Delving Into Cultural Lacuna In Translation

"Translation is not only a bilingual activity, but at the same time, a bicultural activity."Owing to connaturally cultural difference, barriers are of great ineluctability in translation, in which cultural lacuna is one of the most knotty ones.As cultural lacuna shows great influence on the translation of cultural information, it is of great significance for us to probe into the problem of cultural lacuna originating from the distinctions of different cultures. Drinkers'wager game in the classical novel Hong Lou Meng, which has been the model for the study of Chinese with its superb artistry, abounds in multitudinous characteristics of Chinese traditional culture; therefore, it's more apt to create cultural lacunas in its translation. Out of its English translation versions, two are complete versions: A Dream of Red Mansions by Yang Hsien–Yi and Gladys Yang, The Story of the Stone by David Hawks and Minford. In this thesis, a study is conducted based on the detailed comparative analysis of the translations of drinkers'wager game in the Yangs'and Hawkes'version pertaining to two perspectives of cultural lacuna: words and allusions, thus eliciting enlightening translation strategies as the way out through cultural lacuna in translation.The thesis finally points out that as culture can feed itself with new elements in the course of translation, some previous cultural lacunas may mean nothing now; therefore, the translation strategies we adopt should change according to the development of international cultural communication. Certainly, the strategies raised in this thesis are far from exclusive and adequate. To promote mutual understanding among nations and accelerate global cultural exchange, we should strive to seek for more feasible and useful strategies to bridge the cultural lacuna in translation to the largest degree.