On the Cultural Default in Literary Translation

【Abstract】Cultural default means the absence of relevant cultural background. This essay intends to address the issue from the underlying mechanism that explains the existence of this phenomenon. To strengthen its communicative value， the essay then continues to review several ways to treat cultural default as far as translation is called into question. The discussion leads to the conclusion that the cultural turn in translation studies brings more essential factors into consideration as reflected in translators decision-making process.

【Key words】cultural default； literary translation； compensation； translator

Introduction

In recent years there has been an upsurge of interest in translation studies as to how translation can be related to culture， especially in the attempts to redefine its nature from a new light. Mary Snell Hornby “exhorts linguists to abandon their ‘scientific attitude and to move from ‘text as a putative ‘translation unit， to culture- a momentous step that would go far beyond the move from the word as a ‘unit to the text” （Bassnett and Lefevere， 1990：4）. The “cultural turn” of translation studies then requires what is studied is the text embedded within its network of both source and target cultural signs. Such a change certainly poses more obstacles to translators as Nida concludes that a text which only reflects the many concepts and literary canons of a particular isolated culture often includes information which is extremely difficult to understand and to translate in a distinct language-culture （Nida， 2001：84）.

I. the Nature of Cultural Default

The theory of schema attaches great importance to shared background knowledge or pragmatic presupposition between the sender and receiver in the process of communication. For the sake of economy and effectiveness， shared information is usually unsaid. If the unsaid can be traced within the text， it is named the “contextual default”. If the unsaid is culture-specific， it is “culture default” that hampers the understanding of receivers from an alien culture.

As stressed all along， language does not function in isolation； it functions in actual situation of use. It is such a situation that activates the receivers memory which in turn manages to fill in the situation slots and smooth over the communication between the sender and the receiver（王東風，1997）. To guarantee the fulfillment of this specific communication process， both parts should give a full play of shared background knowledge or pragmatic presumption.

II. Cultural Default Reconstructed in Literary Translation： A Paradox at Play

Reading is a conversation process in which two partners （author/reader） open themselves up to each other， both “falling” into the dynamics of exchange. When authors and source readers work together to carry out the interaction smoothly， translators toil over the treatment of cultural defaults in the source text. What is naturally agreed between the authors and source readers seems to be a stumbling block for target readers without the work of translators. Translation involves the bringing into relationship of at least two sets of language rules， fore-structures， and cultural “prejudices” and so on， to forge a consensus of meaning. No one can doubt that the translation of a text， however much the translator may have felt himself into his author， cannot be simply the re-awakening of the original event in the mind of the writer， but a recreation of the text that is guided by the way the translator understands what is said in it （Gadamer，1975：346-47）.

Here a paradox concerning the treatment of cultural default arises. To pave the pathway for target readers understanding， translators take advantage of different strategies to well compensate cultural defaults. As listed below， there are at least four ways to deal with the problem .

1. Intratextual Compensation： Paraphrase + Annotation

Example 1

檐前老樹一株，濃陰覆窗，人面俱綠，隔案游人往來不絕，此吾父稼夫公垂簾宴客處也。（Lin Yutang，2004：18-19）

By the side of the eaves， there was an old tree which spread its green shade over the window， and made the peoples faces look green with it； and across the creek， you could see people passing to and fro. This was where my father used to entertain his guests inside the bamboo-framed curtains.①

①as there was no walls or lattices whatsoever round the pavilion； they used to hang down bamboo-framed curtains so that the dining party might not be seen by the people across the creek.

2. Intratextual Compensation： Paraphrase

Example 2

況錦衣玉食者未必能安于荊釵布裙也。（ibid，134）

Besides， one who is used to beautiful dresses and nice food like her will hardly be satisfied with the lot of a poor housewife.

3. Extratextual Compensation： Transliteration + Annotation

Example 3

余雖居長而行三，故上下呼蕓為“三娘”；后忽呼為“三太太”。始面戲呼，繼成習慣，甚至尊卑長幼皆以“三太太”呼之。（ibid，124）

I was born the third son of my family， although the eldest； hence they used to call Yun “san niang” at home， but this was later suddenly changed into “san taitai.” This bean at first in fun， later became a general practice， an even relatives of all ranks， high and low， addressed her as “san taitai”.①

①“san” means “number three”. The meaning of “niang” and “taitai” varies with local usage， but generally “niang” refers to a young woman in a big household， while “taitai” suggests the mistress of an independent home.

4. Naturalization

Example 4

余笑曰：“卿非解人，摸索在有意無意間耳。擁而狂探，田舍郎之所為。”（ibid， 167） The beauty of caressing lies in doing it naturally and half unconsciously. Only a country bumpkin will hug and caress a woman roughly.

Example 5

七月望，俗謂之鬼節(jié)。（ibid， 28）

The fifteenth of the seventh moon was All Souls Day.

5. Literal Translation

其形削肩長頸，瘦不露骨，眉彎目秀，顧盼神飛，唯兩齒微露，似非佳相。（ibid， 17）

Of a slender figure， she had drooping shoulders and a rather long neck， slim but not to the point of being skinny. Her eyebrows were arched and in her eyes there was a look of quick intelligence and soft refinement. The only defect was that her two front teeth were slightly inclined forward， which was not a mark of good omen.

III. Concluding Remarks

The five strategies to solve cultural defaults in C-E translation clearly demonstrate the translators linguistic and cultural competence. But there are a lot more to get out of his decision-making process， which will be further discussed in the third part of the essay. As far as compensation is concerned， a translator has to consider how much should be compensated and to what extent should compensation negotiates with the aesthetic principle of “l(fā)eaving gaps” . On the one hand， he is to follow the four steps proposed by Ingarden to reconstruct the source text by means of gap-filling just like the five strategies listed above. Firstly， he should be able to find out where the gaps lie in the source text； secondly， he is to pick up which gaps need filling in； thirdly， he has to decide the degree of the gap-filling； fourthly， he will adopt the most appropriate way to preserve the aesthetic value of the work. Actually， the required four steps are coped with on the textual level. On the other hand， there is every reason to believe that under a wider extralingual context， more issues should be taken into consideration so as to restrict the translators freedom to reconstruct the source text. For instance， the cultural assumptions or pre-judgment within the translators horizon already determine the choice of materials， the particular way of approaching the task as well as the success or failure of a translated text. Also some practical problems as to whether the annotations shown in Example 1 and Example 3 impact on the typographical design.

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作者簡介：張婷婷（1982-），女，浙江臨海人，杭州電子科技大學外國語學院，研究方向：翻譯理論與實踐。