Cultural Elements And Translation Strategies

Translation strategy has been a question under constant discussions. The 'cultural turn' in translation studies has pushed the study of culture into the foreground. Then a study of the translation strategies used in rendering the cultural elements is of paramount importance. This paper focuses on introducing Skopostheorie and the theory of the Multiplicity and Complementarity of Translation Criteria into the discussion of translation strategies used in rendering the cultural elements contained in literary works in the hope that the combination of the two theories will provide a new perspective for the discussions of translation strategies. By reviewing the disputes over translation strategies in history and in modern times, the author of this paper points out that the origin of the disputes lies in the defects of strategies in the form of dichotomy, and by introducing the two theories as well as the merits and practical value of the two, the author attempts to show that the translation strategies are determined by translator's translation Skopos, and the strategies are in a state of multiplicity and complement one another in translation, with a contrastive study of the translation strategies used in translating Hong Lou Meng by David Hawkes and The Yangs, and a study of the relationship between translation Skopos and the choice of a strategy.As different situations call for different translation strategies, the Skopostheorie and the theory of the Multiplicity and Complementarity of Translation Criteria mentioned in this essay may well conform to the situation in the translation of Hong Lou Meng, but that does not mean that they will well conform to a situation changed. The purpose of writing this essay lies in providing a perspective that may be of referential value to the study of translation strategies in some other situations.This thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter Onene explores the relationship between language, culture and translation, and discusses the translatability of culture, and introduces the 'cultural turn' in translation studies.Language serves as an intermediary between translation and culture, because language is the carrier and instrument of culture, and translation is first and foremost a linguisticundertaking. The definition of culture shows that culture is only partly translatable, which requires that translators make use of certain strategies in rendering cultural elements.Chapter Two begins with a story, which tells how important translation purpose is in translating practice. This chapter mainly discusses the Skopostheorie: the concept of Skopostheorie, the main features of this theory, the influence of this theory on translator's choice of a strategy as well as the limitations of this theory. The core principle of this theory is that "the ends justify the means". Translation is, in the viewpoint of the Functionalists, a purposeful activity, and the translation purposes guide the translator's choice of strategy. The translation Skopos in this essay refers to the translator's purposes in translation.Chapter Three first compares two concepts and then reviews the translation strategies in history and the disputes aroused concerning these strategies, and then introduces the theory of the Multiplicity and Complementarity of Translation Criteria (MCTC): the status of this theory in translation studies; the concept and basic principles as well as the features of the theory of MCTC, and its influence on the discussions of translation strategies.Translation strategies such as literal and free translation or domestication and foreignization translation are all too general without taking such factors into serious consideration as time, translation direction, text type and most of all the translators' translation Skopos, which serves as the driving force in translators' choice of a strategy. Due to the fact that translators' Skopos are in a state of constant change, the translation strategy is not permanently this one or that one, but instead in a state of multiplicity and complement one another in translating practice, which is the real situation that translation practice is in and conform to the reality of translators and readers. Any translation strategy in the form of dichotomy cannot compare to the advantage of this theory.Chapter Four discusses the novel of Hong Lou Meng and the translation of this novel. There are two complete versions in English: The Story of the Stone by David Hawkes and John Minford, and A Dream of Red Mansions by Yang Xianyi and Galdys Yang. These two versions have been regarded as two classic versions and have been often compared. The strategies adopted by each of them deserve a good study and provide rich material for contrastive studies.In Chapter Five the author of this essay sites examples from chapter three of these twoversions and analyzes the translators' s Skopos and the translation strategies chosen under the influence of the translation Skopos. The analysis proves that translators' Skopos assert a strong influence on translators' choices of a strategy, and the strategies used by the translators in dealing with the cultural elements in this novel are not consistent but in a state of multiplicity and complement each other in translating practice.In Conclusion, the author summarizes the whole thesis and by putting the result of the analysis into a table, the author further stresses that translators' translation Skopos have a decisive effect on translators' choice of a strategy and that the theory of the Multiplicity and Complementatrity of Translation Criteria may be of a more scientific nature and of certain referential value to the study of translation strategies.