A Study On C-E Translation Of Tourism Texts From The Perspective Of Functional Theory

A large number of overseas travelers have been attracted by the spectacular landscape of China since the implementation of the opening-up and reform policy. The scenic spots are introduced in various English tourism texts designated to stimulate the overseas travelers to be greatly interested in touring around China. The English version of tourism texts thus is evolved into the significant factor promoting the internationalization development of the tourism industry in China. However, it’s not easy to facilitate the increase in the number of overseas travelers touring around China due to the problems including the restriction of providing tourism value and undesirable actual effect of tourism texts, etc. Therefore, it is a need to discuss problems about enhancing the accuracy in English translation of tourism texts and increasing the information content in scenic spots so that the overall quality of English translation of Chinese tourism texts could be enhanced and the appeal of China’s scenic spots for overseas travelers is strengthened effectively.Functional theory is a broad term. It is function-oriented and purpose-oriented translation criterion which conforms to translation practice. The major function of tourism texts is vocative function. So, Functionalism holds that the successful translation is the ones which can achieve the intended function in the target text. From functional approach, source texts can be adapted and adjusted. Thus, the key of translating tourism texts is to fulfill the intended function----marketing function and attract readers to visit China.Under the guidance of the theory, this study compares the cultural and linguistic differences between Chinese and English tourism texts on the basis of analyzing the collected materials. Cultural differences refer to the distinctions in aesthetic conventions, values and customs. The linguistic differences can be concluded that the Chinese tourism texts tend to use pompous style, rhetoric devices and abundant quotation of Chinese allusions, while English texts tend to employ concise and clear style in an inform way. Based on these differences, this study points out that tourism translation should conform to the function-oriented principle to fulfill its final function. Owing to great differences in language and culture, the translation process usually involves some adjustments or adaptations of the source text in order to achieve the intended function of the target text. Under the principle of functional approaches, it is suggested that translators can adopt the flexible translation strategies: transliteration plus explanation, addition, adaptation, abridgement, analogy etc. It is hoped that the present study can eliminate the misunderstanding in the English translation of tourism texts, which will facilitate the improvement of the quality of English translation of tourism texts.