Etiquette/Custom-related Kam Grand Choir Translation: Cross-cultural Pragmatic Approach

Kam grand choir(gal laox)originated in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period and has a history of more than 2,500 years.It is a type of polyphonic choir which is performed without the help of conductor or any instrumental accompaniment,and which enjoys high reputation both at home and abroad.In 2006 and 2009,Kam grand choir,as a specific form of ethnic folk music and oral literature,was listed respectively as the nation-class and world-class representatives of intangible cultural heritage.As one of the outstanding subcategories of Kam grand choir,etiquette/custom-related Kam grand choir is unique in that it is not only a type of songs that are sung on various communication occasions of Kam communities such as wedding,funeral,welcoming activities,festivals and religious occasions,etc.,but also an integrated part of Kam-specific social customs and etiquettes,which,if translated properly,can help the target readers better understand Kam grand choir as well as the cultural background in which it is rooted.Cross-cultural pragmatics is an interdisciplinary field of pragmatic and cultural studies,which mainly concerns the cultural issues involved in cross-cultural communication such as culture gap,cultural identity and cultural self-confidence,etc.Among the three,culture gaps,a specific form of cross-cultural communication,are particularly conspicuous in the translation of etiquette/custom-related Kam grand choirs concerning courtship and marriage customs(e.g.Moonlight Love Song,Mountain Love Song,Bride's Song,Wedding Song of Toasts,“Third-Day” Wine Song),funeral customs(e.g.Funeral Wailing Song,Drum Mourning Song),welcoming etiquettes(e.g.Road-blocking Song,Drinking Song),festival customs(e.g.songs for Sama Festival,Dragon Lantern Festival and Buffalo-fighting Festival)and religious customs(e.g.Getang Entering Song,Getang Enjoying Song and Getang Leaving Song).The present thesis is to study the problems met in the translation of etiquette/custom-related Kam grand choirs and their possible solutions from the perspective of cross-cultural pragmatics.Concretely,it is intended to address the following questions:(1)How to apply cross-cultural pragmatics to the interpretation of the etiquette/custom-related Kam grand choir translation?(2)What are the main culture gaps involved in the translation of etiquette/custom-related Kam grand choirs?(3)What kinds of compensation strategies can be adopted in the translation of etiquette/custom-related Kam grand choirs in order to enhance cultural identity and self-confidence?To fill in the culture gaps and enhance cultural identity and self-confidence,the present writer makes a qualitative and comparative analysis of the etiquette/custom-related Kam grand choir translation.The source texts of the present translation study are chosen respectively from 7 collections of Kam songs or literary works,including Etiquette/custom-related Kam Grand Choirs,A Collection of Songs of Tianzhu County in Guizhou Province,A Collection of Folk Literature of Miao Autonomous Prefecture in Southeast Guizhou,A Collection of Kam Choirs,A Collection of Kam Love Songs,A Collection of Kam Literary Materials,Kam Wine Songs for Joyous Occasions.All the English versions of these source texts are provided by the present writer,under the guidance of her supervisor.The present cross-cultural pragmatic study of etiquette/custom-related Kam grand choir translation has arrived at the following findings:Firstly,culture gap,cultural identity and self-confidence are the main concerns of cross-cultural pragmatic studies as well as the basic issues encountered in cross-cultural translation as is involved in the present study.Hence,exploring the existing culture gaps and their feasible compensation strategies that can enhance cultural identity and self-confidence are the two focuses of the present cross-cultural pragmatic study of etiquette/custom-related Kam grand choir translation.Secondly,culture gaps unavoidable in etiquette/custom-related Kam grand choir translation include those Kam-specific cultural phenomena such as courtship and marriage customs,funeral customs,welcoming etiquettes,festival customs,religious customs,which provide the occasions for the performance of Kam grand choir as well as the topics for the lyrics of Kam grand choir,and which can hardly be found in English culture,and therefore they should be taken into careful consideration by translators in the translation process.Thirdly,in order to enhance cultural identity and self-confidence,compensation strategies in the translation of etiquette/custom-related Kam grand choirs can be adopted at four levels,say,phonetic level,semantic level,structural level,cultural level.Based on the text analysis,the present writer has proved the applicability of the following translation methods: transliteration,rhyming transfer and syllabic transfer at phonetic level;literal translation plus annotation,liberal translation,substitution and generalization at semantic level;conversion,restructuring,logical cohesion at structural level;amplification,cultural transposition and footnoting at cultural level.This thesis is concluded by pointing out that multi-dimensional compensation strategies are necessary for translators to fill in the culture gaps in cross-cultural translation like the translation of etiquette/custom-related Kam grand choirs.