The Application Of Cultural Translation Theory In Biography Translation

Language is the carrier of thinking,and thinking comes from culture.Translation is not only a superficial transformation of language,but also a cultural transmission.To translate a language into another language,what we translate are not only the text itself but also the culture behind the text.This is demonstrated by the "cultural translation theory" proposed by Susan Bassnett.She breaked through the viewpoint of traditional translation theory,which is limited to symbols,vocabulary,and discourse,and put the focus of the translation on the cultural level.She published a book named Translation Studies,put forward the"cultural translation theory" point of view,and caused a sensation.She believes that culture can not be cut,and translation should be placed in the context of cultural space.The purpose of translation of a language is not to achieve the equivalent of words,but to be equivalent to culture.Moreover,in order to achieve cultural equivalence,sometimes it is necessary to break the equivalence of language in terms of symbols,vocabulary,and discourse.The ultimate goal of translation is not to achieve text conversion,but to achieve cultural transformation.The author completed the translation practice and translation practice report under the guidance of cultural translation theory.The text of this translation practice report is an excerpt from the third chapter of Biography of Beauty in Male Costume,Yoshiko Kawashima,which is written by the Japanese female writer Fuyuko kamisaka.This chapter mainly describes a series of scenes after the imprisonment of Yoshiko Kawashima and the social status of the old China.Because it is a biography,it combines the artistry of literature with the authenticity of historical literature.The events described in the book are all real events.However,due to the special background of the times and the different positions between China and Japan,there are some slight differences in the expression of the languages of the two countries.Therefore,there are many events that require careful consideration in the translation,especially vocabulary which involve historical issues and political issues.Choosing words must be careful,otherwise it will cause distorted history.On the other hand,the book is interspersed with various genres such as news,letters,and public documents,and it is a document of the 1940s.So When translating,the language habits and stylistic features of modern China and Japan must also be taken into consideration.At the same time as form equivalence,we should strive to restore the culture of the text to the utmost.This requires the translator to flexibly use various translation strategies in the process of translation,and ultimately achieve cultural transformation,which is the purpose of cultural equivalence.Therefore,the author chooses cultural translation theory as the guiding theory of this translation practice.This report mainly discusses the problems encountered in translation and the strategies for solving the problems.It analyzes the translation techniques of biographies under the guidance of cultural translation theory from three aspects and summarizes the problems in translation.In the part of introduction,the background and significance of translation practice were introduced.It was pointed out that this translation practice was carried out under the guidance of the cultural translation theory proposed by Susan Bassnett,and to the author's future translation,and other translators who are interseted in translations of biographies,this translation practice has a reference value.The first chapter makes a brief description of the text and analyzes the characteristics of the text.It is believed that the biographies mainly have two characteristics:literariness and realism.The second chapter describes the outline of cultural translation theory and how cultural translation theory guides translation practice.Cultural translation theory can be summed up in three main points.Firstly,culture and language are inseparable.Secondly,in order to realize cultural equivalence,the equivalence of language forms is sometimes broken.Thirdly,the ultimate goal of translation is to achieve cultural transformation.The guiding role of cultural translation theory in translation practice is mainly reflected in three aspects:the choice of vocabulary,the transformation of sentence patterns,and the correspondence of genres.The third chapter is analysed from the three levels of vocabulary,sentence pattern and genre,combined with translation strategies such as brief translation,dismantling translation,and supplementary translation.Each part enumerates three or four example sentences,and analyzed sentence by sentence in detail to discuss how the cultural translation theory is applied flexibly in translation practice.Finally,it is a summary of the entire report,emphasizing again that the object of translation is culture.The ultimate goal of translation is to achieve cultural transformation.In the process of translation,we must grasp the "degree" of translation according to the differences in different cultures,and point out the problems and deficiencies in translation.This report believes that the ultimate goal of translation is to achieve cultural transformation.The main difficulties in biography translation are the translation of long sentences,the grasp of cultural background,and the attainment of cultural equivalents.In order to make the equivalent between the translation the original,translators must understand the culture of the other country and their own country at the same time..The only way to achieve the ultimate goal of translation is to achieve the maximum degree of cultural equivalence by fully grasping the similarities and differences between the two cultures.