文化语境与中国典籍翻译——关于一个研究课题的思考

Cultural Context and the Translation of Chinese Classics:Reflections on a Research Topic

本文旨在讨论从文化语境的角度研究中国典籍翻译的必要性、可行性、内容和意义。由于语境理论对言语交际行为的巨大阐释力,语境已成为翻译研究的一个热点,而其中文化语境的研究更是把翻译语境研究提高到一个新的理论层次。从文化语境切入,对中国典籍翻译进行宏观和微观、历时和共时的研究,一方面可以探讨中国典籍翻译的深层文化动因,考察两种文化的交汇和互动;另一方面可以识别和界定文本翻译中的文化语境因素,评价相关的翻译思想、取向、策略和方法。这一研究是翻译文化学、翻译语境研究和中国典籍翻译研究的交叉,具有重要的理论意义和实际意义。

This paper discusses the necessity,feasibility,contents and significance of the study of the translation of Chinese classics from the angle of cultural context. Because of the great interpreting power of context theory to acts of linguistic communication,context has become a hot spot in translation studies,while research on cultural context in particular has raised the study of the translation context to a new theoretical level. Approaching the issue from cultural context,we may conduct macroscopic as well as microscopic,diachronic as well as synchronic studies. These will comprise on the one hand probing the deep cultural motivation of the translation of Chinese classics,and exploring the converging and interaction of the two cultures involved; on the other identifying and defining the factors of cultural context in text translation,and evaluating related thoughts,orientations,strategies and methods of translation. As an intersection of translation culturology,translation context studies and studies in the translation of Chinese classics,this research is of major theoretical and practical significance.