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浅谈中文菜名的跨文化英文翻译

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2021-03-01 11:43
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2021年3月1日发(作者:悲剧了)







A


Study


on


the


Cross- cultural


English


Translation


of Chinese Dishes


浅谈中文菜名的跨文化英文翻译
















Abstract:


There are many differences between eastern and western diet cultures. As


one of the world ancient nations, its diet has a history almost as long as that of Chinese


civilization. Chinese cuisine holds a highly important position in Chinese culture. As one


of the famous international tourism countries, China welcome more and more foreigners


to go sightseeing here. Correct and elegant translation of dish names plays an important


role


in


promoting


the


image


to


international


world


as


visitors


from


different


cultural


backgrounds are increasing.



Its diet culture has also been getting rich gradually, which makes English translation of


Chinese


menu


more


difficult.


Therefore


it


is


needed


to


surmount


double


barriers


to


language


and


culture


between


eastern


and


western


diet.


In


order


to


let


foreigners


understand and accept the name of Chinese dish, there are some criteria that we must


followed


when


translating.


Based


on


these


aspects,


some


translation


principles


and


methods will be discussed in this theses.



Key words:


Chinese dishes, diet culture, translation principles, translation methods









1





























摘要


:



中西 方文化存在着许多差异。


中国,


作为世界文明古国之一,


其饮食历


史几乎和中国文化一样源远流长。


在 中国文化中,


中国菜拥有一个高度重要的地位。


作为一个著名的 国际旅游的国家


,


中国欢迎越来越多的外国人来这里观光。正确 和


高雅的中餐菜名翻译可以给来自世界不同文化背景的游客树立中国的良好形象。



的饮食文化日渐丰富,


使得中餐菜谱的翻译 越加困难。


因此,


我们需要克服中西方


文化和语言的双重障碍。


为了让国外朋友理解并且接受中餐菜名,


在翻译过程中我


们必须遵循一些标准。基于此,这篇文章提供了一些翻译原则和方法。




关键词


:




中国菜肴



饮食文化



翻译原则



翻译方法







2





























Contents


Introduction


………………………………………………………… …………………1



1.


Differences between Chinese and Western diet Cultures………………………


..



..2


1.1.


the Difference between Chinese and Western Diet Idea…………………………


.2


1.2. the Difference between Chinese and Western Food Ob


jects…………………


..



2


1.3


. the Difference between Chinese and Western Dishes Naming…………………...2



2. the Naming Methods of Chinese Cuisine…………………………………………


...2


e Dishes Translation Principles……………………………………………


.....3


3.1. Faithfulness to the Original Dish Names………………………………………


.3


3.2. Deep-


understanding of the Original Dish Names……………………………


....3


3.3. Taking Cultural Factors into Consideration……………………………………


.4


3.4. Keeping Aesthetic V


alues Transmitted…………………………………………


5


4. Chinese Dishes Translation Skill…………………………………………………


...5


4.1. Literal Translation……………………………………………………………..


5


4.1.1.


Dish Names without Co okeries………………………………


...


…………


.6


4.1.2. Dish Names Concerning Cultural Background……………………………


7


4.1.2.1. Dish Names Conc


erning People‘s Names……………………………


...7


4.1.2.2.



Dish Names Concerning Places………………………………………


...8


4.1.2.3. Dish Names Concerning Numbers……………………………………


..9


4.1.2.4. Dish Names Concerning Auspiciousness………………………………9




3


4.2. Liberal Translation…… ……………………………………………


....................10


4.2.1. Dish Names Concerning Chinese Local Jargon……………………………


...10


4.2.2. Dish Names Concerning Chinese Medicinal Foods…………………………


.11


4.2.3. Dish Names Concerning Chinese Legends or Poems………………...............


11


4.3. Transliteration………………………………………………… ………………


..12


5 .


Co nclusion……………………………………………………………


........ ............13


Bibliography……………………………… …………………………………………


.13






















Introduction


Chinese


diet


culture


is


an


important


part


of


Chinese


historical


culture,


which


is


famous for its variety and abundance. As China has intensified its communication with


the rest of the world, more and more foreign tourists would like to visit China and they


enjoy Chinese food a lot. Meanwhile, foreign tourists also want to know more about the


literal as well as the inner meaning of names of the dishes, and also how and with what


raw


materials


the


Chinese


dishes


are


cooked.


Therefore,


the


accurate


translation


of


Chinese dishes into English is a key to the spread of Chinese diet culture. To translate


Chinese


dishes


into


English


is


not


only


the


linguistic


transference


but


also


the


transference at the cultural level.



Chinese Dishes Translating and Chinese Diet Culture


LIU


Xuanchuan


(College


of


Liberal


Arts,


Three


Gorges


University,


Yichang


443002,


Hubei, China)





This paper aims to undertake a systematic study of English translation of Chinese


dish names from a cultural aspect. It presents some related information of Chinese cuisine


culture


and


characteristic


of


Chinese


cuisine


culture.


It


then


points


out


differences



4


between


Chinese


and


western


cuisine


cultures.


Then,


principles


and


methods


of


translation


are


mentioned


in


detail,including


literal


translation,liberal


translation


and


transliteration ,etc. The translator should choose suitable translation methods according to


the cultural factors. At last,it is suggested that cultural awareness regarding


translation


processes should be promoted so that the services of catering and tourism commodities


will be improved and the cuisine culture will get lasting prosperity.


It is a breakthrough in this field that Bassnett and Lefevere proposed the ―cultural


turn‖ in translation studies. From then on, many scholars at home and abroad work on


this field. Hence, the translators take cultural factors into consideration while translating


and fast-growing development in cultural translation could be seen.



David Katan (1999) stated the relationship between culture and translation as ―the


words ?culture‘ and ?translation‘ are being increasingly linked. ‘‘



Culture plays an important role in translation. Due to the close tie between language


and


culture.


the


cultural


connotation


can


not


be


ignored


in


translating


process.


The


cultural connotation in the original text should be transferred into target text as exactly as


possible.


O


f


course,


in


the


trend


of


―cultural


turn‖,


translation


can


not


neglect


the


linguistic


study


for


the


close


relationship


between


language


and


culture.


Cultural


translation,


on


one


hand,


focuses


on


cultural


source


of


language,


politics,


economic,


society, and some other cultural backgrounds; on the other hand, it also centers on the


linguistic matters. Meanwhile, there are some other tendencies in translation studies: one


argues


that


translation


theory


is


branded


with


communication;


the


other


proposes


that


more attention should be paid to culture transference.


― Translation is not merely a mirror branch of comparative literary study, not yet a


specific


area


of


linguistics,


but


a


vastly


complex


field


with


many


far-reaching


ramifications



(


Bassnet,


1980:1


),


an


d


furthermore


the


process


of


translation


is


not


merely a linguistic one but a complicated process which ?? involves a whole set of extra


linguistic criteria also‖ ( Bassnett, 1980: 13 )


.



1.



Differences between Chinese and Western Diet Cultures.



1.1



. the Difference between Chinese and Western Diet Idea


Chinese diet idea is the five senses being well distributed and western diet idea is the


individuality to be prominent.


There


is


a


folk


saying



food


is


the


paramount


necessity


of


people,


taste


is


the


priority of


eating ‖ . Chinese cuisines are famous for their excellence in color, aroma and


taste. Chinese usually pay more attention on the color, aroma and taste of cuisine. They


are the standard of a dish as well as a dinner.


However, western countries emphasizes on the reasonable food concept. When they


are dining, they basically care more about the nutrition of the food.



5



1.2



. the Difference between Chinese and Western Food Objects


Someone


called


Chinese


the


plant


disposition,


the


western


person


the


animal


disposition according to the different diet objects of eastern and western. Although this


saying is not correct but reasonable in some way. Westerners think the food can make


them feel full. Therefore, they eat large piece of meat. However, Chinese rely on the taste


so the Chinese cooking style is known for its wide variety of ingredients.



1.3



. the Difference Between Chinese and Western Dishes Naming


The


naming


of


Chinese


food


is


very


e


dish


names


not


only


reflect a great deal of ingredients, cooking methods, taste, appearance, aroma, color of the


dishes, but also reflect some culture elements such as the dish creators, stories, places,


legends, which combines more association.


On


the


other


hand,


western


dishes


naming


is


relatively


straightforward.


They


highlight the raw material. It is less artistic but more functional.



2. the Naming Methods of Chinese Cuisine


There has


been


a wide variety of Chinese food dishes, the name of the dish also


extremely


rich.


The


naming


methods


of


Chinese


dish


is


strict


and


distinctly


different.


There are two main approaches: realistic and the impressionistic style of romanticism.


The former includes


the name of raw materials, the way of cutting, cooking methods,


cuisine color, smell, taste and the founder, the birthplace of the dishes or historical stories,


which


reflects


the


content


and


features


of


dishes.


The


latter


means


using


allusion,


metaphor, hyperbole, and symbolism in a variety of ways to make the name of the dish is


not only beautiful but also vivid. This kind of name is neither to reflect the raw materials,


nor to reflect the cooking method. It reflects the profound meaning of the dishes and the


special traditional Chinese food culture.



e Dishes Translation Principles


As China has become one of the international tourism countries, more attention is


focused on Chinese cuisine. However, the current English translation of Chinese menu is


unsatisfactory, which makes it uneasy for the foreign tourists to get correct understanding


of the dishes.



It is necessary to discuss the suggested principles for English translation of


Chinese


dish



famous


American


translator


Dr.


Eugene


Nida


wrote


a


book


named


Towards a Science of Translation


, which is regarded as one of his representative


works. He laid down the following fundamental:


1. True to the original


2. Vivid


3. Smooth and natural


4. Equivalence of response


Of these fundamentals, the last one is the key point. The so-called equivalence of


response


means


that


a


good


translation


can


call


forth


the


response


of


i


ts


readers‘


equivalent to that of the readers of the original work. The influence of his theory was so


great in China that almost every translator thought of it as true and heatedly discussed it.


But after a long-time discussion, they began to doubt its feasibility and to criticize it. This


is because it overestimates translators‘ abilities in understanding cultures between both



6


languages,


neglects


readers‘


differences


in


recognizing


things,


neg


lects


the


effect


of


transplanting in translation, confuses direct communication with indirect communication,


and denies the features of different styles in writing. Despite the variety of opinions, the


following criteria in the translation of dish names are almost unanimously accepted and


followed, namely, the criteria of faithfulness, smoothness, expressiveness, etc.



3.1. Faithfulness to the Original Dish Names


This criterion is the most important one because translation tries to match the receptor


language


message


with


the


source


language


message,


and


the


relationship


between


receptor


and


message


should


be


substantially


the


same


as


that


between


the


original


receptor


and


the


message.


As


to


the


dish


names,


the


translations


must


be


informative


because


the


target


language


receptors


have


the


right


to


know


what


ingredients,


what


cooking ways and what


flavors are. For example ―


仔姜烧鸡条



‖ the main ingredients


― chi


c


ken fillet and tender ginger ‖ and the cooking method ― braised ‖ should be shown


in the form of ― braised chi


c


ken fillet with tender ginger ‖ and ―


清炖猪蹄



‖ would be


― stewed pig hoof in clean soup ‖ with ― pig hoof ‘‘ as the main ingredient and ― stewed ‖


as the cooking way. Hence, it is necessary to get a deep understanding of the dish before


translation.



3.2. Deep-understanding of the Original Dish Names


Without good understanding of the dish names, there will be no faithful translation.


It is an important step for a successful translation. The translators should know the main


ingredients, cutting skills and cooking methods well.



Cutting styles, as one of important components in Chinese culinary art, has been laid


great emphasis on in China. Almost 40 ways of cutting have been put into practice. In


these way, the raw materials can be turned into many kinds of shapes and size, such as


slicing (


切片


) , shredding (


切丝


) , filleting (


切柳


) , cubing/dicing (


切块


) , mincing (


切成



)


,


grinding


(


碾碎


)


,


stuffing


(



)


,


flaking


(


切薄片


)


,


cutting


into


pieces


(


切段


)


,


cutting into strap (


切条


) , ball (


捏成球形


) , etc.



The Chinese prepare their dishes with different cooking methods:


1. fry (



)


Cooking something in boiling oil is frying, which


can be divided into pan-frying


(



) , stir-frying (



) and deep-frying (



).



These three types of frying are divided according to the amount of oil. eg. pan-fried


salt


fish


(


煎咸鱼


)


,


stir-fried


chicken


(


炒鸡丝


)


,


deep-fried


spring


rolls


(


炸春卷


).


The


amount of oil used in the dish are increasing one by one from the first dish to the last.


2.



braise (



).



7


Braising refers to cooking meat or vegetables slowly with gravy or other soup in a


closed container until the meat turns brown. e.g. braise pork balls (


红烧狮子头


), braise


pork with brown sauce (


红烧猪肉


), braise turtle in clear water (


清烧甲鱼


).


3.



roast,barbecued (



).


Roasting means cooking in an oven or by exposure to open heat. e.g. roast suckling


pig (


烤乳猪


)


4.



stew,simmered (



,



)



Stewing


usually


means


cooking


fish,


meat,


vegetables,


etc.


slowly


in


simmering


water, gravy or mixed ingredients in a closed container. e.g. stewed bamboo shoots with


soy sauce (


油焖竹笋


)


5.



steamed


(蒸)


.


Steaming means the food is cooked in steam. It is a frequently used cooking method.


e.g. steamed chicken with mushrooms (


香菇蒸鸡


), steam Y


ellow River carp (


清蒸黄河



).


6.



scalded (


白灼


).



Scalding


refer


to


putting


the


slices,


shreds


or


pieces


of


ingredients


in


seasoned


boiling water. Then boil them for a while. e.g. scalded shrimps (


白灼虾


)


As a translator, he has to do his best to find the semantic equivalence in cooking


methods.



3.3. Taking Cultural Factors into Consideration


In


the


above


chapters,


the


relationship


between


translation


and


culture


has


been


discussed. The work of translating is not just one language to language, but



a transfer of


two cultures. It is regarded as the intercultural communication. As to Chinese dish names,


many


of


those


are


in


cultural-loaded


words


or


with


historical


stories,


which


require


translators to heighten their cultural awareness. The methods of informative and aesthetic


methods


should


be


used


for


translation


.


For


instance,



乳猪全体




is


translated


as


― Whole Suckling Pig ‖. From this case, the cooking method and background information


are lost. In Hainan, there is a traditional wedding custom that if it is normal after wedding


for three days, the son- in-law should prepare a complete roast suckling pig and take it to


the father- in-


law‘s house personally. But if


the bridegroom find his bride is not a virgin


before wedding, he will not take the roast suckling pig to the father- in-


law‘s house. Of


course, it means the bride will not have a happy marriage. So this dish means perfect and


happiness. So it would be appropriate to translate it


into ―Perfect Roast Suckling Pig‖


which conveys the cultural factors better.



8



3.4. Keeping Aesthetic Values Transmitted


An


artistically


enjoyable


dish


name


will


touch


the


readers‘


hearts


in the


mood


of


happiness,


curiosity


and


excitement.


Good


dish


names


would


acquire


the


aesthetic


function,


too.


Therefore,


the


dish


translations


should


be


equally


or


approximately


functional in transmitting the aesthetic value. Only the translations are in conformity with


commercial


equivalence,


attractive,


and


aesthetically


pleasant,


could


the


translation


of


dish names achieve the same or similar commercial function as the original name. Hence,


it is essential for translators to try their best to keep the original beautiful image. For an


auspicious


name



全家福




,


it


is


usually


translated


into



happy


family



-


a


combination of shrimps, pork, beef, chicken, lobster and mixed vegetables with brown


sauce. This dish is combined with many materials which means family gathering. People


will feel happy in this case. So



happy family



is a good translation. For another dish


name,



发财添大利




in


which



发财



(get


a


fortune)



is


the


homophone


of


its


ingredient ―


发菜



(Mosses) ‖. If it plainly translated into stewed mosses with egg and


egg roll, the wish of ― get a fortune ‖ would be lost. So it is suggested to translate it into


― wealth mosses with egg and egg roll ‖


.



4. Chinese Dishes Translation Skill


After understanding the dishes‘ translation principles, we should try to follow these


principles.


However,


we


need


to


notice


the


real


conditions


and


adopt


timely


changing


instead of simply translating mechanically. Otherwise the poor translation may become


an international joke. Due to the huge difference between Chinese and English, we should


put


the


raw


materials


of


dishes,


cooking


methods,


dishes


taste


and


shape


in


the


first


consideration


in


Chinese-English


translation.


If


it


is


necessary,


we


need


to


add


some


information such as the cultural meaning behind some dishes names. So that customers


can


feel


clear


with


that


at


first


when


they


open


the


menu.


There


are


three


different


translation skills -- literal translation, liberal translation and transliteration.



4.1. Literal Translation


As we all know that the most two basic translation techniques are literal translation


and liberal translation. If the same conceptual metaphor is being used in the two cultures


and there exist the same or similar images, people usually use literal translation. Literal


translation can efficiently keep the original images of the Chinese culture, which helps to


introduce the Chinese culture to English readers.


Examples:


鱼圆烧海参


stewed sea cucumbers with fish balls


鸡翼鲍鱼片


braised abalone with chicken wings


洋葱牛肉丝


fried shredded beef with onion


荷叶粉蒸肉


steamed flour-coated pork wrapped in lotus leaves



9

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