The Study Of Cultural Default In The English Translation Of The Scholars

Nowadays, to study translation from the angle of culture is just unfolding. This paper intends to study how to deal with cultural default on the base of the English translation of The Scholars, which is a specific and important aspect of the relationship between culture and translation.Beginning with the- definition of default, this paper proceed to the complex type of default-cultural default Three types of cultural default are classified: compensable cultural default transplantable cultural default and omissible cultural default,Compensable cultural default refers to the cultural default in the original that can cause comprehension obstacle to the target language readers if the translator renders it directly into the target language without any compensation; meanwhile, if the translator omits that cultural default, the important cultural information from which that cultural default derives will be lost. It is studied from three aspects: custom, institution and religion.Transplantable cultural default refers to the cultural default in the original works that can be transplanted to the target language when translated without any compensation and omission. It is discussed from two regards: Chinese sayings and figure of speech.Omissible cultural default refers to the cultural default which has already lost its original cultural sense and become a cliche or conventional phrase only to show speakers' politeness or being formal. It is analyzed from three aspects: allusions, idioms and other cliches.Through analysis, this paper intends to put forward the criteria of identification and classification of cultural defaults and offer the strategies to deal with them; meanwhile, the following conclusions are drawn:Firstly, cultural defaults in literary works can be classified into threetypes, that is, compensable cultural default, transplantable cultural default and omissible cultural default.Secondly, the three types of cultural default must be paid enough attention to when the classic literary works is rendered. The translator should identify which type the cultural default belongs to, then he or she takes the corresponding strategy to cope with it.Thirdly, the classification of cultural defaults is not static, but dynamic.