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 of 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) : 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.
(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.() 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。() (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). () |
