深度翻译理论的菜单翻译方法

摘要文化缺省普遍存在于翻译过程中，特别是在菜单翻译中。本文旨在用深度翻译理论的照观下提出菜单翻译的化补偿策略。深度翻译是一种通过在文本中添加注释、评注、脚注等，向读者展示翻译文本更深层次含义的翻译理论。由于翻译者缺乏想象力或者缺少特定的文化知识，许多菜单翻译不能够将蕴含在菜名后丰富的文化传播出去，从而导致了文化缺省现象。菜单在向全世界人民传播中国文化中起到重要作用，因此，正确的菜单翻译能够增强我国的文化软实力和文化自信。本文旨在通过探索深度翻译理论的菜单翻译方法，选取蕴含中国文化的菜名做例子，尝试在菜单翻译过程中运用深度翻译理论进行实践，研究其如何实现文化补偿。结论是运用深度翻译理论，通过添加注释、图片及故事讲解的方法来翻译菜单，从而能够将蕴含在菜单背后的文化传播出去。本文旨在提供一种全新的翻译视角，探索传播和传承中国文化的道路。关键词：文化缺省；菜单翻译；深度翻译理论AbstractCulturaldefaultisacommonphenomenonintheprocessoftranslationespeciallyinmenutranslation.Somegoodsuggestionsandsolutionsonculturaldefaulthavebeenputupbyscholars.However,fewstudiesmadeonmenutranslationundertheguidanceofthicktranslation.So,thisthesistendstousethicktranslationforculturalcompensationinmenutranslation.Thicktranslationisatheorythatusesannotationsandglossestoexplaintheinnermeaningswhichcannotbefullyexpressedinthetranslationcontexts.

Intheprocessofmenutranslation,sometranslatorsfailtodisseminate

theenrichedculturebehindmenus

becausetheylackimaginationandspecificknowledge,which

causes

thephenomenonofculturaldefault.Menuplaysavitalroleinspreading

Chineseculture

topeopleallovertheworld.Therefore,translatingChinesemenus

correctlyisofgreatsignificanceinenhancing

culturalsoftpowerandculturalconfidence.

Withthe

aimofachievingculturalcompensation,thisthesistendstoexplorethewaysofmenutranslationbyusingthicktranslationtheory.Dishes’namesthatarefullofChineseculturewouldbethestudycases.Bypracticingtheapplicationofthicktranslationinmenutranslation,theapproachestorealizeculturalcompensationwouldbeshowninthisthesis.Theconclusionisthattheabundantcultureofmenuscouldbedisseminatedundertheguidanceofthicktranslationbystrategiesofusingannotations,figuresandstorytelling.Itbringsanewperspective

for

menutranslation,soastoexploreanewpath

forculturaltransmissionandinheritance.Keywords:culturaldefault;menutranslation;thicktranslation1IntroductionBackgroundofthestudyChina,asacountrywithaprofoundhistoryofover5,000years,developsitsinstinctcuisinecultureinthepastthousandsofyears.Hence,cuisinebecomesasignificanttoolforculturaltransmission.Inordertostandtoweringamongthenationsoftheworld,it’snecessaryforustodrawuponmenustospreadourculturetotheworld.However,thereisacommonproblemexistinginnowadays’menutranslation:culturaldefault.Toexploreanewperspectiveforsolvingthisproblemisimperative.KwameAnthonyAppiah(2000)firstsuggestedthethicktranslationforculturalcompensationbyusingannotationsandglosses.Thetheoryprovidesusabrand-newprospectoftranslationwhichissuitableforculturalcompensationinmenutranslation.1.2ResearchquestionsandhypothesesThicktranslationreferstoatheoryofusingstrategiessuchasannotationsandglossestopresenttheindigenouscultureofthesourcelanguage.Itretainstheabundantculturalbackgroundsandhistoricalcontextoftheoriginaltexts.Toalargeextent,readersareallowedtogainabetterunderstandingtowardsthesourcelanguage.Chinaisknownforitslonghistory.CuisineexertsanimportantroleinretainingChinesetraditionalcultureanditgainsreputationaroundtheworldforitsdiversificationofcookingmethods.Eachcuisine’snamehasitsowncharacteristicbecauseofdiversecultures.Therefore,wecanactivelydisseminatetheChineseculturethroughthemenus.Culturaldefaultisaphenomenonintranslationduetoreadersarelackofspecificculturalknowledge.Asacountrywithastrongbeliefthatharmonyisthegreatest,Chinesepeopleareinterestedinsittingaroundtohavemealsandconveyingtheirbestwishestoothers,sothatthenameofeachcuisinecontainsauspiciousmeanings.Butmostofthetime,translatorsfailtotranslatethemenuscorrectlysothatculturaldefaultoccurs.SincethereisstillculturaldefaultinthetranslationofChinesemenus,thefollowingresearchquestionsneededtoberesolved:CouldChineseculturebeinterpretedaccuratelywhilewetranslatemenus?Why?Howdoesthicktranslationworkinmenutranslation?Whateffectscanmenusgiveusbyusingthicktranslation?Accordingtothequestionsaskedabove,threefollowinghypothesesweresuggested:Menusserveasintermediariesofspreadingculturetocustomerswhenpeopleareenjoyingfoodinrestaurants,sothatweshoulddrawuponthemtodisseminateChinesetraditionalculture.WiththepurposeofpersuadingpeopletoappreciateChinesecultureinanacceptableway,thicktranslationcanbeusedtoexplaintheinternalcultureofdishesbyplacingannotationsandglossesbesideoronthebackofamenu.Forforeigners,amenuthatisfraughtwithChineseculturecandeeplyimpressthemwhilewaitingfortheirfoodinrestaurants.Fordomesticpeople,amenuwithChinesecharacteristicscanimprovetheirculturalconfidenceandsenseofpatriotism.1.3PurposeandsignificanceofthestudyThisthesistendstotranslateChinesemenusundertheguidanceofthicktranslationbyaddingannotations,figuresandstories.Differentfrompreviousstudies,ithighlightsthedisseminationofChineseculturethroughtranslation.Meanwhile,itaimstohelpreaderstohaveadeeperunderstandingofChineseculture,onlythuscanChinacarryforwarditsculturetoaninternationallevel.What’smore,itisbeneficialforustoenhanceculturalconfidence.1.4MethodsInthisthesis,sevenbanquetmenusareresearchobjects,

becausetheyarerichinauspiciousthoughtsinChineseculture.Differentcasesofmenutranslationwillbeanalyzedinthisthesisfromtheviewofculturaldefault.Then,strategiesofthicktranslationwillbeappliedtomodifythecases.Bycomparingtheadvantagesanddisadvantages,thefeasibilityofthicktranslationinmenutranslationwillbeattested.1.5ThesisstructureThisthesisismadeupoffivechapters.ChapterOneistheintroductionoftheresearchbackground,hypotheses,purposes,significanceofthethesisaswellasthemethodologyandstructureofthepaper.ChapterTwoistheliteraturereview.Thedefinitionofculturaldefault,studiesofmenutranslationandresearchesofthicktranslationwillbepresentedinthispart.ChapterThreeisthetheoreticalframeworkofthestudy,includingmainpointsofthicktranslationanditsstrategiesofapplication.Chapterfourreferstothedetailsofstrategiesofthicktranslationinmenutranslation.What’smore,theprocessandsignificanceofculturalcompensationwillalsobepresentedinthischapter.Chapterfiveistheconclusionofthestudy,includingsummaryofthefindings,limitationsoftheresearchandsomeprospectsforthefuturestudiesthatarerelatedtoculturaldefaultandtheapplicationofthicktranslationonmenutranslation.2Literaturereview2.1StudiesonthicktranslationKwameAnthonyAppiahwasaBritish-GhanaianphilosopherandculturaltheoristwhoseinterestsincludethephilosophyoflanguageandAfricanintellectualhistory.HewasthefirstonewhocameupwiththeideaofthicktranslationonhisthesisThickTranslation(Appiah,2000:427).Hemadeahugesplashinwesternresearchesontranslation.Thicktranslationhasatendencytoexploretheabundantcultureandlinguisticcontextsbehindthesourcelanguagebytheuseofannotationsandglosses.ThicktranslationcanberelatedtothetheoryofthickdescriptionthatwasadvocatedbyanAmericanliteraryscholarcalledCliffordGeertz(1973).Hemadearemarkableachievementbyculturalelaborationthroughdecodingculturaliconswhichcandescribecultureinadeeperlevel.Thebasicspiritofthickdescriptionhassomethingincommonwiththicktranslation.Tosomeextent,thethickdescription,whichelaboratesculturebydescriptions,canbeseenasanactivityoftranslation(HuangXiaopeng,2014:72).TheHermans(2003)wasaprofessorattheUniversityofManchester’sCentreforTranslationandInterculturalStudies.Heholdstheviewthatthicktranslationservesasanapproachtotheresearchofcross-culturaltranslation.In2000,Appiahproposesthattheconceptofthicktranslation,canalsobecalledasthickcontextualization,whichreferstotheadditionalcontentlikeannotationswhichmustbeputinspecificcontextsintheprocessoftranslation.Bydoingso,translatorsareabletointegratetheirideaswithactualmeaningsofthetargetlanguage(SunNingning,2010:14).Withthepurposeofretainingtheoriginaltraitsofthesourcelanguage,thicktranslationistantamounttoputtingthetranslationintoanenvironmentofabundantculture.Itsaimistofullyexpressthegenuinecontentofthetargetlanguageandtoshowsincererespecttowardsthesourcelanguage’sculture(WangXueming,2012:103).HuangXiaofan(2014)suggeststhatweshouldenrichthecontentofthicktranslationtheorybycontinuouspracticesbecauseAppiah(2000)justgaveusabasicmethodology.Reviewingtheapplicationofthicktranslation,WuBingandZhuJianping(2018)pointoutthatsomeresearchersfailtograsptheessenceofthicktranslationbecauseofmisreadingandpartialunderstandings.Therefore,itisnecessarytocarryoutfurtherstudyonthicktranslation.2.2StudiesonculturaldefaultTranslationisnotonlyalanguageactivity,butalsoaculturalactivity.Translatorsmustqualifywithbothbilingualandcross-culturalability(Nida,1993:78).WangDongfeng(1997),aprofessorfromBeijingForeignStudiesUniversity,believesthatculturaldefaultisconsideredtobetheignoredpartoftexts,becauseitcontainsknowledgethatreadersfailtoknow.WecanalsodatebacktotheresearchfromGillianBrownandGeorgeYule(2000).Theyexplainedthatculturaldefaultwouldoccuriftranslatorsdeliberatelyignoretheinformationthatreadersdon’tknowinthebookDiscourseAnalysis.Makesurethatyourtranslationmatchestheculturalbackgroundsofrecipients,onlythuscanmessagesbetransferredsuccessfully(Nord,2005).Nordthinksthatculturaldefaultcanbesolvedbytranslators’abundantreserveofknowledgeofboththesourcelanguageandthetargetlanguage.SongLianxiang(2011:351-353)holdstheviewthatculturaldefaulthasitsdistinctivefeatures.Wearelikelytoputreadersintoadilemmaofmisunderstandingifthereisn’tculturalcompensationintranslation.XiongXin(2013)pointsoutthatmostofthetranslatorsfollowthemethodofliteraturetranslationandmixupthelimitationofliteraturetranslationandmenutranslationintheprocessoftranslatingmenus.CheYimo(2019)thinksthatmenutranslationisaprocessoflanguageconversion,ratherthantheequivalenceofprofessionalterms.Moreover,itdoesn’tfocussomuchonthefreedomofcontentlikeliteraturetranslation.Therefore,culturalcompensationisanessentialmeansfortranslatorstoavoidnegativeconsequencesbroughtbyculturaldefault.Inthisthesis,IwillsetthicktranslationasanexampletoresolveculturaldefaultinChinesemenutranslation.2.3StudiesonChinesemenutranslationInadditiontotranslatingmenusinagenuineandaccurateway,weshouldalsotransmitthehumanisticenvironmentalbackgrounds,historicalandculturalmessagesthatareconcealedindishestoreaders(TianGuiling,XueFeng,WenXuefei,2010:119).IntranslatingChineserecipes,attentionshouldbepaidtothedistinctionbetweenhistoricalandculturalconnotation.Bydoingso,wemustfirstfocusontheequivalenceofmeanings,andthenpayattentiontothemessagetransmissionofcross-culturaltranslation(WuJunzhan,2006:127).CuiCaiqingandKouXinzhi(2011:61-63)analyzedtheEnglishTranslationofChinesemenuonthebasisofthetheoryofNewmarkandconcludedthatcommunicativetranslationcanbeusedfordailycookingtranslation.However,thesemantictranslationandcommunicativetranslationshouldbeappliedtolocalspecials.Inmenutranslation,themostimportantthingistoachievethefunctionofmessagepassing,thentoconsidertheaestheticsandculturalfeatureswithinit(SunXiaoqing,SunJialu,2017:95-96).WhereasZhaoYun,WupingandFankai(2018)innovativelyproposethattherearethreestagesinmenutranslation:apprehension,expressionandalteration.Accordingtoalltheresearchesmentionedabove,wecanseethatculturalfactorsovershadowothersinthetranslationofChinesemenu.So,itisnecessaryforustotakeculturaldefaultinconsiderationwhiletranslatingmenus.2.4SummaryItisdifficulttotranslateadish’snamebecauseofeachofithasitscorrespondingspecialmeaning.Fromthisaspect,Chineseculturesthatarehiddenindishescannotbewellpresented.InordertointerpretChinesecultureclearlyinmenutranslation,itisimperativetofind

anappropriatetheoryoftranslation.Chinesecultureisfullofcomplexitysoneitherliteraltranslationnorliberaltranslationcanfullyexpressitsconnotation.Inordertodisseminateourcultureinamoreattractiveway,tofindasuitabletranslationtheorythatcancoverwithmoreinformationintheprocessoftranslationisnecessary.Accordingtothemainpointsoftranslationstrategies,thicktranslationcanexplaintheinnermeaningsofdishes’namesbyaddingannotations,glosses,commentariesandfootnotes.Therearelittlepreviousstudiesaboutmenutranslationundertheguideofthicktranslation,sothisthesistendstodiscusswhetherChineseculturecanbeinterpretedbytheapplicationofthicktranslation.Therefore,thicktranslationwillbeusedinmenutranslationfromthefollowingsthreemainstrategies:AnnotationsandglossesCommentariesFootnotesFiguresStorytelling3TheoreticalFrameworkMainpointsofthicktranslationKwameAnthonyAppiahwasanAfrica-AmericantheoristwhofirstproposedthetheoryofthicktranslationduringhisresearchonthetranslationofAfricanoralliterature.Becauseofhisinterculturalbackground,Appiah(2000)attacheshighlyimportanttothedifferencesamongnationalitiesandraces.HeexplainedonhisthesisThickTranslation(2000:47)thatannotations,glosses,commentariesandfootnotesshouldbeusedintheprocessoftranslationtoenrichcontents.Threemainpointsofthicktranslationweredevelopedthroughhisconsistentthinking:Thicktranslationbelongstothecategoryofliterarytranslation.Itcanalsobeconsideredasaprocessofacademictranslation.Itisatranslationofaddingannotations,glossesandcommentariesbetweenthemarginsandlines.Appiah(2000)considersthatwThicktranslationasksforexploringthedeepestculturalbackgroundsintranslationcontexts,soastoapprehendtheliteralfeaturesofthetargetlanguageandgrasptheoriginalinformationprovidedbyauthors.Asanapproachofpromotinginterculturalcommunication,theuseofthicktranslationinvolvesthefollowingsteps:Tograspmainideasofthesourcelanguage.Tosearchrelativeculturalinformationaboutspecificwords,phrasesandproverbs.ToAnalyzetheinternalmeaningsandculturalconnotationfromtheperspectiveoflocalcharacteristics.Annotations,glosses,commentariesandfootnotesshouldbeusedtoconveythecultures,emotionsandintentionsofthesourcelanguage.StrategiesofthicktranslationAnnotationsandglossesAnnotationsandglossesarethemajormethodsofthicktranslation.AccordingtoWikipedia,annotationsrefertoextrainformationassociatedwithaparticularpointinadocumentorotherpiecesofinformation.Whereasplacingglossesinthesidemarginasexplanationofmainideasthatarerelatedtothecontext.CommentariesDifferwithannotationsandglosses,thetranslators’ownopinions,remarksandunderstandingsabouttranslationcontextsshouldbeincludedinthecommentaries.FootnotesFootnotesalwaysappearatthebottomoftheessaystoindicatethesourceofreferencesandexplanationofspecificinformationaboutthecontext.3.2.4

FiguresVisionisthebasicsenseofhumanbeings.Therefore,figurescanofferreadersadirectimageaboutthecontentandletthemhaveabasicconceptionofspecificinformationinordertoavoidmisunderstandings.Whereas,amainfunctionofplacingfiguresistoarousereaders’interestanddeepentheirimpressionstothecontent.

3.2.5

StorytellingDifferentcountries’

culturesvaryfromeachother.Intheprocessoftranslation,somewordsandproverbswithlocalfeaturescannotfindtheirequivalentonesofthetargetlanguage.Storytellingisthemosteffectivewayforshowingreadersthegenuineculturalcontexts,whichrefrainsfromculturaldefault.SummaryAnnotations,glosses,commentariesandfootnotesaresomemainstrategiesofthicktranslation.However,Chinaasacountrywithabundantlyculturaldeposit,itstraditionalculturecannotbefullyinterpretedbytheuseofthebasicstrategiesofthicktranslation.Therefore,newwaysofmenutranslationforinterpretingChinesetraditionalculturebasedonthicktranslationwillbeelaboratedinthisthesis,suchastheuseoffiguresandstorytelling.4Strategiesofthicktranslationofmenutranslationforculturalcompensation4.1CulturaldefaultinmenutranslationCountlessChinesemenusarepresentedinidiomsorproverbsforexpressingauspiciousness.Everydishhasprofoundmeaningbehinditsnames.Ifmenuscannotbetranslatedcorrectly,customerswillfailtoknowabouttheinternallyculturalmeaningsofthem,whichresultsinculturaldefaultintranslation.Hereisanexampleofculturaldefaultcausedbyinappropriatetranslation:Example(1)甜甜蜜蜜—Sweetredbeanswithlotusroot.ThisChineseproverbmeansthatacouple’ssweetlovewilllastforever.InancientChina,sweetredbeanswereusedtoexpressthefeelingofmissingsomeone.Lotusrootwasregardedasthesymbolofdeeplyrootedlove,becausethecountlesslotusrootsilksseemtobeaninseparablecouple.That’sthereasonwhypeopleusesweetredbeansandlotusrootasmainingredients.Insteadoftransmittingtheinnerinformationforconsumers,thetranslationof“sweetredbeanwithlotusseeds”merelyshowstheingredientsoffood.Tothisextent,customersfailtoappreciatetheprofoundmeaningbehindthedish,whichleadstoculturaldefault.Inordertoresolveculturaldefaultinmenutranslation,extraexplanationsareneededtobeputintheprocessoftranslation.So,thicktranslationcouldbeanappropriateapproachtoachieveculturalcompensation.4.2Menutranslationbyusingthicktranslation4.2.1CasesofusingannotationsandglossesAnnotationsandglossesaremainstrategiesofthicktranslationsothatwecantrytousethemtodealwithculturaldefaultinmenutranslation.Herearetwoexamplesofusingannotationsandglossestorealizeculturalcompensationinmenutranslation:Example(2)年年有鱼—Steamedbamboofishwithlightsoyasauce.年年有余isanidiominChinesewhichsymbolizesthatwealthwillbemorethansufficienteveryyear.Thelastcharacter“余”isthehomophoneof“鱼”inChinese,whichreferstofishinEnglish.Infact,fishembodieswealthinChinesetraditionalculture,sothatChinesepeopleusethisidiomasadish’snametoexpressbestwishesforcustomers.Andfish,asthesymbolofwealth,isamainingredientofthedish.Themodifiedtranslationcouldbe:年年有鱼—Steamedbamboofishwithlightsoyasauce(fishasasymbolofwealthinChinese,sothisdishmeansyourwealthwillbemorethansufficienteveryyear).Byaddinganannotation,theimpliedmeaningofthedishcanbefullyinterpretedtocustomers.PeopleareabletoenjoythedelicatefoodandknowmoreaboutChineseculture.Example(3)鸿运当头—PlatterofsucklingpigandBBQcombination.Thistranslationdoesn’tmentionaboutanyinformationofChineseculture,moreover,theEnglishnameevendoesn’tconveytheoriginalmeaningaboutitsChinesename.Foreignerswhodon’tacquaintedwithChineseculturewillbeconfusedaboutit.Actually,inChinese,“运”meanslucky,“头”meanshead,sothatthisidiomindicatesthatluckwillfallonone’shead.Themodifiedtranslationcouldbe:鸿运当头—PlatterofsucklingpigsandBBQcombination(“运”meanslucky,“头”meanshead,sothatthisdishindicatesthatluckwillfallonone’shead.Moreover,pigshavechubbyshapessothattheysymbolizeaffluenceinChineseculture,thisChinesetraditionalidiomembodiesthatluckandaffluencewillalwaysgowithyou).Bydoingso,peoplecannoticethataplatterofsucklingpigsindicatesthatendlessluckandaffluencewillcontinuouslybewiththem.Insteadofshowingingredientsinmenusinaplainway,thetwomodifiedinstancesprovethatChineseculturecanbetransmittedbyusingannotationsandglosses.4.2.2CasesofusingfiguresExceptforaddingannotations,figurescanbeputbesidemenusforfurtherexplanation.Herearetwoexamplesofputtingfiguresforfurtherexplanationinmenutranslation:Example(4)龙凤呈祥—Stewedsnakemeatorchicken.龙凤呈祥—Dragondancewithphoenix.Theformeroneisaplaininterpretationofthecooking,whilethelatterisaliteraltranslation.Whenpeoplearereadingthefirsttranslation,theyfailtoapprehendtheChineseculturebehinditbecausewhattheycangraspfromthenameismerelythecookingingredients.Thesecondtranslationevenmakescustomersmoreconfusedforthereasonthatdragonandphoenixdonotexistinreality,howcanthechefscookthem?What’smore,dragonsymbolizesdevilinsomecountries,whichmaycausemisunderstandingamongpeople.Hereisarevisedtranslation:龙凤呈祥—Stewedsnakemeatorchicken(“龙”and“凤”arerespectivelytantamounttodragonandphoenixinEnglish.InChinese,dragonandphoenixrefertoauspiciousnesssothisdishsymbolizesextremelygoodfortune.Moreover,becauseoftheirsimilarbodyshapes,snakesandchickenareconsideredassubstitutesofdragonandphoenix).KnowingabouttheChineseovertonesinmenus,customerswouldbecuriousaboutwhysnakeandchickenareregardedassubstitutesofdragonsandphoenixes.PuttingafigureofChinesedragondancewithphoenixaroundthedish’snamecanmakecustomersunderstandeasilythattheshapesofsnakesandchickenaresimilartodragonandphoenix.Besides,dragonandphoenixarethemostnoblecreaturesinChineseculture,throughtheimageswithChinesecharacteristics,readerscaneffortlesslyknowthereasonwhytheyarethesymbolsofextremelygoodfortuneinChina.Hereisanexampleofputtingfigureforexplaining“龙凤呈祥”.Example(5)鸳鸯戏水—Bakedlobsterswithnoodleandbuttersauce.鸳鸯戏水—Happymandarinducks.Fromthetwotranslations,itiseasytofindthattherearetwototallydifferentanimalsmentionedabove:lobstersandmandarinducks.ButtheysharethesameChinesename.Besides,thetranslationsfailtoexplaintheirliteralmeaningofthedish,letalonetheirconnotations.Tosumup,bothversionsoftranslationcauseculturaldefaultbecauseofincompletetranslation.InChinese,“鸳鸯戏水”meanstheunwaveringlove.Thisdishisusuallyusedinweddingbanquetsforexpressingbestwishestonewcouples.Hereisanembellishedversion:鸳鸯戏水—Bakedlobsterwithnoodleandbuttersauce(inChineseculture,“鸳鸯”referstomandarinducks.Becausetheyalwaysappearinapair,peopleconsiderthemasthecouplesinlovearedeeplyattachedtoeachother).Andthen,wecanputapictureofapairofmandarinduckskissingwitheachotherbesideitsnameonmenus.Moreover,thedishalwayspresentsinawaythattwolobstersareputtogethermouthtomouthasiftheyarekissing.Whencustomersseethedish,theywouldrecallthefigureofmandarinducksthatpaintedonthemenu.Hereisanexampleofputtingfigureforexplaining“鸳鸯戏水”.4.2.3CasesofusingstorytellingManyChinesefolkstoriesthatexpresspeople’sgoodwishesweredevelopedduringthepastthousandsofyears.Theypervadedmouthtomouthasformsoffablesorproverbs.Herearetwoexamplesofusingstorytellingforexpressingdishes’annotationsinmenutranslation:Example(6)大鹏展翅—Shark’sfinandcrabmeatwithgoldenmushroomsoup.Infact,thisidiomcomesfromastorywrittenbyanancientChineseideologistChuang-tzu.InChineseculture.“大鹏”isananimalwithhugewings,while“展翅”meansspreadingwings.Theidiomindicatesthatahawkspreadsitswings,asifpeoplewithcapabilitydisplaytheirtalents.So,cookerspronetousingshark’sfinandcrabs’clawstoembodywings.Bydoingso,althoughitsliteralmeaningisknownbycustomer,itsoriginremainsalabyrinth.Therefore,puttingastorytellingpartonthebackofthemenuhelpsthemtouncoverthesecretofitsorigin.CustomerscanenjoyinterestingstoriesaboutChinesecultureandkilltimeduringintervalsofwaitingfordishes.Hereisanexampleofstorytelling:大鹏展翅—Shark’sfinandcrabmeatwithgoldenmushroomsoup.(ItisaChineseidiom,ahawkspreadsitswings,asifpeoplewithcapabilitydisplaytheirtalents.)Longtimeago,therehasbeenahugefishlivingintheocean.Aftergoingthroughtoughordeal,itevolvedfromafishtoanenormoushawkcalledKun.Hisbackwassocolossalthatnobodyknewaboutitslengthandheight.Drawinguponthewind,hecouldreach3,000milesfromthegroundandreachthehorizon.Whenhewasflying,itswingswereliketwocloudsintheskyandnobodycouldstophim.Thisidiommotivatespeopleindifficultthateverycloudhasasliveringlining.Example(7)八仙送福—Eightcolddelicacies.Thistranslationtotallylosesitsculturalmeaning.InancientChinesefolk,therewereeightgodswhoareinchargeofdifferentmattersinthemundaneworld.Tofurtherexplainthisfolktocustomers,storytellingcanbeagoodchoice.Hereisanexampleofstorytelling:八仙送福—Eightcolddelicacies(EightChinesegodsbringblessingstoyou).Therewereeightmortalswhobecamegodsaftergoingthroughdifficultiesinthemundaneworld.Whentheywerealive,theyspenttheirlifetimeonhelpingpeopleinneed.Eventhoughasgods,theystillinsistedinhelpingpeopleindifficulty.Sotheywerealwaysrespectedbycivilians.Hence,theirpresencewasconsideredasthecomingofblessings.Fromthetwoexamplesmentionedabove,wecandrawtheconclusionthatstorytellingisagoodtryforarousingpeople’sinterestinChineseculture.Bydoingso,Chineseculturecanbeentrenchedinpeople’smind.4.3MeaningoftranslationcompensationInChinesemenutranslation,

theculturalbackgroundbehinddishes’

namescanbefullydisplayedthroughculturalcompensation,whichgivesreadersmo