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[摘要] 随着世界经济的发展，翻译在商务实践过程中发挥着越来越重要的作用。由于各国间存在文化差异，如何正确的处理基于文化层面的转向翻译，从而顺利实现不同国家间的商务互动，成为人们关注的焦点。因此，本文拟从翻译中的文化转向出发，结合翻译学的研究成果和商务文化的实例进行对比研究，希望能够探索一条商务活动中成功实现文化转向的途径，从而指导商务实践的顺利、有序进行。
[关键词] 商务英语翻译文化转向
[Abstract] With the development of global economy, translation plays a more and more significant role in business practices. However, there are different cultures in different countries, so how to deal with the translation correctly on the cultural basis has become our focus to help business activities operate smoothly. Based on cultural turn in translation theory, therefore, this thesis chooses Business English translation as the angel of view, making a tentative exploration of cultural turn in Business English translation, aiming at finding an access to smooth communication in different cultural backgrounds.
[Key words] Business Englishtranslationcultural turn
With the development of international economy, translation plays a more and more important role in business practices. However, with the existence of cultural differences among different countries, there is some kind of unequivalence between English and Chinese business languages. Based on this conflict, many scholars now have turned their thoughts to studying business translation from the perspective of culture. Consequently, the “Cultural Turn” emerges. It is believed that to help readers to get better understanding of the original version, we should do business translation under certain cultural circumstances.
Having read a lot of books about this theory, the author here writes this thesis so as to give some advice on our Business English translation practices. First, let’s start with a brief introduction to “cultural turn”.
I. Cultural Turn
If the existence of different languages is the first barrier for people’s communication, then that of different cultures may inevitably be the trigger of it. Just as Wang Zuoliang states, a translator should be a cultural man indeed. He must keep it in his mind that “what he deals with are individual words, but what he faces are two cultures.” (Wang Zuoliang, 1984:19) Without proper understanding of different cultures, a translator will not be able to give birth to a good translation.
Recently, more and more people have realized that translation is not only the transference of different languages, but also a way of intercultural communication, which is the very essence of translation. The mode of translation research has also changed from linguistic which emphasizes language and literacy to the cultural mode emphasizing cultural effects. The term of translation is replaced by “intercultural communication” (Christine Nord, 1991), “intercultural cooperation” (Holz Manttari, 1984), “cultural acculturation” (Andre Lefevere, 1992), or even “transculturation”, created by R. Daniel Shaw (1988). Snell Hornsby even anticipates the translation theory of the 21st century will undoubtedly “turn back to culture”. (Liu Yu, Fan Shujuan, 2011)
In China, there are also various indications that a “cultural turn” has made its appearance in recent translation theory. For example, Prof. Guo Jianzhong points out In Modern American Translation Theory two trends of translation research in the past 20 years: one is the reflection of communicative translation in translation theory; the other is that the emphasis of cultural transference moving deeply the traditional language transference. (Guo Jianzhong, 2000:12) What’s more, more and more translation theorists tend to regard the study of culture in translation as one basis constituting Chinese translation theory. Some even believe a new translation school ——“culture school” has grown up after the “linguistics school” and “literary school”. It is widely acknowledged that “cultural turn”, as the trend of the development of translation theory, has aroused great attention in many fields. It is the same in the area of business translation, too.
II. Different business cultures
To talk about business cultures, let us begin with cultural differences in cognition. In Western myths and legends, a dragon refers to an evil monster instead of the Chinese auspicious animal. So one must be very cautious when translating “龙”. For example, South Korea, Chinese Taiwan, Chinese Hong Kong and Singapore, four more developed countries and regions in economy, are known as “亚洲四小龙” by the Westerns. However, when it is translated into English, “Four Asian Tigers” would be preferable, since “tiger” in the Westerns’ mind is as powerful as dragon, and is not associated with terrible images.
Then turn to different concepts with colors. English-speaking countries take red color for viciousness, while in Chinese customs red clothes is highly praised in marriage. When doing business, one looks forward to “a good start” (开门红). When a project makes profit every investor points to “bonus” (红利). Employees who do work well will be rewarded with “red packets”(红包). On the contrary, westerners regard white as a pure and beautiful symbol, while in Chinese culture there is no such auspicious meaning.
Lastly, as we all know, in the West, “thirteen” is considered as an ominous number. The reason for this is that in the Bible Jesus was betrayed by his thirteenth relevant. Therefore, in Western countries, people often avoid the use of “thirteen”. However, thirteen has no such meaning in China. In Chinese culture, “六” is often used to express the meaning of “good luck”. However, we should not export merchandise using “666” as its trademark to the United Kingdom, because “666” in the Bible stands for a symbol of Devil.
III. Application of cultural turn in Business English translation
Cultural turn in Business English translation can be found in many areas of business world. Take the translation of trademarks for example. Trademark translation is not a simple mechanized translation from one language to another, which involves rules of language, culture, customs and habits as well as other factors. Perfect trademark translation does not only form a good first impression, but also promote the company’s sales of those high-quality products.
For example, “白象” brand batteries, which is well known in China, can be literally translated into English as “White Elephant”. Conveying equivalent semantic information as the original version, however, it is a bad translation from the perspective of western culture, since white elephant in west countries means “cumbersome things of no use”. Thus, we may consider using a powerful symbol in the Western mind to replace the “white elephant” —— that is, “Brown Lion”. Similarly, Gold lion, if literally translated as “金狮”,is homonymous with “金失”, which is a taboo in Chinese culture. The “金利来” version takes the meaning of “gold” and the sound of “lion”, which does not only avoid the homonym between “狮” and “失”, but also retain the better association “Gold” brings, and hence exactly meets the commercial culture on the pursuit of profit .
IV. Conclusion
“Cultural turn” emerges along with the development of international communication. Business English Translation, based on the cultural background, has strongly advanced understanding among different countries, helping to solve many problems of business activities as well as promoting effective communication among countries. People who are doing Business English translation at present and those who desire to engage in this field in the future should focus on culture conversion, and thus to convey information appropriately so that business activities could be operated in a more orderly and smoothly way.
References：
[1] 郭建中. 当代美国翻译理论[M]. 武汉：湖北教育出版社，2000.
[2] 王佐良. 翻译中的文化比较[J]. 翻译通讯, 1984(1).
[3] 刘宇，范淑娟. 科学大众(科学教育) [J].2011(5).
[关键词] 商务英语翻译文化转向
[Abstract] With the development of global economy, translation plays a more and more significant role in business practices. However, there are different cultures in different countries, so how to deal with the translation correctly on the cultural basis has become our focus to help business activities operate smoothly. Based on cultural turn in translation theory, therefore, this thesis chooses Business English translation as the angel of view, making a tentative exploration of cultural turn in Business English translation, aiming at finding an access to smooth communication in different cultural backgrounds.
[Key words] Business Englishtranslationcultural turn
With the development of international economy, translation plays a more and more important role in business practices. However, with the existence of cultural differences among different countries, there is some kind of unequivalence between English and Chinese business languages. Based on this conflict, many scholars now have turned their thoughts to studying business translation from the perspective of culture. Consequently, the “Cultural Turn” emerges. It is believed that to help readers to get better understanding of the original version, we should do business translation under certain cultural circumstances.
Having read a lot of books about this theory, the author here writes this thesis so as to give some advice on our Business English translation practices. First, let’s start with a brief introduction to “cultural turn”.
I. Cultural Turn
If the existence of different languages is the first barrier for people’s communication, then that of different cultures may inevitably be the trigger of it. Just as Wang Zuoliang states, a translator should be a cultural man indeed. He must keep it in his mind that “what he deals with are individual words, but what he faces are two cultures.” (Wang Zuoliang, 1984:19) Without proper understanding of different cultures, a translator will not be able to give birth to a good translation.
Recently, more and more people have realized that translation is not only the transference of different languages, but also a way of intercultural communication, which is the very essence of translation. The mode of translation research has also changed from linguistic which emphasizes language and literacy to the cultural mode emphasizing cultural effects. The term of translation is replaced by “intercultural communication” (Christine Nord, 1991), “intercultural cooperation” (Holz Manttari, 1984), “cultural acculturation” (Andre Lefevere, 1992), or even “transculturation”, created by R. Daniel Shaw (1988). Snell Hornsby even anticipates the translation theory of the 21st century will undoubtedly “turn back to culture”. (Liu Yu, Fan Shujuan, 2011)
In China, there are also various indications that a “cultural turn” has made its appearance in recent translation theory. For example, Prof. Guo Jianzhong points out In Modern American Translation Theory two trends of translation research in the past 20 years: one is the reflection of communicative translation in translation theory; the other is that the emphasis of cultural transference moving deeply the traditional language transference. (Guo Jianzhong, 2000:12) What’s more, more and more translation theorists tend to regard the study of culture in translation as one basis constituting Chinese translation theory. Some even believe a new translation school ——“culture school” has grown up after the “linguistics school” and “literary school”. It is widely acknowledged that “cultural turn”, as the trend of the development of translation theory, has aroused great attention in many fields. It is the same in the area of business translation, too.
II. Different business cultures
To talk about business cultures, let us begin with cultural differences in cognition. In Western myths and legends, a dragon refers to an evil monster instead of the Chinese auspicious animal. So one must be very cautious when translating “龙”. For example, South Korea, Chinese Taiwan, Chinese Hong Kong and Singapore, four more developed countries and regions in economy, are known as “亚洲四小龙” by the Westerns. However, when it is translated into English, “Four Asian Tigers” would be preferable, since “tiger” in the Westerns’ mind is as powerful as dragon, and is not associated with terrible images.
Then turn to different concepts with colors. English-speaking countries take red color for viciousness, while in Chinese customs red clothes is highly praised in marriage. When doing business, one looks forward to “a good start” (开门红). When a project makes profit every investor points to “bonus” (红利). Employees who do work well will be rewarded with “red packets”(红包). On the contrary, westerners regard white as a pure and beautiful symbol, while in Chinese culture there is no such auspicious meaning.
Lastly, as we all know, in the West, “thirteen” is considered as an ominous number. The reason for this is that in the Bible Jesus was betrayed by his thirteenth relevant. Therefore, in Western countries, people often avoid the use of “thirteen”. However, thirteen has no such meaning in China. In Chinese culture, “六” is often used to express the meaning of “good luck”. However, we should not export merchandise using “666” as its trademark to the United Kingdom, because “666” in the Bible stands for a symbol of Devil.
III. Application of cultural turn in Business English translation
Cultural turn in Business English translation can be found in many areas of business world. Take the translation of trademarks for example. Trademark translation is not a simple mechanized translation from one language to another, which involves rules of language, culture, customs and habits as well as other factors. Perfect trademark translation does not only form a good first impression, but also promote the company’s sales of those high-quality products.
For example, “白象” brand batteries, which is well known in China, can be literally translated into English as “White Elephant”. Conveying equivalent semantic information as the original version, however, it is a bad translation from the perspective of western culture, since white elephant in west countries means “cumbersome things of no use”. Thus, we may consider using a powerful symbol in the Western mind to replace the “white elephant” —— that is, “Brown Lion”. Similarly, Gold lion, if literally translated as “金狮”,is homonymous with “金失”, which is a taboo in Chinese culture. The “金利来” version takes the meaning of “gold” and the sound of “lion”, which does not only avoid the homonym between “狮” and “失”, but also retain the better association “Gold” brings, and hence exactly meets the commercial culture on the pursuit of profit .
IV. Conclusion
“Cultural turn” emerges along with the development of international communication. Business English Translation, based on the cultural background, has strongly advanced understanding among different countries, helping to solve many problems of business activities as well as promoting effective communication among countries. People who are doing Business English translation at present and those who desire to engage in this field in the future should focus on culture conversion, and thus to convey information appropriately so that business activities could be operated in a more orderly and smoothly way.
References：
[1] 郭建中. 当代美国翻译理论[M]. 武汉：湖北教育出版社，2000.
[2] 王佐良. 翻译中的文化比较[J]. 翻译通讯, 1984(1).
[3] 刘宇，范淑娟. 科学大众(科学教育) [J].2011(5).