The Application of Hatim and Mason’s Model of Context Analysis in the Translation of Chinese Culture-Specific Items

Peng Mengjia

【Abstract】This paper is an analysis of the applicability of Hatim and Masons Model of Context Analysis in the translation of Chinese culture-specific items with the case study of Chinese National Geography： Scenic Splendor of China. With the context analysis of both Chinese and English edition of this magazine， translators can have a clearer understanding of the status of culture-specific items in texts and thus make better judgments on which translation strategy to choose when dealing with such items. Therefore， the context analysis model of Hatim and Mason are of great help in improving the accuracy and achieving the intended goals of translations.

【Keywords】culture-specific items; context analysis; translation strategy

【作者簡介】Peng Mengjia（1992.2-），Female，Foreign Language College，Wuhan Business University ，Teaching Assistant，Master Degree，study field on translation and discourse analysis.

Ι.  Introduction

Translation of culture has been discussed by many researchers in their works and different theories have been proposed from various dimensions. Several terms have been put forward to describe the cultural bounded translation issues： culture-bounded items， culture word， or realia， which originates from Latin. Yet they tend to avoid defining the term and the inductive way of discussion is causing much arbitrariness.

And it is not until the publish of Aixelás article of “Culture-Specific Items in Translation” （1996） in the book Translation， Power， Subversion did the term “culture-specific items” being clearly defined， made possible for a broader range of lexical items to be studied under this concept. According to Aixelá， culture-specific items are those “textually actualized items whose function and connotations in a source text involve a translation problem in their transference to a target text whenever this problem is a product of the nonexistence of the referred item or of its different intertextual status in the cultural system of the readers of the target text” （58）.

Ⅱ. Background of Chinese National Geography： Scenic Splendor of China

Chinese National Geography is a Chinese popular science magazine managed by Chinese Academy of Sciences. It was first established in 1950 as “Geographic Knowledge” and changed its name into Chinese National Geography in 2000. The special issue of Scenic Splendor of China was first published in October 2005 as part of the celebration of its 55th anniversary. The magazine invited nearly 100 experts from five major professional geographical societies and more than 10 academicians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences to establish ranking criteria for the natural and cultivated landscape of China.

Ⅲ .Context Analysis and the translation of Chinese National Geography： Scenic Splendor of China

The nature of Chinese National Geography already decides that this magazine is to be filled with elements of geography， ethnology and culture. Compared to the original version， the English edition of Scenic Splendor of China is released at a different time， with different purpose and carries different expectations from the editors as well as target readership， thus the context of the whole book also decisively varies from the Chinese one.

The original title of this special issue， “选美中国” which means “the beauty contest of China”， is in itself a semiotic system. For the word “选美” is more often related to the beauty pageants of people， and it always involves certain criteria proposed by the judges. And three other subtitles are also printed on the cover： “颠覆传统：名山名湖纷纷落马” （breaking conventions： celebrities suffer defeat）， “推进审美：冰川雅丹进入视野” （advanced aesthetics： glaciers and Yandan gained attention）， “关注西部：边缘文化大放异彩” （focusing on the West： periphery cultures shone）， highlighting on the uniqueness and diversity of the ranking criteria of this “beauty contest”.

Unlike its Chinese edition， the Scenic Splendor of China is targeting at a readership that has little or no knowledge about sceneries and culture of China. So it largely eliminates the scores and comments given by the review committee， attenuating its form of a “contest”， and focuses more on the introductions. The speech act achieved here tends to be the representatives， the expressive instead of the vindictive. And another significant function of this issue is to improve the global impact of the magazine itself. The magazine also made great efforts to adjust it to satisfy its potential readers-providing abundant information for them to learn about China while attracting a broader readership for its future publishes.

The item “龙” （dragon） is a symbol of emperors and divine power in China， enjoying an extremely high status in Chinese culture since Chinese people traditionally regard ourselves as descendants of the dragon. And countless typonyms were given to show the grandeur of a scenic site throughout China. Within the magazine of Scenic Splendor of China， typonyms involving the character “龙” also appeared a lot. In the article of Mount Tai， there is “飞龙岩” （82）， translated as “Feilong （flying dragon） Rock” （68）; and “白龙堆” （234） named according to its unique， dragon-like shape and grey-color among the Yandan Landform， is translated into Bailongdui （216） and followed with a intratextual gloss in the instructions “The Yandan landform of Bailongdui （White Dragon Dunes）” （217）. Similarly， “騰龙洞” （466） was translated into “Tenglong （Flying Dragon） Cave” （429）. Although it is known to all that what dragon signifies in western culture is a fierce， cruel and evil animal with magical power， under the context of globalization， dragon as a symbol or a sign of China and Chinese culture is also well-accepted and used conventionally as an intertextual word by most educated westerners and would no longer cause misinterpretation in translation works. So it would well enough to translate “龙” directly into “dragon”， and the signifying effect would also be achieved.

On the other hand， both “飛” in “飞龙岩” and “腾” in “腾龙洞” are translated into “flying”. While “flying” is basically equivalent with “飞” as a general description of the action and has no limitations on specific objects， it failed to illustrate the vividness and vigorousness intended in the verb “腾” or to distinguish the two different verbs that appeared in the same issue. When we think of “腾”， we can always associate with the idiom of “腾云驾雾” which describes a dynamic status of soaring freely and powerfully in the sky of divine objects such as dragons， phoenix and the immortals. It would be better if “腾龙洞” can be translated into “Soaring Dragon Cave”.

As demonstrated above， Hatim and Masons model of context analysis is able to assist translators to destruct the context within and around each text， which would improve their understanding on the relationships and interactions between every elements involved in communication. The communicative dimension helps to make clear the relationship between authors and their readers and explains the language choice of authors; the pragmatic dimension reveals the authors intention in writing; whereas the semiotic dimension puts texts into a sign system， within which texts can be studied by layer and in detail. Translators can easily apply this model during translation to facilitate their comprehension of the source text; or， as is done in this thesis， they can also assess their own translation with this model and make further enhancement according to the analysis.

Ⅳ .Conclusion

In the case of Chinese National Geography： Scenic Splendor of China， translations of culture-specific items are studied under the structure of Hatim and Masons model of context analysis. Seeing culture-specific items as signs in change which constantly interact with other semiotic systems， higher flexibility is achieved for the choice of strategies in their translations. While the three dimensions of context analysis facilitate translators understanding of the different effect the source text and the target text seeks to accomplish and offer clearer directions for the translation of such texts. Thus， Hatim and Masons model of context analysis， functioning as an analytical tool before translation as well as a self-assessing tool， is proved to be applicable in enhancing the accuracy as well as achieving the intended effects of translations.

References：

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