Travelling Languages Culture Communication andTranslation in a Mobile World.docx

Travelling Languages Culture Communication andTranslation in a Mobile World.docx

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TravellingLanguagesCultureCommunicationandTranslationinaMobileWorld

TravellingLanguages:

Culture,CommunicationandTranslationinaMobileWorld

1.0Introduction

Withthedevelopmentoftheeconomyandtheimprovementofpeople’slivingstandards,thetourismindustryenjoysgreatdevelopment.Tourismtranslationhasbecomeanimportantpartofthisculturalcommunication.Inthepastdecade,researchontouristtranslationstudyhasincreasedyearbyyear,inwhichtourismtranslationincross-culturalperspectivehasbecomethemainstream.Althoughtourismtranslationstudieshavemadeincertainareas,translationqualityleavesmuchtobedesired.Problemslikegrammaticalandspellingerrors,misnomers,andculturalmisunderstandings,areoftenseenintouristattractions,whichhavepreventedforeigntouristsfromunderstandingthecultureofChinesescenicspotsandlocalcharacteristics,thusreducingthescenicappealstotheforeigntourists.

Oneofthepurposesoftourismtranslationistointroducethenaturalsceneryandculturalambiencetoforeigntourists.ThequalityoftheEnglishtranslationoftourismattractionswilldirectlyaffecttheforeigntourists’impressionsofChina.Thereforeaccurate,comprehensiveandobjectivetranslationofChinesetourist’smaterialsiscriticalforforeignerstogetabetterunderstandingofChineseculture.However,tourismtranslationisnotonlyatranslationonalinguisticlevel,butalsoalevelofculturalcommunication.Asaresult.intourismtranslation,weshould,fromtheperspectiveofculturalcommunication,fullyunderstandthedifferencesbetweenChineseandWesternculturalbackgrounds,andprocessculturaldifferencesbetweenthetwolanguagessoastoinspirevisitors’interestintouristattractionsandincreasetheappealofthetouristattractions.

Onthebasisofculturalcommunication,thisthesisaimstomakecleartwopoints:

（1）Howhaveculturaldifferencesaffectedtourismtranslation?

（2）Howcanweimprovetourismtranslationfromtheperspectiveofcrossculturalcommunication?

Inthisthesis,abriefintroductiontotourismlanguageismadeatfirst,whichcanhelpclarifytheunderstandingoftourism.Anattemptthenismadetoillustratetheimportantroleofculturaldifferencesintourismtranslationandcommunicativetourism.Finally,thethesisputsforwardtranslationstrategiesandprinciplesfromfouraspects:

（1）Amplificationandomission;（2Translationofgeographicalnamesandpersonalnames;（3）Foodtranslation;（4）Translationofpublicnoticesandsigns.

2.0AnIntroductiontoTravelingLanguage

2.1DefinitionofTravelingLanguage

Travellanguageisanessentialpartoftourism,whichisactuallyanexampleofcrossculturalcommunicationinthismobileworld.Inthisglobalisedtime,translationbetweendifferentlanguagesplaysanimportantroleinmulti-countrytraveling,whichincludesthecommunicationamongthetravelersandlocalpeople.

Tourismtextsincludetravelguides,travelnovels,lettersofintentforthepowerofattorneyoftourism,tourismadvertising,tourismcontracts,tourguidecommentary,scenicspots,museumcommentary,travelbrochures,touristsmaps,touristpublicityslogans,performanceprograms,menus,hotelsigns,andmanyothersimilarexamplesallkindsofnotices,signsandnames.Thereforealargevocabulary,togetherwithabroadknowledgeandawideunderstandingofculture,isinvolvedintourismlanguage,anditneedstobeeasilyunderstoodwithfunctionaldiversity.

2.2FeaturesofTravelingLanguage.

2.2.1CulturalFeaturesofTourism

Theculturalfeaturesoftourismareveryobvious.Cultureisthesouloftourism,whiletourismistheperceptionofculture.Fortourists,travelingisnotjustforsightseeing,itisalsoajourneyonwhichtouristswillconsciouslyorunconsciouslybeinfluencedbythelocalculture.InadditiontotheprofessionaltermsoftourismEnglish,travellinglanguagealsocontainsaseriesoflanguagematerialswithculturaldeposits.TheformerreferstotheEnglishpronunciation,vocabulary,andgrammar,basicelementsandthelatterreferstotheappreciationofthetourismrelatedarticles.Tohelpforeignersgaintheinformationfromnature,geography,culture,andcustoms,tourismlanguagemustfocusonthepracticalityandspecificityofthetranslation.Therefore,onthebasisofbeingfaithfultotheoriginaltext,appropriateomissioninatranslationisnecessarytomakeiteasierforforeigntouriststounderstand.

2.2.2LinguisticFeaturesofTourismLanguage

Muchoftourists’consumptionistheconsumptionofculturalproducts.Ingeneral,tourismEnglishisplainandnatural.Unlikeliterallyworks,travelinglanguagetendstousesimplewordsorsentencestorecordfacts,justliketakingphotos.However,asameansofconnectingforeigntouristsinChina,tourismEnglishshouldmeettherequirementsoftheaesthetic.Inthedevelopmentandconstructionofourbeautifulandrichcountry,theindustriousandbraveChinesepeoplehaveleftmanyculturalrelics,aswellasuniquelocalcustoms,skilledcrafts,andenticinganddeliciousfood.ThebeautyofthetravelinglanguagescancontributetotheunderstandingofChina.Therefore,sometimestourismEnglishshouldpayattentiontotherhetoricaldevicesandskillsofthelanguages,anditallowsthespecificlanguageandabstractlanguagephenomenontoexittogether.

3.0Cross-cultureDifferencesinTourism

3.1MaterialandCulturalDifferences

Inthephysicalworld,peoplewillhavecontactwithallkindsofmaterials,fromfood,clothing,andhousingtothegoodsofdailylife.However,duetodifferentlivingenvironmentandhabits,sameitemsmayhavedifferentfunctionsintheEasternandWesternworldordifferentitemsmaysharethesamemeaningbypeopleinvariousvenues.

Forexample,differentcolorsmayhavecompletelydifferentmeaningsinvariouscountriesandamongvariousnationalities.InChina,redrepresentsluck,wealth,andauspiciousfestival,whileintheeyesofWesterner,redisthecolorofblood,whichmeansimpulse,provocation,andturmoil.ItcanbeseenfromtheSpanishmatador’scarryingaredclothtochallengethecattlesinceredcanprovokethebull.Asaresult,Chinesepeopleprefertowearredclothesonduringfestivalsandholidays,whileWesternersgenerallychoosebluebecausetheythinkbluerepresentscalmandcomposure.

Besides,differentthingscanrepresentthesamepragmaticmeaningindifferentcultures.Forinstance,thetigerisoftenrecognizedasthekingoftheanimalworldinournation,whilethelionissecondtononeintheWesternworld.Thepeony,symbolizingprosperity,happiness,andgoodluck,isrenownedasthequeenofflowersofChina,whiletherose,knownforlove,isthekingofflowersintheUnitedStates.

Meanwhile,therepresentativemeaningofa“dragon”inChineseandWesterncultureistypicaltointerpretingculturaldifferences.InChineseculture,thedragonisthesymbolofroyaltyandnobility,andweChineseoftencallourselvesthe“generationsofthedragon”.Onthecontrary,dragonistherepresentativeoftheevilinthewest.Therefore,whenexplainingthingsaboutadragontoforeigntourists,atourguidemustbesuretointroducetherelatedculturalbackground,otherwiseChinesepeople,asthenationof“thedragondescendants”willbemisunderstoodas“descendantsofthedevil”byforeignvisitors.WhilevisitingtheForbiddenCity,engravedwithdragon,theymaythinkthatChineseemperorsweredemons.

Additionallyit,wordslike“zongzi”,“YinandYang”,and“theSpringFestival”arepeculiarinChinesewithprofoundculturalconnotations,whichhavenocorrespondingwordsinEnglish,andviceversa.

3.2DifferencesinPerceptions

Fromtheperspectiveofthinking,Chinesepeoplepayattentiontotheoverallsenseofunderstanding,andintuitivethinkingisthedominatemethod.IthasleadtotheiconicityandgeneralityofChinese.Conversely,Westernerstendtowardlogicalthinking,inwhichrationalcompositionplaysanimportantrole.Forexample,theletter“a”isconciseandclearintheEnglishvocabulary.Itisusedtoexpressonething,suchas“apicture”,“aflower”,“amirror”,etc.However,inChinese,differentqualifiershavetobeusedtoexpress“one”,suchas“一幅画”,“一枝花”，“一面镜子”。

.

LonginfluencedbyConfucianism,Chineseemphasizesonmodestyandpraisewhenaroundwithguestsandfriends,whichhasproducedalotofpoliteexpressionsandselfdepreciatoryexpression,suchas敬候光临、恭候、令尊、高足、贵国、拙作、高见.InEnglish,expressionslike“offeringasmoke”,“toawaitrespectfully”,“yourfather”,“yourstudent”,“yourcountry”,“myopinionson”,and“mypoorwriting”,can’tcompletelydeliverthesamedepthofmeaningasChinesecan.

Meanwhile,Chinesepeoplearegoodatvisualthinking.Asaresult,Chinesearticlesarewrittenelegantlyandexcellentlywithamelodiouscadenceinwordingandphrasing.WhileforEnglishreaders,practicaldescriptionswithsimpleandobjectivewordsandsentencesaremoreconvincingandclear.Floweryrhetoricisrecognizedassuperfluousorexaggerating.

3.3DifferencesinValues

Duetodifferencesinbelief,morality,andvalues,peopleofdifferentnationalitiesmayhavedifferentopinionsandunderstandingofthesamething.Forexample,Westernpeople,advocatingthesupremacyofhumanrights,havedifferentviewsonhuman’srightsfromtheChinese.Andontherelationshipsbetweenhumansandnature,Westernersthinkthathumansarethecenteroftheworldandnatureshouldberuledbyhumans,whileinEasternculture,peopletendtoaccepttheconceptthathumansshouldadapttonatureinsteadofbeingtheemperorsoftheworld.

Additionally,Westernersdifferentiatethat