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摘 要：The non-equivalence always happens in the languages’ translation. In Chinese and English， apart from several special used terms and technical words， the rest hardly have the same corresponding ones. Here will analyze the vocabulary， grammatical， and cultural non-equivalence between Chinese and English translation， give examples and find the strategy to solve the problem.
关键词： culture； non-equivalence； strategy
1 Introduction
Culture appears invisible， yet it is pervasive since it has a profound effect on us. People tend to assume that a text in one language can be accurately translated into another as long as the translator uses a good bilingual dictionary. Unfortunately， language translation is difficult for languages are culturally bound. Many words are culturally loaded and have no direct equivalents； and a culture may not have the background to translate experiences specific to other cultures. Even when messages provide adequate interpretations of the original text， there is usually no full equivalence trough translation.
2 The Non-Equivalence in Translation
The following examples will illustrate the difficulties of language translation and the serious results of inappropriate translation of words with multiple meanings. These can be referred to the difficulties of linguistic equivalence， including lexical， grammatical， and experiential-cultural non-equivalence.
2.1 Lexical Non-Equivalence
The dictionary entries shows that the derogatory sense and connotation for the word， but sometimes they are ineffective. Like propaganda in English is absent in the Chinese word宣传， which in Chinese is used in different aspects of life to mean the “passing of information”. Therefore propaganda is obviously not the equivalent for word宣传， which may pose a problem in cross-cultural communication.（Chen，17-29）
Likewise word translation， the idiom translation will not only make the westerners puzzled， but also make our Chinese split laughter， such as “吊儿郎当” ， which cannot be translated literally. So we should first get rid of the comprehensive barrier and then translate into “careless and casual”. But even by doing so， we can’t get a satisfactory version for they lack of the aroma of the Chinese words.（51）
So it is difficult to establish absolute correspondence between related words in two different languages.
2.2 Grammatical Non-Equivalence
The sentence patterns of Western inflectional languages are focused on the verb， and largely governed by the inflectional changes of the verb， which denote tense， aspect， person， number， case， gender， etc. Agreement of forms is essential. In Chinese， such a structural focus is absent. Instead， sentences are formed from “flowing phrase-chunks”； words are freely chained according to inherent logic of the content. Comprehension of sentences depends less on formal， objective features， and more on context and the reader’s subjective perception.（p.26） Speakers of various Asian languages share the same interpretation of the passive formation. For example：
John baked that cake.
That cake was baked by John.
The first sentence would be merely a statement of fact， whereas the second would imply that the agent did a bad job. Even fluent English speakers from Chinese and Japanese backgrounds may continue to make this interpretation. Cultural differences in experiences and values may be reflected in such patterned elements as sequences of events. It can thus be seen that the meaning of lexical， grammatical， or discourse structures is largely depends upon the agreement of a group of speakers as to their symbolic value.
2.3 Experiential-Cultural Non-Equivalence
Translators must render not only the structural differences between languages but also the cultural differences. In translation， when we lack the words in our vocabulary to present those in the other culture， we lack cultural experience that are shared by people of both cultural experience. China is a multinational country with various conventions and cultures. If the translators don’t know it， they will meet obstacles. For example， Chinese people like bamboo because “Bamboo suggests peace and safety.” But in western countries， bamboo conveys no such meaning. Therefore， translations frequently produce misunderstanding or incomprehension. For example， a literal translation of the phrase以“杀出一条血路”（to cut a bloody path through）的气魄闯出一条新路may cause misunderstanding that Chinese are too militant， which is definitely not the meaning of the phrase.
3 Strategies of Translation
A culture is essentially untranslatable， that is not to say the language itself cannot be translated， actually it is rather difficult for the reader to reach the feeling the author want to convey. So here are the strategies：
3.1.Transliteration and Noting
People cannot find the corresponding ones in another language， we need to use the transliteration. Like， “红盖头”， we cannot translate it into “wedding gown”， for it is totally the another thing in western countries. We’d better translate it by its sound. What’s more， we must also do necessary explanation to help people understand what it really is， like “四合院” ， most western people would not realize what it is and what is for. So we note to it， like “traditional single-story houses with rows of rooms around the 4 sides of a courtyard”. Only in this way will the foreign readers get the picture of it. 3.2. Supplementation
We often come across such circumstances： the meaning of the original English sentence is complete as well as clear， but the translation becomes incomplete and obscure. The meaning of the original words or sentences sometimes is implied， we have to make supplementation to make the translation faithful to the original.
For example： Eighty years ago they were married. They have survived their families’ shock and disapproval and the stares and unwelcome comments of strangers.
这对异族男女八年前结的婚。对此，双方的家庭都曾十分震惊，而且都不赞成这桩婚事。不相识的人总以惊异的眼光打量他俩，还说些难听的话。所有这一切他俩都挺过来了。
Thus， it is not only expressed the true meaning of the original sentence but also conformed to the way of speaking and writing of the targeted language.
4 Conclusion
Nowadays， inter-language and inter-cultural exchanges are becoming increasingly extensive and frequent. So we should not only study merits and defects of these translation strategies， but also evaluate their respective values of application as to under what circumstance， for what purpose and in what kind of text types we use.
References：
Chen Jianping. Translation and Intercultural Communication， Foreign language teaching and research press，2012.September
Zhao Xiaohong. The vocabulary non-equivalence between Chinese and English translation， 2011.
杨雯，翻译中词汇的对等性，SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY INFORMATION，2009.
作者简介：
郭东晓（1991～ ），女，河北省邯郸市武安市，北华大学公共外语教育学院在读14级硕士研究生，研究方向：翻译。
关键词： culture； non-equivalence； strategy
1 Introduction
Culture appears invisible， yet it is pervasive since it has a profound effect on us. People tend to assume that a text in one language can be accurately translated into another as long as the translator uses a good bilingual dictionary. Unfortunately， language translation is difficult for languages are culturally bound. Many words are culturally loaded and have no direct equivalents； and a culture may not have the background to translate experiences specific to other cultures. Even when messages provide adequate interpretations of the original text， there is usually no full equivalence trough translation.
2 The Non-Equivalence in Translation
The following examples will illustrate the difficulties of language translation and the serious results of inappropriate translation of words with multiple meanings. These can be referred to the difficulties of linguistic equivalence， including lexical， grammatical， and experiential-cultural non-equivalence.
2.1 Lexical Non-Equivalence
The dictionary entries shows that the derogatory sense and connotation for the word， but sometimes they are ineffective. Like propaganda in English is absent in the Chinese word宣传， which in Chinese is used in different aspects of life to mean the “passing of information”. Therefore propaganda is obviously not the equivalent for word宣传， which may pose a problem in cross-cultural communication.（Chen，17-29）
Likewise word translation， the idiom translation will not only make the westerners puzzled， but also make our Chinese split laughter， such as “吊儿郎当” ， which cannot be translated literally. So we should first get rid of the comprehensive barrier and then translate into “careless and casual”. But even by doing so， we can’t get a satisfactory version for they lack of the aroma of the Chinese words.（51）
So it is difficult to establish absolute correspondence between related words in two different languages.
2.2 Grammatical Non-Equivalence
The sentence patterns of Western inflectional languages are focused on the verb， and largely governed by the inflectional changes of the verb， which denote tense， aspect， person， number， case， gender， etc. Agreement of forms is essential. In Chinese， such a structural focus is absent. Instead， sentences are formed from “flowing phrase-chunks”； words are freely chained according to inherent logic of the content. Comprehension of sentences depends less on formal， objective features， and more on context and the reader’s subjective perception.（p.26） Speakers of various Asian languages share the same interpretation of the passive formation. For example：
John baked that cake.
That cake was baked by John.
The first sentence would be merely a statement of fact， whereas the second would imply that the agent did a bad job. Even fluent English speakers from Chinese and Japanese backgrounds may continue to make this interpretation. Cultural differences in experiences and values may be reflected in such patterned elements as sequences of events. It can thus be seen that the meaning of lexical， grammatical， or discourse structures is largely depends upon the agreement of a group of speakers as to their symbolic value.
2.3 Experiential-Cultural Non-Equivalence
Translators must render not only the structural differences between languages but also the cultural differences. In translation， when we lack the words in our vocabulary to present those in the other culture， we lack cultural experience that are shared by people of both cultural experience. China is a multinational country with various conventions and cultures. If the translators don’t know it， they will meet obstacles. For example， Chinese people like bamboo because “Bamboo suggests peace and safety.” But in western countries， bamboo conveys no such meaning. Therefore， translations frequently produce misunderstanding or incomprehension. For example， a literal translation of the phrase以“杀出一条血路”（to cut a bloody path through）的气魄闯出一条新路may cause misunderstanding that Chinese are too militant， which is definitely not the meaning of the phrase.
3 Strategies of Translation
A culture is essentially untranslatable， that is not to say the language itself cannot be translated， actually it is rather difficult for the reader to reach the feeling the author want to convey. So here are the strategies：
3.1.Transliteration and Noting
People cannot find the corresponding ones in another language， we need to use the transliteration. Like， “红盖头”， we cannot translate it into “wedding gown”， for it is totally the another thing in western countries. We’d better translate it by its sound. What’s more， we must also do necessary explanation to help people understand what it really is， like “四合院” ， most western people would not realize what it is and what is for. So we note to it， like “traditional single-story houses with rows of rooms around the 4 sides of a courtyard”. Only in this way will the foreign readers get the picture of it. 3.2. Supplementation
We often come across such circumstances： the meaning of the original English sentence is complete as well as clear， but the translation becomes incomplete and obscure. The meaning of the original words or sentences sometimes is implied， we have to make supplementation to make the translation faithful to the original.
For example： Eighty years ago they were married. They have survived their families’ shock and disapproval and the stares and unwelcome comments of strangers.
这对异族男女八年前结的婚。对此，双方的家庭都曾十分震惊，而且都不赞成这桩婚事。不相识的人总以惊异的眼光打量他俩，还说些难听的话。所有这一切他俩都挺过来了。
Thus， it is not only expressed the true meaning of the original sentence but also conformed to the way of speaking and writing of the targeted language.
4 Conclusion
Nowadays， inter-language and inter-cultural exchanges are becoming increasingly extensive and frequent. So we should not only study merits and defects of these translation strategies， but also evaluate their respective values of application as to under what circumstance， for what purpose and in what kind of text types we use.
References：
Chen Jianping. Translation and Intercultural Communication， Foreign language teaching and research press，2012.September
Zhao Xiaohong. The vocabulary non-equivalence between Chinese and English translation， 2011.
杨雯，翻译中词汇的对等性，SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY INFORMATION，2009.
作者简介：
郭东晓（1991～ ），女，河北省邯郸市武安市，北华大学公共外语教育学院在读14级硕士研究生，研究方向：翻译。