On Translation Of Cultural Elements In Literary Texts

Culture covers almost all aspects of human society. There are great differences between different cultures. The uniqueness of culture is the symbol of specific cultural community such as nation, race and so on. Various cultures breed varied literary works and these literary works have also reflected various cultures. Translation is the most important means for cultural and literary communications; however, the differences between cultures often constitute great barriers in translation. In the 1990s, the"cultural turn"opened up a new field for translation studies. Since then, translators and translation theorists have turned much of their attention from language to culture.Under the influence of this trend, many scholars in China began their research on the translation of culture and cultural elements, and they were divided into the"domestication school"and"foreignization school". There remain the disputes over translation strategies of domestication and foreignization. However, translation does not only mean language conversion or cultural communication, it is also a pluralistic and creative activity involving various factors.Gu Zhengkun's theory of"multiplicity and complementarity of translation criterion"has provided us with a comprehensive means for translation studies. Based on this theoretical framework, this thesis is an attempt to explore the translation of cultural elements in literary texts from a multidimensional perspective. The translator of cultural elements needs to take into consideration the purpose of translation and other factors that will affect the achievement of aesthetic and informative functions of literary texts.