The Translation Of English Slang: A Cultural Perspective

Slang, an ever-changing set of colloquial words and phrases, is an indispensable component of English language. It makes itself heard not only in the street, at the bar, but in the prison, the pulpit and even in the Houses of Parliament; its artistic possibilities have also been realized through masterpieces of such well-known writers as William Shakespear, Mark Twain, O.Henry, etc. What's more, nowadays books, newspapers and magazines are flooded with slang. Thus with the popular and flourishing use of slang in daily life, it is impossible to acquire a thorough knowledge of English without being familiar with slang.However, the translation of English slang has not drawn much attention of translation researchers in China, for most people regard it as a kind of "uncouth sort of language" which is spoken only by sub-cultural social groups and is not worth paying much attention to by a serious researcher. Actually in recent years, slang, as a cultural phenomenon, has not only fascinated the public but also catches more and more attention of the academic linguists abroad. Even now in China, there are some local editions of English slang dictionaries and books about English slang, which can be found in bookstores and university libraries.Translation has been regarded as a cross-cultural communication event, which concerns not only the transformation between two languages, but also the transformation between two cultures. This paper, taking the newly developed translation study theories as a guide, regarding translation as a cross-cultural communication event, attempts to explore the translation of English slang with a cultural approach.The paper, divided into five parts, deals with the following issues:Chapter One surveys the development of traditional translation theories both in China and in the West.Chapter Two discusses the relationship of language, culture and translation, then focus on "cultural turn"— a revolution in the field of translation studies.Chapter Three analyses the definition, characteristics and formation of English slang as well as the influences on English slang, meanwhile differentiating English slang with other colloquial terms.Chapter Four proposes four translation problems resulting from cultural factors of English slang: translating English slang with no counterpart in Chinese, false counterparts, English slang with allusions and slang meaning being downplayed or skipped.Chapter Five presents seven feasible strategies for the translation of English slang: transliteration, literal translation, annotation, contextual amplification, substitution, paraphrasing and back translation, along with a discussion about the untranslatability of the translation of English slang.