On the influence of cultural imagery on translation

On the influence of cultural imagery on translation

Absrtact: In the course of the long history evolution, different nationalities have formed their different cultural traditions, customs, religious habits and so on because of their differences in natural environment and living environment, etc.

Keywords: cultural imagery; translation; influence

Language is a form of expression of culture, is the carrier of culture, different nationalities will because of their unique history, geography, religion, customs and other human environment, the expression of language has different means and methods. People in different cultures may have a very different understanding of the same word, or even opposite. Translation, beginning with the different language as a tool to communicate, not only to consider the differences in language, but also to closely follow the cultural differences, cultural differences in the treatment of good or bad, is often the key to the success of translation.

I. Connotation of cultural imagery

Imagery is a concept in literary aesthetics, which is relative to figurative. Cultural imagery, as a kind of imagery, refers to those literary images and cultural images which have specific symbolic meanings and recur in national literature. These cultural images may have different meanings in different nationalities, the same cultural imagery will have different cultural connotations in different nationalities, some are similar, some are even different. But they have a common feature that can naturally cause people to associate it with specific things. As long as they refer to them, they will associate them with the figurative things or feelings they reflect, and take the hint without explanation.

First proposed"Cultural Imagery"The idea is that Mr. Sheiten, who is in1999Year proposed"Cultural Imagery"the term,and emphasizes its important role in translation .,but it did not compare it with the traditional imagery. Mr. Zhangjunfeng defines it as: a cultural symbol that embodies the wisdom and history culture of a nation, has a relatively fixed, unique cultural connotation, and is rich in associative meanings. It is the crystallization of national wisdom and historical culture, is the unique factor in the phenomenon of national culture, and it is the important voucher that distinguishes it from other ethnic cultures. We can also find the shadow of national totem worship in these independent and specific cultural images. A typical characteristic of cultural imagery is that it repeats itself in the cultural works of a nation, and with the accumulation of time, the specific cultural connotation is solidified in it, which has become a kind of cultural symbol which can trigger people's far-reaching association.

Ii. translation and cultural imagery

We know that because of the different ecological and natural environment in the world, many nationalities have been born, different nationalities have invented different languages by virtue of their wisdom, and have formed different outlook on life, values, ways of thinking and customs. Each nation has its own unique cultural system, which is the result of interacting with the environment in the long history. Because of the different languages used to express the ideological content of different nationalities, translation becomes an important tool for communication among different nationalities. It is necessary to make the cultural image with cultural imprint in different cultural backgrounds be accurately and completely expressed in another language, so that it can achieve a natural fusion with the translated words, and guide the readers of the translation and the original readers to produce the same reading emotion experience. In practice, the most serious mistakes are usually not caused by the improper expression of words, but by the different understandings of the same words or cultural images. In the final analysis, the problems in translation are caused by differences in cultural connotations between languages. Language as a part of culture, is directly or indirectly reflects a corresponding culture of the main carrier, the meaning of words can only be found in its corresponding culture. The difference of language is an important embodiment of different cultures. It can be seen that the most important thing in translation activities is to find the differences between the two cultures, and then make the difference. This is a major task of translation. In the process of language communication, not only depends on the national understanding of the language itself, but also

Depends on its understanding of the cultural implications that other languages contain. Only by deeply understanding the cultural differences of language, can we accurately translate the cultural connotation of literary works .

The influence of the existence of cultural imagery on translation

In the long history of different nationalities, because of their living environment and geographical environment, the differences gradually precipitate distinct cultural traditions, religious customs, customs and personalities, and so on, each cultural factor is the embodiment of the cultural imagery peculiar to its nation. The implication of cultural imagination on its literary work has a profound impact, such as the ancient Egyptian literary works that the cow is a sacred symbol, Chinese culture in the bee as a hard-working image, and in Indian culture gives the elephant auspicious symbol. Because these images themselves correspond to different objective things, generally do not cause the difficulties in literary translation. However, some of the same things are endowed with different cultural connotations by different nationalities, and different cultural images are formed, which contain different cultural meanings. The same objective phenomenon seen by all the peoples of the world, as widely accepted by linguists, is that different national languages wear different clothes.

1. The influence of cultural imagery on translation in recognition of special Things

As we all know, "dream of Red Mansions" is a description of the Qing Dynasty Jasin four families of the rise and fall of the novel, with exquisite writing depicts a feudal society of the large family life scene, reflecting the changes of the times, it is a feudal society encyclopedia. By virtue of profound historical and cultural connotation and superb artistic achievement, we have become a tripod in the field of classical literature, which is of great value for the study of Chinese culture and art. Because of its high popularity aroused the high interest of national experts and scholars and literary enthusiasts, and produced a lot of translation, now in its two English translation (Yang Xianyi and the version of the Hall, hereinafter referred to as Yang Translation and Huo translation) as an example, to explore the literary imagery in the recognition of special things on the impact of translation

In Chinese traditional literature, plants are very important cultural images, carrying rich cultural connotation. In the "dream of Red Mansions" is to use it to the extreme, Cao Xueqin in the " Xiaoxiang Hall " in the " bamboo " The description of this cultural image is very important.

Example 1, (Daiyu) I thought about the Xiaoxiang pavilion, love that a few poles of bamboo, hidden a curved bar, more than elsewhere feel quiet. (23rd back of the dream of Red Mansions)

young translation: Span style= "font-family: ' Times New Roman ';" >my choice would be bamboo lodge. i love those bamboos  Halves hiding the winding balustrade ,  Span style= "font-family: ' Times New Roman ';" >and the place is quieter than any-where else.

i ' Ve been thinking how nice it would be in the naiad ' s  house. i love all those bamboos and the little winding ,  half-hidden  walk. it is so quiet and peaceful there.

in Example 1 , the cultural image " bamboo " is translated directly into "bamboo"in two translations, This seems to be accurate and faithful to convey the original intention, in fact, otherwise. Chinese cultural background of the reader to see the bamboo will naturally associate with the " life and death quite a loyal hug festival, tolerate withered occasionally this is not intentional " quality and moral integrity, and then it and Lin Daiyu's emotional life experience together, In this sense, Lin Daiyu's loyalty to love, and its own clear and transparent character and can not be free to yield life attitude. In the face of the garden in the Wind and frost sword strict environment, her performance is the same as Bamboolikeperseverance. and the " bamboo " corresponding to the translated "Bamboo" will not arouse the rich association of readers, in their understanding,"Bamboo" It is just a kind of plant, so it can't read the meaning that the author wants to express, can not feel the artistic value of the work. This seemingly faithful communication of the original cultural image, but actually distorted, even distorted the original intention of the author.

2. Cultural imagery is poor in regional culture The influence of different Chinese on translation

Different nationalities have formed different regional cultures because of the different natural conditions and geographical environments in which they are located. This kind of difference mainly manifests in the different cognition to the same objective thing, and reflects in the language expression. Ancient China based on the mainland culture, cattle farming as the main mode of production in the agricultural era, the natural formation of the people's love of cattle, in Chinese cattle have been given a symbol of diligence and sincerity, as Mr. Lu Xun"Bow Willing Ox"said. In China's traditional culture has a high reputation for cattle. In the UK, which is dominated by horse farming, the image of hard work is given to the horse, the English proverbWork like a horse,As strong as a horseIt is precisely the embodiment of this cultural phenomenon. Britain is an island of water, fishing and navigation are the pillars of ancient Britain, so"Fish"There is a profound cultural image in British culture, for example,a Cold fish (a person who is very cold to people),teach a fish how to swim (give advice to a master). This is the difference that the regional culture brings to the cultural imagery expression.

3. the translation of religious belief to cultural imagery the Impact

alienation "

2 , Zhou Rui home listen to the smile : " Amitabha, what a real pit of the dead ! Ten years is not always so ingenious. "

Yang translated :  "gracious buddha!" Mrs. chou chuckled. " how terribly chancy! you might wait for ten years without  Such a run of luck. "

"God bless my Soul!" Zhou Rui ' s wife exclaimed. " You would certainly need some patience! Why, you might wait ten years before getting all those things sat the proper times! "

The use of Zhou Rui Home"Amitabha"To show that the Buddhist culture has a profound influence on the life of the Chinese people, so Yang translated it intoGracious Buddha, but Huo translates it intoGod bless my soul!, in the Christianity that should be believed"God"instead of the original"Buddha", how much is a bit wrapped in Chinese traditional cultural imagery. Read through the two translations and you will find that the original"days","Bodhisattva","Amitabha"these cultural images are translated in Yang's translation.Heaven,Buddhaand theGracious Buddha, faithfully conveys the image of Buddhist culture, and in order to combine it well with the British Christian culture, it is translated intoGod,Good Lordand theGod Save My Soul, and transformed the image of Buddhist culture into Christian imagery. This is the influence of religious belief on the translation of cultural imagery.

Conclusion

In the past thousands of years, different cultures have been formed because of the differences in the living environment of different nationalities, and the cultural images are unique in various cultures, which are embodied in literary works. With the deepening of international exchanges, cultural exchanges are increasingly important, in order to make people in different cultural backgrounds on the culture of other peoples better understanding, translators also need to have a considerable understanding of other countries ' culture. , in the translation should try to maintain the original, to convey the original cultural image is extremely important, but also as far as possible to abide by the translation of cultural habits, to take care of the reader's acceptance of the target language.

Reference documents:

[1] Sheiten Translation and learning Shanghai : Shanghai foreign Language education Press,

[2] Bailiping . cultural misunderstanding and mistranslation [J]. foreign language and foreign language teaching, 1999.

On the influence of cultural imagery on translation