A Study Of The English Translations Of Culture-loaded Words In The Analects From Philosophical Hermeneutics Perspective

The development of "The Belt and Road" sets up a great platform for cooperation between China and other countries. China has accelerated the pace of its cultural export,letting our traditional culture known by an increasing number of foreigners. There is no doubt that translation has exerted great influence on it. Chinese traditional culture can be traced back to five thousand years ago, which is broad and profound. In it, Chinese classics reflect ancient people's wisdom, philosophy and values. The Analects is a representative of Chinese classics, which not only has shaped Chinese people's way of thinking from generation to generation but also has had a far-reaching influence worldwide when translated into various languages.Culture-loaded words refer to words with rich cultural connotation, which reflect the special and unique features of a given culture. There are a large number of culture-loaded words in The Analects, which are difficult to understand and translate. From this standpoint,the thesis will apply Nida's five categories of culture as a certain language community and accordingly classify culture-loaded words in The Analects into five sorts. They are material culture-loaded words,ecological culture-loaded words, social culture-loaded words,religious culture-loaded words and linguistic culture-loaded words. The founder of philosophical hermeneutics, Gadamer, has developed three principles about interpretation,namely "the historicity of understanding","fusion of horizons" and "effective history". In the light of these principles, the thesis attempts to make a contrastive study to justify the translation diversity of culture-loaded words and summarize some translation strategies and methods the four selected versions have applied.During the process of interpretation and translation, the translators can be influenced by historical environment, their knowledge, the values and religious beliefs they hold and the prejudices as well. Through detailed study on the translation of culture-loaded words in The Analects, this thesis finds that the four translators adopted both domestication and foreignization strategies. In the light of philosophical hermeneutics proposed by Gadamer,this thesis holds that given the influence of the three principles, the translation strategy of culture-loaded vocabulary should be either domestication or foreignization in accordance with the times in order to convey the cultural meaning of the original.With the hope of making an in-depth study on translation strategies of culture-loaded words in traditional classics, this thesis attempts to carry out a comprehensive critical study of The Analects, thus promoting the international communication of Confucianism. The ultimate goal of the translation of Chinese classics such as The Analects is not just to interpret and transfer the meaning of the original texts but also to transmit the culture behind the words. Considering their significance on literature and culture in both ancient China and the world,translators of Chinese classics are supposed to understand the original text,read more relevant books and adopt proper translation strategies appropriate to according to the historical environment and actual needs of their times.