试谈文化差异对商务英语翻译的影响.doc

本科生毕业论文本科生毕业论文 试谈文化差异对商务英语翻译的影响试谈文化差异对商务英语翻译的影响 院院 系系： 人文与社会科学系人文与社会科学系 专专 业业： 学生姓名学生姓名: 学学 号号： 指导教师指导教师： 2009 年年 6 月月 influences of cultural differences upon business english translation june 5, 2009 acknowledgements it was really a laborious task to accomplish a b.a thesis. many people gave me support and help in the process of writing the paper. upon the completion of this paper, i would like to give my gratitude to all those who have granted me help on the paper and on my four-year study in this school. first, id like to give my gratitude to my dear teacher, supervisor mr lin zhiyuan, who generously gave me his kindly help and instructions during the whole process of my paper-writing. i also owe a special debt of gratitude to the other teachers of mine, as they have given me valuable suggestions on my chosen of topic and essay structure of the dissertation. very special thanks also go to those reference books and websites. they have provided me with valuable materials and information and given me some good suggestions. then id like to give my many thanks to my classmates who helped me a lot with my information collecting and paper-polishing. most important of all, i want to give my thanks to my mother university and all the teachers in the college. i 摘要摘要 随着世界经济全球化趋势的发展，中西方国家之间的贸易往来日益频 繁，商务活动所展现出的不仅是一种经济活动，而且还是一种文化上的交流。 商务英语翻译作为不同语言的人们之间进行商业交流的交际过程和交际工具 就显得尤为重要。自跨文化交流活动以来，翻译实践就与文化产生了不可分 割的联系。文化加速了翻译的发展，而翻译又促进了文化的传播，文化与翻 译的发展相得益彰。随着全球经济一体化时代的到来，地域不再局限人们的 交流空间，跨文化交流愈加频繁。频繁的跨文化交流加速了文化碰撞的呈现， 商务英语翻译中出现的文化因素也越来越多。这对于译者来说是个挑战，因 为英语和汉语有诸多差异之处，所以很难把地道的英语译成能为大多数中国 商务者所接受的汉语；同样，让普通的英语国家的商务者通过译文来理解地 道的汉语也不容易。如何克服这些由文化差异所引起的翻译障碍是译者需要 面对的一个大问题。本文将分析文化差异与商务英语翻译实践的关系以及文 化差异对商务英语翻译造成的影响，通过举出充分的例子来分析文化差异对 商务英语翻译造成的影响并提出如何克服由文化差异引起的翻译障碍的方法。 本文目的是借助商务英语翻译使人们能更了解文化对语言的影响并有效地进 行商务交流。 关键字：关键字：商务英语；文化差异；翻译实践 ii abstract with the development of the economic globalization, business activities are being carried more and more frequently between china and other english-speaking countries. business english translation is not only displayed in economic activities, but also a kind of cultural exchange. since the moment cross-cultural communication exists, business english translation practice has close relationship with culture. culture speeds up the development of translation, while translation helps to spread culture. with the age of globalization coming, communication across cultures happens more and more frequently. this is a challenge for translators, because there are many discrepancies between english culture and chinese culture, it is hard to translate idiomatic english into chinese that can be accepted by most chinese traders. also, how to let average english traders understand idiomatic chinese is not easy. how to overcome the barriers caused by culture is a big problem that translators need to facethis thesis is to analyze the relationship between cultural differences and business english translation practice and the influence of cultural differences on business english translation. by giving plenty of examples the thesis analyzes the influence of cultural differences on business english translation and tries to offer some approaches to overcome the barriers caused by cultural differences in business english translation practice, so as to help people communicate more effectively. keywords: business english; cultural difference; translation practice iii table of content acknowledgements. i 摘要.ii abstract.iii table of contents.iv introduction.1 part one survey of cultural differences and bet. 2 1.1 definition of cultural differences.2 1.2 importance of business english translation . . .2 1.3 interaction of cultural differences and bet.3 part two a detailed analysis of the influences of cultural differences.4 2.1 trademark.4 2.1.1 ambiguity of trademark.4 2.1.2 inelegance of trademark5 2.1.3 misunderstanding of trademark.5 iv 2.2 advertisements.6 2.2.1 different cultural values.7 2.2.2 different thought patterns.7 2.2.3 different aesthetic standards.9 2.3 commercial activities.9 2.3.1 difference in business negotiation 10 2.3.2 difference in business notion.10 2.3.3 difference in business etiquette.11 part three proper stretagies to deal with the cultural differences in bet13 3.1 requirements for translators13 3.2 treating cultural differences correctly .13 3.3 reinforcing cultural exchange14 conclusion .15 works cited.16 万方科技学院本科毕业论文 0 introduction international corporation and communication are gaining increasing development since china entered into world trade organization. business english as a bridge linking china and foreign countries is playing a more crucial role, and is gaining increasing popularity. business english translation involves the conversion of two different cultures. although culture is very complicated, we can roughly classify it into three categories in scope: (a) material culture which refers to the natural environment ;(b) instituted culture which refers to social system, religious system, customs and national psychological etc;(c) mental culture which refers to peoples mentalities and behaviors, their beliefs, perceptions, concepts of value, thought patterns etc. the cultural differences have greatly affected the various aspects of business activities, and determine the success or failure of business activities. unsuccessful business translation will not only bring significant economic losses, but will also affect the image of the enterprise and even the country. from home and abroad business english translation research, although the translator noted the impact of the cultural differences for translation between east and west, it is still a lack of systematic attention to cultural differences, there is also a unilateral cognition, which will make the readers get unnecessary misunderstandings. to do an excellent translation work, it is even more important to grasp two cultures than to master two languages, because the word will materialize its meanings only in a particular culture. therefore, it is extremely necessary to understand the cultural difference in the background of globalization. in order to master english and successfully complete the task of business english translation from english into chinese, successful know about the cultural differences is essential. therefore, in this paper, the author attempts to discuss the problem of translation of business english from the cultural perspective in detail. 万方科技学院本科毕业论文 1 part one survey of cultural differences and business english translation now, the economy is becoming more and more globalized and the culture is becoming more and more integrated. people need communicate between different national cultures, geography, characteristics of the times, while, during the process of exchange translation is very important. the translations origin is the exchanging of culture, while, communication and cultural exchanges result the translation. 1.1 definition of cultural differences over the years, different scholars have different opinions towards the definition of cultural differences, and it has been defined in many ways. however, most of these definitions put emphasis on different aspects of cultural differences according to the definition put forth by nida, cultural differences refer to the differences between historical heritage, social customs and cultural tradition between different countries and religions, which are the reflection of the history developing. from the above explanation, we may have an understanding about the culture on the whole. cultural differences is broad and it involves many aspects, so it is very difficult to give an accurate definition. generally speaking, we can consider that, cultural differences refers to the different cultural values, different thought pattern, different social norms and different communication styles among different people from different countries and cultural backgrounds. 1.2 importance of business english translation in the background of economic globalization, business activities have becoming more and more frequently. it is said that there are almost 1.6 billion people who use english as their first language or second language and most of them use business english everyday in the world. therefore, the business english translation plays an important role in the progress of communication. 万方科技学院本科毕业论文 2 in 2010, shanghai expo will be held in shanghai china. at that time, many enterprises and economic organization will come to invest in china, thus chinese enterprises may get lots of opportunities to grow and develop. therefore, when communicating with foreign investors, the business english is very important however, during the progress of communication, someone who is not familiar with english may counter lots of trouble. on this condition, the business english translation is in badly needed for them. 1.3 the interaction of cultural differences and business english translation with chinese reform and opening-up policy are pushing forward continuously, the business activities between china and the world are becoming intensive and frequent. thus, business english translation is marked with strong cultural consciousness. someone believes that anyone who is competent in english is able to deal with the translation. that is just the wrong attitude result in the failure of translation. for example, “six” is an unpopular figure, and people regard it as an unlucky number in western culture. however, in china, people often use the number “6” as the trademark of commodities which they think it can bring good fortune, such as “666”, “金六福” and so on. when these products are exported to the western countries, they will receive a cold welcome. the reason is that six is also a symbol of devil in the western culture. the above example shows how important cultural differences mean to business english translation. so, it is critical to pay special attention to cultural differences for the translator. thus, the failure of translation will be reduced and avoided on a certain degree. 万方科技学院本科毕业论文 3 part two a detailed analysis of the influences of cultural differences nowadays, a number of products have been exporting to the international market. however, most of them fail to capture the market. the reason for that mainly lies in the improper marketing strategies and advertising campaigns. in other words, the neglect or unawareness of cultural differences can result in the failure. 2.1 trademark trademark is the sign of product, which plays an important role in sale. it is the concentration of commodities distinct characteristics, the core of commodities culture, and the powerful weapon for an enterprise to participate in international competitions. it is not only a logo, also a lure, the final goal of which is to attract customers and sell commodities. the well-known trademark often guarantees the products quality, which is a symbol of the reasonable price and good service. trademark translation conforms to the conception of semi logy. trademark translation is the process from decoding to coding and the process of re-creating and further processing. that is to say, trademark translation is the transplantation of two kinds of cultures. a good trademark translation may bring an enterprise huge wealth, whereas a bad one may let an enterprise suffer great loss. therefore, an enterprises future is closely linked with trademark translation. at the same time, trademark translation can widen the linguistic research field, enrich the connotation of linguistics, and accelerate the combination of linguistic theoretic research and its practical application. 2.1.1 ambiguity of trademark when we export products to foreign countries, we always overlook the culture shocks. as a result, these neglects make the trademarks unpopular and affect the sales of products. sprite is the meaning of wizard and goblin in english. at the eve of halloween, children often dress themselves up as wizards or monsters, and ask for candy from house to house. however, in china, the wizard and the fairy is symbol of evil. that will not be 万方科技学院本科毕业论文 4 acceptable to consumers by the literal translation. therefore, the trademark of “雪碧” can be accepted by consumers easily in china, which makes the consumers have a cool feeling. another translation happens to be politically inappropriate. when introduced to foreign countries, the chinese trademark of canvas shoes“大鹏”is rendered as “roc”, which is a sort of giant bird in arabic fables. however, “roc” happens to be the abbreviation of “republic of china”. obviously, the translation stirs up inappropriate political associations. 2.1.2 inelegance of trademark as we all know, the same words in different backgrounds may have different meanings. however, many translators usually overlook this problem during the process of translation of the logos. for example：translation by using chinese phonetic letters coincides with english words with derogatory sense. the typical example is“马戏扑克”.the version “maxi puke” reminds the english consumers of something revolting and unpleasant, for “maxi“ means big in english and “puke” indicates vomited food or drink. as we all know, “雄鸡” is a trademark name for a clock in china, this trademark is not only indicates the function of the clock but also fits for chinese culture. moreover, cocks are mascots in ancient china, and they are always used on ceremonial occasions. but for the westerners, the word “cock” contains obscene meaning, and it is usually avoided in formal english. if the producers in china use “cock” as the trademark name, the image of the product may be damaged. when exporting to the western market, the original english trademark name for the“雄鸡”was “golden cock”，but changed into “golden rooster” latterly . this trademark name is more suitable and attractive for the westerners. so, we should pay more attention to the translation of the elegant name of trademarks on condition that we understand the cultural differences. 2.1.3 misunderstanding of trademark it is not enough for advertising translators only to know the literal meaning of an ad, for it may be endowed with extended meaning and cultural implication. fully competent 万方科技学院本科毕业论文 5 advertising translators are supposed to have a good command of religions, traditions, ethnic attitudes, the spirit of community, and purchasing habits of the target countries. otherwise, the translated ads might go against the original intention of the producers. in the western culture, peacock is considered as an unlucky animal. it is often used to describe a person who is walking on air. so, in western countries, if we use the word peacock as the trademark, the misunderstanding may occur. so, the“孔雀” tv set does not use the trademark “peacock” but “uranus”, which is a name of a star. on the contrary, peacock is an auspicious animal for the chinese, because people believe it is a good sign that peacock spreads its tail. therefore many chinese commodities like to use the trademark name “孔雀”, for example one chinese watch trademark “孔雀”. the shanghai-produced pen trademark as“白翎” could receive welcome in english- speaking countries, for the trademark is translated as “white feather”. unfortunately, “white feather” is a symbol or mark of cowardice in english. it derives the connotation from the belief that white feather in a gamecocks tail is a sign of a poor fighter. the english idiom, “show the white feather”, means “sneak away at a critical juncture”. therefore, “white feather” is used to represent caitiffs. the translation nullifies the strengths of the company on the international market and becomes a disadvantage that fails to serve the interests of the producers or those of the distributors. 2.2 advertisements following the economic enhancing, the economy becomes global and every nations products, come to the world markettherefore, the advertisement plays a decisive role. advertisement is closely related to the culture. the purpose of an advertisement is to persuade target customers to buy the advertised products or services. thus, it is a most important task to be aware of the differences between chinese culture and western culture. some defects and even unsuccessful advertisements are made because of the poor quality of translation. this paper proceeds from problems in advertising translation that the translators do not have a 万方科技学院本科毕业论文 6 good command of the nation-specific culture and is too adhesive to the advertisements superficial meaning while there are a lot of cultural factors hidden in the present advertising translation. in fact, advertisement translation requires more than just rendering sentences into another language. translators have to convert the ideas and thoughts behind the sentences into the target language by applying the knowledge of the target culture. cultural differences greatly affect the advertisements and the sale of products, because people have different cultural values, thought patterns and aesthetic standard which influence peoples judgment between east and west. 2.2.1 different cultural values culture values can be classified into many categories, but we would like to discuss about collectivism and individualism, because they are the main factors which can determine the success or not in the intercultural business communication. let us take a look at the differences between collectivism and individualism. c