文化因素对翻译的影响及归化和异化应对策略(英文版)(pdf 7页).pdf

I n f l u e n c eo fC u l t u r a lF a c t o r so nT r a n s l a t i o na n dS t r a t e g i e s o fD o m e s t i c a t i o na n dF o r e i g n i z a t i o n YANG Chun quan School of Foreign Languages and Cultures Ningxia University Yinchuan 750021 China Abstract This paper elaborates on the influence of cultural factors on translation and then puts forward the view that domestication translation and foreignization translation should be the two desirable and basic strategies in dealing with the influence of cultural differences on translation In the end it points out that domestication translation and foreigniza tion translation are not contradictory but complementary In view of cultural exchange in cross cultural communication translation foreignization translation should be adopted as much as possible to convey the source language culture to the target language culture readers while dometication translation may be used if appropriate to supplement foreignization translation Key words cultural differences domestication translation foriegnization translation CLCN H135 9Document Code AArticle ID 0000 2157 SG 2008 03 0058 07 Translating is not simply the act of transferring the meaning of a text from one language into another lan guage and it is really a complex and fascinating task that requires much effort Theauthor of the paperbelieves that translation is the transformation from one language and culture the source language culture to another different language and culture the target language culture Eu gene A Nida 2001 states that the role of language within a culture and the influence of the culture on the meanings of words and idioms are so pervasive that can scarcely any text be adequately understood without care ful consideration of its cultural background According to Larry A Samovar 2000 intercultural communica tion occurs when a member of one culture produces a message for consumption by a member of another cul ture Here I d like to use the term of cross cultural com municationwhenreferringto communicationbetweenpe ople from different cultures Therefore translation as an interlingual communication is both the transformation from one language to another and the transference from one culture to another In a way we can say translation is cross cultural communication and cross cultural com munication is translation Anyway Language is a part of culture so when translating a text from one language to another we cannot ignore the necessary knowledge of the two cultures involved Because of the different social systems historical Received date 2007 09 05 Biography YANG Chun quan 1977 male master student majoring in theory and practice of translation origins cultural origins religions and customs etc what exists in one culture may not be found or have an exact equivalent in another culture For instance I have ever seen the film Guasha Treatment 刮痧 which was a box office success and thename of Guasha makes many Eng lish learners feel it is a knotty problem in translation As Gussha skin scraping for acute filthy disease is a tradi tional Chinese treatment that can cure many diseases and in America it doesn t exist and therefore Americans don tknowthis kindoftreatment Naturally culturalcon flict in translation or communication occurs We may de scribe this phenomenon as vocabulary vacancy What is more in the film Xu Datong the main character and the father of the son who received the treatment of Guasha said seven Jing and eight Mai 七经八脉 when ex plaining the treatment to the judge but the judge just un derstood nothing Actually 经 and 脉 don t have the equivalent words in English either and they are really too difficult for the Americans to understand so Xu Datong had no choice but to translate them into seven Jing and eight Mai The translation by Xu Datong is not ridicu lous but makes us realize that cultural differences do makethetranslationdifficult Also in thefilmtheAmeri can lawyer named 炼丹炉 as the workshop of 太上老 君 the Most Senior The dragon is the symbol of Chinese nation and it is the imaginary creature in Chinese legends According to the Contemporary Chinese Dictionary 2002 it is a leg endarycreaturewith along body scales horns wings and feet which can walk fly swim and gather clouds to pour down rain What is more the dragon was a symbol of the emperor in feudal China and the character 龙 can also be affixed to things connected with the emperor like 龙 体 龙袍 龙颜大怒 龙子龙孙 etc InChinesecul ture the dragon is regarded as a fortunate and promising supernatural creature that can bring people good luck It often symbolizes a powerful and honorable person Chin ese people address themselves as 龙的传人 and the English speaking people just fail to understand this phe nomenon becausetheEnglish speaking peopleregardthe dragonasadreadfulanimallikeacrocodileor asnakeand believe it is an evil omen Therefore when we translate the well known 亚洲四小龙 we should turn them into four tigers which is much easier for the English speak ing people to accept There arealso many idioms either in Chinese culture or in British the translator leaves the reader in peace as much as possible and move the author toward him Schuttleworth thus apre liminary discussion is conducted o