complete文化背景对翻译的影响1

The influence of cultural background on translation [Abstract] It is agreed that language is a component of culture and reflects it; translation is not only the linguistic but also the communication of cultures. Culture background knowledge is concerned with geographic chatacteristics,historical ,tradition, social customs ,religion arts and other aspects of a society. Also it conditions the psychological make-up of individuals. Therefore, target language readers may experience culture shock from translations do not properly deal with the factors of cultures as a result of their lack of cultural background knowledge, This paper discusses the influence of background of cultures on translation, and concludes that translators should have a vast and precise understanding of the two cultures concerned.[Key Words] culture; translation; cultural background文化背景对翻译的影响[摘要] 语言不仅是文化的组成部分,也是文化的反映形式。

翻译不仅仅是语言间的转换,而且是文化间的交流活动。

文化背景知识涉及历史、地理特征、传统、社会风俗、宗教、艺术以及社会的各个方面。

同时,文化背景知识也影响了社会成员的心理结构。

因此,如果翻译者缺乏文化背景知识并因此不能恰当处理好原文中的文化因素,译文读者可能要面对激烈的文化冲击。

本文将主要讨论译者文化背景知识对翻译的影响。

最后得出结论:翻译者应该对相关的两种文化都有广泛而深入的认识。

[关键词] 文化;翻译;文化背景I. introductionLanguage is a part of culture and plays a very important role in it. On the one hand, without language, culture would not be possible. On the other hand, language is influenced and shaped by culture; it reflects culture. the purpose of this paper is to discuss the importance of understanding the cultural background of the English speaking countries in cultural tradition, cultural mentality, local conditions and customs, history and religious, and explains through examples the impact of cultural background on translation.II. the impact of cultural background on translation.Translation is a kind of activity which inevitably involves at least two languages and two cultural traditions. According to the tradition theory of translation, people considered translating activities as a process of transfer between two languages. In the 1970s, the study of translation tended to develop in several directions. It was no longer restricted to the tradition aesthetic and linguistic study and become cultural rethinking. [1]In nature, translation is a kind of communication between cultures and is an exchange between two cultures. During the process of translation, the interpretation and expression of the connotation of culture emerge as problems to be solved at the first place. That requires the translators not only should have bilingual abilities but also should have the knowledge of two cultures of, even several cultures. For a real successful translation, knowing two cultures is more important than grasping two languages, because words become meaningful only in it s effective cultural background.”Language cannot be viewed in isolation from other factors such as sociology and psychology. Among those related elements for successful translation, culture diversities play an important role in conveying equivalent meaning.The scope of culture is extremely wide-ranging .Any kind of language bases on the ground of certain culture. So, the cultural characteristics of language include the way of thinking, the value viewpoint of people., historical, tradition, social customs, environmental,believes and geographic features that the language reflects.So any subtle difference on above forms can bring out problem to translation. Before translation, I think that it is very important to learn well on the cultural difference between languages .it is easy to know for all of us now that Language and culture influence each other, reflect each other and co-exist with each other. Different cultures result in different language. Different languages in turn cause different communicative patterns and finally differences between cultures.in turns We should try to know and recognize as many forms of cultural differences as possible, so that we can deal with problems of translation more flexibly.Based on above I list some typical forms to explain the relationship between China and the Occident mainly cultural differences and translation.1. The differences in ways of thinking and translationLanguage comprises their historical and cultural backgrounds as well as their approach to life and their ways of living and thinking. [2]Chinese people and people of the Occident have a different thinking way.Different thinking way is an important factor to affect translating principle and effect.Ways of thinking is the process of an individual choosing, evaluating and organizing external stimulus, which is the process of changing external stimulus to personal experience.so different peoples can produce very different viewpoints when they observe same object.also different nations have great difference in standpoint and response to outside things.Before I heard a story. An American, a German, a Japanese and a Chinese went to visit an aquarium together. The American admired the big and beautiful shape, the German talk about the behavior of fish and water temperature, the Japanese saw about the quality and price of fish jar, the Chinese only wants to know if the fish can be eaten and if it is delicious for taste. Maybe this story is not true, but it illustrates people with different culture show different opinion to the same thing because of their different thinking way.We do not evaluate the creditability of the hearsay, but different cultures indeed have different response. For example, Americans put emphasis on the size and price of things they met, while Japanese think color is a much more important standard. It demands translators understanding relevant languages and deeds of different nations, being familiar with relevant cultures’ways of thinking.Differences in ways of thinking can directly affect people’s response to the same thing. Can be cite this exemple: When two Chinese meet each other, they often say: “吃了吗?” , while the Englishman like to say: “ Lovely weather, isn’t it?”. I think both two sentences can be translated as “ How do you do?”. If you translate the sentence “ 吃了吗?” directly to an English friend who doesn’t know Chinese culture well“Have you eaten？”，he will not understand the meaning. Maybe he will think “ Does he want to invite me to have a dinner?” For a Chinese, he also doesn’t u nderstand why the English persons always like to talk about weather when they meet together. [3]2.Many cultural differences also can be seen from the value viewpoint of people.A culture’s value is another important aspect that affects translation and cross-cultural communication. Here I just talk about some points.For instance, there is different viewpoint on time. “Time is money” almost is a credo of every American. If they make an appointment, normally the Occident people say “ I will go to see you at 8 o’clock tomorrow morning.” They like to appoint in accurate time. In China, normally they say “ Tomorrow morning I will go to see you.” 8 o’clock or 11o’clock is possible. If you appoint with a western person, you musttell him at what time because he is not used to wasting time for waiting.Age is an another important value notion in many cultures. While different cultures have different emphasis. In Chinese culture, senior is the symbol of wisdom, power and prestige. On the contrary, respecting young people is the first value in western culture. That is why simply translating “老人”into “old man”or “old lady”will bring about absolutely different effect of translation.3.Different language and culture lead to different communicative patternFor the Chinese, this total view, an is-or-is-not polarity is avoided. The Chinese tend to be situation-oriented and to view events in relation to the totality.In English, people and thing are placed in a continuum—big and small, good and bad, black and white. For example, the Chinese may refer to love and hate as deference and politeness, they would like to say:”我对她有点意思!”instead of “我爱她!”, and”我懒得理他!”instead of “我讨厌他!”. This focus on the quality of the continuum is a reflection of the Chinese belief in the principle of nature,This polite principle combines to produce everything that comes to be. It makes people more concordant and avoids the communication conflict.another common exemple, Chinese and English have a different answer for “you are not a student, are you?”For the Chinese students, he will answer:“不,我是学生。