On The Two-step Communication In Cultural Transmission

Translation is actually cultural translation that features transmission of cultural discrepancy. This paper, from the perspectives of communication and media studies, divides the cultural transmission process into two stages, namely, two dialogues between the translator and the source text author and between the translator and the intended readership in the target language respectively. And it also discusses some basic ways of expression that translators can adopt in cultural transmission.The paper chiefly consists of three chapters. The first chapter elaborates on the linguistic embodiment of cultural discrepancies in the aspects of geography, way of living, social customs, religious belief, philosophical thinking and historical background. The second chapter, also the main part of the paper, makes a comparative study of the process of communication and that of translation, reaching the conclusion that translation means communicating via translating; that the translator's proper comprehension of the source text is of primary importance; and that the translator has to take the translation purpose and the intended readership's response into consideration in cultural transmission. The third chapter points out that foreignization (alienation) and domestication (adaptation) are two basic approaches, on the basis of which some maintranslation techniques like annotation, paraphrasing, substitution,imitation and deculturation can be considered with different functions andeffects.