AStudyontheTranslationofChineseCuisine.docx

AStudyontheTranslationofChineseCuisine.docx

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AStudyontheTranslationofChineseCuisine

I.Introduction

Chinaisacountrywhichhasalonghistoryandboastsavarietyofcuisinewithdistinctfeatures.Withtheincreasingcommunicationbetweenpeoplefromhomeandabroad,moreandmoreforeignpeopleareinterestedinChinesecuisine.However,thestudyofcuisinehasnotbeentakenseriouslyandpublishedresearchesofthisfieldarecountable.TherearemanycollectionsofChinesecookbooksonbookshelves,butonlylittleresearchbooksonChinesefoodwritteninEnglish.

TheChinesecuisineisaninseparablepartofChina'sancienthistoryandculture.itconsistofawiderangeofdifferentvarietiesincludingCantonese,Hunan,SichuanorFujiantraditions,someofwhichhavebecomeincreasinglypopularinotherpartsoftheworldincludingEurope,theAmericanorAustralia.

Today,Chineserestaurantscanbefoundinallcontinentsandarewell-establishedinthedailylifeofthewesternworld.Hence,thesuccessofeachrestaurantisinevitablyconnectedwithfairandadequatetranslationofitsmenu.Ascustomersareinterestedinbothingredientsandcookingstyleofthefoodtheyareeagertoenjoy.

Moreover,professionaltranslationoftheChinesecuisinepromotesthepropagationofChinesecultureandwayoflife,thus,encouragingpeoplefromallovertheworldtocomeincontactwithChina.Asacountry'scuisineisanimportantrepresentativeofthecountryitself.However,theChineselanguagedifferssignificantlyfromEnglishandanyotherlanguagesintheworld,makingfairandadequatetranslationarealchallenge.

So,theusesoftheoryoftranslationinthetranslationofChinesecuisineareextremelyimportant.

II.TheDefinitionofTranslationanditsSignificanceonTranslationofChineseCuisine

2.1WhatisTranslation?

Translationisaculturalcommunicativeactivity,themostdifficultoftranslationliesinthedifferencebetweentwokindsofcultures.Notonlyfocusonthelanguageofconversion,butthroughthesurfaceofthelanguagetounderstandthedeepmeaningandculturalmeaning.Theexchangeofnationallanguageandcultureshouldhaveathoroughunderstandingofculturaldifferencesintranslation,onlybywhichthetranslationcanbetranslatednotonlytokeepexotic,butalsoacceptedbythereader.（Guo17）

2.2ExamplesofMisleadingVersionsofCultural—LoadedDishNames

ManyexperiencedtranslatorsagreethatthetwobiggestchallengesinChinese-to-EnglishtranslationareancientChinesepoemsandChinesedishesasitisalmostimpossibletoconveyinEnglishtherichaestheticimagesandhistoricalallusionscontainedwiththenamesofChinesedishes.Word-for-Wordwilloftenresultinnamessuchas“ChickenwithoutSexualLife”童子鸡）,RedBurnedLionHead”红烧狮子头）,BeanCurdMadebyaPock-MarkedWoman”麻婆豆腐）,TwiceCookedPork”回锅肉）,HusbandandWifeLungSlice"（夫妻肺片）or

GovernmentAbuseChicken”宫爆鸡丁）.Therefore,foreignvisitorswhocametoChinaforthefirsttimewereshockedbythosetooliteraltranslationswithoutknowingthetruemeaningandhistorybehindthosenames.（Li63）

Forexample,beancurdmadebyapork-markedwomanwhichisfacttofuwithspicymincedporkmeatwasnamed麻婆豆腐”basedonatruestory.150yearsago,duringtheQingdynasty,therewasasmallrestaurantinthenorthernpartofChengduservingmostlypeoplefromthelow-incomeclass.Theowneroftherestaurantwasapork-markedwomanwhodevotedherselffullyintoservinghercustomerswithdeliciousfood.Oneday,somecooliestookarestinherrestaurantandaskedhertocookthemsometofumixedwithporkmeat.Andthepork-markedwomanfeltpityforthosecoolieswhohavetoworkhardalldaylong,thus,shegavethebesttoshowherrespect.Shemincedtheporkmeatandaddedsomesauceandspicesbasedonherownreceiptandmixedthemwithtofujustasthecooliesrequired.Afterservingthemtheirdish,thecoolieswerepositivelysurprisedbythedelicioustasteandflavorofthetofuwhichfedthemwithnewenergyandstrength.（Zhou134）Therefore,thecooliespromotedthedishofthepork-markedwomanwhereverandwhenevertheycould.

ThisshortstoryillustratestherichhistoryandcultureoftheChinesecuisineanddemonstratesthedifficultyindishnamesintoEnglishwithoutlosingtheculturalbackgroundofthedish.

ForcreatingacceptableandadequateEnglishnamesofChinesedish,itisimportanttoknowhowtousethetranslationmethodsunderthetwodifferentcultures.

III.TranslationMethodsofChineseCuisineNamesfromthePerspectiveofTranslationMethods

Thewesterncuisinenamesareoftensimpleandclearwithmajormaterials,minoringredientsandcookingmethods.Theyareeasytounderstand.However,Chinesecuisin'esnamesareabundantanddazzled.Theyhaverichconnotationwithspecialmeaningswhichdifferfromthewesterncuisine'snames.Alotofromanticmethodsareusedinnamingthedishesandthecuisine'snamescontaininformationsuchasmajormaterials,cuttingtechniquesandcookingmethodswhichpresentthetraditionalChineseculturalfeatures.Andsomeothernamescarryculturalinformationsuchastheoriginsofthedishes,thenamesoftheoriginatorandthehistoricalbackgroundsofthecuisine.Inthisway,thenamesarecreatedreadabilitydelightfulwhichreflectsrichforkcustomandregionalfeatures.

Asalreadymentionedinthepreviouspart,misleadingdishnamessuchasHusbandandWifeLungSlice"（夫妻肺片）orRedBurnedLionHead”红烧狮子头）canseriouslyconfuseforeignerswhoarecluelessornotwellinformedabouttherichnessandcomplexityoftheChineselanguage.ThebeautyofChineseliesinitshugecollectionofmetaphorsandoxymorawhich,fortheirpart,areinturnfoundedonthe5000yearsoldChinesecultureandhistory.InordertocreateacceptablenamesofChinesedishesforEnglish-speakingcustomers,aclearunderstandingaboutAnglo-Americanculturaltraitsisnecessaryforapproachingtranslationmethods.Asaresult,ananalysisondifferencesofChineseandAnglo-AmericanculturalisessentialfordecentandadequatetranslationofChinesedishnamesintoEnglish.（Beaton3186）

TheChineseculture,thewayofbehavioraswellascommunicationstylesdiffersubstantiallyfromthoseinAnglo-Americancountries.Inchina,messagesoftenincludebodylanguage,metaphors,useofsilenceorotherpara-verbalcues.Hence,dishnamesinChinaoftendiffersignificantlyfromtherealdish（e.g.红烧狮子头）inordertocreateafeelingofexoticism.However,inAnglo-Americancountries,messagesaretransmittedthroughexplicitstatementortext.Asaresult,directandstraightforwarddescriptionsarepreferredratherthancomplicatedparaphrases.Ontheotherhand,duetothehighlydiverselife-styleandracialcompositioninmanyEnglish-speakingcountries,peopletendtobemoreopentowardstheunknownandmayfeelattractedtoneworexoticnamesandvocabulary.Accordingtothesituation,sometranslationmethodshavelistedasfollow.

3.1LiteralTranslation

LiteralTranslationistherenderingoftextfromonelanguagetoanotherin“Word-for-Word”scheme.Itdoesnotnecessarilyconveythesenseoftheoriginal.Literaltranslationisusedtotranslatetheaccuratemeaningoftheoriginaltextorwordsbutusuallydoesnotattempttoconveyitsstyle,beauty,orpoetry.

AccordingtotheTransitionMethodsunderthetwodifferentcultures,literaltranslationisespeciallysuitableforcuisinenamedwithfoodrawmaterialswhicharenotdifficultforforeignerstounderstand.

Forexample,牛肉豆腐”istranslatedasBeefwithBeanCurd”松仁香菇”istranslatedas“BlackMushroomwithPineNuts”.

Andliteraltranslationisalsosuitablefordishesnamedwithfoodrawmaterialsandcookingmethod,flavor,shape,colorandcookware.Forexample,“蒜苗炒猪肝”istranslatedas“Stir-FriedPorkLiverwithGarlicSprouts”.Itsmajormaterialisporkliver,andtheminoringredientisgarlicandcookingmethodisstir-fried.

Byliteraltranslation,thiskindofcuisinecanbeeasilyunderstoodbyforeignerswithoutlosingtheChinesemeaning.Therefore,“清炖甲鱼”istranslatedasStewedTurtle”；糖醋排骨”istranslatedasSweetandSourSpareBibs”;茄汁鱼片”istranslatedasSlicedFishwithTomatoSauce”；黄酒脆虾仁”istranslatedasCrispShrimpswithRiceWineSauce";毛肚火锅”istranslatedas“OxTripeinHotpot,and梅菜扣肉煲”istranslatedasSteamedPorkwithPreservedvegetableinCasserole”.（Li78-84）

However,asalreadymentionedinthepreviouschapters,word-for-wordtranslationcanresultincuisinenamessuchasBeanCurdMadebyaPock-MarkedWoman”orTwiceCookedPork”.ItneithercoverstheoriginalmeaningandhistorybehindthedishnamenordoesitaccommodateculturaltraitsandcharacteristicsoftheAnglo-Americanculturalaccordingtotheuseoftranslationmethodsunderthetwodifferentcultures.Therefore,literaltranslationofChinesecuisineisonlysuitableforeasyanduncomplicatednameswithoutanydeepmeaning.

Foeexample,天麻炖山鸡”,mostoftheforeignersdon'tknowwhit天麻”isnordotheyknowitscurativeeffect.IfthisdishtranslatedasStewedPheasantwithMedicine”,foreignerswillnotacceptitbecausemedicineisnotafoodmaterialintheirculture.Peopleonlytakemedicinewhentheyaresick.NobodywouldordercuisinetranslatedasStewedPheasantwithMedicine”inarestaurant.Hence,accordingtotheuseoftranslationunderthetwodifferentcultures,atranslatorneedstoconsiderthewesternculturewhentranslatingthiskindofcuisine.Andmaterialslike“天麻”shoulddetranslatedasherbinsteadofmedicine.Soitisbettertotranslateitas“StewedPheasantwithherb”。

Anotherexampleisfoodthatcanmakepeoplefeelembarrassedsucha牛鞭”.lfitistranslatedasitsrealmeaning,customerswillfeelsickwhenseeingit