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ABSTRACT
A nation’s own language remains and inherits its original culture， in a certain scope.Because a large number of differences exist between Western and Chinese cultures， the translation between these two languages differ distinctly. From the perspective of cultural characteristics， in regarding to their different historical and cultural backgrounds， regular practices in English and Chinese also reflect the unique cultural atmosphere of the two countries to a considerable extent. Therefore， when translating， we must have a deep understanding of the cultural information contained inEnglish and Chinese， including different living environment， social customs， religious beliefs and so on. After discussing the impact of these factors on the translation between English and Chinese， this paper explores some effective translation strategies. Besides， the author combine reality with modern requirements of translation to put forward a few useful translation strategies for contemporary college students. Finally， it is concluded that when translating between English and Chinese nowadays， intercultural factors should be taken into consideration on the basis of respecting the original text， and then it should be perfected to the level of faithfulness， expressiveness and elegance.
Keywords：cultural differences; translation; translation strategies; English-Chinese translation;
I.Introduction
Language is a dominant facade of culture. On the one hand， it is influenced and restricted by culture， on the other hand it is also the expression of culture， showing its physical form with symbols. Translation， in a broad sense， is the exchangeof information between different cultures. Translation only changes linguisticsymbols externally， but notcultural information internally.
Eugene. A. Nida， a famous scholar of translation studies area， asserts：
“The rolelanguage plays in culture and the influence of culture on the meaning of words and idioms are so common that no one can understand it properly without taking the language cultural background into account”（1993：114）. He believes those common mistakes we make when translating are often not due to improper methods but to misunderstanding of mutual cultures. Therefore， we should acknowledge cultural differences between Chinese and Western cultures certainly have a significant impact on the accuracy of the translation.
II.Influence of Similarities Between Chinese and Western Cultures on Verbal or Written Translation The similarity of language is determined by the commonality of humans’ life experience. Therefore， the ideological meanings respectively expressed in English and Chinese generally have something in common. We can takethe following English-Chinese translations for examples. After this， we may find literal translation can be adopted in some specific situations because of their commonality.
E. g. 1. “to praise somebody to the sky”（將某人捧到天上去）;
2. “to add oil to the fire”（火上浇油）， etc.
（Yuan Xianghua，2008：217）
However， the similarities between Chinese and Western cultures are relative and special， while ambiguity between the two sides is absolute and universal. Chinese and English differ in the expressions to reflect their own national or local characteristics. When translating， it is better to fully consider the influence of cultural differences and maintain their mutually unique cultural characteristic rather than mechanically apply the expressions with distinctive national or local flavor in the corresponding language.
III. Influence of Cultural Differences Between China and Western Countries on Translation
The forms of culture cannot be separated from the influence of geographical environment. The specific geographical environment creates a specific culture， and a specific way of expression will be generated by the culture. Britain is encircled by the sea and is at least about 30 kilometers away from theContinent of Europe. Because the early life of the British had a lot to do with the sea， they created the "Sea Culture" in their struggle against the sea， which was vividly reflected in some words. （Bao Mingjie，2006：19）
Western culture is self-oriented and pursuing personal freedom and equality， paying attention to the protection of personal possessions and privacy. So westerners are used to starting from their own points when communicating. On the contrary， collective interests are superior to individual interests in Chinese culture. In addition， Chinese culture values the priority of status in society and stresses the importance of putting ourselves down to respect others.
E.g. 1.Secretary：Mr. Zhang， there is a call from abroad for you.
译文：秘：张老板，有跨国电话找您。
2. You must have had a nice journey. （While picking up somebody at the airport.）
译文：您一路上辛苦了。（在机场接到某人的航班后。）
3. Teacher： Am I making myself clear？
译文：老师：你们听明白我说的话了吗？
4.A：You are so smart.
B：I’m glad you say that.
A nation’s own language remains and inherits its original culture， in a certain scope.Because a large number of differences exist between Western and Chinese cultures， the translation between these two languages differ distinctly. From the perspective of cultural characteristics， in regarding to their different historical and cultural backgrounds， regular practices in English and Chinese also reflect the unique cultural atmosphere of the two countries to a considerable extent. Therefore， when translating， we must have a deep understanding of the cultural information contained inEnglish and Chinese， including different living environment， social customs， religious beliefs and so on. After discussing the impact of these factors on the translation between English and Chinese， this paper explores some effective translation strategies. Besides， the author combine reality with modern requirements of translation to put forward a few useful translation strategies for contemporary college students. Finally， it is concluded that when translating between English and Chinese nowadays， intercultural factors should be taken into consideration on the basis of respecting the original text， and then it should be perfected to the level of faithfulness， expressiveness and elegance.
Keywords：cultural differences; translation; translation strategies; English-Chinese translation;
I.Introduction
Language is a dominant facade of culture. On the one hand， it is influenced and restricted by culture， on the other hand it is also the expression of culture， showing its physical form with symbols. Translation， in a broad sense， is the exchangeof information between different cultures. Translation only changes linguisticsymbols externally， but notcultural information internally.
Eugene. A. Nida， a famous scholar of translation studies area， asserts：
“The rolelanguage plays in culture and the influence of culture on the meaning of words and idioms are so common that no one can understand it properly without taking the language cultural background into account”（1993：114）. He believes those common mistakes we make when translating are often not due to improper methods but to misunderstanding of mutual cultures. Therefore， we should acknowledge cultural differences between Chinese and Western cultures certainly have a significant impact on the accuracy of the translation.
II.Influence of Similarities Between Chinese and Western Cultures on Verbal or Written Translation The similarity of language is determined by the commonality of humans’ life experience. Therefore， the ideological meanings respectively expressed in English and Chinese generally have something in common. We can takethe following English-Chinese translations for examples. After this， we may find literal translation can be adopted in some specific situations because of their commonality.
E. g. 1. “to praise somebody to the sky”（將某人捧到天上去）;
2. “to add oil to the fire”（火上浇油）， etc.
（Yuan Xianghua，2008：217）
However， the similarities between Chinese and Western cultures are relative and special， while ambiguity between the two sides is absolute and universal. Chinese and English differ in the expressions to reflect their own national or local characteristics. When translating， it is better to fully consider the influence of cultural differences and maintain their mutually unique cultural characteristic rather than mechanically apply the expressions with distinctive national or local flavor in the corresponding language.
III. Influence of Cultural Differences Between China and Western Countries on Translation
The forms of culture cannot be separated from the influence of geographical environment. The specific geographical environment creates a specific culture， and a specific way of expression will be generated by the culture. Britain is encircled by the sea and is at least about 30 kilometers away from theContinent of Europe. Because the early life of the British had a lot to do with the sea， they created the "Sea Culture" in their struggle against the sea， which was vividly reflected in some words. （Bao Mingjie，2006：19）
Western culture is self-oriented and pursuing personal freedom and equality， paying attention to the protection of personal possessions and privacy. So westerners are used to starting from their own points when communicating. On the contrary， collective interests are superior to individual interests in Chinese culture. In addition， Chinese culture values the priority of status in society and stresses the importance of putting ourselves down to respect others.
E.g. 1.Secretary：Mr. Zhang， there is a call from abroad for you.
译文：秘：张老板，有跨国电话找您。
2. You must have had a nice journey. （While picking up somebody at the airport.）
译文：您一路上辛苦了。（在机场接到某人的航班后。）
3. Teacher： Am I making myself clear？
译文：老师：你们听明白我说的话了吗？
4.A：You are so smart.
B：I’m glad you say that.