A Study On The English Translation Of Ecological Culture-Specific Items In Ying-Yai Sheng-Lan

The study,taking some of the most representative ecological culture-specific items(CSIs)in Ying-yai Sheng-lan as the data for case study,intends to analyze the translation methods of these CSIs used by the British sinologist J.V.G.Mills,based on Javier Franco Aixela’s translation theory of culture-specific item.Research findings indicate that these ecological CSIs are featured by strong mythological color and profound cultural connotations.These ecological CSIs can be put into two categories,including animal & plant CSIs and natural landscape CSIs.On the one hand,based on the conservation translation strategies,those animal & plant ecological CSIs containing simple meaning are generally translated into the target language with the methods of linguistic(non-cultural)translation,linguistic(non-cultural)translation plus extratextual gloss,orthographic adaptation plus linguistic(non-cultural)translation and so on.Based on the substitution translation strategies,those animal & plant ecological CSIs with uncommon cultural meanings are translated with such translation methods as absolute universalization,and absolute universalization plus extratextual gloss.On the other hand,as the natural landscape CSIs contain abundant geographic information,they are translated into the target language with the methods of linguistic(non-cultural)translation,linguistic(non-cultural)translation plus extratextual gloss,and orthographic adaptation plus linguistic(non-cultural)translation plus extratextual gloss,in order to conserve the source language cultural connotations to the greatest extent and improve the acceptability of translation.It is hoped that this study can shed light on the translation research of ecological culture-specific items and Chinese classics,contributing to China’s implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative and the promotion of the going-global of Chinese culture.