culturally-loaded terms and translation.doc

Culturally-loaded Words and Their TranslationAbstract:Among the factors of a language, it is the vocabulary that carries the most culture information and reflects human life thoroughly. As an information language, English has absorbed many foreign words and added its own cultural connotations. . Since each country has its own culture, we cannot transfer our own culture to another when we translate the literature works of another country. Otherwise, it will be a big barrier for culture communication. Then in this paper, some comparisons are made and some translation skills are put forward.Key words: culturally-loaded words, translation .IntroductionAs either literal translation is associated with two cultural contexts in which their cultural content is undoubtedly conveyed in two different languages. One of the basic principles of translation is to be faithful to the original. According to this principle, translation should first be faithful to the content of the original, with literal translation conveying the original cultural connotation in a precise way. While, to reach the aim, the cultural differences between two different languages are the key points we must pay attention to.II. Cultural differences reflected in words analysis“Culture consists of all the shared product of human society.” (Robertson, 1981) This means culture includes not only material things such as cities, organizations and schools, but also nonmaterial things such as ideas, customs, family patterns and language. In a word, culture refers to the entire way of life of a society. Whats more, culture is like an iceberg with a big part of its real substance hidden in the sea.Language is a part of culture and plays a very important role in it. Some social scientists consider it the keystone of culture. On the other hand, language is influenced and shaped by culture. And then, as we know, the word is the most active and lively element of a language, the changes in social life and the development in national culture can be reflected in words quickly and directly, so we must pay more attention to the analysis and comparison of the cultural connotation of words which reflect the cultural differences in different countries. And the cultural differences can be found in the following2.1.Cultural backgroundThe words used by people refer to common experience. They express facts, ideas or events that are communicable because they refer to all kinds of knowledge about the word, which is shared by other people too. Words also reflect their attitude and beliefs, their points of view. In both cases, language expresses cultural reality. When you are communicating with someone from your own culture, the process of using words to express your experiences is much easier because within a culture people share many similar experiences. But when communication is between people from different cultures, the process is more troublesome.2.2.Non-equivalenceWhile translating, one always tends to look for an equivalent word to translate the original meaning into the target language. But we cannot always find the equivalent words in another language and sometimes the words or terms which refer to the same objects do not have the same concept or refer to the same things.2.3.Conceptual groupingWhen defining the same object, languages in different countries are different in category, extension, and intension etc, which reflects cultural difference too.III. The elements that should be taken into account while translating:Language can never be separated from their cultural backgrounds, and it is the same with their translation. So culture is the first factor that should always be borne in mind.It is said, “Translation is unity of two cultures.” Because of cultural differences, equivalents are sometimes difficult to find, and the loss of message often unavoidably occurs. All those who learn foreign languages must study the corresponding cultures as well since the two can never be separated. Language can be looked upon as a tree rooted in the soil of culture. Different cultures may share some similarities, which are the basis for cultural exchange; and the differences are usually the obstacles for communication. It is proved that peoples attitudes toward nature and the ways of thinking are strongly influenced by their deep- set cultures. Different words or characters may arouse different images.It is now known that in the process of cultural exchanging, the relations between the cultures are as follows: coincidence, overlapping, cultural vacancy, and cultural conflicts. Wang Zuoliang points out that the greatest difficulty of translation lies in the cultural differences. A translation that is not able to transfer the message related with culture cannot be regarded as very successful translation. And among the three, cultural conflicts are the most confusing case to deal with.IV. The skills on how to translate words with cultural connotationOn the basis of his own translation practice Wang Zuoliang stresses that in translating literature, one should emphasize the following three points: (1) to translate the concept and convey the complete feeling of the original rather than just one word; (2) to use different styles with different genres; and (3) to pay more attention to the reader.Translators over 2000 years of Chinese history had given valuable opinions and developed the cause of translating. However, owing to the historical limitation, none of them had produced a systematic translation theory until the year 1898 when Yan Fu, a great translator, gave a systematic theory on the criteria of translating.Later new criteria have been developed, e.g. Lu Xuns “Fidelity and Coherence,” Fu Leis “ Spiritual Resemblance; ” and LinYutangs “ Faithfulness, Coherence, Beauty.” Simultaneously, foreign theories of translation have been introduced into China and furthered the discussion.Recently, a person named Zheng Hailing proposed a new theory of Harmony in translation, whose paper was issued on the fourth volume of 1999. In that article, Zheng insist that taking “ harmony” as the criteria is natural and practical, which is not only consonant with the practical rules of translation but also helps to achieve the aesthetic standard of translation art. In that article, Zheng collects and analyses five groups of elements that must be put into a harmonious relationship. They are, namely, the relationship between the translator and the original text, between the translator and the translation, between the original work and the translation, between the translation and its readers, and the relationship among the interior parts of translation.However different in form, the essence is the same: a translation should be as close as possible to the original work, and the target language readers should be able to enjoy the translations as the source language readers enjoy the originals. In other words, a qualified translation can make people speaking different languages laugh and cry together.As to the translation of the above cultural differences, the following can be tried.4.1.Retaining original cultural flavorTry to retain original cultural flavor, that is, the original literal form and inner meaning which can be accepted by the reader.4.2.Replace the cultural expressions of the source text with those of the target language.For example, a dragon in China is a holy symbol of nobility and power. In the past, only the king can be mentioned in the same breath with a dragon. Today, dragon is broadened to refer to any outstanding person. So it is the hope of every parent that his or her son will become a “dragon.” However, a dragon in English is no better than a ghost or a monster. It is a symbol of terror and cruelty. So if the Chinese idiom“望子成龙”is translated into English as “to hope ones son to become a dragon”, the target language reader may feel much puzzled. Thus we may say that whenever there is a culture conflict, the real fidelity can never be achieved if one insists on translating word. To solve the problem, one should think “Englishly,” and change the form so that the real meaning can be transferred correctly and the misunderstanding can be avoided.4.3.TransliterationTransliteration means words are translated according to the pronunciation, for instance, sofa(沙发)，chocolate(巧克力)。In reality, there are still more factors that limit translations, such as the readers psychology, education, subconscious and so on. For example, Mozart is well known in China, but few people know his middle name “莫扎特” than “阿马迪斯” although the latter appears to be more faithful.Sometimes, the national deep-rooted subconscious came from culture background will also affects the behavior of translators. That is, never use those unpleasant words or characters to terrify your readers. Suppose “penicillin” was translated as “盘你死淋”，nobody would like to buy the product, or “Shakespeare” was changed into “杀虱比牙”, I am afraid no one would still accepted as the great dramatist. Of course these are some fake extreme examples, but it can really tell us something.4.4.Non-standard translationThere are some examples on the translations of the corporation names. It will definitely bring a side effect for the corporation. In fact, there are some misapprehend areas in translating the corporation titles, and the most frequent isnot all the “公司 ”can be translated as “company” or “corporation”. Words like lines, agency, stores, associates, system, office, services, exchange, and center can all be employed to substitute “公司”.From the above, it is to see that to some extent, the reader factor should be considered when one tries to reach real fidelity. A translation should try to avoid confusing its readers, which is a basic requirement.Here something worth noticing is that never trying to retranslate the accepted versions no matter how wrong or inappropriate they are.VConclusionIn present-day China, translation is a very important mean for international exchange. Thus, translators must be responsible for their work. In order to guarantee the quality of translation, theorists have put forward many criteria.However, to reach the requirements needs both theory and practice, both hard work and inspiration, both rigid rules and flexible methods.Peter Newmark says that “the more important th