浅谈英汉互译中的文化差异_开题报告

Differences Between Chinese and Western Culture

Introduction

   The differences between China and Western countries has been regarded as one of the important topics of linguistic researches and such differences have been influencing the various aspects of people’s life. Translation is one of the activities that has been under the deep influence of cultural difference between China and Western countries. Since translation involves both the target language and the original language, it requires a translator to master not only the language but also the culture of the two countries. Therefore, more an more researchers paid their attention to the researches about the difference between China and Western culture.

  Chinese people always speak according to the order of time and events from the cause to the consequences, from first to last, from large to small, that is in line with the Chinese Confucian and Taoist ideas, "the unity of heaven and man" human culture and destiny is one of the theory. So English translation into Chinese sometimes has a touch of philosophical artistry. A few simple English words can be translated into a very logical sentence. Due to the difference between Chinese and English customs and cultures, some languages are difficult to translate its original artistic conception. It is as if in China we are the symbol of the dragon's majesty and divine power. Many words with dragons are full of sacred and noble breath. For example: Wang Zi Cheng Long(to hope one’s children will have a bright future) And we see ourselves as the descendants of dragons. But in Western cultures, dragons are portrayed as evil monsters. In many film and television dramas and novels, dragons resemble crocodiles. They have ugly wings like giant claws and bats. They also spit flames. They are very fierce and extremely destructive. So when they say a man is like a dragon, it's not a compliment that he's actually scolding him. Especially that woman is like a dragon, which means she is very vicious and very annoying. Therefore, if you do not understand the local customs and habits, it may be possible to translate the meaning of the expression into different directions and make jokes.

  In contrast to our way of thinking, Westerners think that language can be expressed independently of nature, and that the emphasis on "separation of characters" is too concise to be able to express a sentence completely in a few words. In English, "spend money like water" is a metaphor for a person's extravagance and waste. This translation into Chinese can not be said to be a waste of money like water, but it is said to be a waste of money. We all know that Chinese cultural development is related to agriculture. The earliest tools of arable land were cattle. In the United Kingdom, because of the sea, their tools of arable land were horses. So it can be said that in the United Kingdom horses are to some extent similar to Chinese cattle. For example, the word "talk horse" in English does not mean that speaking horse. Translating into Chinese is what we often mean by bragging.

Heyi's book on the comparison of Chinese and Western cultures systematically reveals the similarities and differences between Chinese and Western cultures and their intrinsic values. It also reviews and explains the exchanges and integration of Chinese and Western cultures, looks forward to the future development of Chinese and Western cultures, and ends with the outstanding differences between Chinese and Western cultures. This book compares the development of culture and economy, which allows me to understand the differences between Chinese and Western cultures more deeply. Combining this book and other documents, I will analyze the influence of different Chinese and Western cultures on translation in terms of different geographical locations and religious beliefs.

Research Background 

Research signifiicance

Research Object

  The impact of cultural differences on translation

Literature Review

  2.1Previous Studies of Chinese-Western Cultural Difference

  2.2Previous Studies about the Difficulties of Translation

  2.3Summary

3.Reasons for the Differences between China and Western countries

  3.1 Geography

    3.1.1 Western: Coastal Land

3.1.2 China: Inland

  3.2 History

3.2.1 Influence of Capitalism

3.2.2 Influence of Feudalism

3.3 Religion

3.3.1 Christianity

3.3.2 Buddhism

  3.4 View of Value and Life

   3.4.1 Individualism

   3.4.2 Collectivism

  3.5 Customs

3.5.1 An overview of Chinese customs

3.5.2 An overview of Western customs

4.Translation methods

4.1 literal translation

4.2The method of artistic conception

5.Conclusion

Reference

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