浅谈旅游景点解说词的特点及翻译策略.docx

1、浅谈旅游景点解说词的特点及翻译策略论文关键词：景点介绍翻译功能对等理论论文摘要：随着我国加入世贸组织和成功申办2008年奥运会，在未来的几年内将会有越来越多的外国游客来中国旅游。英语作为一种全球性的语言，在接待外国游客时将会是最重要的语言。为了迎合外国旅游者的需要，很多旅游机构和出版社都出了许多旅游资料，如景点介绍、旅游广告、景点告示、公共标识和旅游指南等。旅游景点解说词是旅游资料翻译的难点。由于中西方巨大的文化差异，把中国旅游景点的解说词翻译成英文是一件非常困难的事情。现在，中国旅游景点解说词翻译的质量还远不尽如人意。因此，在这一方面的研究是非常必要和紧迫的。本论文以奈达的功能对等理论为理论

2、基础，采用一些中国旅游景点解说词的英文翻译作为例子，来对旅游景点解说词英译中的现存问题进行研究并提供一些可能性的解决办法。IntroductionAfterenteringWTOandthecountryssuccessfulbidtohostthe2008OlympicGames,Chinawillbevisitedbymoreandmoreforeigntouristsintheyearstocome.Englishtouristsmaterialsamongwhichscenic-spotintroductionisoneofthemostimportantpartshavebecome

3、aneffectivewaytopublicizeChinaandpromoteChina,stouristindustry.However,variousproblemsarestillprevalentinformalandinformaltouristmaterialsandthetranslationqualityofscenic-spotintroductionsandothertouristmaterialsneedstobeimprovedurgently.Therefore,thepresentthesisattemptstogiveanin-depthanalysisofth

4、eexistingproblemsintheC-Etranslationofscenic-spotintroductions.Onthebasisoftheanalysis,tentativesolutionsaresuggested.BoththeanalysisandthesuggestionarebasedonNida,sfunctionalequivalencetheory.Thepresentthesisiscomposedoffourparts.Partoneintroducesthenotionsoftouristmaterialsandscenic-spotintroducti

5、ons,andreviewsthestatusquaofC-Etranslationofscenic-spotintroductions.ParttwoemploysNida,sufunctionalequivalencetheoryvasthetheoreticalbasisofthewholethesis.Partthreepresentsussometypicalexamplesofscenic-spotintroductions,bothChineseandEnglish.Thenadetailedanalysiswillbeconductedontheseexamples,inord

6、ertodiscoverthecommonproblemsintranslationofChinesescenic-spotintroduction.AndthedifferentfeaturesbetweenChineseandEnglishscenic-spotintroductionswillbesummedupthroughacomparisonbetweenthesetwokindsoftext.Inpartfour,sometentativesolutionsdirectingattheexistingproblemsinthetranslationofChinesescenic-

7、spotintroductionswillbeprovided.ThepresentauthorhopesthatthetranslationqualityofChinesescenic-spotintroductionbeimproved,andmoreresearchesinthisfieldbeunderwayinthefuturebytranslatorsandrelevantprofessionalsinourcountry.1. Thestatusquaofscenic-spotintroductiontranslation1.1. TouristmaterialsTouristm

8、aterialsincludescenic-spotintroductions,touristadvertisements,noticesandpublicsignsattouristattractions,tourschedules,andcoupletshungonthecolumnsofthetouristattractions,etc.1.2. Scenic-spotintroductionsScenic-spotintroductionsconveycertainparticularinformationtotouristsviasomewaysofexpression,thusfu

9、lfillsthegoalsofaestheticeducationandinformationservice.Accordingtothedifferencesofthewaysofexpression,scenic-spotintroductioncanbeclassifiedintotwocategories：onekindistheguidingintroductionmadebyprofessionaltourguides,theotherisself-guidingintroductionthroughintroductionsigns,introductionbrochures,

10、guidemaps,vocalintroductions,videotapesorslidesandotherstaticways.Bycomparingthesetwokindsofintroductions,thelatterisbetterfortouriststotakeinusefulinformationfreelyaccordingtotheirowninterests.Somostscenicspotsadoptself-guidingintroductions,whichmostlyrelyonintroductionsigns.Therefore,thepresentthe

11、siswillmainlyfocusonthisaspect.1.3. Thepresenttranslationlevelofscenic-spotintroductionOwingtotheculturaldifferencesbetweenChinaandwesterncountries,therearemanydifficultiesinthetranslationprocess.Manytranslatorsareaccustomedtotranslatescenic-spotintroductionsbasedonChinesemindsetandwaysofexpression.

12、Asaresult,inaccuraciesandmistakescanoftenbeseeninthetranslatedtexts.Intoday,sChina,thetranslationqualityofscenic-spotintroductionsisfarfromsatisfactoryduetocountlessspellingmistakes,grammaticalmistakes,andculturalmisinterpretations,etc.Therefore,thetranslationofscenic-spotintroductionsandtheresearch

13、onitisnecessaryandurgent.2. TheoreticalframeworkThemaingoaloftranslationis,nodoubt,toestablishaparticulartypeofcorrespondencebetweenthesourcetextandthetargettext.Thenatureofthecorrespondencehasbeenreferredto“faithfulness”or“fidelity，ormorepredominantly,thenotionofequivalence,Theterm“equivalence“intr

14、anslationfirstappearedinJ.R.Firth,swriting(1957)whenshestatedthat“theso-calledtranslationequivalentsbetweentwolanguagesareneverreallyequivalentv(Snell-Hornby,1988：37).Withthedevelopmentoflinguisticsandthestudyoftranslationin1960s,translationequivalencevbecamethefocusofstudy.2.1. Ageneralintroduction

15、ofNida,sFunctionalEquivalenceTheory2. 1.1.BeingputforwardasopposedtoformalequivalenceEugeneA.Nida,aworld-famousAmericanlinguistandtranslationtheorist,hasanoverwhelminginfluenceinthetranslationfield.OneofNida,sgreatestcontributionstotranslationtheoryistheconceptoffunctionalequivalence,whichwasfirstpu

16、tforwardasdynamicequivalencesopposedtoformalequivalenceinhisbookTowardsaScienceofTranslatingin1964.Hearguesthattherearetwotypesofequivalence：formalequivalenceanddynamicequivalence.Formalequivalencefocusesattentiononthemessageitself,inbothformandcontent”，whiledynamicequivalenceisbasedupon“theprincipl

17、eonequivalenteffectn(Nida,1964：159).Informalequivalencetranslation,oneisconstantlyconcernedwithsuchcorrespondenceaswordtoword,andsentencetosentence,whichmeansthattwolanguagesareconstantlycomparedtoensureaccuracyandcorrectness.However,translationismorethanmerelyalinguisticactivity.Itattemptstobringto

18、gethertwoethnographicalIydifferentwords.Enlightenedbycommunicativelinguistictheorywhichbelievesthatlanguageisusedforcommunication,Nidaintroducestheconceptofudynamicequivalence”intotranslation,whichisdefined“intermsofthedegreetowhichthereceptorsofthemessageinthereceptorlanguagerespondtoitinsubstantia

19、llythesamemannerasthereceptorsinthesourcelanguage”.(Nida,1969：24)2. 1.2.FromdynamicequivalencetofunctionalequivalenceAtranslationofdynamicequivalenceaimsatcompletenaturalnessofexpression,andtriestorelatereceptortomodesofbehaviorrelevantwithincontextofhisownculture.InNidaStheory,“dynamicequivalenceis

20、definedwith“receptorsresponse”asitsnature.Unliketraditionaltheories,whichfocusonverbalcomparisonbetweentheoriginaltextanditstranslation,Nida,sconcepttranslatingshiftsfromutheformofthemessagevtotheresponseofthereceptor,.Thus,anewandextremelyimportantfactoristobetakenintoconsideration：thereceptor,thej

21、udgeofthetranslation,seffect.InhisworkFromOne1.anguagetoAnother,Nidastartstousethetermfunctionalequivalencevtoavoidmisunderstanding,butheexplainsthatthemeaningoffunctionalequivalenceisthesameasthatofdynamicequivalence.Astothecontentoffunctionalequivalence,Nidadescribesitasfollows：”Basically,dynamice

22、quivalencehasbeendescribedintermsoffunctionalequivalence.Thetranslationprocesshasbeendefinedonthebasisthatthereceptorsofatranslationshouldcomprehendthetranslatedtexttosuchanextentthattheycanunderstandhowtheoriginalreceptorsmusthaveunderstoodtheoriginaltext.”(Nida,1986：103)2. 1.3.Twolevelsoffunctiona

23、lequivalenceInthe1990s,Nidaperfectshistheorybytakingthelanguageandculturaldifferencesintoconsideration.Inhisbook1.anguage,CultureandTranslating,Nidaputsfunctionalequivalenceintotwolevelsaccordingtothedegreeofadequacy：theminimalequivalenceandthemaximumequivalence.Thedefinitionofminimalfunctionalequiv

24、alenceis“Thereadersofatranslatedtextshouldbeabletocomprehendittothepointthattheycanconceiveofhowtheoriginalreaderofthetextmusthaveunderstoodandappreciatedit.”(Nida,1993：118)Anythinglessthanthisdegreeofequivalenceshouldbeunacceptable.Themaximumfunctionalequivalencecanbestatedas“Thereadersofatranslate

25、dtextshouldbeabletounderstandandappreciateitinessentiallythesamemannerastheoriginalreadersdid.”(ibid)Themaximumlevelofequivalenceisrarelyachievedexceptfortextshavinglittleornoaestheticvalueandinvolvingonlyroutineinformationsinceitrequiresahigherdegreeoflanguage-culturecorrespondence.Nidasfunctionale

26、quivalencetheoryputemphasisonculturalfactorsintranslation.InNida,sview,“Themostseriousmistakesintranslatingareusuallymadenotbecauseofverbalinadequacy,butofwrongculturalassumptions.,(Nida,1993：29)Ifregardlessoftheculturaldifferences,thereceptorswillfindthetranslationrequiringsomanyeffortstounderstand

27、thattheyarelikelytostopreading,unlesstheyarehighlymotivated.Therefore,“Fortrulysuccessfultranslating,biculturalismisevenmoreimportantthanbilingualism.(Nida,1993：HO)Inaword,Nida,sfunctionalequivalencetheoryhasofferedaconvincinganswertothedisputesoverliteralandfreetranslationlastingfor200yearsandgives

28、prioritytothereceptorovertheformsofthelanguage.2.1. TwoessentialnotionsofFunctionalEquivalenceTheoryNida,stheoryintroducesthereceptorsresponsetoevaluatethequalityofatranslatedtext.In1969,inhiscollaboratedworkwithCharlesTaber,TheTheoryandPracticeofTranslation,Nidadefinestranslationas“reproducingthere

29、ceptorlanguagetheclosestnaturalequivalenceofthesourcelanguagemessage,firstintermsofmeaningandsecondlyintermsofStyIe”(Nida,1969：12)Thedefinitioncontainstwoessentialnotions：equivalenceandreceptorsresponse.2. 2.1.EquivalenceTraditionally,theadequacyofatranslationisjudgedontheprincipleofthecorrespondenc

30、einlexiconandgrammarbetweenthesourcelanguageandthetargetlanguage.Furthermore,thecorrespondenceisfrequentlystatedintermsofuequivalencev.Nidasuggeststhatfunctionalequivalenceshouldbediscussedintermsofarangeofadequacybecausenotranslationisevercompletelyequivalentandnotranslationcanbeequivalenttothesour

31、cemessageinalltheaspectsatthesametime.TheconceptofequivalenceinNida,stheoryisequivalenceonvaryingdegreeswhichgivespracticalsignificancetofunctionaltranslation.Nidadoesnotinsistthatcompleteequivalenceisachievable,“Absolutecorrespondencebetweenlanguagesisnotalwayspossible.,(Nida,1964：185)Inhisview,tra

32、nslatingwasnottogetsomethingcompletelyidentical,buttoreproduce“closestnaturalequivalenttothesourcelanguagemessagevinthereceptorlanguage.(Nida,1969：12)Aswecansee,theterm“equivalence”inNida,stheoryisusedinarelativesense,i.e.theclosestpossibleapproximationtothesourcelanguagemessage.So“equivalence”shoul

33、dnotbeunderstoodinthemeaningof“identity”butonlyintermsof“proximity”.Nidaalsoproposestheminimalandmaximaldegreesofequivalenceonthebasisofbothcognitiveandexperimentalfactors.Hedefinestheminimal,realisticdefinitionoffunctionalequivalenceas“Thereadersofatranslatedtextshouldbeabletocomprehendittothepoint

34、thantheycanconceiveofhowtheoriginalreadersofthetextmusthaveunderstoodandappreciatedit.”(Nida,1993：118)anddefinesthemaximal,idealdefinitionas“Thereadersofatranslatedtextshouldbeabletounderstandandappreciateitinessentiallythesamemannerastheoriginalreadersdid.”(ibid)Anytranslationlessthantheminimaldegr

35、eeofequivalenceisunacceptableandthemaximallevelofequivalenceisalwaysonlyanidealsituation.Whathewantstogetisequivalenceondifferentdegrees,orpracticalequivalence,whichisreasonableandpractical.2.2.2.ReceptorsresponseWhenevaluatingatranslation,sometranslationtheoriesjustconcentrateonmessage-conveyanceof

36、thetargetlanguage,neglectingtheroleofreceptors.Theirmainconcernisthatthemessageinthetargetlanguageshouldmatchascloselyaspossiblethedifferentelementsinthesourcelanguage.Thereforetheymakeconstantcomparisonbetweenthemessageinthesourcecultureandthemessageinthetargetculturetodeterminestandardsofaccuracya

37、ndcorrectness.Enlightenedbythecommunicationtheory,Nidaattachesgreatimportancetotheroleofreceptorandtherelationshipbetweenreceptorandmessagebysayingthat“Itisessentialthatfunctionalequivalencebestatedprimarilyintermsofacomparisonofthewayinwhichtheoriginalreceptorsunderstandandappreciatethetextandthewa

38、yinwhichreceptorsoftranslatedtextunderstandandappreciatethetranslatedtext.”(Nida,1993：116)AccordingtoNida,thetargetaudienceforwhichatranslationismadealmostalwaysconstitutesamajorfactorindeterminingthetranslationproceduresandtheleveloflanguagetobeemployed.Inproducingafunctionalequivalencetranslationo

39、nemustbeconstantlyawareofthecapacityandmotivationofreceptors.(JinDi&Nida,1984：89)Inotherwords,howtotranslateamessagefirstdependsonwhetherthetargetreceptorscanunderstanditornot.AccordingtoNida,thefunctionalequivalenceisbaseduponthe“principleofequivalenceeffectv.Itisofgreatimportancetoestimatehowwellt

40、hereceptorsunderstandandappreciatethetranslatedtext.What,Smore,Nida,sidealsituationisthatthetargetreceptors,responsetothetargettextshouldbethesametotheoriginalreceptors,responsetotheoriginaltext.Therefore,judgingthequalityofatranslationcannotstopwithacomparisonofcorrespondinglexicalmeaning,grammatic

41、alclassesandrhetoricaldevices,butwithwhetherthetranslatedtexthasthesameeffectonthereceptorsastheoriginaltexthasontheoriginalreceptors.3. ExamplesandanalysisThescenic-spotintroductiontranslationsspeciallyprovideserviceforforeigntourists.ThelargeculturalgapbetweenChinaandthewesterncountriesmakesthetra

42、nslationofChinesescenic-spotintroductions,whichcontainsalotofculturalelements,ahardnutforthetranslatingjob.ThetranslatorsnotonlyhavetohaveagoodcommandofbothChineseandEnglish,butalsobehighlyproficientininterculturaltransfer.Thereadersofscenic-spottranslationareagroupofspecialaudiencewhoknowlittleabou

43、tChinesecultureandlanguage,sotranslationplaysasignificantroleinpublicizingChina.Althoughincreasingattentionhasbeenpaidtothisfield,thequalityoftranslationisstillfarfromsatisfactory.Sointhispart,wearegoingtolookintosomecasesofinappropriateandevenfalsetranslation,soastohaveananalysisoftheexistingproble

44、msintheEnglishtranslationofChinesescenic-spotintroductions.Meanwhile,throughanalyzingseveralstandardEnglishversionsofscenic-spotintroductionsinBritain,wemayknowmoreaboutthelinguisticstyle,culturalfeaturesandexpressionalskillsaboutappropriateEnglishintroductionsofscenicspots.3. 1.Examplesofscenic-spo

45、tintroductions3. 1.1.TranslationofChinesescenic-spotintroductionsExamplel:(S1.)1：南山，面朝南海，是中国最南端的山。(T1.)2：NanshanMountain(SouthMountain),facingChineseSouthSea,isthesouthernmostmountaininChina.Example2:(T1.)：GardenoftheMasteroftheNetsThegardenknownasWangShiYuanwasfirstcreatedinthetwelfthcenturybyanoff

46、icialwhocalleditthe“FishermansRetreatvorYuYin.Itwasrestoredintheeighteenthcenturyandgivenitspresentname,whichliterallymeans“TeacherWang,sGarden”.(JohnSummerfield,Fordor,speople,sRepublicofChina,1982)Inthefirstexample,“南海istranslatedinto“ChineseSouthSea，however,thecorrectEnglishtranslationof“南海”isthe

47、SouthChinaSea”.Soamoreadequatetranslationshouldbelikethis：NanshanMountain(SouthMountain),facingSouthChinaSea,isthesouthernmostmountaininChina.ThesecondexampleisanexcerptfromtheintroductionoftheGardenoftheMasteroftheNetsinSuzhoucity.Anobviousmistakehereistranslating”网师into“TeacherWangv,for“TeacherWa

48、ngvisprobably“网老师Or“王老师whenitistranslatedbackintoChinese.Accordingtotheoriginalmeaningofthenameofthegarden,thebestexpressionof”网师”hereshouldbefisherman”.Example3:(S1.)：久负盛名的大东海水如碧、沙如脂、景如画。(T1.)：Dadonghaiisafamousscenicspotandagiftgivenbynature,thesealikejade,thesandlikerouge,thescenerylikepicture.It

49、isoneofthesentencesintheintroductionofDadonghai,afamousscenicspotinSanyacityinHainanprovince.Thistranslationisatypicalword-for-wordtranslation：水=Water,如=Iike,碧=jade;沙=Sand,如=Iike,脂=rouge;景=scenery,如=Iike,画=PietUre.Thetranslatorattemptstoimitatetheexpressionofthesourcelanguagesofaithfullythatthetranslationisofnonormaluse.Fortheforeigntourists,itsoundsawkwardandishardtounderstand.Arefinedversioncanbelikethis：Dadonghaiiswell-knownforitsclearwater,whitesan