An Analysis on the Phenomenon of Culture “Lost” in English to Chinese Translation30.doc

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1、对英译汉中文化缺失现象的探究An Analysis on the Phenomenon of Culture “Lost” in English to Chinese TranslationContentsAbstract.1Key words.1I. Introduction1II. Cultural “lost” caused by different religions and faiths2III. Cultural “lost” caused by different social backgrounds33.1 The sources of English surname43.1.

2、1 Names of old places 43.1.2. Dwelling places 43.1.3. Career43.1.4. Colors43.1.5. Family names43.1.6. Names of animals and plants43.1.7. Natural phenomenon43.1.8. Shape nickname43.2 The sources of English names53.2.1 Season, month, date and weather53.2.2 Names of Animals53.2.3 Names of plants53.2.4

3、Names of metals5 3.2.5 Names of God and hero53.2.6 Names of surnames of parents 53.3 Different associate meanings.73.4 Geographical reasons.7IV.Cultural “lost” caused by different historical backgrounds8V.Cultural “lost” caused by different political backgrounds10VI.Conclusion10Reference10 An Analys

4、is on the Phenomenon of Culture “Lost” in English to Chinese TranslationAn Analysis on the Phenomenon of Culture “Lost” in English to Chinese Translation摘 要： 本文主要研究翻译中的文化差异所产生的交流方面的影响。 尽管文化是个复合体, 它仍然被分为三个流派: 物质文化, 制度文化以及人文文化. 语言属于制度文化, 也紧紧的依附于人文文化之上。 人文文化的不同造成了翻译中的文化缺失现象。本文将首先分析各种翻译文化缺失的具体原因，再进一步阐述如

5、何解决文化缺失这一英译汉翻译中的难题。关键词: 英语 汉语 翻译 文化缺失Abstract: This article discusses the influence of cultural differences on a cross-cultural translation event. However complex a culture is, it can roughly be divided into three categories: material culture, institutional culture and humanitarian. Language belongs

6、 to institutional culture, which is closely related to mental culture in formation and performance. Differences in humanitarian are what produce the differences in languages involved in translation. The article first elaborates the reason for producing so many culture lost problems, then further pro

7、vides effective methods to solve culture-lost-problems in translation from English into Chinese.Key words: English Chinese translation culture lostI. IntroductionTranslation is unavoidable to connect with the abundant cultural information contained in the language. At the beginning of language manip

8、ulation, translation comes into contact with the culture. Language reacts the culture information on two levels, they are interior language and exterior language. We are trying to use typical translation cases to analysis and research how translation completed the tasks of cultural information deliv

9、ery on the basis of knowing the cultural information that the language itself carried to realize the communication between different cultures.In the process of translation, different cultural accumulation appearing apparently in their own languages, has become independent, with no connection between

10、 the manuscript and source language.It is well-known that the culture refers to the summary of substantial wealth and spiritual wealth which created by human-beings during the long history. Generally speaking, culture refers to the social ideology and the corresponding system. The culture is a histo

11、rical phenomenon, every society has a certain culture which fit for it, and in different periods, the same country has different cultural details. Language is the ingredient and the carrier of culture; it is the base which language depends on, the source of language metabolism at the meantime. As a

12、matter of fact, language is the reflection of culture, and also an efficient tool to master a culture. The translators have to not only master the source language and the target language skillfully, but also be familiar with the culture of the two languages, then confirm the differences between them

13、.II. Cultural “lost” caused by different religions and faithsIn our many-facet world, the system, the faith, the aesthetic appreciation, the notion of morality and the idea of value of different nations are varied, people have different opinions on the same thing. Eg. The American and the Chinese ha

14、ve different viewpoints on human rights. Democracy, freedom, justice and humanism, this kind of abstract conception have the same fate. For example, “individualism” comes to China and is regarded as “egoism”. However, as a matter of fact they are quite different from each other. Historically, Chines

15、e people think that the community is superior to individual. In contrast, “egoism” is the opposite of the spirit and is looked down upon. However, Americans respect individualism because of their history. Those European pioneers who came to American survived and developed based on the individual spi

16、rit. Some people think that individualism should be translated as “individual consciousness” and “individual spirit”. Since in China, “spirit” is more positive and “consciousness” is neutral. In English it can be called “egoism”.For another example, our nature is colorful, and different nations defi

17、ne these colors into different meanings. It is well-known that in China, the color “red” refers to the meaning of jubilant, propitious, so there is a custom when Chinese brides on their wedding, they are in red and wear red flowers, therefore, in the Western countries, the bride is in white to stand

18、 for the clean and honest love. As in China white is a sad color which stand for condolences, sometimes black plays the same role. In China yellow is a authority color which can not be infringed, only imperial family have the right to wear yellow clothes. But the meaning of “yellow book(色情书籍)” in Ch

19、ina is different from the color itself. In western culture, we can know from these words “blue films, blue gag” that they use “blue” instead of “yellow”. so to a translator who knows nothing about language color, it is difficult to understand the intention of it.England and other western countries a

20、re Christendom and have formed strong Christ culture. But in China, people mainly believe in Buddhism which seriously influence Chinese people. There goes a well-known Chinese proverb of three monks. It is difficult to translate the proverb into English since westerners are not familiar with the con

21、ception “monks” and they rarely know the meaning of it. In English there is a similar set phrase: “one boy is boy; two boys are half a boy; three boys are no boy.” Or “too many cooks spoil the broth.” If you need pay more attention to form we can translate literally: one monk, two buckets; two monks

22、, one bucket; three monks. (no bucket, no water-more hand, less work) And the westerners also have stories from the Bible. Eg. Let both sides write to heed in all concerns of earth command of Isaiah to “undo the heavy burdens (and) let the oppressed go free”(John Kennedy: Inaugural Speech) Isaiah is

23、 a prophet in Old Testament of Bible. He is named “rescue Jesus”. He is well cultivated, intelligent, knowledgeable and brave enough to offend the power and predict that one day Israel will be rescued. In that short inaugural speech, Kennedy mentioned the name, which is well known by people of Chris

24、tendom. But if it is translated just according words pronunciation without any explanation, many Chinese people dont know the mission endowed by God. For another example, David and Goliath -David is a shepherd boy, when he fought with the giant Goliath, he killed him with a catapult. So people use t

25、his sample to metaphor that the weaker one defeated the stronger one. Judas is one of the Jehovah votaries who betrayed Jehovah, so people use the name Judas to metaphor the traitor, and he got thirty pieces of silver is used to refer to the wealth of betray my others, at the meantime, Judas kissed

26、Jehovah to make him arrested, so “a kiss of death refers to friendly on the surface, but frame others up in the darkness. And “forbidden fruit”, “bear ones cross”, have their special meanings, too. Therefore, the main religion conviction of Han nationality is Buddhism and Taoism, so they have some s

27、pecial cultural phrases about them .eg. “道高一尺，魔高一丈，“放下屠刀，立地成佛”， “临时抱佛脚”，“做一天和尚，撞一天钟”，“不看僧面看佛面”， “苦海无边，回头是岸”，“救人一命胜造七级浮屠”etc. Translators have to research then to understand and master them.III. Cultural “lost” caused by different social background; Different social backgrounds cause different cultur

28、e phenomena, it also causes culture lost. Different countries have various social forms, people living in different places have different opinions on social events, that is the main reasons why culture lost appeared. In the following, I will study the case of the origins of the Chinese and English n

29、ames. In China, we use our fathers surname and pass it to our children, in western countries, they create their surnames by names of places, career, colors and so on, when we translate English names and surnames into Chinese, we can not understand the real meanings of these names. Here are some exam

30、ples below:3.1. The sources of English surname3.1.1 Names of old places“Lancaster” （兰开斯特） and “Boston”（波士顿） are names of cities in Britain and U.S., “Everest”（埃弗里斯特） is the name of the highest mountain in the world, “Snowdon”（斯诺登） is the name of a British mountain, “Thames”（泰晤士） and “Hudson”（赫德森） is

31、 names of rivers.3.1.2. Dwelling placesField（费尔德 田野） Hill（希尔 小山） Brook（布鲁克 小溪） Lane（莱蒽 乡间小路） Shore（肖尔 海滨） 3.1.3. CareerBaker（贝克 面包师）Carpenter（卡朋特 木匠） Fisher（费希尔 渔夫） Hunter（亨特 猎手） Butcher（布切尔 屠夫） Manson（曼森 泥瓦工） Merchant（默昌特 商人） Sailor（塞尔 水手） Scrivener（斯克莱文那 公证人） Tailor（泰勒 裁缝） Smith（史密斯 铁匠） Goldsmith（

32、古德史密斯 金属铁匠） Tinsmith（廷史密斯 白铁匠） Coppersmith（古柏史密斯 铜匠） Blacksmith（布莱克史密斯 铁匠）3.1.4. ColorsBlue（布鲁 蓝色） Brown（布朗 褐色） Red（莱德 红色） Green（格林 绿色） Orange（奥兰治 橙色） Black （布莱克 黑色）Scarlet（斯卡丽特 猩红色） White（怀特 白色） 3.1.5.Family namesTom Johnson（汤姆约翰逊） is the son of Tom John（汤姆约翰）, Macarthur（迈克阿瑟） is the son of Arthur（

33、阿瑟）, Fitzgerald（费茨杰拉德） is the son of Gerald（杰拉德）. 3.1.6. Names of animals and plantsLamb（莱姆 羊羔） Fox （福克斯 狐狸）Wood （伍德 木头）Flower（弗拉华 花朵） 3.1.7. Natural phenomenon Snow （斯诺雪）Frost （弗洛斯特 霜）Cloud （克罗德 云）Rain（瑞恩 雨）3.1.8. Shape nickname Biggie（比基 大块头） Bunch（邦奇 驼背） Fatt（凡特 胖子） Small（斯默 小块头） Short （肖特 矮小）Lon

34、g（朗 高个子） Longfellow（朗费罗 高个子） 3.2 The sources of English names3.2.1 Season, month, date and weather Spring （斯普林 春天）Summer （萨默 夏天）Fall （福尔 秋天）Winte（温特 冬天）March（马奇 三月） April（阿普利尔 四月） May（梅 五月） June （茱 六月）August （奥古斯特 八月）Friday （弗莱德 星期五）Sunday（桑德 星期天） Wind （温德 风）Rainy（瑞尼 雨） Frost （弗洛斯特 霜）Snow（斯诺 雪） Clou

35、d（克罗德 云）3.2.2 Names of AnimalsBear（拜尔 熊） Bull（布尔 牛） Mule（缪尔 骡） Seal（塞尔 海豹） Peacock （匹科克 孔雀）Parrot（帕罗特 鹦鹉） Goose（古斯 鹅） Swan （斯万 天鹅）3.2.3 Names of plantsApple （阿普尔 苹果）Peach （皮奇 桃子）Pear（皮尔 梨子） Graper （格雷珀 葡萄）Bean（比恩 豆子） Corn（科恩 玉米） Rose（罗斯 玫瑰） Lily（莉莉 百合花） Daisy（德塞 雏菊） Lotus（洛特斯 莲花）3.2.4 Names of metal

36、s Gold （古德 金）Silver（希尔弗 银） Copper （古柏 铜）Iron （艾恩 铁）Tinn（廷 锡） Lead（里德 铅） Gold is the name of the first son or daughter, Silver is the name of the second son or daughter. 3.2.5 Names of God and heroApollo（阿波罗 太阳神） Jupiter（丘比特 爱神） Diana（戴安娜 月亮女神） Hymen （海曼 婚礼女神）Mars（马斯 战神） Athena（雅典娜 智慧女神）Washington （华

37、盛顿 美国第一任总统）Lincoln （林肯 第十六任美国总统）Franklin（弗兰克林美国科学家、物理学家、社会活动家,资产阶级革命时期的民主主义者）3.2.6 Names of surnames of parentsA 19th painter Edward Burne-Jones（爱德华波尼琼斯）, Burne（波尼） is his mothers surname, Jones （琼斯）is his fathers surname.John D. Rockefeller Senior（老约翰洛克菲勒） is John D. Rockefeller Juniors（小约翰洛克菲勒） fa

38、ther Some English names were not create by names of places or careers, but they still have some imply meanings. We have no way to translate these names as their own imply meaning into Chinese.English names Chinese translation MeaningAlexander 亚历山大 人类的慰藉Andrew 安德鲁 刚强Anthony 安东尼 无比可贵Charles 查尔斯 大丈夫Edw

39、ard 爱德华 财富守护者Frank 弗兰克 自由Frederick 弗雷德里克 爱和平的统治者George 乔治 耕作者Henry 亨利 统治者Harold 哈罗德 武士Jack 杰克 刚强John 约翰 神的恩典Mark 马克 战神之子Micheal 迈克尔 神之宠儿Richard 理查德 刚正Walter 沃尔特 强有力的统治者William 威廉姆 意志Allen 埃伦 阳光Alice 爱丽斯 美丽Anne 安妮 高雅Catherine 凯瑟琳 纯洁Emily 埃米莉 勤劳Elizabeth 伊丽莎白 神的誓言Helen 海伦 光明的使者Jane 简 神之爱Jenny 詹妮 文静Joa

40、n 琼 温柔Margaret 玛格丽特 珍珠 Nancy 南希 高雅Susan 苏珊 百合花Julia 朱丽娅 秀颜We can understand the resources of English names and surnames have many meanings, they are different from the Chinese translation.The language is an important tool for expression, at the time of describing some affairs,we usually want to do a

41、 judgment inevitably.While choosing some phrases to evaluate the meaning, the reporter expects these phrases of meaning arise personal judgment in the readers brain.In the news literary style, the reporter worry about so-called reliability of influence, while choose this phrase, usually they are ver

42、y careful . At the time of reporting Central America airplane colliding with each other , many American reporters used the spyp lane but did not use the reconnaissance p lane, this kind of writing method once let military authority disatisfaction greatly.This just is just a writing game, using in sp

43、ite of what phrase.The main purpose of translation is to inform the meaning, especially small differences of the meaning.Please see the following examples: Today the Americans are bitter that the British have let them down by not supporting them. (现在美国人则十分埋怨英国人不仗义。)“Every time we trusted Democrats,

44、”says House Republican W hip New t Gingrich, “they cheated. ” Such kindergarten compliments w ere happily returned. (“每次我们只要一信任民主党人, ”众议院共和党领袖金里奇声言,“他们准使诈。”这种幼稚的攻讦迅即遭到了猛烈的反击。)To the contrary, w hat w e have seen is a red outline of Saddam Husseins efforts to destroy completely Kuwait people. (相反, 我们所看到的是萨达姆侯赛因变本加厉地要全部摧毁科威特及其人民。)in example (1) ,the meaning of “let down” is “to fail to support; to fall short of the expectations of. ”the pejorative meaning here is not obvious. but in the translation, the tra