试析中西饮食文化差异及中餐菜名英译中的几个问题.docx

试析中西饮食文化差异及中餐菜名英译中的几个问题.docx

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试析中西饮食文化差异及中餐菜名英译中的几个问题

ONTHECULTURALDIFFERENCESOFDIETBETWEENCHINAANDENGLISHCOUNTRIESANDSOMEPOINTSFORINTERPRETINGCHINESEDISHESINTOENGLISH

by

XuAifang

June,2007

XiaoganUnversity

Abstract

Thispaper,throughanalysisofthedifferencesbetweenChineseandEnglishcountries’dietarycultures,pointsoutseveralinfluentialfactsininterpretationofdietarycultureattables,andbrieflydiscussessomemethodsforinterpretingChinesedishesintoEnglish.Food,anessentialprerequisitefortheexistenceanddevelopmentofmankind,remainsacloserelationwithculture,andfoodculturevarieswithnations.Therefore,therearegreatdisparitiesbetweenChinaandtheEnglishcountriesinideas,attitudes,contentsandfunctionsofdietarycultures.ThispaperendeavorstoanalyzetheculturaldifferencesandtheirrootedcausesinChineseandEnglishdietaryculturesfromtheperspectivesofconcept,etiquetteandcontent.Atlastitemphasizesthattheinterpreter’sculturalawarenessplaysanimportantroleintheinterpretation.

KeyWords:

dietaryculture;Chinesedishnames;culturalawareness;C/Einterpretation

试析中西饮食文化差异及中餐菜名英译中的几个问题

摘要

本文通过探讨中西方饮食文化的差异以及结合实例归纳总结中式菜肴名称的翻译方法和技巧,指出影响中西方餐桌文化口译工作的因素。

餐桌上的口译必然与饮食有关，饮食与文化更是密不可分。

不同的民族造就了不同的饮食文化，所以饮食文化具有浓郁的民族性和多样性特点。

中国与英美等西方国家对饮食的观点和态度，饮食内容以及饮食特点等方面都存在着显著的差异。

本文就餐饮文化方面着重分析了中国与英美等西方国家在饮食观念，宴会礼仪，饮食内容等方面的跨文化差异，揭示了饮食文化差异对中餐菜名英译的影响。

同时通过中式菜名的翻译的事例来加以分析说明译员跨文化意识的重要性。

关键词：

饮食文化；中式菜肴名称；文化意识；英译

Contents

1.Introduction1

2.ThedifferencesbetweenChineseandEnglishcountries’dietarycultures1

2.1Differencesinconcept1

2.1.1Sensibilityvs.practicality1

2.1.2Complexityvs.simplicity2

2.2Differencesintablemanners3

2.2.1Differenttable-wares:

chopsticksvs.forks3

2.2.2Differentconceptsregardingthetimeofattendance3

2.2.3Differentarrangementsofseats4

2.3Differencesincontents4

2.3.1Refinementsvs.nutrients4

2.3.2Differencesofdishnames4

3.SomepointsforinterpretingChinesedishesintoEnglish5

3.1Somemethodsofdishnames’translation5

3.1.1Thepreparationwork5

3.1.2Literaltranslation5

3.1.3Liberaltranslation6

3.1.4Thecombinationofliteralandliberaltranslation6

3.2Thecross-culturalawarenessoftheinterpreter7

3.2.1Studythedietaryculture7

3.2.2Knowthelevelofguests’understandingofChineseculture7

3.2.3Activelyparticipateintheculturalcommunication8

4.Conclusion8

5.Notes10

6.Bibliography

OntheCulturalDifferencesofDietbetweenChinaandEnglishCountriesandSomePointsforInterpretingChineseDishesintoEnglish

1.Introduction

Inrecentyears,withtherapiddevelopmentoftheChineseeconomyandtheinfluencesofenteringtheWTO,theinternationalcommunicationactivitiesbetweenChinaandforeigncountriesarebecomingmoreandmorepopular.Makingfriendsduringbanquetisakindofcommonformofcommunication.Itisagoodwaytoshowone’sloveandfriendshiptoothers,helptocreateaharmoniouscooperationatmospherebetweenbusinesspartnerstopublicizetheChinesedietaryculture.TheChinesepeople,whoarewellknownfortheirhospitalitybothathomeandabroad,shouldnotmisssuchchancestointroducetheirvariousdelicaciestoforeignfriends.Onsuchoccasions,theinterpreter,asabridgeoverpeoplefromdifferentcountries,playsatremendouslyimportantroleintheprocessoftheircommunication.However,inrecentyears,someinterpretersareoftenmisunderstoodbyforeignguestsbecauseoftheirlackofcross-cultureawarenessandtheirinabilitytotranslatesomeChinesedishnamescorrectly.TheydonotknowmuchaboutthedifferencesbetweenChineseandEnglishcountries’dietaryculturesanddonotpayenoughattentiontothetranslationmethodsfortheChinesedishname,whichaffectsthespreadingofChinesedietarycultureallovertheworld,andevensometimesmakesforeignfriendsconfused.Therefore,theauthorofthispaperfeelsthatit’snecessarytoanalyzeseveraldifferencesofChineseandEnglishcountries’dietarycultures,probeintosomeChinesedishnames’translationmethods,sothattheChineseprofounddietaryculturecouldbespreadinabetterway.

2.ThedifferencesbetweenChineseandEnglishcountries’dietarycultures

Differentpeoplesandcountrieshavedifferentdietarycultures;theirrichnessanddiversityofdifferentnationalitiesarealsotheembodimentoftheircreativity.China,Britain,theUnitedStatesandotherEnglishcountrieshavesomedifferentviewsandattitudestowarddiet,andthesedifferencesmighthinderinterpretersfromtranslatingproperlyandspreadingChinesedietarycultureinabetterway.

2.1differencesinconcept

2.1.1Sensibilityvs.practicality

InChina,diethasdevelopedtoaveryimportantpartinpeople’slife.Itisalmostbeyondanyothermaterialandspiritualforms,andthishasbeenapparentlyreflectedinpeople’sdailylife.Thesevenso-calledbasicdailyneeds:

firewood,rice,oil,salt,sauces,vinegar,tea,allhavedeeprelationstodiet.Eatinggoesthroughaman’swholelife.Whenonewasborn,hisparentswouldholdabirthcelebration.Laterwhenhewasonemontholdoroneyearold,thefamilywouldgettogetherandhaveapartyagain.Whengrowingup,hewouldhavebirthdayparties,weddingpartyandevenfuneraldinnerheldforhimbyhisdescendantswhenhepassesaway.Whenavisitorcomes,hewouldpreparefortheguestaformaldinner,whichiscalledwelcomedinner.Hewouldinvitefriendstohavedinnertogetherwhenhemovesintoanewhouse,ispromotedinhiscompanyorhassolvedaseriousproblem.AlltheseshowthatpeopleinChinalikeeatingwithmuchemotions,fordinnershaveprovidedthemlotsofchancestoshowtheirloveforfriends,andexchangeinformation.Evensomeemotionalturmoilwouldbecalmeddownduringthedinnertime.Behindtheformofeating,thereareaprofusepsychologicalandculturalsignificance,aswellaspeople’srecognitionandunderstandingofsociety,whichembodyamoreprofoundsocialmeaning.Eatingnotonlyhassomeoriginalcommunicationfunction,buthasalreadytransformedintoanadjustmentofsociallifeandpsychology.

InBritain,U.S.A.andotherEnglishcountries,eatingisregardedasawayofcommunicationandanecessarysurvivalmeans.AmericanpsychologistAbrahamMaslowdivideshuman’sneedsintofivelevelsinhisfamoustheoryLawofDemand.Eatingisclassifiedintothefirstlayer,whichisthelowestlevelofhumanrequirements.LinYutang,afamousChineseanthropologicalscholar,oncesaid,“ThedietconceptsofpeoplefromEnglishcountriesaredifferentfromthoseoftheChinese.Theythinkthateatingisjustanactgivingyourbodynutrients,likeinjectingfueltoamachine,toensureitsnormaloperation.Aslongastheyarehealthyenoughtoresistdiseases,theycarelittleaboutotherproblems.”[1]Therefore,inthemindsoftheEnglishpeople,eatingjustplaysalife-sustainingroleintheirlife.WecanseeclearlythattheEnglishpeoplewouldnotassignmoreimportantmissionstoeating,whichhasbeendonebytheChinesepeopleforalongtime.

2.1.2.Complexityvs.simplicity

ThereisafundamentaldifferencebetweenChineseanddEnglishcountries’banquetconcepts.Chinesepeoplepaymuchattentiontothedinneritselfanditsarrangement.Theyprovideprofusewineandcourses,includingtenmaincoursesataformalbanquet,besidessnacks,desserts,riceornoodlesinthewholeprocedureofadinner.Themoresumptuousdishesthehostprepares,thebetterthehost’shospitalityandguest’ssocialstatusarereflected.

InEnglishcountries,grandbanquetisusuallynomorethansixdishesandmuchsimplerwhenitisonlyakindofcommondinner.SometimesfriendsintheUnitedStateswouldallcontributetoadinner,whichiscalledpotluck,[2]andmeansthateachpersonhastakenadishforsharing.Itisevidentthatitcreatesopportunitiesforfriendstogettogetherandexchangeideas.Itisreminiscentoffriendshipsandprovidesaccessforthemtogetinformation.ItissubjecttotheconceptofEnglishcountries’banquetthatthemostimportantthingofabanquetliesnotinthedishesthemselves,butinthediversifyingformofliberalization.Theownershouldtrytocreatearelaxing,harmoniousandcheerfulatmosphere,lettheguestsenjoythefreedomofawonderfultime.Generally,thatisthefirstpurposeofabanquetinEnglishcountries.

2.2Differencesintablemanners

TablemannersseemtobeespeciallyimportantbothinChinaandEnglishcountries.Differenttablemannershaveformedduringcenturiesbecauseofdifferentculturalbackgrounds.Anexcellentinterpreteralwaysknowshowtotakeadvantagesofsuchdifferencestomaketheinterpretingprocesssmoother.

2.2.1Differenttable-wares:

chopsticksvs.forks

Onthedinnertables,themostobviousdifferenceisthechoicesoftheirtablewares.TheChineseusechopstickstoclampriceanddishes,whilepeoplefromEnglishcountriescutfoodwiththeirforks.Clearly,thesedifferentconsumptionpatternsarenotanaccidentalphenomenon.Sinceancienttimes,theChinesepeoplehavebeenfarmingonland,andnowadaysthemajorityoftheChinesearestillfarmers.Insuchaculturalenvironment,peopleusuallyliveoncereal-basedfood,tendingtoliveandworkinpeace,stressingthepreciousnessofstability,opposingaggressionandattacks.WhilemanypeoplefromEnglishcountrieswerehuntersinthepast.Theylivedonmeat-baseddiet.Inordertobeabletosurviveinthecruelcircumstances,theymustbegoodathunting,andbeoffensive,aggressive.Graduallytheyhavedevelopedanadventurouscharactertrait.[3]Thesetwoculturalpreferencesarealmostcontr