A Study on Translation’s Future

王子宁

Abstract： A certain kind of culture always leaves its special stamp on its language which decides the relationship of culture and translation. Without mastering the foreign countries cultures， non-native learners may find it hard to understand. As we all know， humans use languages to communicate with each other， however， different kinds of languages may cause us many problems. Different cultures may conflict with each other， so a literal translation is not always the closest to the original meaning. Culture differences add difficulties to translation. Thats why translation plays an important role in the different languages communication. It is not because translation is the transformation of language but also because it interprets culture. In the development of intercultural communication， translation has its undeniable mission. However， there appears a phenomenon in the highly advanced society that people are using more and more methods instead of translating to help communication. Naturally， people doubt whether the existence of translation is necessary； that is the key points of this thesis. After showing the development of translation and culture， and the relationship among culture， language and translation， the author draws a conclusion that translation would disappear in the cultural fusion. Key words： translation； culture； language

[中圖分类号]H315.9

[文献标识码]A

[文章编号]1006-2831（2014）05-0180-8 doi：10.3969/j.issn.1006-2831.2014.02.044

1. Introduction

Here is the Bible story of the Tower of Babel. Once upon a time， people in all parts of the world spoke a single language and used the same words. As men journeyed in the east， they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. They build themselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens which surprised the Lord who went down and confused their speech later so that they would not understand what they say to one another. Since then， people experienced their own lives with different languages and eventually they formed different cultures. Afterwards， translation became an important tool for their communication.

Language is an expression of culture and the speakers perceive the world through language. To understand the meaning of another unfamiliar strange language， the only solution is to translate. Complete translation equivalence is almost impossible to achieve due to many factors. Obviously， the cultural differences are not caused by the Lord， but actually caused by people who live in different parts on this planet. We could not even see each other before so many modern transportations were invented， nor to imagine the difficulties the pioneers had when they communicated with their new friends in their own languages. Now under the highlyadvanced civilization， cultural difference does not cause much culture shock as it did decades before. It is a fact that more and more unfamiliar languages can be well understood without translation. Then whether the existence of translation is necessary or not becomes a problem needed to be discussed.

2. Translation

2.1 Definitions of translation

Many definitions about translation have been presented. The first definition is presented by Catford （1965： 20）. He defines that translation is the replacement of textual material in one language by equivalent textual material in another language. In this definition， the most important thing is equivalent textual material while culture is not taken into account， which means people transfer word to word without taking culture background into consideration.

And later another definition that is very similar to this is by Savory （1957）， who maintains that translation is made possible by an equivalent of thought that lies behind its different verbal expressions.

Nida and Taber （1969） explain the process of translating as follows. Translating consists of reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent of the source language message， first in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of style.

Brislin （1976： 1） defines translation as：“the general term referring to the transfer of thoughts and ideas from one language （source） to another （target）， whether the languages are in written or oral form； whether the languages have established orthographies or do not have such standardization or whether one or both languages is based on signs， as with sign languages of the deaf.”

Identical with the above definition is the one proposed by Pinhhuck （1977： 38）. He maintains that “Translation is a process of finding a TL equivalent for an SL utterance”.

According to the explanation in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English， translation means “changing speech or writing into another language”. And the definition of translation in Websters Collegate Dictionary is to turn into ones own language or another language. The understanding of translation to the point of view of Peter Newmark is rendering the meaning of a text into another language in the way that the author intended the text.

Finally， Wills defines translation more or less similarly as follows. “Translation is a transfer process which aims at the transformation of a written SL text into an optimally equivalent TL text， and which requires the syntactic， the semantic and the pragmatic understanding and analytical processing of the SL” （Wills， 1982： 3）.

It is known that out of 8 definitions above only one takes cultural aspects into account， the one by Nida and Taber. This definition is actually a specific one， rooted from the practice of the Bible translation. By nature， it is understood that the translation should be done to every language. As the content addresses all walks of life and culture plays an important role in human life， culture， therefore， definitely should be considered.

The other definitions explain the expertsviews on translation theories to be applied in the translation of all types of material， including scientific or technical texts which are not deeply embedded in any culture. Thus， it can be momentarily hypothesized that cultural consideration must be taken if the material to translate is related to culture. For material that is not very much embedded into a specific culture， cultural consideration may not be necessary.

It has been long taken for granted that translation deals only with language. Cultural perspective has never been brought into discussion. This can be seen in most of the above definitions.

2.2 Purpose of translation

2.2.1 Communication

The Pragmatics School in translation holds that “translating is to translate meaning”. They believe that translation involves two different languages which get their identity mainly as a result of their unique formal features， which is， in Nidas term， named as “style”. And， the aim of translation is to communicate， to enable the reader to have a thorough understanding of the meaning of the original， therefore， to response similarly as the original reader does to the original. For the sake of the faithful transferring of the message， the form must be sacrificed since it may stand as obstacle for communication. The transformation of translations definition shows that the function of translation has been broadened than the very beginning of its original.

2.2.2 Culture interpretation

Translation is not simply a matter of seeking other words with similar meaning but of finding appropriate ways of saying things in another language. Different languages， then， may use different linguistic forms. But these forms are only one of the aspects of the difference between the two language systems. As Goethe observes， “There are two principles of translation. The translator can bring to his fellow countrymen a true and clear picture of the foreign author and foreign circumstances， keeping strictly to the original； but he can also treat the foreign work as a writer treats his material， altering it after his own tastes and convictions， so that it is brought closer to his fellow countrymen， who can then accept it as if it were an original work.”

Culture is unique in different countries which carries difficulties in achieving complete translation equivalence. As language is the carrier of culture， translation interprets verbal meaning as well as culture. Just as Nida argues， “for truly successful translating， biculturalism is even more important than bilingualism， since words only have meaning in terms of cultures in which they function”. People communicate beyond words， so translation must interpret deeper and further than word level.

3. Culture

3.1 Definition of culture

The word “culture” comes from the Latin word “colere”， which means “to cultivate”. The word was originally associated with physical activities on land and production of food. In 1871， the British cultural anthropologist Edwin Tyler put forward the concept of culture for the first time in his book Primitive Culture. He pointed out that culture is something complex that includes knowledge， belief， arts， ethics， laws， customs and other acquired social abilities and habits. Till the present day， various understandings of culture in the academia have emerged（Deng Yangchang， Liu Runqing， 1989）. Later， its meaning was extended to the total pattern of beliefs， customs， institutions， objects， arts and techniques that characterize the life of a human community（Li Zuowen & Zheng Chaohong， 2005）. In other words， along with the development of human society and civilization， their ideology has been advancing. And the language they need to exchange their more complicated ideas turned more sophisticated， which led to the extension of the connotation of culture.

The same as translation， there are many definitions of culture over time. Yet whatever the definitions， it is widely admitted that culture is the whole of both material values and spiritual ones created by rational men and it has the meaning of time and space. Due to the characteristic of culture， cultural exchange is by no means becoming the motive force of the development of human civilization. Meanwhile， the accomplishment of cultural exchanges needs a carrier to make it realize. Since the definition of culture cannot be unified， the existence of culture differences could be accepted.

3.2 Culture differences

3.2.1 Geographic cultural differences

English and Chinese people live in different places on the Earth where the climates and environments are different caused by geographic factors which influence greatly on their ways of life. Generation after generation， customs， beliefs， and many with different features formed. Tough they have some in common， they are different from each other. So the differences may lead to misunderstanding. As English advanced learners， we are familiar with Shelleys Ode to West Wind， which expresses the authors expectation towards spring. Without the Geography knowledge， people live in north China can never connect their northwestern and northern wind to Shelleys west wind because in Chinese culture west wind in autumn is the cruelest thing； nor the British could imagine why the north Chinese hate the west wind which brings the message of spring.

This difference also can be seen in Nidas celebrated example which is taken from the Bible， the translation of “Lamb of God” into the Eskimo language. Here “lamb” symbolizes innocence， especially in the context of sacrifice. As a matter of fact， Eskimos know nothing about Bible， nor had they seen a lamb ever before. Eskimo culture does not have “lamb” at all. What they are familiar with is seal. Thus， the word “lamb” does not symbolize anything. Nida takes cultural aspects into account， thats why he uses “Seal of God” instead of “Lamb of God”to transfer the message.

3.2.2 Customary cultural differences

Just take the daily greeting habits as an example. We get accustomed to asking “Have you had a meal？”， while the English always asking about the weather. Such greetings are based on the living condition of the time and the weather in Britain is not that predictable and weather is the key point for people there. As China is a big agricultural country， the Chinese locals pay more attention on food， though at last this greeting is not intended to know whether you had meal or not.

There are different attitudes towards colors， and animals， too.

The red color in China represents of happiness， good luck and many other positive meaning. In the traditional Chinese weddings， the new couples are both in red to show off the joyous atmosphere. In Chinese， people say “紅火” to describe the prosperous places； use “红人” to describe those who are the apple in the superiors eye， to describe the beauty they use“红颜”. However， red in western culture is quite a negative word which symbolizes fire， blood that make people think of danger， for example，“red revenge” means a person took the violent way to revenge. Another example of using red in “red lights district” is now widely used even in Chinese （红灯区） that express negative meaning. Nevertheless， there are also some examples of cultural fusion： a red-letter day， the red carpet， etc.

Take dogs as the animal example， the qualities that have endeared the animal to Westerners are found in dogs in China as well： loyalty， dependability， courage， intelligence. But in China， dogs used to be， first of all， watchdogs， not pets. They were kept because they were useful， not because they made good companions. Generally they were considered a necessary evil， to be tolerated but not loved.

We say 狗腿子 （hired thug； lackey； flunkey； henchman）， 狗仗人势 （like a dog threatening people on the strength of its masters power—be a bully with the support of a powerful patron）， 狗眼看人低 （be damned snobbish； act like a snob）， 狗嘴里吐不出象牙 （no ivory can come out of a dogs mouth； a filthy mouth cannot utter decent language） in Chinese that always with negative meaning.

However in Britain and the U.S， dogs are generally regarded as “mans loyal friend” and many positive expressions concerning dogs are often heard or seen， such as： love me， love my dog； top dog； lucky dog； every dog has its day. All that can express the love they spend on their pets.

3.2.3 Religious cultural differences

Religious culture stems from religious belief. The ideologies of different countries are the subject of human culture， which exhibits their attitudes toward worship and taboos.

Bible， the holy book of Christian， after hundreds years of spread， is nearly the essential book in every home. Everyone is supposed to read it. As time passes， a lot of words and sentences in Bible have become idioms in English. Among those English idioms from Bible， some still contain heavy flavor of religion， but most of them have been transmitted into other fields and now it is not easy to tell their religious origin. “As poor as a church mouse” is showing the embarrassment of poverty. However there is no church in China it is difficult for Chinese to imagine why the mouse in church means poor. However， we can compare it with the monks in temple， and then it is easy for us to understand how much poor the mouse is in church.

English culture is deeply influenced by Christianity. In Chinese culture， Buddhism and Taoism are the most influential religions. There are lots of words， expressions and idioms adopted from them in Chinese language. The concept of bagua is applied not only to Chinese Taoist thought， but is also used in other domains of Chinese culture， such as fengshui， yinyang， which cannot be easily explained to the English people because there is little about Taosim in their culture. Though puritan translated into清教，we can never make it equal to “Qing Gui Jie Lv” （清規戒律） signifies the religious regulations.

Though people live in different parts of the world are affected by different religions， there still are the different expressions reveal the same meaning， for example， in the sagas and legends passed from one generation to another. The Ark and Nvwa （女娲） are different Savior from Bible and Huainanzi， but both of them saved humans in deluge.

3.2.4 Historical cultural differences

As Wang Zuoliang has said， “the research of translation is very promising. It is so practical that it can serve and promote the material and spiritual civilization… and translation has boundless prospects theoretically： it is comparative， cross-language， cross-subject and it should be associated with cultural society and history.”

Famous works of literature reflect culture， history and philosophy in a country， for example， Liang Shanbo and ZhuYingtai can be translated into the Chinese Romeo and Juliet. Though the two stories happened in different time， this way is still better for the readers to understand than retelling the whole story and the translation of those works offers people a thorough panorama of the nation. Thus culture provides a full view to the research of translation.

The cultural influence made by translation does not depend on the translation of language， nor on the original work or the translation itself， but on the originally cultural environment of the society. Therefore， research on the history of culture is doubtlessly the most persuasive proof of translation.

4. Exploration of culture and translating

4.1 Relationship of culture and translation

Translation， which may not only be restricted by cultural condition of society， but also has a positive influence on culture， is the role of cultural transmission and a communicative activity with certain social background. Since 1970s， translators began to pay special attention to culture in translation. During the history of translation， many scholars have tried but havent got satisfactory results. Nidas theory of functional equivalence has provided a much more valuable and effective guidance on solving the problem， though still in a relative sense. After 1990s， scholars have strengthened their consciousness towards culture in the practice of translation and have acquired cultural concept in the theory of translation. Related to translation， culture manifests in two ways. First， the concept or reference of the vocabulary items is somehow specific for the given culture. Second， the concept or reference is actually general but expressed in a way specific to the source language culture. In practice， however， it is suggested that a translator should take into account the purpose of the translation in translating the culturally-bound words or expressions.

However， translation is not simply a matter of seeking other words with similar meaning but of finding appropriate ways of saying things in another language. Cultural elements in translation could not be ignored. Different languages， then， may use different linguistic forms. But these forms are only one of the aspects of the difference between the two language systems. As Goethe observes， “There are two principles of translation. The translator can bring to his fellow countrymen a true and clear picture of the foreign author and foreign circumstances， keeping strictly to the original； but he can also treat the foreign work as a writer treats his material， altering it after his own tastes and convictions， so that it is brought closer to his fellow countrymen， who can then accept it as if it were an original work.”

4.2 Relationship between language and culture

In anthropological studies， culture in this discussion should be seen in a broad sense. Culture is not only understood as the advanced intellectual development of mankind as reflected in the arts， but it refers to all socially conditioned aspects of human life（Snell-Hornby， 1988； Hymes， 1964）. Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication. The definition of language is widely accepted by the authorities and it reveals the characteristics of language itself. According to Snell-Hornby （1988： 40）， the connection between language and culture was first formally formulated by Wilhelm Von Humboldt. For this German philosopher， language was the symbol of dynamic： it was an activity （energia） rather than a static inventory of items as the product of activity （ergon）. At the same time language is an expression of culture and individuality of the speakers， who perceive the world through language. Related to Goodenoughs idea on culture as the totality of knowledge， this present idea may see language as the knowledge representation in the mind.

As Hu Zhuanglin says， “Every language is part of a culture. As such， it cannot but serve and reflect culture needs.” （Hu Zhuanglin et al， 1989： 250）. Language is a social phenomenon， the result of culture development， and also the carrier of culture， embodying the status quo of it. Language and culture are closely related. According to Hu Wenzhong， language can never exist and develop independently without culture circumstance. It is rooted in national culture， showing the history of development， way of living， and emotions of a nation （Hu Wenzhong， 1988）.

To master a language， one will have to learn about the culture to better understand people from other countries. Learning a language is a process of learning the culture. As Wang Kefei has said， “it has been a long time for the work of translation.” The reason for people to translate is that they want to communicate and merge with people from different cultures. Therefore， as long as we are talking about translation， it is inevitable to mention the concept of culture.

4.3 Cultural Fusion under Globalization

With the science and technology highlyadvanced developed， the words used in Internet have already been used in peoples daily life. There are more and more signs are used to transfer meaning instead of specific words. Once in a college entrance examination in Taiwan 2006， there is a question in Chinese subject which requests the students to change the wrong expression into correct form of Chinese. The sample is “3Q means thank you and Orz means to kneel down. Orz is first used as the facial expression signal in Japan and now it is used widely in Asian. It means the feeling of lost. Though this caused great controversy in the academic field， the signal is still widely used in Internet and daily oral expression.

Again there is another example about culture fusion. We know a.m. and p.m. means ante and post meridiem. Have you ever notice that a.p.m.？ It means play more sleep less， which considered as a fashion in nowadays shopping mall at the very beginning. They give the customers almost 24 hours service that both a.m. and p.m. are available to get more benefits. However now this expression is used when people are checking the schedule before set a date.

Also there is another example that culture is overwhelmingly strong and it defeats translation. Seoul pronounces like “首爾” in Chinese just like its official translation name now and it is totally different from “汉城”， which can show off that country had the inseparable relationship with China. However still South Korea could talk in high-sounding tone that they do not deny the Chinese culture influence， what they did is just to make its capital easier to be remembered.

More and more signals and pronunciations are widely used without translation. Culture itself became the key of communication.

5. Conclusion

Culture is a conclusion of history of society. Since culture is passed from generation to generation which helps human to judge the accomplishment human have ever made. Culture is also a description of the status quo of human civilization. People are more concerned about their own life and the era and society they live in.

Language is the most important tool of communication for human being. It enables people to convey and exchange their ideas about their life， the society， the world， and all about culture. It reflects culture by associating cultural features with linguistics symbols. Whats more， as a framework， language also conditions the progress of culture to some extent because people of a certain society are habituated to think in their language.

If language influences thoughts and culture， it means that ultimate translation is impossible. The opposite point of view， however， gives another perspective. Humboldts “inner”and “outer” forms in language and Chomskys“deep” and “surface” structures imply that ultimate translation is anyhow possible. In practice， however， the possibility depends on the purpose and how deep the source text is embedded in the culture. The more source-textoriented a translation is， the more difficult it is to do. Similarly， the deeper a text is embedded in its culture， the more difficult it is to work on.

However when translation studies are in question， quite a few problems wait to be reconsidered and redefined since it is a rather complex human activity. The relationship among culture， language， and translation could not be separated： translation is like a bridge that links two very different cultures， which is a concept that covers everything. From the above we see lots of cultural differences might confuse us during the communication. With the time elapses， the inconvenience does not seem to be a question any more under current situation. People communicate well without that much translation. As well the translation also experiences the changes of definition. Translations purpose seems to get to the final place if there were no more development about the definition. The daily used communication symbols， for instance the traffic lights， people can understand anyway without translation； the music with foreign lyrics can also touch peoples chord without translation. And all of these already surpass the boundaries of translation.

None of us can precisely predict the future of translation especially when it is still a subject that can be considered as a hot topic in academic filed. We can make a guess that one day translation might disappear because of the Tower of Babel is building up under the trend of present cultural development.

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