On the Study of Translation Approaches of Culture-loaded Words in Literary Works

一一一一一一一翻译研究本栏目责任编辑：梁书On the Study of Translation Approaches of Culture-loaded Words in Lit-erary WorksLI Fu-zhen(Department of Foreign Language,Suzhou Chien-shiung Institute of Technology,Taicang 215411,China)Abstract ：Culture-loaded words refer to expressions and idioms that carry typically culture messages.The peculiarity of one cul-ture cannot be understood or accepted by readers from another culture.The uniqueness very likely makes misunderstanding and may lead to cultural vacancy in other cultures.Due to the culture differences between Chinese and English,it is hard for a trans-lator to achieve complete equivalence at the level of word.This paper discusses the translation approaches of Chinese culture-loaded words in literary works.Key words:Culture-loaded Words;Translation Approaches;Literary Works 中图分类号：H315文献标识码：A文章编号：1009-5039(2016)23-0143-021Introduction1.1About Culture,Language and TranslationLanguage is the most important approach through which peo⁃ple communicate.It is the carrier and container of cultural informa⁃tion.As is well known,Chinese and English belong to two different language families.Though they share some common cultural grounds because of cultural universality,each language has its own specific properties.That is why it is very often difficult to find a di⁃rect equivalence in one language for a word in another language.Due to the different living environments ，religious beliefs ，tra⁃ditional customs,modes of life,every nation has gradually deposit⁃ed its unique culture features through long historical development.These exotic cultural features are conveyed and reflected by cul⁃ture-loaded words in literary works.The close relationship be⁃tween language and culture demands that learners should attach importance to the study of culture-loaded words because some unique cultural information may be difficult for the target language readers to understand.How to translate the culture-loaded words relates to the effect of understanding one language.This is especial⁃ly crucial for the readers to appreciate the different cultures re⁃vealed in the literary works ．1.2Studies on translation of culture-loaded wordsCulture-loaded words which are also called cultural vacan⁃cies refer to expressions and idioms that carry typical culture mes⁃sages that seldom have counterparts in the target language.（包惠南，2004:10）Since 1990s,a lot of scholars have done relevant researches in the field of translation of culture-loaded words.Guo Jianzhong,in his article A Culture Approach to Transla⁃tion ,explores the translation of culture-loaded words and suggests that Target language culture-oriented domestication and Source Language culture-oriented foreignization are both justified in theirown right and can play their respective roles in translation.Zhou Zhipei classifies systematically culture-loaded words with refer⁃ence to the categories of culture summarized by Eugene A.Nida and Peter Newmark,and discusses some methods.More important⁃ly,he summarized four factors determining a translator's strategy:translating purpose influenced by objective factors,attitudes to cul⁃tural factors involved in the source text,attitudes to the target read⁃er,and subjective intention of a translation.Scholars abroad also make profound researches in this field.Domestication and foreignization were two methods proposed by Lawrence Venuti,an Italian American translation theorist,to deal with the culture factors in the process of translation.Nida began to notice the cultural elements in communication in the 1960s.He classified the cultural system involved in translation into five cate⁃gories,i.e.,the ecological culture,linguistic culture,religious cul⁃ture,material culture and social culture (Nida,1964,qtd.in 郭建忠，2000：276).1.3Some typical and well-known Chinese literary worksChina is famous for its rich culture and long history.The four great inventions influenced the development of economy,culture and politics.The oriental civilization created the rich and mysteri⁃ous culture.To a certain extent,the Four Great Classical Novels present Chinese culture,history,belief,etc.A Dream of Red Man⁃sions,Outlaws of the Marsh,Journey to the West and Romance of the Three Kingdoms have been translated into several languages.Some of them have no more than one translation version.In addi⁃tion to these,some other modern well-known literary works reflect Chinese recent culture,too,such as Fortress Besieged by Qian Zhongshu,The True Story of Ah Q by Lu Xun,Richshaw Boy by Lao She,the Legend of Concubine Zhen Huan by Liu Lianzi,etc.These novels are appreciated and translated into different languag⁃es in the world.2Translation Approaches of Culture-loaded Words收稿日期：2016-09-05修回日期：2016-09-25作者简介：李福珍（1968—），女，新疆乌鲁木齐人，苏州健雄职业技术学院应用外语系，讲师，硕士，主要研究方向为英国语言文学及应用语言学,高职英语教学。