论旅游翻译中文化差异的处理.doc

长治学院2013届学士学位毕业论文论旅游翻译中文化差异的处理学 号： 09403238 姓 名： 原惠敏 指导教师： 郭育红 专 业： 英语 系 别： 外语系 完成时间：2013年5月ON THE TREATMENT OF THE CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN TOURIST TRANSLATION A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR By YUAN HUIMINSupervised byGuo YuhongCHANGZHI COLLEGE CHANGZHI, SHANXI, P. R. CHINAMay, 2013On the Treatment of the Cultural Differences in Tourist TranslationDiscipline: English Name: Yuan Huimin Class: 2009-2 Matriculation Number: 09403238 Supervisor: Guo YuhongAbstract：China is an ancient civilization with the long and splendid history, which leaves us rich natural and cultural landscape of tourism resources. Her typical tourism resources have attracted a lot of overseas visitors from all over the world. As the improvement of Chinas international status, China tourist industry is going to step into a new phase. The rapid development of tourism needs various propaganda means, among which tourist materials is the important one. Thus, in the process of translating, we should do our best to integrate these differences in order to achieve the closest equivalence of these two languages. Only in this way can we let visitors enjoy the exotic culture and flavor. Tourist translation is an extremely complicated cross-cultural activity related to culture，language and thought. The nature of translating is not the transformation of linguistic symbol itself but the culture it contains. Whether tourism translations are dealt with well or not is the key to accuracy of translating. Based on the cultural differences between the East and the West, this thesis analyzes its influence on tourism translating and provides some effective translating strategies in order to improve the quality of the translation of tourist materials and promote the development of Chinas tourist industry.Key words: tourism translating; cultural differences; cross-cultural communication; translating strategiesContents1. Introduction2. Culture, Translation and Tourism2.1 The Relationship between Culture and Translation2.2 The Relationship between Culture and Tourism3. The Differences between Chinese and Western Cultures3.1 Differences Rooted in Religious Thought3.2 Differences Rooted in Social Conventions3.3 Differences Rooted in Mode of Thinking4. The Cultural Differences Reflected on the Language of Tourist Materials4.1 Subjective Expressions vs. Objective Expressions4.2 Paratactic vs. Hypotactic4.3 Four-character Expressions vs. Succinctness5. Suggested Translation Methods5.1 Analogy5.2 Rewriting5.3 Deletion5.4 Amplification6. ConclusionAcknowledgementsBibliographyA THESIS FOR THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR1. IntroductionTourism, called the sunrise industry, is one of the fastest growing and expanding industries in the world. Tourism stimulates the flow of population, decreases the misunderstanding among different people around the world, conduces to the accumulation and flow of wealth, creates countless working opportunities and promotes the exchanges and cooperation of diversified cultures and civilizations. In recent years, Chinas tourism industry has developed rapidly. Chinas vast land and abundant resources are the critical factors to attract the foreign visitors. Especially after the entry into the WTO, numerous foreign visitors swarm into China to admire her beauty, charm of historical sites and cultural relics as well as natural scenery.In this case, how to introduce Chinas tourist resources to the world becomes an important part in tourist strategy. We all know that tourist materials are the most immediate medium for visitors to comprehend their travelling destinations. So for those Western visitors, the English translation of tourist materials is very important. Nevertheless, due to the unawareness of cultural meanings and linguistic differences between the West and China, many problems arise in the English translation of tourist materials. Incorrect, non-standard, and Chinese style English frequently occur in some public tourism materials. These phenomena actually do harm to the admiration of the beautiful Chinese scenery. Therefore, we have to be fully prepared to improve the quality of the translation of Chinese tourist materials.In the past years, more attention has been paid to the application of translation theory and strategies than the understanding of cultural connotation. Furthermore, translators awareness of bicultural rather than bilingualism is of special significant for the satisfactory translation of cultural connotation. Thus, this thesis aims at an experimental study on tourist material translation from the cultural perspective.2. Culture, Translation and TourismIn order to study the translation of tourist materials in cross-cultural aspects, it is necessary for us to clarify the relationship between culture and translation, culture and tourism.2.1 The Relationship between Culture and TranslationAs the development of globalization, the international communication has been put on the agenda by many governments. However, the use of different languages impedes the exchange of different cultures. And excellent translation is the crucial way to clear up the impediments. We all know that the basic function of translation is the transfer of word to text and from text to culture. (陈，2001) However, because of the inseparable relation between language and culture, translation of language cannot be only the transfer of linguistic symbols. (Nida,1993) As time goes by, translators have paid more attention to the cultural connotation. As for the relationship between translation and culture, the famous linguist Nord says, “For truly successful translating, biculturalism is even more important than bilingualism, since words only have meaning in term of the culture in which they function.” So, we can know that culture is the crucial point to influence the quality of translation. If a translator has no a specific and sharp perceptiveness of the other culture, he will sink into a restricted perspective about the whole world. At the same time, one point we should bear in mind is that if we have no comparative knowledge of the two different cultures, we wont correctly understand the unique and typical expressions of texts. As a professional translator, he should make continuous comparisons not only between two languages, but also between two cultures. In other words, he should know those differences rooted in distinctive cultures in order to skillfully cope with two cultures and two languages. We are all familiar with English and Chinese languages which are different not only at the linguistic level but also at the cultural level. Many words are culture-specific and have no direct equivalence in another language. In English, many expressions are literally the same as the Chinese ones but are inherently different due to their cultural differences. Under the circumstances, improper translation will turn up if these differences are neglected. We can take some simple examples. For instance, many people will translate “blue Monday” into “蓝色的星期一”，but actually its real meaning is “令人沮丧的星期一”. “Horse sense” will be translated into “马的感觉”, however, it is “常识”. Such simple mistakes often make foreigners astonished and Chinese confused.All in all, translation and culture are closely related. In the process of translating, translators should not neglect cultural elements. Only having the correct understanding and transformation of culture, translators can decrease cultural misinterpretations and fulfill the expected goal in intercultural communication.2.2 The Relationship between Culture and Tourism To experience cultural differences and admire different social conventions is the motive for current travelling. Culture plays a unique and critical role in promoting tourism development. They two are closely related. Meanwhile, we can find the powerful evidence from the Chinese Encyclopedia which states that there is a close relationship between tourism and culture, and tourism shows a large-scaled cultural communication in that tourists not only derive culture from the traveling place, but also transmit their own culture to the destination. At the same time, we can prove it from Zhang Guohongs speech. He says, “Cultural attractiveness is dominant factor of the forming of tourist motives”. (张，2001)So visitors desire to experience different cultures and differentiation is the central point that stimulates their interests in travelling. The purpose of tourism is to show “foreigners” the perks of your country/city/etc and to let them see your memorials and to have them experience what it is like to be where ever they are. From the above purpose of tourism, we can easily arrive at the conclusion that tourism is to make contacts with local people of tourist destinations so as to understand local culture and life style of people there. In a word, it is the impulse of humans desire to see and to identify the cultures in different parts of the world that promotes the booming of the tourist industry.Many things related to tourism are all inflected with cultural characteristics, for example the names of scenic spots and the marketing of tourist products. The booming of the tourist industry should never been separated from cultural essence and orientation of tourist activities. Besides, the wider the differences between culture of tourists and that of tourist destinations, the more interests it will touch off. Thus，we can draw the conclusion that culture and tourism are closely connected.In this part, we have studied the complicated relationship of culture, tourism, and translation, thus we have had a general acknowledgement of the topic. In the following part, I will make a comparison between Chinese and Western cultures so as to brilliantly expound the differences that are often encountered in translation. 3. The Differences between Chinese and Western CulturesEvery nation has its own distinctive characteristics which are embodied in the religious beliefs, social conventions, thinking patterns and so on. As people travel from other places with an urgent desire to learn more about their global neighbors, international communication and understanding grow. Overseas visitors are urgent to know the colorful and unique Chinese culture which is entirely different from their own. Before they come into China, tourist translation materials are an important medium for them to make general and basic acquaintance about China. The cultural information in these materials bestow more charms on the destination, while it also sets up a barrier for them to understand these cultural differences. Therefore, translators should do their best to deal with the cultural barrier. In this part, through a comparison of Chinese and Western cultural differences, translators will be more sensitive to the cultural connotations so as to improve their translating skills.3.1 Differences Rooted in Religious ThoughtReligion has exerted great influence on the course of development of both material and spiritual civilization of human beings. As everyone knows religious belief and consciousness constitute an important part of culture. Religion offers us insight into the spiritual and psychological welfare of a specific social group. In the West, majority of the Westerners believe in Christianity, treating God as the supreme creator of the world. Therefore, the images of “God”, “devil”, “hell” are frequently shown up in a great quantity of English traditional expressions. For example, “God sends meat and the devil sends cook”; “The road to hell is paved with good intention”; “The devil looks after his own”.Compared with the Westerners, Chinese have a more complicated situation which is strongly influenced by such philosophy and religions as Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism. Taoism is a native philosophy to China, whose core is dao which means the integration of the noumenon and rules of the cosmos. The most important quality of Taoism is its tolerance and plasticity. Confucianism is an academic religion originated from the doctrines and disciplines of Confucius, who persists in propriety and benevolence. Based on Confucius beliefs, Confucianism advocates the non-aggressive and quiet way of living. Buddhism, a religious system introduced into China from India in the Han Dynasty, intended to find out the reason of human sufferings in the anticipation of being detached from the earthly world. Although these three religions differ in doctrines, they have coexisted for a long period and made up the core of Chinese traditional culture.Knowing clearly about the differences between Chinese and Western religious thoughts，translators can stretch into a more deeper meaning in their translations.3.2 Differences Rooted in Social ConventionsUsual conventions and customs, accepted behavior among members of a social group, are delivered from generation to generation. Every nation has its own distinctive national conventions. Therefore, due to different customs and conventions between the East and the West world, it would be impossible to look at the same thing on the same position, simply because there are so many institutions in which conventions influence or direct peoples behaviors. We can illuminate this problem from the following typical aspects.As for the term of color, it can be analyzed from the view of culture. Our ancestors looked the earth as the center of the universe, so they used the yellow color of the earth to represent the royalty. Besides, the red color is often used to modify the auspicious and lucky atmosphere. The red color is frequently used in traditional Chinese festivals. However, red is treated as a sign of danger in the West and in Christianity the color of yellow is seen as a symbol of shame.Another typical example is about the image of dragon. In Chinese traditional culture, “dragon”（namely “龙”）is considered as a holy creature with infinite supernatural power, representing fortune and nobleness. In ancient China, the emperors often called themselves “真龙天子”. And for common Chinese people，they are proud of being “龙的传人”（the descendants of dragon）. In contrast, in the view of the Westerners, they treat the dragon as the embodiment of evil. They hold that dragon is a huge monster that can destroy the world. Meanwhile, in modern English, “dragon” is referred to a woman who behaves in a frightening way. So the connotative meaning of “dragon”（龙）is obviously different.There, we just pick out the two typical examples, and there are many other distinct differences among the social conventions. Therefore, translators should take care of these differences and try their best to illuminate them explicitly.3.3 Differences Rooted in Mode of ThinkingThe barrier to the understanding and communication between China and West also lies in mode of thinking. Tourist materials under different thinking mode often impede the exchange and communication of culture. Here I will discuss this topic from the view of writing. Chinese people persist in the unity of man and nature. Man is an integral part of nature. In Chinese, they pursue a high stage, namely, “情景交融” in Chinese. The abstract personality and emotion are granted to the concrete scenery and objects in order to achieve the combination of emotion and scenery. There is a typical example to prove it.（1）对潇潇暮雨洒江天，一番洗清秋。渐霜风凄紧，关河冷落，残照当楼。是处红衰翠减，冉冉物华休。惟有长江水，无语东流。（柳永八声甘州。对潇潇暮雨洒江天）The western traditional philosophies put emphasis on analysis and logic and hold that the subjectiveness and objectiveness should be separated with each other. They always use concise, natural and direct words when writing. Compared with Chinese, in English writings, meaningless words are rejected, too much repetition is avoided. Lets take the following materials as an example.（2）1987年，整个国家将沉浸在欢歌笑语的喜庆中；欢乐的人们将向湛蓝的天空挥舞着欢庆的的礼貌；春夏秋冬，一道道色彩斑斓的彩虹飞架南北，牵连着北方的柚林，南方的沙滩。这是节日欢庆的彩虹，这是焰火灿烂的彩虹。The whole country will throw its hat into the crystal-clear air, and from the teak forests of the north to the silver sands of the South, a rainbow of colors will curve over the country for 12 monthsa rainbow of festivals and flowers and fireworks.At the end of the Chinese version, “这是节日欢庆的彩虹，这是焰火灿烂的彩虹。” is a parallel sentence. While in the English version, there is no corresponding sentence, which deletes the repeated words.All in all, these differences have blocked our way to cultural exchanges. But it is them that stir up our curiosities to explore the other opposite world. 4. The Cultural Differences Reflected on the Language of Tourist MaterialsA comparison of Chinese and Western cultural differences on reflected language of tourist materials will help Chinese translators be more sensitive to those differences. Here we will illuminate this problem from three main comparisons. 4.1 Subjective Expressions vs. Objective ExpressionsBecause of different thought patterns, when describing the same thing, Chinese and Westerners will put their emphasis on different points. Chinese people are not likely to draw up a clear-out and precise definition of the world, while they are willing to get a general comprehension of the matter. When it comes to the relationship between human and nature, Chinese philosophers persist in the theory that man and nature should be united together. They applaud that man and nature can coexist harmoniously. Under the influence of this thought, Chinese people are likely to integrate their emotions with sceneries. So when describing something, Chinese pay more attention to the description of the mental pictures. The description of tourist sceneries is often fill