An Analysis Of English Translation Of Chinese Dish Names From The Intercultural Perspective

With the accelerated development of globalization, Chinese foodhas become worldwide, which offers a valuable opportunity to spreadChinese diet culture. English translation of Chinese dish name helpsforeigners understand Chinese dish, and transmits Chinese culinaryculture as well. Due to the wide cultural gap between China and thewest in terms of the dish-naming ways, it is difficult to translate theChinese dish names into English. With the guidance of the translationtheories (Functional Skopostheorie and Intercultural Translation) and theintercultural communication theory (Identity Negotiation), the presentstudy analyzes the purpose of dish name translation, the interculturaltranslation strategies and approaches applied to dish names as well asnegotiation on dish names in intercultural dialogues. According to thetheories above-mentioned, the major translation principles for dishnames are acceptability (accurate translation and conveying foodinformation) and expressiveness (expressing cultural informationembedded in dish names as clear as possible), both of which aim atpromoting Chinese culinary culture and intercultural communication.Besides theoretical discussion, this research adopts the questionnairesurvey to evaluate the English translation of Chinese dish name in TheEnglish Translation of Chinese Menus for the first time. The researchfindings show that the English translation of all fact-telling dish namescan be employed directly; the English translation of mostculturally-loaded dish names is still unacceptable, but it is generallyacceptable for the translation of dish names related to Chinesetraditional festivals and Chinese-featured dish names. All in all, thepurpose of the present study is to make an effort to standardize andunify the English translation of Chinese dish names and to spreadChinese dietetic culture throughout the world in a better way.