Exploring Cultural Representation through Tourism-Related Cultural Words Translation on Hangzhou Tourism Website

Chen, Shiyue; Mansor, Nor Shahila; Mooisan, Chin; Abdullah, Muhammad Alif Redzuan

doi:10.5430/wjel.v13n2p168

Cited by 2 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Transliteration, literal translation, and their combination counting 67.25% are employed dominantly, which represents a conscious effort to prevent the influence of Western cultural mores and prioritizes the maintenance of the cultural and linguistic distinctiveness of the source culture. This finding is consistent with a prior investigation conducted by Chen et al (2023a), which identified foreignization as the prevailing approach in translating tourism texts. In the same vein, Chung (2021) argues that foreignization works in the following ways: it enhances visitors' cultural engagement, prevents ethnocentric biases, aligns with the preferences of the target audience, grants a unique cultural identity, and promotes intercultural exchanges.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 92%

“…The destination culture is accordingly represented and narrated. Translating tourism materials as a cross cultural communication poses great challenges related to non-equivalent issues in the target language (Chen et al, 2023a), making it particularly demanding for translators. Cultural references, inherently culture-specific, are known and unique to one cultural community but not to others.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, earlier studies on tourism translation have evaluated the effectiveness of micro-level translation procedures for cultural references in conveying cultural connotations (Qassem et al, 2021;Chen et al, 2023b). Further research (Lin, 2021;Turzynski-Azimi, 2021;Li et al, 2022a,b;Chen et al, 2023a) examined the impact of the macro-level translation methods on the translation. However, the implications of the translation decisions (both macro and micro levels) on culturally based semantic losses were not examined.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Culturally based semantic losses in Lonely Planet’s travel guides translations for Beijing, Shanghai, and Sichuan

Chen,

Zhou

2024

Front. Commun.

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Translating cultural references in tourism materials is pivotal in bridging cultural gaps and facilitating cross-cultural communication. Despite the escalating demand for accurate translation, no research exists to address the losses in cultural connotations and their impact on semantic accuracy in Chinese-English cultural reference translation within Lonely Planet’s travel guides. This research seeks to fill this gap, specifically focusing on Beijing, Shanghai, and Sichuan destinations. The objectives are as follows: 1) to identify the types of cultural connotation losses in the English translation of Chinese cultural references; 2) to examine cultural-related semantic losses, considering instances where cultural connotation losses lead to partial or complete semantic losses; and 3) to elucidate the translation decisions (both macro and micro levels) implications on the culturally based semantic losses. A qualitative-descriptive approach forms the foundation of this research. The findings revealed seven types of cultural connotation losses, with partial semantic losses predominant. Applying Venuti’s domestication and foreignization, the results also uncovered a strong inclination toward foreignization, emphasizing the strangeness inherent in the source culture is intensified. These findings contribute to a nuanced understanding of the complexities of translating cultural connotations and maintaining semantic accuracy, offering a comprehensive typology that can guide future translation practices and serve as a springboard for further research in the field. Lastly, this study underscores the significance of maintaining cultural connotations in translation, thereby contributing to the ongoing development of cross-cultural communication.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Culturally based semantic losses in Lonely Planet’s travel guides translations for Beijing, Shanghai, and Sichuan

Chen,

Zhou

2024

Front. Commun.

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“…Different researchers have different definitions of CSIs based on different standards (Chen, 2023). Vermeer proposed the term "cultureme", and "cultureme is a social phenomenon of a culture X that is regarded as relevant by the members of this culture and, when compared with a corresponding social phenomenon in a culture Y, is found to be specific to culture X.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strategies for Translating Culture-Specific Items from Chinese into English

Zuo

Abdullah

Toh

2023

WJEL

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The purpose of this study is to investigate the translation strategies adopted by the translator in translating the Chinese novel Big Breast and Wide Hips into English, as well as the factors influencing the translator’s choice of translation strategies, by using the descriptive research method and culture-specific items (hereafter referred to as CSI). Eight translation strategies are examined in the data analysis: 1) substitution; 2) transliteration; 3) free translation; 4) literal translation; 5) omission; 6) literal translation plus amplified translation; 7) literal translation plus explanation; 8) free translation plus substitution. The findings of the study show that the type of CSI influences the choice of translation strategy. Furthermore, the results suggest that translation strategies should not be developed on the basis of subjective assumptions or hasty generalisations about the expectation of the audience. Rather, they should be based on the specific situation of the culture-specific items.

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Exploring Cultural Representation through Tourism-Related Cultural Words Translation on Hangzhou Tourism Website

Cited by 2 publications

References 11 publications

Culturally based semantic losses in Lonely Planet’s travel guides translations for Beijing, Shanghai, and Sichuan

Culturally based semantic losses in Lonely Planet’s travel guides translations for Beijing, Shanghai, and Sichuan

Strategies for Translating Culture-Specific Items from Chinese into English

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