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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。
Introduction
After entering WTO and the countrys successful bid to host the 2008 Olympic
Games, China will be visited by more and more foreign tourists in the years
to come. English tourists’ materials among which scenic-spot introduction is
one of the most important parts have become an effective way to publicize China
and promote China’s tourist industry. However, various problems are still prevalent
in formal and informal tourist materials and the translation quality of scenic-spot
introductions and other tourist materials needs to be improved urgently. Therefore,
the present thesis attempts to give an in-depth analysis of the existing problems
in the C-E translation of scenic-spot introductions. On the basis of the analysis,
tentative solutions are suggested. Both the analysis and the suggestion are
based on Nida’s functional equivalence theory.
The present thesis is composed of four parts. Part one introduces the notions
of tourist materials and scenic-spot introductions, and reviews the status qua
of C-E translation of scenic-spot introductions. Part two employs Nida’s “functional
equivalence theory” as the theoretical basis of the whole thesis. Part three
presents us some typical examples of scenic-spot introductions, both Chinese
and English. Then a detailed analysis will be conducted on these examples, in
order to discover the common problems in translation of Chinese scenic-spot
introduction. And the different features between Chinese and English scenic-spot
introductions will be summed up through a comparison between these two kinds
of text. In part four, some tentative solutions directing at the existing problems
in the translation of Chinese scenic-spot introductions will be provided.
The present author hopes that the translation quality of Chinese scenic-spot
introduction be improved, and more researches in this field be underway in the
future by translators and relevant professionals in our country.
1. The status qua of scenic-spot introduction translation
1.1. Tourist materials
Tourist materials include scenic-spot introductions, tourist advertisements,
notices and public signs at tourist attractions, tour schedules, and couplets
hung on the columns of the tourist attractions, etc.
1.2. Scenic-spot introductions
Scenic-spot introductions convey certain particular information to tourists
via some ways of expression, thus fulfills the goals of aesthetic education
and information service. According to the differences of the ways of expression,
scenic-spot introduction can be classified into two categories: one kind is
the guiding introduction made by professional tour guides, the other is self-guiding
introduction through introduction signs, introduction brochures, guide maps,
vocal introductions, video tapes or slides and other static ways.
By comparing these two kinds of introductions, the latter is better for tourists
to take in useful information freely according to their own interests. So most
scenic spots adopt self-guiding introductions, which mostly rely on introduction
signs. Therefore, the present thesis will mainly focus on this aspect.
1.3. The present translation level of scenic-spot introduction
Owing to the cultural differences between China and western countries, there
are many difficulties in the translation process. Many translators are accustomed
to translate scenic-spot introductions based on Chinese mindset and ways of
expression. As a result, inaccuracies and mistakes can often be seen in the
translated texts. In today’s China, the translation quality of scenic-spot introductions
is far from satisfactory due to countless spelling mistakes, grammatical mistakes,
and cultural misinterpretations, etc. Therefore, the translation of scenic-spot
introductions and the research on it is necessary and urgent.
2. Theoretical framework
The main goal of translation is, no doubt, to establish a particular type
of correspondence between the source text and the target text. The nature of
the correspondence has been referred to “faithfulness” or “fidelity”, or more
predominantly, the notion of “equivalence”. The term “equivalence” in translation
first appeared in J.R. Firth’s writing (1957) when she stated that “the so-called
translation equivalents between two languages are never really equivalent” (Snell-Hornby,
1988: 37). With the development of linguistics and the study of translation
in 1960s, “translation equivalence” became the focus of study.
2.1. A general introduction of Nida’s Functional Equivalence Theory
2.1.1. Being put forward as opposed to formal equivalence
Eugene A. Nida, a world-famous American linguist and translation theorist,
has an overwhelming influence in the translation field. One of Nida’s greatest
contributions to translation theory is the concept of functional equivalence,
which was first put forward as dynamic equivalences opposed to formal equivalence
in his book Towards a Science of Translating in 1964. He argues that there are
two types of equivalence: formal equivalence and dynamic equivalence. Formal
equivalence “focuses attention on the message itself, in both form and content”,
while dynamic equivalence is based upon “the principle on equivalent effect”
(Nida, 1964: 159). In formal equivalence translation, one is constantly concerned
with such correspondence as word to word, and sentence to sentence, which means
that two languages are constantly compared to ensure accuracy and correctness.
However, translation is more than merely a linguistic activity. It attempts
to bring together two ethnographically different words. Enlightened by communicative
linguistic theory which believes that language is used for communication, Nida
introduces the concept of “dynamic equivalence” into translation, which is defined
“in terms of the degree to which the receptors of the message in the receptor
language respond to it in substantially the same manner as the receptors in
the source language”. (Nida, 1969: 24)
2.1.2. From dynamic equivalence to functional equivalence
A translation of dynamic equivalence aims at complete naturalness of expression,
and tries to relate receptor to modes of behavior relevant within context of
his own culture. In Nida’s theory, “dynamic equivalence” is defined with “receptors’
response” as its nature. Unlike traditional theories, which focus on verbal
comparison between the original text and its translation, Nida’s concept translating
shifts from “the form of the message” to “the response of the receptor”. Thus,
a new and extremely important factor is to be taken into consideration: the
receptor, the judge of the translation’s effect.
In his work From One Language to Another, Nida starts to use the term “functional
equivalence” to avoid misunderstanding, but he explains that the meaning of
functional equivalence is the same as that of dynamic equivalence. As to the
content of functional equivalence, Nida describes it as follows: “Basically,
dynamic equivalence has been described in terms of functional equivalence. The
translation process has been defined on the basis that the receptors of a translation
should comprehend the translated text to such an extent that they can understand
how the original receptors must have understood the original text.” (Nida, 1986:
103)
2.1.3. Two levels of functional equivalence
In the 1990s, Nida perfects his theory by taking the language and cultural
differences into consideration. In his book Language, Culture and Translating,
Nida puts functional equivalence into two levels according to the degree of
adequacy: the minimal equivalence and the maximum equivalence. The definition
of minimal functional equivalence is “The readers of a translated text should
be able to comprehend it to the point that they can conceive of how the original
reader of the text must have understood and appreciated it.” (Nida, 1993: 118)
Anything less than this degree of equivalence should be unacceptable. The maximum
functional equivalence can be stated as “The readers of a translated text should
be able to understand and appreciate it in essentially the same manner as the
original readers did.”(ibid) The maximum level of equivalence is rarely achieved
except for texts having little or no aesthetic value and involving only routine
information since it requires a higher degree of language-culture correspondence.
Nida’s functional equivalence theory put emphasis on cultural factors in
translation. In Nida’s view, “The most serious mistakes in translating are usually
made not because of verbal inadequacy, but of wrong cultural assumptions.” (Nida,
1993: 29) If regardless of the cultural differences, the receptors will find
the translation requiring so many efforts to understand that they are likely
to stop reading, unless they are highly motivated. Therefore, “For truly successful
translating, biculturalism is even more important than bilingualism.” (Nida,
1993: 110) In a word, Nida’s functional equivalence theory has offered a convincing
answer to the disputes over literal and free translation lasting for 200 years
and gives priority to the receptor over the forms of the language.
2.2. Two essential notions of Functional Equivalence Theory
Nida’s theory introduces the receptors’ response to evaluate the quality
of a translated text. In 1969, in his collaborated work with Charles Taber,
The Theory and Practice of translation, Nida defines translation as “reproducing
the receptor language the closest natural equivalence of the source language
message, first in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of style”.(Nida, 1969:
12) The definition contains two essential notions: equivalence and receptors’
response.
2.2.1. Equivalence
Traditionally, the adequacy of a translation is judged on the principle of
the correspondence in lexicon and grammar between the source language and the
target language. Furthermore, the correspondence is frequently stated in terms
of “equivalence”. Nida suggests that functional equivalence should be discussed
in terms of a range of adequacy because no translation is ever completely equivalent
and no translation can be equivalent to the source message in all the aspects
at the same time. The concept of equivalence in Nida’s theory is equivalence
on varying degrees which gives practical significance to functional translation.
Nida does not insist that complete equivalence is achievable, “Absolute correspondence
between languages is not always possible.” (Nida, 1964: 185) In his view, translating
was not to get something completely identical, but to reproduce “closest natural
equivalent to the source language message” in the receptor language. (Nida,
1969: 12) As we can see, the term “equivalence” in Nida’s theory is used in
a relative sense, i.e. the closest possible approximation to the source language
message. So “equivalence” should not be understood in the meaning of “identity”
but only in terms of “proximity”. Nida also proposes the minimal and maximal
degrees of equivalence on the basis of both cognitive and experimental factors.
He defines the minimal, realistic definition
of functional equivalence as “The readers of a translated text should be able
to comprehend it to the point than they can conceive of how the original readers
of the text must have understood and appreciated it.” (Nida, 1993: 118) and
defines the maximal, ideal definition as “The readers of a translated text should
be able to understand and appreciate it in essentially the same manner as the
original readers did.” (ibid) Any translation less than the minimal degree of
equivalence is unacceptable and the maximal level of equivalence is always only
an ideal situation. What he wants to get is equivalence on different degrees,
or practical equivalence, which is reasonable and practical.
2.2.2. Receptors’ response
When evaluating a translation, some translation theories just concentrate
on message-conveyance of the target language, neglecting the role of receptors.
Their main concern is that the message in the target language should match as
closely as possible the different elements in the source language. Therefore
they make constant comparison between the message in the source culture and
the message in the target culture to determine standards of accuracy and correctness.
Enlightened by the communication theory, Nida attaches great importance to the
role of receptor and the relationship between receptor and message by saying
that “It is essential that functional equivalence be stated primarily in terms
of a comparison of the way in which the original receptors understand and appreciate
the text and the way in which receptors of translated text understand and appreciate
the translated text.” (Nida, 1993: 116) According to Nida, the target audience
for which a translation is made almost always constitutes a major factor in
determining the translation procedures and the level of language to be employed.
In producing a functional equivalence translation one must be constantly aware
of the capacity and motivation of receptors. (Jin Di &Nida, 1984:89) In
other words, how to translate a message first depends on whether the target
receptors can understand it or not. According to Nida, the functional equivalence
is based upon the “principle of equivalence effect”. It is of great importance
to estimate how well the receptors understand and appreciate the translated
text. What’s more, Nida’s ideal situation is that the target receptors’ response
to the target text should be the same to the original receptors’ response to
the original text. Therefore, judging the quality of a translation can not stop
with a comparison of corresponding lexical meaning, grammatical classes and
rhetorical devices, but with whether the translated text has the same effect
on the receptors as the original text has on the original receptors.
3. Examples and analysis
The scenic-spot introduction translations specially provide service for foreign
tourists. The large cultural gap between China and the western countries makes
the translation of Chinese scenic-spot introductions, which contains a lot of
cultural elements, a hard nut for the translating job. The translators not only
have to have a good command of both Chinese and English, but also be highly
proficient in intercultural transfer. The readers of scenic-spot translation
are a group of special audience who know little about Chinese culture and language,
so translation plays a significant role in publicizing China. Although increasing
attention has been paid to this field, the quality of translation is still far
from satisfactory. So in this part, we are going to look into some cases of
inappropriate and even false translation, so as to have an analysis of the existing
problems in the English translation of Chinese scenic-spot introductions. Meanwhile,
through analyzing several standard English versions of scenic-spot introductions
in Britain, we may know more about the linguistic style, cultural features and
expressional skills about appropriate English introductions o
f scenic spots.
3.1. Examples of scenic-spot introductions
3.1.1. translation of Chinese scenic-spot introductions
Example1:
(SL) [1]: 南山，面朝南海，是中国最南端的山。
(TL) [2]: Nanshan Mountain (South Mountain), facing Chinese South Sea, is
the
southernmost mountain in China.
Example2:
(TL): Garden of the Master of the Nets The garden known as Wang Shi Yuan
was first created in the twelfth century by an official who called it the “Fisherman’s
Retreat” or Yu Yin. It was restored in the eighteenth century and given its
present name, which literally means “Teacher Wang’s Garden”. (John Summerfield,
Fordor’s people’s Republic of China, 1982)
In the first example, “ 南海” is translated into “Chinese South Sea”, however,
the correct English translation of “南海” is the “South China Sea”. So a more
adequate translation should be like this:
Nanshan Mountain (South Mountain), facing South China Sea, is the southernmost
mountain in China.
The second example is an excerpt from the introduction of the Garden of the
Master of the Nets in Suzhou city. An obvious mistake here is translating “网师”into
“Teacher Wang”, for “Teacher Wang” is probably “网老师” or “王老师” when it is translated
back into Chinese. According to the original meaning of the name of the garden,
the best expression of “网师” here should be “fisherman”.
Example3:
(SL): 久负盛名的大东海水如碧、沙如脂、景如画。
(TL): Dadonghai is a famous scenic spot and a gift given by nature, the sea
like jade, the sand like rouge, the scenery like picture.
It is one of the sentences in the introduction of Dadonghai, a famous scenic
spot in Sanya city in Hainan province. This translation is a typical word-for-word
translation:
水=water, 如=like, 碧=jade; 沙=sand, 如=like, 脂=rouge; 景 =scenery, 如=like, 画=picture.
The translator attempts to imitate the expression of the source language
so faithfully that the translation is of no normal use. For the foreign tourists,
it sounds awkward and is hard to understand. A refined version can be like this:
Dadonghai is well-known for its clear water, white sand and picturesque scenery.
Example4:
(SL):孔子（公元前551-前419年）是中国儒家学说的创始人。
(TL):Confucius (551～419BC) was the founder of the Confucius school of thought.(http://www.cnwh.org)
In this example, “儒家学说” is translated as “the Confucius school of thought”.
It’s not wrong, but it seems more like an explanation than a translation. In
English, the word “Confucianism” can express exactly the meaning of the Chinese
expression “儒家学说”. Therefore, there is no need to translate it as :the Confucius
school of thought” or “the thought of Confucius”.
Example5:
(SL):感悟人生，感悟泥性，感悟瓷韵悠悠。(www.language.chinadaily.com)
(TL): Feel the life, feel the porcelain, and feel the history.
The three “感悟” in the source language make the sentence paralleled and impressive,
and it has achieved an effect of emphasis. In the target language, the word
“feel” is also repeated for three times. Unfortunately, rather than have the
same effect as its Chinese counterpart, this repetition makes no difference
but making the whole sentence monotonous and tedious. To be more attractive
and impressive, we can revise it by using different words sharing similar concept.
Besides the monotonous translation of “感悟”, the word “porcelain” is not properly
used here. Porcelain is hard white translucent material made from china clay,
but it is not clay any longer. Therefore, it can not express the meaning “泥性”.
The refined version:
Touch the clay, know the history, and feel the life.
Example6:
(SL):古城池总面积 2.25 平方千米，至今还居住着 4.2 万城市居民, 基本保持着明清时期(公元 1368—1911 年)的历史风貌。
(TL):It (the ancient city) occupies a total area of 2.25 sq km, has a population
of 42,000, and largely maintains its historical appearance of the Ming and Qing
periods(1368 ～ 1911). (http://www.cnwh.org)
Such a long sentence as the source language in this example is smooth and
coherent, without any problem. But when more than one English sentences are
piled up without any connectives, just like the English translation in this
example, they form a very unnatural and awkward sentence, which fails to conform
to the features of English. A better translation would be to replace the former
part of the sentence with a prepositional phrase, so that the three paralleled
clauses can be integrated into a complex sentence as follows:
With a total area of 2.25 sq km and a population of 42,000, the ancient city
largely maintains its historical appearance of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368～1911).
Example7:
(SL):舟的前方驾着一柄长舵，形如关云长的青龙偃月刀。
(TL)…is shaped like the sword in traditional Beijing opera used by Guan Yu,
a general of the state of Shu of the Three Kingdom period (220-280A.D).
It seems as if this translation is quite adequate, for it has added some
information to explain about the sword and its master Guan Yu. However, this
addition is nearly of no use. After reading this introduction, the foreign tourists
still can’t figure out what is the sword like, for they don’t know anything
about Guan Yu at all unless they have watched the Beijing opera. Thus in this
sense, this explanation is completely invalid. It produces no effect other than
making the whole sentence redundant. Maybe another simpler version will be better:…is
shaped like the knife on the westerners’ dinner table.
This version has omitted the invalid information, so it’s much more concise.
What’s more important is that it sounds familiar to the foreign tourists and
they can understand what the sword looks like immediately when they see this
introduction.
Example8:
(SL):“黄龙吐翠”（西湖十景之一）
(TL): “Yellow Dragon Spits Green” （《市民日常外语会话》北京新华出版社）
The Chinese name “黄龙吐翠” has two meanings: On the one hand, it means that
a clear spring is flowing out from the Yellow Dragon Cave; on the other hand,
it infers that the whole scenic spot (Yellow Dragon Cave) is surrounded by green
trees. The character “吐”here means present or look, when it is translated into
“spit” in English, the meaning has completely been changed. Because “spit” often
means “spitting saliva”, which gives us an unpleasant impression.
3.1.2. English scenic-spot introductions in Britain
Example9:
‘…the centre of time and space…’
The Greenwich Meridian
The Prime Meridian is an imaginary line running north-south through Greenwich.
In 1884, the line was named as the world’s longitude zero by the International
Meridian Conference. Every position on earth is defined by its longitude (its
distance east or west from Greenwich) and its latitude (the distance north or
south from the equator). Both latitude and longitude are measured in segment
of a circle: degreesｏ minutes’ and seconds”.
This introduction about Greenwich Meridian is a standard description. From
this four sentences, we get the information about the source of the meridian,
the establishment of the astronomical observatory, the importance and the measuring
method of latitude and longitude. And the content of this introduction corresponds
perfectly with the title, which is cited from a work of the famous American
writer Hawthone. On the whole, the four sentences are all simple sentences,
even if the third sentence includes some added information. Maybe because only
English has been adopted to make the introduction, the simplest words and sentences
are chosen to enable more tourists to understand it. Meanwhile, in order to
inform the tourists of the knowledge about longitude and latitude, explanations
are added, which is really considerable.
Example10:
Trade in the Tang Dynasty—An introduction in the Chinese Department in the
British Museum
The people living beyond the borders of China in the steppes of Central Asia
and the desert lands of the Silk Route coveted China’s high-quality goods and
raided and invaded whenever they could. At times foreigners ever ruled northern
China. However, both in the Han period (206BC-AD220) and the Tang (AD618-906)
the Chinese reacted to such threats by sending armies into Central Asia and
asserting control over the city states along the Silk Route. At this times trade
flourished.
From the westerners the Chinese sought horses, glass, exotic foods and plants,
including the grape, servants, dancers and acrobats, textiles and certain forms
of dress. In return, the Chinese exported silk, other textiles and lacquers,
the luxuries of daily life. In consequence, in the Tang period and earlier,
China absorbed many foreign features in the shapes of vessels and in decoration
of all sorts which transported Chinese applied arts. In later periods the influence
was exerted in the other way.
The example above is an introduction in the Chinese Department in the British
Museum, which introducing the trade in the Tang Dynasty of China. Most words
in this introduction are common words, only a few of them are formal. The whole
passage is simple and concise, the style is rigorous but not stiff. Besides,
the introduction has also used some vivid and lively words. For example, the
word “covet（垂涎）” not only corresponds to the fact but also describes the instinct
of human. As for the arrangement of the sentences, we can see simple sentences,
compound sentences ,complex sentences, long sentences and short sentences cooperating
with each other excellently, making the passage lively and interesting.
3.2. Existing problems in the scenic-spot introductions translation
As we can see in the examples above, there are quite a few different problems
in the translation of Chinese scenic-spot introductions. In this part we are
going to have an analysis on the errors mainly from the perspective of linguistics
and cultural study.
3.2.1. Linguistic errors
Obviously, the problem in example 1 and 2 is the inappropriate translation
of the name of a place or a scenic spot. (i.e. the translation of “Chinese South
Sea” for “南海” and “Teacher Wang’s Garden” for “网师园”). Proper name of an individual
person or place, etc. usually has a one-to-one relationship between the source
language and the target language. Although many names can be looked up in a
bilingual dictionary, there are still a lot can’t be. Thus, wrong translations
of names are still a common-seen phenomenon.
The translation in example 3 is a kind of mechanical transfer. If the translators
render the source text too literally or break the conventions of the target
language, they are bound to produce a mechanical transfer rather than an adequate
translation, which may cause misunderstandings or confusions.
The sentence in example 4 is a typical wordy sentence. In Chinese-English
translation, some translators often adopt word for word rendering. As a result,
many redundant words appear and the whole sentence is made wordy and tedious.
This sentence is redundant because it uses some unnecessary words to express
the meaning of “儒家学说” when there is an equivalent English word with exactly
the same meaning, that is “Confucianism”. The translator has ignored the fact
that any words that have no useful function in a sentence or add nothing to
the meaning should be deleted.
The problem of example 5 is monotony. In Chinese, under some circumstances,
the repetition of a same word indicates emphasis and strengthens the expressive
power. While in English, in order to achieve the vocative function, people tend
to use different words to express similar ideas. Appearing for three times of
the same word “feel” has completely failed to convey the same message as its
Chinese counterpart (the word “感悟”) does. After reading this sentence, the reader
will not have any other feeling more than monotony.
From example 6 we can realize again a prominent difference between Chinese
and English, that is the different sentence structures and the different roles
of connectives in both two languages. Even without any connectives, a long Chinese
sentence in loose structure is capable of expressing several complicated meanings.
But in English, connectives are of great importance or even essential in integrating
several loose clauses into a well-knit complex one. Such a single English sentence
cannot bear so much information. Just like the example, the English translation
adopts the same sentence structure as its Chinese counterpart, thus it appears
a run-on sentence which sounds unnatural to foreigners.
3.2.2. Culture-related errors
The above mentioned six examples are all linked with linguistic errors, next
we are going to turn to the culture-related errors appeared in example 7 and
8.
“For truly successful translating, biculturalism is even more important than
bilingualism, since words only have meanings in terms of the cultures in which
they function.” (Nida, 2201: 82) Besides transferring one language into another,
translation also carries the responsibility to promote culture exchanges. But
the translation in example 7 has failed to convey the related cultural information
to its receptors. After reading it, the foreign tourists still have no idea
about the “青龙偃月刀” and “关云长”. This case is called a “cultural default” which
is defined as “the absence of relevant cultural background knowledge shared
by the author and his/her intended readers.” (郭建中, 2000: 229) China is a country
with rich history, the unique oriented culture is a great attraction for foreign
tourists. However, in the scenic-spot introductions, a lot of expressions are
loaded with distinctive Chinese cultural background information which is beyond
the foreign tourists’ cultural background knowledge. If they are not treated
properly, cultural default is inevitable.
As to example 8, it is involved in a cultural dislocation. “Cultural values
associated with the referent of lexeme may influence the associative meaning
of a term.” (Nida, 1993: 43) Cultural dislocation refers to the target readers’
misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the cultural elements in the source
text because of the mismanagement of culture-loaded words by the translators.
(李铁,2005, No.2: 146) Due to different thinking mode and cultural background,
a same word may have different connotative meanings in source language and target
language. For instance, the word “吐” in the Chinese name of “黄龙吐翠” is a very
vivid expression, which makes the scenic spot sound attractive and inviting.
However, its English counterpart “spit” produces a bad impression on its readers
and causes unpleasant association in them.
3.3. Features of Chinese and English scenic-spot introductions
3.3.1. Features of Chinese scenic-spot introductions
Considering its main purpose, scenic-spot introduction can be categorized
as a sort of informative text. However, from the examples mentioned above and
much more other materials which haven’t been presented here, we can discover
a fact that Chinese scenic-spot introduction attaches more importance to the
expressive function in addition to its informative function, and it has some
distinctive features such as refined wording, rich rhetorical devices, abundant
citations and various honorable titles, etc. In this part, we are going to look
into more examples which will be cited to illustrate these features.
3.3.1.1. Refined wording
In order to make the description more vivid and lively, most of the Chinese
scenic-spot introductions have used lots of embellished words and expressions.
Here is an example:
庐山的奇峰峻岭，怪石异洞，深峡幽谷，飞瀑流泉，古树名木，与雄 浑长江，碧波鄱阳湖浑然一体，组合成一幅瑰丽多姿的自然图景。千百年来，无数的先贤逸士，文人墨客，游僧道侣，富豪政客，纷至沓
来，投身于这座奇秀大山的怀抱，在这幅美妙的自然画卷上，留下了 浓墨重彩的一笔又一笔，充分地展现着他们对美的意蕴的追求，把那 巧夺天工的亭台楼阁，宏大壮观的梅院寺观，精巧奇妙的祠塔桥榭，
风格迥异的中外别墅，镶嵌在这奇山秀水当中，与自然景观交相辉映， 互为表里，构架形成了一道独具魅力的亮丽风景线。（方梦之，毛忠明，2005: 314）
The above excerpt can clearly demonstrate the expressiveness of Chinese scenic-spot
introductions. The whole paragraph is composed of only two sentences, which
contains lots of adjectives and many four-character structures. The description
is so attractive that Chinese readers will be deeply impressed by the grandeur
and magnificence of the Mt.Lushan and desire to pay a visit there.
3.3.1.2. Rich rhetorical devices
A great variety of rhetorical devices are employed in Chinese scenic-spot
introductions, such as metaphor, paralleled structures, hyperbole and antithesis,
etc. The following examples can be proofs.
风紧时，云海忽而疾驰、翻滚， 忽而飘逸、舒展，似天马行空，似大海扬波，似雪球滚地。(metaphor) (http://www.ccnt.com.cn/culture/relic/newcnh)
春季万物萌动，郁郁葱葱；夏季百花争艳，姹紫嫣红；秋季红叶满山，五彩缤纷；冬季银装素 裹，白雪皑皑。(paralleled structures)
(http://www.ccnt.com.cn/culture/relic/newcnh)
Rich rhetorical devices make the introductions more vigorous and attractive,
thus inspire the readers’ enthusiasm for traveling.
3.3.1.3. Abundant citations
With some interesting myths, legends, anecdotes proverbs and quotations from
Chinese classics, the introductions seem more graceful, which enables tourists
to associate the wonderful scenery before them with their rich historic connotations.
In particular, tourists can learn more knowledge about the Chinese culture and
have a deeper impression of the scenic-spot. The following example can illustrate
this point well.
洞庭湖“衔远山，吞长江，浩浩汤汤，横无际涯。朝晖夕阴，气象万 千。”(方梦之，毛忠明，2005:309)
3.3.1.4. Various honorable titles
In addition to the name which is well known to tourists, many scenic spots
are often crowned with many other beautiful titles. For instance:
黄龙风景名胜区 …… 享有 “世界奇观” 、 “人间瑶池 ”之誉，被称为 “中国一绝 ” 。 （www.ccnt.com.cn）
二十二章《古文孝经碑》，则被称之为“寰宇间仅此一刻”。（http://grotto.myrice.com/eframe.htm）
The title “中国一绝” and “寰宇间仅此一刻” tell tourists that the former scenic spot
is celebrated for its exceptional beauty and the second for its distinction.
3.3.2. Features of English scenic-spot introductions
On the whole, the style of the English scenic-spot introductions is less
formal and more objective than its Chinese counterpart. In order to fulfill
the informative function, the English scenic-spot introduction is a kind of
typical informative text. It often uses plain language to convey as much as
possible the relevant information to readers.
3.3.2.1. Plain language
Most of the words and expressions in English scenic-spot introductions are
plain and down-to-earth. In terms of wording, they are more like explanatory
articles. The following excerpt from the introduction of the Great Canyon in
the US may serve as a good illustration.
The Grand Canyon is among the earth's greatest on-going geological spectacles.
Its vastness is stunning, and the evidence it reveals about the earth's history
is invaluable. About 65 million years ago in the earth's shifting, a huge area
of land was lifted a mile and a half above sea level, forming what is now the
Colorado Plateau. For the last 6 to 10 million years, the Colorado River has
been slowly carving its way down through the many layers of rock. The river,
together with the erosive forces of wind, rain, snow, heat and cold, has formed
a spectacular gorge one-mile deep and at some points 18 miles across. The colorful
strata of the canyon walls reveal the rock formations of the earth's evolution
from nearly 2 billion years ago; they contain fossils of the earliest living
things from 500 million years ago. The river continues to carve into the earth's
surface. (http://www.cr.nps.gov/worldheritage/)
The verbs used in this passage, such as be, reveal, lift, form and carve
are all very simple words which we often use. Similarly, adjectives used here
are also common-seen ones.
3.3.2.2. Fact-based
English scenic-spot introductions tend to directly offer tourists sufficient,
concrete facts and useful information to prove the value of the scenic spot.
The authors do not make a lot of comments or add much personal feeling in the
description, but let the facts speak for themselves. So the introductions appear
objective and reliable. Here is a typical example:
The forest here exudes water vapor and oily residues which create a smoke-like
haze that surrounds the peaks and fills the valleys. Great Smoky Mountains National
Park, encompassing more than 800 square miles, protects one of the world's finest,
temperate and deciduous forests and is a reminder of the tree-rich landscape
of pre-Columbian America. Due to the fertile soil and abundant rain, this area
boasts 1,520 flower species, 130 varieties of trees, 50 mammal species and 27
different kinds of salamanders. The plants are related to those found across
the Pacific, testifying to the ancient migration of trees and flowers from Asia
by way of the Bering land bridge. (http://www.cr.nps.gov/worldheritage/grsm.htm)
Above is a short introduction of the Great Smoky Mountains in US. It shows
a sharp contrast with the introduction of Chinese Mt.Lushan, which is analyzed
in the previous part. Without describing the beautiful sceneries in the Great
Smoky Mountains, this introduction gives a series of information about the mountain
and plants and animals there.
As a matter of fact, the different features of Chinese and English scenic-spot
introductions are caused by different aesthetic values of Chinese people and
westerners. Chinese tourists prefer detailed description of a scenic area while
overseas tourists would expect to know more facts about it (Jia Wenbo, 2003)
As a result, Chinese scenic-spot introduction also emphasizes the expressive
function besides informative function, while English scenic-spot introduction
only attaches great importance to the informative function.
4. Possible solutions to the existing problems
From the examples and analysis in last part, we can see the fact that the
inefficiency is mainly caused by the translators’ neglect of the target language’s
linguistic features and the target receptors’ cultural conventions. As Nida
argues that “For truly successful translating, biculturalism is even more important
than bilingualism” (Nida, 1993:110), cultural factor usually plays more important
role in scenic-spot introduction translation. As a matter of fact, linguistic
factor and cultural factor usually coexist in a scenic-spot introduction, and
cannot be separated. Therefore, the translator shall take both of them into
consideration simultaneously. Considering the existing problems of Chinese scenic-spot
introductions we have discussed in last part, some possible solutions to these
problems will be suggested in this part.
4.1. Amplification
To Chinese readers who share the same cultural background knowledge with
the writer, they seldom have difficulty in understanding the introduction. But
to foreign tourists, as they know little or no about the background knowledge,
it’s never an easy thing to understand it. Therefore, it is better to expound
or annotate the information by adding notes to help foreign tourist understand
the information, so as to compensate the cultural default of target readers.
For example:
(SL):路左有一巨石， 石上原有苏东坡手书“云外流春”四个大字。
(TL):To its left is another rock formerly engraved with four big characters
“Yun Wai Liu Chun” (Beyond clouds flow spring) written by Su Dongpo, the most
versatile poet of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-427)
If we just use Chinese pinyin “Yun Wai Liu Chun” here, foreign tourists will
not be able to know the meaning of the four characters. In addition, hardly
no Chinese don’t know who Su Dongpo is, but foreigners know nothing about him.
The amplification of this famous poet here works well in compensating the cultural
default of target readers and helps to show the high value of the four characters.
4.2. Deletion
As we have discussed in last part, Chinese scenic-spot introductions have
some prominent features such as flowery expressions, rich rhetorical devices,
paralleled structures, abundant citations, etc. By contrast, language for English
scenic-spot introductions is characterized by precise sentence structure, plain
expression, logic and rational writing, concise and natural diction, etc. in
order to conform to the aesthetic standard of target readers, the unnecessary
information and flowery decorations should be deleted so that a functional equivalence
can be achieved. For example:
(SL): “烟水苍茫月色迷， 渔舟晚泊栈桥西。 乘凉每至黄昏后， 人依栏 杆水拍堤。”这是古人赞美青岛海滨的诗句。青岛是一座风光秀丽的 海滨城市，夏无酷暑冬无严寒。
西起胶州湾入海处的团岛，东至崂 山风景区的下清宫，绵延 8 多华里的海滨组成了一幅绚烂多彩的长 轴画卷。（张宁，2000, No.5: 4）
(TL): Qingdao is a beautiful coastal city. It is not hot in summer and not
cold in winter. The 40-km-long scenic line begins from Tuan Island at the west
end and Xiaqing Gong of Mount Lao at the east end.
In the English version, the translation deleted the poem without influencing
the information transmission. A translator should not subtract any meaning from
the original text, but it does’nt mean that he should refrain from deleting
any words or sentences at all in translation.
4.3. Restructuring
In view of structure, Chinese sentences are often loosely connected with
each other, whereas in English, words or sentences should be coordinated grammatically
and rules of order are rigid. As a result, if the English translation adopts
the same sentence structure as its Chinese counterparts, it will create run-on
sentences which sound unnatural to foreigners and sometimes the original meaning
will be distorted. For example:
(SL):孔庙的东侧是孔府， 是孔子嫡长孙实习的府第。
(TL):The Kong Family Mansion lies east of the Confucius Temple, being the
place of eldest direct male descendants of Confucius lived and worked.(http://www.cnwh.org)
This English translation is grammatically correct, but the sentence structure
is not well organized. It’s clear that the location of the mansion is only minor
information while the purpose is the focal point of the whole sentence. But
in the translation, the minor information is placed in the main clause and the
main idea in the subordinate clause, making the structure rather awkward. So
the translation should be changed into:
Lying to the east of the Confucius Temple, the Mansion of Confucius is the
place where the eldest direct male descendants of Confucius lived and worked.
4.4 Analogy
In the analogy, cultural information in the source language is transferred
into what is familiar to the target readers. Thus it helps the foreign tourists
who have little knowledge about Chinese culture to have a rough understanding
of what is in the source text, so that the cultural differences are overcome
and cross-cultural communication is achieved. A frequently cited example is
given bellow to show the employment of this method.
(SL):济公劫富济贫， 深受贫苦百姓爱戴。
(TL):JiGong, Robin Hood in China, robbed the rich and helped the poor.
In this example, JiGong is compared to Robin Hood in the west so that foreign
tourists can understand why he was so respected in China.
4.5 Adjustment
A nation’s thinking pattern is shaped by cultural elements which keep accumulating
themselves during the course of history. Chinese people are used to thinking
in a comprehensive mode, stressing relationship between parts and they tend
to beat around the bush. Whereas, westerners usually think and act in a direct
way. In writing, many Chinese writers spend time on minor things which serve
as foil for the major parts. In contrast, westerners usually put important parts
in main clause or at the beginning of a sentence in a straight –forward way.
Here is an example”
(SL):襟江带湖的优越地理位置，自然景观与人文景观的和谐交融，组合成 以庐山山体为主，呈环状向四周辐射的风景名胜区。在这座完整的山 岳型风景名胜区内，散布着远古文化遗迹
20 余出。中古文化遗迹 600 余处，景点 474 处，现存摩崖石刻 900 余处，碑刻 300 多块，它们以 瀑泉、山石、气象、植物、地质、江湖、人文、别墅建筑为类型错落
在景区内，与长江、鄱阳湖相依、相融、相映，形成了它鲜明的个性 和独特的魅力，使人们在与自然的亲和中，随深邃的人文而进入一个 崇高的心灵之壤，去认识庐山真面目。（方梦之，毛忠明，2005:
314）
(TL) Its natural and cultural charms are represented by more than 600 cultural
relics, 474 scenic spots, and 900 inscriptions on rocky cliffs, 300 tablet inscriptions
as well as architectures both in Chinese traditional and foreign styles dotted
in the mountain’s scenic areas.
The above example is a typical example by using adjustment method. The English
rendering is organized logically with neat collocation. The information contained
in the text is transferred into three English sentences without losing any useful
information.
The possible solutions provided above are based on the application of Nida’s
functional equivalence theory. The present author sincerely hope the present
thesis could be of some help to improve the quality of the translation of Chinese
scenic-spot introductions.
Conclusion:
With more and more foreign tourists visit the scenic-spots in China, many
Chinese scenic-spot introductions have been translated to serve them. However,
the translation quality of these scenic-spot introductions is far from satisfactory
due to countless spelling mistakes grammar mistakes and cultural misinterpretations,
etc. therefore, the study on the English translation of Chinese scenic-spot
introductions is extremely necessary and imperfect. In the present thesis, the
common errors in the Chinese scenic-spot translation and the features of both
Chinese and English scenic-spot introductions are respectively analyzed. Nida’s
functional equivalence theory is introduced as the basis of the study. Niad’s
“functional equivalence” was to communicate effectively the source language
message, namely to produce “the closest natural equivalent ” to the source language
message in the receptor language( Nida and Taber, 1969: 12). Since the main
purpose of translating scenic-spot introductions is to inspire foreign tourists’
enthusiasm for visiting the scenic spots, the focus of the translating process
should be shifted from source texts to foreign tourists reaction to the target
texts. The present author analyses the current problems in the English translation
of Chinese scenic-spot introductions from linguistic errors and culture-related
errors respectively. Usually it is relatively easy to avoid the linguistic errors
through careful review of the translated version. The hard nut is the cultural
factor. Usually, the translator will neglect the actual connection of specifies
lexemes, causing cultural dislocation. Or, the translator overlooks cultural
default in the source text, resulting in understanding gap for target readers.
Therefore, some possible solutions are provided to tackle the existing problems
in English translation of Chinese scenic-spot introduction.
The conclusion drawn here is that the translation of scenic-spot introductions
is not only a language transfer, but also a way of cultural transmission. Therefore,
it deserves more concern and research both inside and outside of the translation
circle.
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[1] S: source language
[2] T: target language
