Cultural Translation From Chinese To English: A Case Study Of Translation And Interpretation Of Selected Contemporary Texts

摘要

This book aims at engaging in literary translation and reflecting on and investigating what is involved before and after, as well as during, the translation process, particularly in relation to the rendering of the sociocultural elements enclosed in and about the source text and providing the intended reader with an understanding of the translated text that comprehensively encompasses these sociocultural meanings, hence its proposition for the 'extended (cross) cultural approach to literary translation'. These sociocultural elements comprise those referring to the everyday existence of people and their behaviour, reflected through the common human values and shared knowledge always structured as part of a historical system, constantly changing and evolving under the impact of social, political and economic events. To achieve the best result possible, it is also contended that seemingly opposing translation strategies (i.e. alienation/foreignisation versus adaptation/domestication) should both be made use of and the orientation and emphasis should vary from case to case according to the purpose of the translation project, the needs of the intended reader, the text-type, stylistic profile, lexical and cultural quality of the item to be translated, and last but not least, the strengths of the translator.