A Cultural Approach To English Translating Strategies Of Chinese Cuisine Names

Food is the first necessity of people. Chinese cuisine is one of the shining stars in the splendid and glorious Chinese cultures. With the arrival of the era of globalization, the communication between east and west is becoming more frequent than before, accordingly, foreign friends'interests in delicious Chinese food have been expanding sharply, Chinese cuisine has become an important window through which China exchanges her culture with other nations. However, the English versions of Chinese dish names are not standardized, which results in the fact that foreign friends often have trouble understanding Chinese dishes. Therefore, a systematic study of this issue is of practical significance. Translation is essentially a cross-cultural communication. Because Chinese cuisine names reflect various aspects of Chinese culture, translating Chinese cuisine names from a cultural perspective will be a good attempt.Translation is not merely the transition between two languages but two cultures. Chinese food is not only characterized with its special cooking methods but its cultural implications. This thesis, for the purpose of spreading Chinese cuisine culture, introduces some relevant translation theories which include domestication, foreignization, translatability of Chinese cuisine names, and cultural translation theory of Susan Bassnett, and puts forward six translating principles based on these theories. When Chinese cuisine names are translated, the following principles are given particularly priority: 1) correct understanding of Chinese cuisine names; 2) transmission of source culture; 3) principle of simplicity and integrity; 4) consideration of the taboo of English-speaking people; 5) cultural equivalence; 6) consideration of target readers'acceptability. China's vast territory enriches the dishes with regional flavors, this thesis analyzes the status of cuisine culture and several cuisine schools in China, meanwhile, explores the naming motivation and features of Chinese dishes.Chinese cuisine is rich in various cultural elements. Cuisine names usually reflect exquisite cooking techniques, rhetorical allusions, colorful culinary jargons, the inventor and birthplace of the dishes. On the basis of the features of Chinese cuisine names and for the purpose and convenience of this study, the author of this thesis categorizes Chinese cuisine names into nine types which consist of dish names with raw materials, cooking methods and flavors, dish names with historical figures and stories, Dishes with regional names, dishes with animal names, dishes with plants'names, dishes with animals'names, dish names related to jewelry, newly-formed names, dish names with auspicious expressions and dish names with acronyms. Based on the classification and the six principles, this study comes up with several translating methods: literal translation, literal translation with annotation, free translation, the integration of literal and free translation, literal translation plus transliteration, free translation plus transliteration, transliteration, transliteration with explanatory notes, cultural transference. In the end of the thesis, the author sums up the limitation of the study and gives some suggestions on further study.In short, cuisine culture plays an important role in China, Chinese cuisine names reflects many cultural elements. Rendering Chinese cuisine names into versions with Chinese flavors will promote the intercultural communication significantly.