A Cultural Perspective on the Translation of Tourist Materials.doc

A Cultural Perspective on the Translation of Tourist MaterialsAcknowledgementsIt is with great pleasure that I acknowledge the efforts of all those people who have contributed to the completion of this thesis.First and foremost, my heartfelt gratitude goes to my supervisor Professor Luo Guoliang, who took much time from his onerous duties to offer me valuable instruction in what was essential to the thesis, including its structure, overall arrangement and wording. Without his guidance, this thesis would not be lucid and logical as it now in expression of its topic.I am also grateful to Professor Huang Yuansheng, Professor Xu Yaqin and other professors, whose fruitful instruction in the previous three years helped enhance my English competence and conjured up in my mind a broader vision of English study.Finally, I would avail myself of this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to my dear parents, my friends and my classmates, who encouraged me and offered tremendous help in material gathering throughout the whole process.AbstractThis present thesis is intended to conduct a comparatively systematic study on the translation of tourist materials from a cultural perspective. In doing so, the thesis attempts to explore some effective strategies and methods applied to the translation of tourist publication and find solutions to the problems popping up in the present English versions of tourist materials. For these purposes, the thesis, divided into six parts, deals with the following issues.Chapter One mainly introduces the current development of tourism and its role in Chinas economic development, highlighting the importance of the tourist industry in terms of economy.Chapter Two expounds the relationship among culture, language and translation, and points out that striking cultural discrepancies cause difficulties in the translation of tourist materials.Chapter Three highlights some problems in the translation of tourist materials, focusing on the errors caused through misunderstanding of cultural factors.Chapter Four is about functions of tourist materials and the criteria for translation. The author holds that Eugene A. Nidas Functional Equivalence can serve as the criteria for the translation of tourist materials.Chapter Five discusses several aspects of translating tourist materials, including translating names of scenic spots and texts. As a kind of mainly informative and vocative text, tourist materials must be translated through a combination of various methods, such as paraphrasing, adding, analogy, deletion and rewriting. During the process of translating, it is advisable for the translator to preserve specific cultural elements as much as possible; meanwhile, the translator has to make his or her translation comprehensible to the target readers.Chapter Six presents an analysis of the translation of Mount Jiuhua, my hometown, from Chinese into English by virtue of strategies and methods mentioned in previous chapters, to be followed by authors comments.It can be inferred that the thesis possesses practical values and innovative ideas, for it integrates the translation theory with practice by translating the brochure of Mount Jiuhua, which will facilitate the promotion of the tourism culture of Mount Jiuhua.An excellent translation of tourist materials is conducive to the promotion of Chinese culture on the stage of the world，serving to push ahead our flourishing tourist industry. It is intended that this thesis will give translators some helpful hints about translation of tourist materials.Due to the authors own limitations in respect of knowledge and her power to express herself fully, this thesis certainly leaves much to be desired. For this reason, suggestions and criticisms are cordially welcome from experts and professors. Key Words: tourist materials, culture, translation内容提要如今，随着经济全球化的发展，跨文化交流日趋频繁。其中旅游是最喜闻乐见的一种交流。在游山玩水之中亲身体验异国文化是一种享受。旅游因而被赋予了独特的文化内涵。中国悠久的历史、灿烂的文化每年都吸引了大批的外国游客到中国旅游。根据外国游客的需求，我们出版了大量的英语版的旅游资料，如旅游宣传手册、导游书、旅游杂志等来介绍旅游景点，传播中国文化。但很多资料良莠混杂，情况不容乐观。除了译者本身的语言水平，对文化的误解和忽略更是影响翻译质量的重要因素。这些低劣的翻译作品势必会给旅游业的发展产生负面影响, 必须予以重视。本文拟从文化角度出发来分析旅游资料翻译中出现的一些问题，并针对这些问题提出了一些提高翻译质量的意见和方法。论文由以下几部分组成：第一章主要介绍了当前中国旅游业发展的状况以及旅游业在中国经济发展中的地位。第二章探讨了语言、文化和翻译三者的关系，指出中外巨大的文化差异给旅游资料的翻译带来了困难。第三章对当前旅游资料存在的一些问题进行了定性分析,着重分析了由于文化失误所引起的问题。第四章讨论了旅游资料的文本功能及翻译标准。笔者认为尤金奈达的“功能性对等”可作为旅游资料翻译的标准。第五章讨论了旅游资料翻译的几个方面，如景点地名的翻译方法，文本的翻译方法等。作为一种主要具备信息性和呼唤性的文本，旅游资料的翻译应结合多种翻译方法，即常用的增、删、类比、解释、改写等。翻译过程中，尽量保留原文中的文化因素，同时让译文读者容易接受。第六章是一篇翻译评论，从上述理论、方法出发，对家乡安徽九华山的旅游手册的翻译进行了点评。本论文的新颖之处在于首次将九华山旅游文化的英译本作为分析的素材，从而将理论和实践密切结合起来，其研究成果将促进九华山佛教旅游文化的对外宣传。优秀的旅游翻译作品有利于中国文化走向世界，同时对我国的旅游经济也是一种推动和促进。希望本文能给从事旅游资料翻译工作的人们起到抛砖引玉的作用。当然囿于笔者的知识水平和表达能力，本文定有不少疏漏不当之处，还望专家不吝赐教指正。关键词：旅游文本 文化 翻译ContentsAcknowledgementsiAbstract.iiIntroduction.1Chapter OneTourism and Its Role in Chinas Economic Development31.1 1.1 Definition of Tourism31.2 1.2 Culture and Tourism.41.3 1.3 Survey of General Development of Tourism in China.51.4 1.4 Impacts on National Economy.7Chapter TwoRelations between Culture, Language and Translation82.1 Culture.82.1.1 Definitions of Culture82.1.2 Main Aspects of Culture92.2 Language and Culture.112.3 Translation.112.3.1 Definition of Translation.112.3.2 Translation and Intercultural Communication.122.3.3 Cultural Distance and Translation.122.4 Cultural Discrepancies Manifested in Tourist Materials.132.4.1 Discrepancies in Psychology.132.4.2 Discrepancies in Social Customs and Habits.142.4.3 Discrepancies in Moral Standards.152.4.4 Discrepancies in Religious Beliefs152.4.5 Discrepancies in Aesthetics .162.5 Difficulties in Translating Tourist Materials17Chapter ThreeTranslation Problems in the English Version of Tourist Materials183.1 Linguistic Errors.183.2 Pragmatic Errors.193.3 Cultural Errors203.3.1 Translators Misunderstanding of Cultural Messages in the Source Language203.3.2 Verbose and Pompous Diction23 Chapter FourCriteria for Translations of Tourist Materials.254.1 Language Functions.254.2 Main Functions of Tourist Materials.274.3 Criteria for Translations of Tourist Materials.28 Chapter FiveProposed Methods of Translation of Tourist Materials.305.1 Methods of Translating Texts of Tourist Materials305.1.1 Metaphrasing.305.1.2 Paraphrasing315.1.3 Explanation.325.1.4 Adding.335.1.5 Analogy345.1.6 Deletion.355.1.7 Rewriting.375.2 Tips for Translators395.3 Methods of Translating the Names of Scenic Spots395.3.1 Transliteration.405.3.2 Explanation.41 5.3.3 Transliteration + Explanation.42Chapter SixText AnalysisMount Jiuhua: Sacred World of the Southeast43Conclusion.53Bibliography55IntroductionSince Macro Polo first returned from the Far East in 1295 with exotic treasures and wondrous stories, China has been a land of great fascination to the West.Covering an area of 9.6 million square kilometers, China is endowed with a variety of tourism resources, which provide an advantage for developing tourism. Her five thousand years of civilization, her beautiful landscape and her diverse spectacles cast an irresistible charm on the people of the world and attract numerous western travelers to visit China.Chinas tourism has been developing rapidly since the policy of reform and opening-up was adopted in late 1978. Now it has matured into an industry of respectable magnitude with quite a complete industrial make-up and has become one of the fastest-developing industries of the national economy and a new economic growth point in the 21st century. China is already the worlds fifth most popular tourist destination. According to the estimation of the World Tourism Organization, by the year 2020, China is set to become the worlds largest tourist destination and the fourth major source of tourism.1 http：//frameset/frame-east-asia.htm1 Catering to the needs of foreign visitors, a large number of tourist materials written in English or translated into English have been published. Here tourist materials refer to various materials, which introduce Chinese tourism industry and tourism resources with average foreign tourists as their readers. However, the quality of these materials is far from satisfactory. In many tourist attractions, due to lack of intercultural awareness and ignorance of visitors diverse cultural backgrounds on the part of some translators, some poor-quality English versions of tourist materials can be seen at certain places. These bad translation works have not only caused misinterpretation among western travelers, but have also affected the development of tourist industry and the image of China overseas in a broad sense. Therefore, a further study into the translation of tourist materials from the perspective of cultural differences is a must. That is to say, apart from translation techniques, translators must have a good command of intercultural knowledge when rendering the source language into the target language so that the version of the target language will become accurate and readily acceptable. Based on the above analysis, this thesis is intended to approach the translation of tourist materials from a cultural perspective. In a narrow sense, a relatively full and proper transference of a cultural message can help western tourists get a better understanding of Chinese culture and enjoy their stays in China; in a broad sense, a good translation will promote the spread of Chinese culture and facilitate the growth of Chinas tourism industry. Tourist materials serve as a window for foreign tourists to know China better. A vivid and true-to-like description of tourist attractions will arouse the interest of potential visitors and spur them to visit China, thus pressing ahead with the tourist industry, which in turn contributes to the development of national economy.Chapter OneTourism and Its Role in Chinas Economic Development1.1 1.1 Definitions of TourismFrancis Bacon wrote in his prose Of Travel: “Travel, in the younger sort, is a part of education; in the elder, a part of experience.” This idea coincides with an old Chinese saying: A better way to acquire knowledge is to travel ten thousand li rather than read ten thousand volumes.Travel has always been regarded as a very effective way of obtaining knowledge and enriching lives worldwide. Nowadays, under the pressure of hectic daily life, many people choose to tour outside the home environment or abroad to relax. Almost everyone has some rough idea about tourism. One of the first attempts to define tourism was made by Professors Hunziker and Krapf of Berne University. They held that tourism should be defined as “the sum of the phenomena and relationships arising from the travel and stay of non-residents, in so far as they do not lead permanent residence and are not connected to any earning activity”.2 Christopher Holloway, The Business of Tourism,(Plymouth ：Macdonald and Evans Ltd .,1983),p.22In 1981, an international conference on Leisure-Recreation-Tourism, held by the International Association of Scientific Experts in Tourism and the Tourism Society in Cardiff, formulated a broader definition: “Tourism may be defined in terms of particular activities selected by choice and undertaken outside the home environment. Tourism may or may not involve an overnight stay away from home.”3 Ibid ., p.33 In 1991, the World Tourism Organization endorsed the following statement, “Tourism comprises the activities of persons traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business or other purposes.”4 Charles J.Metalka, The Dictionary of Tourism, second ed.,(Wheaton :Merton House Travel and Tourism Publishers Inc., 1986) p.101-1024International tourism is thus defined by the World Tourism Organization as “travel across international borders for more than 24 hours for the purpose of business or pleasure”.1.2 Culture and Tourism Nowadays people are becoming more and more familiar with the term “cultural tourism”, which reflects the close relationship between tourism and culture. Tourism is a kind of cultural phenomenon, and cultural communication is the purpose of tourism activities. Firstly, the hope to understand different cultures is the fundamental motive of tourism. People always feel curious about those they are not familiar with. The nature of pursuing newness and beauty urges people to go out for adventures. These adventures bring about cultural exchanges and thus, tourism, as a special industry, comes into being. Secondly, culture is the most important implication of tourist resources. Generally speaking, tourist resources are composed of natural resources and artificial resources. The latter is the reflection of culture, which includes historical relics, festivities, man-made tourist scenery and so on. The natural resources, though from nature, are explored by human beings and characterized by human cultural consciousness. Majestic Huangshan Mountain, the beautiful Lijiang River, the splendid Huangguoshu Waterfall, combined with traditional Chinese culture and endowed with human aesthetic values, are actually personified natural spots. 1.3 Survey of General Development of Tourism in ChinaNowadays, with the development of economic globalization, intercultural communication is becoming increasingly frequent. Traveling is one of the most popular communications. It is a pleasant enjoyment for tourists to experience foreign cultures. Thus tourism has become a pillar industry in Chinas development toward a socialist market economy. China is rich in tourism resources. China is truly one of the few countries in the world with a vast territory, huge population, long-standing history, stunning natural beauty and rich multi-ethnic culture. This unique combination of natural and cultural resources has become a major asset for China in its effort to develop tourism.Sound economic growth supports the tourism industry. The furtherance of the economic reform and opening-up has helped Chinas economy grow quickly. China experienced an annual growth of approximately 8.3 percent in the latter half of the 1990s. It is expected to grow at 7 percent per year in the first five years of the new century. The steady growth of the national economy will afford further improvement on infrastructure for tourism development and, at the same time, will foster the interest of more tourists, both at home and abroad.Positive government policies advance tourism. As early as about 20 years ago, to be more exact, in the 1980s, the Chinese government first made clear that tourism was an important part of the tertiary (service) industry. Further on, tourism was designated as a growth point of the national economy in about the late 1990s. So far, over two-thirds of the provincial governments have committed to making tourism one of their pillar industries. In the national campaign for the development of western China, tourism has also been made a priority among industrial sectors. A number of preferential government policies have been worked out to support tourism development at both central and local levels.The international climate is improving for Chinas tourism development. China is located in the rapidly growing Asia-Pacific Region. Both economies and tourism industry in that region are expected to grow faster than those in the rest of the world. China, the largest country in the Asia-Pacific Region, is an active member of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). In terms of international tourism, China enjoyed the fastest growth in tourist arrivals in the region in the last decade, and such trend will develop further in the years to come.Chinas entry into the World Trade Organization expands tourism. China joined the World Trade Organization in November 2001. This has provided golden opportunities for its tourism development. More international management practices have been introduced. The removal of barriers to trade and travel enhances Chinas position as a country for financial investment, international business, and business and leisure travel.5 Lew,Alan A and Yu L., ed. Tourism in China: Geographic, Political and Economic Perspectives. Boulder: Westview Press Inc.1995.p3565TABLE 1.1.Worlds Top Ten International Tourism Destinations (2000)Rank Countr