A Study Of English Translation Of Chinese Cuisine From The Perspective Of Interpretive Theory

Currently, China’s economy has entered a golden phase; the international status and overall national strength have increased significantly. Therefore, the influence of Chinese culture is becoming increasingly powerful. As a significant part of Chinese culture, Chinese cuisine is never just about something to eat, it has various cultural functions and its communication function is of vital importance in today’s world. Therefore, the translation of Chinese cuisine is becoming more and more important. The proper translated dish names can reflect the basic information of dishes, such as raw materials, cooking methods, shape, flavor, etc., as well as the historical and geographical features, such as anecdotes, allusions, celebrities and other interesting things. If we want to spread the Chinese cuisine culture to the world, the translation study is of great significance. Many scholars and translators have done a lot research on the translation principles and methods on Chinese cuisine, but so far there are no appropriate theory and principle which can guide the translation of Chinese cuisine.In this thesis, the author gives a concise review of the research which has been done on the translation of the Chinese cuisine, and puts forward the comments on the previous study which emphasizes the point that there is no appropriate theory which can guide the translation of Chinese cuisine. In order to solve this problem, this thesis introduces the core ideas of the interpretive theory, including sense, cognitive input, equivalence of communicative meaning; in addition, the author describes the four translation steps which are suggested by the interpretive theory. Then the author analyzes the main differences between Chinese cuisine and western cuisine and puts forward the current problems in the English versions of Chinese dish names: randomness of translated dish names, the stiffness of literal translation as well as the cultural blank in English translation of Chinese cuisine. In order to solve the problems, on the basis of the interpretive theory, the author introduces the principles and methods which can be adopted to guide the translation of Chinese dishes.In conclusion, the author puts forward that there are usually two layers of sense in Chinese dish names:the first one is dish-related layer and the second is culture-related layer. For some Chinese dishes, their names only contain the first layer of sense while for the others, they have two layers of sense. In order to achieve the sense equivalence, translators should emphasize the understanding of the original information and the re-expressing of artistic elements in the target language.