Abstract:Language is a major tool of maintaining and transmitting culture. It reflects cultural characteristics inevitably. Though translation faces two languages directly, it deals with two cultures with similarities and differences. As two important translation methods, literal translation and free translation are playing an irreplaceable role in cultural exchange. They are not repellent but complementary because of differences and similarities among different cultures.

　　　By combining cultural characteristics with its communication, this dissertation explores a close relation between literal translation and free translation in cultural exchange. Through describing the forms involved in culture in detail, such as ideology, historical allusion and metaphor, and comparing literal translation with free translation, we conclude that both of them should be properly used in translation.

　　　Discussing literal translation and free translation from the cultural perspective will be beneficial to enrichment of translation theory and better communication among different cultures.

Key words: literal translation; free translation; cultural perspective; language

摘要:语言是传承文化的主要工具，民族的文化特征无不通过语言体现出来。翻译虽然直接面对的是两种语言，但它所处理的却是相似与差异并存的两种文化。直译和意译作为翻译中最主要的两种方法，在文化交流中都分别起着不可替代的作用。不同文化之间既有同也有异，翻译中直译和意译是互补而非互斥的。

　　　本文结合文化的特点及其传播情况，探讨直译和意译在文化交流中的密切联系。通过描述涉及文化的多种表现形式，如意识形态、历史典故和比喻等，对直译和意译进行比较，进而得出两者都应该在翻译中正确运用的结论。

　　　从文化的视角来探讨直译和意译，有利于丰富翻译理论和不同文化更好地交流。

关键词：直译；意译；文化视角；语言