英语论文汉英数字文化比较及其翻译.docx

英语论文汉英数字文化比较及其翻译.docx

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英语论文汉英数字文化比较及其翻译

汉英数字文化比较及其翻译

[Abstract]Numbers,asaspecialpartinthescienceoflinguistics,arewordsoriginallyusedtoexpressquantityorsequence.NumbersservethesamecalculatingfunctioninbothChineseandEnglish.Butbecauseoftheculturaldiversityfoundinthenationalpsychology,religiousbeliefandmythology,numbersareendowedwithabundantculturalconnotationsandassociations.AndbothChineseandEnglishpeopleshowdifferentcults,taboosandconnotationstowardsthedifferentoridenticalnumberssoastogeneratetheirownnumeralcultures.Therefore,intheprocessoftranslatingnumbers,especiallyonesinthefolklanguageandliteraryworks,translatorsshouldmakearelativelythoroughstudyofthelanguageandculturebothinChineseandEnglish,andconsiderthediscrepancyinthevaguenessofnumbersrespectivelybeforerenderingsatisfactorytranslations.

[KeyWords]numbers;Chinese;English;comparison;translation 

【摘要】数字是语言科学中的一个特殊领域，是表示数量或顺序的词类。

在汉英两种语言中，数字作为计算功能的意义是一致的。

但由于受民族心理、宗教信仰、神话传说等文化差异的影响，数字被赋予了丰富的文化内涵。

对不同或相同的数字，汉英有着不同的崇尚或禁忌习俗，以及不同的联想和意义，并由此而孕育出各自独特的数字文化。

因此，在翻译数字，尤其在民间语言和文学作品中，要对汉英两种语言与文化有较全面的了解,并充分考虑到英汉数字的模糊语义的差异，灵活运用不同的翻译方法，才能译出形神兼备的作品。

【关键词】数字；汉语；英语；对比；翻译

1.Introduction:

1.1Language,cultureandnumbers

1.1.1Therelationshipbetweenlanguageandculture

Culture,acontroversialandpuzzlingquestion,hasbeenconceptualizedfromdiverseperspectivesbygenerationsoflinguistsandanthropologists.Ithasnocompletelystandarddefinitions,however,“culture,inabroadsense,meansthetotalwayoflifeofapeopleincludingthepatternsofbelief,customs,objects,institutions,techniques,andlanguagethatcharacterizesthelifeofthehumancommunity”[1].Ascultureissoinclusive,itpermeatesvirtuallyeveryaspectofhumanlifeandinfluencespredominantlypeople’sbehavior,includinglinguisticbehavior.Andlanguage,“thecarrierandcontainerofculturalinformation”[2],iscommonlyviewedasameansofcommunications,meansofexpressingideasandemotionsofhumanbeings. Language,asareflectionofthecultureandamirrorofthesociety,isstronglyinfluencedandshapedbyculture.Andcultureisinfluencedbymanyfactors,suchaslanguage,beliefs,customs,socialhabitsandsoon.Thus,languageandculture,intrinsicallydependentoneachother,cannotexistwithouteachother.Thecloserelationshipbetweenlanguageandcultureisreadilyshownbythefactthatcultureistransmittedfromonegenerationtothenextthroughlanguage.

1.1.2Thedefinitionofnumbers

Asfarastherelationshipbetweenelementsoflanguageandcultureisconcerned,thewordsrelatemosttightlytotheculture.Andnumbers,asanimportantpartinlanguageworld,haveaninformativefunction.Butwhatisnumber?

AsOxfordAdvancedLearner’sEnglish-ChineseDictionarydefines,“Anumberisawordorsymbolthatrepresentsanamountoraquantity”[3].Numbersareusedwidelyineveryaspectoflife.Withoutnumbers,nothingcangetalongwellintheworld.Asweknow,numbersaregrammaticallydividedintocardinalnumbers,ordinalnumbers,multiples,fractionsandapproximatenumbersinChineseandEnglishlanguage.

AndtheconceptofnumbersstemsfromtheNature,fromhumanbeings’observationandexplorationtotheobjectiveworld,fromtherealizationandgeneralizationtothephysicalworld[4].Anumberistheabstractconceptthatcanbeconsiderednotonlyasthewordbutalsoasthesymbol.

1.2Thepurposeofthispaper

Numbersarecreatedfromtheinteractionofhumans’socialandculturalbehaviorwiththeirabilitytoconceptualizetheiroutsideworld.Sonumbersarenotmerelymathematicaltools,butextendedasmetaphorsintheidiomaticusageswithaseriesofconnotations.ChinesepeopleandEnglishpeopleshowdifferentappetitestowardsthenumbers.SothereexistdifferentculturalconnotationsandextensionsbetweenChineseandEnglishnumbers.Thispaper,fromdiverseculturalbackgroundsofnumbersinChineseandEnglish,discussesthediscrepancyinthenationalpsychology,religiousbelief,mythologyandsoon,andgeneralizesseveralmethodsoftranslationinnumbers,especiallyinliteraryworks,soastofacilitateinterculturalorcross-culturalcommunication.

2.TheculturaldiversitybetweenChineseandEnglishnumbers

Allhumanbeingsusenumberssothatthecultureofnumbershascomeintobeing.Numberspenetrateintoeveryaspectofhumanlife[5].Yet,numbers,whichreflectthescalesofthematerialworld,havebeenendowedwithrichculturalconnotationsduetothedifferentculturalbackgrounds.AsfarasChinesecultureisconcerned,itbearssomesimilaritiestotheworldculture,butithasbeenlayingmorestressontheusagesofidioms.TherearenumerousChineseidiomsandidiomaticusageswithnumbers,suchas:

说一不二，五湖四海，三教九流，一日不见，如隔三秋，三十六计走为上计，三句话不离本行，八九不离十，百战不殆，七零八落，九霄云外，九九归一，十万火急andsoforth.

InEnglish-relatedculture,therearealsoalargequantityofidiomsoridiomaticusageswithnumbers,suchasthreesheetsinthewind,theupperten,secondtonone,two-by-four,four-letterman,catch-22,two-leftfeet,andsoon.Besides,oddnumbersexcept13,arefavoredandadornedbywesternpeople.Forinstance,number“seven”withmarkedreligiouscolourisusedfrequentlyintheScripturestosignifycompleteness.Similarly,multiplesofsevenarealsousedinasimilarsenseofcompleteness[6].ButinChinese,itisontheotherwayaround.Althoughthediscrepancyinthesocialtraditionandthediversityinthenumericalcultureareuniversal,thereexistsageneralcultofnumbersinbothChineseandEnglish.Thefollowingpartwillfocusontheculturalsourcesofnumbercultorworshipfromthreeaspects,thatis,nationalpsychology,religion,andmythology.

2.1Numbersandpsychologyofnationalculture

InChineseculture,heavenandearthproduceeverythingbytheinteractionoftwoexistentialandpowerfulforcesoftheuniverse,yinandyang.“Sincenumberswereconsideredamysticalpartoftheuniverse,theancientChineseregardedoddnumbersasyangormasculineandevennumbersasyinorfamine”[7].“Nine”,asthelargestsingledigit,tookonthemeaningof“ultimatemasculinity”andimpliedtheloftiestreverenceforheaven.Therefore,thenumber“nine”symbolizedthesupremesovereigntyoftheemperorwhowastheSonofHeaven. Andthenumber“nine”（oritsmultiples）isoftenemployedintheChineseancientarchitecture,particularlyimperialbuildings.Ancientpalaceswereusuallydesignedasnine-sectionarchitecturalcomplexesrelatedtothenumber“nine”inthenumberorsize.TaketheForbiddenCity,locatedinthecenterofBeijingforexample.Ithasatotalof9,999bays,andtheGateTowerofTian’anmenhasninebyninebays.Thusnumber“nine”oritsmultipleisubiquitousinthearchitectureofthesacrificialtemple.AndtheNineDragonScreennearBeihaiParkhasalsobeenconnectedwithnumbernine.TheChinesepeopleshowpreferencetonumber“nine”,notonlyontheconstructionofthebuilding,butalsoinotherfields,suchas:

AnnualfestivalfeastsfortheroyalcourtoftheQingconsistedof99kindsoffoods.Andadivisionofancientfeudalgovernmentofficialswas“ninelevel”.Besides,tocelebrateanemperor’sbirthday,therewere81formsofentertainmentcalledthe“nine-ninebigcelebration”towishtheemperorgoodluckandlongevity[8].Byandby,thenumber“nine”becameexclusivelyreservedandadornedbyChinesepeople,eventoday.

Generallyspeaking,inChineseculture,evennumbersareregardedtobeluckyandpropitioussymbols,whichcanbringpeoplegoodluckandfortune,whileoddnumbersareincomplete.ButasfarasEnglishpeopleareconcerned,thisphenomenonisontheotherwayaround.Theypreferoddnumberstoevenones,suchas“three”,“seven”,ofcourseexcludingnumber“thirteen”,asisknowntonearlymostEnglish-speakingpeople.Whencelebratingorsendingflowerstofriendsorrelatives,peopleshouldtakeone,three,five,orevenmore（excluding13）,whereas,peoplesendtwoorfour,sixflowersoritsmultiplewhencondolingwithdeceasedpersons.

Buteverythinghasitsbothsides.Forinstance,number“four”inChinesehasabadandunluckyassociationandconnotation,thoughitisanevennumber.Thus,anotherelementthatrendersnumbersgoodorbadinChineseisthehomophonyandpunninginamany-toneword.Number“four”hasasimilarsoundwiththeChinesecharacter“死”,representing“death”.Soalargenumberofpeopletryeveryefforttoavoidit.ThepossibleomensassociatedwithnumbersandsoundsofnumbersbytheChineseareinexhaustible.Incontrast,thenumber“eight”isfortunatebecauseitsoundslike“发”，namely,makingafortune.Whenitcomestothecasesliketelephonenumbers,vehiclelicensenumbers,doornumbers,peopleshowspecialpreferencetonumber“eight”orsomethingassociatedwithnumber“eight”,suchas168（tomakeafortunealltheway）（一路发），518（Iwanttomakeafortune）（我要发）andsoforth[9].Numberninealsohassuchluckyassociationduetoitssoundandpunning“eternity”（久）.Thereforepeoplefavortochoosethedaterelatedtonumber“nine”astheweddingday.The21stCenturyoncereportedthaton9th,September1999,165pairsofpeopleweremarried,inthehopeofhavingeverlastingloveforeachother[10].

Butincontrast,Englishpeopleworshipnumber“four”,whichisthesymbolofjustice,righteousness,power,thefountainofcreation,andthekeyofeverythingintheworld[11].Forinstance,totheearlypeople,thecosmosismadefourelements:

earth,air,water,andfire.

2.2 Numbersandreligionorphilosophy  

Religion,consideredtobethekernelsourceofaculture,withoutdoubtinfluencespeople’sconceptionofculture,becauseof