Application Of Adaptation Theory To Chinese Menu Translation

These years, more and more foreigners visit China for their commercial activities andChinese famous attractions since China became a membership of WTO. They try to know theeconomy, social and culture of China well. Chinese food culture plays an important role inChinese culture. Cognition to things to different people is not only a simple trans-cultureinformation delivery but also a tender a correct language for their different nationalities, naturalenvironment, culture background, race and way of thought. To translate menu accurately mustconcern the culture background, consumption conception, psychology requirement of customers.Using adaptation including adaptation in cultural background, the adaptation in psycho-logicalneeds and adaptation in linguistic reality to make the translation correct. A perfect Menutranslation could have great helpful to the communication among different countries.Author sent the questionnaire of the two translations for one dishes using different translatemethods to10foreign English teachers in a university in Changchun City, compare them withthe dishes picture, select the more appropriate translation results.And the best translation method and the other translations were compared; the author foundout that the translation with adaptation theory is the better way in the two translations,meanwhile pointed out the failure reason of the other translations.This paper discussed the application of communicative context adaptation theory totranslation studies and practice according to the contextual correlates of adaptation theory of Jef.Verschueren (2000). Theory of Linguistic Adaptation developed by Verschueren has offered fourresearch points of view for pragmatics description and explanation of linguistic phenomenon;structural objects of adaptability, contextual correlates of adaptability, dynamics of adaptability,salience of adaptation. The main contents of his Linguistic Adaptation Theory are: l)usinglanguage consists in the continuous making of linguistic choices(both in speaking andinterpreting),2) This making of choices can be understood in terms of three hierarchicallyrelated notions: variability, negotiability and adaptability, make the process possible.This thesis is divided into five chapters are as following way. The author explore theinfluence of cultural factors to menu translation, to study the special requirements of translationand the corresponding translation techniques and to expound the guiding effect of theories ontranslating practice. The thesis is built on Verschueren’s theory of adaptation–culturaladaptation to approach the effects on cultural elements to translation criteria and translationresearch. The author indicates that menu translation is a process of adaptation.Chapter One is an introduction to the history of menu translation and the aim of the present study. Chapter Two: Introduced the methods of traditional menu translation and thecause of the translation failure. Chapter Three: explains the theoretical framework adopted inthis thesis, adaptation theory and pragmatic translation. Chapter Four: analyzes how to connectadaptation theory with menu translation. Various factors are considered in the process of menutranslation also discuss appropriate principles and methods employed in menu translation.Furthermore，in this chapter, the author continues to explore the limitations of the traditionalmethods and discussion of adaptation theory in pragmatics is of guiding significance in menutranslation. Chapter Five is the conclusion of this thesis. In the end, the author pointed out thatthe tendency of the menu translation and we should pay more attention in menu translation,especially with the adaptation theory.