英語專業(yè)畢業(yè)論文--中國文化特色詞語的異化英譯策略

1、<p><b>　　畢業(yè)論文</b></p><p>　　</p><p>　題 目Foreignization Strategies in Translating Chinese Culture-Specific Words and Expressions中國文化特色詞語的異化英譯策略</p>&l

2、t;p>　學(xué)生姓名</p><p>　學(xué) 號</p><p>　系 部外語系</p><p>　專業(yè)班級</p><p>　指導(dǎo)教師</p><p>　職 稱副教授</p><p><b>　　ABSTRACT</b></p><

3、p>　　In view of cultural differences, the inability to translate ideas and concepts from a source language to a target language is a permanent problem. Unique Chinese words are those lexical words which can reflect Chi

4、nese culture, exhibit Chinese connotations and radiate Chinese flavor. Chinese-specific words are unique to the Chinese and nowhere in the world can find equivalents for such words perfectly. Having no cultural equivalen

5、ts in the English speaking culture, particular Chinese expressions </p><p><b>　　KEY WORDS</b></p><p>　　Chinese culture-specific words; domestication; foreignization</p><p&

6、gt;<b>　　內(nèi)容摘要</b></p><p>　　由于文化差異，語言之間的不可譯性成為翻譯界一個永久性的問題。中國文化特色詞語傳播中國特色，展示漢語內(nèi)涵，反映中國文化。具有中國特色的詞匯在西方文化中找不到對等詞匯，成為漢英翻譯中的一大難題。在處理源語文化與目的語文化有較大差異的詞匯時，主要有兩種翻譯方法：歸化和異化。</p><p>　　本文通過對比研究認為異化

7、翻譯策略能打破目標(biāo)語習(xí)慣，保留源語的異國風(fēng)味，是翻譯中國特色詞匯的基本策略。同時，中國文化特色詞語的異化翻譯豐富了英語的表達方式，不僅為漢英語言的溝通架設(shè)橋梁，而且對英語這一國際通用語言的發(fā)展也起到了促進作用。</p><p><b>　　關(guān)鍵詞</b></p><p>　　中國文化特色詞語；歸化；異化</p><p><b>　　C

8、ONTENTS</b></p><p>　　1. Introduction…………………………………………………..…...….1</p><p>　　2. Dialectic about Foreignization.............................................................3</p><p&g

9、t;　　2.1 The Positive Aspects of Foreignization ...............................................7</p><p>　　2.2 The Negative Aspects of Foreignization..............................................8</p>&

10、lt;p>　　3. Analysis of Chinese Culture-specific Words……………………….9</p><p>　　3.1 Characteristics of Chinese Culture-specific Words…….………..…......…10</p><p>　　3.2 Vocabulary Vacancy in the Target

11、Language Culture…………………….11</p><p>　　4. Foreignization Strategies for Chinese Culture-specific Words………13</p><p>　　5. Conclusion…………………………….…………………..……….…….14</p><p>　　6.References…

12、…………………………………………………...………..17</p><p>　　Foreignization Strategies in Translating</p><p>　　Chinese Culture-Specific Words and Expressions</p><p>　　1. Introduction</p><p>

13、　　With the development of economic globalization and the increase of cross-cultural communication, never before was the role of translation considered as vital as it is today. It is very significant in transmitting natio

14、nal culture and promoting the communication between cultures, which has been a consensus universally acknowledged by translating field now. As an ancient country with civilization over 5,000 years, Chinese cultural influ

15、ences need to be broadened in the world. The present situation</p><p>　　For a long time, owing to the lack of cultural equivalents in the English-speaking culture, some words with Chinese characteristics are

16、 difficult to translate, which not only affects the quality of communication but also becomes a big problem in Chinese-English translation. These words peculiar to China are called Chinese culture-specific words in this

17、thesis. Chinese culture-specific words are the embodiment of Chinese cultural characters in language, and such kind of words in Chinese culture t</p><p>　　The cultural differences between Chinese and English

18、 cause the difficulties of Chinese-English translation. Generally speaking, there are two strategies that are source language (SL) culture-oriented and target language (TL) culture-oriented solving cultural differences i

19、n the course of translation: foreignization and domestication, put forward by American distinguished translation theorist Lawrence Venuti in 1995. He traced the two terms back to the German philosopher and translator Fri

20、drich Sc</p><p>　　Language is the carrier of culture, the particular culture produces the particular language. Nowadays, as an international language，English has been transplanted in different social-cultura

21、l contexts and integrated with other languages and cultures, which make many English varieties, emerge in the world. This trend combining with the translation of Chinese unique things and phenomena including the Chinese

22、culture-specific words by foreignization strategy causes the formation of China English. As</p><p>　　In view of the characteristics and functions of China English, we find that it coincides with the translat

23、ion of Chinese culture-specific words. Precisely speaking, the English translation of Chinese culture-specific words belongs to China English. China English makes our unique culture, language, thoughts and traditions pen

24、etrate into English culture through the specific translating methods，transliteration (with explanation), literal translation (with explanation), and free translation. In fact</p><p>　　2. Dialectic about Fore

25、ignization</p><p>　　The correct choice of translation strategies decides the success of a translation. A successful translation should retain the true information of the source text and win the understanding

26、 and appreciation of the target readers. Translating Chinese-specific words successfully is to urge target readers to recognize cultural differences and learn how to respect and accept them. Translating culture-specific

27、words is actually a kind of facsimile of culture, which requires the meaning of the source la</p><p>　　Domestication ever occupied an important status in the translation field from a historical perspective o

28、f translation strategy. When too many differences exist between two cultures, it is necessary for translation initiators and translators to choose domestication strategy for the convenience of introducing foreign culture

29、 and for the sake of transferring the main information of the original as quickly as possible. Domestication in some cases can help understanding: for some Chinese-specific wor</p><p>　　First, the individual

30、ity and speciality of a culture should be acknowledged. Owing to the existing differences between English and Chinese, translating Chinese-specific words into English is indeed embarrassed for the sake of giving attentio

31、n both to being faithfulness to the original culture and exactly delivering the connotative meanings. Despite the dominant role of foreignization strategy, complete foreignizing translation is impossible. To domesticate

32、or foreignize translation depends on th</p><p>　　Second, translation means to express what the original says and display its artistic style by using another language different from the original. Translation

33、is the creative activity taken by the translators. It is no surprise that the features of target language and the cultural awareness of the translator are revealed in target texts. Some translators advocate giving expres

34、sion to the creativity of the translator and giving consideration to the smooth reading and understanding of target reader</p><p>　　As a matter of fact, domestication and foreignization are different transla

35、tion strategies and both have their strong points. Both should be applied to translation in order to transfer the content of the original text better and both should be accepted by target readers in order to make communi

36、cation possible across cultures. To indiscriminately favor domestication or foreignization are the two extremes. The right attitude should be adherence to the principle of seeking harmony but not uniformit</p><

37、;p>　　theories. Every translation strategy has points of strength and points of weakness and every translation strategy is open to improvement. We are convinced that there is no foreignization without some degree of do

38、mestication, by the same token, there is no domestication without some degree of foreignization. Therefore, it is expected that the proper blend of foreignization and domestication is the answer to the requirements of th

39、e target reader. </p><p>　　2.1 The Positive Aspects of Foreignization </p><p>　　In recent years, more and more scholars promote a dominant role of foreignizingstrategy and the readers who like

40、a foreignizing translation are on the rise. Appropriate foreignization has many positive aspects. From the perspective of the culture, foreignization can retain the cultural characteristics of the foreign text. It contri

41、butes to reflecting the real situation of a foreign culture on an equal basis. The intensifying international exchanges; on the other hand, have provided the favorable</p><p>　　2.2 The Negative Aspects of Fo

42、reignization</p><p>　　Despite the merits of foreignization, it certainly has its limitations. Foreignization may impose too many obstacles in reading on target readers. From the perspective of information th

43、eory, the amount of information is the information added at the reception moment, that is, only new information is useful information. Supposing the source text and the target text conveying the same information, the tar

44、get readers get more information than the source text reader because the latter has more backup</p><p>　　The original aim of translation is to help the understanding and communication between different langu

45、ages and cultures. One unsaid aim of translation is to save time and money, because ordinary people don’t need to study a foreign language, which costs a lot of time and money, before s/he can read a foreign text to get

46、the information. In addition, there are so many languages and so many famous works in those different languages for us to read but time is limited. Translation is needed to deliv</p><p>　　Besides, foreigniza

47、tion is easily misused by some irresponsible translators. They make use of foreignization to disguise their pseudo-translation, awkward translation, unrestricted translation and indiscriminate translation. Any unidiomati

48、c translation can be crowned with foreignization. Indiscriminate foreignization can simply cause awkward Chinglish</p><p>　　3. Analysis of Chinese Culture-Specific Words</p><p>　　Culture-specifi

49、c words such as adages and idioms usually derive from historical events, methodologies, legends, etc., whose characteristics enjoy a distant origin, a long development and a strong national flavor, widely used among the

50、people and established and developed by the people though long social practice. All of them are in rich of content and meaning. Up to now, many experts and scholars have presented their views on defining culture-specific

51、 words. British translation theorist Mona Bak</p><p>　　From the definitions above, it is clear that culture-specific words occur in culture and can only find familiarities but not identities and equivalents

52、in another culture. So the author of this thesis holds:</p><p>　　Chinese culture-specific words refer to the words or expressions that are peculiar to the Chinese culture and have no equivalents in English a

53、nd other languages. These kinds of words or expressions usually involve in the fields of politics，economy, history，society and daily life, etc.</p><p>　　China enjoys long history and profound culture. Chines

54、e culture-specific words with their flexibility, vividness and richness deeply reflect the unique Chinese culture of thousand years. Numerous examples of them could be found in the Chinese language，such as most of foreig

55、ners have never slept on a “炕”（kang，a heatable brick bed)，eaten “臭豆腐”（stinking / smelly tofu), nor played “秧歌”（yangko). There are no equivalents in the English cultures for these terms. Generally speaking, Chinese cultur

56、e-spec</p><p>　　3.1Characteristics of Chinese Culture-specific Words</p><p>　　As for the definitions of Chinese culture-specific words, we can make a conclusion of their characteristics:</p&g

57、t;<p>　　Firstly, peculiarity and exclusiveness. These kinds of terms reflect the concepts, objects and products that are peculiar to Chinese culture. In other words, they don，t exist or differ from those in the En

58、glish cultures. Such as “旗袍”，“中國結(jié)”，etc.</p><p>　　Secondly, embedded with cultural connotations. Such terms have been shaped by many years，thus they are full of rich cultural connotations. Such as Chinese tra

59、ditional values“仁”，“義”，“禮”，“智”，“信” indicate the various behavioral norms required in ancient times.</p><p>　　Thirdly, no equivalents or identities in the English language. Such terms cannot find the equivale

60、nts or identities in the English language, although sometimes they have familiarities. To some extent, this is also the reflection of cultural diversity. Even if there are “equivalents” existed between cultures, their cu

61、ltural connotations may differ. “義” (yi) is usually translated “righteousness or justice’，，but neither of them are really the equivalents of “義” simply as “義” has much more cultural </p><p>　　3.2 Vocabulary

62、Vacancy in the Target Language Culture</p><p>　　The differences between China and the West in history, society，economy, ideology, religion and so on bring forth “cultural vacancy”，that is to say, some words

63、and expressions conveying the features of Chinese traditional culture have no equivalents in English. Vocabulary vacancy is mainly a result of cultural vacancy. As the most typical representative of Chinese culture in la

64、nguage, Chinese culture-specific words cannot find the counterparts in English, which causes vocabulary vacancy. Generall</p><p>　　Cultural peculiarity in historical deposits. China is one of the civilized n

65、ations with long history, whose traditional culture is naturally reflected in Chinese language. No one could deny that language reflects a nation’s history. Traditional deposits cause the different understandings for the

66、 same thing，and the further development of it causes vocabulary vacancy. For example, “龍” in Chinese culture is completely different from “dragon” in western culture. “龍” (Loong), as a supernatural animal</p><

67、p>　　Cultural peculiarity in regions. Different regions have different cultures, different cultures have different languages. Regional culture is shaped by different geographical locations, natural conditions and ecolo

68、gical environment. Many Chinese culture-specific words have strong flavor of regional culture. For example, “關(guān)關(guān)雎鳩，在河之洲” and “梯田” are quite unknown to the English speakers and of course bring difficulties to the translati

69、on as there are no equivalents in English. Some Chinese proverbs, i</p><p>　　Cultural peculiarity in custom. The culture of custom in China is embodied in many aspects, such as food, marriage, festivals and

70、colors, etc. Sometimes it is difficult for foreigners to understand, because cultural vacancy and vocabulary vacancy exist between cultures. For example, people in China often decorate their house in red in festive days,

71、 and people wear red clothes when they get married. However, western people think that red means violence and bloody. In Chinese. “童養(yǎng)媳” and “裹足” have </p><p>　　Cultural peculiarity in new words originating i

72、n modem times. With the development of our economy and society, a great number of emerging Chinese culture-specific words come into our daily life，most of which cannot find the equivalents in English, Lefs take the word

73、“黃?！?for example, originating from Shanghai dialect，“黃牛” in Chinese does not exclusively mean “cattle or ox”，but refers chiefly to “scalper，person who buys something and resells it at a price far above the initial cost”.

74、 However，in E</p><p>　　The reasons as listed above are by no means exhausted. They all serve to show a principle that cultural differences can cause vocabulary vacancy. Therefore, to find a way to bridge the

75、 vacancy, in other words, to translate Chinese culture-specific words into English should be considered by all of us.</p><p>　　4. Foreignization Strategies for Chinese Culture-specific Words</p><p

76、>　　As the bridge and tie, translation plays an indispensible role in cultural exchanges, enriching human cultures, promoting cultural convergence and integration. It can not leave cultural background, because “transla

77、tion is essentially cultural translation”(Zhao Yuanren, 1996:97) Translation activities, taking language as form, culture as contents, cultural exchange as target, begin and end with language. Therefore, a task involving

78、 how to manage and understand the cultural factors in translation </p><p>　　To be frank, the demand of foreignization in translation is also the embodiment for people to seek freshness and difference. Liu Yi

79、ngkai (1987) stated that people have a strong urge to seek freshness and difference in social cultural system and philosophical thinking system, which is endless in the linguistic-symbol system. The translated works shou

80、ld retain the cultural habits, local conditions and customs, religion，geography and habits of the original. (Ibid) According to Xu Jun (1996), an inv</p><p>　　Every single culture or language should be given

81、 the same respect The view that some languages are far superior to other cultures is a noted deterrent to understanding the relation between language and culture. (Nida, 2001:79) Therefore, cultural esteem for comparativ

82、ely weaker nations should be practiced through language. In other words，equal cultural status should be emphasized in communication. Only it has the respect of the equal status of different cultures and languages, cross-

83、cultural com</p><p>　　5. Conclusion</p><p>　　Cultures should coexist and strive for co-prosperity. It is necessary to be equal about culture and dialectic about foreignization. In the present-da

84、y world, manycultures witness a happy collision. Translation, to the moment, serves as the bridge of cultural exchanges. To refuse and exclude the foreign culture is incompatible with the function of translation. Complet

85、ely denying the foreign language will miss knowing the language’s true identity and result in failure to communicate with it. Trans</p><p>　　Foreignization is feasible under the circumstances that it does no

86、t affect comprehension of the target readers, does not ruin the readability of the target texts and does not extremely skew the target language. Foreignization may not be the best approach to translating, but it is a bet

87、ter way to arouse people’s attention to cultural uniqueness. A few difficulties can be tolerable but total unintelligibility should be avoided. Sometimes difficulties are used to cater for the target reader. Foreig</p

88、><p>　　Chinese-specific words are a meaningful part of Chinese culture, which reflect active, dynamic and colorful Chinese national condition. Chinese-specific words are unique phenomenon to China with no possi

89、ble equivalents in English. Foreignization, in this context, is a better choice to translate Chinese-specific words. It can better speed cultural exchanges and enhance mutual understanding between cultures. It ispositiv

90、e to conduct equal dialogues between different cultures. Foreignization is go</p><p>　　Although foreignization is a major translation strategy to translate Chinese-specific terms, we should be clear that it

91、is by no means the only way of translation. Complete foreignization in translation is impossible. We should keep in mind that we shouldn’t bombard target readers with too many unnecessary barriers. If target readers want

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