中医药说明书中汉语四字格的英译研究_英语论文

A Study on the English Translation of Chinese Four-Character Structure in Chinese Medicine Instructions

摘要

近年来，随着中国加入世贸组织后大力推行一系列对外文化政策，中药也随之不断涌入国际市场。对于外国消费者而言，认识和了解中医药产品的最直观方式就是解读其产品说明书，因此中医药英文说明书的重要性不言而喻。同时在诸多的中医药文献中四字格均以高频次出现，占据了中医学术语相当的份额。而四字格是汉语中极具特色的语言形式，结构类型多样，极富韵律感和音乐感，翻译起来很有难度，尤其是中医药术语功效等表达使其翻译更具挑战性。本文着重分析汉语四字格的语言特征、中医药说明书四字格的英译原则及策略等几部分，以期为中药翻译及中药对外交流服务。

关键词：中医药说明书；四字格；英译

Abstract

In recent years, as China joined the WTO and then greatly issued a series of foreign cultural policy, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM for short) products begin to enter the international market. For foreign consumers, the most intuitive way to know about TCM products is by reading the instructions on the products. Hence, the English manual of TCM products is very important. The “four-character structure” appears frequently in a stream of literature of TCM, and it accounts for a considerable proportion in TCM terminology. The “four-character structure” is a language form with unique features: diverse structures, a sense of rhyme and music, which poses great obstacles to its translation; in particular, the expression of the function and symptoms of TCM makes its translation more challenging. Therefore, this paper analyzes the language features of four-character structures, principles and strategies of four-character structures in the translation of CMI. The aim is to serve for the TCM translation and the outside communication of TCM.

Key words: Chinese medicine instructions； Four-character structure；English Translation

Contents

1. Introduction 1

2. Literature Review 2

2.1 Previous study on the translation of TCM 2

2.2 Connotation of Chinese four-character structure 2

3. Problems of the Translation of Four-Character Structure in CMI 4

3.1 Interpreting without real understanding 4

3.2 Lengthy and complex translation 5

4. Principles of the Translation of Four-Character Structure in CMI 6

4.1 Understandability 6

4.2 Simplicity 7

4.3 Naturality 7

4.4 Target-text oriented 8

5. Different Parts in CMI, Different Translation Methods 8

5.1 Translation of trade name 8

5.2 Translation of TCM terminology 9

5.3 Translation of functions and indications in CMI 11

6. Conclusion 13

Works Cited 14