【中英翻译】汉英数字文化比较及其翻译

1、汉英数字文化比较及其翻译Abstract Numbers, as a special part in the science of linguistics, are words originally used to express quantity or sequence. Numbers serve the same calculating function in both Chinese and English. But because of the cultural diversity found in the national psychology, religious belief and mythology, numbers are endowed with abundant cultural connotations and associations. And both Chinese and English people show different cults, taboos and connotations towards the different or iden

2、tical numbers so as to generate their own numeral cultures. Therefore, in the process of translating numbers, especially ones in the folk language and literary works, translators should make a relatively thorough study of the language and culture both in Chinese and English, and consider the discrepancy in the vagueness of numbers respectively before rendering satisfactory translations.Key Words numbers; Chinese; English; comparison; translation 【摘 要】 数字是语言科学中的一个特殊领域，是表示数量或顺序的词类。在汉英两种语言中，数字作为计算功

3、能的意义是一致的。但由于受民族心理、宗教信仰、神话传说等文化差异的影响，数字被赋予了丰富的文化内涵。对不同或相同的数字，汉英有着不同的崇尚或禁忌习俗，以及不同的联想和意义，并由此而孕育出各自独特的数字文化。因此，在翻译数字，尤其在民间语言和文学作品中，要对汉英两种语言与文化有较全面的了解,并充分考虑到英汉数字的模糊语义的差异，灵活运用不同的翻译方法，才能译出形神兼备的作品。【关键词】 数字；汉语；英语；对比；翻译Introduction: Language, culture and numbers The relationship between language and cultureCulture, a controversial and puzzling question, has been conceptualized from diverse perspectives by generations of linguists and anthropologists. It has no completely standard definitions, however, “cul

4、ture, in a broad sense, means the total way of life of a people including the patterns of belief, customs, objects, institutions, techniques, and language that characterizes the life of the human community” . As culture is so inclusive, it permeates virtually every aspect of human life and influences predominantly peoples behavior, including linguistic behavior. And language, “the carrier and container of cultural information” , is commonly viewed as a means of communications, means of expressin

5、g ideas and emotions of human beings. Language, as a reflection of the culture and a mirror of the society, is strongly influenced and shaped by culture. And culture is influenced by many factors, such as language, beliefs, customs, social habits and so on. Thus, language and culture, intrinsically dependent on each other, cannot exist without each other. The close relationship between language and culture is readily shown by the fact that culture is transmitted from one generation to the next t

6、hrough language. The definition of numbers As far as the relationship between elements of language and culture is concerned, the words relate most tightly to the culture. And numbers, as an important part in language world, have an informative function. But what is number？ As Oxford Advanced Learners EnglishChinese Dictionary defines, “A number is a word or symbol that represents an amount or a quantity” . Numbers are used widely in every aspect of life. Without numbers, nothing can get along we

7、ll in the world. As we know, numbers are grammatically divided into cardinal numbers, ordinal numbers, multiples, fractions and approximate numbers in Chinese and English language.And the concept of numbers stems from the Nature, from human beings observation and exploration to the objective world, from the realization and generalization to the physical world . A number is the abstract concept that can be considered not only as the word but also as the symbol. The purpose of this paperNumbers ar

8、e created from the interaction of humans social and cultural behavior with their ability to conceptualize their outside world. So numbers are not merely mathematical tools, but extended as metaphors in the idiomatic usages with a series of connotations. Chinese people and English people show different appetites towards the numbers. So there exist different cultural connotations and extensions between Chinese and English numbers. This paper, from diverse cultural backgrounds of numbers in Chinese

9、 and English, discusses the discrepancy in the national psychology, religious belief, mythology and so on, and generalizes several methods of translation in numbers, especially in literary works, so as to facilitate intercultural or crosscultural communication. The cultural diversity between Chinese and English numbers All human beings use numbers so that the culture of numbers has come into being. Numbers penetrate into every aspect of human life . Yet, numbers, which reflect the scales of the material world, have been endowed with rich cultural connotations due to the different cultural backgrounds. As far as Chinese culture is concerned, it bears some similarities to the world culture, but it has been laying more stress on the usages of idioms. There are numerous Chinese idioms and idiomatic usages with numbers, such as:说一不二，五湖四海，三教九流，一日不见，如隔三秋，三十六计走为上计，三句话不离本行，八九不离十，百战不殆，七零八落，九霄云外，九九归一，十万火急and so fo

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