On the Translation of Chinese Menu from the Perspective of Function Equivalence

【Abstract】Translation concerning cuisine culture shoulders heavy responsibility， and will undoubtedly play an important part and make its due contribution to the overall cause of promoting prosperous exchange and friendship between China and other nations. This paper tries to concentrates on the comprehensive research of the translation of Chinese Menu from the perspective of Functional Equivalence Theory.

【Key words】Functional; Equivalence ; Chinese Menu; Translation

【作者简介】林愉，江苏航空职业技术学院。

1. Introduction

China has gained its way to the centre of the world stage in the most eye-catching manner， attracting more visitors from overseas than it has ever had. What is most appealing to the tourists are the long history of over five thousand years and the unique culture that is embedded and reflected in every aspect of peoples days of lives in China. Since the Chinese cuisine has been enjoying a longstanding reputation in the western community due to its sophisticated cooking techniques and strong and exotic flavor plays important parts in traditional Chinese cuisine culture. Therefore， it is highly worthy of translation of Chinese Menu into the English version.

2. Application of Functional Equivalence in Translation of Chinese Menu

The functional equivalence theory points out that it should keep the meaning of the source language functionally equivalent to that of the target language. Because Chinese Menu entails traditional Chinese culture， menu translation is an activity of transmitting Chinese culture. Therefore， adapting correct translation methods will have a good effect on translating Chinese Menu.

2.1 Transliteration

Transliteration is the conversion of a text from one script to another. Sometimes， translators should use Pinyin to translate Chinese Menus directly. However， because of the different cultural background， direct transliteration shall be making misunderstanding to foreigners. Therefore， transliteration can be divided into two ways： Transliteration without Explanation and Transliteration with Explanation.

2.1.1 Transliteration without Explanation

In English， “dumpling” is very chaotic; it can not only means “餃子”but also can means “馄饨”. Hence， the use of transliteration method can reduce a lot of trouble about the information of the dish in the translation of Chinese Menu. Such as “饺子” （Jiaozi）， it is clearly find that through transliteration is a good way to enhance foreigners understandings of Chinese Menu with which they are acquainted.

2.1.2 Transliteration with Explanation

Apart from these dishes， there are still a lot of dish names that may be not acquainted to foreigners. “粽子” is a very famous Chinese food and it can severed well as a case of Chinese-characterized dish. It is useless to translate as “Zongzi” without any explanation. An explanation “Glutinous Rice Wrapped in Bamboo Leaves” should be added.

2.2 Literal Translation

Literal translation is an approach to produce function equivalence translation under certain circumstances. Using literal translation means that dish names should be simple， jargon-free argot and containing information of dishes. This translation method is not only adhering to content of source text but also keeping the form of original text. Therefore， literal translation is the most suitable translation method to realize equivalence.

2.2.1  Major ingredient（s） + minor ingredient（s）： 青豆蝦仁 Shrimps with Green Peas

Translating this kind of dish， if the main materials contain meat and vegetables， the meat should be first introduced. If the materials are both vegetables， the distinctive vegetable should be put first in order

2.2.2 Cooking method（s） + ingredient（s）：红烧排骨 Braised Spareribs with Brown Sauce

“Boiled”“Braised”“Stir-fired”“Sautéed” and “Dried” are all cooking methods and “Shrimp”“Spareribs”“Legume”“Spicy Pork”and “Beans” are all materials. Therefore， translate dish names containing the materials and cooking methods， the cooking methods should be put in the first place and then fellow the materials.

2.2.3 Flavor + ingredient（s）：酸辣蕨根粉 Hot and Sour Fern Root Noodles.

Chinese cooking sauces are very common in Chinese Menu as it adds flavor to any dish cooked. Basic flavors include sweetness， saltiness， sourness， bitterness and hotness. It must be combined tastes in a meal to achieve semantic equivalence. Since the above translated versions have already well established and accepted by the foreigners.

2.2.4 ingredient（s） + cooking utensil：石烹肥牛 Beef with Chili Grilled on Stone Plate

Chinese cooking is special in its use of certain equipment. Therefore， most common equipment set for Chinese dish names include “wok”“Pot”“Bamboo Tube”“Stone Plate”， etc.. Literal translation is also adapted for the translation with dishes containing cooking utensils.

2.3 Free Translation

Free translation is a skill according to the meaning of the originals， without paying attention to the details and translation would also be fluent and natural. Nida also points out that the translators are unnecessary to modify translator if target receptor will misunderstand referential meaning which caused by a closest translation with corresponding form. In order to achieve functional equivalence， translators should abandon forms and preserve meanings of source text.

The dish“翡翠虾仁” is actually broccoli and shrimps. Chinese people like to see “花椰菜”（broccoli） as “翡翠”（jade）， but if translator translates “翡翠”literally into “jade”，  foreigners will be confused. Therefore， when translators translate dish names which with aesthetic function， the literal translation will be used on factual parts， and the free translation will be used on the rest. Therefore， “翡翠虾仁” should be translated as “Sautéed Shrimp with peas”. In this way， the readers have been deprived of the rights to enjoy the humor or images conveyed in these dish names.

2.4 Amplification

Amplification refers to supplying necessary words in our translation work so as to make the version correct and clear. Words thus supplied must be indispensable either syntactically or semantically. “全家福” Happy Family （A Combination of Shrimps， Pork， Beef， Chicken， Lobster and Mixed Vegetables with Brown Sauce）.

Like above cases in Chinese always cater to guests auspicious and festive mentality.Amplification is adapted when translating these indistinct dish names. It is a good approach to attain functional equivalence that reflects contents of dishes faithful.

3. Conclusion

Based on the perspectives of functional equivalence， the author points out that， to convert effectively between the two languages， translators have to know the translation of different cooking methods， the material and ways of cutting， along with all the other cultural elements hidden in the Chinese dish names. The author hopes that the research on Chinese Menu translation will develop in breadth and depth.

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