Study on the German Translation of Tourism Texts from the Perspective of Cultural Translation Theory: A Case Study of Ohrid

Abstract

An increasing number of people around the world are traveling abroad. These journeys create valuable opportunities for cultural encounters and intercultural communication among travelers, hosts, and tourism professionals. Language and culture are closely interconnected and continuously influence one another. As language serves as a gateway to culture, achieving a thorough understanding of a language is difficult without adequate cultural knowledge. The continuous growth of tourism has led to an increasing demand for translation services in tourism. Culture-specific linguistic elements present a particular challenge because they often lack direct equivalents in the target culture and may be unfamiliar or difficult for members of other cultures to understand. In the era of globalization, tourism texts such as brochures, travel guides, menus, and wine lists have gained considerable importance and represent a highly relevant field of translation. The accurate translation of tourism texts requires not only linguistic competence but also extensive cultural knowledge and specialized translation skills. This article examines the translation of culture-specific elements in German and Macedonian and offers recommendations for both translation theory and practice.