Culture，Language and Translation.txt

: 涨: ; 涨 :m.a.dissertation cultreconsctosnessintranslatinactivi by jinlinghong athesissubmittedto theforeignlanguagecollegeof shanghaimaritimeuniversity inpartialfulfillmentoftherequirements forthedegreeof mastersofarts novembe2002壬 漰漰淭 弫 - 巭巭 :巭abstract culturaleoneeptwhiehunderliesthevarietyoflanguageusagesand languagehabitscomestobethekeyareaoftranslationstudies.this thesisexplorestherelationbetweenculturelanguageandtranslation.the culturalelementsinlanguageandthediffereneesbetweenchineseand westerneulturesasreflectedintranslationareanalysed. duetotheeulturaldiffereneeseultureloadedwordsevokedifferent assoeiativemeanings.translationaetivity15muehcomplicatedbecause oftheeulturaleonnotations.themodemfunctionaltranslationtheoryhas definedtranslationasanactofcommunicationthemainaimofwhich15 toestablisheonllnunieationbetweenmembersofdiflrentcultures. thecrossculturaleonseiousness15oneofthebasierequirementsfor thetranslator.apartfrombilingualeompeteneethetranslator15also expectedtoeommandbieulturaleompetenee.thetranslatorshouldbe sensitivetodeteetthesubtlediflreneesoftheculralcofltentandfind outthemostappropriatestrategytoeonveytheseaspeetsintothetarget language. professornewmarkputsforwardtwotranslationprinciples:semantie vs.eommunieativetranslation.therearewideoverlappingbandsofthe twomethods;atthesametimesineeeonnunicativetranslationean effectamoregeneroustransferofexotieelementsintothetargetlanguage andculturethisthesispreferscommunieativetranslation.underthis eoneeptthisthesisproposesseveralspecifietranslationstrategiessuehas additionfootootesubstitutionadjusentandomissionete.the translatorshouldfindoutthemostappropriatestrategyaimingtodeliver tothetargetreaderseulturalconnotationeontainedinthesourcetextto thefullestextentandaehieveeommunieationbe1weenthosewhohave differentvaluesattides50astofulfilthefunetionoftranslationinpromotingeulturaleommunieationbetweendifferentculturesand flatlofls. keywords:culturetranslationsemantietranslation communieativetranslationacknowledgement atthepointoffinishingthisthesis1wanttoexpressmysincere gratitudetomysupervisorprofessorhanzhonghuaforalltheseholarly inspirationsandinvaluableguidaneeduringtheovertwoyearsofmy postgraduatestudy.hehasbeenthefirsttoreadthisthesisindraftand offercritiealadvieeonimportantissueswhieh1dofindstimulating thoughtprovokingandrewarding.myindebtednesstomysupervisor wouldbediffieulttoputsummarily. inadireetsensethisthesisowesitsexistenceandseopetothe leeturesbestowedbyotherprofessors:wangdaweingjuquanwang jiankaiandzhenglixinzuobiao.1doubtthatwithouttheirpatient instruetionsthisthesiswillseethelightasit15now. indeedspeeialthanksalso90tomyelassmates:w1qingguangfu jinrtlitangxiaochunandotherswhoareinspeeifiewaysmost generousinofferingmetheircritieismandeneouragement.it15obvious atvariouspointshowmueh1profitfromtheirtimelyassistaneethelack ofwhichwillrenderthisthesisimpossiblentents introducti0n.1 chapteroneculturelanguageandtranslation2 1.1thedefinition0fculture2 lzlanguageandculture.3 i3natureoftranslationandthetaskofthetranslator.5 chapterl0aspeetsofcultureintranslation8 h.1ecology.9 ilzmaterialculture14 il3socialculture.15 11.3.1caseanalysisofculturespecifiew6rds16 11.3.2caseanalysisofcomparablew6rds19 11.3.3caseanalysisintermsofgreetings22 11.4rehgiousculture.24 11.5linguisticculture.29 chapterthreetranslationstrategies34 111.1semantictranslation36 in.2communicativetranslation.42 111.2.1conveyingtheeonnotativemeaningonly.44 nl.2.2makingadditionwithinthetext.49 111.2.3addingfootn0te.52 111.2.4substitutingwithasimilarexpression.56 nl.2.5makingappropriateadjustment58 hl.2.6leavingoutredundancy.62conclusion.68 bibliography70intoduction introduetion ithasalwaysbeentakenforgrantedthattranslation15thetransferenee betweentwolanguagesheneeanalyzinglanguagesandeontrastingtexts havebeenregardedastheprineipaltasksoftranslationstudies.asa matteroffacttranslationactivityinvolvesnotonlythetransferenee processbetweenwordsbutalsotheexchangeaetivitybetweentwo eultures. fromlate19805onwitheulturaleritieismandculralstudymaking appearanceandrisingtodominanceadozenofseholarsapproach translationmattersfromeulturalangles.insusanbessnettandandrew levefere5eyesdrastieehangeshavetakenplaceintranslationstudy fieldandtheyelaimthattranslationstuhastakenaeulturalshift. (bessnettandlevefere1998)translation15akindofaetivitywhich inevitablyinvolvesatleasttwolanguagesandtwoeulturaltraditions. (toury1987:200).holzmanttariutilizesintereulturalcooperation (1984)whilechristianenordusesinterculturaleommunieation(1991) toreplaeethetermtranslation;andrelefevereregardstranslationas aceulturation(1992)andanewtermtranseulturation15coinedbyr. danielshaw(1988). atthe1sthtriennialcongressoftheintemationalcompalative literatureassociationthetopieoftheseventhsessionwas reconstruetingcuiruralmemo:translationscriptsliteracyand almostallthepapersreadinthissessiondealtwithtranslationfromthe culturalperspeetive.(quotedinguojianzhong2000:35)tosumup translationaetivity15notsimplyatransfereneebetweenlanguagesbuta patternofeulturalshift.:chapterone chapteroneculturelanguageandtranslation lthednitinofcultre let5usstartbydwellinguponthedctailedmeaningsandgeneralscope ofeultureintendedbyahostofseholarswhentheyusetheword. probablythefirstimportantdefinitionofculture15givenbyb.tylora britishanthropologistinprimitivecultures(1871)hedefineseultureas thateomplexwholewhichineludesowledgebelieflawmorals customsandanyothereapabilitiesandhabitsacquiredbymanasamember ofsoeiety.aseanbeseentylor5definitionhasstressedthespiritualpart ofculturebuthasnegleeteditsmaterialbasiswithoutwhieheultureisan impossibility.historicalmaterialismholdsthateulre15inabroadsense thesumtotalofbothmaterialwealthandspiritualwealthereatedbymanin thehistoriealdevelopmentofhumansocietyandthateulturebasedon socialmaterialproduetion15nothingbuttheideologyofagivensociety togetherwiththesoeialsystemandsocialorganizationseorrespondingtoit. stilldengyanehangandhiscoauthorliurunqingartieulatetheir statementourtermculturereferstothetotalpattemofbeliefs customsinstitutionsobjectsandtechniquesthateharaeterizethelifeofa humancommunity.(dengyanehangandliurunqing1989:3) aecordingtoedwardsapir(1921)thewordeulture15usedinthree mainsenses:firstofalleulture15technieallyusedbytheethnologistand eulturehistoriantoembodyanysoeiallyinheritedelementinthelifeof manmaterialandspiritual.thesecondapplieationofthetermreferstoa ratherconventionalidealofindividualrefinementbuiltuponaeertain modieumofassimilatedowledgeandexperiencebutmadeupehieflyof asetoftypicalreactionsthathavethesanctionofaelassandofatradition oflongstanding.it15simplytheeultivationofanindividual.cultureincapterone thethirdsensereferstothosegeneralattitudesviewsoflifeandspec manifestationofeivilizationthatgiveapartieularpeopleitsdistinetion plaeeintheworld. morespeeifieallyconcemedwithlanguageandtranslationnewmark defineseultureasthewayoflifeanditsmanifestationsthatarepeculiarto acommunitythatusesapartieularlanguageasitsmeansofexpression (1988:94)thusacknowledgingthateachlanguagegrouphasitso; eulturallyspecifiefeatures. whilethereare50manydifferentwaysofelassifyingcultlirewemay regardthefollowingfeaturesofeultureasuniversal: (1)culture15soeiallyacquiredinsteadofbiologieallytransmitted; (2)culture15sharedamongthemembersofaeommunityinsteadof beinguniquetoanindividual; (3)culture15symbolie.symbolizingmeansassigningtoentitiesand eventsmeaningswhichareemaltothemandnotabletobegraspedby themselvesalone.language15themosttypiealsymboliesystemwithin eulture; (4)culture15iniegrated.eachaspectofeulture15tiedinwiththeother aspects. inthisthesiseule15mainlydealtwithasthebodyofeustomary beliefssocialformsandmaterialtraitsconstitutingadistincteomplexof traditionofaraeialreligiousorsoeialgroup.it15regardedastheeomplex oftypiealbehaviorandstandardizedsoeialeharaeteristiespeculiartoa speeificnationsuehasthechinesenationaleulture. tosumupculture15thesumtotalofthematerialandspiritualwealthof humansoeiety.itineludesnotonlysuehmaterialthingsaseities organizationsandsehoolsbutalsononmaterialthingssuehasidea; customsmilypattemslanguages.puttingitsimplyeulturereferstoth entirewayoflifeofasoeietythewofpeople.(nida1993)chapterone lzlanguageandculture inordertoeomprehendtheaetivityoftranslationweneedfirstofallto clarifytherelationshipbetweencultureandlanguage cultureandlanguagehaveeloseties.lotman5theorystatesthatno languagecanexistunlessit15steepedintheeontextofeulture;andno eultureeanexistwhiehdoesnothaveatitscentrethestructureofnatural language(lotman1978:211212). languageplaysaveryimpotroleinthedevelopmentandformation ofeulture.language15theprimmeansbywhichaeulturetransmitsits beliefsvaluesandnormsitgivespeopleameansofinteractingwithother membersofthecultureandameansofthinking(daiweidong1989: 158).withoutlanguageeulturewouldnotbepossibleandlanguageserves asavehieleforthetransfereneeofeulture.someseiefltistseonsiderit thekeystoneofeulture.withoutlanguagetheymaintaineulturewouldbe impossible(dengyanchangandliurunqing1989:3.)language15the mostimportanteodeofallforthetransferofculture.beinganintrinsicpart ofeulturelanguageearieseulturemirrorseulturespreadseultureand helpsdevelopeulture.thecarrierandrepresentationofeulturelanguage servesandreflectseulture. ontheotherhandlanguage15deeplyrootedinculture:asavisibleform ofeulturaleontentlanguageintum15influeneedandshapedbyeulture. everyeulturepresentstoitsmembersinconseiousorsubconsciousways throughlanguagetheideasandeoneeptsthateulturetransmitsfrom generationtogeneration.initsdevelopmentlanguagehasbeendeeply ingrainedwithtraeesofaparticularsoeietyrefleetinguniqueeultural helitage.50wegettoknowthatlanguage15notsimplythearbitrary assemblagesofwordsphrasesandsenteneesbutembodiesthehistorychaprone philosophartandmentalityetcofthenationthatspeaksthispartieular language.culturalelementsareinherentlydepositedinlanguage.aceording todengyanehangandliurunqinginthebroadestsenselanguage15the symbolierepresentationofapeopleanditcomprisestheirhistoricaland culturalbaekgroundsaswellastheirapproaehtolifeandtheirwaysof livingandthinking.(dengranehangandliurunqing1989:3)a languagereflectstheeultureofasoeiety.johnlyonsanenglishlinguist assertsinhissemantieslanguage15apartofeulture.differeneesonthe languageusagewillexposethefealresofthesocialeultureintermsofthe substancescustomsandotheractivities.(ons1977:30) nolanguagecanbedivoreedfromitsculture.justasnidasaysthe influeneeoftheeultureonthemeaningsofwordsandidiomsare50 pervasivethatscareelyanytexteanbeadequatelyunderstoedwithout carefulconsiderationofitsculalaekground.(nida1993:108) cultureandlanguageareinseparablefromeaehotherandasamatterof faeteulture15awidersystemthatincludeslanguageasasubsystem.tobe morepreeiselanguage15thepartofculturewhiehservesasavehielefor thetransmissionofothereulturalpatterns.it15noexaggerationtosaythat language15thelifebloodofeultureandeulture15thetrackalongwhich languageformsanddevelops. i.ntureoftranslationandthetaskofthetranslator asacommunieationbetweenlanguagestranslationaetivity15regarded notonlyasalinguistietransferencebutalsoasaeulturaltransplantation. vermeerviewstranslationasprimarilyaerosseulturaltransferand erossculturalevent.(vermeer1996)translation15thetunnelthrough whiehlanguagesgeteommunicatedwhiehifborndowntothebottom15 theeommunieationoftheparticulareulturesinsteadofthemeehanieal transfobetweenwordsphrasesandsentences.chapterone assoeiatedwithtwoeulturaleontextstranslationactivity15mueh eomplicatedduetotheeulturaleonnotationsthatareloadedinthe languages.mngninginhisculturalstudies:towardsareconstruetionof thedefinitionoftranslationstatesthatthemajortaskoftranslation15 totumtheeulturaleontentinonelanguageintoanother50whetherit15 faithfulornotlargelydependsonthedegreesofthetranslator5graspofthe twolanguagesandthesubtlediffereneeoftheeulturalcontentexpressedin thelanguages.(chinesetranslatorsjournal2000) justaswangzuoliangsayswhenthetranslator15handlingthewords fromtwolanguageshe15infactdealingwithtwoeultures.(mng zuoliang2000:3)thisviewontranslationaetuallyrequiresthetranslator tobebothbilingualandplurieultural.theerosseulturaleonsciousness15 oneofthebasierequirementsforthetranslatorwhenheorshepicipates intheintereulraleommunication.thetranslator15permanentiyfaced withtheproblemofhowtotreattheeulturalaspeetsimplieitinasouree textandoffindingthemostappropriateteehniqueofsueeessfully eonveyingtheseaspeetsinthetargetlanguage.inordertogiveamost effectiverenderingthetranslatorshouldapartfromasuffieientlanguage owledgeeoncemedbutalsobefamiliarwiththeculturalphenomenon thatareembodiedinthetexts.thetranslatorbearstheresponsibilityof promotingculturalcommunicationbetweendifferenteulturesandnations. nativespeakersaremuehmorelikelytooverlookgrammatiealerrorsth toexeuseinappropriatenessofinteraetionalstyleandbehavior.allofthis requiresincreasedattentiontolanguageasusedwithinitsculturaleontext. aswehavejustmentionedthetranslatorbearstheresponsibilityof promotingeulturaleommunieationbetweendifferenteulresandnations. asaresultit15imperativeforthetranslatortodevelopcrosseultural consciousness.thetranslatormustfamiliarizehimselfwiththeeultureof thetargetlanguageandexerthisutmosttomaximallydelivertothett.inlchapterone translationaetivitythemostsignifieantbarriersarediscrepanciesamong differentlanguageeultures.barrierscreatedbyelementsofeulture embeddedinthelanguageseauseheadacheforthetranslator.wwill subsequentlyexplorethesignifieanceofsueheulturaldiffereneein translation.chaptertwo chapterrlwoaspectsofcultureintranslation aswemakeouteachlanguage15deeplystampedbyitseulture.the valuesoutlooksreligionsete.ofaculturecanallbereflectedthrough wordsandexpressions.asamatteroffactwordsonlyhavemeanings intermsofeulturesinwhichtheyfunetion.ida1993:108)the language15seenasatooltodeseribeandexpresstheeulturetowhiehit belongs.themeaningofawordoranexpression15determinedbyculture. thenotionofeulture15essentialtoeonsideringtheimplieationsfor translation.asanimportantcomponentofculturalsystemlanguage15 loadedwithweightyeulturaleonnotations.theeulturallyloadedwordsand expressionsrefertothosewordsandexpressionsthateanywiththem distinctiveculturalloadsandwhiehmoreoftenthannotimpedethe interculturaleommunieation.nidatightiypointsout:infaetdiffieulties arisingoutofdiffereneesofeultureeonstitutethemostseriousproblems fortranslatorsandhaveprodueesthemostfarreaehingmisunderstandings amongreaders.(nida1993) culturalelementsoceurindifferentformsandweeanfindthe manifestationsoftheseeulturalaspeetsinlanguage. e.a.nida(1993)breaksdowneultureintofiveeategories: a)eeology b)materialeulture e)soeialculture d)religiouscultureand e)linguistieeulture themostdistinetivepointofthisdefinition15thecomprehensivenessof thesefiveaspects.theexplicitelassifieationofculturemadebynida providesanorderlylinefollowingwhiehwearegoingtoeomparethechapterl eulturaldiffereneesbetweenenglishandchinesefromthesefiveaspects. thewholeehaptersetsthisstatementasthebasieframeworkfromwhieh willeometheculturaldifferencerefiectedonthevastsurfaceoflanguage. 50wearegoingtoeonduetathoroughreviewaboutthefiveeultural aspeetsembeddedinlanguageanddiscussthepervasiveinfluenceon translationbetweenenglishandchinese. 11.1ecol peoplelivingindifferentpartsoftheworldhavedifferentdiffereni geologiealconditionsandnaturalenvironment50athingcommoninone culturemaynotexistinanother.forthesarneplantsoranimalspeopleof differentculturesmayholddifferentatti