The Translation of Culture-loaded Expressions: Take the Example of Howard Goldblatt’s Translation of Red Sorghum, Chapter One

Abstract Howard Goldblatt made an excellent translation of Culture-loaded expressions in Red Sorghum, by selecting different translation techniques according to their distinctive feature and context, trying to create a similar reading experience with native readers. Thus, the unique cultural panorama of Shan Dong, East China, is reconstituted before western readers.49347

Key words: Howard Goldblatt, Red Sorghum, Culture-loaded expressions, translation techniques.

 文化负载词的翻译：以葛浩文译《红高粱》第一章为例

摘要红高粱家族译者葛浩文对文化负载词的翻译无疑是成功的，它使一幅独具特色的山东地区文化图景徐徐展现在西方读者面前。葛浩文在翻译中使用了多种翻译策略，试图使外国读者获得与中国读者相同的阅读体验。本文对第一章翻译进行了整理，分类和探究，对葛浩文选择翻译策略时的考量进行了具体分析。葛浩文一般根据原文的特色，上下文来选择合适的翻译策略，其选择看似天马行空，然而有时有某一特征与某种策略一一对应的情况，其它也相对有律可循。

毕业论文关键词：葛浩文，红高粱，文化负载词，翻译策略

 Contents

1. Literature Review 4

1.1 previous study on Howard Goldblatt’s translation techniques 4

1.2 Previous study on Culture-loaded Expression 5

2. Characteristics of CLEs in Red Sorghum 6

2.1 Words and expressions 6

2.2 Linguistic art forms 6

3. The CLE Translation Techniques in Red Sorghum 7

3.1 The translation of words with no equivalence 11

3.2 The translation of CLEs with imperfect equivalence 13

3.3 The translation of art forms 15

4. Conclusion 16

4.1 Considerations in choosing techniques 16

4.1.1 Context 16

4.1.2 Information inferred by readers 17

4.1.3 Necessity 17

4.1.4 Taste of target readers 17

4.2 Translation deficiency 17

5. References 18

Chinese literature in western market can by no means be valued as “success”, the sale would be “satisfactory” if it can “successfully” reach up to two to three thousands volumes.(王侃，2012:166). The famous American sinologist and extraordinary translator, Howard Goldblatt, however, has helped Moyan, a Chinese local colorist writer, obtained Nobel Prize in Literature, a recognized prize for renowned writers, by his excellent translating skills.,源Z自+吹冰=文)论(文]网[www.chuibin.com

This research will aim at the Chinese-culture-loaded expressions (CLEs) translation of Howard Goldblatt in the novel Red Sorghum, by parallel research on text of two languages. Thus this thesis tries to explore the translation techniques used by Howard and analyze their merits for the success of Red Sorghum.

1. Literature Review

1.1 previous study on Howard Goldblatt’s translation techniques

There is a debate to some heat focusing on Howard’s fidelity and betray of original text. Indeed, Howard likes to make modification in translation, sometimes even “rewrite”, such as chunk-deletion (according to researcher Liu keqiang, he deletes 14.94% of words in Life And Death Are Wearing Me Out), adjustment to the sequence of plots, literal translation, and substitution. Howard himself also expressed his tendency and willingness of adjustment to original text: “Writers write for Chinese readers; I translate for foreign readers. Translation is a process of rewriting and recreation.”