Abstract:

Admittedly, abundant with cultural information, cultural images are difficult to be translated with perfection due to cultural differences between different countries. During the course of C-E translation of cultural images, Some scholars might pay more attention to the role of translator, while this paper endeavors to examine the reader, especially the reader’s acceptance of the translated text and the influence of their acceptance on the translator. When reader’s role is taken into consideration and emphasized upon, the theory of optimal relevance shows important theoretical value.
This thesis attempts to find a feasible solution to the difficulties in translating cultural images from Chinese to English, especially in the choice of the two contradictive basic translating approaches---domestication and foreignization, based on the analysis of the optimal relevance theory. According to optimal relevance theory, speakers will incrementally employ subtle combinations of conceptual and procedural meanings to produce the most cognitive effects while trying to minimize addressees’ cognitive effort in deriving those meanings. However, the communication contained in translation is intercultural, where receiver (reader) has to make an effort initially to get to know the relevant cultural background information. This thesis proposes two ways: A. Reader makes efforts to figure out the translator’s intention. B. Translator makes effort in translation. Meanwhile, the thesis suggests that foreignization be applied to the translation of cultural images, encouraging the reader to make due effort to equip themselves with relevant cultural information in cultural images, realizing optimal adaptation

Key words: cultural image; domestication; foreignization; Optimal relevance

摘要：

随着全球文化交往的不断深入，各种文化之间的交流碰撞达到了前所未有的广度和深度。不同国家间地域的不同也造就了文化背景的差异，因而文化意象也就毋庸置疑地被赋予了丰富而独特的文化内涵。在翻译时，每个译者又都有自己遵循的规范，这些都导致了文化意象翻译的困难。从翻译的三角关系来看，很多学者都把注意力放在译者身上，忽视了读者在这个三角中的最终决定力量：读者的理解与否，接受与否，特别是读者能否正确理解原文所包含的交际意图，是翻译是否成功的标志。
本文拟从语用学的最佳关联性理论角度分析文化意象翻译中的归化与异化问题（特别是归化与异化选择的矛盾和难点），并试图找到可行的解决方法。从某种意义上说，最佳关联性理论对文化意象翻译的归化和异化的选择具有有重要的理论价值，因为最佳关联性理论旨在对读者的理解过程进行分析和解释。在翻译这种跨文化、跨语言的交际环境中，首先受体即读者只有在初步了解外来文化情况下才能实现最佳关联。要让读者了解异乡文化以理解文化意象，本文认为主要有两种方法，一是读者付出努力去了解，二是译者的努力翻译。同时，本文强调译者在实现最佳关联，连接读者与原作者的过程中的重要作用，认为典型的文化意象必须通过适当的异化翻译来使读者付出适当的努力，以实现最佳关联。本文目的是通过分析探讨以最佳关联为理论支撑的一系列解决方法，以期给译者在文化意象翻译中对异化和归化方法的选择提供参考。

关键词：文化意象；异化；归化；最佳关联性