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Among 164 definitions the most classical one was given by E.B. Tylor in 1871, i.e. “Culture is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, custom, and other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society” (FM Keesing, 1958: 18). The definition covers most elements contained in culture. But obviously, what Tylor emphasized in his definition is the spiritual side of culture, and people also must notice the text.
In Communication between Cultures, Samovar and Porter presented the definition from the standpoint of cross-cultural communication: we define culture as the deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, actions, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe and artifacts acquired by a group of people in the course of Generations through inpiduals and group striving (2000: 36).
The definitions mentioned above tend to be more logical and exact. The exploration of the definitions of culture, on the one hand, displays the achievements in the field of anthropology; on the other hand, reflects that the evolution of human society has promoted culture research.
2.2 Relations between Culture and Tourism, Culture and Language, Culture and Translation
In order to analyze the translation difficulties caused by cultural differences, it is necessary to start with the discussion of the relationships between tourism, culture, language and translation.
2.2.1 Relations between culture and tourism
Nowadays people are becoming more and more familiar with the term “cultural tourism”, which reflects the close relationship between tourism and culture. Tourism is a kind of cultural phenomenon, and cultural communication is the purpose of tourism activities. Firstly, the hope to understand different cultures is the fundamental motive of tourism. People always feel curious about those they are not familiar with. The nature of pursuing newness and beauty urges people to go out for adventures. These adventures bring about cultural exchanges and thus, tourism, as a special industry, comes into being. Secondly, culture is the most important implication of tourist resources. Generally speaking, tourist resources are composed of natural resources and artificial resources. The latter is the reflection of culture, which includes historical relics, festivities, man-made tourist scenery and so on. The natural resources, though from nature, are explored by human beings and characterized by human cultural consciousness. Majestic Huangshan Mountain, the beautiful Lijiang River, the splendid Huangguoshu Waterfall, combined with traditional Chinese culture and endowed with human aesthetic values, are actually personified natural spots.
2.2.2 Relations between culture and language
Language as “the system of communication in speech and writing that is used by people of a particular country” is the carrier of culture. Culture is embodied in a corresponding language. So, language is the carrier and container of its corresponding culture. Language and culture are so closely related together that “Human culture without language is unthinkable” (Samovar&Porter, 2000: 23). On talking about relationship between language and culture, Nida puts as follows: The role of language within a culture and the influence of the culture on the meanings of words and idioms are so pervasive that scarcely any text can be adequately understood without careful consideration of its background (2001: l).
Language is intrinsically related with culture, for it is the most important means that people avail to express beliefs, and it is an expression both of the culture and the inpiduality of the speaker. Just as what Juri Lotman declares, “No language can exist unless it is steeped in the context of culture, and no culture can exist which does not have at its center, the structure of natural language” (Bassnet, 1998: 14). There is no hyperbole in those remarks. People communicate through languages; only by means of communication, culture is shared and transmitted. Peter Newmark has said, ”Culture is the way of life and its manifestations are peculiar to a community that uses a particular language as its main means of expression” (2001: 35).