從文化語境順應角度析文化負載詞的英譯以《浮生六記》的兩個英譯本為個案研究

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1、從文化語境順應角度析文化負載詞 的英譯—以《浮生六記》的兩個英譯 本為個案研究 摘 要 隨著中國國際地位的提升，越來越多的西方人對中國的傳統(tǒng)文化表現(xiàn)出極大的興趣。 研究中國傳統(tǒng)文學作品的英譯有利于進一步提高中國傳統(tǒng)文化在世界范圍內(nèi)的影響力。 然而，中西文化的巨大差異使?jié)h英翻譯困難重重。這首先表現(xiàn)在詞匯翻譯的層面，譬如 文化負載詞的翻譯。 在《浮生六記》中存在著大量的文化負載詞，涉及到生活的方方面面。它們反映了 中國的傳統(tǒng)文化特點，同時也給跨文化交流及漢英翻譯造成了障礙。探討這些文化負載 詞的翻譯有著重要的現(xiàn)實意義。因此，作者以維索

2、爾倫的順應論為理論指導，用林語堂 （1999）以及白倫和江素惠（2006）的《浮生六記》英譯本中文化負載詞的翻譯為個案，通過建立小型數(shù)據(jù)庫，采用定性分析和定量分析相結合的方法，從文化語境順應的角度對文化負載詞的英譯進行探討。 在順應論的視角下，翻譯是一個不斷做出選擇的動態(tài)過程。這個過程包括對于源語作品的選擇、需要傳達的意義的選擇以及翻譯策略和方法的選擇。本文作者著重討論了譯者在文化負載詞翻譯過程中對于翻譯策略和方法的選擇，認為譯者在解讀源語詞匯時應順應源語文化以求做出正確的理解，在轉(zhuǎn)換時應順應不同的文化語境采取不同的翻譯策略和方法。具體來說，如果在目的語文化中完全不存在對應項，則采

3、用順應于源語文化的翻譯方法，即音譯和直譯；如果在目的語中能夠找到對應的概念，則采用順應于目的語文化的翻譯方法，即音譯加概括詞、音譯/ 直譯加注、意譯、釋義、增譯、替代、省略以及融合。這個過程當中譯文讀者作為翻譯活動中的重要參與者譯者必須考慮其接受能力和期待。此外，譯者的素質(zhì)、對于目的語讀者的文化背景的判斷等因素也影響著譯者對于翻譯策略和方法的選擇。 通過數(shù)據(jù)分析發(fā)現(xiàn)，兩個英譯本采取了相似的翻譯策略，即以順應目的語文化為主，順應源語文化為輔。雖然直譯和音譯的使用頻率較高，但順應目的語文化的各種翻譯方法得到了更為廣泛的使用?？偠灾?，這兩個譯本在傳播中國傳統(tǒng)文化中所所采取的翻譯策略和方法為譯

4、者提供了很好的借鑒。 關鍵詞:《浮生六記》；順應論；文化語境；翻譯策略和方法 I On Translating Chinese Culture-loaded Words into English in Light of the Theory of Adaptation to Cultural Context: A Case Study on the Two English Versions of Fu Sheng Liu Ji Abstract With the promoting of China’s

5、international status, more and more foreigners have great interests in learning Chinese traditional culture. Studies on the translation of Chinese traditional classics into English can help improve the influence of the Chinese traditional culture in the world. However, the wide gap between Chinese a

6、nd the western culture produces great difficulties in translations. And this is obviously shown in translations on the lexical level, i.e. the translation of culture-loaded words. In the classic of Fu Sheng Liu Ji, there are a large number of culture-loaded words concerning every aspect of life.

7、They reflect the characteristics of Chinese traditional culture as well as casue much hardship in cross-cultural communication and the translations from Chinese to English. Thus, research on the translation of these culture-loaded words is of great practical significance. So, the author of this thes

8、is adopts Verschueren’s Adaptation Theory as the guidance, uses the English versions by Lin Yutang, Leonard Pratt and Chiang Suhui respectively as the case study, with the assistance of the mini-database and the mothedology of the combination of quantitative analysis and qualitative analysis, from t

9、he perspective of the Theory of Adaptation to Cultural Context. Within the framework of the Adaptation Theory, translation is also a choice-making process, which includes the choice on the source text, the information the translator intends to convey and the translation strategies and methods. Th

10、e author focuses on the choice of translation strategies and methods when translating II culture-loaded words. The author holds that in the stage of interpreting, the translator should base on the source culture to make a full and correct understanding of the source items, while in the sta

11、ge of transferring, the translator should adapt to various cultural contexts to adopt proper translation strategies and methods. Specifically, if the translator can not find a counterpart in the target language at all, she/ he can adopt the methods adapted to the source language culture, i.e. transl

12、iteration and literal translation; if the translator can find a target item to a certain degree of equivalence, she/ he can use the methods adapted to the target culture, i.e. transliteration plus a generic word/ note, literal translation plus a note, free translation, paraphrase, amplification, sub

13、stitution, omission and blending. But the acceptance and requirements of the target reader should always be taken into consideration since they are an important role in translation activities. Besides, other factors such as the translator’s quality, the assessment on the target reader’s cultural bac

14、kground also influence the translator’s choice on translation methods. Based on the analysis of the database, the author finds that both versions give priority to the target culture. Although transliteration and literal translation are frequently used, the methods adapted to the target culture ar

15、e used more widely. In a word, the translation strategies and methods adopted to convey Chinese traditional culture provide a good reference for translators. Li Zhi (Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics) Supervised by Professor Ge Lingling Key Words: Fu Sheng Liu Ji; the Adaptati

16、on Thoery; cultural context; translation strategies and methods III Chapter One Introduction This chapter guides a brief introduction to the thesis, which includes research background, research hypothesis, research methodology and research significance as w

17、ell as thesis structure. 1.1 Research background With the increasing growth of international standing and influence, China has attracted more and more attention all around the world. So there is a growing demand of westerners for learning the Chinese language and culture. Many schoalrs declare

18、 that it is a favourable occasion to push Chinese culture into the outside world. Thus, translations between Chinese and English have become much more urgent and important. As a cross-communicative activity, translation deals with not only the transformation of languages, but also the mode shift

19、in cultural information. It is due to that culture is a complex concept that covers a wide range including social and ecological settings, patterns of behavior and thought, etc., and there exists culture gap between two languages, compared with how to transfer a particularly linguistic structure or

20、form of a language into another language, the process of resolving the cultural problems in translation seems to be tougher. Since there are great differences between Chinese and the western culture, it seems that translations become more difficult. The difficulties first can be reflected on the

21、lexical level, i.e. the translation of culture-loaded words. In every given language exist a large number of culture-loaded words and these culture-loaded words are pervasive in literary works. They reflect the unique cultural information of a language community directly or indirectly. Thus, their t

22、ranslation should be related to the specific cultural contexts. If the translator pays little attention to the cultural contexts of these culture-loaded words, it will cause the loss of the cultural information or the misunderstanding of the western readers, and the translation will turn out to be a

23、 failure. Up till now, many scholars have done relevant reserches on the translation of 1 culture-loaded words. However, most scholars only focus their attention on discussing the advantages or disadvantages of domestication and foreignization, or just discuss some specific methods o

24、f translating culture-loaded words; few of them associate their researches with the cultural context by taking the Adaptation Theory as the theoretical framework. So the author of this thesis hopes that this tentative study on the treatment of Chinese culture-loaded words in English translations

25、from the perspective of the Theory of Adaptation to Cultural Context, with the considerations of factors influencing the translator?s adaptation process, can establish a thorough and systematic framework to guide English translation of Chinese culture-loaded words. 1.2 Research hypothesis Nowa

26、days, with the rapid development of cross-cultural communication and the promoting of China?s international status, more and more foreigners have great interests in learning Chinese culture. As translation acts as an important means to exchange culture, to promote translations is becoming much more

27、urgent especially in the present times. Since culture-loaded words can best reflect social and cultural information, the translation of them seems to be more important and difficult. The Adaptation Theory proposed by Jef Verschueren (1999) provides a new angle of studying pragmatics as well as tr

28、anslations. Verschueren holds that “using language must consist of the continuous making of linguistic choices, consciously or unconsciously” (Verschueren, 1999: 55), and “contextual correlates of adaptability potentially include all the ingredients of the communicative context with which linguistic

29、 choices have to be interadaptable” (Ibid: 66). Since translation is a kind of cross-cultural activity, the language choice in translation is a dynamic process of adaptation, and the adaptation should vary especially in terms of different communicational circumstances and the objects involved in thi

30、s activity. As a word has distinctive meaning according to different contexts and among the various contexts cultural context is a major one, studying the adaptation to cultural context in the translation of culture-loaded words is of great importantance. Thus, in the framework of the Theory of Adap

31、tation to Cultural Context, the translation of culture-loaded words is also a 2 choice-making process, and with the aim to maximumly achieve the success of cross-cultural communiction, different cultural contexts should be considered carefully. Moreover, since translation is a complica

32、ted activity which involves several objects, including the two languages and cultures, the source author and the source reader, the translator and the target reader, the relevant factors influencing the translator?s choice on translating strategies and methods also deserve great attentions. 1.3 R

33、esearch methodology Since the purpose of the study is to primarily find out the practical laws of strategies and methods in translating culture-loaded from Chinese to English, it could hardly only be quantified or analyzed with numbers. Therefore, the author of this thesis adopts a quantitative a

34、nalysis combining qualitative analysis as the research methodology for the whole thesis. Specifically, classification, comparision, synthesis, and summarization are adopted in the thesis. The research methods of this thesis can be summarized as follows: Firstly, the author tries to give a brief a

35、ccount of culture-loaded words and its translation achievements, and discuss some problems existing in the present research. Secondly, the author, inspired by Verschueren?s Adaptation Theory, from the perspective of cultural context, attempts to set up a pragmatic theoretical framework for the tr

36、anslation of culture-loaded words. Thirdly, for conducting quantitative analysis, the author chooses the original book Fu Sheng Liu Ji and its two English versions (Six Chapters of A Floating Life by Lin Yutang published by Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press in 1999 and Six Records of a

37、 Floating Life by Leonard Pratt and Chiang Suhui published by Yilin Press in 2006) as the studying samples, and the culture-loaded words in the book are categorized and the translation methods are summarized in the mini-database for a future comprehensive and critical analysis. Then for a qualitativ

38、e analysis, the author analyzes the translation strategies and methods from the perspective of the Theory of Adaptation to Cultural Context to explain why the translators adopt one kind translation method or another. Lastly, the author discusses the relevant factors which also exert impact on the

39、 3 translator?s choice of translation strategies and methods. 1.4 Research significance English and Chinese represent and reflect the western and Chinese culture respectively. Since there exists a wide gap between both cultures, translations turn out to be a great challenge. An

40、d how to remove cultural barriers to achieve successful cross-cultural communication via translation is a big issue. This study is intended to extend the application of adaptation to the research of translating culture-loaded words. In view of this, the study is both theoretically and practically si

41、gnificant for the following considerations: Firstly, the present study emphasizes the adaptation to various cultural contexts in Chinese and the western culture, which is crucial for the precise transformation of cultural information and the acceptance of the target reader. In a broader perspecti

42、ve, this thesis may also make some contribution to the cross-cultural communication and let foreign readers understand and appreciate Chinese culture. Secondly, the application of the Adaptation Theory in translating culture-loaded words stated in this thesis provides broader space for the transl

43、ation studies of culture-loaded words. Since how to remove cultural barriers in the translation of culture-loaded words is of great importance in translation studies, more and more scholars have realized it and yielded some results. However, few researches are conducted from the angle of cultural co

44、ntext. The study aims to offer some guidelines for an explanation and analysis on English translations of Chinese culture-loaded words within the framework of the Theory of Adapation to Cultural Context. Thirdly, research findings of the application of the Adaptation Theory to English translation

45、s of Chinese culture-loaded words may help us to explain many phenomena and promote the understanding of current strategies and methods in translation practice. Furthermore, this study may set up a pragmatic theoretical framework to investigate culture-loaded translation from Chinese to English a

46、nd provide some principles in choosing the appropriate translation strategies and methods in translating culture-loaded words, which may contribute a lot to the practice of translating culture-loaded words. Through theoretical 4 deduction and data analysis, the author provides some tra

47、nslation principles by analyzing the various situations of adaptation in cultural context and illustrating how the translators choose appropriate strategies and methods in order to achieve their communicative purposes. 1.5 Thesis structure This thesis is composed of seven chapters. Chapter

48、one is the introduction chapter, in which research background, research hypothesis, research methodology, research significance and structure of the thesis are introduced. Chapter two glances at the literature review of translating culture-loaded words. Since the former researches on this area ha

49、ve their own limitations in some way, the Theory of Adapation to Cultural Context, a new pragmatic perspective, may provide the author a theoretical framework for studying the translation of culture-loaded words. Chapter three is necessarily theoretical, in which the Adaptation Theory is introduc

50、ed in brief and the aspects relevant to the present thesis are explained in detail. Chapter four is devoted to data collection, which concerns a quantitative analysis. The reasons why the present author adopts the Chinese classic Fu Sheng Liu Ji and its two English versions as a case study are al

51、so included in this chapter. And the research findings from the database are presented. Chapter five is basically qualitative, i.e. the application of the Theory of Adapation to Cultural Context into translating Chinese culture-loaded words in Fu Sheng Liu Ji. It mainly deals with translating the

52、 five kinds of Chinese culture-loaded words in detail in the framework of the Theory of Adapation to Cultural Context, and abundant illustrations are taken from the two English versions of Fu Sheng Liu Ji. Chapter six mainly discusses the factors which influence the translators? choice-making abo

53、ut translation strategies and methods, i.e. the quality as a translator, the intention of the translator and so on. Therefore, the choice of translation strategies and methods is quite a dynamic matter. The last chapter is the conclusion part which contains major findings of the thesis.

54、5 Limitations and future research suggestions of the thesis are also pointed out. 6 Chapter Two Literature Review Vocabulary, as the basic e

55、lement of language, reflects the change of the life and thoughts of a society most sensitively, and it also can function as “Cultural Lable” of a social group or an individual (Bao Huinan, 2001: 10). A large number of culture-loaded words which reflect the western culture, such as “Trojan horse”, “c

56、rocodile tears”, “democracy”, “socialism”, “telephone”, “vitamin”, have entered Chinese culture since the May 4th Movement in 1919. At present, these words have been part of Chinese language, which not only enlarge Chinese vocabulary and enrich the way of expressions, but also affect the renewal of

57、people?s thoughts and the change of people?s life, promoting the development of the social civilization. Nowadays, with the vitalization of the national culture and enhancement of the national strength, the influence of Chinese culture to the western and world culture is becoming increasingly import

58、ant, so more and more culture-loaded words reflecting Chinese culture are being integrated into the western and world culture. Therefore, how to translate culture-loaded words seems to be more significant especially in the present time. To accomplish the study of translating culture-loaded words

59、from a new perspective, it is very necessary for us to look back on and summarize its difficulties, current research achievements and the limitations in the translation. Therefore, in this chapter, a literature review of translating culture-loaded words is introduced in detail. 2. 1 Difficulties

60、in translating culture-loaded words As is stated above, vocabulary, as the basic element of a language, can function as “Cultural Lable” of a social group or an individual. There are a large number of culture-loaded words, which practically reflect every aspect of culture. The translation of thes

61、e words definitely presents even more difficulties for the translator. Because, compared with words denoting universal concepts, they involve not only factors of linguistic differences but also cultural differences. For example, “黃梅時節(jié)”(huang mei shi jie) refers to a rainy reason in Chinese, which us

62、ually happens in the middle-lower reaches of the 7 Yangtze River, in the mature period of plum (usuually during late spring and early summer). Chinese readers can easily comprehend its connotative meaning because they share the cultural background information. But if “黃梅時節(jié)”is liter

63、ally translated into “plum season”, western readers will be thrown into bewilderment because they do not have the same weather characteristic. This is a case about ecological culture. As for social culture, in China, there exist “紅衛(wèi)兵”(Hong Wei Bing), “臭老九”(Chou Lao Jiu), while in America, there is “

64、K. K. K”. And social values and religious beliefs may be implicit, as Chinese people believe in Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism while Christianity has spread its enormous influence in the western countries, especially in Britain and America. As a result, the translator is permanently faced with th

65、e challenge of communicating cultural elements particular to the source culture to the target reader. The difficulties posed by cultural differences for translators have long been recognized. Nida, for instance, reminds every translator that “for truly successful translation, biculturalism is eve

66、n more important than bilingualism, since words only have meanings in terms of the culture in which they function” (Nida, 2001: 82). Among diffculties of this variety, culture-loaded words present the most immediate problems for translators to resolve before they can proceed with the translation task. We may say that, as may have been experienced by every translator, achieving an accurate lexical translation is really a painful and time-consuming process in translating. 2. 2 Achievements in t