On The Translation Of Cultural Elements In Hong Lou Meng

Regretfully, in some cases, one language fails to fully of exactly express the meanings of another; instead, there is a distinction between the meanings built in and the meanings that must be captured and expressed. In this sense, different languages predispose their speaker to think differently, i.e., direct their attention to different aspects of the environment.Translation is therefore not simply a matter of seeking other words with similar meaning but of finding appropriate ways of saying things in another language. Different languages, then, may use different linguistic forms. But these forms are only one of the aspects of the difference between the two language systems.Translation is in nature an activity of cross-cultural communication. However, the diversity of cultures creates many barriers for cross-cultural translation, especially in literature translation.This study aims at exploring some workable approaches to major problems in cultural translation. In this author's view, the probe into the translation of cultural elements in literature works can be done in these three aspects as follows: 1. the important role of culture in translation ; 2. cultural equivalence; 3. specific methods for cultural equivalence. With reference to two exemplary English versions of the Chinese classic novel Hong Lou Meng, the author makes comparative analyses on how the cultural elements are tackled by different translators and how the two versions reflect different translation theories.In the final part, the author concludes that in translating cultural elements, the translator should keep balance between the target-language readers and the writer. That is to say, the translation should on the one hand maintain the original. Flavor while on the other hand be accepted and comprehended by the target readers in almost the same manner that the readers of the original text do so.