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西南政法大学

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题目：The Culture Gap of International Trade Translation and Its Solutions

外语学院法律经贸专业2011 级 5 班

学号2011081287

姓名罗曼

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Contents

摘要 (1)

Ab stract (2)

1.Introduction (3)

2.Theoretical Framework (4)

2.1.Chinese and Western Central Translation Principles (4)

2.2.Translation Principles Applied to Trade (4)

3.Cultural gap (5)

3.1.Definition of Cultural Gap (5)

3.2.Categories of Cultural Gap (6)

4.Conflicts and Misunderstanding in Real Cases (7)

https://www.360docs.net/doc/7c2300609.html,ck of Cultural Knowledge in Real Cases (7)

4.2.Conflicts of Breaking Translation Principle (7)

https://www.360docs.net/doc/7c2300609.html,ck of Words Meaning in Target Country (8)

5.S ol u ti ons (9)

5.1.Studying the True Meaning of Words (9)

5.2.Accumulation of Cultural Knowledge in Target Country (9)

5.3.Specific Translation Methods (10)

6.Co n cl u s i on (10)

摘要

在当今世界的新形势下，国际间的贸易交流越来越受到重视，因为它对不同国家的企业的发展产生的不可或缺的影响力，并从而推动国家经济的发展。通过国际贸易合作，各国得到双赢，然而在进行翻译的时候，却由于文化沟而带来许多错译甚至漏译，这给贸易双方都造成了巨大的损失。本文为解决此难题，首先介绍了翻译理论发展的历史，到适合贸易的翻译理论，然后是文化沟的解读及具体体现，接着列举了真实例子来说明形势的严峻，最后提出几点解决之道。

关键词：文化沟；翻译理论；贸易

Abstract

Under the new situation in the world today, international trade exchanges get more and more attention , because they have indispensable influence on the development of enterprises in different countries and promote the development of national economy.Win-win Cooperation through international trade take place, but in some translation due to cultural gap ,they have many cultural mistranslation or missing translations , which gives both trade party huge losses. In this paper, to solve this problem, it first introduced the history of the development of translation theories and translation theories fit to trade, then the definition of cultural gap and examples to illustrate the true seriousness of the situation , finally it give a few solutions.

Key words: Cultural gap;translation theory;trade

The Culture Gap of International Trade Translation

and Its Solutions

Luo Man

Southwest University of Political Science and Law 401120

1.Introduction

Nowadays language differences are not the main obstacle among foreign countries, because of the blooming development of translation industry.Many people have learned foreign language quite well and they can even translate for themselves.However,even if we are very skilled translators who know how to deal with word meanings and sentence structures,some mistakes still take place.The range is from daily language to professional language.

Here is an example.

(1)I am not Hamlet. 我不是哈姆雷特

But it is totally wrong.Hamlet is the actor of Shakespeare' tragedy,and he is so hesitated in the revenge issue,so Hamlet is an adjective.The right translation is "我决不犹豫".The reason of this mistake is that Chinese people are not familiar with the cultural background of this story,this kind of phenomenon is also called cultural gap.

The fact is that many of us do not notice this problem while it already causes terrible misunderstandings during our trade activities which leads to terrible product sales and breakings of foreign agreements.The cultural gap is one major reason,learning theories of trade translation,cultural gaps and using specific solutions will be helpful to address this problem.

2.Theoretic Framework

2.1.Chinese and Western Central Translation Principles

As for the development of western translation theory,it can be divided into two

parts:pre-linguistic period and linguistic period.During the first time,translators followed a literary and artistic way,with emphasis on the their own literary level,and it is called

re-creation.However,the linguistic structure method pay more attention on this

concept:translation is a product of balance on semantics with the help of grammar and vocabulary.

As same as the Pre-linguistic period,Chinese translation has a tendency of literature way.This idea had covered the overall history.So it is not surprising to find that most Chinese translators are famous writers.At the same time,in the late twentieth century,many people had learned and borrowed a lot from the west.In a word,the Chinese translation theory still focus on the only literary way.

The basic foundation theory of the west is the famous three principles:copies of the idea of the original work,the same working style and method,and smoothness.What corresponds it in the east is the classical faithfulness,expressiveness and taste by Chinese writer Yan Fu.The two theory is very similar and condensed,although many latter translators have new thoughts and even want to overturn and replace them,no one ever won.And in the two

ways,faithfulness is the most necessary and important part,because translation works are the re-writing of the original work.We can also see many new theories in modern world,but many of them emphasize on one part of the three principles.On the other hand,there is another focus,literal translation or paraphrase.they both has their advantages facing different original works.Literal translation is important in religious masterpieces while paraphrase is easy for ordinary people to read.

2.2.Translation Principles Applied to Trade

Both the east and west have a translation theory of 2000 years,while the latter one constantly create thriving atmosphere with many new ideas and concepts,the former one made few breakthroughs.

Developed from traditional theories,we have found that the best principle for trade translation is:faithfulness,expressiveness and consistency. Also the first one is the most important,because information equivalence is the key process in trade transmission,which has much influence on the trade activity.Other ways like using paraphrases in literature is not suit for trade translation.Sometimes a very little mistake or obscurity will cause great loss.

The second principle is expressiveness.It is also vital in translation.Expressiveness includes words choices.

As for the last one consistency,it seems to be different from basic translation theory,but consistency is also one taste.Because trade translation is a professional field,words should be carefully chose and no more rhetorics are used.The only taste of trade translation is consistency.

3.Cultural Gap

3.1. Definition of Cultural Gap

A culture gap is any systematic difference between two cultures which hinders mutual understanding or relations. Such differences include the values, behavior, education, and customs of the respective cultures.The term was originally used to describe the difficulties encountered in interactions between early 20th century travelers and pre-industrial cultures,but has since been used more broadly to refer to mutual misunderstandings and incomprehension arising with people from differing backgrounds and experiences.(AS Hornby Oxford English dictionary)

Taking greeting for example.How do we Chinese greet each other? Informally, if we meet a friend in the street, we are used to saying: “Hi,have you had your meal?” or “Where are you going?”When it is the case of two gentlemen, they tend to sh ake hands.However, in the western countries, the above questions are just questions, not greeting at all. They may think you’re inviting them to dinner if you ask about their meals. Usually, they’ll just give each other a smile or greet with a “Hi”. They’l l shake hands only in some formal situations. By the way, Westerners can leave a party or meeting halls without a formal conge,nor should they shake

hands with every attendee like most of us will do here.

3.2.Categories of cultural gap

And translation involves two or more countries,so this paper will talk about difference between Chinese and Western countries. The gaps can be divided into two categories.

First,animals. Animals have different symbolic meaning in different culture background. Symbolic meaning is a direct product of human society. For example ,The image of Chinese dragon is different from the West. We call it “Loong” .It is an ancient totem symbol of worship formed in the primitive society. The dragon is a symbol of the ancestor of the Chinese people, Chinese people call themselves Descendants of the Dragon. Emperor of China is also known as son of the Heaven and Real dragon. Dragon is a symbol of Chinese traditional culture. However,The image of dragon in West world looks more like a big lizard with wings. the image of Western dragon is the embodiment of evil and its image appears in a variety of literary works. If you want to express your admiration for the western, you should not use “dragon”.(闫阳经贸翻译中的文化缺失及处理)

According to one Chinese legend, Phoenix is a miraculous animals and the Queen of all birds.The Chinese people regard dragon and phoenix as a perfect match that is made by heaven: Loong is a symbol of a wise man. Phoenix is a symbol of a beautiful woman.In addition to the noble and status, Phoenix also represents happiness and prosperity. In Western mythology, the image of Phoenix is mainly a symbol of immortality.

In traditional Chinese culture, "dog" is a lowly animal and often despised and swearword by people with derogatory emotions. in China dogs are always used to guard the house as well as People always associate dogs with the disgusting things. In the English-speaking countries, people often call themselves or others by the word "dog" without despicable and foul meaning. Dogs in Britain and the U.S. also have the good name “Man's best friend”

Second,color.White is the color of mourning in Chinese culture. Unlike the Western meanings of purity, chastity, holiness and cleanliness, white is associated with death and is used predominantly in funerals in Chinese culture. Black is a symbol of mourning and bereavement in Western societies, but in Chinese culture Black, corresponding to water, is a

neutral color. Red means luck, fortune here.Chinese often use this color to decorate in festivals,such as red lanterns, red Chinese nodes, and red bangers.But red stands for blood, revolutions in the West.

4.Conflicts and Misunderstandings in Real Cases

https://www.360docs.net/doc/7c2300609.html,ck of Cultural Knowledge in Real Cases

The following examples are all reflections of cultural gap in trade translation.

(2) Like the Southern enlargement and current studies suggest, both the EU and the candidate countries are likely to benefit from the enlargement. Since the great changes, deeper integration between the EU and those countries have generated economic growth 欧盟南扩和局势分析都表明，不论是欧盟本身还是各候选国都能从欧盟的这次扩张中获利，使得欧盟和那些国家一体化程度增强已经激发了经济增长.

This version loses “since the great changes”,so the original meaning is distorted. Deeper integration between the EU and those countries have generated economic growth should be the result of enlargement instead of both the EU and the candidate countries are likely to benefit from the enlargement.

(3) Chinese brands under the wings of foreign companies usually have the advantage of plumper marketing budgets and better access to management expertise.

借助于外国公司的力量，中国品牌往往具有营销预算降低和更易获得管理知识这两方面的优势。I n this version,"plumper" is translated as"降低"，however,it is not reasonable.The correct one is中国品牌借助于外国公司的力量，往往具有更充裕的营销预算和更易获得管理知识这两方面的优势。

(4) But as global integration advances, engineers,software writers, and other white

-collar employees are seeing jobs migrate overseas.

但随着全球一体化的进程，那些工程师、软件编程人员以及其他白领都移居到海外寻求

工作机会。Here,are seeing jobs migrate overseas is mistranslated.The correct one is但随着全球一体化的进程，那些工程师、软件编程人员以及其他白领们眼睁睁地看着他们的就业机会流失到海外。

4.2.Conflicts in Breaking the Translation Principles.

(5)Bank bonds are also popular because they have short maturing and are currently offering an interest rate of 20% more than the average bank deposit rates.One version is银行债券也颇受欢迎,因为期限短,利息也高于银行的平均存款利率。This translation loses currently offering an interest rate of 20%,which leads to the cutting down of attraction.The correct version is 银行债券也颇受欢迎。因为它期限短,且目前正提供高于银行平均存款利率20% 的利息。This example clearly shows that faithfulness is indispensable.

https://www.360docs.net/doc/7c2300609.html,ck of Words Meaning in Target Country

(6)江苏已成为外向型经济发展的一个热点地区。One version is Jangsu has become a hotspot for its development of external directed economy.Here hotspot is a mistranslation. In Oxford Advanced Learner’s Eng lish –Chinese Dictionary,a hotspot means difficult or dangerous situation; place where (e.g. political ) trouble is likely. The correct one is Jangsu has become a focus of attention for its development of export-oriented economy.

(7)Many people translate保税区as Free trade zone.However,according to the meaning of Foreign trade zone：A government-designated area in which goods can be stored,inspected, or manufactured without being subject to formal customs procedures until they leave the zone.So it should be translated as Foreign trade zone rather than Free trade zone.

(8)如贵方能将尿素报价降至每吨1200法郎，我们可购150 吨至180 吨.One version is:If you can reduce your price of urea to 1200 francs perton, we may be able to place an order of 150-180 tons.However,francs is not clear ,because many countries uses it as its currency.It

should be changed as French franc.This example is a reflection of cultural gap,and translators do not know francs is a commonly-used currency.

5.Solutions

5.1.Studying the True Meaning of Words

To ensure high-quality translations and high accuracy, the translator must find the original language vocabulary and the meaning of the terms contained on the cultural level. Facing numerous differences existing in Western and Eastern cultures, the translator should strive to find two meeting points, so we can gain the semantic equivalent in passing cultural transmission and avoid the lack of transferring of cultural connotation. If we can not grasp the meaning, then we need to have a strong ability to search them through referring to professionals and authoritative business dictionary

5.2.Accumulation of Cultural Knowledge of Target Country

Every country has a long history and cultural diversity in the developing

https://www.360docs.net/doc/7c2300609.html,pared with other cultures,they have their own hidden characteristics, which is not easy to be understanded and found in other countries.Therefore, in order to fully understand them and have direct and effective translation,we need to accumulate different cultural knowledges.It is also helpful in resolving the cultural shock. Translators should look for a variety of means or media to find the differences and similarities between the east and the west, to maintain the continuity of learning , ready to increase and supply cultural knowledge in order to lay a solid foundation in the cross-cultural translation work.

5.3.Specific Translation Methods

5.3.1.Literal Translation or One with a Comment

The advantage of this method is the ability to retain the original language on the basis of style , thus one can give the words a direct translation of the meaning and a clear

explanation ,so that the information of the original language of the text can be passed equivalently.

5.3.2.Paraphrase.

When there are cultural differences in the process of transformation of the two languages,we can use free translation.Not selecting the literal meaning of the original language , but the language with the same contents and function as the original work.It can not only ensure that the information is correct in the case of transmission , but also in line with people's cultural habits of the target language country. For example : black tea is translated as红茶, in order to comply with the living habits of Chinese people .开门红is translated as get off to a good start, it will make it easier for foreigners to understand. 红星is translated as Shining Star to avoid the literal Red that will make Westerners feel unhappy.

5.3.3.Transliteration

This method is used for products translation on the mark , the advantage is retaining the original language pronunciation while highlighting the primitive language features. But the translation must be carefully analyzed.To ensure clean and nice translation at the approximate same voice as much as possible and in line with the product's features and characteristics. So that it can be accepted in target language country and easy to remember. For example : Sharp 夏普, Omega 欧米茄, Cocacola 可口可乐Kung Fu功夫and more.

5.3.4.Transliteration combined with paraphrasis

This method is able to consider both the voice and semantics,while retaining the original pronunciation. The famous金利来is one successful example of the transliteration combined with paraphrasis.In Goldlion, the gold is translated as 金and the lion is translated as 利来.so that the entire translation not only achieve the equivalent effect of transferring functions, but also symbols the Chinese people 's desire for good luck .(李炜.国际贸易中商

务英语翻译的文化差异及应对策略)

6.Conclusion

International trade activity is not just a commercial activity, it is an exchange of cultures and interactive process of language. In the same way,international trade translation is not just text conversion , translators also need to keep the original structure while having the basic semantic equivalence. As the roots of differences of eastern and western countries,cultural gap need particular attention.Following the above solutions,we can maintain the spirit of national culture and language style in cross-cultural translation. In the current situation with complex cases in different trading countries, fully grasping cultural gaps in trade activities is much more important than we thought.

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