Aug 2026· Journal of Education and Culture Studies· Vol 10, pp. p116· 0 citations
Abstract
The English translation of Hongloumeng is of great significance to the dissemination of Chinese culture, and among them, Hawkes’ English translation is the most famous one. Based on the Dynamic Equivalence Theory, through the analysis of four levels: lexical, syntactic, textual and pragmatic, this study explores how to use the Dynamic Equivalence Theory to cross the linguistic and cultural gap between Chinese and English, and convey the original meaning to the target language readers. The study finds that Hawkes’ translated version mainly adopted the domestication translation strategy. In the lexical and textual levels, it mainly adopts methods such as free translation and idiomatic translation, while in the syntactic and pragmatic levels, it mainly uses techniques like division, conversion, and addition. The study enriches the practical path of Dynamic Equivalence Theory in the field of literary translation, and is also helpful to promote the spread and acceptance of Hongloumeng in the whole world.
In the current context of accelerating the spread of Chinese traditional culture, the translation of culture-loaded terms has become a key issue in the study of translation and intercultural communication. Based on the analysis framework of translation compensation theory, this study takes the column of “24 Solar Terms” in China Daily as the corpus, and systematically explores the translation methods of culture-loaded words in this column. According to the four categories of ecology, material, society and language, this study examines how translators compensate for cultural loss and information loss in translation. The results show that the translator widely adopts compensation techniques such as free translation, amplification, transliteration and annotation, and logical explicitation, which effectively improves the understanding smoothness and text acceptance of the target readers while maintaining the cultural connotation of the source language. These strategies not only ensure the faithful transmission of cultural information, but also effectively promote the overseas dissemination of Chinese excellent traditional culture. It is expected that the research results can provide useful reference for the Chinese-English translation practice of culture-loaded words in similar publicity texts in the future.
Zhiming Jiang, Mengyu Wang· Scientific Journal Of Humani...· 0 citations
In the context of the deepening of cross-cultural communication, the quality of English translations of Guangdong’s agricultural products directly shapes their international communication influence and market competitiveness. Guided by Communicative Translation Theory, this paper targets prominent flaws prevailing in current English translations of agricultural products, namely semantic deviation, non-standard terminology and writing formats, insufficient cultural adaptation, and the absence of category identifiers. It puts forward optimized translation strategies including explicit rendering of generic terms, optimized free translation, cultural connotation compensation, and standardized transliteration. This study seeks the accurate delivery of product information and conformity to the cognitive conventions of target‑language audiences, thereby achieving effective cross‑cultural communication. It is expected to provide practical references for the international promotion of Guangdong’s distinctive agricultural products and enrich empirical studies on the English translation of agricultural products.
Ruoyu Deng, Yangming Bai· Journal of Education Teachin...· 0 citations
Domestication and foreignization are two common strategies for translators to deal with cultural differences. Based on Berman’s translation ethics and twelve deformations, this paper takes Bai Juyi’s the Everlasting Regret (selected sentences) as the object of study, adopts close reading and comparative analysis, and selects the English versions of Xu Yuanchong, Xu Zhongjie and W. J. B. Fletcher for comparative analysis, focusing on the different degrees of domestication and foreignization in the aspects of word choice, syntax, rhetorical organization, cultural transmission and so on, as well as the effects caused by these differences. The study found that in the English translation of classical Chinese poetry, in addition to the necessary domestication adjustment, the translator should retain the cultural background and aesthetic logic of the original poem as much as possible, so that the translation can achieve the purpose of conveying the cultural nature of this special literary genre. Therefore, in the English translation, foreignization enjoys ethical priority.
Chenfan Wang· English Language Teaching an...· 0 citations
Building on the theoretical approach of Eco-translatology, the paper analyses the translation strategies used by Huang Yuanshen in his Chinese translation of 《归宿》 (To the Islands) through linguistic, cultural, and communicative dimensions. It can be found that, linguistically, Huang uses a multi-dimensional strategy that involves syntactic domestication together with imagistic foreignization via Chinese paratactic constructions for the poetic features of the source text. Culturally, Huang applies a combination strategy of “domestication in the title and foreignization in the main text” in dealing with the Indigenous Australian cultural references and Christian discourses, while Taoism views about nature are indirectly incorporated into the Chinese translation. Communicatively, ritual-like sentences with repetitive rhythms are utilized for bridging the writer’s intention with the audience. The study demonstrates that Huang achieves dynamic adaptation between the source-language and target-language ecologies, enabling the original work to successfully “survive” and “grow” within the Chinese literary ecosystem.
Yu-Hang Gu, Zhu-Lin Han· Journal of Education and Edu...· 0 citations
Recent research in translation studies has emphasised the function of the text as the
focus of translation analysis. The implication of this for legal translation is that the
expected effects of the target text determine the strategies adopted in the translation
process. Given that legal terminology presents various levels of challenges to
translators, it would be advantageous for legal translation analysis to adopt a more
specific approach, and for translator training to incorporate more specialised
knowledge. It is within this context that this study sought to investigate the
terminological challenges of legal translation and provide a platform to further
investigate the implications for legal translation and social justice in general,
particularly in a country such as South Africa where the field of legal translation is
‘under-researched’ and ‘has received little, if any, attention in translation theory and at
tertiary institutions’ (Cornelius 2011: 123). The study draws from the Descriptive
Translation Studies’ (DTS) sub-branches, namely, the process-oriented approach,
product-oriented approach and function-oriented approach. This is because of the
relations that exist between these approaches in translation. In this regard, Toury
(1995) argues that there is no point in conducting a product-oriented study if questions
relating to the determining force of its intended function, and to the choices made by
the translator governed by the norms of establishing a product, are not considered. In
advancing his argument, Toury contends that it is the function of the translation
through its linguistic make-up and/or relationships that connect it to the original, which
yield and govern the strategies which are adopted during the production of the
translation that would result in a translation process as a whole. The study adopted a
qualitative case study design approach to gain a deeper understanding of the
translation decisions made by translators within a particular context, in light of the
translation challenges that they encounter when translating legal texts. The study used
a thematic analysis method to analyse translation styles employed by translators in
the translation of eThekwini Municipality By-Laws. The translation styles were
identified and exemplified in the framework of three broad categories: legal terms -
technical terms, polysemous words and word strings/legal synonyms; linguistic terms - modal verbs, archaic adverbs, collocations, ambiguous/vague words, long sentences
and passive voice, and culture-specific terms/expressions. Norms were also identified that are at play during the translation act. Data was accessed from the eThekwini
Municipality website. It consisted of eight pieces of legislation in English and their
translations. The findings of the study reveal that the main challenges encountered by
the translators of the selected legal texts were both linguistic and socio-cultural in
nature. As a result, the translators adopt various translation styles such as borrowing,
adaptation, naturalisation, paraphrasing, and functional equivalents to render the
source texts in the target language. These styles produced translations are generally
acceptable in the isiZulu language and culture, even though a few of the translations
led to meaning shifts in the target language. The norms that were operational during
the translation process shaped translators’ decision-making with respect to the
translation styles they adopted in the translation. This is consistent with Toury’s (1995)
assertion that norms determine the translation strategies that a translator adopts. In
other words, they serve as a guide in the translation process regarding strategies
used.
Literary translation involves more than linguistic conversion; it also entails the reconstruction and re-encoding of cultural meanings. From the perspective of cultural translation theory, this study takes Liu Cixin’s original Chinese novel The Three-Body Problem and its Spanish translation El problema de los tres cuerpos by Javier Altayó as the objects of analysis. Drawing on Nida’s framework of cultural classification, culturally embedded elements in the source text are grouped into five categories: ecological, material, social, religious-philosophical, and linguistic. Through a comparative reading of the Chinese and Spanish versions, the paper examines the translator’s shifting strategies among foreignization, domestication, and cultural negotiation. The analysis suggests that the translation does not rely on a single or fixed strategy. When dealing with culture-specific elements that carry strong historical or regional specificity, the translator is more likely to preserve foreignness through transliteration, literal translation, or brief explanatory additions. In contrast, for expressions that may hinder comprehension or lead to cultural misinterpretation, freer rendering, generalization, or contextual adjustment tend to be adopted in order to reduce the cognitive burden on target readers. Overall, the Spanish translation of The Three-Body Problem reveals a flexible negotiation process, in which cultural difference is retained to varying degrees while comprehension is facilitated and narrative flow is maintained. This case offers a useful reference for the Spanish dissemination of Chinese science fiction and more broadly for the cross-cultural transmission of heterogenous cultural elements.
Yueyang Zhang· Journal of Language, Culture...· 0 citations