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. 1 ，法语论文范文 |
