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【Abstract】As we all know,A Dream in Red Mashions which is written mainly by Caoxueqing,could be a remarkable one after thousands of years with any doubt.Owing to its profound cultural connotation and unique cultural perspective,many famous translators devoted themselves to translating this great masterpiece.However,a language can not only be a carrier of one culture,but also can be a way of connecting the communications in different cultures.Therefore,this paper takes the two translation versions of A Dream in Red Mashions made by Yang hsien yi and Gladys Yang and David Hawks for example,and tries to analyze the retention and deletion of cultural connotation through the comparisons to know how to keep the preservation of the cultural connotation in a better way.
【Keywords】A Dream in Red Mashions; two translation versions,retention; deletion; cultural connotation
The Non-equivalence
It is known to us,when we do some translation work, sometimes we may not find one exact word to express what we want to say.This kind of situation is very common in the translation of A Dream in Red Mashions,whether Yang hsienyi and Gladys Yang,or David Hawks,they will also meet these problems.But luckily,both of them will take some measures to make the words readable and understandable.Let’s see some specific examples:eg 1:“方欲拜见时,早被他外祖母一把搂入怀中,心肝儿肉叫着大哭起来.”,this sentence describes the excited mood of old grandmother when she first see Dai yu in her house.However,in China or we may say in Chinese culture,when you call someone “心肝儿肉”,it means that you are precious,you are my baby.Definitely,Yang or Hawks could not find an equivalent word in English,but what they can do is to express the cultural contentation meanings of that word by using some practical ways.Hawks’s version :“but before she could do so her grandmother had caught her in her arms and pressing her to her bosom with cries of ‘My pet!’ and ‘My poor lamb!’ burst into loud sobs”,we can see Hawks chooses a word which is familiar in foreign culture——“My poor lamb”,it means someone is lamentable and everyone wants to take a good care of her.Although there is no obvious word to translate directly,Hawks explains the suitable meanings and keep the cultural connotation in this place.
The Foreignization
While,in most situations,the foreignization will bring some cultural misunderstandings and the deletion of cultural connotation.In the next paragraph,one example would be shown for this kind of circumstance.Let’s see the sentence:“ 可巧黛玉的小丫鬟雪雁走来与黛玉送小手炉,黛玉因含笑问他:“谁叫你送来的?难为他费心,那里就冷死了我!"雪雁道:“紫鹃姐姐怕姑娘冷,使我送来的。”,the Hawks’s version:“Just at that moment her maid Snowgoose came hurrying in with a little hand-warmer for her.‘Who told you to bring this?’ Dai-yu asked her.‘Very kind of them,I am sure.But I was not actually freezing to death here.’‘Nightingale told me to bring it,Miss.She was afraid you might be cold.’ we can find something about the translation of each character’s name.Hawks just use two words combination to replace the original name,but in many Chinese traditional novels or works,the character’s name may implicate its own fortune or something else.If Hawks just change it into another language words by foreignization method,the readers may feel a weak original meaning or even not have this feeling or awareness to attach the different culture and different cultural connotation.So,obviously,this could cause the deletion of cultural connotation.
Conclusion
As a great masterpiece of the Chinese traditional history,A Dream in Red Mashions has influence the people home and abroad.According to its great and profound cultural background information and unique writing style with a lot of literary quotations,dialogues,idioms,poems and songs,A Dream in Red Mashions concentrates the Chinese cultural connotation without any doubt.Based on these comparisons,we will draw a conclusion that when we do the translation work,besides the right grammar,we should also know how to express the implications and convey the cultural connotation by several useful translation methods.To be a good translator,when he or she start a new translation work,he or she needs to do some research on culture related by the materials.
References:
[1](清)曹雪芹,(清)高鹗,红楼梦(全四册)[M].人民日报出版社, 2007.
[2]David Hawks,Story Of The Stone,Penguin Classics,December 16,1982.
[3](清)曹雪芹,(清)高鹗,红楼梦(全四册)[M].人民日报出版社, 2007.
【Keywords】A Dream in Red Mashions; two translation versions,retention; deletion; cultural connotation
The Non-equivalence
It is known to us,when we do some translation work, sometimes we may not find one exact word to express what we want to say.This kind of situation is very common in the translation of A Dream in Red Mashions,whether Yang hsienyi and Gladys Yang,or David Hawks,they will also meet these problems.But luckily,both of them will take some measures to make the words readable and understandable.Let’s see some specific examples:eg 1:“方欲拜见时,早被他外祖母一把搂入怀中,心肝儿肉叫着大哭起来.”,this sentence describes the excited mood of old grandmother when she first see Dai yu in her house.However,in China or we may say in Chinese culture,when you call someone “心肝儿肉”,it means that you are precious,you are my baby.Definitely,Yang or Hawks could not find an equivalent word in English,but what they can do is to express the cultural contentation meanings of that word by using some practical ways.Hawks’s version :“but before she could do so her grandmother had caught her in her arms and pressing her to her bosom with cries of ‘My pet!’ and ‘My poor lamb!’ burst into loud sobs”,we can see Hawks chooses a word which is familiar in foreign culture——“My poor lamb”,it means someone is lamentable and everyone wants to take a good care of her.Although there is no obvious word to translate directly,Hawks explains the suitable meanings and keep the cultural connotation in this place.
The Foreignization
While,in most situations,the foreignization will bring some cultural misunderstandings and the deletion of cultural connotation.In the next paragraph,one example would be shown for this kind of circumstance.Let’s see the sentence:“ 可巧黛玉的小丫鬟雪雁走来与黛玉送小手炉,黛玉因含笑问他:“谁叫你送来的?难为他费心,那里就冷死了我!"雪雁道:“紫鹃姐姐怕姑娘冷,使我送来的。”,the Hawks’s version:“Just at that moment her maid Snowgoose came hurrying in with a little hand-warmer for her.‘Who told you to bring this?’ Dai-yu asked her.‘Very kind of them,I am sure.But I was not actually freezing to death here.’‘Nightingale told me to bring it,Miss.She was afraid you might be cold.’ we can find something about the translation of each character’s name.Hawks just use two words combination to replace the original name,but in many Chinese traditional novels or works,the character’s name may implicate its own fortune or something else.If Hawks just change it into another language words by foreignization method,the readers may feel a weak original meaning or even not have this feeling or awareness to attach the different culture and different cultural connotation.So,obviously,this could cause the deletion of cultural connotation.
Conclusion
As a great masterpiece of the Chinese traditional history,A Dream in Red Mashions has influence the people home and abroad.According to its great and profound cultural background information and unique writing style with a lot of literary quotations,dialogues,idioms,poems and songs,A Dream in Red Mashions concentrates the Chinese cultural connotation without any doubt.Based on these comparisons,we will draw a conclusion that when we do the translation work,besides the right grammar,we should also know how to express the implications and convey the cultural connotation by several useful translation methods.To be a good translator,when he or she start a new translation work,he or she needs to do some research on culture related by the materials.
References:
[1](清)曹雪芹,(清)高鹗,红楼梦(全四册)[M].人民日报出版社, 2007.
[2]David Hawks,Story Of The Stone,Penguin Classics,December 16,1982.
[3](清)曹雪芹,(清)高鹗,红楼梦(全四册)[M].人民日报出版社, 2007.