Abstract

In the process of globalization, exchanges among countries are becoming more and more frequent. The increasing national force of China has played a vital role in the world stage. Exchanges cannot go without language. Language, as a mirror of culture, conveys profound cultural connotations and is restrained by culture. Terms, characterized as concise and formal, are lexical references of general concepts in certain professional fields. Political terms are involved in culture, education, agriculture, national defense as well as domestic and foreign affairs and so on. They can present the political standpoints and statements of a country truthfully. Due to the cultural differences between China and the West, Chinese political terms contain distinct cultural connotations. Therefore, their proper translation can not only facilitate exchanges between China and other countries, but also help to raise China’s international status. However, misinterpretations of political terms can lead to ambiguities, or even hinder the exchanges between countries.
This thesis studies the C-E translation of political terms from the perspective of culture and tries to find out proper translation principles and strategies. The significance of this study is to emphasize the important role of culture in C-E translation of political terms. Firstly, this thesis reviews the close relationship among culture, language and translation as well as cultural translation theories both at home and abroad. Then, with the analysis of cultural differences between China and the West, the characteristics of Chinese political terms are generalized. Finally, in view of the mistakes in Chinese political terms’ translation, proper translation principles are put forward and the strategies of foreignization and domestication are recommended by citing examples from “Reports on the Work of the Government” in recent years. This thesis is written with the hope to provide a new perspective for the study of C-E translation of political terms.

Keywords:  political terms  culture  C-E translation 

摘要

在全球化进程中，世界各国之间的交流越来越频繁，中国日益增强的综合国力在世界舞台上发挥着举足轻重的作用。交流离不开语言，语言反映文化，承载着丰厚的文化内涵，并受文化的制约。术语是在特定专业领域中一般概念的词语指称，具有简洁、规范等特点。政治术语涉及文化、教育、农业、国防和内政外交等诸多方面，能够如实地反映一国的政治立场和观点。基于中西方之间的文化差异，中国政治术语具有独特的文化内涵，其恰当的英译不仅能促进其对外交流，同时也有助于提升中国的国际地位。而政治术语的误译不仅能造成歧义，甚至会成为国家间往来的障碍。
本文从文化角度研究政治术语英译的指导性原则和恰当的翻译方法，以期凸显文化在政治术语英译中的重要作用。文章首先论述了文化、语言和翻译之间的密切关系以及国内外相关的文化翻译理论。其次通过分析中西方的文化差异，对中国政治术语的特点进行总结。继而鉴于以往政治术语英译中的错误，本文以近年来的政府工作报告为例，提出恰当的翻译原则，并建议在翻译过程中采用异化和归化的翻译方法，希望能为政治术语的英译提供一个新的视角。

关键词: 政治术语；文化；汉英翻译