Journal Screenshot

International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences

Open Access Journal

ISSN: 2222-6990

Navigating Cross-Cultural Boundaries: Translation Strategies for Culture-Loaded Words in Chinese Yu Opera

Yi Liu, Muhammad Alif Redzuan bin Abdullah, Syed Nurulakla bin Syed Abdullah

http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v14-i7/21902

Open access

The translation of culture-loaded words is crucial in cross-cultural communication, particularly in traditional Chinese Yu Opera, which contains rich cultural nuances. Proper translation ensures the preservation of authenticity and accessibility for a global audience. Despite extensive research in other fields, the study of culture-loaded words in Yu opera translation remains scarce, highlighting the need to address this gap. This study employs a comparative analysis of the source text (ST) and target text (TT) to identify the translation strategies used by the translator. Additionally, a semi-structured interview with the translator was conducted to understand the rationale behind the chosen strategies. This dual approach allows for a comprehensive examination of the translation process and the factors influencing strategy selection. Key findings reveal that domestication is more prevalent and effective than foreignization in navigating cultural boundaries. The study highlights that the choice of translation strategy is significantly influenced by both social factors, such as the interests of different parties, and individual factors, including the translator’s subjectivity. Further research could explore the impact of different cultural contexts on translation strategies in traditional opera, conduct comparative studies across local operas, and investigate audience reception and translator training to enhance cultural sensitivity and translation quality.

Amenador, K. B., & Wang, Z. (2023). The image of China as a destination for tourist: Translation strategies of culture-specific items in the Chinese-english food menus. SAGE Open, 13(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440231196656
Amenador, K. B., & Wang, Z. (2022). The Translation of Culture-Specific Items (CSIs) in Chinese-English Food Menu Corpus: A Study of Strategies and Factors. SAGE Open, 12(2), 215824402210966. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440221096649
Bagheridoust, E., & Mahabad, M. Z. (2017). Translation of culture specific items: A case study of Persian architecture terminology. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, 6(2), 46. https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.6n.2p.46
Baker, M. (2018). In other words: A coursebook on translation. Routledge.
Bassnett, S. (2007). Culture and translation. A companion to translation studies, 12-23.
Berger, P. L. (1969). The social reality of religion (pp. 107-108). London: Faber.
Brisset, A. (1990). Sociocritique de la traduction: théâtre et altérité au Québec (1968-1988). Longueuil, Québec: Le Préambule.
Campbell, S. J. (1991). Towards a model of translation competence. Meta, 36(2), 329-343.
Chibani, I. (2022). Procedures used in the translation of culture specific items in Moroccan literary texts: Lu’bat al-Nisyan as a case study. International Journal of Language and Literary Studies, 4(3), 342–358. https://doi.org/10.36892/ijlls.v4i3.1073
van Driem, G. (1997). Sino-bodic. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 60(3), 455-488.
Du, Y., & Ren, H. (2018). Study of the Translation Strategies of Chinese Culture-Loaded Words under Skopos Theory a Case Study of Xi Jinping’s Report at the 19th CPC National Congress. In International Conference on Contemporary Education, Social Sciences and Ecological Studies (CESSES 2018) (pp. 577-582). Atlantis Press.
Even-Zohar, I. (1979). Polysystem theory. Poetics today, 1(1/2), 287-310.
Gouanvic, J. M. (1999). Sociologie de la traduction: la science-fiction américaine dans l’espace culturel français des années 1950. Artois presses université.
Holz-Mänttäri, J. (1984). Translatorisches handeln: Theorie und methode (Vol. 226). Suomalainen tiedeakatemia.
Hu, W. (1999). Introduction to intercultural communication. Foreign Language Teaching and Research Publishing House.
Ji, C., & Chen, Y. (2022). A Tentative Study on Translation Tactics of Culture-loaded Words Based on Domestication and foreignisation: A Case Analysis of The Last Emperor Film. Modern Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, 1(01).
Khye Ling, S. K., Dagusti, O., Amini, M., & Rabbani, M. (2018). English to Malay translation of culture-specific items in selected Penang tourist brochures. Studies in Linguistics and Literature, 3(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.22158/sll.v3n1p1
Lefevere, A., & Bassnett, S. (1990). Introduction: Proust’s grandmother and the thousand and one nights: The ‘cultural turn’in translation studies. Translation, history and culture, 1-13.
Lefevere, A. (2016). Translation, rewriting, and the manipulation of literary fame. Taylor & Francis.
Lesznyák, M. (2007). Conceptualizing translation competence. Across languages and cultures, 8(2), 167-194.
Li, S. (2018). A corpus-based multimodal approach to the translation of restaurant menus. Perspectives, 27(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/0907676x.2018.1483408
Li, M. (2022). Study of the Translation Strategies for the Chinese Culture-loaded Words in Peking Opera under Functional Equivalence Theory. Advances in Broadcasting, 2(1), 22-34.
Li, Q., Wu, R., & Ng, Y. (2022). Developing culturally effective strategies for Chinese to English geotourism translation by corpus-based interdisciplinary translation analysis. Geoheritage, 14(1), 6.
Li, Z., & Lyu, J. (2021). On the Translation Strategies of Culture-loaded Words Based on Thick Translation: A Case Analysis of The Grand Scribes Records (Selected Chapters). Communication across Borders: Translation & Interpreting, 1(02).
de Linde, Z. (1995). ‘Read my lips’ subtitling principles, practices, and problems. Perspectives: Studies in translatology, 3(1), 9-20.
Li, Z. (2017). Xi Jinping talks about “Belt and Road” Innitiative. people.cn.http://politics.people.com.cn/n1/2017/0412/c1001-29203823.html
Liu, F. (2019). Translation strategies of culture-loaded words in publicity materials under the background of “the Belt and Road”. Creative Education, 10(05), 839.
Luo, L. (2023). A corpus-based study of translation approaches and strategies on culture-loaded words in literatures: A case study of jiutu and its English version. Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science, 7(3), 585–593. https://doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2023.03.020
Marco, J. (2019). The translation of food-related culture-specific items in the Valencian Corpus of Translated Literature (COVALT) corpus: a study of techniques and factors. Perspectives, 27(1), 20-41.
Matisoff, J. A. (1991). Sino-Tibetan linguistics: present state and future prospects. Annual review of anthropology, 20(1), 469-504.
Molina, L., & Hurtado Albir, A. (2002). Translation Techniques Revisited: A Dynamic and Functionalist Approach. Meta, 47(4), 498–512. https://doi.org/10.7202/008033ar
Newmark, P. (1998). More paragraphs on translation. Multilingual matters.
Nida, E. (1964). " Principles of Correspondence" In Venuti, L., Ed., The Translation Studies Reader, Routledge, London, 126-140.
Nida, E. A., & Taber, C. R. (Eds.). (1974). The theory and practice of translation (Vol. 8). Brill Archive.
Nida, E. A. (1993). Language, culture, and translating. Foreign Language Education Press, Shanghai.
Nida, E. A. (1996). The sociolinguistics of interlingual communication. Brussels: Les Éditions du Hazard.
Nunn, N. (2012). Culture and the historical process. Economic History of Developing Regions, 27(sup-1), 108-126.
PIAN, Y. W., & CHEN, W. (2022). English Translation of Culture-Loaded Words—A Corpus Based Study. Journal of Literature and Art Studies, 12(6), 667-673.
Presas, M. (2000). Bilingual competence and translation competence. Benjamins Translation Library, 38, 19-32.
Qin, Y. (2021). A Research on the Adaptation Translation Strategies of the Culture-loaded Words from the Perspective of the Intercultural Communication. In 7th International Conference on Humanities and Social Science Research (ICHSSR 2021) (pp. 656-659). Atlantis Press.
Ramière, N. (2006). Reaching a foreign audience: Cultural transfers in audiovisual translation. The journal of specialised translation, 6, 152-166.
Reiß, K., & Vermeer, H. J. (1984). Grundlegung einer allgemeinen Translationstheorie.
Rezaei, M., & Kuhi, D. (2014). Strategies employed in translation of tourist guidebooks culture-specific items from Persian into English. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 4(4). https://doi.org/10.4304/tpls.4.4.750-757
Sanning, H. (2010). Lost and found in translating tourist texts: Domesticating, foreignising or neutralising approach. The Journal of Specialised Translation, 13, 124-137.
Statham, N. (2003). Dynamic equivalence and functional equivalence: How do they differ? The Bible Translator, 54(1), 102-111.
SU, K., & YAN, N. The Translation Strategies of Culture-loaded Words in Lu Xun's Novels: A Sociological Perspective.
Toury, G. (1978, revised 1995). "The Nature and Role of Norms in Translation." In Venuti, L. The Translation Studies Reader. London: Routledge.
Toury, G. (1980). In search of a theory of translation. Porter Institute for Poetics and Semiotics, Tel Aviv University.
Toury, G. (1995). Descriptive translation studies and beyond. Benjamins Translation Library.
Toury, G. (1998). A handful of paragraphs on'translation'and'norms'. Current Issues in Language & Society, 5(1-2), 10-32.
Turzynski-Azimi, A. (2020). Constructing the image of Japan as a tourist destination: Translation procedures for culture-specific items. Perspectives, 29(3), 407–425. https://doi.org/10.1080/0907676x.2020.1758734
Venuti, L. (1995). The translator's invisibility: a history of translation. Routledge, London.
Vermeer, H. J. (1978). Ein Rahmen für eine allgemeine Translationstheorie.
Vermer, H. J. (1989). Skopos und Translationsauftrag-Aufsatze. Institut für Übersetzen.
Vermeer, H. J. (1996a). A skopos theory of translation:(some arguments for and against). Heidelberg: TEXTconTEXT. [Reihe Wissenschaft, 1.]
Waard, J. D., & Nida, E. A. (1986). From one language to another: Functional equivalence in Bible translating. Nelson.
Wang, D. (1998). On Bilingual Culture-loaded Words Discrepancy. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.
Wiersema, N. (2004). Globalization and Translation: A Discussion of the Effect of Globalization on Today’s Translation. Translation Journal, 8(1), 1-5.
Xia, M. (2020). A Study on the Translation of Cultural–loaded Words in the Publicity Film of Pingyao County from the Perspective of the Skopos Theory. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 10(10), 1267-1272.
Ya-xu, Q. I. A. N. (2019). A Quantitative Study on the Translation Strategy of Material Culture-Loaded Words in the Story of Stone by David Hawkes. Journal of Literature and Art Studies, 9(1), 87-95.
Yu, K. (2020). A Comparative Study of the Translation of Material Culture-loaded Words of Hongloumeng in the Light of Skopostheorie. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 11(2), 318-323.
Zhai, M., Zheng, P. (2005). ??????: ?????????"g?u t?ng rén shén: zh?ng guó jì sì wén huà xiàng zh?ng " [Communicating between humans and gods: a symbol of Chinese sacrificial culture].??????? ??sì chu?n rén mín ch? b?n shè [Sichuan People's Publishing House].
Zhou, J. (2019). Cross-regional communication and cooperation of Chinese culture under the “Belt and Road” initiative. Educational Science Development, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.36012/sde.v1i1.21
Zhou, Y., & Ding, Y. (2020). The Project of" Chinese Culture Going Global" and Its Implications for College English Teaching in China. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 10(10), 1273-1278.
Zhipei, Z. (1987). Comparison and Translation between English and Chinese. Shanghai: East China University of Science and Technology Press.
Zhu, L. (2023). Translation of Culture-Loaded Words in Audiovisual Translation—Taking Empresses in the Palace as an Example. In Translation Studies on Chinese Films and TV Shows (pp. 213-240). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.
Zhuang, Y. (2020). A Study of the Translation of Culture-Loaded Words in the Biography of Su Tungpo. OALib, 07(07), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1106518

(Liu et al., 2024)
Liu, Y., Abdullah, M. A. R. bin, & Abdullah, S. N. bin S. (2024). Navigating Cross-Cultural Boundaries: Translation Strategies for Culture-Loaded Words in Chinese Yu Opera. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 14(7), 121–139.