论文初稿.docx

论文初稿.docx

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论文初稿

TheInfluenceofCulturalDifferencesontheTranslationsofIdiomsinCommercialEnglish

By

PuXiaoxue（Doris）

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