英汉姓名的文化内涵和翻译Word文档格式.docx

英汉姓名的文化内涵和翻译Word文档格式.docx

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[KeyWords]EnglishnamesandChinesenames;

culturalconnotation;

translationprinciple;

translationmethod

[摘要]，作为一种文化载体，蕴涵着极其丰富的文化涵，英汉因而存在着巨大的文化差异。

不仅仅是一种简单的区别于他人的符号，它同时也代表一种社会文化现象，被喻为“文化的镜像”。

通过对英汉的历史渊源，信仰，价值观念等的对比研究，揭示出英汉的深层文化涵及社会文化因素的影响，进而对这种富载文化涵的的翻译提出翻译原则和翻译翻译方法。

英汉文化的共性，如图腾崇拜，寻根意识，特指性，心理暗示等使英汉不同的系统中出现一些类同的现象。

英汉文化涵的差异，如中国的观念，崇儒思想，等级制度等文化因素都可以从中国人的中反映出来。

而英语民族的信仰，个人取向，强调个性也在英语中有所反映。

由于英汉的文化差异，在翻译英汉时应遵循“名从主人原则”和“约定俗成原则”，采取音译法和释义法，或者两者相结合，使人名的真实涵得到体现。

[关键词]英汉；

文化涵；

翻译原则；

翻译方法

1．Introduction

Namesareusedbyhumanbeingsandtheyarethesignsforpeopletodistinguishonepersonfromtheothers.Theyhavesomeparticularfunctionsthatnoothersignscanperform.Theyarenotonlylinguisticsymbols,butalsosocialsymbols,representingrelationshipinsocietiesandcultures.“Eachpersonhashisnamewhichdistinguisheshimselffromothermembersinthecommunity,andeachcountryhasitsownnamesystemowingtotheirdifferenthistoricalandculturalbackground”.[1]P1Inaword,personalnamesarewindowsforpeopletoseethroughdifferentculturesindifferentsocieties.Forthesereasons,thetranslationofChineseandEnglishnamesshouldfollowthepronunciationoftheowner’scountryandadopttheestablishedpopulartranslatednames,usetransliterationandparaphrasesoastoreflecttherealmeaningofChineseandEnglishnames.

2．Relationbetweenpersonalnameandculture

Personalnamesaretheproductsofthehistoricaldevelopmentofhumansociety.Theyreflecttheancientcivilizationandsplendidculturesfromdifferentrespects.Thechoiceofnametellssomethingabouthumansocietyandreflectsthesocialculture.Therefore,thedevelopmentofpersonalnamescannotbeisolatedfromthesocialculturebackground.Namesaretheinseparablepartofcultureandtheinevitableoutcomeofculturalevolution.Likeotherlinguisticphenomenatheyplaytheroleofcarrierandpropagatorofcultures.

Cultureinfluenceseveryaspectofhumansociallifeandinfluencespeople’sbehavior.Personalnamesaretheoutcomeofpeople’sbehavior,sotheinfluenceofculturecanbeseenfromthechangingofpersonalnames.Forexample,“inancientChina,“龟”（gui,tortoise）wasoftenusedaspersonalnamewhichhadgoodconnotationoflongevity.However,afterMingDynasty,theconnotationofthecharacterchanged,whichindicatesamanwhosewifeisnotloyaltohim.Thenfewpeopleuse“龟”aspersonalnames”.[2]P2Inaddition,personalnamesarerestrictedbyculture,forinstance,ChinesepeoplearegreatlyinfluencedbyConfucianism,soobviousproprietiescanbeseeninChinesenames.“EnglishpeoplebelieveChristianandreligioussensecanbefoundintheirnames”.[3]P51Ontheotherhand,asakindofsocialreality,personalnamesexertitsinfluenceandactiononsocietiesandcultures.Forexample,thetabooonusingthepersonalnamesofemperorswasformedundertheinfluenceoffeudalhierardyculture.Onceithadbeenformeditbegantorestricteveryaspectofpeople’slife.Inshort,personalnamesandcultureinfluencerestricteachotherandactoneachother.Frompersonalnames,peoplecanseetheculturalsimilarityanddifferenceindifferentsociety. 

3.Comparativestudybetweenthetwonamesystems

Everynationhasitsownhistory,duringwhichithasshapeditsownparticularcharacteristics.Asaspecialsocialandlinguisticphenomenon,namesrelatetoculturesextensivelyandprofoundly.Whenwelearnaforeignlanguageandtrytomakeeffectivecommunication,wemustunderstanditscultureandneedtoknowaboutnamesandnaming,justaswhenwestudyalanguageweneedtoknowitsvocabularyanditsgrammar.Inthissection,wearegoingtomakeacomparativestudyontheseaspectsbetweenChineseandEnglishnamesystems.

3.1SimilaritiesbetweentheTwoSystems

3.1.1Totemism

“Atbeginning,thebasicofpersonalnameistotemism.Totemismmaybeanimals,plantsorunlivingthings.Thegroupoftentakessometotemastheirancestor,andthenuseditastheirownnames”.[4]P51“Inancienttimes,thehumanbeingswerenotonlyafraidofnaturalpower,butalsorespectit.Therefore,bothinChineseandEnglishpersonalnames,wecanfindlotsofnamesfromplace,animal,plant,unlivingthingsinnatureornaturalphenomenon”.[5]P82Forexample,inChinesenames,YanEmperor（炎帝,oneancestorofChinesepeople）livednearJiangWater（水,anameofariver）,sohistribeusedjiang（）astheirtribename,HuangEmperor（黄帝,anotherancestorofChinesepeople）livednearJiWater（姬水,anameofariver）andusedji（姬）asthetribe’sname,andyao（）camefromtheplacecalledyaoxu（墟）whereShun（舜,anancestorofChinesepeople）lived.InEnglish,peopleusedthenaturalphenomenonasfamilynames,suchasFrost,Rain,andSnowetc.Andsomenamescomefromanimalnames,forexample,Bird,Bull,Lion,Fox,Wolfandsoon.Somecomefromplantnames,forinstance,Flower,Apple,Lily,Rose.Thisphenomenonreflectssimilarculturalconnotationthatnamesareassociatedwithprimitivetotemism.

3.1.2Consciousnessofroot-seeking

InChineseandEnglishnames,wecanfindnamestakenfromtheirbirth-placenames,suchasLiuZongyuan（柳宗元）,afamouspoetinTangDynasty,wasbornatHeDong,sohehasanothernameLiuHedong（柳河东）.InChina,nowadays,wealsohavenameslikeWangChangcheng（王长城）,LiChangjiang（长江）,etc.ThesenamesarecloselyconnectedwithChineseplaces.InEnglishpeoplealsotakeplacesastheirpersonalnames.“Forexample,Washington（华盛顿），Brook（溪流）,Well（泉）,Wood（林木）andsoon”.[6]P81Thesesimilaritiesshow,ashumanbeing,theyallhavetheconsciousnessofroot-seeking.

3.1.3Specializingcharacter

Mostnamesinliteraryworkshavespecialmeaning.“Theysymbolizesomeconnotationsthatgofarbeyondtheirliterarymeanings.Theybecomesomegeneraltermsindicatingcertainmeaning,symbolizingcertainpeople,orreferringparticularlytocertainsituationsoractions”.[7]P31

Forexample,Shylock,inShakespeare’scomedyTheMerchantofVeniceindicatessomeusurersandbusinessmenwhoaremeanandcruel.Itcanalsobeusedasverbreferringtotheactionofowingusury.Forinstance,“Hisincomederivedfromillicitactivities-bookmaking,gambling,shylocking,andquestionableunionactivities”.

TakethepersonalnameZhuGeliang（诸亮）asanotherexample.Itcanbeusednotonlytorefertothespecificpersonwhooncereallyexistedinhistory,butalsousedasacommonnoun.“诸亮”inthesaying“三个臭皮匠，顶个诸亮”（Workingtogether,threeordinarymencanbeaswiseasZhugeLiangwhowasaverywisemanintheThreeStatesPeriod）isnotspecificaperson,itreferstosamewisemenlikehim.InChineseliterature,wemayfindnameswithspeciallyimpliedmeaningchosebywriterswhotendtotakeadvantageofhomophone,whichactsasapun.Forexample,charactersinTheStoryofStonethatwrittenbyChaoXueqin.JiaYucun（贾雨村），Jiahua（贾化），ZhenShiyin（甄士隐），whichpronouncethesameasjiayucun（假语存--liesexist）,jiahua（假话--telllies），zhenshiyin（真事隐--truthishidden）.

BothinChineseandEnglish,therearealsonamesingreatauthors’writingswhicharetakenascurrentvocabulary.

HamletistheheroinShakespeare’stragedy“Hamlet”.Hisunclemurdershisfathersohewantstotakerevengesonhim.Buthehesitatessomuchinhisavengingplanthatintheendhehastopretendbeingmad.“Hamlet”inpresentEnglishisnotonlyoneofthecharactersinShakespeare’stragedy,butalsoconsideredasasynonymtoapersonwhoishesitatingindoingsomethingortoahesitatingaction.Ifpeoplethinksomeoneisveryhesitatingindoingsomething,theymaysay“YouareHamlet”.RipVanWinkleisoneoftheheroesintheworksoftheAmericanwriterWashingtonIrving.Heisahen-packedman.Oncebeingscoldedbyhiswife,herunsintotheCatskill,amountainnearhisvillage.Hefeelsrelaxedthereanddrinkstoomuchbeforefallingasleep.Whenhewakesup,itistoomanyyearslaterthateverythinginthevillagehasbeengreatlychanged.RipVanWinkleisnowreferringtosomepeoplewhoareold-fashioned,orwhosemindsandthoughtsaredroppedfarbehindfromthepresentsociety.Peoplemayexpresssomeone’sideathatisoutofdate,bysaying“ThisistheopinionofsameRipVanWinkle”.

3.2Differencesbetweenthetwonamesystems

Itissaidthateverycoinhasitstwosides.Wetalkedabouttheirsimilaritiesabove,andnow,wearegoingtotalkaboutthedifferencesbetweenChineseandEnglishnamesystemsandtheircultureconnotation

3.2.1Originoffamilynames

Familynamesreflectdifferentnationalculturesandancientcivilizationfromvariouspointsofview.Beingakindofsocialphenomenonandcompl