On C-E Translation Of Words With Chinese Characteristics In China's Mainstream English Newspapers And Newsmagazines

After more than two decades of opening up and reform, China's comprehensive national power has been enhanced remarkably. With the rise of its economic status, the necessity of revealing China's core values, long history and brilliant culture is emerging daily. Today's China needs to strengthen its communication and exchanges with other countries in the world to achieve better understanding between each other than anytime before. Other countries also need to get a clearer picture about China and Chinese culture. Translation work undoubtedly plays a very crucial role in this process.As we know, language is the carrier of culture and words are the most active cultural information carrier in language. Words can reflect the changes and development of culture directly and rapidly. The material environment, social structure, spiritual belief and anything else are usually manifested through words of a nation. During the translation process, words with Chinese characteristics will be dealt with inevitably. Words of Chinese characteristics are used to express things and phenomena that belong exclusively to China. What they convey to the world is the content that can best represent China's cultural individuality. Usually there are no ready equivalents in English or other languages, which often gives rise to hindrance in the cross cultural communicationThe acceleration of globalization has made it a fact that the intercommunication and language and cultural infiltration among different countries and nations are deepening increasingly. China is sparing no effort in introducing itself to the outside world and making itself best understood by the world. China's foreign newspapers and newsmagazines are answerable to such an important task. Then what translation strategies have these newspapers and newsmagazines followed in dealing with words with distinctive Chinese characteristics? Is there any tendency in their choice of translation strategy? What are the reasons behind their choice?Starting from the relationship between culture and translation and after analyzing a great number of examples of the translation of words with Chinese characteristics taken from China's mainstream foreignnewspapers and newsmagazines, the author finds out that there is atendency of foreignization when cultural factors are concerned in the translation. However, this does not mean that domestication is totally excluded. The study leads to the conclusion in the end that translation of words with Chinese characteristics should pay great attention both to the conveyance of cultural connotations and information. It is essential that the translated text should be comprehensible and acceptable for the target readers, but what is more important is to furthest preserve the characteristics of Chinese national culture. That is to say, foreignization strategy should be the first choice as far as the transmission of our Chinese culture is concerned.