论翻译中的文化差异及习惯表达法Cultural Differences and Idiomatic Expressions in Translation

CulturalDifferencesandIdiomaticExpressionsin

Translation10级水利水电工程4班李超2010102062AbstractLanguageisanintegratedpartofculture.Asisknown,therearelotsoflanguagesintheworld.Sotherearelotsofdifferentcultures.Intranslationculturalelementsusuallyposeaproblemfortranslators.Itisindispensabletoattachimportancetoculturalelementsinliterarytranslation.Thecultureisveryimportantforliterarytranslation.Theroleoflanguagewithinaculture,theinfluenceofthecultureonlanguagearesopervasivethatscarcelyanytextcanbeadequatelyunderstoodwithoutcarefulconsiderationofitsculturalbackground.Tosumup,languagesdonotoperateinisolationbutwithinandaspartofcultures;culturesdifferfromeachotherinvariouswaysandthereisbynomeansaone-to-onerelationofexactlexicalequivalencebetweentheirlanguagesinmostcases.Translatorshavetotransmitspecialculturalqualitiesfromonelanguagetoanotherthroughamulti-prongedapproach.Fromthisperspectiveitisnecessaryforthemtopossesscross-culturalconsciousness.Keywords：translation,language,culture,culturalelements摘要语言是文化的综合部分。我们都知道，世界上有许多种语言，所以自然有许多种不同文化。翻译过程中，文化通常是翻译程序的一个重要要素。它是翻译的基础，它能够改善文化体制，它从各个方面反映当今的社会现象。因此，翻译必须受到语言的限制，翻译的综合反映就是语言的精髓。语言对文化的影响渗透到各个方面，所以必须充分了解文化背景才能足够地理解本文。从这个透视中，他们拥有交叉文化的意识是必要的，他们必须从语言的要素去彻底把握翻译的结构以及它的理论基础。总之，语言不能孤立存在，它是文化的一个部分。在一般情况下，它们的语言是均等的，但不是一对一的关系。所以，翻译者不得不用细微的方法，把一种语言转化为专门的文化质数。关键词：翻译；语言；文化；文化要素ContentsTOC\o"1-5"\h\zAbstracti\o"CurrentDocument"Contentsiii\o"CurrentDocument"Introduction1\o"CurrentDocument"LanguageandCulture1Thedefinitionoflanguageandculture1Therelationoflanguageandculture2\o"CurrentDocument"TranslationandCulture4Theimportanceofculturefortranslation5Theinfluenceofcultureontranslation6\o"CurrentDocument"CulturalElements7Socialelement7Thereligiousandideologicalelements8Geographicalandenvironmentalelements10\o"CurrentDocument"Conclusion11Bibliography12AcknowledgementsIntroductionTranslationhasplayedasignificantroleinthecommunicationamongnationssinceantiquity.Asisknown,therearequitealotoflanguagesintheworldandnobodycanknowallofthem.Thustranslatorsarerequiredtofunctionasintermediariesincross-nationalandcross-culturalexchanges.Translationisanart,abilingualart.Likepainting,translationenablesustoreproducethefinethoughtofsomebody,notincolors,butinwordsofadifferentlanguage.Itisindispensabletoattachimportancetoculturalelementsinliterarytranslation.JustasEugeneA.Nidasays,theroleoflanguagewithinacultureandtheinfluenceofthecultureonlanguagearesopervasivethatscarcelyanytextcanbeadequatelyunderstoodwithoutcarefulconsiderationDfitsculturalbackground.Thispaperissupposedtointerprethecloserelationamonglanguage,cultureindtranslationswellasexplainsomeaspectsofculturalelementsinliterarytranslation.LanguageandCultureThedefinitionoflanguageandcultureToillustratetherelationshipbetweenlanguageandcultureisworthwhistartbygivingthedefinitionsofthem.Manylinguistshaveagreedtoacceviewthatlanguageis,inessence,asystemofsymbolsdesignedforthepurofhumancommunication.AccordingtoJiXianlin,afamousChinesescholar,thereexistmorethan500definitioiaboutculturefromwhichwecanknowthatcultureisnoteasytodefine.Theclassicdefinitionofitisprovide19th-centur页nglishanthropologistdwardBurnettTylor:cultureisthatcomplexwholewhichincludesknowledge,belief,art,morals,law,custom,aanyothercapabilitiandhabitsacquiredbymanasamemberofsociety.EugeneA.Nidadefinesitinasimplisticmannerasthetotalityofthebelpracticesofasociety.Inabroadsense,itusuallyreferstothetotalitycultureandspiritualculture.TherelationoflanguageandcultureLanguageandculturearecloselyrelatedinthattheyaremutuallynecessary:languagecanexistanddeveloponlyinasocialsettingwhileculturemaybemaintainedandconveyedonlythroughlanguage;inasense,languageispartofandmediumofculture.Particularstructuresoflanguagemayreflecttoacertaindegreethewaypeoplethink.Differentpeoplethinkdifferentlybecausetheirlanguageoffersthemdifferentwaysofexpressingtheworldaroundthem.Ontheotherhand,differencesinculturemaymeandifferencesinlanguage.Itisadvisabletobeawarethatwordshavemeaningsonlyintermsofcorrespondingculture.Whenacultureexperiencesradicalchangesthevocabularyalsoundergoesrelevantalterations.Tosomeextentcultureinfluenceswhatpeoplethinkandexpress.Moreover,itmakesconstantuseoflanguagetoperformitscrucialfunctionssuchasemotiveandaestheticones.ClaireKramsch,professorofGermanandForeignLanguageAcquisitionattheUniversityofCaliforniaatBerkeley,thinksthatlanguageistheprincipalmeanswherebyweconductoursociallives;whenitisusedincontextofcommunicationitisboundupwithcultureinmultipleandcomplexways.Tohismind,languageexpresses,embodiesandsymbolizesculturalreality.Particularmeaningsareadoptedbyasocialgroupandimposedinturnonitsmembers.Forinstance,abouquetofrosesisacceptedasexpressingloveandchrysanthemumsarereservedforthedeadinmanycountries.Itwouldbecontroversialforindividualstoexpresstheirownparticularloveormourningwithoutresortingtothesymbolsthesocietygenerallyrecognizes.Fromthisperspective,itispropertosaythatsocialconventionsandnormsofsocialappropriatenessaretheproductofsocietiesoflanguageusers.Peoplewhoidentifythemselvesasmembersofasocialgroupacquirecommonwaysofviewingtheworldthroughtheirinteractionswithothermembersofthesamegroup,whichisreflectedinthewaytheyuselanguage-whattheychoosetosayornottosayandhowtheysayit.Ifindividualsofdifferentlanguagesdonotunderstandeachother,itisnotbecausetheirlanguagescannotbemutuallytranslated,butbecausetheydon’tsharethesamewayofviewingandinterpretingeventsandtheydon’tagreeonthemeaningbehindthewords.Cultureisheterogeneous,nothomogeneous.Membersofthesamesocialgrouphavedifferentbiographiesandlifeexperiencessothattheymaydifferinage,gender,ethnicity,opinions,etc.Inaddition,cultureisconstantlychangingaswecanseefromthedifficultymanycontemporaryreadershavewithancientpoetry.Languageisintimatelylinkednotonlytotheculturethatisandtheculturethatwas,butalsothecultureofimaginationthatgovernspeople’sdecisionsandactions.TranslationandCultureInEncyclopediaBritannica,translationisdefinedastheactorprocessofrenderingwhatisexpressedinonelanguageorsetofsymbolsbymeansofanotherlanguageorsetofsymbols.Involvingthetranspositionofthoughtsexpressedbyonesocialgroupintotheappropriateexpressionofanothergroup,itentailsaprocessofculturalde-coding,re-codinganden-coding.PeterNewmarkholdsthatfrequentlywherethereisculturalfocusthereisatranslationproblemduetothecultural"gap”or"distance”betweenthesourceandtargetlanguages.Theprocessoftransmittingculturalelementsisacomplicatedandvitaltask.Sinceculturalmeaningsareintricatelywovenintothetextureoflanguageitisimperativefortranslatorstopossesscross-culturalconsciousness.Caughtbetweentheneedtocapturethelocalcolorandtobeunderstoodbytheaudienceoutsidetheculturalsituation,translatorshavetobeawareoftwocultures.Oneofthemaingoalsoftranslatingistoinitiatethetarget-languageaudienceintothesensibilitiesofthesource-languageculture.TheimportanceofculturefortranslationChristianeNordexplainsinTranslatingasaPurposefulActivity:FunctionalistApproachesExplained(Shanghai,2001)thattranslatorsinterpretsource-culturephenomenoninthelightoftheirownculture-specificknowledgeofthatculture,dependingonwhetherthetranslationisfromorintothetranslator'snativelanguageandculture.Tohermind,inthecaseofatranslation,thetranslatorisarealreceiverofthesourcetextwhothenproceedstoinformanotheraudience,locatedinasituationundertarget-cultureconditions,abouttheofferofinformationmadebythesourcetext.Thetranslatoroffersthisnewaudienceatargettextwhosecompositionis,ofcourse,guidedbythetranslator’sassumptionsabouttheirneeds,expectation,previousknowledgeandsoon.Theseassumptionswillobviouslybedifferentfromthosemadebytheoriginalauthor,becausesource-textaddresseesandtarget-textaddresseesbelongtodifferentculturesandlanguagecommunities.Thismeansthetranslatorcannotofferthesameamountandkindofinformationasthesource-textproducer.Whatthetranslatordoesisofferanotherkindofinformationinanotherform.Fortrulysuccessfultranslating,biculturalismisevenmoreimportantthanbilingualism,sincewordshavemeaningsjustintermsofcorrespondingculture.Onlybybeinginthecountrieswhereaforeignlanguageisspokencanoneacquirethenecessarysensitivitytospecialmeaningsofwordsandphrases.Forexample,insomepartsofLatinAmericatheSpanishword“huahua”means“baby”，andinothers“bus”.Peoplebecomesoaccustomedtotheirownwaysofdoingthingsthattheycannotconceiveofotherpeopleaccomplishingthesamepurposesbyquitedifferentactions.Manypeopleknockondoorstomaketheirpresenceknown,butinsomepartsoftheworldpeoplemaycallthenamesoftheoccupantsortheymaycoughorclaptheirhands.2.2TheinfluenceofcultureontranslationHowever,asculturesareincreasinglybroughtintogreatercontactwithoneanother,multiculturalismshouldbepaidattention.Translatorsarenotjustdealingwithwordswritteninacertaintime,spaceandsocialsituation;rather,itisthe“culturahSpectofthetextthatshouldbetakenintoaccount.Multiculturalism,whichisapresent-dayphenomenon,playsarolehere,becauseithashadanimpactonalmostallpeoplesworldwideaswellasontheinternationalrelationsemergingfromthecurrentnewworldorder.Furthermore,asaresultofrapidlygrowingtechnology,nationsandtheircultureshavestartedamergingprocess.Barriersaredisappearinganddistinctionsarebeinglost.Thesharpoutlinesthatwereoncedistinctivenowfadeandbecomeblurred.CulturalElementsTranslatorsarefacedwithanalienculturethatrequiresitsmessagetobeconveyedinaproperway.Culturalwords,proverbsandidiomaticexpressions,whoseoriginanduseareuniquelyboundtothecultureconcerned,arehardtodealwith.Successfultranslationwilldependontheunderstandingofculturetheyareworkingwith.Cultureisacomplexcollectionofexperiencesthatarecorrelatedwithhistory,society,religion,tradition,custom,geographicalelementsandsoon.Peoplefromoneculturemayormaynotunderstandthosefromanother.Heretranslatorsareexpectedtobuildabridgebetweenthem.SocialelementsEverynationhasitsownhistoryanditinturnexertsinfluenceonitslanguageandculture.Inthecourseofhistory,languageandculturehavebeenexperiencingaprocessofabsorbingthefineanddiscardingtheobsolete,resultingintheenrichmentofthem.Somehistoriceventsandpersonsaswellastypicalcharactersandstoriesofepoch-makingclassicsaregrantedspecialmeaningsandaddedtothevocabularyoflanguageorthecontextofculture.TheBible,Shakespeare’splays,GreekandRomanlegendsareextremelyinfluentialinthewesternculture.InChina,Dou’e,createdbythenotedancientplaywrightGuanHanqing,isusuallyusedtorepresentthosewronged.Peopleofadifferentculturemaybeunabletounderstandandwonderwhosheis.Inthiscasetranslatorshavetoexplaininthenotes,makingitunderstandable.Asamatteroffact,duetothecontributionsoftranslatorssomehistoricalorculturaltermsofoneculturehavebeenborrowedbylanguageofadifferentculture.Forexample,Napoleon’sdefeatintheBattleofWaterlooisoftenemployedbymanyChinesepeopletosymbolizefailure;thestoryofRomeoandJulietdescribedbyShakespeareareknownaroundtheworldaslovetragedy.Socialelementsplayapartinthelanguageandcultureofanation.Chinesepeopleattachmuchimportancetofamilyrelationship.TherearequitealotofwordsfordifferentfamilymembersandrelativesinChinesewhileinEnglishthereexistmuchfewerones.AndintheIndianculturepeopleshowrespecttotheireldersbyaddressingtheminplural.Translatingnamesisworthcarefulconsiderationtoo.Anameisalinguisticculturalelementandanauthorusuallyusesitforitsassociativevalue.Ifasingleobjecfs,aperson’s,oraplace’snamealreadyhasanacceptedtranslationitshouldbeadheredto.ThereligiousandideologicalelementsBesides,theimportantroleofreligionandideologycannotbeignoredinthecultureofanation.Religionisaworldwidephenomenonthathasplayedapartinallhumanculture.Anadequateunderstandingofitmusttakeintoconsiderationitsdistinctivequalitiesandpatternsasaformofhumanexperienceaswellasthesimilaritiesanddifferencesinreligionsacrosshumancultures.Religiouselements,myths,legendsandthelikearemajorcomponentsofanyculture.Theypresentmajorproblemsintranslatingatext.Thissensitiveissuedemandstranslators9fullattention.Needlesstosay,mostwesternpeoplebelieveinChristianitywhileChinesepeoplearegreatlyinfluencedbyBuddhism,TaoismandConfuciusthought.Inaddition,custom,tradition,beliefsandfeelingsdifferfromculturetoculture.Thiscanbedemonstratedbygreetingsbetweenpeople.Englishpeopleusuallygreeteachotherbysaying“hello”，“goodmorning”，“howareyou”andsoforthwhileChinesepeopleusing“whereareyougoing”，andsoon.InaChristianmarriagetheexchangeofkissesispartoftheceremonybutinanIndiancontext“haveyouhaddinner”thiswouldbetotallyinappropriate.Whatisconsideredagoodomen,whetheranevent,ananimalorabird,maynotsymbolizethesamethinginanother.Chinesepeopletakedragonsforthegreatwhileinthewesttheystandfortheevil.DogsarefavoritepetsofAmericanpeopleandexpressionsconcernedaregenerallycomplimentary.Bycontrast,inChinadog-relatedexpressionsarealwaysderogatory.Thewhitecolormayrepresentpurityandblackevilinoneculture,butitmaynotbethesameinanother.Moreover,foodandclothingalsocountinthecultureofanation.Regardingfoodhabits,theveryflavorbehindafoodoritssignificanceisuntranslatabletoanaudiencewhohasneverheardofortastedit.Forinstance,certainfoodsarepreparedonlyduringcertainfestivalsandsuchfoodsremindpeopleoftheseasonorsomereligiousstory.Butthisisnotexperiencedbyanaudienceofadifferentculture.PeopleinthenorthernpartofChinaalwayseatJiaoziduringtheSpringFestival.Dresscodeorornamentsusedandthesymbolismbehindthemalsoposeaproblemforatranslator.InIndiasomeoftheornamentsaremeantforawomanwhosehusbandisaliveandawidowhascertainrestrictions.Thisideaofwidowhoodisnon-existentinothercountries.3.3GeographicalandenvironmentalelementsLastly,geographicalandenvironmentalelementsarealsopartofculture.Forinstance,snowisapartoftheEskimos’life.Thereareovertwentywordstoidentifydifferentkindsofsnowintheirlanguage.ChinaissituatedtothewestofthePacificOceanwhileEuropeislocatedtotheeastoftheAtlanticOceansoChinesepeopleuseeastwindwhereasEnglishpeopleemploywestwindtosymbolizethecomingofspring.ThegreatBritishpoetShelleywroteOdetotheWestWindtoexpresshisconfidenceinthefuture.“Ifwintercomes,canspringbefarbehind?”Inthepoemisnowwellknownworldwide.ConclusionTosumup,languagesdonotoperateinisolationbutwithinandaspartofcultures;culturesdifferfromeachotherinvariouswaysandthereisbynomeansaone-to-onerelationofexactlexicalequivalencebetweentheirlanguagesinmostcases.Translatorshavetotransmitspecialculturalqualitiesfromonelanguagetoanother