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5.1.6 Translation of Complicated Dish Names 14
5.2 Using Other Methods to Make Up the Defects of the Equivalence Theory 17
Conclusion 19
Acknowledgements 20
Bibliography 21
1 Introduction
1.1 Research Question
Due to the process of globalization, people from different countries communicate with each other more and more frequently than ever before. A great many English-speaking foreigners visit or live in China. As an old Chinese saying goes, food is the first necessity of people. Catering is an important and indispensible part of people’s life. Going out for dinner is a common thing, too. Because of the cultural and dieting differences, puzzlement and difficulties emerge during ordering for foreigners. People often come into confusion while they read dishes on menus which seem queer and unnormative. Here are two examples, one is “Dragons Struggle with Tigers”, and the other is “Fierce Dragon Crossing the River”. When foreign friends read the two names, they may feel unfriendly or uncomfortable as “dragon” in western culture suggests something evil. This paper proposes that the translation of Chinese dishes should be able to arouse the same feeling in foreigners’ mind as that in Chinese so as to achieve the purpose of cultural communication and avoid misunderstanding as well. It attempts to explore the translation of Chinese dishes from the perspective of Eugene A. Nida’s “Equivalent Effect Theory” and tries to provide some constructive suggestions.
1.2 Significance and Purpose of the Study
Dieting in China is an important matter for foreign friends. However, different dieting habits, culinary arts and the unique Chinese catering culture often lead foreigners into awkwardness and misconception. Therefore, good and appropriate translation of Chinese dishes plays a prominent role on menus and on occasions concerning dining. This paper proposes that the translation of Chinese dishes should be able to arouse the same feeling in foreigners’ mind as that in Chinese so as to achieve the purpose of cultural communication and avoid misunderstanding as well. The theory of “Equivalent Effect” is chosen to be the theoretical framework of this paper.
This paper attempts to achieve the following goals: firstly, to improve and perfect the translation of Chinese cuisine; secondly, to provide reference to restaurants and hotels; thirdly, to promote foreigners’ understanding of Chinese dieting culture and other cultures and its long history, and lastly, to introduce Chinese food and its culture essence to the world.
1.3 Research Methodology
This paper adopts Nida’s Equivalent Effect Theory as the theoretical framework to explore the translation of Chinese dishes. It also analyzes the naming characteristics of Chinese cuisine, the cultural factors and customs involved in Chinese cuisine. Examples mainly come from menus of various restaurants, dishes settled by the International Olympic Organization Committee and papers of former studies. In conclusion, this paper puts forward a few methods of translating Chinese cuisine under the framework of Equivalent Effect Theory.
2 Literature Review
2.1 Studies on Equivalent Effect Theory
As a goal of translation, equivalent effect has been pursued by translators all over the world. The most influential one may be the theory of Nida’s. Nida holds that one must in translating seeks to find the closest possible equivalent and the response of audience in target language must be fundamentally consistent with the response of the audience in the source language (Nida, 1964:165-166). However, Jin Nie argues that the theory of translating should focus much on the effect rather than response of the audience. After researching into the theory of “Equivalent Effect”, this paper arrives at a conclusion that there are two main kinds of pergence. One is between absolute equivalence and relative equivalence; the other is between reader-centered equivalence and text-centered equivalence. As for the former, Alexander Fraser Tytler puts forward that the virtues of the original language can be wholly transmitted to another language, thus making people in the target language get clear understanding and strong feeling and to the same extent of audience of the original language (Tytler, 1790:204). But others believe that absolute equivalence cannot be achieved. According to Peter Newmark, equivalent effect cannot be realized in the following two circumstances: the goal of the original text is to influence the readers but the translated text is to inform the readers, and vice versa; or there exists evident cultural pergence between source and target language. As for the second question, Nida is reader-centered and ignores the original text or the original author, while Peter Newmark holds that translation needs to be firstly faithful to the original message, then to the translated version and the last concern are the readers. This paper holds the view that the translation must be faithful to the original message and tries to achieve equivalence effect to the full extent; meanwhile translators must not ignore the feelings, values and cultures of the audience.
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