A Comparative Study On Translations Of Shark's Fin And Sichuan Pepper From The Perspective Of Ethics Of Representation

With increasing cross-cultural communication against the era of globalization,many scholars have begun to pay attention to the translation of literature works written in foreign language.China-themed works written in English have been the research focus of domestic scholars in recent years.Shark's fin and Sichuan pepper is the autobiography of Fuchsia Dunlop,an English writer and Sichuan cuisine chef.The book records Fuchsia's experience in China and introduces Chinese cuisine and culinary culture to English speaking readers from the perspective of a foreigner.There are two translation versions of the book,one from Taiwanese translator Zhong Peijun and the other from mainland translator He Yujia.The two versions differ greatly in style.Based on the framework of ethics of representation,one of Chesterman's five translation ethical models,this study analyzes the differences between the two versions in four main aspects: Chinese dishes,cultural-related expressions,classical Chinese,and foreign cultural elements.The analysis shows that the two versions have great differences in the above four aspects,showing different translation styles.With more literal translation,the language style of Zhong's translation is closer to the source text(ST),and the narrative perspective is more inclined to represent the author's cultural standpoint and perspective on China as a foreigner.However,He's translation is closer to the Chinese language style,and sometimes “mistranslation” was adopted to represent Chinese culture and even local culture in a more thorough way.Based on Chesterman's ethical model of representation,their different translation styles represent different ethical tendency.They represent ST from different aspects.Three factors contribute to such differences.First,the characteristics of the ST,which introduces Chinese culture and cuisine in English.Therefore,whether adhering to the narrative perspective of ST or emphasizing on Chinese cultural connotation of target text(TT),translator realizes the representation of the ST.Second,both translators have different interpretations of the author's intention.The Chinese culture and even the local culture like Sichuan dialect in He's translation has achieved her intention to promote Sichuan culture.Third,the subculture backgrounds of two translators influence their cultural position and ethical tendency.The author's unidiomatic description of Chinese local culinary culture and cultural-related expressions is retained in Taiwanese version,while the mainland version adopts the most idiomatic expression in the target culture.The theoretical implication of this study is that translator's ethics of representation is not limited to the faithfulness of narrative perspective,and translator can also refer to the target culture when translating target culture oriented contents in the ST.In recent years,China-themed travels written in English are emerging,which are nonfictional and documentary.The translation of such works can benefit the export of Chinese cultural.However,researches on works written in foreign language mainly focus on fictional works.It is hoped that this study can make contribution to related fields,and provide reference for the translation of similar works by enlightening translator in ethical tendency.