翻译学期论文.doc

The Translation for Chinese Menu 班级：10英本（1）班 姓名：高露露 学号：1012011030 成绩_AbstractAs we all know, Chinese Food has a long history and is famous world widely. As an old Chinese saying goes:“Food is the paramount necessity of the people, and food safety should be given the top priority.” Food culture is an important part of traditional Chinese culture and we Chinese people always pay much attention to the food study. Besides, nowadays more and more people get increasingly interested in the Chinese food all around the world. Therefore, in order to better describe and discover the characteristics of the Chinese dish names and their translation, and at the same time to make foreign friends taste the unique flavor of Chinese dishes, it is very necessary for us to translate Chinese dishes accurately into English. This essay discusses the Chinese cuisine, translation methods of Chinese dishes names.Key words: menu translation methods Chinese food1. A Brief Introduction to the Chinese Menu TranslationTo closely discuss and examine the topic of menu translation, the definition of such translation must be made clear. Menu translation can be defined through derivation of the definition of translation in general. There are many kinds of Chinese food, we should know about the characteristic of their name first and we can do some translation appropriately. With an in-depth study of the English translation of many dish and food names, several specific translation principles and rules will be raised and elaborated to discuss the aspects and to present a complete and multi-dimensioned picture of the ways and approaches of Chinese menu translation.2. The Language Features of menu translation2.1 Omission of word is frequently used We often use a short name instead of all ingredient or accessories. We leave out some words in the original text, and we not need to translate them out, because there will not be this word but there is its meaning.For example: (1) 八宝豆腐：bean curd with eight delicious (2) 八宝海茸羹：seaweed soup of eight delicacies Above all, such as “八宝豆腐”, it is not only bean curd, there are also shrimps, corns, carrots and so on, but for convenience, we just use a short name in stand of all ingredient or accessories.2.2 Using rhetoric frequentlyWe use rhetoric devices to describe the shape and outlook of dishes, and it will be more interesting. Besides, it can always express our best wishes through the rhetoric names using.For example: 蚂蚁上树：sauted vermicelli with spicy minced pork 狮子头：braised meat balls with brawn sauce 玻璃鱿鱼：blazed squid slicedFrom above, such as“蚂蚁上树”is not ants climb trees, that is spicy minced pork is compared to ants and vermicelli to trees, such as“玻璃鱿鱼”is not real glass, just transparent syrup, such as“狮子头”is not real the head of the lion, just meat ball, because we use simile.2.3 Using four words phrase frequentlyFor example: (1) 金玉满堂：shrimp and egg soup(2) 四宝锦秀：The four beautiful dishes(3) 百年好合：sweep soup of lily and louts root(4) 年年有余：five-flavored fishFrom above, we can see that one Chinese menu is made of four words. And we can often see it in Chinese menu, four words phrase is the wisdom of Chinese civilization. It can express things people want to express.3. The strategies of menu translation3.1 Chinese cooking methods First of all, we should know the different cooking methods of Chinese food, and then it can help us with further discussion of the strategies of good translation. The following are the major methods:1. Fried or pan fried.2. Stewed or braised. Such as Braised Eggplant、Stewed or Braised Mutton.3. Bake、roast. Such as Baked Bread、Barbecued Pork.、Roast duck.4. steamed, such as Steamed bun; Smoked, such as Smoked rabbit; Scalded, such as Scalded Shrimps.3.2 Translation Strategies-Literal TranslationLiteral translation can make the source language and target language use almost the same form to express the same content, and get almost the same effect.There are major three types of translation methods:Translation for dishes which begin with cooking method:(1) Cooking methods + Major ingredients E.g. 炒鳝片: Stir-fried Eel Slices 煨牛肉: Simmered Beef 清蒸鳊鱼: Steamed Limeade(2)Cooing methods + Major ingredient+(with)+ AccessoryE.g.辣椒炒肉丁:Stir-fried Diced Pork with Green Pepper豆腐烧肉:Braised Pork with Preserve Bean Curd蟹粉蒸鱼肚:Stewed Fish Tripe with Grab Meat(3)Cooking methods + Major ingredient (Shape) (with, in) +FlavoringE.g.红烧鲤鱼头:Braised Carp Head with Soy Sauce煨虾球:Braised Prawn Balls With Chili/Chili Sauce清炖猪蹄:Stewed Pig Hoof in Clean SoupTranslation for dishes which begin with major ingredient:(1)Major ingredient(shape)+（with）AccessoryE.g.牛肉豆腐:Beef with Bean curd鸡丝凉面:Cold Noodles with Chicken Shreds(2)Major ingredient (shape) +(with, in) FlavoringE.g. 糖醋鱼: Fish with Sweet and Sauce椒盐排骨:Spare Ribs with Pepper and Salt米酒鱼卷:Fish Rolls with Rice WineTranslation for dishes which begin with materials shape or taste (1)Flavor + Cooking methods + Major ingredientE.g.水煮嫩鱼:Tender Stewed Fish 香煎鸡块:Fragrant Fried Chicken炸鱼球:Crisp Deep-fried Taro Ball(2)Shape (Flavor) +Major ingredient+ (with) AccessoryE.g.陈皮兔丁: Diced Rabbit with Orange Peel时蔬鸡片: Sliced Chicken with Seasonal Vegetables冬笋牛肉丝: Fried Beef Shreds with Bamboo Shoots(3)Shape (Flavor)+Major ingredient+(with)FlovoringE.g.茄子鱼片: Sliced Fish with Tomato Sauce黄酒脆皮虾仁: Crisp Shrimps with Rice Wine Sauce糖醋猪肉: Fried Pork Slices with Sweet and Sour Sauce3.3 Translation Strategies -Literal Translation + TransliterationFor some dishes which have local features, when translate such kind of dishes, method as “material +place +style” should be used. Such as 湖南肉:Pork Hunan Style, 麻婆豆腐:Bean Curd Sichuan Style and so on. But if use “translated place/personal name”，this kind of translation method sounds more “Chinese style”.Such as:东坡肉: Dongpo Braised Pork北京烤鸭: Beijing Roast DuckBut this kind of translation sometimes will make foreigners who are not familiar with Chinese dishes feel confused. They will ask who is Dongpo ? So when such kind of situation happens, a further explanation is necessary. You can add the history of the dish or some explanation after it.4. ConclusionIt can be seen that Chinese dishes translation is flexible and changeable. Chinese diet cultures uniqueness determines the translation can not be limited to a certain translation method, but the comprehensive embodiment of different translation methods. and the translation of Chinese menu is an important pa