Target-Reader-Oriented Translation Of Cultural Information

The translation of cultural information has always been a challenge because of the cultural difference between countries. Based on the translation of Overwhelmed: Work, Love, and Play When No One Has the Time written by American journalist Brigid Schulte, this translation report focuses on the cultural information translation. According to Skopos theory, any translational action has an aim, or a purpose. It is the aim or purpose of the translation that determines the appropriate translation strategies employed in the translation process. The target readers' background is a decisive factor and also the basis of the translation strategy employed in the translation process. A target text that is not acceptable to its target readers is not a successful translation.In this translation report, the target-reader-oriented translation strategy is adopted and the target-reader-oriented translation process is described. Cases of material cultural information and non-material cultural information translation are analyzed. For the material cultural information known well by the target readers, literal translation is adopted. For the material cultural information not familiar to the target readers, free translation including methods of amplification, omission and annotation are employed according to its relevance to the subject and in consideration of the readability. Since most of the non-material cultural information is not familiar to the target readers, free translation is employed to help the target readers comprehend the source text and the author's idea better. The analysis proves the practicability of the target-reader-oriented translation strategy under the guidance of Skopos theory, specifically for the translation of cultural information. The case analysis in this translation report is limited to the cultural information in the source text of this translation task. Since culture is a relatively complex system, systematic analysis of the whole system should be studied in the future.