fusion of the two horizons, to a certain extent, shows the essence of translation, especially literary translation. (谢天振，2000：204) "Fusion of Horizons " overcomes the time gap and historical gap between the text and the interpreter, and the infinite process of understanding and discovery of text meaning is also achieved through " Fusion of Horizons ".

3.1.2. Contrastive Study of Lexicon

Literary translation is an aesthetic re-creation process that is completed through interpretation, that is, the process of including the translator's acceptance and release of information. Lin Shu was proficient in Chinese, and he regarded translation as a creative process. Therefore, in the process of releasing the information, he incorporated his own opinions and adopted the translation strategies of amplification and revision. However, Huang Jizhong's horizon is different from Lin Shu's, so his method of receiving and releasing information was also different. For examples:

2. “I’m sorry to say that I am,” said Mr. Shelby. “I’ve agreed to sell Tom” (Stowe, 2011:44)

林译：解而培忸怩久之，曰：“吾已署券卖汤姆矣！” (林纾&魏易，1981：14)

黄译：“很抱歉，”谢尔贝先生答道，“我已经答应把汤姆卖给他了。” （黄继忠，1993:30）

This example is from Chapter 5 of the original text. In this case, Lin Shu added the word "忸怩久之", showing Shelby's entangled heart and the fear of her wife's blame. Looking back at the original text, there is no word in the original text that can express the meaning of "忸怩". However, Huang Jizhong was faithful to the original text here, and didn’t add or subtract words from the original text. In Gadamer's hermeneutic theory, there is the concept of "pre-understanding". Pre-understanding refers to the fact that people are influenced by the specific historical environment, historical conditions, historical status, etc. they are in when they understand texts or recognize things. People always carry certain subjective consciousness elements such as emotion, knowledge, and will when they observe and recognize external things. The word "忸怩" added by Lin Shu here embodies the concept of "pre-understanding"，and shows that Lin Shu brought his emotions into his translation work.It's“Rather, we stand always within tradition, and this is no objectifying process, ie we do not conceive of what tradition says as something other, something alien. It is always part of us, a model or exemplar, a recognition of ourselves which our later historical judgment would hardly see as a kind of knowledge, but as the simplest preservation of tradition.” (Gadamer H, 1999:250) Gadamer believes that every interpretation is based on a pre-existing basis. In order to understand something, we must first have it. We cannot understand something that is not part of our overall world. Our understanding of things is based on our own existing knowledge system. That is, we rely on our existing knowledge and experience to understand and explain phenomena and things. Therefore, translators must have their own "pre-understanding" in the process of understanding and translating the source text.

3. But real gentlemen, such as I hopes you’ll be, never let fall no words that isn’t respectful to their parents. (Stowe, 2011:132)

林译:盖极望吾小主为一代伟人,万勿肆口出言,以逢二亲之怒。(林纾&魏易，1981：45)

黄译:我希望你将来做个正人君子,而一个正人君子是决不会说一句不尊敬父母的话的。（黄继忠，1993:94）

When Uncle Tom said goodbye to his little master George, he expressed his expectations for the little master ---- be a real gentleman. Lin Shu translated this as "一代伟人", thereby expressing his strong desire to change the status quo. Huang Jizhong translated it as "正人君子". "正人君子" used to refer to people with good conduct. It was the ultimate goal of ancient China and had a profound influence in Chinese history. Lin Yupeng, a translator born after the two translators, translated this as "真正的绅士". It can be seen from this that translators in different eras are very different in the translation of the same word due to the influence of the era at that time. In addition, there are some examples in the text, such as "married" and "my wife" were translated by two translators as "出阁", "结婚" and "吾妻", "内人" respectively. These are the two concepts of hermeneutics---"effective history" and "pre-understanding". The so-called effect history means that history produces effects by restricting our historical understanding. Here, the translation of the same text by the two translators is consistent with their own social and historical environment. The social environment and social development of the era in which the two translators lived both affected and restricted the two translators' understanding of the original text. During the translation process, the translator will let his pre-understanding and experience come into play, thus forming different understanding and expression of the same text. Because of this, there will be different versions of the same literary work in the same era, and different versions of the same literary work will appear in different times. Therefore, the co-existence of the two versions of Uncle Tom's cabin in completely different styles is reasonable from the point of view of Gadamer's hermeneutics. Similarly, the retranslation of other literary texts and the existence of multiple versions of translation works are also reasonable.

3.1.3. Contrastive Study of Syntax

4.“But why, of all others, choose these?” said Mrs. Shelby. “Why sell them, of all on the place, if you must sell at all.” (Stowe, 2011:44)

林译：爱密柳曰：“君既欲卖，胡不再谋，而必卖此二人？尔知汤姆为极忠挚义之人,小海雷又意里赛独子，尔何忍心鬻此二人？纵为势所迫，亦何必属之此伧？” (林纾&魏易，1981：14)

黄译：“可是为什么偏偏要挑这两个呢？”谢尔贝太太问道：“即使非买不可，在园上这么些黑人，为什么一定要卖他们呢？” （黄继忠，1993:30）

In this example, Lin Shu added “尔知汤姆为极忠挚义之人，小海雷又意里赛独子，尔何忍心鬻此二人？纵为势所迫，亦何必属之此伧？” to express the anger of Shelby's wife and her extreme disapproval of Shelby's behavior. On the whole, Lin Shu adopted the strategy of free translation here, while Huang Jizhong's translation was quite consistent with the original text, using the strategy of literal translation.

According to Gadamer's hermeneutics, as special readers, translators selectively accept textual information due to historical factors of their own understanding ，and incorporate their own aesthetic concepts into their translation works. Therefore, their translation methods will also be different. The interpretation of artistic works is closely related to the translator's understanding and expression of the source text in the translation process. “Translation is a dynamic process from understanding to expression, and the master of this process is the translator.” ( 柳晓辉, 2010: 125 )Translators cross the barriers of different languages and cultures and build a bridge between the source language and the target text. However, as Gadamer emphasizes, the text is open to all ages and enters into the field of meaning of the understander, so the translator's interpretation will inevitably conflict with the objective existence. To this end, translators must play an active and subjective role and adopt different strategies for selection and adaptation. Here, Lin Shu integrated his own aesthetic concepts into his translation work and exerted his own subjectivity, thus forming a different translation version from Huang Jizhong. This also further reveals that the interpretation of text in the translation process from the perspective of hermeneutics can reveal the process and mechanism of translator's understanding of text in translation activities.

5. …and the arrangements of the house, and the general air of the housekeeping, indicated easy, and even opulent circumstances. (Stowe, 2011: 2)

林纾：其一人文秀，家亦少康，名解而培。(林纾&魏易，1981：3)

黄继忠：跟他一起谈话的那位谢尔贝先生倒是个绅士模样的人；屋子里的陈设和气派都说明此人家道小康，甚至可以说得上颇为富裕。（黄继忠，1993:1）

This example comes from the first chapter of the novel. At the beginning of the article, the author introduces the characters of the novel. Comparing the translations of the two translators, we can see that Lin Shu's translation should be more concise and refined. The original author's description of the environment has been deleted in Lin Shu's translation. It may be that the translator believed that this was not important for the development of the novel. This long sentence of the original text was simplified by Lin Shu to four words "家亦少康", while the translation version of Huang Jizhong almost matched the original content. In the translation of this sentence, the translation methods adopted by the two translators are also completely different. In the field of translation, people often liken translators to shackled dancers. This metaphor vividly describes that while the translator is restricted by the original author and the original text during the translation process, he must use his subjective initiative to reshape the work. Traditional translation theory values the author and the original text, treats the original as authority, and treats "faithfulness" as the highest standard of translation. Hermeneutics redefines the "prejudice" caused by the historicity of understanding, and provides an effective basis for the translator's subjectivity and the rationality of creative treason in the field of translation studies. In the above two examples, the two translators, while being influenced by the historical society in which they are located, also gave full play to their subjectivity, especially Lin Shu. This also tells us that the translator's subjectivity plays an important role in literary translation.

3.2. Comparative Analysis from a Cultural Perspective

British anthropologist Taylor believes that culture is "a complex whole including knowledge, beliefs, arts, morals, laws, customs, and other abilities and habits learned by people as members of society".(Hebding&Glick,1992：37) Language is the carrier of culture. A text is generated from a specific cultural context, and it must also include the characteristics of the culture. When translators translate one text into another language，the translator must bring the characteristics of his own culture when reading and interpreting the source text because the translator's language and culture are different from the original author's culture.

3.2.1. Analysis from a Religious Perspective

A major feature of Uncle Tom’s Cabin is that it contains a lot of religious elements. In translating this religious content, the two translators took radically different approaches. That is, Lin Shu's selective translation of religious content, most of which is carried over or not translated directly. However, Huang Jizhong conveyed the Western religious intentions to his readers at that time. For example:

6. “…, but I didn’t think any Christian legislature would pass it！” (Stowe, 2011: 95)

林纾：吾思文明之国，法当不如此。 (林纾&魏易，1981：34)

黄继忠：但是我相信任何一个基督教国家的立法机关都不会通过这种法令的。（黄继忠，1993:72）

In the above example, "Christian" is an exact word for Christ. In the translations of the two translators, Lin Shu chose to omit it, while Huang Jizhong chose the method of literal translation. This was not only related to the era in which the two lived, but the play of the two translators ’subjectivity also played a great role. In the era which Lin Shu was, although Christianity had begun to spread on the land of China, the public acceptance rate was still low. Therefore, Lin Shu omitted the relevant words or used some words with Chinese culture to replace them. By the time Huang Jizhong was in, people's acceptance of these words had greatly increased. Therefore, it is appropriate to choose the method of literal translation.

This difference stems from the historical environment and historical status of the two translators being different from the object of understanding, which is the historicity of understanding. Translators and readers will always incorporate what belongs to their time in the process of understanding the original text, and that is what we called historicity. The purpose of translation is not limited to conveying the original intention of the original author, which reasonably explains the "misreading" phenomenon in translation. Lin Shu's downplay of religious content in the original work is an interesting phenomenon of "misreading". This "misreading" also gives us a good explanation of why the same religious content can be understood and interpreted in two different ways. 7.There were others，which made incessant mention of “Jordan’s bank”,and “Canaan’s field”, and the “New Jerusalem”. (Stowe, 2011: 46) In the above example, there are many religious words, such as "Jordan ’s bank", "Canaan ’s field", and "New Jerusalem". Lin Shu chose to omit them, while Huang Jizhong chose to translate them literally, translating them into “约旦河岸”、“迦南战场”and“新耶路撒冷”. These words are all from Bible and contain a wealth of referential meanings. The development of Christianity in China in the two eras was different, which was the key reason for the difference in translation between the two translators. Lin Shu's translation version is related to his era, and is closely connected with his own translation purpose. The different translation versions of the two translators are in line with their own horizons and knowledge structure, and they can also meet the readers' expectations. The different treatment methods for the religious content appearing in the original text fully reflect the translator's subjectivity and creativity. Both translators have contributed wonderful translation versions to readers of different eras.

From a perspective fusion perspective, Gadamer believes that "the horizon is the area of view, and this area encompasses everything that can be seen from a certain standpoint." Understanding is to place yourself in the traditional process, to make the past and the present continually merge. The so-called translation is that in a cross-cultural historical context, a historic translator blends his horizon with the horizon of the original text to form a new horizon, and the process of re-fixing the new horizon to form a new text with language symbols infiltrating the target language culture. (朱健平，2006:69-74)The main body of understanding (translator or reader) and the author of the original text have their own unique horizons. When the original works cross different nationalities, languages, and eras, and enter a completely strange social and cultural context, translators can only play creatively to make his own views closing to the horizon and historical environment of the original author. However, no matter how hard the translator tries to enter the thoughts and feelings of the original author or imagine himself as the original author, he cannot completely get rid of the original vision, nor can he really enter the author's vision. Therefore, the translator has to form a new horizon between the horizon of the strange original author and the horizon of his own. Creative treason is a necessity in understanding. The generation of meaning requires creative thinking and moderate treason under normative constraints.

3.2.2. Analysis from Cultural Image

Gadamer pointed out in Truth and Method that understanding is not a process of reproduction, but a process of creation. It can also be said that as long as people are thinking, different understandings will arise. For some cultural images in the original work, the translations of the two translators are also different. For example：

8. As a fire in her bones, the thought of the pursuer urged her on.（Stowe, 2011:73）

林译：而意里赛此时，心绪兔起鹘。（林纾&魏易，1981：25）

黄译：一想起后面的追兵，她就五内如焚。急着想向前逃命。（黄继忠，1993：49）

The word "fire" was used to describe Eliza's internal fear and anxiety while she was trying to save her son when the disaster came. Here, Lin Shu replaced “fire” with two animals, rabbit and falcon. In traditional Chinese culture, rabbits are docile and fragile, just like Eliza; and falcons are agile and fierce birds, just like black slave traders. Huang Jizhong translated “fire” into “五内如焚”, which vividly reproduced Eliza's anxious heart at the time. Lin Shu used domestication here, while Huang Jizhong used alienation.

In the above example, the horizon of the two translators and the original author merged in different forms, thus forming two different translation versions. While the translator strives to get closer to the original author's horizon, the two translators also strive to integrate with the horizon of the readers of their time, so they adopted a more acceptable expression for the target reader of the time. The language used in China in Lin Shu ’s time was classical Chinese, and the expression was more obscure, so Lin Shu replaced “fire” with two animals to reflect the characters in the text. In the era of Huang Jizhong, literature has further developed, and the official language used in China has also become vernacular, so he used the four-word "五内如焚" to translate. The reason why two different translation methods can be accepted by the target readers of the era is that the translator tried hard to integrate with the reader's horizon. From the perspective of hermeneutics, the text is only a semi-finished product, which is in the process of understanding. The meaning of the text and the translator's understanding are in a constantly changing process, and they are constantly evolving. Understanding is not a one-time act, but an endless process of integration between the "Horizon" of original text and the translator’s "Horizon". Each understanding is a process of generating textual meaning. The possibilities of textual meaning are endless, and textual meaning is a source of endless meaning.

9. The married couple were enjoying their honeymoon.（Stowe, 2011:215）

林译：彼夫妇在蜜月期内，……（蜜月者，西人娶妇时，即挟其妇游历，经月而归）。(林纾&魏易，1981:75)

黄译：正值新婚夫妇在……欢度蜜月，……（黄继忠，1993：143）

A text is generated from a specific cultural context, and it must also include the characteristics of the culture（李磊，2008）.In the above example, Lin Shu used the method of literal translation and annotation when translating the word "honeymoon", so that the readers at the time could understand it. At that time, there was little cultural exchange between China and the West, so if Lin Shu used the literal translation method, it may cause readers to be unable to understand the word. Here Lin Shu adopted the method of annotation to translate the word, which is also a reflection of his efforts to integrate with the reader's horizon. Huang Jizhong directly adopted the literal translation method to convey the original imagery. Both the original text and the translated text exist in their respective historical conditions and horizons. Even if the translator tries his best to enter the world of the meaning of the original text and try to understand the intention of the original author, it will inevitably impose her own ideas and purposes. Coupled with the different historical environments of the two translators, the translation strategies used by them are certainly different.

From the perspective of hermeneutics, literary translation is actually a process of interaction between text and readers. Because readers of different times are constrained by their own experience, intelligence, and aesthetic tastes, they have different expectations and evaluations of the translated text. The Reception Aesthetic theory pays much attention to the reader and emphasis on the uncertainty of the text, which have brought about a diversity of values and an open way of thinking. (邹广胜，2001，（4）：2) . Understanding of the text is inseparable from the initiative of the reader. The translated text must also exist in the creativity and participation of readers. Readers of different ages have different understandings of the same cultural image. Therefore, in the process of translation, the translator should not only merge with the horizon of the original text, but also the horizon of the readers that the translation work is aimed at. Only in this way, the works translated by the translator can be understood by the readers of the time, and can be admired by the readers. The majority of our translators can draw enlightenment: when translating, while observing the principles of "faithfulness, elegance, and elegance", we must also take into account the reader's understanding.

Conclusion

In the above, under the guidance of hermeneutics, we have conducted a comparative analysis of the two Chinese versions. Through the above analysis, the three major concepts contained in hermeneutics—historicity of understanding, fusion of horizons, and effective history have brought us some inspirations: 1.The existence of multiple translations is reasonable. Translation is a special interpretative act, which is based on the translator's own understanding, so it will inevitably carry the personal trace of the translator. Based on their different experiences and views, translators make different interpretations of the same text in the process of translating, resulting in different translation works. 2. Creative treason is inevitable. A correct understanding of "creative treason" will help translators to bravely accept the challenges and find the correct solutions when facing translation difficulties caused by cultural differences between China and the West. 3. The changes of translation works can reflect social change. On the whole, hermeneutics can effectively explain some translation phenomena and provide a new perspective for translation studies.

Bibliography

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黄继忠.汤姆大伯的小屋[M].上海:上海译文出版社, 1993:1、3、30、49、72、94、143.

李磊.从伽达默尔哲学阐释学看Uncle Tom’s Cabin 的两个中译本[D].上海外国语大学硕士学位论文, 2008.

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Comparisons of Translation in China and Western Countries from Different Historical Perspectivesr 彭丹 Peng Dan

On Subtitle Translation of Why Women Kill from the Perspective of Functional Equivalence Theory 唐铭 Tang Ming

The Breakthrough and Innovation of Dong Qiusi’s Translation Thoughts 娄灿灿 Lou Cancan

Translation Criticism

On Translation Criticism-based on back-translationTranslation 丁代凤 Ding Daifeng

Analysis of Liang Shiqiu's domestication and Foreignization translation strategies on the Shakespeare's plays. 苏琳 Su Lin

A Brief Introduction to Deconstruction and Venuti's Translation Strategy of Foreignization 徐佳 Xu Jia

Contrast between literal translation and free translation 刘艺 Liu Yi

Cultural Differences

The Translation of English and Chinese Idioms from the Perspective of Cultural Differences 李凌月 Li Lingyue

Cultural differences on English interpretation and the coping strategies 马娟 Ma Juan

Abstract: English interpretation as a cross-cultural social activity refers to the cultural differences between English and Chinese. Because of cultural differences in these asapects such as historical background , customs, religion and the way of thinking, English interpretation is necessary to take all of these influences into consideration and the interpreter must have a penetrating mind of the cultural differences.When the interpreter does English interpretation, he must know the coping strategies to grapple with these problems caused by cultural differnences so as to transmit the proper,correct and decent information to the target audiences.

Key words: Cultural differences; English interpratation; Coping strategies;--Majuan (talk) 08:15, 31 October 2020 (UTC)

Polysystem Theory and Cultural Turn 吴琪 Wu Qi

The influence of cultural differences on translation methods 姚佳 Yao Jia

Abstract

key words

摘要

Introduction

The long-term transmission of culture must depend on language. Language has always been an important basis for cultural inheritance. And it is also one of the tools used by different cultures in communication. The exchanges between different countries and regions have deepened in recent years. The demand for translation activities has been increasing, and the requirement for translation quality has also been gradually improved. Translation is a cultural communication activity between different countries. It is not only the conversion of two sets of language symbols. In a sense, translation has gone beyond language and become the cultural transmission between countries. There are some differences between Chinese and Western social values and ways of thinking. So it is easy to make mistakes in English translation if many words are simply understood from the expression. In addition, different nationalities are often influenced by their own cultures in the process of historical development, which will also lead to mistakes in Chinese and English translation. In the face of cultural differences, we should choose appropriate translation methods to achieve the purpose of communication. In recent years, the focus of translators has gradually shifted from language level to cultural level. They began to study translation methods from a cultural perspective.

The Main Aspects of Cultural Differences in Translation

Translation is the process of transforming a relatively unfamiliar expression into a relatively familiar one. Wang Zuoliang, a famous translator and linguist, once said that translators are dealing with individual words, but they are facing with two large cultures.(42) Therefore, translation should include not only language but also culture. The development of each country's language has gone through a long process of cultural accumulation and it is influenced by its own history, culture, ethics and many other aspects. The differences between English and Chinese are mainly reflected in the following aspects: historical background, way of thinking, and social customs.

2.1 The Historical Background

2.2 The Thinking Mode

2.3 The Social Customs

Influences of cultural differences on translation

3.1 Lexical gap

3.2 Semantic conflict

3.3 Use specific translation methods from the perspective of cultural differences

The skills to choose the proper translation methods from the perspective of cultural differences

4.1 Focus on the work itself

4.2 Focus on the reader

4.3 Focus on the dynamic equivalence of translation

Conclusion

Work Cited

Study of Domestication and Foreignization in Cross—Culture Translation 李海泉 Li Haiquan

Characteristics of Cultural Differences in Interpreting and Corresponding 吴琼 Wu Qiong

The Translation of Cultural Elements in Tourism Promotional Materials Under Skopos Theory 杨子泠 Yang Ziling

Abstract Abstract: As China has become an increasingly large inbound tourism country, efforts are put in the promotion of supporting facilities, among which promotion service, especially Tourism Promotional Materials (TMP), is the main way to introduce to not only Chinese tourists themselves but also the great number of foreign travelers, China’s scenic spots, natural resources and culture, and thereby arouse their interest in the landscapes and ancient cultural relics. Therefore, the translation of TMP is of vital importance in the publicity. Based on Skopostheory, this paper first introduces TPMs, then compares cultural differences in TPM translation. Finally it concludes some strategies and techniques used in TPM translation under the framework of Skopostheory. The author deems it that TPM translation should stand on the side of foreigners, meanwhile revealing the main idea of Chinese original sources.

Key Words: TPM translation cultural differences Skopostheory

摘要：中国已经成为了一个旅游大国，政府开始大力完善旅游配套设施，其中旅游宣传服务，特别是旅游宣传资料是向中外游客介绍中国旅游景点，自然资源以及文化的最主要方式，从而激起他们对自然风光和古文物的兴趣。因此，旅游宣传资料对宣传工作十分重要。文章从目的论的角度出发，首先介绍了旅游宣传资料，然后对比了宣传资料中中西方的文化差异。最后基于目的论，文章总结出几种实际可行的翻译策略和技巧。作者认为旅游宣传资料的翻译应该站在外国游客的立场来传达中文素材的主要信息。

关键词：旅游宣传资料翻译 文化差异 目的论

I. Introduction China is a large tourism country with rapid development of tourism industry. Tourism has become increasingly more an entertainment enriching people’s spiritual life. Serving as promotional materials and advertisements, Tourism Promotional Material(hereafter referred to as TPM) plays increasingly important role in introducing China’s specialty to the world. With the development, more and more TPMs have been translated into English in recent years. Indeed, some good translation materials leave a strong impression on travelers to China, especially those from English speaking countries. It is truly a better way to attract more visitors across the world, to introduce famous scenic spots, tourist attractions and food specialties and to promote the development of international tourism and cultural communication. TPM, to a certain degree, is a trademark and an external promotion work of tourism destinations, revealing the first image of the tourist attractions, landscapes and the surrounding environments. A good translation is of great significance in the first impression it leaves on potential visitors. Since TPM has a strong effect on the image of tourist attractions in domestic tourism industry, the study of it is of great importance. Mr. Liu Fagong (2012:70) once said, “some translation errors seem to be very slight, but it can reflect the international communicative competence of a certain area or a certain enterprise”. Inappropriate translation will not only lead to cultural misunderstanding, but also result in barriers in the development of international tourism as a whole. This thesis focuses on the possible strategies to improve the quality of TMP by comparing Chinese and western cultural differences. To guide the practice of Chinese TPM translation, various theories have been adopted and used, among which Skopostheory is going to be testified. The merits of it and the awareness of cultural differences are to be revealed. Therefore, it first introduces the definition and features of TPM. Then it reveals the difficulties in the translation of TPM caused by cultural differences. After that, the framework of Skopostheory is introduced and the methods and strategies of cultural translation in TPM is discussed under the framework of Skopostheory.

II. Literature Review

III. Difficulties in The Translation of TPM Caused by Cultural Differences

IV. Tourism Text Sources Translation Under Skopos Rules

V. The Translation of Cultural Elements in TPM Under Skopostheory

VI. Conclusion

References

Functional Equivalence

On the study and analysis of three kinds of beauty and transformation in the mid autumn festival prelude to water melody under the guidance of functional equivalence 林敏 Lin Min

Research on C-E Translation of Corporate Publicity Texts from the Perspective of Functional Equivalence 彭锐宏 Peng Ruihong

摘 要：随着全球经济一体化进程的不断发展，越来越多的中国企业开始走向全球市场，企业外宣文本的英译文本成为了国内企业与国外客户联系的桥梁。查阅我国企业外宣文本的英译本，其中不乏大量优秀译作；但同时,也有不少企业外宣英译文本的质量有待提高。在翻译企业外宣文本实践中，奈达的功能对等理论能够很好地指导企业外宣资料的翻译。因此本文将中外外宣文本进行对比，并对中外企业外宣文本的英译做深入的分析探讨。

关键词：功能对等理论；企业外宣文本；翻译方法

Abstract: With the further deepening of global economic integration, more and more Chinese enterprises are going to the global market and the English translation of enterprise publicity text becomes the bridge between domestic enterprises and foreign customers. The English translation of the publicity texts of Chinese enterprises includes a large number of excellent translations; But at the same time, there are many enterprises publicity English translation with bad quality. In the practice of translation of publicity texts of enterprises, Nida’s functional equivalence theory can well guide the translation of publicity materials of enterprises. Therefore, this paper compares China’s corporate publicity texts with foreign corporate publicity texts and makes deep discussion and exploration in C-E translation of corporate publicity texts.

Key Words: corporate promotional materials; Functional equivalence; translation methods--Peng Ruihong (talk) 03:12, 30 October 2020 (UTC)

A study of Functional Equivalence in Translating the Prose——A Case Study on Cong Cong 汤伊然 Tang Yiran

Functional Equivalence Theory and Functional Translation in Translation Studies 阳慧 Yang Hui

A Study of Functional Equivalence in Translating Children's Literature---A Case Study on The Lion King 刘智伟 Liu Zhiwei

摘要：儿童期是人生发育最重要的阶段，而儿童文学对于儿童的教育影响处于前位且是第一性的。儿童文学特别要求通俗易懂，生动活泼，这也就要求儿童文学翻译作品应根据儿童心理发展特点、基于功能对等翻译理调整翻译策略。本文主要是通过儿童特点、儿童文学特点，同时结合《狮子王》翻译策略与方法，对翻译对等理论进行更加深刻的解析。

Abstract: Childhood is the most important stage of life development, and the influence of children's literature on children's education is in the first place. Children's literature is particularly required to be vivid and easy to understand, which requires that translation strategies should be adjusted according to the characteristics of children's psychological development and on the basis of functional equivalence translation theory. Based on the characteristics of children and children's literature, and combined with the translation strategies and methods of Lion King, the thesis makes a more profound analysis of translation equivalence theory.

Key Words: Children's Psychological Characters, Children's Literature, Equivalence Theory --Liu Zhiwei (talk) 01:59, 1 November 2020 (UTC)

History of Translation

Quality evaluation of translation 谭鑫洁 Tan Xinjie

Abstract

Abstract:

This article mainly discusses the history of Chinese translation from the Eastern Han Dynasty to the founding of New China to the present, and then discusses the history of Western translation from the fourth century BCto the seventeenth century to the present, and then compares the similarities and differences of Chinese and Western translations from the time of development of Chinese and Western translations and their origins.

key words

摘要

关键字

Complete transcript of the content of the original work

Same style and manner of writing

Equivalent effect

Discussion

Conclusion

Bibliography

A Comparative Study on the Translation History in Western Countries and China 王煜 Wang Yu

摘要：翻译是一种跨文化交流活动，翻译活动加快了人类文明发展步伐，减少了人们之间的沟通障碍。随着时代的变迁，中国和西方国家逐渐形成了各自的翻译史，翻译史的研究是学科建设的一项基础工程。尽管中西方翻译史在某些方面有所差异，但却都有着各自的独特性，并对人类的翻译活动产生了巨大的影响与贡献。文章将以中国和西方国家为主要对象，从二者翻译史起始，包含阶段和各阶段代表人物，影响意义，差异性出发，对二者的翻译史进行简略的对比研究。

关键词：翻译史；西方翻译史；中国翻译史

Abstract: Translation is an intercultural communication activity, translation activities have accelerated the development of human civilization and reduced the communication barriers between people of different countries or nations. With time goes by, things are in a state of flux and both the western and eastern countries have gradually formed their own history of translation, the study of translation history is a basic project of discipline construction. Though there are many differences among the translation histories of western countries and China, the two kinds of translation histories are still shining their own bright unique lights and have an indelible influence and contribution to human translation activities. This paper intends to make a brief comparison of translation histories between western countries and China, which includes the origins, the stages, the representatives of the stages, the significance and influence as well as the differences of the two translation histories.

Keywords：Translation history; Translation history of the West; Translation history of China

1. Introduction: No matter in China or in the west, translation plays an important role in knowledge-spreading. As an indispensable part of translatology, the study of translation history has made a great influence on translation activities, it has gradually become the focus of the literary and historical circles in recent years. Translation activities can be traced back to the origin of language, and the history of translation is almost as old as language itself, it is closely related to the changes in today's society. Since the 1980s, the translation studies in the mainland of China have made remarkable progress in the curriculum design of Chinese and western translation history and the compilation of related works. In the early 1980s and 1990s, there were many related works came out one after another including A brief history of Chinese Translation: the part before the May 4th Movement（《中国翻译简史-“五四”运动以前部分》） written by Zuyi Ma, A historical manuscript of Chinese translated literature （《中国翻译文学史稿》）edited by Yugang Chen, and also the A Short History of Translation in the West（《西方翻译简史》） the author of which is Zaixi Tan. Thus, it opens the gate for the compilation of Chinese and western translation history works.（谢天振，2009） The history of western translation can be divided into five stages while the Chinese study of translation has a glorious history of more than two thousand years and has experienced five climaxes. Through the comparative study of Chinese and western translation history, it will help us to have a deeper understanding of Chinese and western translation activities and thus to gather a general full view of it, which will be a positive and meaningful attempt.

2. The Translation History of Western Countries

2.1 The First Stage: Translation in the Ancient Times

The translation history of western countries first began in the the 3rd century B.C. "In a broad sense, the earliest translation in the west is the Old Testament translated by 72 Jewish scholars in Alexandria, ancient Egypt, between the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC; Strictly speaking, the first western translation is the Greek Homer Epic Odyssey translated by Andronicus in Rome in the middle of the third century BC.”(谭载喜,2000) At the end of the 4th BC, during this time, the Greece began to decay and the Roman had became stronger and stronger with its military expansion. The expansion of the Roman Empire brought it into contact with the splendid Greek culture, therefore, the Romans not only conquered the Greek city, but also inherited and developed the brilliant achievements of ancient Greek culture, and then created a splendid cultural of its own era after Greece. So soon began a large scale translation activities, the activity of translating and introducing Greek classical works probably began in this period.（刘军平,2009）Many famous translation theorists began to make their presences, namely Cicero, Quentin, Jerome and so on, also the famous Roman litterateurs like Andronicus, Naevius, Ennius, these great writers used Latin language to translate or adapt Homer’s epic or other Greece dramas. Started the translation tradition and promoted the birth and development of Roman literature.

2.2 The Second Stage: Translation in the Middle Ages (4th-6th)

2.3 The Third Stage: Translation in the Middle Ages (11th-12th)

2.4 The Fourth Stage: Translation in the Renaissance Period

2.5 The Fifth Stage: Translation after WWⅡ

3. The Translation History of China--Wang Yu (talk) 08:38, 30 November 2020 (UTC)--Wang Yu (talk) 08:43, 30 November 2020 (UTC)

The Implications of Luther's Translation Principles amid Renaissance for Modern Literature Translation 方洁玲 Fang Jieling

Translation manipulated by ideology 许静 Xu Jing

Comparison between the History of Chinese and Western Translation 周书尧 Zhou Shuyao

Abstract:There has a long history and culture Chinese and Western translation, and translation plays an indelible role in promoting cross-cultural communication and cultural communication. This article first discusses the history of translation in China from four stages , then discusses the five stages of western translation history , and finally compares and analyzes the similarities and differences between Chinese and Western translation histories, and puts forward some of the author's own views.

Key words:The history of Chinese,The history of Western,the stages of translation history,comparison

摘要：中西方翻译历史文化源远流长，翻译在促进跨文化交流和文化传播上承担着不可磨灭的作用。本文首先从中国的四次翻译高潮论述中国的翻译史，再从西方的五次翻译高潮探讨西方的翻译史，最后对中西方翻译史的异同进行对比分析，提出一些笔者自己的看法。

关键词：中国翻译史，西方翻译史，翻译高潮，对比

Ⅰ.Introduction

Since the 1980s, the Chinese translation studies community has made remarkable progress in the establishment of Chinese and Western translation history courses and the compilation of related works.In the 1980s and early 1990s,A Brief Introduction to the History of Translation in China from Ma Zuyi and other books of Chen Yugang and Tan Zaixi were published one after another,which raised the curtain for the compilation of Chinese and Western translation history works by the domestic translation scholars.The four stages in the history of Chinese translation have promoted the development of Chinese history, culture and society to varying degrees.The same as our country, Western translation has an age-old history.In a sense, the development of Western European civilization should first be attributed to the translators.The five stages in the history of European translation have promoted the exchanges of literature, art, science and trade between countries, and to a certain extent promoted the development of Chinese translation.In fact, when we examine the development trajectory of Chinese and Western translation activities and the evolution of translation concepts together, we find that there are some similarities between Chinese translation and Western translation.Especially in the evolution of Chinese and Western translation concepts, the two have very similar evolution laws.

Literal and Free Translation

Rethink Literal and Free Translation 彭永亮 Peng Yongliang

Examine the display of translators’ subjectivity in literary translation from the translation outlook of cognitive linguistics 宋建茹 Song Jianru

On the Relationship among Literal Translation, Free Translation, Domestication and Foreignization 韦洪朗 Wei Honglang

Peter Newmark’s Improved Views on Literal Translation and Free Translation 魏亚菲 Wei Yafei

Contrast between Literal Translation and Free Translation 张雪仪 Zhang Xueyi

Abstract：

The contrast between literal translation and free translation has always been the most discussed problem in translation studies. To compare these two translation methods, the basic point is to understand the purpose of translation. The ultimate goal of translation is to help different cultures communicate better, so that people who speak different languages can understand each other’s cultures. Due to the differences in social, historical and cultural backgrounds between languages, how to choose between the two translation strategies of literal translation and free translation requires translators to weigh the strengths and weaknesses of these two methods. This essay mainly compares literal translation and free translation between Chinese and Russian to help students and translators translate better.

Key words：

Translation strategies, Literal translation,Free translation

摘要：

直译与意译间的对比一直是翻译学中讨论度最高的问题。想要将这两种翻译方法进行对比，最基本的一点就是要明白翻译的目的是什么。翻译的最终目的在于帮助不同文化进行更好的交流，让使用不同语种的人相互理解彼此的文化。由于语种间社会历史文化背景的差异，如何在直译和意译这两种翻译策略中做出选择，就需要译者衡量两种方法的利弊。本文主要对汉语和俄语间直译和意译进行比较，以帮助学生和译者更好地进行翻译实践。

关键词：

翻译策略，直译，意译

1.Introduction

The former Soviet Union translation theorist Fedorov believed: “Translation is an activity that expresses what has been used in one language as a unified whole of content and form, and accurately and completely expressed in another language.” Translation theorist Barr Hudarov also wrote: "Translation is the process of changing the coherent discourse of one language into the coherent discourse of another language while maintaining its content and meaning." To some extent, translation is a process of thinking re-creation, so certain standards and principles must be followed when translating. Translation standard is a measure of the quality of translation, it can guide translation practice, and it is a principle that must be followed in translation activities. Although each scholar has different opinions on the standard of translation, the final result he pursues is the same: the original text and the translated text express the same effect. In order to achieve the same effect, different translation methods have been derived, of which literal translation and free translation are the most commonly used.

Russian idioms and proverbs, as the crystallization of the wisdom of the Russian nation and the immortal fossils in the Russian language, are one of the best materials for the Chinese to understand and learn Russian history, culture, and society. Due to different geographical, historical and economic conditions, the Russian and Chinese ethnic groups have formed different cultural backgrounds. These distinctive backgrounds and characteristics have caused great difficulties for Chinese learning Russian to further understand Russia. This essay studies the basic definitions of literal translation and free translation, their respective advantages and disadvantages and their mutual relations, and strive to solve how to use the translation methods of literal and free translation to properly translate Russian idioms and proverbs, and how to reflect the cultural background and language characteristics of Russian idioms and proverbs in the translation .

2.Different views of "literal translation" and "free translation"

In different periods and different countries, people's views on translation theory have changed a lot, but the debate about literal translation and free translation has always existed.

In China, the contradiction between literal translation and free translation may initially be due to the different understanding of these two translation methods. The translator Sun Guiding believes that: literal translation is stuck to the structure of the original text and does not consider whether the Chinese is fluent and natural; while free translation is to use the inherent Chinese idioms and the most natural words and sentences as much as possible to achieve the effect of conveying the meaning of the original text. Former President of Wuhan University, Du Zuozhou, believes that literal translation means translating word by word according to the original text; free translation means translating according to the meaning of the original text, and the translation is more suitable for the common grammar of the translated language. The educator Meng Xiancheng believes that literal translation is a translation technology with different degrees of correctness. Literal translation is a translation that is faithful and correct according to the original text; free translation is a translation that summarizes the original meaning. Zhu Guangqian said: "The so-called 'literal translation' refers to the literal translation based on the original text. Every word and sentence are translated word by word, and the order of the words and sentences is not changed. The so-called ‘paraphrasing’ is to express the meaning of the original text in Chinese, and it does not have to be completely based on the literal and order of the original text. " The principle of "faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance" put forward by the modern Chinese translator Yan Fu has long been the basic principle guiding translation practice. A large number of beginners who learn foreign languages regard "faithfulness and expressiveness" as translations that are completely faithful to the original text when translating. In fact, Yan Fu's translation requirements are a guiding principle for translation based on semantics. When translating, if the structure and expression of the original text cannot be directly adopted, the sentence structure and expression must be changed according to the characteristics of the target language. In addition, there are many differences between the original language and the target language in the word order, grammar, variants and rhetoric in the translation process. In many cases, there is no direct corresponding word. This requires the translator to consider the actual semantics, background and other factors. On the basis of the original meaning of the sentence, use an appropriate method to convey the content of the original work and reproduce the language style of the original work.

In the Soviet Union, under the influence of ideology, Western translation theories could not be widely disseminated, but within the Soviet Union, translation theories similar to Western translation theories have been formed and developed, and two main schools of translation theory have been further differentiated — Linguistic Translation School and Literary Translation School. To a certain extent, the dispute between these two schools also reflects the debate on literal translation and free translation among translators' groups. In terms of the principles or standards of translation, the linguistic translation school believes that an ideal translation should be an equivalent translation, first of all linguistic correspondence, that is, the translation should have the same meaning as the corresponding language or discourse unit of the original; the literary translation school believes that translation pursues artistic correspondence, and linguistic correspondence must be subordinate to artistic correspondence. Therefore, it proposes that the aesthetic standards of translation should reproduce the artistic reality reflected by the unity of the original content and form. The characteristic is to use images to translate images, that is, to create the same image in different languages. In 1953, Andrei Venediktovich Fedorov, the leader of the linguistic translation school, published his work "Summary of Translation Theory", which was the first monograph of the Soviet Union to study translation theory from the perspective of linguistics. The author proposes that translation theory is a branch of linguistics. Since the translation of any genre work must rely on the comparison of two languages, translation problems can only be solved in the field of language. Fedorov’s view was refuted by the literary translation school represented by Ivan Alexandrovich Kashikin. The literary translation school believes that aesthetic issues are the core of literary translation theory, and translation should be regarded as a form of language art, that is, translation should be studied from the perspective of literature and art. In fact, the literary translation school emphasizes the translation of literary and artistic works, which belongs to the specific translation theory; while the research of the linguistic translation school focuses on the general translation theory, that is, the translation of all thematic works including literary works. The dispute between the two major translation theory schools of Russia and the Soviet Union provides another perspective for Chinese translators to explore the relationship between literal translation and free translation.

3.The application of literal translation and free translation in the Chinese translation of Russian idioms

The idioms of different nationalities are the most dynamic and expressive units at the lexical level in different languages, and they are also the units that can best reflect the characteristics of national culture in languages. The number of Russian idioms is extremely rich, it records and reflects all aspects of Russian national life. Due to the great differences in geographical locations and living customs between China and Russia, the national cultures reflected in Chinese and Russian must be quite different. One of the difficulties in idiom translation is its imagery. When translating idioms, both the meaning and the image must be considered. Although the Chinese and Russian cultures are very different, many of the commonalities of mankind, such as emotion and natural environment, have created conditions for mutual communication, mutual understanding and idiom translation between different languages.

3.1 Literal translation

Generally speaking, the literal translation method refers to a translation method that directly translates the original text without changing the language characteristics and style of the original text on the basis of fully respecting the meaning of the original text. Chinese translation of Russian idioms by literal translation method has the advantage of being able to intuitively and faithfully express the meaning of the idiom, maintaining the unique style and imagery of the original text: the disadvantage is that the translated idiom may not be understood by the Chinese because of China and Russia have different historical, cultural backgrounds, grammatical structures, and language world landscapes, which can easily form obstacles in the process of understanding.

Translating Russian idioms by literal translation is further divided into two methods — literal translation into Chinese idioms and literal translation into non-idiom sentences or words.

Literal translation of Russian idioms into Chinese idioms is suitable for the translation of Russian and Chinese idioms that are completely equivalent in image, structure, and meaning. The advantage is that it is easy to understand, and the translation is simple and fast. E.g:

(1)домашнего (своего) вора не убережешься. 家贼难防

(2)знать как свои пять пальцев (видно, как на ладони) 了如指掌

(3)подлить масла в огонь 火上浇油

(4)как рыба в воде 如鱼得水

(5)как ножом по сердцу 心如刀割

(6)как гром среди ясного неба 晴天霹雳

(7)на добро отвечают добром 善有善报

(8)копейка рубль бережет 财从细起

(9)мечты сбываются 梦想成真

(10)курица всегда следует за петухом 嫁鸡随鸡

(11)чего мало, того и дорого (дорого то, что мало) 物以稀为贵(12)

(12)изгонять яд с помощью яда 以毒攻毒

(13)сидеть как на иголках 如坐针毡

(14)действия громче слов 事实胜于雄辩

(15)зарыть талант в землю 埋没人才

(16)висеть на волоске 千钧一发

(17)лить как из ведра 倾盆大雨

The idioms in the above examples are completely equivalent in image, structure or meaning in Russian and Chinese, so Chinese idioms can be used for literal translation.

In fact, in the two languages, idioms with the same image, structure, and meaning are still in the minority, so it is more common to translate Russian idioms into non-Chinese idiom sentences or vocabulary. E.g:

настоять на своем 坚持自己

камень с души свалился 心里的一块石头落地

связать свою судьбу 把自己的命运与……相连

быть на голову 高出一头

вбивать в голову 往脑子里灌

блеснуть метеором 像流星一样一闪而过

с мизинец 小拇指这么大

It is not difficult to find that the literal translation method can completely retain the original appearance of the idiom, show the common concept of human understanding of the world, and be beneficial to the cultural exchange between China and Russia.

3.2 Free translation

Another method commonly used in the Chinese translation of Russian idioms is free translation. Free translation is to readjust the structure of the original text on the basis of keeping the original meaning of the idiom unchanged, and then reconstruct the Russian idiom with the way of thinking and expression in Chinese. This is because the figurative images used in many Russian idioms are inconsistent with those used in Chinese. If the original image is used in translation, it will cause a barrier to understanding. The advantage of free translation of Russian idioms is that it eliminates obstacles to understanding, but the disadvantage is that it cannot completely retain the original style and cultural characteristics. E.g:

(1)В Тулу со свим самоваром не ездят. 直译：去图拉不用带自己的茶炊。 意译：多此一举

(2)Честь лучше бесчестья. 直译：尊重比不尊重好。 意译：礼多人不怪。

(3)словно горя с плеч 直译：把山从肩膀下卸下 意译：如释重负

(4)выеденного яйца не стоит 直译：一个空蛋壳不值钱 意译：鸡毛蒜皮，一文不值

(5)чужими руками жар загребать 直译：用别人的手将红炭火拨成一堆 意译：坐享其成，不劳而获

(6)ни рыба, ни мясо 直译：没有鱼也没有肉 意译：不三不四，不伦不类

(7)лучше синица в руках, чем журавль в небе 直译：天上的仙鹤不如手中的山雀 意译：远亲不如近邻

(8)На языке мед, а под лед 直译：嘴上甜得像蜂蜜，心里冷得像冰 意译：笑里藏刀

(9)И на солнце есть пятна 直译：太阳上也有黑点 意译：人无完人

(10)семь раз отмерь, один раз отрежь 直译：测量了七次后再剪裁 意译：三思而后行

Using free translation to translate Russian idioms requires the translator to accurately understand the meaning of the original text, because cultural differences make it impossible to literally translate. Only through the translator can an unobstructed bridge between Russian idioms and Chinese idioms be built.

4.The application of literal translation and free translation in the Chinese translation of Russian proverbs

There are often multiple translations of the same Russian proverb in Russian-Chinese dictionaries. On the one hand, because the translator uses different translation methods; on the other hand, because Russian proverbs have very rich connotations, a translation cannot perfectly interpret the inner meaning of the proverb. According to the context and the connotation of the proverbs, the most commonly used methods of Chinese translation of Russian proverbs are literal translation and free translation.

4.1 Literal translation

In Russian and Chinese languages, some proverbs not only have the same meaning or implicit meaning, but also use the same or similar figurative images to express a certain kind of the same semantics, and they are completely consistent in content and form. In this case, the equivalent translation of synonymous Chinese proverbs can convey the information contained in the original image, which not only retains the rhetorical color of the original language, but also enables the reader to perfectly understand the original text. E.g:

(1)Куй железо, пока горячо. 趁热打铁。

(2)Беда не приходит одна. 祸不单行。

(3)Сытый голодного не разумеет. 饱汉不知饿汉饥。

(4)Век живи, век учись. 活到老，学到老。

(5)Выше встанешь, дальше увидишь. 站得高，看得远。

(6)Лучше один раз увидеть, чем сто раз услышать. 百闻不如一见。

(7)Нет дыма без огня. 无火不生烟。

(8)Шила в мешке не утаишь. 口袋藏不住锥子。

(9)Береги платье снову, а честь смолоду. 衣服要从新的时候爱惜，荣誉要从年轻时珍惜。

(10)Выше лба уши не растут. 耳朵高不过额头。

(11)Для милого друга семь верст не околица. 为了好友，多绕七里也不嫌远。

(12)Как Новый год встретишь, так его и проведешь. 怎么迎新年，就怎么过一年。

(13)Лучше умереть стоя, чем жить на коленях. 宁愿站着死，绝不站着生。

(14)Не имей сто рублей, а имей сто друзей. 宁要一百个朋友，不要一百个卢布。

По одежке встречают, по уму провожают. 迎客时看衣，送客时看才智。

Dialectical thinking in arguments between literal translation and free translation 甘奉玉 Gan Fengyu

Abstract

 As two methods of translation, how to use literal translation and free translation has always been the focus of debate between Chinese and Western translation circles. Through the study of translation methods of literal translation and free translation at home and abroad, we can know that to some extent literal translation and free translation are two relative conceptions, so there will be word-for-word translation, that is, dead translation, and excessive free translation. However, these two are only two extremes of literal translation and free translation. In fact, although there are differences in definitions and application fields between literal translation and free translation, they are unified in common translation purpose, translation procedure and translation standard. Therefore, the two are contradictory and unified in translation activities. This is also the profound embodiment of the unity of opposites in materialist dialectics.--Gan Fengyu (talk) 07:46, 10 November 2020 (UTC)

Key words

literal translation, free translation, word-for-word translation, over free translation, unity of opposites

摘要

 作为翻译方法，直译(literal translation)与意译(free translation)怎样使用的问题一直是一个争论中西方翻译界不休的焦点。通过对国内外直译与意译的翻译方法的研究，我们可以得知，从某种程度而言，直译与意译是两个相对的概念, 所以才会有逐字翻译，即死译，与过度意译这两个完全对立的概念。但是，这两者只不过是直译与意译的两个极端点。其实，直译和意译虽然在概念定义，适用范围上有所差异，但却又统一于共同的翻译目的、翻译过程和翻译标准中。所以两者在翻译活动中应该是既对立又统一的矛盾体。而这也正是唯物辩证法中的对立统一矛盾观的深刻体现。--Gan Fengyu (talk) 07:50, 10 November 2020 (UTC)

关键字

直译； 意译； 死译； 过度意译； 对立统一

Introduction

 Throughout the translation history at home and abroad, the literal translation and free translation have always been a heat discussion in the translation circles. Someone absolutely approve literal translation and demean free translation, even pursue a dead translation, which creates an translated text difficult to understand. While some other people absolutely agree with free translation even advocate random acts, which means a random deletion in the translation practices and creates anther entirely different text. However, there are also a number of translators who have recognized that these two translation methods are not totally opposite. So they adopt a compromise and flexible way. That means they will choose the most appropriate one depending on the text demanding. Therefore, we can deduce from it that this eclectic translation is consistent with the Contradiction view of Unity of Opposite in Materialist Dialectics. In fact, literal translation and free translation are right a set of contradictions which are both opposite and unified. They complement each other into an integral one.

1.Dialectic thinking of the Unity of opposites

2.Word-for-word translation

3.Over free translation

4.Eclectic translation

5.Contradiction and unity in the process

5.1 Contradiction

5.1.1 Contradiction in definition

5.1.2 Contradiction in application filelds

5.2 Unity

5.2.1 Unity in translation goal

5.2.2 Unity in translation procedure

5.2.3 Unity in translation standard

6.Conclusion

Bibliography

Document Translation

On translation of official documents of CangNan County 吴恺 Wu Kai

The Translation Process and Methods of Translating English Long Sentences 周艺文 Zhou Yiwen

Abstract

Key words

摘要

关键词

Introduction

Conclusion

Bibliography

Chinese-English Translation of News Headlines From the Perspective of Skopos Theory 张维虹 Zhang Weihong

Abstract

key words

News headlines; Skopos theory; translation

摘要

社会的飞速发展使得人们的阅读方式发生了巨大的改变, 通过阅 读新闻标题来获取消息和了解事实, 成为大多数人的不二之选, 新闻标题 翻译也就越来越具有其必要性。 新闻标题的重要性堪比一部使人印象深刻 的电影名, 一则响亮的广告语, 一本撩人心弦的书名。 较之娱乐新闻, 时 政新闻略显严肃客观, 又因当今科技物质的飞速发展, 时政新闻的点阅数 量明显少于以消遣娱乐为目的的娱乐新闻。 怎样提高时政新闻的阅读量, 怎样使得时政新闻如同娱乐新闻一般深受广大人民的喜爱, 这不仅是新闻 编辑者们的挑战, 也是新闻翻译界的难题。 本文以德国功能派翻译目的论 为理论指导, 结合新闻学及编辑学的相关学科知识, 通过对中英时政新闻 标题的对比分析, 旨在对时政新闻标题的汉译英提出翻译策略, 让国外读者正确客观无误的了解中国的时事政策。

关键字

Introduction

Skopos Theory

Features of News Headlines

Chinese-English Translation Methods of News Headlines from the Skopos Perspective

Conclusion

Bibliography

Comparative Studies

Comparison of Modes of Expression and Ways of Thinking between English and Chinese Language in Cultural Perspective 易欢 Yi Huan

Abstract

Key words

摘要

关键词

Introduction

Conclusion

Bibliography

Comparison of Functional Equivalence and Faithfulness, Expressiveness and Elegance 曾良 Zeng Liang

A Comparative Study on Nida’s Functional Equivalence and Skop 义子楚 Yi Zichu

A Simple Comparison between Nida and Catford’s Translation Theory of Equivalence 欧阳玲 Ouyang Ling

Abstract: Nida and Cartford shared the same period of translation studies but carried on their studies from different perspective. Nida put forward two types of equivalence as two methods to achieve his ideal equivalent response of receptors(芒迪，42). His equivalence theory was built on his ideas about nature of translation, which was the process of reproducing in the receptor language the message of source language(奈达，12). The nature and task of translation in Nida’s opinion formed a theoretical basis to set the equivalence theory in a comprehensive and systematic way. Cartford, in another way, held a idea that any theory of translation must draw upon a general linguistic theory and therefore proposed the equivalence at different linguistic levels between source language and target language(Cartford,1). The paper intends to develop a comparative study upon Nida and Cartford’s theory of equivalence and my thoughts on their application in translation practices.

Key words: Nida, Cartford, equivalence theory, nature of translation

摘要：

关键词：

1.Introduction

1.1.Nida’s Theory of Equivalence

Nida’s translation theories were formed along with the process of his translating the Bible. Through the reflection upon these translation practices, he defined the nature of translation and pointed the task of translators. Afterwards, he discarded the old term such as “literal”, “free” and “faithful” translation by putting forward the theory of equivalence(芒迪，42) . The equivalence in Nida’s theory can be achieved at two levels: formal equivalence and dynamic equivalence and he saw the two approaches to realize his ideal translation that equivalent effect between source language receptors and target language receptors. By bringing the two concepts up, Nida provided two directions when working on a translation work as well as standards of evaluating the work after it was done. Specifically, formal equivalence in Nida’s definition is the status of translation being equivalent with the source text in both contents and forms. To achieve this status, translators should be oriented towards the source text’s message and structure(芒迪，42). And dynamic, or functional equivalence, turned further to a new focus on the response of receptor. If the target language receptors react to the translation in the same way as source language receptors do to the source text, the success of a translation is then achieved in Nida’s functional equivalence theory. His theory put forward a new trend of translation studies at that time. Nida’s equivalence theory directed people to evaluate a translation by judging and comparing the response of receptors in stead of considering the correctness and accuracy of translation or comparing the formal and stylistic features between source language and target language. In a comprehensive and systematic way, Nida’s equivalence theory elaborated the approaches and the ideal status of translation based on his understanding on the nature of translation, and this equivalence theory has always been praised as his greatest achievement in translation studies.

1.2.Cartford’s Theory of Equivalence

Cartford’s translation theories were built on the discipline of linguistics, and his equivalence theory was included of course. Cartford stated in his book A Linguistic Theory of Translation the theory of translation is concerned with a certain type of relation between languages and is consequently a branch of Comparative Linguistics(Cartford, 20). His theory of equivalence was also originated his definition of the nature of translation, which is the replacement of textual material in one language by equivalent textual material in another language( Cartford, 20). His definition, in other words, portrayed the task for translators. In his opinion, in the process of translation, translators are supposed to replace every grammatical and lexical items in the source language with equivalents in the target language. So in this way, the equivalence in Cardford’s theory can be graded into different levels according to the extent of the replacement, and then he put forward the distinction of full translation and partial translation. Moreover, he raised another pair of concepts: textual equivalence and formal corresponding, and it may give a clearer picture for us to understand his theory. If the target language text can be judged by bilinguals or linguists equivalent with the source language text in any given discourse or occasion, the textual equivalence is achieved. As regards the formal corresponding, Cartford defined it as an approximate status when any target language category occupies, as nearly as possible, in the same place in the structure of the target language as the given source language category occupies in the source language. This pair of concepts presented two different degrees of equivalence and have become a valuable source in translation studies.

2.Similarities and Differences

2.1.The Similarities between the Two Theories

2.2.The Differences between the Two Theories

3.My Thoughts on the Two Theories

4.Conclusion

Comparision between the traslation systems proposed by Tan Zaixi and Yi Jing 石海瑶 Shi Haiyao

Comparison of translation theories by Eugene nida and Susan Bassnett 胡慧芳 Hu Huifang

A Comparative Study Between Lun Xun’s View of Translation and Venuti’s Translation Theory 司妤 Si Yu

Abstract

Key Words

摘要

关键词

Introduction

Lun Xun’s View of Translation

Venuti’s Translation Theory

Similarities and Differences

The Similarities Between Lun Xun’s View of Translation and Venuti’s Translation Theory

The Differences Between Lun Xun’s View of Translation and Venuti’s Translation Theory

A Comparative Study Between the Skopos Theory and Yan Fu’s Translation Thoery 吴一露 Wu Yilu

Abstract

Skopos theory and the theory put forward by Yan Fu, that is “ Faithfulness, Expressiveness and Elegance” are one of the most representative translation theories respectively in the history of Chinese and Western translation theories. And these two theories have a profound impact to Chinese and Western translation theories and practices. This paper will compare the similarities and differences between these two theories as well as their historical contributions and limitations. It aims to get a deeper understanding of Skopos theory and Yan Fu’s theory and a better application of theories in practice. In the meantime, the collision and comparative analysis of Chinese and Western theories will also promote the study of translation theories and provide a reference for guiding translation practice.

Key words

Skopos Theory; Faithfulness, Expressiveness and Elegance; Hans Vermeer; Yan Fu

摘要

目的论和严复提出的翻译理论即 “信达雅”分别是中西方翻译理论史上最具代表性的翻译理论之一。并且这两种翻译理论对中西方翻译理论和实践产生了深刻的影响。本文将对比研究目的论以及“信达雅”的同异，结合比较这两种理论的历史贡献及局限,旨在加深对目的论和“信达雅”理解，并将理论更好地运用到翻译实践中。同时中西方理论的碰撞和对比分析，也会促进翻译理论研究和为指导翻译实践提供依据。

关键词

目的论；信达雅；汉斯·弗米尔；严复

1. Introduction

Skopos is the Greek word for “aim” or “purpose” and was introduced into translation theory in the 1970s by the German linguists Hans J. Vermeer as a technical term for the purpose of a translation and developed in Germany in the late 1970s. The creation of Skopos theory is a significant achievement of western translation theories, providing a new perspective for translation study. In 1897, Yan Fu set down the triple translation criteria of “Faithfulness, Expressiveness and Elegance,” (Xin Da Ya), which influenced the development of translation practice and theory for almost half a century after it came into being and it still exerts great influence on contemporary TS. As now the scope of integration and exchanges between China and Western world are expanding to various fields, this paper will reexamine these influential theories by comparing their commonalities, differences and influences, so as to broaden our vision of translation theory study.

2. Introduction of Skopos Theory and Yan Fu’s Theory

2.1 Skopos Theory

Skopos theory comprises the idea that translating and interpreting means to produce a target text in a target setting for a target purpose and target addressees in target circumstances (Vermeer, Hans J.1987a). This new-born theory breaks the limited and conventional translation studies of source-text oriented views and provides a new perspective for translation studies. Translators pay more attention to the translation, the readers, the social effect of the translation and communication function.

2.1.2 The Development of Skopos Theory

The creation of Skopos theory in not going to happen overnight; it is a gradual process that can the skopos theory become the core of functionalist approach, which is initially proposed by Hans Vermeer. Its formation and development experienced mostly three periods.

(1) Katharina Reiss’s research

The book Possibilities and Limits of Translation Criticism, written by Katharina Reiss in 1971, marked the appearance of German translation theories and was the first time raised the idea that text function could be listed as a standard of translation criticism and came up with thoughts of functional translation theory. The core of her translation theory is text typology, including informative text (content-focused), expressive text (form-focused), operative text (appeal-focused) and the auto-medial text, which laid a foundation of Skopos theory.

(2) Hans J. Vermeer: Skopos theories and beyond

Vermeer, Reiss’s student, casting off the chains of Translation Equivalence, thought: translation is not a mechanical language interpretation, but an activity with an aim or purpose. In skopos theory, the status of the source text is not as important as the target text. The source is an "offer of information"(Vermeer, Hans J. 1982.). According to Action Theory, human action is a kind of purposeful behavior in a given situation. In his opinion, translation also is such a kind of action with purpose on the foundation of a source text. Hence, Vermeer names his theory Skopos theory, a theory of purposeful action. Hans J. Vermeer believed that the purpose of a text determines the translation strategies. The most important ingredients determining the purpose of translation is readers. So translators should better to consider integrally both the purpose of translation and special circumstances of target-text readers before interpreting.

(3) Justa Holz-Manttari and Christiane Nord: the theory of translational action and Function plus Loyalty Principle

Manttari differentiated “translation” and “translational action”. She thought that “translation” is simply transformative action while “translation action” is more intricate behavior designed to transfer message overcoming culture and language barriers. In Christiane Nord’s Translating as a Purposeful Activity-Functionalist Approaches Explained, she defines the Skopos theory as the prime principle determining any translation process. But Nord also found there were some drawbacks of Skopos theory, so she putted forward the “loyalty principle”: the responsibility of translators towards to their partners in translational interaction.

2.1.3 Rules of Skopos Theory

There are three rules of Skopos theory, including skopos rule, coherence rule and fidelity rule.

“The top-ranking rule for any translation is thus the ‘skopos rule’ (Vermeer), which means that a translation action is determined by its skopos; in other words, that is “ the end justifies the means” (Reiss Katharina & Vermeer Hans J. 1984). As defined by Vermeer and translated by Nord, the Skopos rule states: “Each text is produced for a given purpose and should serve this purpose. The Skopos rule thus reads as follows: translate/interpret/speak/write in a way that enables your text/translation to function in the situation it is used and with the people who want to use it and precisely in the way they want it to function.” Whether the function of the source text or passages in the source text can be preserved or have to be modified or even changed all decided by the purpose of translation (Christiane Nord, 1997). The skopos is divided into three forms: translator purpose, communicative purpose of the translated text and the purpose of using some kind of translation strategies.

Coherence rule talks about that the target text must be coherent with the source text, given target text receivers circumstances and knowledge (Pochhacker, Franz, 1995). Translators should pick out what is meaningful in the receivers’ condition. As elaborated by Nord, a communicative interaction can only be regarded as successful if the receivers interpret it as being sufficiently coherent with their situation. Under this rule, the receivers of the target text, as well as their cultural background, social circumstances, expectations, values and norms should all be taken into consideration as major factors to produce meaningful translations.

The last rule concerns the intertexual coherence between target text and source text---the target text is determined by its skopos. It means the skopos of target text should share identical views with the intention of original author. In accordance to this, the form of the target text would be determined by both the translator’s interpretation of the source text and the translation’s purpose. These three rules connect with each other. Coherence rule and fidelity rule are subject to skopos rule. From above three rules, we come to a conclusion that the evaluation criterion of translation is “adequacy”—dynamic standard-- rather than “equivalence”. Therefore, translator should not be literalists who rigidly adhere to the words of the source text.

2.2 Yan Fu’s Theory

3. Similiarities and Differences

3.1 The Similarities betweeen these Two Theories

3.1.1 Fidelity Rule and Faithfulness

3.1.2 Coherence Rule and Expressiveness

3.1.3 Skopos Rule and Elegance

3.2 The Differences between these Two Theories

3.2.1 Different Theory Systems

3.2.2 Different Translation Standards

3.2.3 Different Translator Status

4. A Comparative Study of the Contribution and Limitation of these Two Theories

4.1 Contributions of these Two Theories

4.2 Limitations of these Two Theories

5. Conclusion

--Wu Yilu (talk) 06:53, 30 November 2020 (UTC)

Art of Translation

The Art and Science of Translation --Take the Literary Translation as an Example 桂一枝 Gui Yizhi

Study on the English Translation of Hunan Scenic Spots Names from the View of Culture Translation 刘欧 Liu Ou

Abstract

Key words

摘要

关键词

2.1 The Abundant Resource of Hunan Scenic Spots

2.2 The Meaning of View of Culture Translation

2.3 The Existing English Translated Versions of Hunan Scenic Spots

2.4 The Strategy of English Translation of Hunan Scenic Spots Names from the View of Culture Translation

Conclusion

Bibliography

A study of English Translation of Chinese Cultural Classics from the Perspective of Communication 余妮 Yu Ni

41.3.1 Abstract

41.3.2 Key words

41.3.3 摘要

41.3.4 关键词

41.3.5 The background and meaning of English Translation of Chinese Cultural Classics

42.3.6 The present situation of English Translation of Chinese Cultural Classics

42.3.7 What we can improve in English Translation of Chinese Cultural Classics

42.3.8 Conclusion

42.3.9 Bibliography

The Visible Images and Invisible Hands: An Analysis of Lefevere’s ManipulationTheory and Venuti’s Deconstruction of The Translator’s Invisibility 祝美梅 Zhu Meimei

In the early 1990s, Lefevere, a representative of the cultural school of translation studies and a well-known translation theorist, elaborated Manipulation Theory is his book Translation, rewriting and the Manipulation Literary Fame, in which he said: Translation is, of course, a rewriting of an original text. All rewritings, whatever their intention, reflect a certain ideology and a poetics and as such manipulate literature to function in a given society in a given way. Rewriting is manipulation, undertaken in the service of power, and in its positive aspect can help in the evolution of a literature and a society. Lefevere, defines translation as a form of rewriting, thus treating translation as a form of creating another text image, just like literary criticism, biography, literary history, film, drama, fiction, falsification of anthologies and reader’s guides. But it doesn’t mean that translation is rewriting. Lefevere thinks rewriting includes some other forms, for example, historiography, anthology,, criticism and editing. He ven emphasized that translation creates the literary and cultural image of the original text, the original author, and the original text. All rewriting, regardless of its intention, reflects a certain ideology and poetics. Therefore, translation is actually the manipulation of the translator to the text, which makes literature work with a certain way in a particular society. In any case, the understanding of translation as rewriting or manipulation of the original text deepens people’s understanding of translation to a great extent. In Lefevere’s view, there are three elements influencing the function of translation. The first one is professionals within the literary system, including critics, reviewers, teachers and translators who will affect the acceptance of translated works; the second is patronage outside of that system. Patronage here can be seen as the powers that can further or hinder the reading, writing, and rewriting of literature, and the third is the dominant poetics. Lefevere’s translation theory represents an important turning point in the history of translation study. He developed Zohar’s poly-system theory. And he studies translation in cultural approach. Before the “cultural turn”, translation was seen almost as an exclusively linguistic process, in which the translator was required to find the TL equivalent for a SL expression and which was not influenced by any other factors than linguistic ones. But in fact, Lefevere’s translation theory could instruct translation activities in many cases. Based on the understanding of three control factors, the translator will solve problems encountered in the process of translation, exploring changes of translation strategies under various factors, mainly including ideology, poetics and patronages, which will be introduced in the next chapter.

Three control factors Lefevere points that all literature works should be placed in a certain social and cultural environment. Thus its meaning and value is influenced by these factors. The audience’s apprehension of the work also differs for these factors. He emphasizes three factors manipulating translation: ideology, poetic and patronage. Introduction of poetics According to Lefevere, a poetics includes two components. One is the literary method which consists of literary genres, prototypical characters and situations, motifs, symbols. The other is the concept of the literature function. As a theory about the study of poetry and their skills, poetics is also a theory of literature and art. After choosing some types of practice at a certain period, while excluding others, the poetics is codified. Then it will have tremendous influence on the further development of the literary system. Lefevere holds that the translation methods adopted by the translators are carried out under the guidance of certain strategies of certain poetic factors. It exerts on the choices of words, sentecnes, even the style and translation strategies of the whole article. Translation has greatly influenced the exchange of different literary systems, not only in introducing new literary methods into a certain poetics, but also in whether the image of a writer or a work can be successfully introduced into another literary system. In Lefevere’s view, as the manipulatin of a translator, rewriting should be regarded as a cultural necessity in essence, because translators are bound to be influenced and constrained by different social and cultural factors in the process of translation. Rewriting under the guidance of poetics is an important part of the cultural system in which the rewriters produce works. Rewriters often adjust the original works to a certain extent to be in line with the dominant ideology and poetics of the period in which the rewriters lived, and to make the rewritten works accepted by as many audiences as possible. In order to adapt some famous works to the cultural background of various society and history, they have also been rewritten to varying degrees. As is mentioned above, works of the dominant poetics is what people called classics for future writers to follow. But “a poetics, any poetics, is a historical variable: it is not absolute.” For instance, poetics today differs from the dominant poetics of the Tang dynasty. In cater to the change of the dominant poetics, these canonized works will be adapted o rewritten. This is why some classical Greek works still have an impact on Western literature. Translators pay more and more attention on the poetic factors in translation, further developing translation theory. Poetics solve the problem of what literature should or can be, and deciding the role and influence of translation in the society to some extent. In the process of translation, emphasizing more on meaning and lesson poetic factors and literary component will make the poetic aesthetic sense of the original work disappear. Lefevere also points that any poetics transcend language, ethnic and political entities which is demonstrated by listing Multilanguage regions or various forms of social and political organizations in Africa share a common poetics. In his eyes, the poetics will not be adapted to any language, but the dominant poetics is dominated by the ideology. Introduction of ideology

Cultural differences on English interpretation and the coping strategies 谭媛媛 Tan Yuanyuan

On Translation Strategies of Different Style, Taking English Journalistic Style and English Literary Style as an Example 张银柳 Zhang Yinliu

Translation Manipulated by Ideology 李泳珊 Li Yongshan