A Tentative Study On The Translation Of New Chinese Culturally-loaded Terms

This dissertation makes a tentative study on the English translation of new Chinese culturally-loaded terms from the cultural perspective, analyzes the characteristics of new Chinese culturally-loaded terms, discusses two dialectic culture-related concepts—domestication and foreignization, and proposes some practical methods for the translation of these new terms.Culturally-loaded terms are those culture specific words or expressions. They are the most sensitive language items and direct reflection of a nation's history and unique cultures. Since the adoption of the policy of reform and opening up, a large number of new culturally-loaded terms have come into being with the progress of society. These new terms not only manifest the great achievements of our country, but also express some unique things and concepts emerged in the last two decades. Conducting research on these new terms is conducive to the development of linguistics, especially it is of vital importance for translation and intercultural communication. This thesis firstly analyzes the common features of culture and the relationships among culture, language and translation, indicates that different cultures have their similarities and peculiarities, it is those cultural peculiarities that induce many culturally-loaded terms. Since new Chinese culturally-loaded terms are the linguistic representation of Chinese cultural peculiarities, it is advisable to study the translation of culturally-loaded terms from the cultural perspective so as to find out available strategies and practical methods. With detailed analysis and abundant examples, the author tries to clarify that both domestication and foreignization can stand rationally in the English translation of new Chinese culturally-loaded terms. In the present situation of globalization, cultural blending forms a prevailing tendency. As the primary choice of translation strategies, foreignization serves to retain the cultural flavor of the source language, and help extend the influence of Chinese culture in international communication. Nevertheless, domestication also deserves the translators' consideration in that it can eliminate cultural conflict and achieve intelligibility of the target readers. Absolute application of either of the two strategies is unscientific and one-sided. Based on the previous discussion and analysis, the author summarizes somesuggested translation techniques with the scope of domestication and foreignization respectively, which makes the whole thesis more complete and practical.