文化背景知識

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[Abstract]Itisagreedthatlanguageisacomponentofcultureandreflectsit;translationisnotonlythelinguisticbutalsothecommunicationofcultures.Culturebackgroundknowledgeisconcernedwithgeographicchatacteristics,historical,tradition,socialcustoms,religionartsandotheraspectsofasociety.Alsoitconditionsthepsychologicalmake-upofindividuals.Therefore,targetlanguagereadersmayexperiencecultureshockfromtranslationsdonotproperlydealwiththefactorsofculturesasaresultoftheirlackofculturalbackgroundknowledge,Thispaperdiscussestheinfluenceofknowledgeofculturesontranslation,andconcludesthattranslatorsshouldhaveavastandpreciseunderstandingofthetwoculturesconcerned.

[KeyWords]culture;translation;culturalbackgroundknowledge

[摘要]語言不僅是文化的組成部分，也是文化的反映形式。翻譯不僅僅是語言間的轉換，而且是文化間的交流活動。文化背景知識涉及歷史、地理特征、傳統、社會風俗、宗教、藝術以及社會的各個方面。同時，文化背景知識也影響了社會成員的心理結構。因此，如果翻譯者缺乏文化背景知識并因此不能恰當處理好原文中的文化因素，譯文讀者可能要面對激烈的文化沖擊。本文將主要討論譯者文化背景知識對翻譯的影響。最后得出結論：翻譯者應該對相關的兩種文化都有廣泛而深入的認識。

[關鍵詞]文化；翻譯；文化背景知識

1.Introduction

Accordingtothetraditiontheoryoftranslation,peopleconsideredtranslatingactivitiesasaprocessoftransferbetweentwolanguages.Inthe1970s,thestudyoftranslationtendedtodevelopinseveraldirections.Itwasnolongerrestrictedtothetraditionaestheticandlinguisticstudyandbecomeculturalrethinking.

AccordingtothetheoriesofMarySnell-Hornby,BassnettandLefevere,wecanconcludethattranslationistopresentinanotherculturethemeaningandimplicationthatthetexthasinaspecificculturalcontext.Innature,translationisakindofcommunicationbetweencultures.Duringtheprocessoftranslation,theinterpretationandexpressionoftheconnotationofcultureemergeasproblemstobesolvedatthefirstplace.Thatrequiresthetranslatorsnotonlyshouldhavebilingualabilitiesbutalsoshouldhavetheknowledgeoftwoculturesof,evenseveralcultures.In1993,Nidapointedoutthat,forthetrulysuccessfultranslation,theknowledgeoftwoculturesismoreimportantthanthebilingualability.[1]

E.B.Tylor,ananthropologist,thoughtcultureisacomplicatedgathering,includingknowledge,belief,arts,moralstandards,law,customsandalltheabilitiesandhabitsofindividualsasmembersofasociety.[2]Thescopeofcultureisextremelywide-ranging.Languageisthereflectionofculture.Anykindoflanguagebasesonthegroundofcertainculture.So,theculturalcharacteristicsoflanguageincludethewayofthinking,psychologicalmake-up,historical,tradition,socialcustoms,believesandgeographicfeaturesthatthelanguagereflects.Tounderstandthesourcelanguageandtheoriginaltext,translatorshavetoanalyzethoseculturalcharacteristicsofalanguage.

2.Cultureandlanguage

Cultureisacomplicatedsystemincludingandinfluencingalmostalltheaspectsoflifeinasociety.Thelanguagethatthesocietyusesisnoexception.However,languagealsoinfluencesculture.Languageandcultureinfluenceseachotherandreflectseachother.

2.1Cultureandlanguage

E.B.Tylor,ananthropologist,saidthatcultureisacomplicatedcombinationincludingknowledge,belief,arts,ethics,laws,customsandtheabilityandhabitsofindividualsasmembersofasociety.Hereknowledgereferstoacademicsubjects,bothscientificandnotscientific,forexample,mathematicsandlinguistics.Beliefcouldbedividedintotwosorts,politicalandreligious,whicharedifferentamongpeoplesandoftencoursedifferentcomprehensionandevenconflicts.ExamplesareChristianityinthewestcountriesandIslamintheMuslincountries.Artscomprisepainting,architecture,sculpture,literature,opera,dancing,musicetc.(Somepeoplemaintainthatfilmisalsoasortofthearts.)Ethicsisasetofprinciplesthatpeopleusetodecidewhatisrightandwhatiswrong.

Thescopeofcultureisnotmeasurable.Languageisapartofit.Alllanguagesgrowonthegroundofcertaincultures.[3]Differentlanguagesarenotjustused,butalsocreatedindifferentculturalsituations.Thuslanguagesbeartheircharacteristicsinaccordancewiththoseofspecificcultures.Tounderstandthelanguageappropriately,wehavetoanalyzetheculturalcharacteristicsofit.

Languageisasystemofsounds,words,patterns,ectusedbyhuman’stocommunicatethoughtsandfeelings.Webeginourpreviewoflanguagebynotingthatitisimpossibletoseparateouruseoflanguagefromourculture.Initsmostbasicsense,languageisasetofsymbolsandtherulesforcombiningthosesymbolsthatareusedandunderstoodbyalargecommunityofpeople.Whenwestudyanotherlanguage,wesoondiscoverthatnotonlyarethesymbols(words)andsoundsforthosesymbolsdifferent,butalsoaretherules(phonology,grammar,syntaxandintonation)forusingthosesymbolsandsounds.

Worddifferencesareobviousinvariouslanguages.InEnglish,weliveinahouse.InSpanish,weliveinacasa.InTai,weliveinaban.Phonologyalsovariesculturally.InEnglish,wehave21consonantsand5vowelsandcombinetoform38variousphonemes.Vietnamesehas34segmentalphonemesconsistingofvowels,semi-vowelsandconsonants.TheFilipinolanguagehas21consonantsand13vowelsthatform26phonemes.Grammaticalstructuresareuniquetoeachlanguageaswell.InEnglish,wehavesingularandpluralnounsandpronouns,butinKorean,thedistinctionbetweensingularandpluralismadebythecontextofthesentence.InEnglish,verbtensesexpresscontrastbetweenpast,present,andfutureacts,butinVietnamese,thesameverbreflectsallthreeandthetimeoftheactionisinferredfromthecontext.Syntax,orthewordorderandstructureinthesentence,alsovariesdependingonthelanguage.ThenormalwordorderforsimplesentencesinVietnameseisthereverseofthewordorderinEnglish.Thatis,thepredicateisfollowedbythesubject.Forexample,theEnglishsentence"Theteacherdied"wouldbe"Namatayangguro"or"Diedtheteacher"inFilipino.InEnglishthesubjectisfollowedbyaverbandthenanobject,butinJapanese,thesubjectisfollowedbytheobjectandthentheverb.SoinEnglishwemightsay,"Johnsawthedog."butinJapanese,"Johnthedogsaw"wouldbecorrect.[4]

Theseexamplesindicatethatifwewanttocommunicateinanotherlanguage,itisimportantforustoknownotonlythesymbols(words)ofthatlanguage,butalsotherulesforusingthosesymbols.Asweknow,languageismuchmorethansymbolandrulesystemthatallowustocommunicatewithotherperson——languagealsoshapetheprocessbywhichpeoplebecomeintroducedtotheorderofthephysicalandsocialenvironment.

2.2Relationshipbetweenlanguageandculture

Languageandcultureinfluenceeachother,reflecteachotherandco-existwitheachother.Differentculturesresultindifferentlanguage.Differentlanguagesinturncausedifferentcommunicativepatternsandfinallydifferencesbetweencultures.

LanguageanditsculturalinfluenceareexemplifiedinthetheoreticalformulationsoftheSapir-Whorfhypothesis,whichstatesthatSapirandWhorfbelievethatlanguagefilterspeople’sperceptionandthewaytheycategorizeexperiences.Thishypothesisimpliesthatproclaimedthatthestructureofthelanguagepeoplehabituallyuseinfluencesthewaystheythinkandbehave.Thatistosay,differentlanguagesofferpeopledifferentwaysofexpressingtheworldaround,theythinkandspeakdifferently[5].Sapirwrote:Humanbeingsdonotliveintheobjectiveworldalone,norintheworldofsocialactivityasordinarilyunderstood,butareverymuchatthemercyoftheparticularlanguagewhichhasbecomethemediumoftheexpressionoftheirsociety...Therealworldistoalargeextentunconsciouslybuiltonthelanguagehabitsofthegroup.Notwolanguagesareeversufficientlysimilartobeconsideredasrepresentingthesamesocialreality.Theworldsinwhichdifferentsocietieslivearedistinctworlds,notmerelythesameworldwithdifferentlabelsattached.

AgoodillustrationofthispointisthewordsnowinEskimoandEnglish.TheEskimoshavecountlesswordsforsnow.Forthemsnowisextremelyimportantandsocrucialtolifethateachofitsvariousformsandconditionsisnamed.InEnglish-speakingcultures,snowisfarlessimportantandthesimplewordsnowusuallysufficestheneeds.Whensomeneedsbecomemorespecific,however,longerphrasescanbemadeuptomeettheseneeds:"cornsnow","finepowdersnow",and"driftingsnow".Onceagainthisprovesthatthereisaconnectionbetweenthewordsacultureselectsandtheideasandthingsofthatculture.Inshort,eachculturepresentstoitsmembers,eitherconsciouslyorsubconsciouslythroughwords,theideasandconceptsthatculturetransmitsfromgenerationtogeneration[6].

AnotherinstanceofhowlanguagedefinesexperiencecanbeseenintheNavajolanguage,whichemphasisthenatureandthedirectionofmovement.Ratherthansaying,"Onedresses,"theNavajowouldsay,onemoveintoclothing."Insteadofsaying,"Oneisyoung,"theNavajowouldsay,"Onemovesaboutnewly."LanguageisoneaspectoftheNavajonaturethatcoincideswiththenotionofuniverseinmotion.

AlthoughcompleteacceptanceoftheSapir-Whorfhypothesismaybecontroversial,itsapplicationofcultureandlanguageisclear:languageisthereflectionofculture,andcultureisashapeoflanguage.Wehaveseenthatcultureinfluenceslanguagebywayofsymbolsandrulesaswellasourperceptionoftheuniverse.Equallyimportantisthefactthatmeaningshiftsfromculturetoculture.

2.3Differentlanguageandcultureleadtodifferentcommunicativepattern

ChinesecommunicationpatternanduseoflanguagearesimilartothoseofJapaneseandKoreans.TheChinesetendtobesituation-orientedandtovieweventsinrelationtothetotality.FortheChinese,thistotalview,anis-or-is-notpolarityisavoided.InEnglish,peopleandthingareplacedinacontinuum—bigandsmall,goodandbad,blackandwhite.FortheChinese,middlevaluesarearticulatedandareciprocalrelationshipbetweenthetwoextremesisemphasized.Forexample,theChinesemayrefertoloveandhateasdeferenceandpoliteness,theywouldliketosay:”我對她有點意思!”insteadof“我愛她!”,and”我懶得理他!”insteadof“我討厭他!”.ThisfocusonthequalityofthecontinuumisareflectionoftheChinesebeliefintheprincipleofnature,yin(passive)andyang(active).Thispoliteprinciplecombinestoproduceeverythingthatcomestobe.Itmakespeoplemoreconcordantandavoidsthecommunicationconflict.

WehavealludedtothefactthattheuseofdirectandindirectlanguageisamajorlinguisticdifferencebetweenNorthAmericansandmanyAsiancultures,suchastheChinese.MostNorthAmericanslearntosayyesandnoasameansofexpressingtheirindividualviews.Beingacollectiveculture,theChineseusuallyuseyesandnotoexpresstherespectforthefeelingoftheothers.Inotherwords,tosayyesfornoornoforyesislargelyareflectionoftheindirectapproachtocommunication.Forexample,ChineseandEnglishhaveadifferentanswerfor“youarenotastudent,areyou?”FortheChinesestudents,hewillanswer:“不，我是學生?！盕ortheEnglishstudent,hewillanswer:"yes,Iam"Thatisbecausethewesternpeoplechose"question-oriented",andtheChinesechosefact-orientedthroughwhichundesirableinterpersonalcommunicationcanbeavoided.Thiscontrary-to-face-valueaspectofAsianverballanguagebehaviorcanbeconfusingtoNorthAmericans.

Theindirectuseoflanguageisevidentinwaysotherthantheuseofyesandno.Forexample,anAmericanhostorhostess,whencomplimentedonhisofhercooking,islikelytorespond,"Oh,Iamsogladyoulikeit.Icookeditespeciallyforyou."Incontrast,theChinesehostandhostesswillinsteadapologizeprofuselyforgivingyounothingevenslightlyedibleandfornotshowingyouenoughhonorfornotprovidingenoughdishes.

AnotherexampleofChineseindirectlanguageisevidentintheirpracticeofpolitelyrefusinganofferthreetimesbeforetheyaccept.IthasalsoleftmanyChinesehungryatanAmericantable.AnAmericanhostesscommentedonthissituation:

Onceyouhavelearntthesignalandhowtorespond,lifebecomesinfinitelyeasier.WhenChineseguestcomes,IknowIshouldimmediatelyaskifthey''''dlikeacupoftea.Theywillrespond,"Pleasedon''''tbother,”whichismysignaltofetchtea.

ThelanguageofEnglishisuseddifferentlyaswemoveamongmanyEnglish-speakingcountries.InGreatBritain,thelanguageisinterspersedwitheuphemismsthatenablethespeakerstoavoidexpressingstrongfeelings.Forinstance,whenEnglishpersonswishtodisagreewithsomeone,theyareliabletoprefacearequest,asin"I''''dbeawfullygratefulif•••"of"Thankyouverymuchindeed.ThisrestraintisalsoveryevidentinthedifferencesbetweenAmericanandBritishwordchoice".ComparethefollowingsignsintheUnitedStatesandinEngland:

U.S.:"Nodogsallowed."

England:"Weregretthatintheinterestofhygiene,dogsarenotallowedinthe

premises."

U.S.:"Videocontrolled."

England:"Notice:Intheinterestofourregularcustomers,thesepremisesare

nowequippedwithcentralsecurity-circuittelevision."

U.S.:"Pleasekeephandsoffdoor.”

England:"Obstructingthedoorcausesdelayandcanbedangerous.”

Fromtheabovediscussion,wemayconcludethathowtheBritishusesEnglishreflectstheirpursuingofpolitenessandfriendliness,paratively,theChineseprefersmiddlevalueandtrytoavoidpolarity.

Ourgoalinthissectionhasbeentoconveythefactthat,differentlanguageandcultureleadtodifferentcommunicativepattern,languageandcultureisinseparablefromeachotherincommunicativepattern.Cultureinfluenceslanguagesymbolsandrulesforusingthosesymbols.Aswehavealsoseen,meaningisculturallydetermined.Atthesametimelanguageisthecarrierofculture.Languageincommunicativepatternalsoisoneoftheelementsinculture-nativizedoftranslation.Infact,translationjustsettheinfluenceonreadersbylanguage.

3.Cultureandtranslation

Cross-culturalcommunicationiscommunicationbetweenpeoplefromdifferentcultures.Withthestudyoftranslationgoingfurther,theideathattranslationisforcross-culturalcommunicationwasputforthbylinguistsandtranslators.Newmarkhastwostatements:"translationisthemosteconomicalmethodofexplainingoneculture''''swaytoanother"and"translationmediatescultures".Snell-Hornbystates“translationisnot‘interlingualtransfer’but‘cross-culturaltransfer’"(Snell-Hornby,1988:39)[7].LameHewsonandJackyMartin(1993:25)alsostatethattranslationistheexplorationofanunbridgeablegapandofatensionbetweencultures,anditsfunctionistodevelopcross-culturalconstructionwhileatthesametimebridgingandunderlyingthedifferences.Asasignificantmediumforculturalexchange,translationaimstopromoteunderstandingamongdifferentcountriesandnations,hencetoimprovecommunicationcrosscultures.

Translationfromlanguagetolanguageisinfacttranslationfromculturetoculture.Bassnett(1991:13)[8]believesthattranslationmusttakeplaceinaframeworkofculture.Translation,ascross—culturalcommunicationmustbemadeonalingualbasisandonaculturalone,becauselanguageandculturearesointerdependentthattheoneimpliestheother.Culturefindsitsexpressioninthelanguageandthroughthelanguage.Culturalspecificsinfluencethewaythelanguageunitesareusedandunderstood.Thetranslatorrendersintoanotherlanguagewhatthelanguagewiththeoriginalmessagemeansintheculture.Andtherefore,linguistictheoriesoftranslationmustincorporateculturalaspectsaswell.

Translationascross-culturalcommunicationisassociatedwithtwoculturalcontextsinwhichtheirculturalcontentisconveyedintwodifferentlanguages,anditlaysemphasisonhowtoconveyinaprecisewaytheoriginalculturalconnotationandhowtointerpretitonthenativeculturalperspectivesoastoachieveeffectivecommunication,andrequiresthetranslatorsshouldtransfertheculturalmessageofthesourcelanguagetothetargetreaders,bothfaithfullyandvalidly.Andtherefore,translatorshouldnotonlyrespectthesourceculture,butalsothetargetculture,andhelpbringaboutcommunicationbetweenthemembersofdifferentlinguisticandculturalcommunities.

Inordertoachievefaithfulandvalidcommunication,translatorsshouldtakeseriouslyintoconsiderationtheculturalpsychologicalfactorsconcerned.Culturalpsychological,whichunderlinesthevarietyoflanguageusageandlanguagehabits,cometothemostimportantareaoftranslationstudies.Thewayofthinking,beliefs,attitude,andvaluesofdifferentculturesnotonlygiverisetofailureofmisunderstandingincross-culturecommunication,butalsoposeheadachestotranslatorsandtranslationtheoristswhoaretryingtobridgethegapsbetweensourcelanguagetextsandtargetlanguagetexts,andintentionofsourcelanguageauthorsandreceivingcapacityoftargetlanguagereaders.

4.InfluenceofCulturalBackgroundOntranslation

Culturecanbedividedintoseveralparts,soforculturalbackgroundknowledge.Studythosepartsonebyoneisareasonablemethodofunderstandingaspecificculture.

4.1Theinfluenceofknowledgeofhistoryontranslation

Historyofacountrymaylastforthousandsofyears.Evennativesknownotallthepastevents,nottomentiontheforeigners.Tofulfilltheobligationoftranslationasacross-culturalcommunication,translatorsshouldhaveextensiveknowledgeofhistory,especiallythatofthesourceculture.

Knowledgeofhistoryaffectstheaccuratetranslationofpoliticalterms.Forexample,香港回歸hastwoofficialtranslationsbecauseofdifferentcognitionsofhistory.Proceedingfromtheirownpositiononthequestion,Britishgovernmentusedtheexpression"HongkongHandover".[9]Onthecontrary,theofficialtranslationofChinais"toresumetheexerciseofsovereigntyoverHongkong".ThatisbecauseHongkonghasbeenapartofChinainthelongprocessofhistory.Britainonlyseizedthe"sovereignty"ofHongkongfromthedeclininggovernmentoftheQingDynastybythemeansofwar.

Thecertainwordsinacertainagearedifficulttotranslator.Forexample,intheperiodof“therevolutionofculture”ofChina,peopleusuallyliketosaythesentence:“我們不搞實用主義”.Wecan’ttranslate“wedonotadvocatepragmatism.”Inwesterncountries,“pragmatismispraised”amethodofphilosophyinwhichthetruthofapropositionismeasuredbyitscorrespondencewithexperimentalresultsandbyitspracticaloutcome”(thenewColombiaencyclopedia.3rded)實用主義isaderogatoryterminchina,butinwesterncountries,ithastheextendedmeaninginphilosophyasfollow;“anexcellentplanwhichcangetexpediency.”(有利可圖的權宜之計)So,wecantranslatethesentence:Weneverbaseourpoliciesonexpediency.ThissentencenotonlyshowsthewordexactuseinChinesebutalsogivethecorrectmeaningtotheforeignerwhodonotknowthecertainmeaninginchinaatthatcertainages.[10]

4.2Theinfluenceofknowledgeofgeographiccharacteristicsontranslation

Geographiccharacteristicsnotonlyinfluencethemateriallifeofacountry,theyalsoinfluencethelanguageandtheculture.

Differencesbetweengeographiccharacteristicscausedifferencesbetweenlanguages.Englandisanislandsurroundedbywaters.Becauseoftherichfishresources,fishingisanimportanteconomicactivityandmanyEnglishexpressionsareassociatedwithfish.Forexample,afishoutoffish,bigfishinapound,drinklikeafish,allisfishthatcomestoone''''snet,feedthefishetc.Itiseasytoseegeographiccharacteristicshaveainfluenceonlanguage.Itreflectsonthepronunciation,vocabulary,grammarandsoon.Ithasaimportancefunctiononplayingupthenation’slanguageandculturewhenwewanttotranslatethesenseofrealityinthosegeographiccharacteristics.

Chinaisrichinmountainandforestandbambooisverycommonthere.InChinesepeoplesay雨后春筍(springuplikebambooshootafteraspringrain),whileinEnglish,peopleuse"springuplikemushrooms"toexpressthesamemeaning.ThatisbecausetheBritisharemuchfamiliarwithmushroominsteadofbamboo.AndthatisbecauseitoftenrainsinEnglandandthewetconditionisverysuitableforthegrowthofmushrooms.[11]

Climatedifferencesalsoresultinculturaldifferencesbetweenlanguages.TheChinesepoet,YangJuyuan,wrotein«城東早春»:"詩家清景在新春，綠柳才黃半未均。若待上林話似錦，出門俱是看花人。"ThefollowingisthetranslationofHerbertA.Giles,aBritishsinologist:

ThelandscapewhichthepoetlovesisthatofearlyMay,

Whenbuddinggreennesshalfconcealedenwrapseachwillowspray,

Thebeautifulembroiderythedaysofsummeryield,

Appealstoeverybumpkinwhomaytakehiswalkafield.

"EarlyMay"isnotthepropertranslationof早春(earlyspring).BecauseitisalreadylatespringinearlyMayinChina.Althoughthetranslatorusedittoachieverhyminganddidsucceed,thetranslationtookwithitthewronginformation.ItmaycoursethewesternreaderstomisunderstandthatinChinatheearlyspringcomesinearlyMay.

Geographiccharacteristicscausespecificnaturalphenomenonthatexistsonlyinaspecificarea.Readersinadifferentculturalcontextmayneverunderstanditifthetranslatorsdon''''tmakenecessaryexplanation.BecauseofthespecialgeographicconditionofChongqing,棒棒軍existsassomethingdistinctiveinthecity.Itistranslatedinsomeforeignjournalsas"porters".OnChinaDaily,thetranslationis"shoulder-polecorps------portersinChongqingarecalledtheshoulder-polecorps.”Theformerdidn''''texpresstheregionalcharacteristicsoftheword.ItisinlackofhumorandvividnessthatarefoundinthetranslationonChinaDaily."Should-pole"catchestheexactimageof棒棒軍,and"corps"reflectstheboldanduninhibitedcharacterofpeopleinthemountaincity.[12]

4.3Theinfluenceofknowledgeoftraditionontranslation

Traditionsarethelong-establishedmethodofpractice.MostChinesetraditionalmodesofthoughtinthefeudalsocietyoriginatefromConfucianism.

Intheforthchapterof"TheTrueStoryofAhQ",Luxunwrote:"夫‘不孝有三無后為大’".ItisaconceptmostChinesearefamiliarwith.Theinfluenceofitissofar-reachingthattheideaofmenbeingsuperiortowoman,whichistheresultoftheabovesentence,isstillmaintainedbymanyChinese.ButareaderwhosenativelanguageisEnglishdoesn''''tnecessarilyknowwhat"unfilialconducts"are.TomaketheoriginaltextbeacceptedbytheEnglishreaders,YangHsien-yi&GladysYangandWilliamA.Lyellprovidedinformationrelatedinthefootnote:

"Therearethreeformsofunfilialconducts,ofwhichtheworstistohavenodescendants.”*AquotationfromMenciu(YangHsien-yi&GladysYang)[13]

"Ofthreethingswhichdounfilialbe/Theworstistolackposteritie"(WilliamA.Lyell).

Footnote:Theothertwoarefollowingparents''''orderswhenoneknowsthatsuchacoursewillsinkthemintounrighteousnessandrefusingtobecomeanofficialwhenone''''sparentsareoldandpoor.(Lyell)

YangHsien-yi&GladysYangpointedthesourceofthequotationinthefootnote.ReaderscangetmoreinformationfromMencius.Lyelldirectlyexplainedtheothertwo"filialconducts"oftheChinesepeople.Translationisthetieofinternationalculturalexchange.Forliteraturetranslation,itservesforeignreaderswhodon''''tspeakChineseandcan''''tgetanyoriginalculturalforreference.Lyellhastakenintoconsiderationtheneedsofreadersandmadedetailedexplanationinthetranslation.Lyell’stranslationshowsouttheculturalbackgroundknowledgeinChinesetradition.Heshakesoffthelanguage’strammelsandexpressesthedeepmeaning.

InthefeudalsocietyofChina,therewerestrictrulesforthecontactsbetweenmaleandfemale.Itismentionedintheforthchapterin"TheTrueStoryofAhQ":“啊Q本來也是正人，我們雖然不知道他蒙什么明師指授，但他對于‘男女之大防’卻也歷來非常嚴?！盬hatarethegreatbarriersbetweenmenandwomen?IfyouaskaChinese,he/shemaysoonthinkof"amanandawomanshouldtouchhandswhengivingorreceivingthings.ButtothecommonEnglishreaders,itisamystery.BystudyingChineseculture,Lyellintroducedthetraditionalmodesofthoughttothereaders.

Footnote:NowourAhQstartedoutasanuprightmantoo.Thoughwedon''''tknowthiswasbecausehehadbeenshownthewaybysomeenlightenedteacher,wedoknowthatherigorouslyobservedthegreatbarriersthatshouldtakemoreattentiononit.(WilliamA.Lyell)

Footnote:AccordingtothepuritanicalethicsoftraditionalConfucianmorality,anycontactbetweenanunrelatedmanandwomanwaspotentially,ifnotactually,immoral.Apopulousproverbdecreed"thatamanandwoman,unlessrelated,shouldnottouchhandswhengivingorreceivingthings"(男女授受不親).(Lyell)

TheexplanationmadebyLyellishelpfulfortheunderstandingofwesternreaders.TheintroductionofthatbackgroundknowledgeofChineseculturesurelywillbefavorabletogetadeeperunderstanding.Whiletranslatingtextsinthenativelanguage,translatorsoftentakeforgrantedthatforeignreadersshouldhavethesamegeneralknowledge.Asaresultthenecessityfornotingisneglected.

LotsoftraditionalChinesemodesofthoughtsareaboutfamily.Thereisatypicalinstancein"TheStoryoftheStone".WangXifengsaid:"...竟不象老祖宗的外孫女，竟是嫡親的孫女似的。"InChina,itisgenerallyacceptedthatthetiesofbloodbetweenthemotherandherson''''schildreniscloserthanthosewithherdaughter''''s.WangmeantthatDaiyuwasfineintemperament.YangHsien-yiandGladysYang,whoarefamiliarwiththeChinesetradition,translateditas:"Shedoesn''''ttakeafterherfather,son-in-lawofouroldAncestress,butlooksmorelikeaJia".[14]ThetranslationrevealedpreciselytheulteriormotiveofWang,tocomplimentDaiyuinordertowinGrannie''''sfavor.Thus,thetraditionalconsciousnessoffeudalfamilywasloyallytransferred.

4.4Theinfluenceofknowledgeofcustomsontranslation

Somegeneralknowledgeofthecustomsoftheoriginalculturewillbegoodforourtranslationundertaking.Differentlanguageshavedifferenthistory,culturalbackgroundsandsocialsituation.Itisimpossibleforthereaderstoknowallthedetailsofaforeignworks,especiallythoseofsocialcustomsandwayoflife."TheTrueStoryofAhQ"isanovelfullofnationalcharacteristicswithmanytraditionalChinesecustoms.

Inthethirdchapterofthestory,whenAhQmetthefakeforeigndevil,whomhehatedmost,Luxunwrote:"不料這禿兒卻拿了一支黃漆的棒子—就是啊Q所謂的哭喪棒------大踏步走了過來"PeoplefamiliarwithtraditionalChinesecultureshouldknowthat,inthepast,sonshouldhavea"filialstick"onhishandwhileattendinghisparent''''sfuneraltoshowthathewasoverwhelmedwithgrief.（注：哭喪棒：舊時在為父母發喪時，孝子須手扶一根‘孝棒’以表示悲痛難支)AhQhatedthefakeforeigndevil,sohecursedhissticktobe哭喪棒.Fourtranslationsof"TheTrueStoryofAhQ"havefourdifferentwaystotranslate.

thestickofwails---GeorgeKinLeung

thefuneralstick---Chi-ChanWang

astaffcarriedbyamourner[15]---YangHsien-GladysYang

awailingstick---Lyell

Therearedefectsinallthe4translations.ThoseofLeungandLyellaresimilartoeachother,butbothofthemdidnottranslatedthemeaningof"funeral";thetranslationofWangisinlackofthemeaningof"wailing";Yangexplainedtheuseof哭喪棒,buttheydidnotpointoutwhyit''''sused.What''''smore,thetranslationofYangisnotproperalsobecause哭喪棒wasgenerallyusedbyason,notbyacommonmourner.However,withthehelpofLyell''''sfootnote,foreignreaderscangetaclearconceptof哭喪棒：

YoungforeigngentlemenofthetimeoftencarriedcanesandyoungChinesewhohavestudiedabroadoftenemulatethemevenafterreturninghome.The"wailingstick"(哭喪棒)hadbeentraditionallycarriedbyfilialsonsinfuneralprocessions;Theideaitrepresentedwasthatthesonwassooverwhelmedwithgriefthathewouldhavebeenotherwiseunabletowalk.

LyellexplainedtheChinesetraditionandatthesametimepointedoutthesocialbackgroundofthestory.Meanwhile,hecomparedthesituationinChinawiththatinthewesterncountriesandpointedoutthat哭喪棒islikecanesthatcarriedbytheforeigngentlemen.

InthedescriptionofAhQ''''sbehaviorontheexecutionground(the9chapter),itiswritten:“‘過了二十年又是一……’阿Q在百忙之中，‘無師自通’地說出從來不說的話。”

Footnotesofthethreetranslationsareasfollows:

Footnote:Commonformulaofdefianceusedbydesperadoesontheirwaytotheexecutiongroundandsignifyingasurereturn,inanotherincarnation,tocarryonwhattheyleftoff.(Chi-ChanWang)

"InanothertwentyyearsIshallbeanotherstoutyoungfellow.”wasaphraseoftenusedbycriminals,beforeexecution,toshowtheirscornofdeath.(Leung)

Footnote:Toshowcontemptforauthorityandindifferencetodeath,condemnedcriminalswouldshoutjustbeforeexecution."Twentyyearsfromnow,I''''llcomebackasbigandbadasever."Theidea,basedontheBuddhistdoctrineofrebirth,wasthatthecriminal''''sspiritwouldenterafetusledgedinsideapregnantmother''''swombatthemomentofhisdeath.(Lyell)

TheoriginalofwhatAhQsaidontheexecutiongroundisexplainedinallthethreefootnotes.ItwillhelpthereaderstoovercometheinconveniencecausedbyculturalgapandtogetadeeperunderstandingoftheoriginaltextandtheChinesecultureintheancientsociety.(Comparatively,informationprovidedbyLyellisthemostabundant.)Inconclusion,fromthetranslationsofLyell,wecanseetranslationisnotreproductionbutculturemediationandmanipulation--wejustcallculturalshift.(Gentzler,1993)cultureshiftemphasizesthesituationofcultureintranslationandthesignificanceoftranslationforculture.Itfocusesonculturebutnotthewords,sentencesevensectionsandchapters.[16]

4.5Theinfluenceofknowledgeofreligionontranslation

ChinaandEnglandhavedifferentreligiousbeliefs.Itwillbenaturallyreflectedinthetwolanguages.ThemainculturalfactorsinthelanguageofEnglishbelongtotheChristianculture.TheBibleinfluencedtheestablishmentanddevelopmentofwesterncivilization.InChina,BuddhismandTaoismculturesarethemostinfluential.BothEnglishandChinesehavetheirowncharacteristicsinthinkingpattern,formoflingualexpressionandtheimplicationofwordsandimages.Allofthoseshouldbenoticedinduringtheprocessoftranslation.

Forexample,inHawke’stranslationof《紅樓夢》,阿彌陀佛became"Godblessmysoul"and無星壽佛becameGod.Becauseofsuchkindoftranslation,westernersmaythinkthatChinesealsobelieveinGod.ItseriouslyreducedtheChineseculturalconnotation.IntheChineseidiom天誅地滅，天and地meansheavenandearthrespectively.Theyrepresentthesupremepower.ButitisapplicableonlyinChinaaspeopleherebelieveinbelieveinBuddhism.Itshouldnotbereplacedby"God",whichisanexpressionreflectstheChristianbelief.

AsChristianityandtheBibleprevailinEnglish-speakingcountries,lotsofEnglishidiomsareassociatedwithcharactersintheBible,forinstance,asoldasMelhuselah,asrichasaJew,aswiseasSolomon.MostChinesereadersmayhavenoideaofwhoarethey.Tomakesuretheycanconveytheconnotation,explanationisnecessary.Fortheabove-mentionedexamples,Melhuselahissaidtobe969years''''oldwhenhedied;Jewsaccumulatedwealthbythemeansofpracticingusuryandbecomethesynonymoftherich.AllofthemoriginatedfromtheBible.

4.6Theinfluenceofknowledgeoftheartsontranslation

Artsoccupyaveryimportantpositioninculture.Itreflectstherealityoflifeandatthesametimeshapesit.WithShaoxinofZhejianprovince,Luxun''''shometown,asthebackgroundplace,"TheTrueStoryofAhQ"reflectedthelocalartsthere.Iftranslatorscanexplainclearlythebackgroundknowledgeofthem,readerscanacquiretheinformationthatnativereadersgetfromtheoriginalandachievebetterunderstanding.CarefulreadersmayhavediscoveredthattheprotagonistAhQisveryfondofsaying"我手執鋼鞭將你打"ItisexactlyfromthelibrettoofTheBattleofDragonandTiger(《龍虎斗》),alocaloperaofShaoxin.ItisaboutabattlefoughtbyZhaoKuang-yin,founderoftheSongDynasty,andHuyanZhuoandappearsinthefifthchapterwhereAhQencountersXiaoD.Amongmanytranslationswecouldsee,onlythoseofYangHsien-yi&GladysYangandLyellhavecontainedrelativefootnote:

"I''''llthrashyouwithasteelmace..."

Footnote:AlinefromTheBattleofDragonandTiger,anoperapopularinShaoxin.IttoldhowZhaoKuang-yin,thefirstemperoroftheSungDynasty,foughtanothergeneral.(YangHsien-yi&GladysYang)

Footnote:AlinefromalocalShaoxinopera,TheBattleoftheDragonandTigergenerals,whichrecitesanepicbattlefoughtbyZhaoGuangyin,founderoftheSongdynasty.(Lyell)

Clearexplanationcouldbefoundinthefootnoteofthetranslation.Inthestory,anotheropera(《小孤孀上墳》)isalsomentioned.Amongsometranslations,Lyell''''sistheonlyonethathasconcernedexplanation.

Footnote:AShaoxinoperathatwaspopularatthetimethisstorywaswritten.(Lyell)

Althoughitisverysimple,itshowsthattheoriginaliscloselyrelatedwithlife.Thisisalsoindicatedthroughthedescriptionof壓牌寶.ItwasapopularwayofgamblinginShaoxinatthattime.Lyellhasmadeefforttostudyit.Inhistranslation,heusedaboutonepagetodescribethelocalgamblebyfootnoting.What''''smore,thereisillustration.Whilereadingthetranslation,foreignreaderscanunderstandeasilyandprecisely.

Asthefirstreaderoftheoriginal,thelevelofthetranslator''''sunderstandingoftendetermineshowmuchthetranslationcantransfer.Thereforethetranslatorsshouldstudytheculturalbackgroundbothextensivelyandprofoundly.Tohelpreaderstoovercomedifficultiesinunderstandingcausedbyculturaldifferences,translatorsshouldprovideasmuchbackgroundinformationaspossible.

4.7Theinfluenceofknowledgeofpsychologicalpatternontranslation

Thelanguagestructureandlanguageuseofanationarerelatedwiththepsychologicalmake-upandpsychologicalactivity.Thereforetheanalysisandunderstandingoftheoriginallanguagemustconformtotherealprocessofthespeaker''''spsychologicalactivity.Generallyspeaking,theyshouldconformtothelingualcognitionofthenation.

Experimentsofmodernpsychologyprovidedfavorableevidencefortheideathatlanguageconditionspeople''''sthoughtandcognition.AccordingtoStroop''''sexperiment,whenthosewhohavemasteredtheirnativelanguageuseaspecificword,thesignaloftheword''''smeaningwillbeexcited.Forexample,whenaChineseseesorusestheword"red",he/sheoftenbearsinhis/hermindthingslikejoy,happiness,luckandglory.However,besidesthinkingofjoyandhappiness,westernersalsoassociateitwithviolenceandblood.MaybeDavidHawks,thefamousBritishtranslator,translatedthetileof«紅樓夢^»as"TheStoryoftheStone"justtoavoidtheword"red"becauseoftheabove-mentionedculturalpsychologicalfactors.What''''smore,hetranslated怡紅院as"theHouseofGreenDelights";怡紅公子as"GreenBoy";悼紅軒as"NostalgiaStudio".

Withoutextensiveandprofoundknowledgeoftheoriginalsociety,mistakescouldbemadeontheunderstandingoftheoriginalcontext.Forexample,whenTaoYuanmingwrote阿舒已二八inhispoem"BlamingSons",hemeantthatAShuwassixteenyear''''sold.MosteducatedChinesecanunderstandthisexpression.However,thefamoussinologistArthurWaleytranslatedthesentenceas"A-shuiseighteen".Thisisagoodexampleoftheinfluenceofthespecificcognitionofacertainculture.[17]WecanfindsimilarexpressionsinChineselike二八佳人,whichmeansthebeautyis16,ratherthan28of18.[18]

Iftranslationconformstotheculturalpsychologyofasociety,itcouldbewellaccepted.Thisisespeciallyevidentforadvertisementtranslation.Forexample,MildSeven,brandofaJapanesecigarettewasnotliteratelytranslatedas溫柔七星or七星牌.MildSevensoundslike萬事發.inthedialectinGuangzhou.Itmeans"everythinggoeswell"andbecametheChinesetranslation.Soonitgotthefavorofsmokers.TherewasaperfumenamedPoisoninEnglish.WhenitcomestoChina,theshrewdsalesmendidnottranslateitas毒藥literately.Instead,theynamedit百愛神inChinese.Andtherefore,itbecametheloveofladies.BecausetheChinesetranslationmeans"goddesslovedbythepeople".

5.Conclusion

Cultureisacomplicatedandextensivegathering.Itconsistsofalmostalltheaspectsofasociety,includingknowledge,belief,arts,moralstandards,law,customsandalltheabilitiesandhabitsofindividualsasmembersofasociety.Inevitablycultureswillinfluencetheformation,developmentandthecharacteristicsoflanguages,forinstancethevocabularyandthegrammaticalpatterns.Languagesalsoinfluencecultures.

Translationisacross-culturalcommunication.Itisnotonlyabi-lingualtransfer,butalsoanexchangebetweentwocultures.Intheprocessoftranslation,wenotonlytransferredfromonelanguagetoanothertheimplicationandthemeaningofthecontext,butalsothecultureconnotation.Andthelatterismorelikelytobeoverlookedbytranslators.Thatmayresultincultureshocktoreadersofthetranslation.

Theabove-mentionedcharacteristicoftranslationmeanstranslatorsshouldpaycloseattentiontoaccumulateknowledgeofknowledgeoftheculturesconcerned.Theknowledgeofthesourceculturedetermineswhethertheunderstandingoftheoriginaltextispreciseofnot.Theknowledgeofthetargetcultureinfluencestheappropriatetranslationandifitwillbewellacceptedbythereaders.Asculturesconsistofseveralparts,wecanstudythemonebyone.Withanextensiveandprofoundknowledgeofcultures,translatorscanachievebettertranslationandbridgethegapebetweencultures.

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