English Translation of Terms with Chinese Characteristics 中国特色词汇的英译.doc

English Translation of Terms with Chinese CharacteristicsABSTRACT Terms with Chinese characteristics express the unique things in Chinese culture, which contain the connotation of Chinese culture for thousands of years. When the Chinese culture is spread around the world, how can these terms with Chinese characteristics be translated into English without losing the original meaning and be accepted by the English-speaking people? The paper, by giving a number of examples, introduces some methods of translating terms with Chinese characteristics, including transliteration, literal translation, and free translation and so on. These methods help to understand how Chinese culture-loaded words are transformed into English used in English, and how they gradually integrate into the traditional English and satisfy the demand of communication in English. On the other hand, the paper also gives some examples of how these terms are translated by American leading media. Whats more, it gives some examples of English translation of Chinese recipe. At last, it also offers some views on the prospect of the spread of terms with Chinese characteristics in English-speaking countries.Keywords: terms with Chinese characteristics English translation vacancy in vocabulary Chinese recipe name Foreignization中国特色词汇的英译摘 要 中国特色词汇是表达中国文化中的特有事物，其中蕴藏着中国千百年文化的内涵。当中国的文化传出中国走向世界的时候，这些中国特色词汇又是怎样不失原味地被翻译成外语从而被外国人所接受的呢？本文将以中国特色词汇翻译成英文为例，介绍了一些中国特色词汇被译成英语的方法,它们分别是音译、直译、意译等。通过这些方法可使大家基本了解中国特色词汇在英语交际中是怎样被转换、被使用，并逐渐融合进传统英语中的，以满足人们日常生活中用英语交流的需要。另一方面也从另一角度谈谈美国主流媒体对中国特色词汇采取的翻译策略。同时,也谈谈中式菜谱名称的英译。最后，还将提出一些关于中国特色词汇在英语国家传播的前景的看法。摘要：中国特色词汇 英译 词汇空缺 中国式菜谱名称 异化 CONTENTS ABSTRACTI摘 要II1 Introduction12 The Cause of Difficulties in Translation of Terms with Chinese Characteristics22.1 The Problems and Difficulties in Translation of Terms with Chinese Characteristics.22.2 The Cause of Difficulties in Translation of Terms with Chinese Characteristics22.2.1 Accumulation of Historical and Cultural Factors that Causes the Vacancy in Vocabulary32.2.2 Region- Cultural Difference Causes the Vacancy in Vocabulary32.2.3 Cultural and Customs Difference Causes the Vacancy in Vocabulary43 Methods of Translating Terms with Chinese Characteristics53.1 The Feature of Chinese Vocabulary53.2 Methods of Translating Terms with Chinese Characteristics63.2.1 Transliteration63.2.2 Literal Translation63.2.3 Free Translation63.2.4 The Combination of Transliteration or Literal Translation and Interpretation.73.2.4.1 The Combination of Transliteration and Interpretation.73.2.4.2 The Combination of Free Translation and Interpretation.73.3 English Translation of Chinese Recipe Name83.3.1 English Translation of Cutting Technique83.3.2 English Translation of Cooking Methods83.3.3 The Way of Naming the Chinese Dishes and Their English Translation83.3.3.1 Methods of Translating the Chinese Dishes93.3.3.1.1 Literal Translation93.3.3.1.2 The Combination of Literal Translation and Interpretation93.3.3.1.3 Free Translation94 The Method Used by American Leading Media104.1 Examples of English Translation of Terms with Chinese Characteristics104.2 Conclusion125 The Prospect of Terms with Chinese Characteristics13References14Appendix15Some English Translation of Terms with Chinese Characteristics151 Introduction1.1The Achievements of English Translation of Terms with Chinese Characteristics English has played an important role in communication since it was introduced into China. There have been dramatic changes in politics, economics, science and technology and other aspects of social life since the reform and opening-up. So in the process of international communication, terms with Chinese characteristics are translated into English. Many translators and scholars have studied the translation for some time. Some achievements have been made. We can consult some books or periodicals such as Approaches to Translation of Chinese Words and Expressions into English written by Yang Quanhong, On Translation of Chinese Press Neologisms into English written by Zhang Jian, etc. Articles on such topics are also available on the Internet.2 The Cause of Difficulties in Translation of Terms with Chinese Characteristics2.1 The Problems and Difficulties in Translation of Terms with Chinese Characteristics. Though it has got some achievements, there are still problems and difficulties in translating terms with Chinese characteristics. On the one hand, terms with Chinese characteristics reflect our unique things and phenomena and imply the Chinese national characteristics, so its translation has its own particularity. Therefore, the English translation has little or no precedent to draw on, which requires the translators original creation. Meanwhile, because one of the most important aims of Chinese-English translation is to publicize our government's domestic policies and measures, as well as to clarify our governments standpoints and attitudes towards international issues. Such political documents often involve new words of current state policies and principles and the basic policy. Therefore, the requirements of translating such documents are very strict. It is particularly important to avoid making political mistakes. For these reasons, we should not blindly copy the translation of western media. That is to say, when we translate these terms, we should take politics into consideration.2.2 The Cause of Difficulties in Translation of Terms with Chinese Characteristics Language coming into being with the development of history, it is the vehicle of culture. Culture is like the soil raising the development of language. The true meaning of it is very familiar to the local cultural group, but it is new to different cultural ones. Different cultures create different language groups. Therefore, when they come to communicate and exchange their ideas, it leads to the vacancy in vocabulary; that is to say, we can not find the corresponding words to express the same meaning within the scope of non-native languages. These cultural differences mainly lie in religious beliefs, art, morals, laws, customs, and other social acquisitions and habits. 2.2.1 Accumulation of Historical and Cultural Factors that Causes the Vacancy in Vocabulary China is an ancient oriental civilization with a long history, so its traditional culture and thoughts can be reflected in its language naturally. And traditions are deeply rooted in Chineses minds. Just take “龙” as an example. In Chinese culture, “龙” is one of the miraculous animals according to ancient legend. Besides, it is also regarded as the symbol of the Chinese nation, forming a kind of totem of Chinese culture. Now we Chinese people are called “descendants of loong”. So we can realize the great influence of “龙”. In ancient China, many emperors took “龙” as the symbol of power. While in western countries, “龙”(dragon) is dangerous. In these cultures, dragon is the symbol of evil, a monster spitting fire. This example is the result of traditional accumulation, causing the difference to the same thing by different nations. Its further development leads to the vacancy in vocabulary. Other examples are “中秋节” (Mid-Autumn Day), “泼水节”(Water-Splashing Day). These are the Chinese traditional festivals and the accumulation of fine Chinese culture, which have been passed on from generation to generation since the ancient time. These traditional festivals are not only exclusive to the Chinese people, but they are popular among some foreign people who love these festivals. While people in Europe or United States have faith in Christian, so there are a lot of words and festivals relating to the Bible, such as “a covenant of salt” and “as poor as a church mouse”. On the other hand, Buddhism and Taoism are two important component of Chinese culture. This can be reflected in “苦海无边,回头是岸”( The sea of suffering is boundless; yet a turn of the gear is the other shore) and “佛法无边” (the powers of Buddha are unlimited). More examples with folk culture in China, such as “武术”(wu shu), “功夫”(kung fu), “秧歌”(yang ko), were unheard by foreign people before Chinese reform and opening-up. The examples above show the vacancy in vocabulary because of the different cultures.2.2.2 Region- Cultural Difference Causes the Vacancy in Vocabulary Region-cultural difference refers to the differences of geographical locations, natural conditions and ecological environment in different nations. The generation of language is related to peoples work and life. Lots of idioms, slangs, allusions, sayings, maxim and proverbs in English translation with Chinese characteristics are with a strong Han ethical character and geographical feature. Chinese people are living on the Asian continent, so their living is inseparable from land. While England is an island country with well-developed maritime industry. For this reason, there are lots of land-related vocabularies in Chinese, while there are sea-related vocabularies in English. For example, in Chinese, we use “土崩瓦解” to describe something or somebody totally collapsed. On the other hand, we use “get into hot water” to express someone is in difficulty. Another example is that we use “烂醉如泥” to describe someone is drunk, while in English it is “drunk as a sailor”. It use “sailor” instead of “泥”(mud) in English. 3 In addition, the geographical difference affects the changes in weather so that it will affect the farming and animal husbandry, which is another cause of vacancy in vocabulary. In northwest of British Isles, it is humid and rainy, so it is suitable for the growth of mushrooms. But China is located in the southeast of Asia with a vast territory and the weather in different areas is different greatly. Therefore, “雨后春笋”in Chinese used to express a large number of new things emerging is translated into English -“spring up like mushroom” or “to mushroom up”.2.2.3 Cultural and Customs Difference Causes the Vacancy in Vocabulary The differences in custom between English and Chinese can be reflected in many ways, such as in diet, marriage ceremony, the preference to colors and the relationship with relative and so on. These differences also lead to the vacancy in vocabulary. For example, people like using red ornaments to decorate the house, because the red color represents good luck in China. Brides and bridegrooms often wear in red when they are getting married. While the red color stands for violence and blood in western countries. On the other hand, in western countries, brides and bridegrooms wear in white to show their pure true love, while white is regarded unfortunate in China 4. Because of this, it is not “a red day” out of Chinese people is a lucky day, but “a white day” is. So “红人” ,which can not be translated into “a red-haired girl” but into “a white headed boy”. How about their different attitudes towards pets? People like pets in western countries. Dog is one of their favorite pets and regarded as their loyal friend. However, dog is treated as a kind of inferior animal in Chinese culture. It is considered as degrading. Many Chinese terms with “狗”(dog) are negative, such as“狗胆包天”,“狗仗人势”,“狗腿子”,“狗头军师”,“狗急跳墙”and so on. While in English, terms with “dog” are not negative, such as “be top dog”, “a lucky dog”. Besides, we can find many terms with Chinese characteristics, such as “裹足”(bound feet a vile feudal practice which crippled women both physically and spiritually), “童养媳”(child wife girl raised from childhood to be wife of son of family). Moreover, there are some terms reflecting the Chinese living habits. For example, “炕”(kang:a heatable brick bed). From the above example, we can figure out that cultural and customs difference also leads to the vacancy in vocabulary.3 Methods of Translating Terms with Chinese Characteristics3.1The Feature of Chinese Vocabulary Generally, there are three categories of writing systems in the worldthe hieroglyph the ideograph (alphabetic writing) and the phonography 1 (25). Chinese characters are ideography, which are significantly different from other alphabetic writing used by most ethnics through out the world. Its table-shaped structure has a close relation with its ideograph. This feature is determined by its nature. Concerning the ancient Chinese, dominated by monosyllables, there was lots of homophones but lack of morphological changes, coupled with serious differences between dialects, while the Chinese characters are ideographic in nature can be adapted to these characteristics to meet the communication needs. So the character itself has become a major feature in Chinese culture 2 (362). The question is how the Chinese word was made of. The answer is that the Chinese characters are separate from Chinese words. Although people are creating new characters, the number of the characters is definitive. But the structure of Chinese new words is infinite. Word form of Chinese character is more fixed, unlike English which can be varied. Now, modern Chinese and English are similar in expanding the vocabulary by synthetic method, so the capability of the creating new vocabulary combined by the characters and words. By contrast, characters and words are not separated in English. Or we can say, there are no characters but words in English. Although there are free-bound in English, the number of it is limited. In a word, because the Chinese characters mostly reflect their meanings, their meanings are quite narrow, more precise, fixed. For this reason, the flexibility of narrowing or enlarging meaning is small; the meaning of a Chinese word usually not varied from context 1 (26). For this reason, the vacancy in vocabulary in the process of bilingual changing appeared and the information of this feature with their cultural background which is inseparable. Besides, there are some new terms with Chinese characteristics emerging since the founding of new China, such as “人民公社” （the Peoples Commune）, “文化大革命” （Cultural Revolution）, “赤脚医生” （barefoot doctor）. It is particular true since the reform and opening-up. More new terms with Chinese characteristics continue to emerge. It has been involving in economic, political cultural and educational fields. From the term “改革开放” (the reform and opening up), “家庭联产承包制”（the household contract responsibility system）, “下岗工人” （the laid off workers）to the term “农民工”(farmer worker) and “三个代表的重要思想” （important thought of Three Represents）, they are all the terms with Chinese characteristics. The main characteristics of these terms are as followssimple, popular and distinctive. Although these terms with Chinese characteristics were not understood by the English-speaking people, as our prosperity of economy and culture and the improvement of our overall national strength, they are eager to learn more