论文初稿.docx
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论文初稿.docx
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论文初稿
TheInfluenceofCulturalDifferencesontheTranslationsofIdiomsinCommercialEnglish
By
PuXiaoxue(Doris)
BusinessEnglish
ProfessorTina
April15,2013
Abstract
Inrecentyears,translationcirclehasbeguntopaymoreandmoreattentiontotheinfluenceofculturedifferenceinlanguagetranslation.Manyfamoustranslationtheoristsandtranslatorshavecontributedtheirviewpoints,whichmayseemtobevariablefromdifferentangle,butacommonknowledgehasbeenreached.Thatis,translationshouldtrytoreproducetheclosestnaturalequivalentmessageinthereceptorlanguage.
Asapartoflanguage,idiomswhicharefixedphrasesandshortsentencesextractedfromlanguageoveralongtimeofusing.Whenwetranslateidioms,muchattentionshouldbepaidtothesimilaritiesanddifferenceofcultureaswellaslanguage.Itistosaytranslationisaculturalcreationtosomeextent,fortranslationreferstoboththeoriginalandtranslatedcultural.Translation,asoneofthekeymedia,playsaveryimportantroleintheactivityofcultureexchange,butbecauseofthedifferencesbothinlanguageandculture,thereareinevitablybarriersblockingonthewaytothesmoothlycommunicatingbetweendifferentlanguagesanddifferentcultures.CommercialEnglish,inthefieldofcross-culturalinternationaltrade,mainlyusedbymanufacturers,distributors,consumers,investors,andtoconductandcompletetherelatedeconomicandtradecommunicationactivities.Sinceanidiomislikeamirrorreflectingculture,butisrelativelydifficulttoberenderedintoanotherlanguage.sothetranslationofidiomsisdifficultandimportant.
Keywords:
culturaldifferences;translationofidioms;
commercialEnglish
I.Introduction
Culture,thesoulofanation,islikeapearlglitteringinthehumanworld.Butitistooinclusivetodefine.Inhistory,innumerousscholarshavegiventheirdefinitionstoculture,whetherlongorshort,detailedorsuccinct.Sincetranslationisforcommunicationbetweencultures,thisthesishasquotedBatesandPlog'sdetaileddefinitionthattermscultureas"asystemofsharedbeliefs,values,customs,behaviors,andartifactsthatthemembersofasocietyusetocopewiththeirworldandwithoneanother,andthataretransmittedfromgenerationtogenerationthroughlearning".However,cultureisonlyanabstractword.Ithastoexpressed,embodiedandsymbolizedbylanguage.Therefore,culturecanneverbeseparatedfromlanguage,orfromtranslationeither,whichisabridgebetweenlanguageandculture.Culturaldifferencesmeansthatdifferentgeographicalandethnicexistdifferentideasandhabitsandwayofthinking,itnotonlyperformanceinthevalueandidiomdiversity,butalsorelatewithlivingenvironment,religiousenvironment,historyandsoon.Idioms:
Asapartoflanguage,idiomswhicharefixedphrasesandshortsentencesextractedfromlanguageoveralongtimeofusing.Whenwetranslateidioms,muchattentionshouldbepaidtothesimilaritiesanddifferenceofcultureaswellaslanguage.Inrecentyears,“culture”and“translation”arebeingincreasinglylinkedtogether.In1990,SusanBassnettandAndreLefevereformallypresentedthepropositionof"culturalturn"intranslationstudiesforthefirsttime.Fromthenon,translatorsandtranslationtheoristshavepaidmoreandmoreattentiontotheculturalfactorsintranslation.Manyworld-renownedtranslationtheorists,includingEugeneA.Nida,SusanBassnett,DanielShaw,LarryA.Samovarandsoon,havediscussedindepththerelationsbetweencultureandtranslationintheirworks.Althoughculturaltranslationhasnotbecomethemainstreamintranslationtheories,itisemergingwithastrongmomentum,justasBassnetthaspredicted.
Idiomislikeamirrorthatreflectscultureinabestway.AccordingtoWebster'sNewWorldDictionaryoftheAmericanLanguage(1972),idiommeans"anacceptedphrase,construction,orexpressioncontrarytotheusualpatternsofthelanguageorhavingameaningdifferentfromthelanguageorhavingameaningdifferentfromtheliteral"(YuFumin,1999:
8).BothEnglishandChinesearefullofcolorfulculture-specificidioms,andtheyareusedwidelyinallkindsofworksaswellasinourdailylife.Becausetheybearvariousfiguresofspeechandstrongculturalflavors,theyareoftenverydifficulttounderstandfornon-nativespeakers,letalonetotranslatethemfaithfullyandexpressivelyintoanotherlanguage.
Differentnationshaveformeddifferentculturesinthiscolorfulworld,buteachcultureexistsinrelationtoanotherculture,hasitsownstrongandweakpointsandgenerallyundergoestheperiodsofgermination,development,primeofitslifeanddecline.Sonoculturecoulddominatetheinternationalculturalfieldpermanentlyandculturesofteninfluenceoneanother.WehavelaidparticularemphasisontranslatingforeigncultureintoChina,butChineseculturehasbeeninanawkwardpositionofbeingmarginalized.TheexchangeofChineseandWesternculturesthroughtranslationisnotbalanced.ThusthisthesisfocusesontheimportanceoftheculturalelementsinthetranslationofChineseidiomsanditisourresponsibilitytohighlightthespiritandidentityoftheChineseculturetoletthetwoculturesexchangewitheachotherinabalancedway.
II.AnalysisculturalfactorsthataffectbusinessEnglishtranslation
A.culturedifferencesexistinseveralaspects
1.ChineseCultureandWayofThinkingReflectedinIdioms
Theformationofculture,whichisaprocessofaccumulation,can'tbeseparatedfromitshistory.Confucianism,createdbythegreatChinesescholarConfucius,wasformedbeforeQinDynasty(221-206BC).Actually,itisanacademicfaithwithmoralethicalcolor.FeudalrulerspromotedConfucianismasatoolofruling,whilethecommonpeopleworshipedConfuciusasasaint.Confucianismfocusesonhumans,includinghumanpositions,personalrelationship,moralityandhappiness,etc,inordertoachievetheharmonyandunityofallkindsofcontradictionsintheworld.Soitrequiresthatpeopleshouldbediligent,frugal,peacefulandmodest,insteadofhavingtoomanylusts.SoinChina,peopleoftensay“严以律己,宽以待人”(Bebroad-mindedtowardsotherswhilesettingstrictdemandsonourselves).DuringtheHanDynasty(206BC-220AD)andTangDynasty(618-907AD),BuddhismwasintroducedtoChina.AstheonlyforeignsystemofthoughtwhichmadeaprofoundimpactonChinesecivilizationbeforemoderntimes,itpreachesthatifpeoplediscardillusionsandonlydogood,theywillbecomeBuddhasafterdeath.Sonowpeoplestilloftensay,“放下屠刀,立地成佛”(Puttingdownthebutcher'sknife,onewillatoncebecomeaBuddha).IntheChinesepeople'sminds,afterthousandsofyearsofintegrationanddevelopment,thetwoschoolsofthoughthavealreadybecomeunified.TheycomplementoneanotherandplaytheirsocialroletogetherasguidingthoughtsoftheChinesepeople.
Naturalenvironmentplaysaveryimportantroleintheformationofanation'sculture.ThebirthplaceofancientChineseculturewastheYellowRiverBasin,whichledtoChina'sagriculturaleconomy.Peopleputmoreemphasisonfarmingthantrading.Thepettyfarmers'agriculturalproductionandlifebroughtthemrichexperienceingrainproductionandweatherforecast,andtheyevencreatedthe"24solarterms"withinthelunarcalendar.SotheChinesepeopleoftensay“春分有雨家家忙”(OntheVernalEquinox,everyfamilyisbusy),“春秋多佳日”(Therearemanyfinedaysinspringandautumn),etc.
Before1949,theChinesepeople'slivingconditionsweregenerallypoorandbackward.Onlythoseprivilegedfewcouldhaveenoughfoodsandclothes,andtheunderprivilegedalwayslackedintheirbasicthingsofsubsistence.Therefore,thecommonpeopleoftensay“民以食为天”(Foodisthefirstnecessityofthepeople)and“衣食足,然后知荣辱”(Wellfed,wellbred).
TheabovefouraspectshaveresultedintheuniqueandcolorfulChineseculture,whichhascultivatedthespecialChinesewayofthinking.TheChinesepeoplebelieveinharmonyandonenessofhumanandnature,whichindicatesthatintheirminds,theobjectiveworldandthesubjectiveworldareinoneunity,sotheytendtothinkinaholisticandsyntheticway.Therefore,Chineserationalismtendstobedirectandconcrete.
2.WesternCultureandWayofThinkingReflectedinIdioms
sincetheancienttimes,theWesternworldhasbeenstronglyinfluencedbyChristianity.TheirlanguageisespeciallyinfluencedbytheclassicworkofChristianity---theBible.JesusisbelievedtobetherepresentativeoftheGodinthehumanworld.Heemphasizesthatpeopleshouldgetonwithoneanotherwithloveandberesponsibleforthecountryandotherpeople.ButpeopleshouldabsolutelyobeytheGod.Godisomnipotentandomnipresent,andHeistheonlyonethatpeopleshouldworship.ThoughGodisaboveall,Christianitybelievesthatinthehumanworld,everymanisequal.
TheWesternworld,especiallytheGreatBritain,wasconqueredbyothernationsforseveraltimes,whichalsoenrichedtheirculturewhilebringingthemwars.TheRomanConquestspreadLatinlanguageintheBritishIslesandbroughtalotofRomanculture,e.g."tobearthepalm"means"towin";theTeutonicConquestbroughttheancestorofEnglish,Anglo-Saxon;theNormanConquestcarriedFrenchwordsandculture,e.g."toreturntoone'smuttons"implies"togetdowntoone'sbusiness";thefoundationandrapiddevelopmentoftheUnitedStatesalsoenrichedtheWesternculturetoalargeextent,suchas"toeatapplepies".Inthepast,theWesternworldwasunderthefeudalrule,justliketheancientChina.But,lateritwentintothecapitalistsociety,whileChinaenteredthesocialistsociety.Therefor
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