Strategies And Techniques For The Translation Concerning Chinese Food Culture

In the present thesis, the author attempts to introduce Reception Aesthetics into the research of translation theory and explore the effective ways applied to the translation practice of Chinese food culture. The thesis consists of the following four chapters:Chapter One first introduces Reception Aesthetics advocated by Hans Robert Jauss, and then analyzes the receptor's or reader's role and position in translation. At last, the author investigates the mixing of the horizon and the change of the reader's horizon. Translation is a type of communication, which requires the translator to consider the reader's acceptability. In addition, the translator should adjust his translation strategies when the reader's horizon changes.Chapter Two concerns the interdependent relationship between language, culture and translation, offering a new definition of translation from the perspective of culture and defining translation as interlingual and intercultural communication. Translation involves not only linguistic transfer but also cultural transfer. Besides the professional knowledge, linguistic competence and cultural competence are also needed for the translation of Chinese food culture. In the translation process, the translator acts as the reader, the producer as well as the researcher. He should be fully aware of his roles and take the involved cultural elements into consideration so as to ensure the effective interlingual and intercultural communication.In the third chapter, the author attempts to make a comparative study betweenEnglish and Chinese from two aspects. English and Chinese are two vastly different language systems with different habitual ways of expression. The author tries to gain an insight into their differences and similarities. In addition, the author analyses the features of culinary English as well as the distinct features of Chinese food culture. In the interlingual and intercultural communicative process, communicative barriers and difficulties will occur because of different culture. The translator should realize the cultural differences so as to produce a version of high quality.In the fourth chapter, the author first discusses the related translation strategies— foreignization and domestication, and then analyze the strategies adopted by the Yangs and David Hawkes in translating the novel by Cao Xueqin. No matter which strategy is used, the translator should ensure the effective communication of the two cultures. After that, the author offers some manageable strategies and techniques for the translation of Chinese food culture, such as metaphrase, paraphrase, transliteration plus literal translation and addition etc. Metaphrase, a common method adopted in the translation of Chinese food culture, refers to word-for-word translation. If the word-for-word translation makes the receptor puzzled, the strategy of paraphrase may be used. Sometimes the author may combine transliteration and literal translation together to make the local characteristic of the dish and its connection with a certain person more prominent. The strategy of addition may be adopted when the author can add explanatory remarks and referential information to make the version more acceptable.In short, the translator should pay much attention to the TL reader's horizon ofexpectation so as to produce English versions more intelligible.