The Application Of Thick Translation From The Perspective Of Cultural Anthropology

Thick translation,regarded as an effective strategy in translating cultures,is of great significance to be studies.The study investigated a detailed classification,manifestations and functions of thick translation.Based on the text analyses of English versions of Liao Zhai Zhi Yi translated from Giles and Minford,the applications of thick translation were presented.The study was theoretically underpinned by cultural anthropology,taking translation as an anthropological practice.The research found out that thick translation presented itself in the field work,outside the text and within the text.In the field work,thick translation encouraged translators to spare time in observing,recording,describing,and interpreting the source culture.Outside the text,thick translation showed itself in forms of prefaces,footnotes,glossaries,appendixes,illustrations and commentaries.Within the text,it was presented in brackets,dashes,parenthesis,pinyin and bold.Anthropological aspects were thickly translated,such as geographic information,historic heroes and events,traditional foods and festivals,religions and spirits,etc.In terms of its functions,thick translation can help to locate the text within a specified frame of time and space,deepen readers' understandings of source texts and cultures,and distinguish the cultural differences so as to show respect for the source culture.The research made an attempt to provide a relatively new theoretical insight towards the study of thick translation.Meanwhile the findings of the applications may be helpful in the practice of translating Chinese classics.