Rediscussion On Cultural Translatability--A Perspective From Information Theory

This paper tries to apply Information Theory to the analysis of cultural translatability and how to translate it. During the course of formulation, it is also intended to settle the endless dispute over translatability vs untranslatability and domestication vs foreignization.Thanks to the shared knowledge of mankind as a big community and the constant information exchange between cultures, one may boldly say that anything in one language-culture could be understandable by people speaking another language and translatable into any other language. On the other hand, the current limitedness of this information exchange makes it impossible to translate anything of one language into another one without some loss. Based on this comparative study, we can conclude that the essence of cultural translatability is a matter of degree. On the one hand, we have reasons to believe that translation across culture is feasible; on the other hand, we should be fully aware of the difficulties in the process of translation and endeavor to find the best solution.Based on the information Theory, the author puts forth a new translation modelæ¡žalance Translation, in which the translator's main task is to balance the communication load of message by every means. Balance Translation has three major principles. Firstly, the translator should provide the reader with as much information as appropriate. Secondly, the translator should attach importance to the formal linguistic features as well as to the cultural features. Thirdly, translation should be dynamic and requires regular updating. The strategies to balance the communication load include up and down translation, over and under translation.