On Translation of Tourist Materials自考英语毕业论文.doc

高等教育自学考试学生毕业论文题 目on translation of tourist materials学生姓名周雅玲考 号911710101723专 业商务英语助 学 点湖南民族职业学院通讯地址湖南民族职业学院联系电话152730156342012年3月contents一introduction1二. brief introduction of the translation of tourist material.1（一） definition of tourist material.1（二） function of tourist material.2（三） features of the translation of tourist material3三 tourism language and translation.4四 tourism culture and translation.4（一） the definition of culture 5（二） the features of culture .6（三） tourism culture.61. the definition of tourism culture.72the contents of tourism culture.83. the characteristics of tourism culture.84. the translation of tourism culture12五 suggested methods for the translation of tourist materials.12（一） addition.13（二） explanation.15（三） analogy 16（四） deletion17（五）paraphrase20（六） rewriting 21（七） politeness principle.24六 conclusion.25bibliography.26abstract:since the economic reform and opening to the outside world, more and more foreign visitors are coming to china. therefore, it becomes all the more important to render the tourist materials well. basing on nidas functional equivalence principle and some other translation theories , this paper treats the problem from two aspects: language and culture, and tries to give some rough suggestions.key wordstourist materials; language; culture; translationon translation of tourist materials一introductionwith the rapid development of tourism, tourist materials are playing a more and more important role in tourism industry. there are many successful examples of english versions of tourist materials, however, some are not so satisfying and are in great need of being polished. this paper will make a brief analysis of the current problems in translating tourist materials and tries to give some rough suggestions. it also examines the issues from the following three perspectives: (1) tourism language and translation; (2) tourism culture and translation; (3) suggested methods for the translation of tourist materials.二. brief introduction of the translation of tourist material（一） definition of tourist materialtourist materials, as referred here, are the various materials that introduce chinese tourism industry and tourism resources to average tourists all around the world. they mainly include: books, pictures, albums, tour maps, postcards, slides, video tv shows, documentary films, videodisks, etc. the majority of readers of translated tourist materials are ordinary foreign tourists who may not know much about china.（二） function of tourist materialtourist material is one of the categories of the texts. according to newmark, texts have the function of expressive, informative and vocative and no text and few sentences are undiluted among them. a text tends to have one leading function with the other two as supplementary. for example, the main function of literary text is expressive, while “informative” and “vocative” serving as the supporting function. then what is the main function of tourist material? it should be vocative. because the purpose of tourist material is to draw visitors, to raise their interest of touring, at the same time to help them understand chinese history and culture better.however, this purpose can only be obtained under the prerequisite of sufficient information. as readers all hope to get the relevant information and background knowledge of the tourist destination before making a decision to tour or visiting, therefore being informative is also an important function of tourist material. the relationship is that informative is the prerequisite while vocative is the purpose.in other words, the function of tourist materials is to widen visitors knowledge about china, raise their interest of traveling through the introduction and publicity of tourism resources. serving as a guide to tourists, it helps them to make choices and arrange travel activities. the ultimate purpose of tourist materials is to motivate them to come to china through the transmitted message.（三） features of the translation of tourist materialaccording to the german translation theorist a newburt, texts can be divided into four categories based on the priority of translation: (1) complete priority to the original text, such as scientific works; (2) major priority to the original text, such as literary works; (3) consideration to the original text and the translated version, such as specialized bibliography; (4) main or complete priority to the translated version, such as publicity translation.the translation of tourist materials is a kind of publicity translation, which belongs to the fourth category. the essence of it is that translators should attempt to produce the same effect on the target language readers as that is produced by the original on the source language readers. because of the cultural differences between the west and the east, there is a discrepancy in understanding the same materials. therefore translators should adopt proper methods to adjust the version, giving priority to the understanding of translated version and helping readers apprehend the materials. 三 tourism language and translation（一) tourist material is a kind of practical type of writing. in addition to its practicality, knowledge and conciseness of language, it is usually descriptive. as tourist material is for the specially designated readers, the intuitive effect of language must be taken into consideration. in other words, readers can get the image while reading, their interest can be aroused. the language features will usually be found as the follows in chinese tourist materials: (a) metaphor, antithesis, four-character phrases are normally employed. in particular four-character phrases are widely preferred for its level and oblique tones, smoothness in syllable, harmony in rhyme. (b) use of classical writing pattern so as to make language elegant and grave, adding literary grace. (c) quotation of exquisite lines to help tourists enjoy beautiful scenery.from the illustrations above, we can perceive that the writing of tourist material in chinese is quite different from that of english-speaking countries, which are relatively more frank. so when dealing with flowery descriptions or hard allusions, devices like deleting and paraphrasing should be employed to make versions concise and understandable.(二) besides that, chinese characters are generally pictographic, which might lead chinese people to be used to thinking in terms of images, while native speakers of english are used to logical thinking for their formative language. therefore, the former, prefer using imagic dictions and metaphors to write vividly and impressively, on the contrary, the latter would rather relate facts than describe them in magnificent language.the word-building in english and the pictograph in chinese may also reflect best the different modes of thinking. for example, the character “”(梅) is made up of two radicals “木” and “每”. “木”(tree) embodies 梅 is related to trees, at the same time, 梅has the same pronunciation as “每” . however, english is quite different. we can hardly find any direct relationship between the form of a word and its meaning. that is to say, the chinese emphasizes the integrative thinking while the english emphasizes the individual thinking.so it is necessary to adjust the sentences in order to make the translated version readable, meeting their way of thinking.(三) moreover, scenery in tourist material is not merely a description of natural scenery. more often than not, it permeates with the historic site, such as anecdotes, legends, and inscriptions by personages as well as classical gardens of unique architecture. to put it properly in another language is by no means an easy job. through explanations or analogy of those chinese-unique cultures, foreign readers may find more interest in chinas culture and their motive to visit china may be raised. 四 tourism culture and translation（一） the definition of culture people have various understandings about culture. different studies have given more than 250 definitions to culture from different aspects. the widely accepted definition was given by the british scholar e.b.tylor in 1871: “culture is a complex integrity, which includes knowledge, belief, art, moral, law, custom and any other ability and habit which people obtain as the member of the society.”（二） the features of culture cultures differ from one another in degrees, along several dimensions. anthropologists have shown us that the world is divided into cultural areas. within these areas interaction should be easier, provided that the same response is adequate. if the same situation calls for a different response, the fact that two cultures belong to the same cultural area may lead to difficulties.(triandis 1972:347)there are three common features typical of all cultures-comprehensive, dynamic and distinctive.it is first of all a comprehensive system consisting of various aspects of the society in which it functions. the components of a culture include both material and moral, concrete and abstract, surface and deep elements, which are interdependent on one another. the lack of any one of these factors will inevitably affect the culture as a whole.besides, a culture has some dynamic qualities, which is reflected in such term as “learned”, “acquired”, and “knowledge”. rather than something one is born with, a culture is a set of action and behavior patterns gained through postnatal learning.finally, a culture is also distinctive. while belonging to the world as a whole, a culture belongs even more to an individual nation. the term “culturemes” created by vermeer may best account for this feature. according to vermeer, “a culturemes is social phenomenon of a culture x that is regarded as relevant by members of this culture and, when compared with a corresponding social phenomenon in a culture y, is found to be specific to culture x.” a culture-specific phenomenon, therefore, is the product of the distinctiveness of a particular culture.（三） tourism culture1. the definition of tourism culturetourism belongs to the culture category, it is a part of it. chinese culture has given birth to chinese tourism, which in turn, has exerted influence and effect on culture. they have closely related to each other. such relationship has found expressions in politics, economy, philosophy, religion, society, folklore, arts etc. although they are closely related, tourism culture appearing as a term is a matter of recency. american scholar robert makingti and xikent glbert were the first to define “tourism culture” in their collaborated “tourism subject: essencepracticeprinciple”, in which the term was served as the title of a chapter. they pointed out that “tourism culture actually summarizes all aspects of traveling, through which people get to know each others life and thoughts”. its the sum of phenomena and relationship produced in the course of attracting and receiving visitors and tourists as well as among visitors, traveling facilities, host countries and receiving group”.in china, the word “tourism culture” first appeared in “china encyclopedia: humanity geography” (中国大百科全书人文地理学，1984:149) in which it gives the explanation “tourism and culture are inalienable, and traveling itself is a kind of mass cultural exchange. from the primitive to the modern time culture can become the factor of drawing visitors. tourists not only absorb the culture in the traveling place, but also bring their own culture to the destination, making the cultural differences between areas getting smaller and smaller. painting, sculpture, photo and handicraft are the items which visitors like to see; plays, dance, music and films are the evening programmes provided for visitors; while poetry, prose, travel notes, myth, legends, stories can depict the scenery lifelike”. though the interpretation of tourism culture is unitary, restricted only in literal and art circle, nevertheless, it generalizes the characteristics of tourism culture from one aspect.just as people have different understanding to the definition of culture up to now, there is not at all surprise to the indefinite of the concept of “tourism culture”. what is worth mentioning is that travel itself is a kind of cultural phenomenon, which can best embody a countrys cultural quality. tourism displays itself fully in chinas social organization, human relations, belief, mythical thinking, religious sentiment, philosophical concept, wizard superstition, production activities, artistic creations as well as folklore in life. 2the contents of tourism culturetourism culture has complex connotations. generally, it can be divided into three parts:culture of tourist subject; i.e., culture related to thoughts, psychological features and behaviors of tourists, such as culture of tourists native countries or areas, tourists belief, etc.culture of tourist object; i.e., culture related to tourist resourcesculture of tourist media; i.e. culture related to tourist supplies and tourist products, such as culture of tourist management and tourist service, etc.(王明煊,胡定鹏, 2000:10)3. the characteristics of tourism culturetourism integrates closely with culture. chinese tourism culture, which reflects the chinese nations creative spirit is one of the cultural parts, which has the longest history, widest application, biggest folklore function, and strongest folklore feature. therefore, chinese tourism is characterized by its distinctive nationality, and this national characteristic is one of the valuable tourism resources.in addition to the basic national characteristic, tourism culture still represents itself in the following aspects:(1)the unity of cultural difference and cultural identity. culture difference is one of the basic requirements of forming and developing tourism. on one hand, creating unique cultural touring products should be looked to as the standard, on the other hand, cultural difference turns out barrier in communication. when the cultural difference becomes too big that it is hard to communicate between tourists and tourist scenery, the appealing of the touring destination will be greatly reduced. factually it has done harm to tourism instead of prompting it. (2)popularity. traveling is a popular activity, therefore demands of the majority of tourists should be taken into full consideration. (3)bi-polar diffusion. on one hand, source culture of tourists will spread into host country via tourists. on the other, the latter will do the same with the former. to have these characteristics in mind, it will be beneficial for translators in copying with cultural difference when they are doing translation.4. the translation of tourism culturethe characteristics possessed by tourism culture challenge us to bring nidas dynamic theory to our attention. being aware of the cultural difference between nations and trying to reduce it to the minimum, nida points out:“ the provision of culture conditioning always implies the entire problem of the extend to which certain adjustment can and should be made in the transfer.”(nida,1982:110) it means viewing from the factors of the receptors, if the cultural difference is too big and can not be comprehended by readers of receiving countries, adjustments are essential. in the following part, we will discuss it in detail according to the contents of tourism culture.（1）the translation concerning culture of tourist subjectforeigners coming to china are multi-motivated. generally it is divided into three types. the first type is: enjoyment of natural scenery. china with its vast territory provides an astonishing variety of environments for them. the second type is: enjoyment of traditional arts. the traditional art is the embodiment of the wisdom and labor of the chinese people. among foreign visitors, there are quite a number of them who are keen on traditional chinese art, such as painting, plays, handwriting, gardening, and folk art workmanship. they come all the way to experience the chinese artistic flavor or the scene. the third type is: enjoyment of folk custom. for thousands of years, travel together with other activities, has formed the whole national culture. and this national culture finds expressions in morality, ethnics, customs, marriage, economy, politics and religion. though foreigners have different preferences, they have one thing in common: china is alien to them. naturally cultural differences exist between the east and the west are mainly revealed in the following aspects.(2) different aesthetic psychology.in china habitations like “十里蛙声不断，九溪曲流潺潺。”holds much attraction to most chinese people. it is fairly agreeable to the enjoyment of aesthetic psychology of the chinese people. however, it is reported that when foreigners read this introduction of a hotel, they think it is a noisy place and do not show any interest to it.(3) different value. in china, feudal ethnical code is deep-rooted in chinese peoples mind. we can observe this phenomenon in traditional chinese residence. “siheyuan” ( a compound with houses around a courtyard) is a glaring example. the location of “siheyuan” has strict order because it is arranged according to rank, relationship and age. i