| Translation,as a kind of intercultural activity,is not only the conversion between two languages but also the transformation and transplantation process of the cultures in which the two languages are spoken.Translation is composed of two stages: comprehension and expression,namely,decoding and en-recoding of cultural schemata.Regardless of the stage of translation,the translator will be influenced by cultural schemata in his/her cognition.Therefore,translation is essentially the rendition of cultural schemata,and target text is the product of the cultural schema of the source language reproduced or processed in the target language.Mo Yan is one of the representative writers of contemporary Chinese literature and the first Chinese Nobel Laureate in literature.The Republic of Wine,which profoundly depicts the Chinese culture of liquor and delicacies as well as the deep-rooted corruption of officialdom,has been described by Mo Yan as his most perfect novel so far and the most imaginative,rich and complex Chinese work in the creative techniques of the Chinese novels that Howard Goldblatt has ever read.This novel presents the traditional Chinese culture in a rich and colorful way and contains a large number of culture-loaded terms that demonstrate the cultural landscape of Chinese society.A superior translation of culture-loaded terms in literary works not only effectively conveys cultural connotations but also enriches the culture of the target language,thus promoting the exchange and dissemination of culture.However,due to the great differences in the living environment,political system,religious beliefs,and social customs between China and the West,it poses a great challenge for translators to accurately convey the rich cultural connotations contained in these culture-loaded terms to the target language readers.Therefore,Howard Goldblatt’s proper translation of the work makes it of high research value.Referring to Nida’s classification of cultural factors in translation,the culture-loaded terms in The Republic of Wine are categorized,and from the three cases of cultural schemata in translation activities,namely,cultural schemata overlap,cultural schemata divergence,and cultural schemata vacancy,translation strategies adopted by Howard Goldblatt of culture-loaded terms in the novel are discussed.The specific research questions are as follows.1.What culture-loaded terms are included in the novel?2.How does Howard Goldblatt translate these culture-loaded terms?It is found that five types culture-loaded terms are included in the novel,namely,ecological,linguistic,religious,social and material culture-loaded terms.In translating these culture-loaded terms,Goldblatt adopts literal translation,literal translation plus transliteration when cultural schemata overlap;translation strategies of free translation and substitution are used;and strategies of literal translation when cultural schemata are divergent,free translation,transliteration,transliteration plus literal translation,and amplification are adopted in the case of cultural schemata vacancy.The application of these translation strategies either activates the existing cultural schemata of the target language readers,or adjusts their existing cultural schemata to a certain extent,or even retains the cultural schemata of the source language to help Western readers create new schemata and achieve the purpose of cross-cultural communication.Therefore,from the perspective of the cultural schema theory,translators should apply translation strategies that can activate the cultural schemata of the target readers or make reasonable adjustments to their cultural schemata,and create new cultural schemata for them when necessary.From Howard Goldblatt’s English translation of The Republic of Wine,it can be inferred that he has a considerable understanding of cultural schemata of both the source language and target language,which also enlightens translators to continuously expand their bilingual cultural schemata in order to correctly decode the cultural schemata of the source language and re-encode them into those acceptable to the target language readers to create a better translation and realize the purpose of cross-cultural communication. |
