On Translation of Chinese Menus开题报告

1. 研究目的与意义

Currently, the English translation of Chinese dish names plays a key role in spreading the traditional Chinese culture. Studying on the translation of Chinese menus not only helps preserve and develop Chinese language and culture, but also enriches English language and culture. Chinese dish names, as a window of China''s catering culture, are actually an effective means to inform foreigners of China''s special cultural environment. Indeed, A large number of these dish names are self-descriptive, but still quite a few are characteristically related to cultural factors. At the same time, the translation of those names needs an arduous and systematic work. However, the quality of current translations is uneven and many low-quality versions will probably give rise to misunderstandings and loss of cultural elements. Hence, with the aim of translating acceptable and recognizable Chinese cuisine courses by foreigners, embracing Chinese cultural through the translation of Chinese cuisine courses has been urgently put on the top of the government#8217;s agenda. Hopefully, the versions suggested by this writer would serve as a reference for further research and quotation. Several contributions to this area have been made by many researchers and much progress has been achieved up to now. In spite of these achievements there are still a lot to do. As for Chinese dishes'' names'' translation into English in cross-cultural communication, it includes every aspects of translatology. In this course, what the translators should concern is not only the cultural and the informative aspects, but also the economical efficiency and practicality.

2. 研究内容和预期目标

Apart from all the features of Chinese menu translation and the problems confronted in front of translation process, this paper not only elaborates on the cultural aspects of menu translation but the practical aspects as well. With Chinese characters of intelligence and humor in menu translation, the dish names are hard to understand by foreigners. For instance, #8220;金玉满堂#8221;(Assorted Barbecued Meat platter with portion of suckling pig or crispy Barbecued suckling pig), #8220;龙凤呈祥#8221;(phoenixes amp; dragons dancing)(zhu,1992;286) and so on. Therefore, the practical way of menu translation by giving some notes to the dish names is very important and urgent. At the same time, this paper develops the listed theory of distinguished scholars in dish name translation and then makes a tentative study of practical aspects of menu translation from the perspective Eugene A. Nida''s theories of dynamic equivalence and functional equivalence in a more systematical way. In general, this paper can be divided into four parts: the first part is the introduction which includes the research background, previous theories, the research significance and the organization of the paper. The second part concerns features of Chinese dishes, including features of dishes and features of dish names. The insights into those features are of benefit to us to translate Chinese dish names into English. The third part examines some existing problems in English translation by citing different kinds of instances to support the idea and the fourth part proposes possible, functional solutions to menu translation. Examples are given and analyzed in this part and rule and methods are put forward from six aspects of menu translation. The feasibility and effectiveness of the model are also tested in this part. The last part is the results, limitations and recommendations for further research. Which theory could be applied in fulfilling menu translation informatively and functionally? What is the relationship between the features of cuisine and the problems confronting menu translation? How can a systematic approach in menu translation be formed? These types of questions would be discussed in my paper primarily.

3. 国内外研究现状

There have been only a few articles and dictionaries that specifically deal with the translation of Chinese dish names so far. The following is a brief survey of the studies on dish-name translation in China. Common in nature, Nida''s 'functional equivalence' which has long been considered controversial is mainly introduced. Nevertheless, this theory is neither perfect in itself nor a catalyst for all problems present in translation. Namely, it has limitations of its own. #8220;Misinterpreted Translations#8221; given by CNN in 2007 pointed out that translation errors and irregularities can be seen everywhere in Beijing. The published book called #8220;Enjoy Culinary Delights-------A Chinese Menu in English#8221; can be considered as a representative of the government#8217;s efforts in comprehensive menu translation. Thus, it is a book that is worthwhile studying from the academic prospective and spurring insights for the author. In Delicious Foods by Cui, Chinese time-honored food, special flour food, taste and style, and famous feasts are briefly introduced in English as well as the background knowledge of some famous dishes. Ren Jingsheng and Xiong Liyou have discussed some skills, technics and principles in translating Chinese dish names. Their standing point is that to translate Chinese menus, a translator should not only fully understand of a dish''s ingredients and cooking methods but also employ different methods to cope with different dish names. They also briefly analyze some demerits of several popular examples in this respect and offer improvements. Ge Zhengming, a professor, insists that Chinese dish names should be translated by the two methods: literal translation and free translation. In the details, I found scholars pay much attention on cultural and the informative aspects. So I want to make the addition of other functional, practical and systematic aspects.

4. 计划与进度安排

1. Introduction 2. Features of Chinese dishes 2.1. Features of Chinese dishes 2.1.1. Materials of Chinese dishes 2.1.2. Cutting styles of Chinese dishes 2.1.3. Cooking methods of Chinese dishes 2.1.4. Duration and degree of heating food 2.2. Features of the names of Chinese dishes 2.2.1. Constitutions of the names 2.2.2. Rules of naming dishes 3. Difficulties in dish name translation 3.1. Problems in dish name translation 3.2. Causes of the problems in menu translation 3.2.1. Cultural diversity 3.2.2. Immaturity of translation technology 3.2.2.1. Spelling errors 3.2.2.2. Grammatical errors 3.2.2.3. Mechanical translation 3.2.3. Lack of awareness on menu translation 3.2.4. Lack of translation talents 4. Translation approaches to menu translation 4.1. Literal translation 4.2. Free translation 4.3. Alienation 4.4. Adaptation 4.5. Semantic translation 4.6. Communicative translation 5. Conclusion References

5. 参考文献

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