论文初稿Word格式.docx
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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