C-E Translation Of Scenic Spot Introductions From Functionalist Perspective

Since the opening up, China has been engaging itself in contacting with the outside world. With its long history and splendid culture, China has been attracting more and more foreign tourists each year, and the tourism industry in China has achieved rapid development. The booming of tourism industry in China has given rise to the need of well-translated tourist texts in order to provide rich information for foreign tourists and attract more foreigners to China. The C-E translation of scenic spot introductions has been attached a paramount importance. However, many English versions of Chinese scenic spot introductions are far from satisfactory and fail to achieve the functions as intended. Hence, it is necessary to find out ways to improve its quality.Based on action theory, functionalists hold that every translation has its certain purposes and different translation strategies are determined by different purposes. According to functionalist theory, a proper translation should be one that can fully achieve the intended purpose. Culture is closely related to tourism, language and translation. Cross-cultural awareness in translating is very important in ensuring cultural acceptability of the version in the target language. The ultimate purpose of scenic spot introductions’ translation is to attract foreign tourists and to transmit Chinese culture. With the guidance of functionalist approaches, C-E translation of scenic spot introductions is conducive not only to reducing communicative breakdowns but minimizing misunderstandings caused by cultural differences.The present thesis makes analyses of the translation of the scenic spot introductions from functionalist perspective with the focus on cultural factors. It points out that cultural factors play an important role in the translation of scenic spot introductions, and the lack of cultural awareness will make the translated version unacceptable to the target readers. It then puts forward some strategies such as addition, analogy, simplification and adaptation in solving this problem with the guidance of functionalism. In the translation process, the translator is required to bear in mind the intended function of the target text to make it comprehensible and acceptable to the target readers.