A Study on Culture-loaded Word Translation in China West Film Studio

1. Introduction

With the rapid development of China and the globalization， tourism is gradually becoming a crucial part in people’s life. Ningxia， the origin of Xixia Empire， is attracting a great number of foreign tourists. China West Film Studio， which was founded by the Chinese famous writer Zhang Xianliang， is the first choice for foreign tourists when visiting Ningxia. As a result， the translation in China West Film Studio plays an important role and special attention should be paid. China West Film Studio， which is located at the eastern foot of Helan Mountain， can be considered as a collection of traditional Chinese material culture as well as non-material culture， because there are more than 200 scenes of various films here， which reappear the lifestyle， custom， entertainment and culture in ancient China. Hence， it is crucially significant to study the cultural elements in the translation in China West Film Studio.

2. Translation and Culture

Culture， which is an ambiguous concept， differs all over the world. At the same time， each nation has its own special cultural system. Translation is a bridge between two languages， transferring not only the meaning but also the culture， and thus cultural elements plays a vital role in translation. Cultural meaning of a certain word is complexly woven into the language and it is extremely important for the translator to transfer the cultural elements when translating. In Malinowski’s opinion， cultural elements， which refer to the cultural and social background in a certain community， involve two parts， namely social norms and cultural customs. Social norms mean the regulation and norms which stipulate verbal communication in a community; cultural customs which involves in thinking and cultural consciousness such as present politics， history， philosophy， science， folk custom， etc. as well as the writers and works of the present era， signify the lifestyle which is formed and inherited from generations to generations in a community. In a word， culture， which is a reflection of the language， is closely related to language as well as translation and translators should pay special attention to cultural elements when translating.

2.1 A Study on Cultural Elements in Chinese Publicity Materials Translation in China West Film Studio

Characteristics of Chinese Publicity Materials in China West Film Studio

Publicity materials in scenic spots are so important that they play a significant role when people are visiting such places. They not only show tourists the special beauty of the place they are visiting， but also present the unique culture hidden behind the scenic spot. Publicity materials in scenic spots are helpful to tourists when they are visiting and provide them with a lot of useful information. Publicity materials in scenic spots are a kind of special practical language.

As a special practical language， Chinese publicity materials in China West Film Studio have some characteristics. Firstly， the publicity materials in China West Film Studio are informative. There are more than 200 scenes in China West Film Studio and when tourists are visiting a certain scene without a guide， the only way that they can get to know the information is the publicity materials. Chinese publicity materials， therefore， contain a lot of information. Secondly， the publicity materials in China West Film Studio are descriptive. As such materials are prepared for tourists， they must be visualized. When tourists read these materials， they will imagine the scene of a certain film as if it were in front of them. They describe the beauty and special features of the scene through words and introduce the geographical feature， the natural scenery， the historical background and the culture hidden behind the scene. In addition， they tell tourists the origin of a certain scene， as well as the relevant allusions. Generally speaking， tourists can get a specific impression of the scenic spot through the publicity materials. Thirdly， the language is short and pithy. The reason why scenic spots prepare so many publicity materials is that they are helpful when tourists are visiting. As is known to everyone， the main purpose of tourists is to visit， so they will not spend too much time reading the materials. Because of that， the materials are short and pithy and tourists can get the information they need as soon as possible and have a whole understanding of the information. Fourthly， it contains a lot of culture-loaded words that reflect various cultural elements. There are more than 200 scenes of various films in China West Film Studio and these scenes reappear the lifestyle， custom， entertainment and culture in ancient China. As a result， China West Film Studio can be considered as a collection of traditional Chinese culture.

2.2 Cultural Elements and Translation Strategies in Chinese Publicity Materials Translation in China West Film Studio

Culture can be regarded as the total sum of material civilization and spiritual civilization which are created and accumulated in human history. From a macro perspective， culture can be divided into culture in a general sense and culture in a narrow sense. Culture in a general sense refers to the sum of material and spiritual products created by human beings， while culture in a narrow sense places emphasis on language， literature， art and all types of spiritual productions. According to Eugene Nida， on the basis of its features， culture can be classified into ecological culture， material culture， social culture， and language culture（Nida， 2005， p. 91）. In addition， British linguist Peter Newmark classifies culture into five categories： ecology; artifacts; work and leisure; organizations， customs， activities， procedures and concepts; gestures and habits （Newmark， 2001， p. 95）. In this thesis， the author will analyze the cultural elements and translation strategies in Chinese publicity materials in the translation in China West Film Studio on the basis of Engene Nida’s theory.

2.2.1 Ecological Culture

Ecological culture refers to characteristics of the natural and geographical environment of a certain language community and is composed of terrain， climate and weather， animals and plants.

原文：说这里有一条“龙脉”从贺兰山延伸下来，有“卧龙怀珠之势”，于是王珣和郑玘决定将塞修建在此，命名为“镇北堡”。

译文：He said that there was a dragon vein extending from Helan Mountain，forming the posture of“a lying dragon embracing a pearl”. Therefore，Wang Xun and Zhen Qi decided to built fortress there named“Zhenbeibu”.

In this example ， “龙” is a culture-loaded word， reflecting the ecological culture. When translating， the translator rendered the original text literally and faithfully， translating “龙脉” into “dragon vein”， which will make the western tourists confused. In western culture， dragon is considered as a bad animal， while it is regarded as the symbol of authority in Chinese culture. Therefore， the translator ignores the cultural differences and it is improper to translate “龙” into “dragon”. In traditional Chinese culture， “龙脉” refers to the trend of ridge and thus it is improper to translate the word literally. Instead， the amplification should adopted and accordingly the author translates the sentence as this location was being stretched from the peak of Helan Mountain and was surrounded by water，which means great power and high status in ancient cultures. Actually， the water just refers to the channels for floods.Therefore，the fortress was built here and named“Zhenbeibu”.

2.2.2 Material Culture

The culture preserved under the material products in human beings’ life is called material culture. Generally speaking， the material culture involves four aspects， namely clothes， food， houses and transportations. In addition， many sub-components are also included in the material culture， such as ornaments， instruments of production， etc.

原文：當时九儿就是坐在这炕上剪窗花。

译文：Jiu’er was sitting on the Kang （a heatable brick bed common in North China）， making paper cuts for window decorations.

In this example， “炕” can be regarded as a culture-loaded word signifying material culture. In ancient China， “炕” ， which is made of adobe and bricks， is a long bed for people to sleep and it is usually seen in northern China. If it is translated into “床” directly， the cultural connotation will not be delivered. As a result， when translating this culture-loaded word， the translator adopted transliteration plus explanation， reflecting the cultural connotation of “炕” and the translation can be easily understood by western tourists.

2.2.3 Social Culture

Social culture， which is related to all aspects in people’s social life， involves many elements. It refers to the summation of cultural phenomena reflected in a community’s members’ behaviors， customs， value senses， thinking orientations and geographic psychology.

原文：招亲台。

译文：Zhao Qin Tai

“招亲台” is a classic scene in China West Film Studio and is a place where the rich and powerful people chose their son-in-law. In ancient China， rich and powerful people chose son-in-law through various ways， such as martial arts competition， reciting poems， throwing embroidered ball and so on. Therefore， “招亲台” can considered as a culture-loaded word which reflects a type of social culture in ancient China. When translating this word， the translator used pinyin， which didn’t reflect the cultural connotation of the word. Therefore， when rendering this term， the translation should adopt proper translation method.

3. Conclusion

Translation is closely connected with culture and thus it is necessary for translators to pay special attention when translating culture-loaded words in scenic spots. In order to render the culture-loaded word in scenic spots properly， translators should get a full appreciation of the cultural significance hidden behind the historical allusions. China， a great country with a long history， is attractive to foreign tourists. Everything in scenic spots has some special origins and becomes an important part in scenic spots. In the introduction of the scenic spots， the cultural significance hidden behind historical stories， historical figures， historical events， and mythologies will be reflected in the language. If translators lack cultural background knowledge， they will not realize the cultural significance hidden behind the word， which will lead to the cultural mistranslation.

【作者簡介】吕春敏（1988.02-），女，汉族，宁夏银川人，宁夏大学新华学院讲师，硕士，研究方向：翻译理论与实践。

【基金项目】2016年度宁夏高等学校科学研究项目《旅游英语中文化负载词翻译的研究——以宁夏回族自治区旅游景点翻译为例》（项目编号：NGY2016222）唯一资助项目。