The C-E Translation Of Cultural Elements In Tourist Publicity Materials-A Funtionalist Perspective

Tourist publicity materials, as a vital marketing tool, which serve the functions of both informing the reader of the tourist product and persuading them to purchase it, have become a principal means of promoting tourism in China. An overall study on the translation of Chinese tourist publicity materials is not only a necessary but an urgent task. At present, some translators have realized the importance of this study and have done research on this topic. However, the research is still far from sufficient so far as the cultural elements of tourist materials are concerned.Owing to the limitations of previous studies and the significance of the research, the present thesis attempts to make a systematic study on the translation of Chinese tourist publicity materials from a cultural perspective, with the help of functionalist translation theory, so as to provide a theoretical guide to the translation.The thesis first examines some basic knowledge about tourist publicity materials, including their classifications, basic functions and prominent language features, which serve as a preparation for the discussion of the translation principle and strategies. In Chapter Two the author lays emphasis on the cultural characteristics of tourist publicity materials on the basis of the relationship between language and culture. Such notable cultural characteristics have caused tremendous barriers in cross-cultural communication.Chapter Three expounds the translation difficulties caused by cultural discrepancies. At lexical level the difficulties lie in culture blanks, or culture-loaded words and expressions. While at textual level, the problems are caused by language conventions due to different thought patterns and aesthetic values between Chinese and westerners. To solve these problems, Chapter Four reviews relevant translation theories including functional equivalence, text typology and skopos theory that all give much enlightenment to the translation of tourist materials. Finally, it is concluded that Skopos theory supplemented by text typology theory can provide the present study with a most effective theoretical framework. Based on this, Chapter Five is devoted to the translation of cultural elements in tourist publicity materials. In the light of the tourist-centered principle and the task of promoting Chinese culture, some practical strategies are put forward to bring the effect of the translated version into full play.