Differences of Strategies Applied in English-Portuguese and English-Chinese Translations: From a Cultural Translation Perspective

Zhang, Yuxiong

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.8/14268

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Zhang, Yuxiong

Abstract(s)

Translation studies often discuss the challenges posed by the lack of equivalents between cultures. It is widely believed that translation is frequently hindered by culture-specific items (CSIs) that exist between languages of different origins. This study analyzes 105 sets of translations of furniture related terms from IKEA’s websites using a corpus-based approach and a triangulation of quantitative and qualitative methods. The aim is to identify differences in translation strategies between English to European Portuguese and English to Chinese. CSI translation strategies, including foreignization, neutralization, and domestication, proposed by different authors, are used in the analysis. The data indicates that foreignization is more commonly utilized in translations from English to Chinese, while neutralization strategies are more frequently employed in Portuguese translations. While it may be possible to retain certain words with specific cultural references when translating between languages that share a similar culture background, such as English and Portuguese, this approach cannot be accepted in Chinese translations. Due to the distinctive grammatical structure of the Chinese language, it may be necessary to provide supplementary semantic information or even create new words in order to accurately translate certain CSIs in English into Chinese. This study illustrates how different writing systems can affect translation strategies and procedures for translating cultural references.

不同文化之間所存在的不對等性是翻譯研究中常討論的問題。普遍認為，不同語源間存在的文化特定詞（culture-specific items, CSIs）是翻譯中存在的一大難題。本研究以語料分析為基礎，通過質性和量性的方法分析了在「宜家家居」（IKEA）網頁上所擷取的 105 組英文— 歐洲葡萄牙語及英文—中文的對應翻譯。研究目的係分析英葡及英中翻譯策略上所存在的差異。本研究在分析過程中採用了不同作者提出的，包括異化、中立化和歸化三個方面的 CSI 翻譯策略。研究結果表明，異化策略在英譯中時更為常用，而在英譯葡方面，中立化策略則使用得更多。在相似文化背景下的語言之間，某些具有特定文化資訊的詞語可以被完整保留，例如英語和葡萄牙語，但這並不適用於英譯中的情況。由於中文獨特的語法結構，可能需要透過補充額外的語義資訊，甚至創造新詞，才能將英文文化特定詞彙準確地翻譯成中文。本研究說明了在翻譯文化特定詞的過程中，不同的書寫系統透過不同的方式影響翻譯方法和翻譯策略。