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发布时间：2010-11-2 点击率：
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英汉翻译中的文化差异
The Cultural Differences in English-Chinese Translation
Acknowledgement
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor Professor xxx, whose profound knowledge, strict attitude towards academic research have kindled my interest in translation. She has provided invaluable guidance and advices through the whole process of thesis writing till its completion, without which I wouldn’t have the confidence to make any further query into the abstract topic presented in my thesis. When I finished the first draft, Professor xxx read very carefully the entire version of it. Her detailed revisions and useful suggestions have drawn my attention to a number of deficiencies and have made many things clearer for me.
I am also grateful to my parents and friends, who encourage me and help me to overcome the difficulties. Many thanks also go to those who helped me look up the relevant information and materials. Their insightful suggestions have contributed to the shaping of my thesis.
I also want to extend my thanks to all the writers whose works are referred to in this paper.
The Cultural Differences in English-Chinese Translation
Abstract
With the popularity and prosperous development of cultural studies in recent years, scholars have shifted along their understanding of translation in its traditional sense. It is believed that translation is no longer regarded as merely a cross-linguistic activity but essentially cross-cultural communication. Just as Nida claims that “for truly successful translating, biculturalism is even more important than bilingualism” (Nida 1993:110), translation in nature is an activity of cross-cultural communication.
This paper will firstly check the definition of culture and its relation with language and translation. Then it introduces some contemporary theories and fundamentals in translation. In the third part, the author tries to explore some differences between Chinese and Western cultures reflected in language, providing some background information for further analysis. Lastly the paper tries to explore some workable approaches to major obstacles in cultural translation.
From many examples in translation, it can be concluded that in translating cultural elements, the translation should on one hand maintain the original flavor, while on the other hand be accepted and comprehended by the target language readers in almost the same manner that the readers of the original text do. To reach the corresponsive effect in translation between English and Chinese, it is necessary to be aware of the cultural elements, especially the cultural differences involved between these two languages.
Key words: Translation, Cultural differences, Translation strategies
英汉翻译中的文化差异
摘要
近年来，随着跨文化研究的蓬勃发展，翻译学界也顺应潮流，研究重点转至翻译中的文化差异。翻译已经不单单是跨语言的一种活动，而且是一种跨文化交际活动。从本质上讲，翻译不仅涉及语言问题，也涉及文化问题。在翻译过程中，译者面临着传达源语文化、克服源语和目的语之间文化障碍等棘手问题。
本文先从讨论文化的定义入手，进而阐述文化，语言和翻译的内在关联，从而转入第二章的内容，翻译的本质和相关的理论依据。第三部分以英汉翻译实践中的一些典型例句为例，探讨了中英文化差异在两种语言上的反映，从而为第四章提出了问题。最后一部分针有对性地阐述了文化差异对翻译的影响以及如何采取适当的翻译策略去处理其中的文化差异。
翻译活动的目的之一是跨文化交流和传播，跨文化交流是翻译的社会功能。译者应该把翻译看作是跨越语言和文化的信息交流，时时保持警觉的文化意识，对源语中文化含量较高的词语采取不同的处理方式，使词语中的语言文化因素在译文中得到很好的体现。
综上，译者应该针对不同类型文本，选择恰当的翻译策略以最大限度地保持原文风貌，促使不同的观点和思维方式在对话中交流，译文既要保持原文的风貌，最大限度地传达原文特定的内涵，又要顾及读者的接受习惯，实现跨文化交流的功能。
关键词：翻译 文化差异 翻译策略
Introduction
Many scholars have held that translation is not only the transference process between words, but also a cross-cultural activity. It is not only concerned about equivalence between different languages, not only the simple act of transferring the meaning of a text from one language into another, but also finding the equivalence in different cultural contexts.
In the process of translation, it is the common cultural core shared by all nations that makes possible intercultural communication between the translation object (the source text and the writer) and the translation subject (the translator). However, mutual understanding and communication between various nations across the world are very often discouraged by the diversity and complexity of cultural differences as well as linguistic differences. Because different nations have different ecologies, habitats, religions and customs and so forth, the peoples view the same reality from different perspectives and then they belong to different cultural groups.
As the cultural factors such as modes of thinking, beliefs and values not only result in failures or misunderstandings in cross-cultural communication but also pose obstacles to translators because cultural presuppositions may substantially and systematically affect their interpretation of the facts and events in source texts without their knowing it. Then it is urgently necessary for t them to be fully aware of the differences and crashes when doing translation.
It is the purpose of this paper to give a relatively comprehensive account of what has been achieved on this subject, since the initiation of the concept of a cultural approach to translation. Based on the achievements by others, this paper will try to present a more detailed analysis of the relationship between language and culture and that between culture and translation and then develop into the cultural factors that carry out great influence on translation and the translation strategies that are employed to deal with the cultural factors. Finally, this paper will try to find a few settlements and hope to be an encouragement for new comers in this direction.
Chapter One Trinity: Culture, Language and Translation
It is universally believed that the process of translation is not only transforming the source language into the target language but also performing a mutual communication and an exchange of the two different cultures, thereby functioning as a medium of the cultural propagation and an intercultural action as well.
1.1 Language and Culture
Language is the carrier of culture and part of the culture. Because languages can reflect a nation’s culture, language symbols provides a rich expression means for a nation. Language has been keeping synchronous development with culture throughout the whole process of human cultures coming into being and their subsequent development. “Some scientists consider it the keystone of culture. Without language, they maintain, culture would be impossible.” (Deng Yanchang and Liu Runqing, 1989:3.)
Languages, in every nation, can embody and reflect people’s different modes of thinking, values, social awareness, religious beliefs, habits and customs. “Language is the primary means by which a culture transmits its beliefs, values, and norms. It gives people a means of interacting with other members of the culture and a means of thinking.” (Dai Weidong, 1989:158) It is explicit that culture and language are inseparable from each other, and in fact, culture includes language as a subsystem, as a wider system. It can be summarized that language caries culture, mirrors culture, spreads culture and helps develop culture.
On the other side, language is deeply influenced and shaped by culture, steaming from culture. Language, as a symbol system, expresses traces of a particular society and reflects unique cultural heritage. John Lyons, an English linguist, pointed that, “language is a part of culture. Differences on the language usage will expose the features of the social culture in terms of the substances, customs and other activities.” (Lyons, 1977: 30). Therefore, it can be said that the process of learning a target language is a process of learning about the target culture.
1.2 The Relation between Translation and Culture
Translation makes it possible to communicate between different cultures. However, translation has its limitations to an extent. Many of the functions and connotations of language cannot be “translated” at all literally, but have to resort to analysis and explanation to make out the hidden implications that they contain. In other words, it is necessary to set up a kind of according cultural context based on a sufficient and thorough understanding of culture of the target language.
Translation does not merely deal with the exchange of literal meaning, but also transferring the cultural communication of the language families and different information. So it is not merely an act of transference between languages, but it is a matter of spirit communication closely related to every aspect of the subjective world. To some extent, the translation acts are the response, communication, perception, understanding and interacting between the human being and the physical world. Undoubtedly, the relation of culture and translation is characterized by their indivisibility.
In the last twenty years, it has been universally acknowledged that literary translation is not merely transformation of language signals, but transformation of culture, since translation has a close interactive relationship with culture. Translation has been replaced by “intercultural communication”(Christiance Nord, 1991), “intercultural cooperation” (Holz Manttari,1984:17), “acculturation” (Andre Lefevere, 1992), or “tranculturation” (R.D.Shaw,1988).
Therefore, the translators should try to reduce the difficulties caused by cultural difference and to develop cultural exchanges between different nationalities. The translator needs to have a thorough understanding of the operation target－the language. Without being fully aware of the nature of language, it is impossible to discuss culture from the viewpoint of translation. Nowadays, in international communication and information exchange, translation as a cross-culture event becomes more and more important in dealing with the problem of cultural transmission. So translators necessarily put more emphasis to cultural differences in cross-cultural transfer in translation.
Chapter Two Translation Fundamentals
2.1 The Essence of Translation
Vermeer views translation as primarily “a cross-cultural transfer and cross-cultural event’. (Vermeer, 1996) So translation is the tunnel through which languages get communicated, which is the communication of the particular cultures, instead of the mechanical transformation between words, phrases and sentences.
By reason of different cultural contexts and cultural connotations, translation activity is much complicated Professor Wang Ning in his Cultural Studies: Towards a Reconstruction of the definition of Translation states that “…the major task of translation is to turn the cultural content in one language into another, so whether it is faithful or not largely depends on the degrees of the translator’s grasp of the two languages and the subtle difference of the cultural content expressed in the languages.” (Chinese Translators Journal, 2006) Professor Wang Zuoliang says, “when the translator is handling the words from two languages, he is, in fact, dealing with two cultures.” (Wang Zuoliang, 2000:3) These views on translation actually require the translator to be both bilingual and plural-cultural.
The translator bears the responsibility of promoting cultural communication between different cultures and nations. Therefore, it is urgent for the translator to advance cross-cultural consciousness.
2.2 The Translation Criteria and Cultural Turn in Translation Studies
2.2.1 The Translation Criteria
As for the translation criteria, translation theorists proposed different proposition. Yan Fu proposed “faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance”; Fu Lei held “prefer content to form(重神似不重形似)”; Zhang Peiji put forward “faithfulness and smoothness”；and the well-known American translation theorist Eugene A. Nida presented “functional equivalence” and “dynamic equivalence”. We can see that these propositions are mutual influenced, complemented and improved.
Although these theories are different in key sides somewhat, the focus is to express the original meaning and implication accurately loyally and keep the original style faithfully. Particularly, two cultures can never be completely equivalent and it is impossible to re-appear all the three meanings of the original in all translation. Thus translators need to desert the literal meaning or the image and submit to the implicit connotation when dealing with cultural clashes in translation. In a word, the implied meaning, namely to express the original meaning, is the most important.
2.2.2 The Cultural Turn
In 1990, the book entitled Translation, History and Culture by Andrew Lefevere and Susan Bassnett was published, which officially announces the cultural turn in translation studies. Hence translation studies shift its focus from the linguistic perspective to the cultural perspective.
Traditionally, translation was seen as a segment or sub-field of Linguistics, while J. C. Catford’s book A Linguistic Theory of Translation: An Essay in Applied Linguistics (1965) was perhaps the last major work written on this assumption, in which he defined translation as comprising a “substitution of TL [i.e., Target Language] meanings for SL [i.e., Source Language] meanings” (quoted in Bassnett:2000, 15) But shortly afterwards, it began to be noticed that literary texts were constituted not primarily of language but in fact of culture, language being in effect a vehicle of the culture.
Thus the translation of a literary text became a transaction not between two languages, or a somewhat mechanical sounding act of linguistic “substitution” as Catford had put it, but rather a more complex negotiation between two cultures.
2.3 Literal & Free Translation
Traditionally, as far as a translation method is concerned, the central concern has always been whether to translate literally or freely. Since translation is mostly inter-lingual communication in its translational sense, the main points under dispute between literal translation and free translation are actually the linguistic difference in the way of expression. A translator must decide which of the norms takes priority --- whether the cultural norms of the source language community, the cultural norms of the target language community, or perhaps a combination of the two?
Those who are in favor of the literal translation method tend to put on emphasis on certain source culture-related elements which are seen as fundamental to the essential message being conveyed by a text. Therefore in practical translating, the translator aims to preserve the linguistic and cultural differences of the foreign text and a maximum number of source language culture structures and words are usually borrowed and introduced into the target language culture.
By contrast, those in favor of free translation method tend to bring out the communicative aspect of language and translations. The aim of translation is to bring back cultural others as the same, the recognizable, even the familiar. The result is a greater or lesser degree of “normalization”, where all the source language culture-specific traces are made to disappear.
Different people also have different opinions of the two pairs of methods. As a matter of fact, there are similarities as well as differences between them. In order to maintain the culture elements of the source language, literal translation is usually the best way, while in order to comply with the culture norms of the target language, free translation is usually unavoidable.
Chapter Three Differences between Chinese and Western Cultures Reflected in the Languages
Culture is a historical phenomenon; every society has its individual culture. Language is part of the culture, is the carrier of culture. Cultures consist of numerous interrelated cultural orientations, which are indicated as cultural patterns. Different cultural patterns result in different aspects of cultural clashes.
3.1 Historical Cultural Difference
The historical cultural difference refers to the culture formed by the special history development process and the culture accumulated by the social heritage. Every nation and country develops differently, so the historical culture deposited from the long history definitely differs from each other. In both Chinese and English languages have formed by the historical literary idioms. These idioms, although simple in structure, carry on far-reaching significance, which are hard to understand and translate only from the literal meaning.
Every language has colorful proverbs, idioms, they are accumulations by the people of all ethnic groups in the long-term use of language, possessing strong individuality and local color; it is also the most difficult part of the translation. In translating idioms and proverbs, it is a must to understand their implications and connotations. It needs translators to be flexible to combine the literal translation and free translation skills.
In languages, people embellish their speech or writing with references to characters or events from their history, legends, literature, religion, etc. In English, “to move heaven and earth” cannot mean “翻天覆地，惊天动地” but “千方百计，不遗余力”; “to talk horses” doesn’t refer to “谈论马”，rather than“吹牛” in Chinese. For instance, in the sentence “John can be relied on；he eats no fish and plays the games”(约翰为人可靠，他既忠诚又正直), there are two idioms “to eat no fish” and “to play the game”. If the translator has no idea about them, then the sentence can be ridiculously translated as “他一向不吃鱼而且经常玩游戏”.
The same reasoning applies to allusions in Chinese. In Chinese,“你这个人真阿Q” or “她是个林黛玉式的人物” conveys so much information that hardly any further explanation is needed. But such allusions are not always easy to understand, and without understanding there can be little appreciation. If one has never read Lu Xun’s The True Story of Ah Q, he would be at a loss to understand the remark about Ah Q. And know the plot of A Dream of Red Mansions a little is difficult to appreciate the reference to“林黛玉”，the heroine of the story.
Many English allusions involve events or characters from Bible and Greek and Roman mythology, such as “Achilles heel（唯一致命弱点）”、 meet ones waterloo（一败涂地）、Penelopes web（永远完不成的工作）、a Pandoras box（潘多拉的盒子，指灾难、麻烦、祸害的根源）”. Another primary source is the works of English literature, especially from Shakespeare. Many lines and characters from his plays are cited commonly in everyday English. As calling a person“猪八戒”in Chinese means he is similar in many ways to that crude, pleasure-seeking, often erratic but sometimes lovable pig in the novel Pilgrimage to the West, so alluding to a person as a Romeo implies a handsome young man, passionate, dashing (from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet). In translating these terms, restituting and interpretation may be combined.
3.2 Different Geographical and Regional Environments
Due to regional segregation and different living environment, different nationalities have their own peculiar cultures under different natural environment. The cultural connotation of words and things differs from one culture to another. The differences in living environment find their expressions in using the idioms as well. Idioms have close relation with people’s life closely.
Britain is an island country enclosed by the sea. The English people mainly engaged in commercial activities very early on the ocean and the English people usually connected what they saw and thought with their experiences on the ocean and thus plenty of their proverbs and sayings related to the sea ,such ad “all at sea (茫然不知所措)” ; “drink like a fish (牛饮)”;”fish in the air (水中捞月)” ; “give up the ship (放弃)”; whereas China is a country with large land areas and the Chinese people involved mainly in agricultural activities from early times. When two languages refer to the same concept, they employ different expressions. The English describes that some one “spends money too recklessly” by “spend money like water” whereas the Chinese will say “挥金如土”. There is proverb in Chinese“前车之鉴 后事之师”，but in English, it is “Let another’s shipwreck by your seamark.”; the Chinese people use a proverb“未雨绸缪”(turn up the soil and fix the window before it rains) to express the meaning “making preparation beforehand in normal times”, while its English version is “while it is fine weather mend your sail”. Moreover, there are many idioms on boats and water while there is no precise equivalences in Chinese at all, such as “to rest on one’s oars (暂时歇一歇) , to keep one’s head above water (奋力图存) ,to be all at sea (不知所措) and etc..
Another major difference in regional culture between English and Chinese lies in locality and its correspondents. In China,“东风”represents spring and warmth, which revitalizes the life and symbolizes hope and strength, and than the Chinese people like the east wind while “west wind” refers to the wind of autumn suggesting something declining, or something miserable, being taken for a derogatory term in Chinese. However, England lies in the Western Hemisphere, having the oceanic climate. The east wind comes from the northern part of the European Continent; which brings coldness and unpleasantness, so the English resents the east wind, while the “west wind” in England has the same denotation and connotation as “east wind” in China. Let’s have an example to illustrate it. “How many winter days have I seen him, standing blue - nosed in the snow and east wind? (在许多冬日里我总看见他,鼻子冻得发紫,站在飞雪和东风之中)”. Qian Gechuan held that “east wind” ought to be translated as “北风(朔风) 或西风” because of the different regional environment.
Similarly, Chinese believe that the summer day concerns with the intense heat and than there are expressions“赤日炎炎似火烧”,“骄阳似火”. Yet the summertime in Britain is the best season and it brings to people the air of warmth, gentility and brightness, just like the spring-day in China. So Shakespeare in one of his sonnet sings that “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate. (我可否将你比作夏日,你更可爱又更温柔)”.
From the above examples, it can be concluded that although the Chinese sayings and the English ones share the same figurative meanings, they arouse different associations in the two different cultures. Due to the different geographical environment, two people of different nationalities observe things; reflect the objective world not consistently. So it requires translators not to translate word for word by the dictionary explanation or translation.
3.3 Different Modes of Thinking
With regard to modes of thinking, Western culture tends to dissect things into parts and analyze their relationships. On the other hand, Chinese people are likely to synthesize parts and examine the whole. Language inevitably reflects the mode of thinking of certain people.
As for the core value, Western linearity is embodied in the priority given to developing individual potentialities, realizing individual objectives, and seeking individual interests; Chinese circularity is embodied in the importance attached to harmonizing community relationships, actualizing community objectives, and safeguarding community interests. The English words like “individualism”, “ambition” and “idealism” are commendatory terms while the Chinese ones like“个人主义”，“野心” “理想主义”a derogatory terms.
The English people are different from the Chinese in observation perspectives. For the same object, they employ different concepts of generalization and thus the language expressions are not similar. For instance, they have different ideas about the observation and use of color. When we refer to “black tea” in English while it should be translated into Chinese as“红茶”rather than “黑茶”; “brown bread” is “黑面包” not “棕色面包. The color “青” conveys quite different connotations in “青衣” and“青天”; However when they are translated into English as “black dress”和“blue sky” since there is no equivalent connotations in English. Similarly, “黑眼睛” is translated as “dark eyes”; while “black eyes” is translated into Chinese as “挨打后出现的黑眼圈”. We Chinese say“红眼病” whereas the British use “green - eyed”.
Moreover, the different modes of thinking and logics are reflected in language expressions. Take the sentence “You cannot be too careful in the exam” for an example. If it is literally translated into “考试时你不要太细心”, which is a little illogical and ridiculous. As for its grammatical function, it serves as a double negative structure. As for the thinking mode, it is reverse and it should be translated as “考试时你要特别细心”. Another sentence “The plastic container is five times lighter than that glass one” should be translated as “这个塑料容器比那个玻璃容器轻五分之四” rather than “这个塑料容器的重量比那个玻璃容器要轻四倍”, which is illogical in Chinese. Obviously, the above cases are due to the different ways of thinking and English. Therefore, the translator needs to get through the limitations and manage to achieve the significance equivalence when dealing with this kind of thinking difference caused by the expression of the different concepts.
Chapter Four Strategies for Transferring Cultural Differences
The foregoing discussion and analysis have displayed the significance of cultural factors in translation, which naturally leads to another question: How should one deal with the cultural factors in translation practice, especially when the text in question belongs to a culture which is quite different from the target culture? In this part, we will have a discussion of the strategies in dealing with cultural difference according to its specific category one by one.
With regard to the translation methods, the literal and free translation theories have been the focus of debate. Based on study of some translation theory and practice, the free translation correlates with literal translation and there are no absolute boundaries between them. In the process of translating a literary work to an idiom, the two methods are flexibly combined and related. It is believed that the literal translation can be adopted if the original flavor can be expressed accurately while the literal translation can be employed if the target language, especially the implicit connation, cannot be conveyed by literal translation.
4.1 The Method of Literal Translation
Since the human beings share some common belief and similar social life experience, which be called the core common values, then Chinese and British cultures share some resemblance. Thus there are a few identical or similar idioms or expressions in the two languages, with identical literal meaning, image meaning and implicit meaning. In another word, the implied cultural information is similar or identical and thus these idioms can be inter-translated literally. For instance, the idiom “Easy come, easy go” matches to the Chinese proverb “来得容易，去得快”; “strike while the iron is hot” is identical to the saying“趁热打铁”and “Practice makes perfect” is equivalent to “熟能生巧”in Chinese. Two idioms typeface meaning or image meaning, a slightly different, the implied meaning is same, image meaning translation. This idiom translation, save the original literal meaning, image meaning and implicit meaning, retain the original style, readers can easily understand, accept, is the best way.
In translating these full equivalent or partial-equivalent proverbs or sayings, the figurative image or vehicle may be kept to obtain a literal translation. For example:
All roads lead to Rome 条条大道通罗马
to offer fuel in snowy weather 雪中送炭
Chinese proverbs without commonly known equivalents in English are too numerous to be listed here. For the problems of rendering Chinese proverbs and sayings into English, the best method is to give a literal translation—without due attention to tone and style, then add a tag phrase or comment that brings out the wit or humor. The tag phrase is often most effective if there is one ready made in English. For example:
盲人骑瞎马：A blind man on a blind horse — rushing headlong to disaster.
一日被蛇咬，十年怕草绳: Once bitten，twice shy— When you have bad experience, you dont want to have the same experience again.
In both examples, the first part is a literal translation, which could mean several things to Englishmen. The second part is the one that supplies the “punch line”, the moral of the saying. By using literal translation, readers can understand its implied meaning, not only keeping the original image, but achieving the interesting flavor.
4.2 The Method of Free Translation
As a matter fact, a great deal of idioms in the source language cannot retain its original implication in the target language because of cultural factors. For example, it is well known “梁山伯与祝英台” in China. If it is translated word for word, the English readers must be puzzled and confused. Yet they will surely be enlightened if it is translated as “Chinese Romeo and Juliet”. In a word, translators have to take the cultural differences into consideration and try to employ some familiar images and concepts, which convey the pragmatic purposes and the implicit meaning, to replace the original images. Just as Professor He Ziran that quoted an typical example and that is “When in Rome，do as the Romans do”. If the idiom is translated literally, some Chinese readers wonder why it is Rome rather than other place. In fact, it has the implication as “observe the customs of the place” and it can be translated as “到什么山，唱什么歌”，which is more understandable and vivid. Yet which is the better one of the two versions should depend on the context and style.
We all know that the word “dragon” differs completely from Chinese to English. Thus the idiom“望子成龙”is better translated into “to expect ones son to become an outstanding personage” rather than keeping the original image and concept. Similarly, the English apply the idiom “a cat on hot bricks” to describe the state of being painful and desperate, which is entirely identical to the Chinese proverb “热锅上的蚂蚁”. It is distinct that the original image is transferred and it is easier to understand for the target readers.
For some other examples:
(1) Among the blind the one-eyed man is king.
译文:山中无老虎,猴子称霸王。
The “one-eyed man” in the source language is replaced with “猴子”in the target language, which is more understandable and reasonable than the literal translation “盲人之中单眼汉为王”for the general readers.
（2）When Joan graduated from high school, she looked at the world through rose-colored glasses.
译文:琼中学毕业的时候,她把一切事情看得太简单、太容易了。
If it is translated into “玫瑰色的眼镜”, which is likely to get the readers confused and think that “带有色眼镜”。
Furthermore, it is impossible to retain their literal meanings and images when translating some idioms and proverbs and it is more reasonable to keep its implicit significance. For instance, when doing the translation of the Chinese idiom“天有不测风云”, the word “风云”is translated into English simply according to the literal meaning, it may cause misunderstanding of ridiculous results. In English language, there is no such association like in Chinese culture. Then if put it out of the implicit meaning, it will be clear at a glance: Something unexpected may happen any time. If the English idiom “Achilles’ heel” is translated literally into “阿克勒斯的脚后跟”, it must be quite hard for the general Chinese to hold; while the version of“唯一致命的弱点” is more proper. When translating “the dog that will fetch a bone will carry a bone”, the images “ dog、bone” can’t not be translated as “狗、骨头”while it should be translated freely as “以你说别人坏话的人，也会说你的坏话”.
In summary, the free translation is paying more attention to implication and connotation, ignoring details and images. To do translation well, a mastery of general knowledge and knowledge of the subject culture is of vital importance. It can almost be accepted as a rule that the greater the translator’s knowledge of the subject culture, the less arduously understanding occurs, and the more accurate representation in the target language.
4.3 Other Methods
Since the cultural differences and lingual differences, translators need to make appropriate modifications in forms in order to find the source language and target language on the expression of the concept of consistency in the conversion of languages, especially if the literal translation and free translation can not convey accurately the meaning of the original text. It not only highlights the target language to be more reasonable and natural, but also facilitates the reader to identify and accept the source language culture. Concretely speaking, the “modification” refers to information addition and deletion.
For example：
(1)It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief，it was the epoch of incredulity.
这是一个隆盛之世，但也是一个衰微之世；这是一个智慧的时代，但也是一个愚蠢的时代；这是一个有信仰的新纪元，但也是一个充满怀疑的新纪元。
The addition of the three “but” reflects successfully the various comparisons and contradictions in the original text; without them it cannot connect the context, nor reproduce the source style.
(2)It was Friday and soon they would go out and get drunk.
星期五发薪日到了，他们马上就会出去喝得酩酊大醉。
The Chinese readers must be confused without the addition “pay day”. In the United Kingdom Friday is the payday, the addition making the "Friday" specific, and the cultural information becomes a glance.
(3)In the street below a peddler was crying his wares.
房子下面有个小贩在沿街叫卖。
The translation deletes “his wares”, which does no damage to the original meaning, but is a vivid reproduction of the source language.
(4)…because he used to lend money to people in distress, and would never take any interest for the money he lent…
因为他常常借钱给那些有急难的人，从来不要利钱。
By deleting the prepositional phrase and the attributive clause at the end of the original sentence, the translator employs only a "利钱" to express the source language semantics and style concisely and precisely.
In summary, translators must always bear in mind the purpose of information addition and deletion; meanwhile, they also should coordinate with the information deletion and addition.
Just as Newmark once said that “a text to be translated is like a particle in an electric field attracted by the opposing forces of the two cultures and the norms of two languages.” Therefore, we can see that there are many factors, such as the economic and political situation, the translator’s attitude towards the target and source language cultures or even some deep-rooted cultural presuppositions of the translation, to name just a few, that a translator has to take into consideration before he finally decides which method or methods he will use in actual translation. The fact is that the series of choices that one translator makes will be an interconnected one and most of the time a version is a result influenced by a combination of many factors.
Conclusion
To conclude, the Chinese and English stem from different cultural backgrounds, being different cultural carriers, which are bound to lead to t a number of expression differences in two languages. To handle cultural differences, the translator should have the full understanding of two cultures, as well as induction of both the practical ability to use language. As a translator to build a cultural bridge need to depend on different situations, to adopt a flexible strategy for translation, overcome the obstacles between Chinese and Western cultural differences, to achieve the purpose of cross-cultural communication.
With cultural exchange and convergence are powerful trends in this global village, this paper attempts to study translation from a cross-cultural perspective. This thesis focuses on the cultural differences a translator may encounter in translation, traces each of the two cultures back to its history and other fields to analyze the causes and background, and explores some strategies. After a systematic analysis of language, culture, translation, and heir interrelations, it’s obvious that translation is not only the process of transforming the source language into the target language but also the process of a mutual communication and an exchange of the two different cultures.
As for the analysis in the paper, it could be safe to state each method is justified in its own right, and what is left for the translator is to exert his utmost to achieve a balance between the two. In summary, we should point out that a translation should on one hand keep as much as possible the original flavor and on the other try to make it accessible to the TL readers, to be as native as possible. The translator should keep this beam balanced between the reader and the author exhibits to what extent a good translation is. Comparative studies on cultures do shed light on methods in translation of cultures factors; however, the study of culture can never cover all the aspects of transition studies.
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