1、i毕 业 论 文以“舌尖上的中国”为例探讨中国菜名的翻译On C-E Translation of Chinese Dishes from “A Bite of China”学生姓名： 学号： i学 院： 专 业： 指导教师： 2016 年 6 月AcknowledgmentsDuring thesis writing period, I have received a count of help and support from many people and I intend to convey my sincere thanks to them. Without their self-g
2、iving assistance, this thesis could not have come to its present form.First, I would like to express my foremost gratitude to my supervisor, Li Jianming. During the period of writing this thesis, he gave me guidance and encouragement on every occasion. Secondly, I should give my thanks to all the te
3、achers of mine. During my four college years, they taught me a store of knowledge, which provides a profound foundation for finishing this thesis.Thirdly, I want to express my thanks to all my classmates. Every time I meet with difficulties, they would help me work out my problems.Lastly, I would co
4、nvey my special thanks to my beloved family for their many 学院英语ilittle attentions.AbstractFood is the paramount necessity of the people. Chinese food as a carrier of Chinese culture also occupies a unique position in spreading of Chinese culture. Therefore, to do a good job in the menu of translatin
5、g Chinese dishes plays an important role for spreading Chinese culture.The author views “A Bite of China” in English as the object, around Nidas iifunctional equivalence theory, follows the principle of “faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance“, and adopts the method of literal translation, free t
6、ranslation, transliteration and other translation methods making Chinese dishes reach the above principle.English translation of Chinese dishes takes a heavy burden and embarks on a long road. In this paper, the author makes a systematic summary for the cuisine translation, and draws lessons from pr
7、evious translation results. The author hopes this thesis could contribute to spreading Chinese culture.Keywords: A Bite of China; functional equivalence theory; C-E translation; Chinese dishes摘 要iii民以食为天。中国饮食作为中国文化的一个载体，在传播中国文化方面更是有着举足轻重的作用。做好中国菜名的翻译工作，对于传播中国文化意义深远。本文将以英文版舌尖上的中国中出现的菜名翻译为研究对象，围绕着奈达的功
8、能对等理论，对舌尖上的中国中出现的菜名翻译进行一个系统的分析总结。并遵循“信达雅”的翻译原则，采用直译法、直译加注释、意译法、意译加直译、音译等翻译方法将中国菜名的翻译做到见名识香，回味无穷。中国菜名的翻译工作任道重远。本文还将某些菜的多个翻译版进行对比，找出作者认为最为合适的一个。由于舌尖上的中国是献给普通劳动者的颂歌，其中的每种美食都很有代表性。本文对其中的美食翻译进行一个系统的分析总结，并借鉴前人的翻译成果，得出比较适合当代中国文化的一个翻译版本，希望能对传播中国文化尽一点绵薄之力。关键词：舌尖上的中国；功能对等理论；汉译英；中国菜中 北 大 学 2016 届 毕 业 论 文vTable
9、 of ContentsAcknowledgements. iAbstract in English. .iiAbstract in Chinese.iiiTable of Contents.ivI Introduction11.1 Research background11.2 Research objectives 11.3 Functional equivalence theory21.4 The significance of the research 21.5 The structure of this thesis2 Studies at Home and Abroad32.1 D
10、omestic studies32.2 Overseas studies4 The Characteristics of Chinese Dishes 53.1 Classification of cuisines name53.2 Abundant cultural annotation 6中 北 大 学 2016 届 毕 业 论 文v3.3 Common cooking methods63.4 Common seasoning7 Translation Methods for Chinese Dishes84.1 Literal translation84.1.1 Translating
11、the main and subordinate ingredients only84.1.2 Cooking techniques + ingredient94.1.3 Regional names + cuisine names/cuisine names +regional names + style94.2 Literal translation with annotation94.3 Free translation 104.4 Combination of free translation and literal translation114.5 Transliteration11
12、 Existing Problems and Prospects in C-E Translation of Chinese Dishes125.1 Existing problems in C-E translation of Chinese dishes 125.2 The prospects of C-E translation for Chinese dishes13 Conclusion14References16中 北 大 学 2016 届 毕 业 论 文第 4 页 共 59 页中 北 大 学 2016 届 毕 业 论 文1I IntroductionChinese people
13、have always has a special love for diet. In many cultures, Chinese cooking culture as one of the three major cooking styles of world is the most popular style with foreigners. In addition, the food also plays an important role in the development of economy and culture (Wang, 2009, p24). This chapter
14、 presents the research background, objective, the functional equivalence theory and the structure of this thesis. 1.1 Research background As China is widely boosting its internationalization, Chinese culture attracts a growing number of foreign friends attention. Chinese food as a carrier of Chinese
15、 culture also occupies a unique position in the spread of Chinese culture. Therefore, the research of menu translation is a significant work today for spreading our Chinese culture (Cowie (b) syntactic equivalence; (c) textual equivalence; (d) stylistic equivalence (Albert E, 2004). In these four as
16、pects, Nida pointed out “meaning is the most important, followed by the form” (Yang, 2014, 260). During the translation process, translators should employ these four functional equivalences flexibly to eliminate cultural difference.1.4 The significance of the researchFood is an indispensable part of
17、 peoples life. However, no country has provided a standardized English translation of Chinese dish names so far. Most scholars believe that the academic research is a very serious matter, so it is rarely to find the menu translation as an academic research object. People are very easy to find books
18、about Chinese food, but there are few English data about Chinese food. 中 北 大 学 2016 届 毕 业 论 文3If there does exists, it just some journals. The author wishes this thesis could promote cross-cultural communication and accelerate the spread of Chinese culture.1.5 The structure of this thesisThis thesis
19、 includes six chapters. Chapter one as the introduction of this thesis give the readers a general understanding.Chapter two is literature review. The author offers some opinions at home and abroad. There is some difference and similar between the two parts. Chapter two will introduce some typical re
20、presentatives.China is vast in territory, rich in resources and large in population. The kinds of food are multifarious, too. The chapter three classifieds some features and lists some examples.The fourth chapter summarizes translation methods in “A Bite of China”. This part is the most important pa
21、rt on this thesis.The fifth chapter lists some problems and prospects in C-E translation of Chinese dishes.The sixth chapter is a conclusion. Studies at Home and AbroadAs one of the world ancient nations, Chinese diet has a history as long as the Chinese civilization. From analyzing the cultural dif
22、ferences of diet between China and Western countries, people can easily find the characteristics of Chinese dishes name. 2.1 Domestic studies As early as in the 1990s, Liu Zengyu (1990) pointed out the chaos in cuisine 中 北 大 学 2016 届 毕 业 论 文4translation and suggested that the norms of English transl
23、ation of cuisine names should be established; Wang Fengxin(1999) made a detailed research on the characteristics of Chinese dishes and viewed that English translation of Chinese cuisine should depend on its primary motivations and secondary motivations respectively. Xiong Liyou (2004) put forwards s
24、ome methods to translated Chinese dishes, such as literal translation, free translation, etc. In her opinion, literal translation could present the original ingredients and flavor of the source text; and free translation is an effective way to convey the inner cultural information. Wang Ning (1999)
25、also proposed that“translation studies at least contains these two types of studies： in its narrow sense, dealing with literal translation aiming at turning the content in one language into another language，and in its broad sense，exploring in turning the cultural connotation in one language into ano
26、ther cultural form The former is called literal translation and the latter cultural translation.” According to these two opinions, the common point is they stand for translation not only show the basic ingredients and cooking methods but also present the cultural annotation. Toury(2001) states:“Obvi
27、ously, the borderlines between the various material phenomena are not clear-cut.” Therefore, the combination of free translation and literal translation is the right choice for translators.Countless Chinese dishes names often contain a plenty of historical and cultural information. Chinese dishes na
28、mes strives for elegance, implicit and luck, and focuses on the expression, association ability, as well as a small amount of popular dishes are named of materials, such as “佛跳墙”, originated from an ancient story 中 北 大 学 2016 届 毕 业 论 文5that the dish was too attractive to be resisted, so the Buddha j
29、umped over the wall of the temple to have a taste; “过桥米线”, which originated from a moving love story between a young couple in Qing Dynasty (Li, 2011).2.2 Overseas studies Nida(1993) pointed out that, “Translation consists in reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent of the
30、 source language message”. Translation is not only a simple word matching, and it is the transmission of Cultural information (Cowie so does the cuisines translation. Their final purpose is to present original content. 杏仁奶豆腐 Almond milk pudding（in here， “豆腐 ” is not real “toufu” but frozen almond co
31、mpany milk）臭鳜鱼 marinate mandarin fish(cannot be modified into “smelly mandarin fish”, which will make people feel sick at the sight of it)干炒牛河 stir-fried rice noodles with beef酸菜白肉 pickled Chinese cabbage with plain boiled pork九层皮 Nine-layer cake紫苏炒青蛳 purple perils fried with spiral shell4.5 Transli
32、terationTranslatability limitation inescapably exists in translation working and makes loss of meaning(刘祥清，2010). Transliteration is a special translating method. Transliteration, as the name suggests, is according to the original pronunciation translation. The purpose of transliteration is to prese
33、nt Chinese unique culture which cannot be expressed by English. When dishes translation applies this method, its mainly by Chinese pinyin to achieve conveying information. There are many Chinese traditional characteristics food which foreigners also are familiar to. This kind of cuisines could adopt
34、 the method of directly transliteration. Not only transliteration is a way to solve the 中 北 大 学 2016 届 毕 业 论 文14problem of translatability but also a method to maintain original local flavor and transmit Chinese culture abroad. This kind of translation can be supplemented by related notes in order t
35、o make it more clear and comprehensible. 馄饨 Wonton 馕 Naan 馒头 Mantou 花卷 Huajuan 油条 Youtiao 黄馍馍 Huangmomo 烧麦 Siumai 粽子 Zongzi 锅贴 Guotie 担担面 Dandan Noodles Existing Problems and Prospects in C-E Translation of Chinese Dishes There are a lot of different versions of English translation for Chinese dishe
36、s. However, some versions still exit many problems. In many scenic spots, foreign friends become confused because of the inappropriate translation which causes negative effects on spreading Chinese culture. In addition, many local specialties without formal English translation, so that much local ch
37、aracteristic culture is not widespread. In this part, the author summarizes the current problems existing in the translation of Chinese dishes and tries to translate some Shanxi characteristic pasta.5.1 Existing problems in C-E translation of Chinese dishesThe translation for Chinese dishes is a new
38、 field in our country. During the nineteen nineties, there were only seven relevant papers (Liu, 2010, p39). The various cooking instruments, ingredients and cooking methods give this work more obstacles. Moreover, the dish names contain the unique national aesthetic which is difficult to get a perf
39、ect face. Misnomer sometimes makes people confused. such as “麻婆豆腐”is conveyed into “bean curd made by a pock marked woman” and “干炒牛河” is 中 北 大 学 2016 届 毕 业 论 文15transferred into “stir-fried bull and river”. Many restaurants convey “童子鸡”into “a chicken without sexual life” (Yang, 2015). Expressing th
40、e meaning has trouble, which brings difficulty to understand the rendition. This kind of problem is about the translatability of cuisine names. Besides, other significant factors in translation dishes of this sort are acceptability by the target culture, readability for the target readers, and elega
41、nce in form for any piece of translation and faithfulness in meaning. To translate the cuisine names is not easy, which requires greater translation skills and more efforts to solve the difficulty and obtain the meaning. The key point for rendition is the choice of the correct rendition way between
42、meaning-based translation and transliteration. The former is the better in understanding the translation clearly while the latter one is often unwise and stretched. In the instance mentioned above, Ma Pos Bean Curd and Mapo Tofu for 麻婆豆腐 are lack of the requisite and make the customers puzzled (Li, X, 2015, 56).There is a common phenomenon that dishes names English version always lack much significant information and make the target language readers confounded. Even more some mistranslation base
