旅游翻译中文化的差异和处理策略[2]

Author Journal Title Vol./Publishing

Date Page(s) Language Abstract

Cultural Differences and Translation Strategies in Tourist English

王志华(Zhi-Hua Wang) 大學英語（學術版） 3卷2期(2006/09)

139-142 Chinese

旅游英语中涉及许多中西文化因素，文化差异给汉英旅游翻译造成较大的困难，如果不能合理的处理旅游翻译中的文化因素，就不利于旅游的开展。本文分析了旅游英语中的文化差异具体表现，并提出了相应的翻译方法和策略，指出只有正确处理旅游英语中的

文化差异才能把我国建设为“世界旅游强国”。

The tourist English involves a lot of cultural differences, which bring much difficulty to the tourist translation. If we cannot deal with the differences probably, the tourism activities will encounter many barriers. This article analyzes the differences between the East and the West and provides the corresponding strategies to solve the cultural differences. Only use the correct

methods and strategies can we build China a \"great power of tourism\".

Keyword(s) CEPS Category

旅游英语,文化差异,翻译策略;tourist English,cultural differences,translation

strategies

Subject Catagory>Humanities>Linguistics/Literature

On Achieving Pragmatic Equivalence in English-Chinese Translation(wy23)

With the combination of modern linguistics and translation, translation theories have been developed to a large extent.

Compared with traditional translating theories, translation theories nowadays are more scientific. They reveal the process of translating, discuss the difficulty in translating and try to solve the difficulty accordingly. Among current translation theories are the relevance theory and equivalence theory. The latter can be furthered divided into different equivalence. Pragmatic equivalence is one of its major concerns.

Based on the disadvantages of traditional meaning-oriented translation, this thesis aims at approving the possibility of achieving pragmatic equivalence between source language and target language. This possibility is revealed step by step through

examining the main purposes of communication -- information exchange, and the understandability of communicating contents. This thesis is also designed to concentrate on translators’ attention to pragmatic equivalence in translating and to stimulate further studies on it.

On Culture Translation under Foreignization

American culture Reflected in the Use of Words of American English On Language and Culture in Translation

Strategies on Intercultural Communication Training in English Teaching On Sino—Western Cultural Differences and the Structure of Chinese College Students' Chinglish On Foreignization and Domestication of Cultural Factors in Translation (浅谈翻译中文化因素的异化和归化)

Treatment of Cultural Factors in Translation (翻译中文化差异的处理方法)

The relationship between Cultural Difference and Translation Skill 中英文化差异与翻译技巧 Cultural Equivalence in Translation

The Social and Cultural Factors in Translation Practice

The Application of Functional Equivalence in English and Chinese Cross-cultural Translation The Cultural Differences and Arts of Translation in Advertising Language Cultural Differences and Translation Strategies

Cultural Discrepancies and their Influences on Translation

http://www.flcjxnu.com/tichsearch/methods/essaywrt/200610/732.html

The relationship between Cultural Difference and Translation Skill 中英文化差异与翻译技巧

http://www.seepaper.com/view_14748-2/ http://www.seepaper.com/view_14656/ 换言之:翻译教程[英文版]

'Essential reading for anyone who teaches translation whether at a theoretical or practical level.' David Harris, Vice President of ITI 'Tborough, very well written in a highy accessible style, and contains material of considerable interest. The varied and excellent examples are a mine of information, the exercises are valuable, and the attitude towards translation is sensibly undogmatic.' Peter Fawcett, University of Bradford 'A remarkable down-to-earth coursebook which is consistently related to real life experience in the translating world.' Lanna Castellano, Translator This book addresses the need for a systematic approach to training in translation studies by drawing on key areas in modem linguistic theory and relating them systematically to a number of translation problems and strategies. The strategies are identified by an examination of authentic examples of translated texts in a variety of languages. No knowledge of linguistics or foreign languages is assumed. Each chapter begins with an explanation of the key linguistic concepts referred to and ends with a series of practical exercises. By striking a balance between theory and practice, the book provides a sound basis for training professional translators.

《Religious Cultural Factors Affecting the Differences of Meanings of words》导读： [Abstract] This paper focused on two types of words, kinship address as well as individualism and comrade, explored their different cultural content....

[Abstract] This paper focused on two types of words, kinship address as well as individualism and comrade, explored their different cultural content. Through exploring the origin of religion and belief, the formation of their thoughts step by step, this paper explains the great religious culture behind words. The connection between words and religion and belief brings out a question that is the lackness of religious culture and belief in our foreign language education. This paper reminds of the important significance of teaching religious culture and belief in foreign language education. 1 Introduction

When we talk about language, we can’t avoid mentioning culture, and vice versa. Then, what is language, what is culture and what is the relationship between them? lygroup考试学习网

The tentative definition of language is that: language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication, [i] such as Chinese, English.

The word “culture” is a very broad concept, which should contain all the civilization of human beings, including food, mechanics, architectures, social organizations, economic systems, customs, thoughts and languages, etc.

Many scholars put forward different opinions about these questions, but they came to an agreement that culture and language influence each other greatly and deeply, especially the religious culture that reigned human society for several thousands of years help to develop different national consciousness, different cultural content and different understanding to words. This question also arouses the echo in foreign language education: How different cultural content affect students when they learn a foreign language? How can we use this influence passively?

This paper focused on two types of words, kinship address as well as individualism and comrade, tried to deplore the religious cultural factors that hid behind words, that is how Christian and Confucianism, the two different traditions on which eastern world and western world are built on, affect the understanding to words. Every word has profound cultural content behind it. We should involve cultural education in foreign language teaching in order to teach better, which is very significant. 2 Review of Literature

Many experts have begun to explore this field and they have got some achievements. Chen Yuan in his Language and Social Life expatiates how the change of social life affects the change of language, mainly about the change of language after new

China. Deng Yanchang and Liu Runqing in their Language and Culture----the Contrast Between English and Chinese explores many aspects of culture’s influence on language. Their research is more general but doesn’t focus on religion and bring more profound explanation. Others like Gao Yihong’s The Understanding and Transcending to the Difference of Language and Culture Between Chinese and English, Wang Fuxiang and Others’ Culture and Language both study the effect of cultural difference on foreign language teaching and put forward that cultural education should be included in it; but they don’t study this question on the profundity of religion, either. Only Jia Yuxin’s Cross-Culture Communication does deeper research on religious culture’s effect on language, but not enough. My paper gives more profound explanation in this field, tried to explore the formation of different religious culture and thought and explain the different understanding to words from the origins. (All the names of works quoted here are translated by the author of this paper.) 3 Analysis of the Materials 本文来自ex

I chose two typical types of words in this paper, kinship address as well as individualism and comrade. Kinship address’ difference between Chinese and English is a typical question that is a big headache for many translators and language learners for its complexity. Individualism in Chinese and English nearly has quite contrast meaning; it is also a node of cultural difference. Comrade seems to be a word made up in Communist Country, in western country it is seldom used. All these examples are typical embodiment of cultural difference, through the research on them we could find the core of the culture hidden behind words.

A. Kinship and address: different conceptions of personal relationship between Confucianism and Christian

First let us see an interesting phenomenon. In China, there are a lot of words to address one’s relatives according to age and different relations between them, e.g. marriage relation, blood relation. While in English，kinship address is much simplified. The statement Katherine’s brother married John’s sister is hard to be translated into Chinese without additional information. We may wonder whether her brother is older or younger than her and whether his sister is older or younger than him. from For kinship address, we have a list here: 出自exam.com

Chinese term English term English explanation祖父（母）外祖父（母） Grandfather Grandmother Paternal grandfather (mother) Maternal grandfather (mother)父亲 母亲 Father Mother 兄（姐）弟（妹 Brother (sister) Elder brother (sister) Younger brother (sister)伯父 出自exam.com 叔父 Uncle Paternal father’s elder brother or younger brother 姑父 Husband of father ‘s sister 舅父 Maternal mother’s brother 姨夫 Husband of mother’s sister 姐夫 妹夫 Brother-in-law Husband of elder sister Husband of younger sister 你的理想选择，考试

In China ethical relations are very complex and very important; to be a good person means to be a good husband, a good wife, a good daughter, a good son, a good king, or a good subject. While in West, personal relations are not so important to them, to be a good person means to be saved by God and be sent to heaven. These two opinions have been handed down for thousands of years in two worlds and have taken deep roots in two societies. This causes another question: what make these two opinions differ so greatly? 出自exam16

Let us talk from Confucianism and Christianity traditions. The times Confucius lived is the East Zhou dynasty. At that time the emperor's power was weakened, many kingdoms fought against each other, people lived a hard life; the regulations of traditional rites couldn't be carried out. We all know that, when human society walked into a specific stage, the private ownership came into being. But in China, because the productive force at that time was not developed enough, the foundation of private ownership did not make human and nature oppose thoroughly. So when Chinese confronted the painful reality, they could still escape from it through relations between human and nature. Due to these two points, Confucius advocated human unity that everyone should find his position among all the complicated ethical relations and play his role well. He thought that, when everyone restrained himself and old rites were carried out; the country would be united and harmonious. The rites actually meant to classify persons according to their origins, i.e. whether he was noble or not. But Confucius’ class system was based on “humanity” and “human interests”. He thought that parents gave birth to a baby and brought him up, so the child should show filial obedience to his parents. Parents and children were unequal by nature. To enlarge this opinion’s content, the

emperor was the father of all people of the country; the queen was the mother of them; people were the children of the emperor and the queen; this made the whole country a big family. So finding one’s correct position in such a big family is very important. While if one wanted to “manage the big family (the country)”, he must first train himself and manage his own small family well. Here we can understand why there are so many words to describe Chinese kinship. Then, how were the western personal relations formed?

Jesus lived in the times of Roman Empire. He used two commands to generalize all the commands in the Old Testament: one is to “love the Lord thy God”, [ii] the other is to “love your neighbor as yourself”. [iii] If there is a big family existing in Christianity, besides the head of the family — Jehovah and Jesus (trinity of Holy father, Holy son and Holy spirit), all men are equal and should help each other like brothers and sisters. So Jesus said: “And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your father, which is in heaven.” [iv] “ Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; But rather division; For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.” [v] “And he said unto them, this kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer and fasting. And they departed thence, and passed through Galilee; and he would not that any man should know it.” [vi] “And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.” [vii] From the quotations above, we can see that Christianity puts emphasis on the separation of persons.

Why do Jesus’ doctrines have such content? As we know, when private ownership was built up in western world, its productive force had been developed highly .So the private ownership made human and nature oppose each other completely. While facing the brutal reality of earthly life (People lived a hard life under the rule of Roman Empire), people couldn’t escape the pain unless they imagined a supernatural entity to connect the society and nature. Even if a person departed from group far away, as long as he loved God, he would not be deserted. At this moment, all the worldly ethical relations meant nothing to him.

So we can see that, it is the Confucianism’s class system and emphasis on ethical relations that produce so many words to address relatives, while the Christianity’s equality and separation of persons that make their kinship address so simple. 你的理想选择，考试

B. Individualism and comrade: different conceptions of value between Confucianism and Christianity lygroup考试学习网 As the corner stones of two different cultures, Confucianism and Christianity not only produce different personal relationships, but also help to set up different value opinions: group orientation and individualism orientation. Let’s see two words: individualism and comrade. Chinese equivalents for them are个人主义and 同志respectively. These two words have ever caused many arguments. Through the examination of these two words, we can find their different connotations in different cultures. www.exam.com

In western world, \"individualism\" is described as a good word. In Europe, individualism came into being as the opposition to medieval divine authority center and feudalism center: it helped the capitalism greatly. In America, the typical representative of individualism is the frontiers of early colonial times. They were enterprising and priced individual rights and dared to ignore government and laws. Such a spirit of individual struggle is handed down as the cultural marrow of the nation. In modern western world, people think that to attach importance to individual freedom and rights is the positive manifestation of self-value's realization. So the word “individualism” is endowed with positive meaning.

While in China, individualism is understood as “from individual aspect to think and do all things, and to put emphasis on individual interests instead of the collective one, only thinking about oneself, not others.” [viii] We have mentioned in the former part of this essay that Chinese society thinks ethical relations very important, and the meaning of individual existence could be found among the relations one has. So Chinese society advocates that individual must obey collective group and praises unselfishness and utters devotion to others without any thinking of oneself. Needless to say, individualism is negative in China. Then the word “comrade”, the mention of comrade reminds one of the revolution times and the early times of New China. At first “comrade” refers to the members of revolutionary organizations, with an intimate feeling; later it can also be used to address every person, because we all walk on the socialism path and have the same aim; to “cherish the same ideas and following the same path” [ix] means comrade. This also indicates the group orientation of Chinese people. The word “comrade” does exist in English, but it doesn’t have so many conceptions. The meaning of comrade in Longman Dictionary of American English is: 1. a close companion, esp. a person who shares difficult work or troubles; 2. (esp. used as a title in Communist

countries) a citizen; fellow member of a union, political party, etc. [x] In real life, English-speaking people seldom use it; Mr., Mis, and Ms are the usual ways to call persons. In America, the trend of addressing others by using the first name is more obvious, whether people are of roughly same age or of different one. People of different social status do the same. The value orientation reflected from these two words can find their roots in Confucianism and Christianity. Confucianism advocates that heaven and man are a unity, which means that human obeys the nature’s laws, respects nature and unites his life and nature’s motion circle in a harmonious way. Under the influence of this thought, Chinese people tend to be after unity, generalities, comprehension on thought, ideology, thinking pattern as well as language; they have a strong feeling that they belong to a group. This group orientation is showed in two aspects: collective orientation and other orientation. Chinese people advocate putting the family’s, society’s and state’s interests into the first place, while individual interests could be ignored when it’s necessary. People should do things according to their status and keep unanimous with group. Individualism should be forbidden absolutely. And also, one should think about others before they decide to do any thing. The certain result of this value opinion is that Chinese people depend on one another, cooperate with one another well and put emphasis on collectivism and patriotism, but lack the consciousness of individual competition and spirit of individual progress. from exam Christianity is based on the reality that man and nature have been separated absolutely and opposed each other. One is very clear that he is sinful, so he is brave to conquer nature and train himself in order to be saved by God. Western philosophers in ancient times thought that every thing in the world has its opposition, i.e. every thing has two sides. Man and nature oppose each other, and man can control and remake nature. In real life, if one can’t obtain what he wants, it’s because of his own laziness and his lack of struggling spirit. If one obeys his fate, he will be looked down upon. This kind of thought causes individualism orientation directly. Benjamin Franklin had ever said: “God helps those who help themselves.” [xi] In America, every person is regarded as an entity that is different from others .He himself is a small universe, existing without depending on others. This makes Americans emphasize individuality, power, success and competition.

4 Discussion: Revelation of religion and belief differences

From all the examples we talk above, we can see the important significance of the effect of religious cultural differences on language differences. Confucianism and Christian, these two different religion and belief fostered the two different cultures, two different interpersonal relationships, two different conceptions of value; all these are embodied in words and different understanding to words.

What these two types of words show is just one mini part of the profound culture content hidden behind them; the focus of this paper is on religion and belief, actually Christian and Confucianism specifically; any culture is made up of many different factors, such as custom, nationality, environment, etc. all these factors are not included in the research of this paper. If we put these two types of words in the whole cultural background, there may be other kinds of explanation of culture content. 出自exam.com

This paper is just an attempt in this field. There are still further researches we need to do. For further research, we need to enlarge the culture content, not just religion and belief, but also national consciousness, development and change, custom, environment, etc.

Through such kind of research, we get better understanding about culture education in foreign language teaching. As we know, language is the basic link connecting human beings and the world, is the main way of expressing the thoughts and feelings. The culture behind the language is very important, and we need to study it. If we just learn pronunciation, grammar and words, we can’t master the language really. Only when we learn culture behind language, we can really master the language. i 胡壮麟, 刘润清, 李延福：《语言学教程》，北京：北京大学出版社，1988年版，第3页。 lygroup考试学习网 [ii] The Holy Bible (illustrated), Pauline Epistles, Galatians 5: 14. London: Collins’ Clear Type Press. le (illustrated), Mathew10: 18. London: Collins’ Clear Type Press. 出自exam.c [iv] The Holy Bible (illustrated), Luke14: 26. London: Collins’ Clear Type Press.

[v] The Holy Bible (illustrated), Luke12: 51-53. London: Collins’ Clear Type Press. 出自exam.com [vi] The Holy Bible (illustrated), Mark10: 29-30. London: Collins’ Clear Type Press. [vii] The Holy Bible (illustrated), Mathew10: 21-22. London: Collins’ Clear Type Press. [viii] 《现代汉语词典》，北京：商务印书馆，1997年版，第426页。 考试欢迎大家的光临 [ix] 北京外国语大学英语系词典组：《汉英词典》修订版缩印本，北京： 外语教学与研究出版社，1995年版，第1629页。 考试网

[x] Grray, Arley, and Della summer, ed. Longman Dictionary of American English, 北京： 外语教学与研究出版社，1992年版，第242页 你的理想选择，考试

[xi] 金星男等：《英语听力入门》第二册，上海: 华东师范大学出版社，1983年版，第21页。 lygroup考试学习网

[1] 陈原：《语言与社会生活——社会语言学札记》，北京：生活•读书•新知三联书店， 1980。 lygroup考试学习网 [2] 邓炎昌，刘润清：《语言与文化：英汉语言文化对比》，北京：外语教学与研究出版社， 1989。 你的理想选择，考试

[3] 高旭东，吴忠民：《孔子精神与基督精神》，石家庄：河北人民出版社，1989。 from exa [4] 高一虹：《语言文化差异的认识与超越》，北京：外语教学与研究出版社，2000。 [5] 胡壮麟，刘润清，李延福：《语言学教程》，北京：北京大学出版社，1988。 考试欢迎大家的光临 [6] 贾玉新：《跨文化交际学》，上海：上海外语教育出版社，1997。 考试网 [7] 李瑞华主编《英汉语言文化对比研究》，上海：上海外语教育出版社，1996。 本文来 [8] 王德有：《老庄意境与现代人生》，北京：中国广播电视出版社，1998。 www.exam.c [9] 王福祥等：《文化与语言》，北京：外语教学与研究出版社，1994。 你的理想选择，考试 [10] 王佐良等：《欧洲文化入门》，北京：外语教学与研究出版社，1992。 exam.com [11] 杨真：《基督教史纲》，上册，北京：生活•读书•新知三联书店，1979。 Cultural Implications for translation • Introduction

Translation is a kind of activity which inevitably involves at least two languages and two cultural traditions.\" (Toury 1978:200). As this statement implies, translators are permanently faced with the problem of how to treat the cultural aspects implicit in a source text (ST) and of finding the most appropriate technique of successfully conveying these aspects in the target language (TL). These problems may vary in scope depending on the cultural and linguistic gap between the two (or more) languages concerned (see Nida 1964:130).

an important aspect is to determine how much missing background information should be provided by the translator

The cultural implications for translation may take several forms ranging from lexical content and syntax to ideologies and ways of life in a given culture. The translator also has to decide on the importance given to certain cultural aspects and to what extent it is necessary or desirable to translate them into the TL. The aims of the ST will also have implications for translation as well as the intended readership for both the ST and the target text (TT).

Considering the cultural implications for a translated text implies recognising all of these problems and taking into account several possibilities before deciding on the solution which appears the most appropriate in each specific case. Before applying these methods to the chosen text, this essay will examine the importance of culture in translation through a literature review. The different general procedures of treating the cultural implications for translation will be examined as well as analysing the ST and the aims of the author. The translation process will also be treated using specific examples found in the ST before discussing the success of aforementioned theoretical methods applied to the TT.

Although corresponding to cultural categories examined, the title will be considered separately in order to determine the pertinence of conserving, highlighting, or excluding certain aspects. Due to these considerations, the title will be considered after the other aspects as all other cultural implications need to be examined before reaching relevant conclusions. • The Importance of Culture in Translation

The definition of \"culture\" as given in the Concise Oxford Dictionary varies from descriptions of the \"Arts\" to plant and bacteria cultivation and includes a wide range of intermediary aspects. More specifically concerned with language and translation, Newmark defines culture as \"the way of life and its manifestations that are peculiar to a community that uses a particular language as its means of expression\" (1988:94), thus acknowledging that each language group has its own culturally specific features. He further clearly states that operationally he does \"not regard language as a component or feature of culture\" (Newmark 1988:95) in direct opposition to the view taken by Vermeer who states that \"language is part of a culture\" (1989:222). According to Newmark, Vermeer's stance would imply the impossibility to translate whereas for the latter, translating the source language (SL) into a suitable form of TL is part of the translator's role in transcultural communication.

The notion of culture is essential to considering the implications for translation and, despite the differences in opinion as to whether language is part of culture or not, the two notions appear to be inseparable. Discussing the problems of correspondence in translation, Nida confers equal importance to both linguistic and cultural differences between the SL and the TL and concludes that \"differences between cultures may cause more severe complications for the translator than do differences in

language structure\" (Nida, 1964:130). It is further explained that parallels in culture often provide a common understanding despite significant formal shifts in the translation. The cultural implications for translation are thus of significant importance as well as lexical concerns.

Lotman's theory states that \"no language can exist unless it is steeped in the context of culture; and no culture can exist which does not have at its centre, the structure of natural language\" (Lotman, 1978:211-32). Bassnett (1980: 13-14) underlines the importance of this double consideration when translating by stating that language is \"the heart within the body of culture,\" the survival of both aspects being interdependent. Linguistic notions of transferring meaning are seen as being only part of the translation process; \"a whole set of extra-linguistic criteria\" must also be considered. As Bassnett further points out, \"the translator must tackle the SL text in such a way that the TL version will correspond to the SL version... To attempt to impose the value system of the SL culture onto the TL culture is dangerous ground\" (Bassnett, 1980:23). Thus, when translating, it is important to consider not only the lexical impact on the TL reader, but also the manner in which cultural aspects may be perceived and make translating decisions accordingly. 1. General cultural implications for translation

Language and culture may thus be seen as being closely related and both aspects must be considered for translation. When considering the translation of cultural words and notions, Newmark proposes two opposing methods: transference and componential analysis (Newmark, 1988:96). As Newmark mentions, transference gives \"local colour,\" keeping cultural names and concepts. Although placing the emphasis on culture, meaningful to initiated readers, he claims this method may cause problems for the general readership and limit the comprehension of certain aspects. The importance of the translation process in communication leads Newmark to propose componential analysis which he describes as being \"the most accurate translation procedure, which excludes the culture and highlights the message\" (Newmark, 1988:96). This may be compared to the scale proposed by Hervey et al, visualised as follows:

(Hervey et al, 1992:28)

Nida's definitions of formal and dynamic equivalence (see Nida, 1964:129) may also be seen to apply when considering cultural implications for translation. According to Nida, a \"gloss translation\" mostly typifies formal equivalence where form and content are reproduced as faithfully as possible and the TL reader is able to \"understand as much as he can of the customs, manner of thought, and means of expression\" of the SL context (Nida, 1964:129). Contrasting with this idea, dynamic equivalence \"tries to relate the receptor to modes of behaviour relevant within the context of his own culture\" without insisting that he \"understand the cultural patterns of the source-language context\" (idem). • Source Text

1. The nature of the source text

The text chosen for translation (\"Les Loukoums chez l'Arabe') is an extract from La Première Gorgée de Bière et autres Plaisirs Minuscules (L'Arpenteur, 1998) by the prize-winning French author, Philippe Delerm. It is a self-contained chapter of a collection of similar extracts where the author's intention to present certain aspects of French life in a lyrical way presents matter for thought both culturally and linguistically. The subject matter is centred around thoughts on Turkish Delight and the Arab shop where this sweet can be bought, thus introducing not only French, but North African cultural aspects. Reflections on the subject, action and dialogue are all presented in the same narrative form where the voice of the author is omnipresent. The text contains several culturally-specific words and notions whose implications for translation merit attention. 2. The ideal reader

A question that needs to be asked when considering a text for translation is for whom the original text was destined and whether this readership corresponds to the potential TT reader. Thus two types of ideal reader may be distinguished: the ST ideal reader and the TT ideal reader. In the text Les Loukoums chez l'Arabe, this notion may be seen as particularly relevant due to the literary nature of the extract with the subject matter being specifically linked to culture. 1. The ideal ST reader

Coulthard (1992) highlights the importance of defining the ideal reader for whom the author \"attributes knowledge of certain facts, memory of certain experiences ... plus certain opinions, preferences and prejudices and a certain level of linguistic competence.\" When considering such aspects, it should not be forgotten that the extent to which the author may be influenced by such notions is dependent on his own sense of belonging to a specific socio-cultural group.

These principles may be applied to \"Les Loukoums chez l'Arabe\" and conclusions may be reached concerning Delerm's ideal reader in the following way:

i. Certain facts. The author supposes that his ideal reader has a knowledge of historical events and links between France and Northern African countries as well as a certain cultural familiarity with the customs of these countries.

ii. Memory of certain experiences. The experiences in this instance may be considered as contact with cultural situations described in the text such as previous visits to the kind of Arab shop described and other cultural elements (French town life). iii. Certain opinions, preferences and prejudices. In this category may be placed the widespread French associations concerning Arab immigration. Delerm does not seek an anti-immigrant or racist readership yet inherent cultural prejudices are not avoided.

iv. A certain level of linguistic competence. The text chosen corresponds to the description of the average text for translation given by Newmark, namely for \"an educated, middle-class readership in an informal ... style (Newmark, 1988:13). It may be considered that the social category \"middle class\" may find an approximate corresponding category in France. On a semantic and cultural level, there are several potential problems for a reader not corresponding to the criteria of the ideal reader. 2. The ideal TT reader

Once the ideal ST readership has been determined, considerations must be made concerning the TT. Coulthard states:

The translator's first and major difficulty ... is the construction of a new ideal reader who, even if he has the same academic, professional and intellectual level as the original reader, will have significantly different textual expectations and cultural knowledge (Coulthard, 1992:12).

In the case of the extract translated here, it is debatable whether the ideal TT reader has \"significantly different textual expectations,\" however his cultural knowledge will almost certainly vary considerably.

Applied to the criteria used to determine the ideal ST reader it may be noted that few conditions are successfully met by the potential ideal TT reader. Indeed, the historical and cultural facts are unlikely to be known in detail along with the specific cultural situations described. Furthermore, despite considering the level of linguistic competence to be roughly equal for the ST and TT reader, certain differences may possibly be noted in response to the use of culturally specific lexis which must be considered when translating.

Although certain opinions, preferences and prejudices may be instinctively transposed by the TT reader who may liken them to his own experience (in Britain, for example, comparing Algerian and Moroccan immigrants to Indian or Pakistani communities), it must be remembered that these do not match the social situation experience of the ST reader. Therefore, the core social and cultural aspects remain problematic when considering the cultural implications for translation. • The Translation Process

It has already been noted that the text in this case is surely intended for \"an educated, middle-class readership\" and, more specifically, a French one with knowledge of the foreign cultural aspects implied. The problems when translating such a text are therefore not only of a purely lexical character but also of an equally fundamental nature - the understanding of a social, economic, political and cultural context as well as connotative aspects of a more semantic character. As with all texts of foreign literature, historical, political and other such cultural references are always of a certain importance and the TT reader is unlikely to have a full understanding of such notions. When considering the cultural implications for translation, the extent to which it is necessary for the translator to explain or complete such an information gap should be taken into account; on the basis of conclusions reached concerning the ideal TT reader, the translator should decide how much may be left for the reader to simply infer.

Taking these last points into consideration, different elements will be discussed in relation to their cultural implications for translation. The different aforementioned theories will be considered and their relative pertinence examined. 1. Cultural categories

Adapting Nida, Newmark places \"foreign cultural words\" in several categories (Newmark 1988:95-102). Following these categories, in the text \"Les Loukoums chez l'Arabe,\" the examples leading to cultural implications for translation may be classed essentially as material culture, and as gestures and habits although other cultural terms are also present. These aspects may be translated in different ways according to their role in the text and the aims for the TT reader. Newmark also states the relevance of componential analysis in translation \"as a flexible but orderly method of bridging the numerous lexical gaps, both linguistic and cultural, between one language and another\" (Newmark, 1988:123). The two orientations in translation examined by Nida, namely formal or dynamic equivalence, should also be considered when analysing the cultural implications for translation of elements in these categories. 1. Material culture

\"Food is for many the most sensitive and important expression of national culture; food terms are subject to the widest variety

of translation procedures\" (Newmark, 1988:97). The terms coming under this category are further complicated due to the \"foreign\" elements present. One such case is the reference to the brightly coloured pâtisseries tunisiennes (l.17). Translating according to the French idea of pâtisseries would imply using the English \"cakes\" or \"pastries\" yet in the context of Tunisian culture this hardly seems appropriate bearing in mind the difference in form of the TL reference. This illustrates the theory developed by Mounin (1963) who underlines the importance of the signification of a lexical item claiming that only if this notion is considered will the translated item fulfil its function correctly. In this case the translation as \"sweets\" seems to correspond to the idea of the original signification, even if it is a more abstract translation of the French original, and is therefore more appropriate concerning its function in the TT than a translation of formal equivalence.

Another example of material culture includes an eponym, namely bouteilles de Sidi Brahim (l.42). In France this low-quality, Algerian wine is widely known and is the traditional drink with North African dishes, therefore widely sold in supermarkets as well as this type of small shop. This example can be seen as corresponding to the new ideal reader as described by Coulthard, having different cultural knowledge (Coulthard, 1992:12) as an English-speaking reader would not necessarily know the name of this wine and even less its associations. By using strictly formal equivalence, all meaning would be lost. It would however be possible to neutralise the original term Sidi Brahim by translating as \"wine\" or else to introduce a form of componential analysis, translating as \"cheap, Algerian wine.\" Sidi Brahim being the area where the wine is produced, it seems appropriate to keep the original term in the TT but it is necessary to add a qualifier, here \"wine.\" In this way, although the cultural implications are not so strong as for an \"initiated\" French reader, the information is passed on and elucidated by a qualifier. The cultural implications automatically understood by the ST reader, namely the notion of cheap, low-quality wine, are not however conveyed, the emphasis in this context being on the exotic nature of the product as conveyed by Sidi Brahim and not on the low cost.

2. Gestures and habits

Newmark points out that gestures and habits are \"often described in 'non-cultural' language\" (Newmark, 1988:103). In this extract many gestures and habits are implied yet not specifically described thus making an entirely communicative translation difficult. Once again, these are cultural references which imply a certain knowledge of the way of life of the North African community in France and of the attitudes towards it.

North African men, often working in groups, are often caricatured by the French as being crafty. As well as this, the popular French expression \"un travail d'Arabe\" used to describe work that has been poorly done further explains popular attitudes. Due to linguistic and cultural factors, lower class Algerian and Moroccan men appear overtly servile in French society. All of these factors are inherently present in the text, yet their full cultural significance is difficult to portray without such background knowledge.

The possible lack of cultural knowledge of the TT reader implies translating in a way so as to clearly convey notions which may otherwise go unnoticed. The proposed translation of \"obligeance\" as \"obsequiousness\" may overemphasise the strength of the original ST term yet the mockingly over-servile attitude aimed at being conveyed by the author is respected. When explaining certain principles of dynamic equivalence, Nida states that \"the emotional tone must accurately reflect the point of view of the author\" (Nida, 1964:139). Newmark's definition of compensation, being \"when loss of meaning...in one part of a sentence is compensated in another part\" (Newmark, 1988:90) may seem relevant here. By translating in this way, although culturally implicit translation loss is inevitable here, a form of dynamic equivalence through compensation is adopted in order to counterbalance such loss and seems an appropriate way of conveying cultural implications present in the ST. The expression d'après le café also needs further explanation. In French society, this would immediately be understood as the time after the small expresso coffee drunk at the end of a meal. As Sapir claims, \"no two languages are ever sufficiently similar to be considered as representing the same social reality\" (Sapir, 1956:69), and even a lexical item seen as having an apparently simple translation (here, café =coffee) may have a considerably different signification. The emphasis given by Nida on a TT having to produce the same response as the original (Nida, 1964) encourages the addition of \"mealtime\" as does the aforementioned theory developed by Mounin. In this way, the lexical function is transferred as far as possible in the TT as are the ST cultural connotations. 2. Cultural references

Three examples of potentially opaque cultural references for the TT reader may be found in the text. The first of these is \"un Berbère à petit beret bleu.\" The author regrets not finding a typical Berber shopkeeper each time he goes into an Arab shop, a notion full of cultural meaning given the context of French colonisation of Algeria and Arab immigration yet of no great cultural significance for the TT reader. The slightly ironic touch portrayed by the image of a typical Berber man wearing the

classic symbol of a Frenchman, namely a blue beret, may not be entirely lost on a TT reader yet without understanding the historical and cultural background the depth of the irony of comic paradox may be lost. It does not however seem appropriate to explore Nida's theory of dynamic equivalence by replacing this image with a TL equivalent as the cultural implications here are extremely specific. The text-type as well as the definition of the ideal TT reader and his motivations may imply preferring the use of transference or formal equivalence despite translation loss concerning cultural implications.

Secondly, the term \"kabyle\" must be considered. This is another reference which has strongly attached associations due to the same cultural and historical factors and the meaning is only fully understandable if these associations are known. A literal translation of the text would be \"...where even the red piles of coca-cola cans have taken on a small, Kabyle look.\" An educated French reader would have enough knowledge of Algerian problems to instantly associate Kabylia with a fiercely independent community which has always refused to be influenced culturally, linguistically and politically by the surrounding countries despite great pressure. A communicative approach implies an explanation of this cultural reference and may be obtained by the addition of explanatory adjectives in the TT, thus translating as \"...even the red piles of coca-cola cans have taken on that fiercely independent Kabyle look.\" This potential solution is not a direct translation of the ST, however it enables the TT reader to approach the cultural reference in a more meaningful way, yet again illustrating Nida's concern that a TT should produce the same response as the original. Lastly, the term \"boétien\" needs consideration. Transferring this term using formal equivalence would have little cultural effect on an English-speaking reader and be of no value considering the text-type and the definition of the ideal TT reader. Indeed, Boeotians in Antique periods were considered to be a nation of rough peasants lacking in culture. In French the term béotien maintains this concept and although the adjective could be translated formally as \"Boeotian,\" the true sense would be lacking in the TT. The cultural implications for translation require a full understanding of the notion rather than an emphasis on the original SL reference. In this case an appropriate translation would consider the use of a cultural equivalent and the term \"philistine\" could be used to represent a similar cultural concept. 3. Lexical feature

As can be frequently found in literary texts, lexical features present cultural implications for translation. One example of lexis in this text which may have a different effect on the ST and the TT reader is the reference \"dans la fraîcheur du soir.\" This would seem welcoming to a ST reader used to hot days where fresh temperatures provide a welcome relief. To a British reader however, this may not produce the pleasurable effect intended by the author and care must be taken to convey the drop in temperature positively. By translating as \"in the cool of the evening,\" the same positive aspect may be maintained on the TT reader as in the SL country.

4. The translation of the title: \"Les Loukoums chez l'Arabe'

The title of this extract may also be considered as having cultural implications for translation. Considering the titles of the other chapters in the collection, it may be noted that almost all have cultural connotations and that this is one of the author's aims. According to Newmark, in literary translation \"the title should sound attractive, allusive, suggestive ... and should usually bear some relation to the original\" (Newmark, 1988:56). This can be seen as relevant here, the aim being to portray culturally bound aspects; thus the title may be seen as conveying aspects of the narrative and deserves further attention. 1. Les Loukoums

Firstly, the word loukoums must be considered. There are basically two possibilities when translating this word, keeping the original term or using the wider known term, Turkish delight, which may however carry a semantic incompatibility with chez l'Arabe. Loukoum is a term that is used in English but probably by a smaller community, those familiar with Oriental customs and countries, particularly Turkey and Greece. It may be misleading to introduce such a term which could be interpreted as an exotic translation using the scale presented by Hervey et al, shown previously.

On the other hand, a translation where loukoums are referred to as Turkish delight may introduce a widely accepted yet false cultural notion, namely that such a sweet is primarily Turkish and not something equally common to North African culture. In French no other term exists, loukoum is a cultural word that has been transferred as such and French links with North African countries reinforce the notion of loukoums as a cultural feature.

In English the term loukoums would need an explanation in the context of this text, destined for a wide general readership. The cultural knowledge of the TT does not correspond to the ST reader and it would therefore be difficult to justify the use of loukoum instead of Turkish delight, a word instantly understandable to the ideal TT reader and thus corresponding more to the notion of communicative translation as defined by Hervey et al (1992:31-32) and Newmark (1988:47). 2. Chez l'Arabe

This part of the title has several cultural implications to be considered when translating. Whilst conserving the original aspect of the ST title, a non-French reader would not necessarily react in the same way to the word \"l'Arabe.\" As we have seen with the historical context, the French have obvious reasons to feel cultural implications when dealing with l'Arabe and an average French reader would necessarily have a large range of associations connected to the word, not primarily positive. Here, the word refers not only to the ethnic origin of the shopkeeper but also to the notion \"Arab shop,\" a place which is always open and where almost everything can be found. This notion deserves to be maintained although a culturally bound translation loss is inevitable due to missing background knowledge. To translate the title simply as \"Turkish Delight\" would minimise the importance of l'Arabe in the SL cultural context and reinforce this loss. This case may be seen to illustrate Nida's aforementioned theory that differences in culture are often a greater problem than differences in language.

It must also be noted that a qualifier must be added to fully translate chez l'Arabe. Several possibilities may be considered, ranging from \"Turkish Delight bought from the Arab,\" \"...sold by the Arab,\" \"...bought at the shop of the Arab,\" \"...from the Arab shop.\" Considering the lack of background knowledge for the TT reader, the last possibility may be the most appropriate, the idea conveyed by \"Arab shop\" implying a notion of difference in French/Arab culture. Following Newmark who claims \"the additional information a translator may have to add to his version is normally cultural (accounting for difference between SL and TL culture), technical...or linguistic\" (Newmark, 1988:91), it may in this case prove useful to explain further this relationship by adding a footnote. An example may be \"North Africans have strong colonial ties with France and many have set up local shops open long hours and selling a large variety of goods, both of French and native origins.\" • Conclusion

A variety of different approaches have been examined in relation to the cultural implications for translation. It is necessary to examine these approaches bearing in mind the inevitability of translation loss when the text is, as here, culture bound. Considering the nature of the text and the similarities between the ideal ST and TT reader, an important aspect is to determine how much missing background information should be provided by the translator using these methods. It has been recognised that in order to preserve specific cultural references certain additions need to be brought to the TT. This implies that formal equivalence should not be sought as this is not justified when considering the expectations of the ideal TT reader. At the other end of Nida's scale, complete dynamic equivalence does not seem totally desirable either as cultural elements have been kept in order to preserve the original aim of the text, namely to present one aspect of life in France.

Thus the cultural implications for translation of this kind of ST do not justify using either of these two extremes and tend to correspond to the definition of communicative translation, attempting to ensure that content and language present in the SL context is fully acceptable and comprehensible to the TL readership. (Newmark,1988). REFERENCES

Bassnett, S. 1991. Translation Studies. London: Routledge

Coulthard, M. 1992. \"Linguistic Constraints on Translation.\" In Studies in Translation / Estudos da Traducao, Ilha do Desterro, 28. Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, pp. 9-23.

Hervey, S., Higgins, I. 1992. Thinking Translation. London: Routledge.

Lotman, J., Uspensky, B. 1978. \"On the Semiotic Mechanism of Culture,\" New Literary History, pp. 211-32. Mounin, G. 1963. Les problèmes théoriques de la traduction. Paris: Gallimard. Newmark, P. 1988. A Textbook of Translation. New York: Prentice Hall

Nida, E. 1964. \"Principles of Correspondence.\" In Venuti, L. The Translation Studies Reader. London: Routledge. Sapir, E. 1956. Culture, Language and Personality. Los Angeles: University of California Press.

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Vermeer, H. 1989. \"Skopos and Commission in Translational Activity.\" In Venuti, L. The Translation Studies Reader. London: Routledge.