时间:2023-08-18 17:25:44
导言:作为写作爱好者,不可错过为您精心挑选的10篇现在的茶文化,它们将为您的写作提供全新的视角,我们衷心期待您的阅读,并希望这些内容能为您提供灵感和参考。
现代经济的快速发展,不仅推动了人们物质生活水平的迅速提升,而且促使消费者精神上的要求也开始偏向更高标准。古香古色的茶具在人们生活中不再是单一的饮品用具,反而成为消费者地位身份以及品位的象征,其作用举足若轻。越来越多的消费者对茶具选择上,在要求满足其使用功能的同时,更多关注其彰显的精神寓意。所以研究以传统吉祥文化元素为焦点的文化创意在现代茶具中的应用,对于茶具产品设计的发展具有一定的积极作用。
1 传统吉祥文化的内涵及表现形式
我国的传统吉祥文化最早产生于原始社会,进而随着人类生命的延续、社会的发展而变得越来越复杂。深深植根于中国劳动人民心中的图腾文化就是传统吉祥文化的一种,并延续至今。因为“吉祥”二字所具有的理想主义色彩,其体现的是对未来美好的憧憬和祝福。上至达官贵人,下至平民百姓,对吉祥文化都有自己的独特感受和情怀。类似于“年年有余”“五谷丰登”“龙凤呈祥”“百鸟朝凤”等吉祥文化不胜枚举。
我国的传统吉祥文化元素,种类繁多且内容丰富多样,各类动、植物都是传达吉祥如意的物质载体。诸如龙凤、龟鹤、鹿象,以及松竹、茱萸等都承载了先人们的美好精神寄托。表现形式多是以图案、几何形式出现的吉祥纹样,虽形式不一,但都体现了人们对未来追求的美好愿望。这些用来表达吉祥文化元素的图案,多采用谐音、寓意和符号等表现手法,摒弃了对其自然属性的真实摹写,突出强调理性观念的形体背后所具有得象征寓意。
2 传统吉祥文化元素在茶具设计中的表现
毋庸置疑,将具有吉祥文化内涵的元素,通过创造者的匠心融入茶具设计中,有利于提升我国茶艺文化的精神品位,让茶具散发出浓烈的文化底蕴并促进其交流与发展。在茶具设计中融入传统吉祥文化元素,需要以传统文化土壤为创作基础,通过形态、色彩、装饰、工艺等因素的浑然天成使其具备吉祥文化寓意的气质。
2.1 形态体现
所谓形态即产品形式美的直观体现,是产品物质本身的一种视觉外化。所有产品在遵循形式美法则的基础上通过造型形态的曲直变化、形体比例,以及尺度均衡而产生一种符合消费者审美法则的氛围。并且能够传达出产品所想要表达的信息,使消费者产生如轻松、愉悦、神秘、舒服等心理感受。所以传统吉祥文化元素在现代茶具设计中的应用,首先可以考虑茶具的造型形态。选择寓意喜庆祥和如“荷花”“鸳鸯”以及生肖等元素进行创作,采用仿生学的概念,通过直观的形似或者意向的引申,将所选元素融入茶具的设计之中重塑,使其兼备功能性与艺术性,符合消费者追求实用性和对精神文化的渴望于一身的心理需求。如工艺美术大师蒋新安老师创作的紫砂壶系列,以生肖为题材,进行创作。其中一件以生肖之猪为造型的紫砂壶,壶身腹部如猪肚一样微微鼓起,壶尾缱绻如同猪尾,整体气韵和谐自然,加上盖上的小猪作为壶钮,倍感憨厚可爱。
2.2 装饰体现
现代茶具设计在外观装饰上,不乏通过图案装饰来达到吸引消费者目的的设计。装饰图案的内容和表现手法多变,有运用吉祥元素的直接表达,也有运用其纹理效果的抽象表现。但其共同作用都在于通过装饰纹样展现出对象物体的形象美和内涵美。吉祥文化元素以图案形式融入茶具设计中,提升了装饰效果,并使其具备一定的美学基础,实现装饰功能和寓意功能的统一。此外一般吉祥文化元素应用于产品设计中都会具有很强的直观性,目的在于让消费者更加直接地感受产品所传达的用意。
2.3 色彩体现
色彩作为产品语意的形式语言之一,在设计领域所发挥的作用是深刻而不容小觑的。较之于产品的造型,产品色彩具有更深刻的视觉冲击力。同时,不同的色彩表情也会带给消费者的不一样的心理情感,比如紫色的神秘,高雅,蓝色的冷漠理智,或者是红色的热情奔放等等。善于掌握色彩情感的规律,精确把握色彩对消费者的心理暗示作用,并能选择具有启发性的色彩形象灵活运用到产品设计中,有利于消费者对产品所产生的浓厚兴趣和关注,产生主动的消费心理活动。不言而喻,色彩在现代茶具设计当中的同样具有不可替代的重要作用。例如,把象征着喜庆吉祥寓意的红色作为茶具设计主色调,与传统吉祥文化元素在现在茶具设计中的应用便不谋而合。红色,象征着喜庆和红火,符合中国人的传统心理和对美好理想的浓烈渴望,更有利于提升茶具作为礼品的商业价值。
3 现代茶具设计对传统吉祥文化的借鉴意义
传统吉祥文化元素作为我国传统民族文化中的一颗明珠,能够历经时间的考验而传承至今,已经深入人心。所以在信息物质文明飞速发展的当下,现代产品设计的发展应该更多的投入文化创意的概念,而传统文化就是最好的创意来源。在遵循产品设计规律的前提下,能够取其精华,把握时代的特征,在充分挖掘传统吉祥文化和对传统茶具研究的基础上融入现在的创新技术与设计理念,创造出符合现代人们消费观和审美情趣的茶具设计。
产品设计不是单一的针对某种物体的创造,其目的在于满足消费者的生活需求,提高生活质量,功能性是产品存在的前提。任何产品也不是单一的存在,它的使用场所和周围的环境具有密不可分的关系。所以,以传统吉祥文化元素作为切入点,如何在现代茶具设计中处理好物―人―环境三者之间的关系,值得我们深入思考。
首先,需要融合现代的科学技术。科学技术是第一生产力,更是现代茶具设计发展中不可或缺的动力。茶具的造型不同于一般艺术品,它的创作会受到现实条件的限制,比如材料、工艺等因素,都会影响到茶具由构思到具体实现的可行性。现代茶具的设计在强调产品造型美学的同时也必须强调要注意先进科技的融入,注意机械设计与手工技艺融合,实现工艺美与技术美的结合。
其次,适应现代的生活方式,即适应现在快节奏化生活方式。茶具作为人们日常生活用具,与人的联系密切。其造型,工艺,功能对人们的生活标准和品质都有一定的影响。在生活方式快节奏,信息化越来越普及的社会背景下,人们自然对产品的设计也会有新的很高要求,首先最主要的是对所使用的产品能简洁、有效、直接地达到自己的目的,其次,是产品在人们的使用过程中与人产生交互娱乐的作用。茶具设计要做的就是,它本身不仅仅只是茶具,更是人们生活中以茶会友的纽带,其舒适性和娱乐性十分重要。
茶具设计在交互设计上的表现,主要在于满足用户的情感化需求。要求茶具在满足其基本功能的前提下,符合人机适应性。所以在表现茶具的个性时,要更注意其最基本的使用功能,如考虑茶壶在使用过程中的方便性,把手端拿的舒适性,是否能够稳拿稳放,壶把手能否利于倒茶,壶盖在使用过程中不易滑落,茶具的容量要适中,壶的耐热与耐寒性要好,以防止因为冷热不均造成的破坏等等。在茶具的整体设计上还要根据人体的生理、心理特征以及人们日常的生活习惯充分考虑使用过程中“握”“端”“提”“拿”等手部特征以及“喝”的嘴部习惯。能够在注重整体的同时,考虑细(下转第页)(上接第页)节部分的设计,如把手的弧度、壶身的倾斜度以及不同的地域环境对茶具的特殊要求等,使其兼具细节之美。
最后,要实现节约、可持续化发展的大趋势,现代茶具设计要体现绿色、环保。中国传统吉祥文化反映的是一种对美好生活的向往和对天人合一的敬畏,这与绿色设计提倡的环境保护、可持续化发展具有很好的契合。所以茶具设计要考虑资源合理与优化配置,提高利用效率使用绿色材料,做到加工工艺的环保。
4 结语
在工业化大发展的今天,适应工业化进程的批量化生产已经开始受到部分消费者的摒弃,而以个性化和小众为趋势的设计则开始异军突起,并深得追求精神领域自由的消费者喜爱。所以如何在现代与传统文化之间取舍,在平民大众和曲高和寡之间进行探索,从而创造出形神兼备是茶具设计值得人们深入思考。
现代茶具设计讲究功能性与艺术审美趣味的统一。符合人性化设计的茶具不仅使消费者在使用过程中得心应手,更能使消费者的心理情感在品茶的过程中得以满足,传达出茶文化高山流水般的气韵神味。所以,把传统的吉祥文化作为设计师匠心独运的灵感来源,选择合适的文化元素应用到现代茶具的设计之中,对于创造极具人性化的茶具,推动茶文化的持续向前发展,必然具有推波助澜的积极作用。
参考文献:
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[2] 饶恒.基于系统设计理论的现代茶具系统设计研究[J].
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茶在中国有着极为悠久的历史,早已经成了人们日常生活中必不可少之物,正所谓“盖人家每日不可阙者,柴米油盐酱醋茶”。然而,相对于俗谚里排名其前的“柴、米、油、盐、酱、醋”,“茶”在与人们的生活紧密联系的同时,已经生发出了其他深层次的意义与内涵,不再仅仅是单纯的日常用品之一了。下面我们就从《红楼梦》这部文学名著所提及的相关茶事入手,具体来看一下“茶”在中国传统文化的“礼”与“俗”两个方面所扮演的角色。
一、茶之为礼
首先,我们先来看一下“茶”对于“礼”的表达。“茶”在礼的方面的表现主要有两点,即表示“敬”与用以“赠”。
(一)有关于敬
既然茶最广为人知也最为普遍的作用是作为人类生活的必需品,在日常生活中必不可少,那么,就如同中国人见面往往相互问候一句“吃了吗?”一样,有客登门,主人往往首先是“奉茶”——在这里客人渴或不渴已经不重要,关键在于“奉茶”本身已经表明了主人对来客的招待,表明了主人的礼数。而与客人的会面又往往是以“端茶”的形式结束,因此我们可以这么说,茶在这里已经成了代表“礼”的文化符号,而“奉茶迎客”与“端茶送客”则体现了茶的实用价值与礼俗象征形式的完美统一。
《红楼梦》中可以表现奉茶作为待客之礼的例子是很多的。如第一回《甄士隐梦幻识通灵 贾雨村风尘怀闺秀》中有这样一段描写:
……士隐笑道:“今夜中秋,俗谓‘团圆之节’,想尊兄旅寄僧房,不无寂寥之感,故特具小酌,邀兄到敝斋一饮,不知可纳芹意否?”雨村听了,并不推辞,便笑道:“既蒙谬爱,何敢拂此盛情。”说着,便同士隐复过这边书院中来。
须臾茶毕,早已设下杯盘,那美酒佳肴自不必说。
从这里我们看到,甄士隐在中秋佳节邀请贾雨村,是以饮酒赏月之风流雅事为目的的。但二人至甄家并没有直接入席,而是先“茶”,等“毕”方入席,“茶”之作为待客之礼,由此可见一斑。
《红楼梦》第十七回至十八回《大观园试才题对额 荣国府归省庆元宵》中,元春归省的有关描写是“茶已三献,贾妃降座,乐止。”为什么要这样做呢?元春虽然是贾家的女儿,但她“才选凤藻宫”、“被加封为贤德妃”之后,在等级制度极度森严的封建社会,她的社会身份就大大提高了,已经涂上了皇家的色彩,在这里,贾家并不是在迎接一个出嫁了的女儿,而是在欢迎一位皇室人员的“大驾光临”。由此我们可以看到,“茶”之作为表示敬意的一种方式,甚至可以进入神圣的庙堂之中,表示对皇室的虔诚与敬意。
的确,“茶”还可以作为臣僚进贡于君王的贡品,因此,有“贡五侯宅,奉帝王家”之说。关于进贡,据现有资料来看,茶叶作为贡品起源于周代,“周武王伐纣,实得巴蜀之师,……既克殷,以其宗姬封于巴……”“其地土植五谷,牲具六畜,桑、蚕、麻、纻、鱼、盐、铜、铁、丹、漆、茶、蜜……皆纳贡之。”由此可见茶之作为贡品的悠久历史。
(二)有关于赠
将茶叶作为礼品送给亲朋好友,在中国古代也是极为平常之事。如清代阮葵生在《茶余客话》中就记载曰:“珍币之下,必衬以茶。更以瓶茶分赠亲人。”白居易在其诗《萧员外寄蜀新茶》中即有“蜀茶寄到但惊新,渭水煎来始觉珍”的句子,这些都表明了茶可以作为礼物送人。
《红楼梦》中也有不少关于这个方面的描述:
香菱嘻嘻的笑道:“我来寻我们的姑娘的,找她总找不着。你们紫鹃也找你呢,说琏二奶奶送了什么茶叶来给你的。走罢,回家去坐着。”一边说着,一边拉着黛玉的手回潇湘馆来了。果然凤姐儿送了两小瓶上用的新茶来。
二、茶之为俗
茶与百姓生活息息相关,不仅仅在“礼”上,还表现在“俗”上。下面我们就从“婚”与“祭”两个方面来看一下“茶”与“俗”的联系。
(一)有关于婚
《红楼梦》中的一个情节是凤姐送茶、黛玉道谢,之后紧接着写到宝玉说自己尝了所送之茶后认为不好,黛玉说吃着却好。
宝玉道:“你果然爱吃,把我这个也拿了去吃罢。”凤姐笑道:“你要爱吃,我那里还有呢。”林黛玉道:“果真的,我就打发丫头取去了。”凤姐道:“不用取去,我打发人送来就是了。我明儿还有一件事求你,一同打发人送来。”
林黛玉听了笑道:“你们听听,这是吃了他们家一点子茶叶,就来使唤人了。”凤姐笑道:“倒求你,你倒说这些闲话,吃茶吃水的。你既吃了我们家的茶,怎么还不给我们家作媳妇?”众人听了一齐都笑起来。林黛玉红了脸,一声儿不言语,便回过头去了。
是什么让一向伶牙俐齿、有着一张“叫人恨又不是,喜欢又不是”的巧嘴、“说出一句话来,比刀子还尖”的林黛玉哑口无言了呢?在这里就涉及到了“茶之为俗”的一方面,即自宋以来,即有用茶作定婚礼的风俗,那么,为什么要将“茶”与“婚”联系在一起呢?这是因为,“茶不移本,植必生子。古人结婚,必以茶为礼,取其不移植子之意也。今人犹名其礼为下茶。”故男女双方约为婚姻时,“既已插钗,则伐柯人通好,议定礼,往嫁报定。若丰富之家以珠翠首饰、金器、绢金裙及缎匹茶饼加以双羊牵送……”在这里,男方给女方下聘,即是以茶为礼,称为“茶礼”,定婚也因之被称为“吃茶”、“纳茶”等。
(二)有关于祭
茶之于习俗,不唯有“婚”,亦有“祭”,即茶还可以作为祭祀之清供。这种“以茶为祭”之礼俗,在《红楼梦》中亦多有记载。如:
这四十个人也分作两班,单在灵前上香添油,挂幔守灵,供饭供茶,随起举哀,……
这日乃五七正五日上……凤姐缓缓走入会芳园中登仙阁灵前,一见了棺材,那眼泪恰似断线之珠,滚将下来。院中许多小厮垂手伺候烧纸。凤姐吩咐得一声:“供茶烧纸。”
当下和尚工课已完,奠过晚茶,……
关于以茶为祭,齐武帝萧赜在其永明十一年(493)所颁的遗诏上写道:“我灵上慎勿以牲为祭,唯设饼、茶饮、干饭、酒脯而已。”齐文帝也曾下诏规定太庙四时祭品的具体种类:“永明九年(491)年,诏太庙四时祭,宣皇帝荐面饼鸭臛,孝皇后荐笋鸭卵脯酱炙白肉,高皇帝荐肉脍菹羹,昭皇后荐茗山炙鱼。皆生平所嗜也。”在唐人传奇小说《博异志·郑洁》中也曾经写到妻子死后以茶酒祭奠之事。
(三)有关于节
关于茶的习俗,除了上述两方面,《红楼梦》中还涉及到了“吃年茶”。如在第十九回《情切切良宵花解语 意绵绵静日玉生香》中写道:“偏这日一早,袭人的母亲又亲来回过贾母,接袭人家去吃年茶……”“至于跟宝玉的小厮们……因此偷空也有去会赌的,也有往亲友家去吃年茶的,……”在这里,“吃年茶”是指过年期间亲戚好友间的相互宴请,这种习俗一直到今天还有。
从以上分析我们可以清楚地看到“茶”之于礼俗的重要作用。当然,茶的文化内涵远不止此,《红楼梦》中所涉及到的有关茶文化的描写,也同样不止于此。但这就不在这篇文章的范围之内了。
[参考文献]
[1]吴自牧.梦梁录[M].杭州:浙江人民出版社,1980.
[2]曹雪芹,高鹗.红楼梦[M].北京:人民文学出版社,1996.
一、引言
荷兰学者Geert Hofstede在他的《文化与组织》一书中把文化称为“心灵的程序”和“心灵的软件”。他认为,文化之于人犹如程序之于计算机。计算机的运行依靠软件,程序怎样写,计算机就怎样写。文化就像事先写好的程序一样,决定人的行动。人若想脱离自己的文化而行动,就像计算机不按软件运行一样困难。Kluckhohn和Kelly更简明地指出:文化是历史上所创造的生存式样的原则,既包含显性原则又包括隐形原则;具有为整个群体共享的倾向。在语用学中,Grice提出的合作原则(CP)和Leech的礼貌原则(PP)是两个最基本的准则。合作原则与礼貌原则是言语交际中交际双方应该遵守的最基本、最重要的原则。在日常会话中,礼貌原则往往与合作原则相互联系、交叉使用。
二、语用学知识
Leech指出:“语用学是研究如何在言语情景中获得意义的学问。”语用学的研究内容归纳起来主要有两个方面:一个是研究说话人的意义,即说话人如何通过特定的话语表达特定意图;另一个是研究听话人的意义,即听话人如何对说话人发出的话语从字面到语境涵义进行理解。中国文化和美国文化之间的某些差异反映在语言上,看上去对应的汉语词和英语词容易引起误解。汉语和英语的语言交际模式,例如问候、告别、称谓、称赞他人和接受称赞、隐私、禁忌、提出请求等都有所不同。因此,了解和掌握中西文化言语情景并正确顺应交际双方的文化语境,对于能否达成成功的跨文化交际起着非常重要的作用。
三、文化与交际
文化不仅是交流的内容、传递的信息、学习的知识,影响跨文化交际的文化也应包括一个民族的历史、传统、宗教、价值观念、社会组成、风俗习惯、社会所处于的发展阶段和社会制度等。文化影响着交际,交际受到文化的制约。正如Smith所说,“来自不同名族和国家的人的语言不同,交际模式不同;交际模式是生活方式的体现,也是文化的体现。……交际和文化是不可分割的”。对于文化与交际这一关系的认知,在跨文化交际过程中起着至关重要的作用。
四、合作原则
1.定义
“合作原则”是由美国著名语言哲学家Grice提出的。他认为,在人们交际过程中,对话双方似乎在有意无意地遵循着某一原则,以求有效地配合从而完成交际任务。
2.准则
合作意味之遵守某些隐性的会话准则,即,
A.量的准则:
a)所说的话应该满际所需的信息量。
b)所说的话不应超出交际所需的信息量。
B.质的准则:
a)不要说自知是虚假的话。
b)不要说缺乏足够证据的话。
C.关系准则:说话要有关联。
D.方式准则:说话要清楚、明了。
a)避免晦涩。
b)避免歧义。
c)简练。
d)井井有条。
这四条准则中的前三条与人们在交谈时“说什么”这个问题有关,第四条则与“怎么说”这个问题有关。简而言之,合作原则便是要求每个参加交谈者在整个交谈过程中所说的话符合这一次交谈的目标或方向。正是交谈者的这种合作使得他们能够持续地进行有意义的语言交际。
3.语言交际上的差异
从理论上讲,言语交际双方总是遵守合作原则、相互配合的,他们努力使自己的话语能为对方所理解,以保证会话的顺利进行。在实际交流过程中,由于语境的影响或某种现实需要(如出于礼貌),人们有时会违反合作原则。中西方的差别在于不同的文化背景下,人们对合作原则的取舍会有很大差异。请看下例:
情景:一次英语课上,英语教师表扬一名中国学生。
教师:“你的英语说得非常流利。”
学生:“哪里,哪里,我还差得远呢!”
以上是中国人接受表扬时典型的回答方式。但是这名学生的回答却让一名不了解中国文化的英语教师非常沮丧。他们之间的跨文化的接触以失败结束。原因何在?我们知道面对别人的恭维与赞扬,中国人常常会采取自我否定的方式,或表现得不露声色。中国人反对过于张扬个性,主张内敛、谦和。这一做法恰恰违反了质的准则。而西方重个性发展,接受恭维与赞扬,证明自己的努力有成果。所以在听到学生流利的英语表达后,教师首先考虑的是质的准则,从而对学生大方赞赏,并希望学生能愉快地接受,但是学生却没有和教师遵循同样的准则,学生的自我否定暗示了他不同意老师的判断。
4.非语言交际上的差异
正如Levinson在讲述Grice观点中提到,“这些会话准则仅仅描述会话中通常发生的情况,而决不是什么人类行为道德准则”。我们可以这样认为,中西方文化背景的不同,导致在具体行为上,人们对合作原则的取舍也存在很大差异。例如:一位美国人邀请他的中国朋友下午5点去他家共进晚餐,中国人按照自己的习惯晚来了半小时,这一行为却让美国人难以接受。究其原由,我们可以从中美不同的时间观来寻找答案。美国奉行的是单向计时制和量的原则,在这种文化中,人们以线性的方式做事,即常常在一个时间内只做一件事情,强调日程和计划,做任何事情都严格遵守日程安排,安排的时间结束,无论是否完成须马上停止,不能影响下一项安排。而在奉行多向计时制的中国,人们把时间看成是分散的,趋向于在同一时间内做几件事。认为个人的参与和交易的完成比时间表更重要。不太重视预约,约好了时间可能由于各种原因到时不来。这位中国人没有按约定的时间准时赴约,这一做法违法了量的准则。
关于中西方行为上的差异,再举一例:中国人特别讲究饮食,请客吃饭也是重在饭菜本身:数量多,价格贵,营养价值高,烹饪精致,则表明主人非常好客,反之不然。桌上的饭菜剩得越多,说明主人越是热情好客,能让客人酒足饭饱,满意而归。这一行为同样违法了量的准则。
五、礼貌原则
1.定义
Grice提出了合作原则,以及人们不遵守合作原则而产生会话隐涵,但他并没有指出人们为什么要违反合作原则。Leech在后来的研究中从修辞学、语体学的角度提出了礼貌原则,认为礼貌是用来显示尊重他人在公开场合下自我形象的途径。
2.准则
礼貌原则可以看作是合作原则的补充,Leech的礼貌原则分为六大准则,即,
A.策略准则
a)使他人受损最小;
b)使他人受惠最大。
B.宽宏准则
a)使自身受惠最小;
b)使自己受损最大。
C.赞扬准则
a)尽力缩小对他人的贬损;
b)尽力夸大对他人的赞扬。
D.谦虚准则
a)尽力缩小对自身的赞扬;
b)尽力夸大对自身的贬损。
E.求同准则
a)尽力缩小自身于他人间的分歧;
b)尽力夸大自身于他人间的一致。
F.同情准则
a)尽量缩小自身对他人的厌恶;
b)尽量夸大自身对他人的同情。
以上各项的含义相当,只是说话的着重点不同。此外,策略与慷慨准则、赞扬与谦逊准则,分别是同一问题的两个方面。前者讲应如何对待别人,后者讲应如何对待自己。求同准则讲不宜直接表达与对方相异的看法,同情准则强调注意表达与对方共同的心情。
3.语言交际上的差异
礼貌是人类社会一种普遍存在的现象,礼貌语言反映了一个民族的文化素质和修养。礼貌原则作为规范人们言行的准则,受到文化的制约。不同的文化在思维方式、价值观念、行为规范方面存在差异,因而对礼貌就有不同的礼貌衡量准则及表达方式,对礼貌原则在理解和使用上也表现出迥异。
中西方两种文化有着不同的礼貌评判标准和实现方略。汉文化重视谦虚准则,而西方文化则突出赞扬准则。谦虚准则要求人们尽量减少对自己的表扬,尽量贬低自己。西方文化则认为欣然接受对方的赞扬可以避免损害对方的面子,因而是礼貌的。因此,西方人对恭维往往表现出高兴与感谢,采取一种迎合而非否定的方式,以免显露出与恭维者不一致,令人难堪。中国人则大都习惯否认,提倡“谦虚”和“卑己尊人”,但这种做法却会给西方人带来面子威胁。不同的文化心理和礼貌方式影响到英汉两种语言的跨文化交际。如果把一些汉文化认为极礼貌、极客气的词语带入英语会话,如:“请光临寒舍”等,只能使以英语为母语的受话人感到莫名其妙。这样做虽然遵守了谦虚准则,但却会影响交际的顺利进行。
4.非语言交际上的差异
由于不同的文化根源,在日常行为方式上,中西方对礼貌原则也有不同的理解。请看下例:在王平的生日宴会上,她的一位美国朋友Mary送给她一个包装精美的礼物。王平开心地接受了礼物,然后把礼物放到了一边,并表现出对礼物的喜爱,这让Mary很困惑。原因何在?我们知道,中国素有“礼仪之邦”之称,汉文化推崇“尚同”或“恭敬不如从命”的礼仪,从而尽量满足对方愿望,力求和谐一致,尊敬对方的“面子”和身份。但英美文化的赞扬准则和求同准则体现了有话直说的文化观念。王平没有打开礼物,却对其大方赞赏,这让Mary误认为她对礼物不满意或不重视,只是说些不真实的好听话。Mary所期望的是王平能当面打开礼物,再对礼物发表看法。
六、结语
人类语言是丰富多彩、纷繁复杂的,而交际目的、交际场合及交际的参与者等因素也是动态变化的,合作原则和礼貌原则都不是什么伦理方面的道德规范,它们只不过是解释会话含义的工具。合作原则和礼貌原则的建立是服务于一个共同的目的使谈话得以顺利进行,但从两者的理论概念上看又各有其侧重点;合作原则旨在使谈话内容浅显易懂;礼貌原则则旨在使谈话方式更易于让人接受。合作原则尽量使人们以最简捷的方式达到交流的目的,而礼貌原则注重于排除交流过程中可能遇到的各种障碍。礼貌原则的最初形成目的旨在完备合作原则,所以两者存在互补关系。但是随着此两种原则在语言实践中的不断发展和运用,在很多场合的对话中我们为了遵守其中一原则而不得不刻意违反另一原则。从这种现象上看,两个原则之间也是相互对立的。无论是对立也好,互补也好,从根本上而言都是为了顺利地实现交际者的交际目的。了解各语用原则的内容、功能、其局限性,以及不同文化里对各语用原则的不同理解,学会灵活采用相对应的语用策略,有助于在交际中做到游刃有余。
参考文献:
[1]Grice,P.Logic and Conversation.In P.Cole and J.L.Morgan (eds.)Syntax and Semantics.New York:Academic Press.Vol.,1975:41-58.
[2]Hall,E.T.Beyond Culture.Garden City,N.Y.:Anchor Press,1976:16.
[3]Leech,G.Principles of Pragmatics.London:Longman,1983:82.
[4]Levinson,S.C.Pragmatics.Cambridge:Cambridge University Press,1983:103
音乐无国界,可以被任何一个人接受。这是因为音乐的载体是声音,好听的声音,遍布世界每个角落。音乐声没有一丝强制印迹。同时,从事二度创作的音乐人,可按照自己的思维自由发挥,可按照自我经历对某部作用予以理解与体会,以此诠释并演绎。中国传统茶文化与音乐极为类似,它以茶香作为载体,同样无需其他修饰语言作注释。通过茶香即能令人倾心品味和体会,从茶香中感悟到高深的精神境界,不受时空、地域或信息所束缚。中国传统茶文化与音乐在信息传达方面存在共性点,两种不同形式的文化在理解方式方面可以共融,关联性极强。因此,我们可以将二者充分结合,相互借鉴好的一面,让音乐学习直接跨越由理论到实践的“二级跳”。另外,在理解现实与形象方面,中国传统茶文化在音乐中的体现将使其更为简单,可以通过茶文化教育实现培养学生更具新颖、更富创造力的想象思维。
1.2韵律方面存在共性点
音乐是一种时间艺术,音乐与中国茶艺表演的基本特征具有共同点。可想而知,音乐具有流动性,看不到,摸不清,依时间流动逐步完成。然而,音乐的流动性并非以一种简单音频无休止的反复循环。音符是音乐的构成要素,也是通过音乐作品表达情感的基础单位。音乐的流动过程可以满足听者的心理需求,潜移默化中暗合听者对客观事物的精神感受,因而我们可以体会到一部完整的音乐作品不会存在太多的无序痕迹。相反,音乐随时间流动,与听者自然而然地形成心灵共振,便是艺术表演潜在的具有起承转合作用的真正原理。音乐具有起承转合的基本要求,一部完整的音乐作品内容应该有主、副题之分,音乐流动则是主、副题陈述、连接、展开或再现等过程的结合。这些原则和特征在中国茶艺表演中也能充分体现,且必然贯穿作品始终。茶艺表演也随时间流动,并以超现实的姿态示人,思维翱翔浮离于天地之间,切身感悟茶艺表演内含的精神韵味和体验不同凡响的意境。通过茶艺表演直接或间接地为我们传达精神含义,塑造一种超凡脱俗的艺术形象。笔者认为,音乐与中国传统茶文化在韵律方面也存在共性点,尤其对两种文化形式音乐方面的内在韵律,我们也可将茶艺表演定义为时间流动艺术,有助于我们更为直接地理解与体会表演艺术性。同时,还能为我们传达很多极具内涵意义的信息,进而更易于利用有形的茶艺表演叩开无形的精神大门。
1.3意蕴方面存在共性点
音乐是一种精神文化的集成成果,也是创作者寄托情感的载体。然而,绝大多人根本不能单纯从这个载体上去理解与感受创作者所寄托的情感或思想主题。这一点,在中国茶艺表演中也能得到应证,我们不能单从表演过程来理解与感受茶艺师的情感和思想,这就造成了不同的人从茶艺表演中得到的感受与理解不同,理解的主观性和多义性便是如此道理。这也是文化艺术特有的魅力,它可以赋予人更多的思维发散空间。通常,茶艺表演的创作分为三步,即程序原创作、表演二度创作和品茶三度创作,与欣赏音乐的程序如出一辙。但是,茶艺表演会因为道具、茶艺程序和品茶程序的不同而产生不同的效果,不同时间、不同地域引起的心情变化、茶室环境、个人领悟和外部刺激也会使人在品茶和欣赏两个方面受到颇多影响,存在理解的多义性和主观性就在所难免了。音乐与中国传统茶文化在意蕴方面存在共性点,至少从欣赏角度看精神意境追求较为一致。因此,茶艺表演过程虽然形式多样多变,极富神奇。但音乐流动带动茶艺师行为动作,可与欣赏着形成思想的共鸣,每一位切身感受的人都相当于接受一次彻头彻尾的灵魂洗礼。如何更深层次地去理解与体会茶艺表演的精神内涵,这就需要我们充分发生想象思维,为茶艺表演注入更多鲜明的创作活力,最大程度地开发学生学习音乐的积极性。从某种意义上讲,音乐与中国传统茶文化的共性涉及很多方面,由茶文化教学引导音乐学习可以为学生解开茶艺文化的神秘面纱,自身欣赏品味潜移默化中得到提升,还能从中真正领会茶艺文化的精神内涵。音乐可以赋予中国茶艺表演民族灵魂,茶艺表演又可以为音乐树立良好的艺术形象。因此可以说,中国传统茶文化元素在音乐中的体现将是一种相辅相成、相得益彰的手段。
2中国传统茶文化元素在音乐中体现的分析
2.1欣赏音乐
音乐教育过程长而艰辛,最为核心的内容便是对音乐的欣赏和品味,也就是上文提到的程序原创作、表演二度创作和品茶三度创作。欣赏音乐的人是程序原创作、表演二度创作和品茶三度创作的主体对象,他们在欣赏过程中不断感知音乐、认知音乐和领悟音乐,直至达到对音乐欣赏“质”的升华。古今中外,浩如烟海的历史长河之中不乏优秀的音乐作品。时至今日,不同流派的代表风格迥然不同,包括外国音乐的古典派、浪漫派和印象派与中国的民歌、民乐和戏曲杂艺等。本文研究中国音乐作为作为欣赏对象予以介绍,引导学生学习音乐体会和领会中国传统文化的浓重特色,如此可以为学生情感投入与中国传统文化之间形成精神互动,有利于学生学习进程由浅及深、由表及里依次展开,也就是说茶艺表演从追求纯物质境界转换到可以领悟中国传统茶文化的精神境界。欣赏音乐之前,可以介入一些较为理性的东西,方便保证音乐学习的效果,并能充分发挥欣赏者的想象能力,切身进入音乐殿堂,体会与感悟音乐带来的艺术魅力。中国传统文化元素在音乐中的体现可以培样欣赏者学会基本方法与基本内容,提升音乐审美水平,且在心中形成一把对音乐作品评价好坏的衡量标尺。另外,不管是学生还是欣赏者都能从音乐中获取更多与之相关的文化背景、思想理念、情感经历等内容,从不同层次体悟自然、体悟中国传统茶文化,领会音乐与生命共振的意蕴,最终进入最高精神境地。
2.2学唱民歌
学唱中国民歌是我国音乐教学最为常见且最为有效的教学手段之一。理解音乐好比理解其他事物,每个人的理解程度不同、理解方向不同,可谓无休无止、多种多样,我们将其归纳为螺旋攀升状态下的追求过程。同时,欣赏音乐其实是一种有量引起质变的时间积累过程,学唱民歌应该作为一种量引质变的捷径之途。中国民歌与传统茶文化相似,源于生活却高于生活。中国民歌贴近于生活,是生活形态的具体描述,非常容易受到大众的接纳和认知。民歌创作者的喜怒言笑、情感变化无需注释、无需翻译,通过欣赏民歌即可领会。学唱民歌为欣赏者展示的是一种色彩斑斓的精神意境,很多涉及茶元素,也为我们与传统茶文化之间拉进了距离,通过民歌也可领悟茶文化的精神真谛。利用民歌可以表达创作者和歌唱者的情感变化,欣赏音乐则有助于与欣赏者之间形成思想碰撞,激发欣赏者澎湃的内心世界。
2.3实践教学
音乐教学以“用”为核心,即实践教学。在听与唱两个阶段中,音乐为欣赏者带来了精神层面不同寻常的刺激感,欣赏者与音乐形成情感共鸣,引起欣赏者的心情变化,或愉悦、或悲伤。然而,学习音乐的初衷不在于成为优秀的艺术家,更为重要的一点是欣赏者可以从实践教学中学到东西、体会到东西,力争能够实现螺旋攀升状态下再次追求的目的,使欣赏者摆脱原来束缚,在个人思维空间里达到人与音乐共体的境界,充分理解并重新诠释音乐,让自己的音乐表演为更多欣赏者带来感动或教诲。音乐的实践教学实为全方位的二次学习,对音乐作品进行二次创作和重新定义,是使谱面上的音乐变成为有灵魂的鲜活音乐的二度创作,是一个需要欣赏者个人全心投入才能实现精神升华的阶段。音乐实践教学也是欣赏者结合中国传统茶文化进行自我学习的过程,可以更为形象、更为直接地了解与认知音乐,正确诠释中华民族传统茶文化的精神韵味,也为茶文化的建构,在深度、广度上的进一步拓展做出新的贡献。
3结束语
综上所述,中国传统茶文化元素在音乐中的体现需要了解与认知中国茶的历史文化,音乐在茶艺表演中具有不可获取的关键作用。中国传统茶文化元素在音乐中体现让欣赏者能够从感知角度体会到多种不同的意蕴,如眼可观色、耳可听声、鼻可嗅味、口可品茶、心可得其韵味。本文首先分析中国传统茶文化与音乐的共性点有三个方面,即信息传达、韵律和意蕴,并重点分析中国传统茶文化元素在音乐中体现的。笔者希望应用有效策略,让中国传统茶文化元素在音乐中完美体现,让音乐与中国传统茶文化相辅相成、相得益彰。
作者:吴萌 单位:江西警察学院
参考文献
[1]刘佳明.饮茶听乐,相得益彰———论音乐与茶文化之关系[J].福建茶叶,2016(2):228-229.
[2]林东波.刍议茶艺表演背景音乐的选择和创作[J].福建茶叶,2016(1):94-95.
谈到文化对于语言的体现,相信很多学习语言专业的人都会深有同感,因为在学习一种语言的时候,你必须要先了解这种语言发源国的文化习俗。学习英语不仅要会认,更要会用,在用的过程中就会与英语国家的文化相联系。特别是中国学生学习英语,因为从小接受的教育与西方国家大有不同,那么在学习英语的时候就很难用西方国家的文化习俗来进行理解。比如,我们中国人会在遇到初次见面或者不怎么熟悉的人的时候,往往会因为想要表达关心或者寻找话题来进行交谈而向对方询问“你在哪工作?”“你们单位(或公司)收入怎么样?”“你结婚了没?”等等问题。而对于西方国家来说,这类问题是属于个人隐私,他们是不会愿意对一个初次见面或者不熟悉的人来讨论这类问题。再比如,中国人和朋友相遇,往往会很自然地问“你吃了没?”,其实这个在熟悉的人之间,就像是打招呼一样平常,但是换成是西方国家的人,他们则会理解为你是在邀请他们一起吃饭。所以,很多时候中西方文化差异所带来的沟通方面的一些误解,会引起很多尴尬的场面。
关键词:商标;商标名翻译;文化;文化差异;功能对等论
ABSTRACT
With the fast development of international economy, more and more Chinese enterprises have been active in the global market. They are increasingly finding that brand names translation plays an important role in stimulating consumption and expanding domestic and overseas market. So the author of the paper attempts to explore brand name translation in the cultural differences perspective. Owing to the limitations of the previous studies and the significance of Chinese brand name translation, the paper makes a study of cultural characteristics of the Chinese brand names, as well as typical characteristics of Chinese culture, and then further analyzes the causes of the cultural differences. In addition, the paper proposes Nida's "functional equivalence theory" as the principle for producing culturally effective English renderings of Chinese brand names. At last, the author gives some examples to explain some useful methods. In fact, the translation of Chinese brand names study is also the study of culture.
Key words:brand name; brand name translation; culture; cultural differences; Functional Equivalence
Contents
1. Introduction 1
2. Brand Name Translation 2
2.1 The Definition of Brand Name 2
2.2 The Norms of Brand Name Translation 2
2.3 The Features of Brand Name Language 3
3. Cultural Differences and Brand Name Translation 4
3.1 Cultural Differences 5
3.2 Current Problems Existing in Chinese Brand Names Translation 8
4. Principles and Ways of Brand Name Translation 10
4.1 Functional Equivalence 10
4.2 Ways to the translation of Chinese Brand Names 11
5. Conclusion 15
Acknowledgements 16
References 17
1. Introduction
Chinese products are available to people nearly all over the word for the economic globalization and throat-cut competition. Therefore, brand name translation plays an indispensable role in the international market.
It is admitted that brand name is key to business. However, we still find the relatively negative situation in the brand name translation by analysing many existing translated Chinese brand names, so my research on brand names translation has realistic significance.
In China, there are some studies existing on brand name translation, but they are always too general or one-sided. For instance, a book called Brand Name English, only mentioned some basic knowledge of brand name, but did not contain the existing useful principles, problems and methods of Chinese brand name translation, let alone taking cultural factors into consideration. Gong Aihua and Hu Xiaoping (2004) wrote an article called Some Thoughts on How to Improve Chinese-English Translation of Trademarks, which only discussed some problems existing in Chinese-English translations, and the basic requirements when coping with the translation of Chinese brand names, but forgot to tell us the bases of these requirements, and the important relationship between Chinese brand names and culture factors. The article, named On the Brand Name's Translation from Chinese to English in Perspective of its Function only contains some ways of Chinese brand names translation and some functions of brand name [1]44.
So considering the limited studies on brand name translation and the significance of Chinese brand names translation studies in the current situation, my paper will make a thorough and systematic study on this topic from the cultural angle in order to provide help for future study.
2. Brand Name Translation
Apart from the literal transfer from one language to another, brand name translation also involves a whole set of linguistic criteria. Before I begin my study, I ask myself several questions: what is effective brand name, and what is not? How to translate the names in a proper way? What is the norms of brand name translation?
2.1 The Definition of Brand Name
In Longman Dictionary of American English, it says that brand is "a class of goods which is the product of a particular firm or producer" 134. To sum up, a brand name is a product and symbolize the “facial feature” of a good. Therefore, a successful brand name may make purchasers full in love with its good at first sight.
2.2 The Norms of Brand Name Translation
1. A translated brand name should be easy to pronounce, to understand, to recognize, and to remember. It should also give buyers the favorable connotation of the product's image. In order to make it easy to remember, common words are often used as brand names. Like长虹, 白猫, these names are not only easy to remember, but also can satisfy consumer's aesthetic preference and usage tendency. When translating these names, translators should try to use common words. So these names could be translated as "Chang Hong", and "White Cat" [4]33.
2. The translated brand names should be concise, plain , and lively. Most brand names are sprightly, so are their translated versions, such as Rejoice, Gree, 海信, 乐百氏and新科. These brand names could be translated as“飘柔”,“格力”, "Kang King", "Robust", "Lucky" and "Shinco". All these words consist of less than four characters, so the consumers could recognize the brand at a glance .
3. It requires the brand names and their translated names to be original and creative. As a matter of fact, those brand names which belong to eye-catching words, are easy to attract consumers and are able to win the market.
4. A successful brand name meets the principle of AIDCA, which means attracting attention, arousing interest, stimulating desire, creating conviction and taking action finally[5]178. That is, the translated brand names should be delight to eyes, pleasant to ears, easy to remember, and a comparatively perfect unity of sound, form and meaning. To sum up, translated brand names should possess the features of the original ones, and have the same or similar function as the original ones do.
2.3 The Features of Brand Name Language
The language used in such a special field should be different from that of other fields. Many scholars have carried on researches on it and the conclusions are as follow:
1. Easiness in Reading and Memorizing
This is the basic requirement of brand names and their translations. One of the initial functions of brand names is recognition and spreading. A successful brand name should enable customers to easily tell the product by its name from the products of the same kind. When giving or translating a brand name we should make sure that it is easy to be recognized, spelled, memorized and orally read, so that customers can readily decode and store it in their mind, e.g.汰渍Tide(washing powder), 奥利奥Oreo (biscuit), 高乐高Coleco(drinks), 雅戈尔Youngor(men’s suit), 奥迪Audi(automobile), 海飞丝Heads&Shoulders (shampoo).
2. Favorability in Connotation
A successful brand name usually contains some positive meanings, which may arouse customers' preference to the product. As we all know, favorable connotation may enable customers to associate it with good wishes, functions or attributes, which sometimes promotes customers to make a decision on it. Take Super (pot) as an example. Seeing or hearing " Super ", customers will associate it with good quality and feel that they can set their minds at rest when they cook their dinner if they choose this product. Suncha(双枪)is another good example that is able to stimulate customers with the good characteristics as being energetic, Chinese feature and trustworthy. Other examples include: 利群(cigarette), 好日子GOODDAY(clothing), 益寿堂(medicine), 护舒宝Whisper(feminine napkin), 帮宝适Pampers(diapers), 脑轻松(health food), 强生Johnson&Johnson(children's care products), 好太太(the clothes hanger), 步步高(VCD)and so on.
3. Ability to Stretch Good Imagination
A brand name should have a profound message, which is also a good selling point. For example, 外婆家 and its English translation Grandma's Restaurant both trigger customers to think of family warmth. It has been proved that brand names have brought great interests to enterprises. 状元酒, a famous brand name of rice wine, is such an associative one that enables consumers to think of a young boy win the NO.1 in the academic performance . Coca—Cole可口可乐 (soft drinks) presents us a picture that a person relieves his thirst happily when drinking Coca-Cole with gusto. The translation "可口可乐" is an even better one delivering a message to Chinese customers that the beverage is tasty and pleasant to drink[6]213. When they drink it, they will feel delighted and comfortable. Other examples include: 阿依莲(women's clothing), 玉兰油(skin cream), 达能(biscuit), 娇兰佳人(cosmetics), 孔风春(cosmetics), 巴布豆(children's underwear), 陆虎(car), Lovecome (French Perfume), Maybelline(American lipstick).
4. Conformity to Laws, Rules and Other Authoritative Requirements
Many countries have established laws and rules, which stipulates that some items cannot be used in brand names, for instance, in China, the name of an administrative district of the county or the higher is forbidden.
Undoubtedly, brand names have some other features. Anyway, they all serve to deliver the attributes and functions of products, which help customers to identify and determine their requirements.
3. Cultural Difference and Brand Name Translation
As we all know, culture is often created in people's ongoing activities within their particular life-conditions. Brand names, which obviously are part of the culture of a people, frequently arouse different aesthetic perceptions (or associations) and values in different cultures.
From the viewpoint of lexicology, associative meaning is the secondary meaning supplemented to the conceptual meaning. It differs from the conceptual meaning in that it is open-ended and indeterminate. It is liable to the influence of such factors as culture, experience, religion, geographical region, class background, education, etc. In contrast to denotative meaning, connotative meaning (of which associative meaning is an essential part) refers to the overtones or associations suggested by the conceptual meaning. For example, grandma, denoting a "female relative", is often associated with "love", "care", "tenderness", "forgiving", etc. These connotations are not given in the dictionary, but associated with the word in actual context to particular readers or speakers.
In a word, it is not enough to translate meaning literally, the translated words should also convey the same cultural associations. Thus translators should translate with regard to the TL culture and the SL culture. Failure to recognize and/or transfer cultural factors would lead to information loss. Most people buy with their hearts rather than their minds. Therefore, the functions of brand names depend far more on associative meanings than on conceptual ones. And associative meanings of brand names are closely linked to values and beliefs of a people. For instance, “黑人” (toothpaste), which literally means “black people”, is readily accepted by the Chinese. But the English version “Black People” could insult colored receptors.
3.1 Cultural Differences in Translation
In order to find out why those problems exist, it is necessary to pay attention to the cultural differences at first, especially different beliefs, different thought patterns, different concepts of values and different figurative associations.
3.1.1 Thought Patterns and Concepts of Values
It is well known that China is an old country with a splendid culture, and that Chinese people have been used to the doctrines of Confucius and Mencius, which have influenced the entire Chinese cultural system. They are always influencing Chinese minds in an inconspicuous way, demanding people to be modest, conservative, subtle and not to be too straightforward. Therefore, Chinese thought pattern follows the track of a "hermeneutic circle", while Western thought pattern is direct and straightforward. Such differences are reflected in some brand names. Take红豆Love Bean (shirts) as a example, which suggests the affection between the lovers in a roundabout way, and only people who know the Chinese thought pattern and traditional culture can appreciate the tender feeling, while some English brand names, such as Forget-me-not (perfume), Kiss Me(lipstick), ELLE ELLE(perfume), AMOUR AMOUR(perfume) [6]143, demonstrate affections directly.
Moreover, Chinese value things like home, family and collectivity. They also take great pride in their tradition of respecting their ancestors, because they think that they are the pioneer of Chinese history and brilliant culture. They are so industrious, intelligent and experienced that their opinions and advice make a great difference to the younger generation. All of the points mentioned above are reflected in many Chinese brand names, such 宜家, 好太太, 亲亲, 爱妻号, 外婆家, 方太, 美克美家. These brand names can easily arouse an positive feeling and nice echo in consumers. However, this is not the same case with the westerner. They value original, progress, individualism, youthfulness, efficiency and challenge. Not to be exaggeration, we can say that Chinese people cherish collectivism, while the westerners value individualism. In the westerners' opinion, the interests of individual plays an important role in their life value, and that all values, rights and duties originate in individuals. The value of individualism is so commanding that other imperative American values spring from individualism. This emphasis on the individualism, which is found elsewhere in the world, has become the cornerstone of American culture. While the Chinese attach great importance to collectivism. Chinese have close connections for a long time. Many aspects of cultural behaviour are not made explicit, because the Chinese people know what to do and what to think from years of interaction between each other. Chinese use less verbally explicit communication and more internalized understandings of what is communicated. Under this circumstance, Chinese can easily appreciate the beautiful connotation of brand names. It is necessary for translators to take them into consideration.
3.1 .2 Consumer Psychology
Consumer psychology refers to "the mental or psychological activities of consumers in their realization, adjustment, and control of purchasing and consuming actions according to their own needs abilities under the influence of the general social environment of consumption and economy" . When customers buy goods, they will think whether they should buy them, or what for. The formation of this mentality may be decided by some personal factors like personality, interest, memory, emotion, will and most important of all his social and cultural environment. Consumers' different cultural environments can in a lager degree determine his psychological response to the connotative meaning of a brand name. For instance, "龙" (dragon) in China is esteemed as the animal with such noble characteristics as being brave and authority that many manufactures would like to adopt it in their brand names. In contrast, western consumers are likely to associate it with the image of fierce or malicious or disaster because the word “dragon” originates from Mesopotamia, which was doomed to be killed by god for the danger it brings to the world. So it is the representative of disaster and danger. Now, we can imagine what will happen if the product with such a brand name was lunched in the western market.
Different culture shapes different psychology reaction to the same objects. So, the same brand names bring about different results in the western and Chinese customers' psychology. Apart from the examples mentioned above, the examples are listed as follows:
Table 2.1 Different Psychology Reaction to the Same Objects
between Westerners and Chinese[9]37
words In westerners' conception In Chinese's conception
孔雀(peacock) Beauty and nobility Vainglorious person
喜鹊(magpie) Herald of good luck or good news Gossipy person
龙(Dragon) Omen of disasters Holy
白象(white elephant) Good fortune Costly but useless thing
To marketers as well as brand name translators, the possession and mastery of related information of consumers' psychology are of great importance. Successful market promotions may result from the knowledge in this aspect and according to operations of marketers.
3.1.3 Customs and Habits
Custom is one of the branches of culture reflecting the specific characteristics of a nation or parts of the nation. It is the sediment of long history and closely linked with the surroundings and the way of life. So some customs and habits exist in one culture but may be absent in another, which brings about an obstacle to Chinese-English brand name translation, because many Chinese brand names comes from Chinese custom.One of the most famous rice wines named“女儿红”(Daughter's Wine) or“状元酒”(Scholar's Wine) is produced in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province of China. To Chinese customers, the two brand names symbolize the happy events in one's life, while they cannot arouse the same feeling in westerners if translated literally and that will absolutely cause cultural miss, because the western consumers do not know the custom of the ancient Shaoxing. It is said that in ancient Shaoxing a jar of this wine was buried under the ground when a daughter was born. When the girl grew up and became a bride, the jar was dug out and entertained the guests attending the wedding. As the wine was untapped, the smell of the wine spread far, all guests became excited and congratulated the parents, that is the emerging of “女儿红”. If a boy was born, the family also buried a jar of wine under the ground hoping that the boy would become the NO.1 in the imperial examination, that is, "Zhuangyuan" (状元), who would become a superior official. When the boy passed the highest-level imperial examination of ancient China, his parents would dig out the jar and celebrated with it. The custom is transmitted from generation to generation, and“女儿红”and“状元酒”have become famous brand names now. So when a translator translate them, it is very necessary to provide the cultural information with the brand names. It is not only easy for customers to know about the origin of the wine but accept it quickly, because any one from any country would like to appreciate the beautiful things, enjoy the happy feeling and desire success equally. As for me , “女儿红” can be translated into the Shaoxing Rice Wine -which is stored in underground to serve the guest in daughter's wedding; and “状元酒” the the Shaoxing Rice Wine-which is stored in underground to serve the guest when the boy becomes the very best [7]65.
Each culture has its own characteristics, which are unique and easy to cause cultural barriers in brand name translation. It is translator's duty to overcome them and create proper English versions.
3.2 Current Problems in Chinese Brand Names Translation
Because of the cultural difference in geographical location, customs, religion and values, etc, people from differ ent cultural backgrounds often obtain different meanings from the same word. And we can never deny the current problems existing in brand names translation
1. Brand names with the same conceptual meanings but partially overlapping associative meanings. People worldwide love the scene of a blue sky and white clouds. However, the phrase “Blue Sky” (toothpastes) is associated with “bond that can not be paid off” in American English, so it should not be translated into “blue sky” when the item is exported to America.
2. Brand names that abound with associative meaning in Chinese culture while suggesting none in English culture. For example, the Chinese brand“红豆”(read bean—shirt) suggests the yearning between lovers. We Chinese people are very familiar with the saying“红豆寄相思”(literally means to express the lovesickness with read bean), it is the symbol of love (Tang Zhongshun & Hu Jianbo, 2002:157) [11]125. You see that's how we Chinese express our love in a roundabout way. While in English speaking countries, the "red bean" may mean nothing to the target readership.
3. Brand names with the same conceptual meanings but different or negative in associative meanings. In different languages and cultures, the same word may generate totally different associations. “凤凰” (bicycle) was translated into “phoenix”. The Chinese brand name “凤凰”is associated with such favorable connotation as "auspicious" or "good luck" while "Phoenix" symbolizes "rebirth" or "nirvana". That is, it may generate the ominous implication of a narrow escape.
4. Peculiar brand names in Chinese and western cultures. Owing to the differences between Chinese and western cultures, some Chinese brand names have no English counterparts ("cultural gap"). These brand names often derive from people's names, names of places and characters of mythology. “西湖龙井” is a well-known tea popular with all Chinese people. As soon as the Chinese people see this brand name, the favor of fresh, huge fruit-lovely, luscious, and mouthwatering will come into their mind. But few westerners have a clear geographic concept of this. Therefore, it cannot bring the same mental association to its target audiences.
4. Principles and Ways of Brand Name Translation
4.1 Functional Equivalence
According to Nida, the "functional equivalence" refers to the equivalent function, or the most proximal function to both the target and the original receptors. The functional equivalence theory focuses on cultural factors in translation which cater for my position exactly[8]94. As Nide said that the most serious mistakes in translating are usually made not because of verbal improper, but of wrong cultural assumptions. Generally speaking, we could summarize three main arguments showed in Nida's functional equivalence theory:
1) Reader's response shall be the final norm of judging the accuracy of translation.
2) We should pay enough attention to the cultural factors in translation. Since biculturalism is more important than bilingualism.
3) To obtain the equivalent of reader's response, translation shall be target reader oriented, including target language oriented and target culture oriented.
As we know, the essence of the original should be kept brand in names translation, and at the same time be accepted by the customers in the target market. To sum up, Nida's functional equivalence theory, which stresses on the concept of function, focuses on the "response of the receptor" rather than "the form of the message", is quite suitable to Chinese brand names translation, for the brand names are used to execute certain functions.
4.1.1 The Necessity of Functional Equivalence on Brand Name Translation
Translating is to "express a text in another language or in a simpler word". In fact, translation from one language into another is far more complex than that, because (1) words always have several different meaning; (2) many words are culture-bounded and have no direct equivalence in traget language country; (3) cultural orientation can make the direct translation nonsense; (4) a culture may not have the experiential background to permit translation of experiences from other cultures, so the process of translation has to take it into consideration, properly cope with it and go on another kind of communication[9]190. Communication is based on what is received by people hearing or reading a translation. A successful translation can not only fulfill the equivalence in lexical meanings but in the exact cultural information and the response of potential customers.
4.1.2 The Application of Functional Equivalence on Brand Name Translation
Chinese and English respectively belong to Sino-Tibetan family and Indo-European family; therefore there are a lot of obvious differences between these two languages in the structure. Chinese and English sometimes express the same idea in diffe rent ways, but different languages have the same psychological and sociological functions. Nida (2001) suggests the four basic processes in translating consist of (1) transfer from source to target language, (2) analysis of the source text, (3) restructuring in the target language, and (4) the testing of the translated text with persons who represent in the target audience[10]89. This four-phase translation process includes a comparison of source language and target language, so it is advisable that we study these differences of Chinese and English in structure and function, and then give functional equivalence a full play in the interlingual transference.
4.2 Methods for Translation of Chinese Brand Names
Translating involves not just two languages, but also a transfer from one culture to another. Cultural differences are sometimes bigger obstacles to successful translation than linguistic ones. Proper brand names actually offer some of the most straightforward examples of the basic issues in cultural transfer, for brand names usually reflect the features of different nations, each of which has its own type of life and pattern of thinking. Therefore, translators should always bear in mind that the potential customers hold different opinions and knowledge about the world, and it might be difficult for them to understand Chinese culture. In this paper, some techniques of translating brand names are suggested.
4.2.1 Literal Translation
Literal translation consists of syntactic literalness and lexical literalness. (Whilss, 2001) Some of the brand names are made up of only one or a few words; it is effective to adopt literal translation to deal with the literal meanings of the words or characters in brand names. However, when translating such names, translators should pay attention to "beauty in meaning" as previously mentioned[11]214. The positive association can arouse the interest of the potential customers. For example:
小天鹅Little Swan(washing machine) 雪花Snow(beer)
英雄Hero(pen) 双星Double Star(shoes)
Chrysanthemum(electric fan) 金嗓子Golden Throat(medicine)
纳爱斯Nice(soup) 公牛(charger)Bull
新郎Bridegroom(men's suit) 白猫White Cat(detergent)
七匹狼septwolves(men's suit) 天堂Paradise(umbrella)
双枪Suncha(bamboo&wood products) 三枪Three Gun(underwear)
In many cases, literal translation is often used as an effective technique for achieving functional equivalence in translating brand names. However, we must make sure first that English versions produced by this technique are appreciated in English culture and are not negative in the target market, and this is of great importance.
4.2.2 Transliteration
Transliteration is the most important and frequently used approach in brand name translation. It is adopted in the following cases as:
1. The meaning or the connotation of the brand names do not conform to the target language culture, for instance, 黑猫Black Cat (toys) was renamed as Lovely Cat. On many occasions, it is not the basic meaning of the word that functions, but the profound cultural associations function. Black Cat is improper, because the color of black is always associated with some disasters or negative aspects in English. As a result, the product was coldly rejected in the potential market. Maybe in foreign country, if it translated into Kitty, it will be better sold.
2. Translated brand names are not effective for publicizing the products or the renamed brand name is better than the original one, for instance, 非常可乐is renamed as Future Cole; 方正computer was renamed as Founder. Other examples are given below:
纳爱斯Nice(soup) 罗蒙Roman(men's suit)
雅芳Avon(cosmetic) 格力Gree(air conditioner)
乔士Choose(men's suit) 太阳神Apollo(medicine)
罗西尼Rossini(watch) 好迪Houdy(shampoo)
三星Anycall(mobile phone) 天极Yesky(website)
A properly translated brand name can promote the sales of the product, while the improperly translated brand name can neither publicize the product nor get it accepted in the target market. Take 双枪(bamboo&wood products)as an example, which is translated into Suncha in English. It is quite popular and welcomed in domestic market, while in foreign market, it also performs very well. The reason is that shangqiang can similarly pronounced like Suncha, Suncha can divide into “sun” and “cha”. “Sun” symbolizes energy and promising; “cha” spells like “China” or “Chinese”. When they put together, it shows the core value of this company, that is
We have a faith that
Suncha bamboo & wood could become perfect enough
To fully expose the splendid China Style.
We have a wish that
Wherever there is Chinese people
In the world,
There is Suncha bamboo & wood.
It fully demonstrates the ambition of the manufacturer. In fact, their products have take up more than 70% of the domestic market, which is closely related to the effects of the brand name. So a properly transla ted brand name, to some degree, can promote the sales of the product.
4.2.3 Coining Brand Name
Coining brand name is also a useful way to translate a brand name featured by creativity and distinctiveness. But coining a brand name is very risky, unconventional or unorthodox translation approach I think. But sometimes by this creative maens, we can achieve unpredicted result. "IKEA" is the a brand name of furniture produced in Switzerland. Though it wins international reputation, even many Swedish are confused about the meaning of the brand name, let alone other people. In fact, it consist of the initial words from the brand pioneer’ name IngvarKamprad, his farmland’ name Elmtaryd, and the village’s name Agunnaryd. When it is translated into the Chinese name “宜家”, I think the translator has worked with it well skillfully. Because the chinese people, as the traget market, can easily relate the products with the feeling of comfort, harmony and warmth. In this way, IKEA has won the heart of most Chinese people.
5. Conclusion
Brand name translation is an art. It is a comprehensive process that covers translation theory, linguistic difference, aesthetics, intercultural communication, marketing and proper translation techniques, especially the element of culture,when translating a brand name, for a brand name usually embodies the culture, thoughts and customs of a nation. In order to ensure the translated brand name to go across the geographical and cultural boundaries, the translation must be in accordance with the target culture of the target customers. Only in this way can a translated brand name bring about the same response of the target customers to it as that of the customers in the source market.
Acknowledgements
I would like to express my gratitude to all those who helped me during the writing of this thesis. I gratefully acknowledge the help of my supervisor, Peng Hefeng. From the beginning, she has taught me a lot. She has guided me how to search materials, select useful information and write my thesis systematically. And in the course of revising this thesis, I further admire her for her conscientiousness and patience. She helped me correct some mistakes I made in grammar, vocabulary as well as format. Because of her serious attitude, I am filled with admiration to her.
At last but not least, I also would like to thank all other people who helped me to finish this thesis. Thanks for their kind help.
References
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茶文化富含中国传统文化、社会习俗、思想哲理等精髓,对于中国社会的发展影响深远,在现代社会发展的进程中,中国传统茶文化与服装文化的充分融合,显现出不可阻挡的迷人魅力,在服装的图案、样式、面料、款型、色彩等方面,都可以融入中国传统茶文化元素,充分渗透茶文化之中的茶义、茶韵、茶情,更好地将民族元素和文化元素渗透到服装设计之中,向世人展现中国元素的风采。
1中国传统茶文化元素在服装设计中的体现
中国传统茶文化元素源远流长、文化底蕴深厚,在茶文化元素与服装文化相融合的过程中,我们可以从服装的面料、廓型、审美、情趣等方面对其加以探究。可以将茶文化元素的独特色彩和造型融入到服装设计之中,使其在气韵生动的茶香茶色之中,为服装设计注入全新的创作灵感。如:龙井茶的清汤绿叶之姿,突显出其形态的柔美与舒展的品性、毛尖茶的亭亭玉立之姿,显现出不可比拟的意韵和情趣。又如:茶文化元素中的茶诗、茶画等元素,都可以充分融入到服装设计之中,透过服装的面料、色彩等,将茶文化元素的笔墨淋漓尽致地突显出来,使人们在欣赏服饰之美的过程中,不自觉地沉浸到茶文化元素所营造的深远意境之中,感受到中国传统茶文化所内蕴的哲理思想内涵。同时,在茶文化元素与服装文化相融合的过程中,还可以充分运用“留白”的设计手法,使茶文化与服装设计文化在疏密错落之间,形成一种别具一格的新颖姿态,在虚实对比的留白空间之中,可以感受和体验到茶文化与服装文化的理念融合与渗透。
2中国传统茶文化元素与服装设计的创新融合方向
2.1茶文化元素与服饰的协调搭配
在中国传统茶文化元素与服装设计的创新过程中,要注重茶文化的自然风格与服装设计场合的协同和搭配,要注意服装穿着时间、地点和不同的场合,保持茶文化与服装设计的一致性。当茶文化元素渗入服装设计的理念之中,服装的面料主要是传统的棉、麻为主,使用纺织、印染、针织等技法,这主要是保持茶文化与服饰文化的统一性,体现出自然茶文化的特性与环保服饰设计理念的融合,于自然观传递出茶文化的随性理念和思想,于清新的环保服饰设计中流露出茶文化的恬淡与优雅。同时,还要注重茶文化的色泽与服饰文化的一致性,要注重服装设计的色彩格律、明度与茶文化环境相搭配,可以运用茶的不同色泽变化,营造出服饰的不同视觉效果,体现出别具风味的文化深邃内涵。由下面的茶文化服饰图,我们可以发现其中所蕴含的茶文化语言和创新设计理念。
2.2茶文化元素与服装设计的精神互融
在中国传统茶文化元素之中,我们要充分挖掘茶文化中深刻的哲理思想内容,要显现出其悠远的历史积淀和独特的民族精神,要借助于不同地域的传统茶文化元素,如:盘口、青砖、传统木器、瓷器等,为服饰设计创造出精神互融和共通的品性。如:青花瓷可以极好地诠释和解读中国传统茶文化的清秀与优雅,在服饰设计之中,可以加以融合和创新运用,将青花瓷文化元素与服装的廓型相协调,使茶文化与服饰融合为一体,彰显出中国传统茶文化的独特民族精神和思想脉络,显现出中国传统茶文化深厚的历史积淀。又如:还可以将中国传统茶文化中的茶诗、茶画、茶书法等元素融入到服饰设计之中,突显出中国传统文化的东方魅力和性格,以其抽象和具象化的表达方式和手法,更好地折射出中国传统茶文化的茶道精神,成为一种东方传统文化和民族精神的服饰审美表达方式,以其丰富的色彩、独特的造型、新颖的样式,赋予其不可多得的神采和风范。如:服饰中的宽博廓型可以体现出休闲惬意的情致,而茶文化的古色古香的色泽也凝练出令人神往的诗意和神韵。
2.3传统工艺与现代工艺的融合创新
在中国传统茶文化元素与服装设计文化相融合的过程中,还可以通过传统工艺与现代工艺的融合创新方式,完美地体现出茶文化的魅力和服饰文化特色,例如:可以将传统缝制工艺蜡染、扎染、编织、手绘等技艺与现代工艺相结合,更好地展示中国服饰文化和传统茶文化的链接,从而创设出令人耳目一新的中国传统茶服品牌,扬名于世界的舞台之上。
3结束语
中国传统茶文化元素与服装设计文化的充分融合,可以更好地彰显中国传统茶文化中内蕴的精神和品性,映衬出服饰的审美观念。在传统技艺与现代技艺充分融合的设计方向中,让中国茶服引领国际时装发展。
参考文献
[1]刘雪花.中国传统茶文化元素在服装设计中的创新应用[J].福建茶叶,2016(10):113-114.
[2]秦傲.文化元素在品牌服装设计中的应用[J].品牌,2015(10):272.
中西文化通常被看作是世界上两大主要的文化体系,在方方面面的差异中,最为主要的还是在中西方思维方式上的体现。我国著名的翻译家傅雷对中西方文化差异做过这样的概括“:东方人与西方人在表达习惯方面存在明显的差异……”东方人喜好含蓄且委婉的表达,讲求意境和深层含义;西方人,喜好全面且直接的表达方式,讲求事实和分析。曹世潮对此也有详细的描述:“中华民族的思维方式追求思维的延伸、扩展,注重内向的、精神的、意境的,它的特点在于情感的舒展和收缩,在于对内在心灵的把握,关乎心胸……而西方的思维方式与中国文化截然不同相,它更理性,更注重依靠事实、论据来阐明对事物的认知和推理……”因为文化差异的关系,产生了不同民族对相同的客观现象和社会存在产生不同的认知,而这种认知很多时候是通过言语交际表现出来的。仅从词汇方面就可以体现出中西方的文化差异,例如,在中文当中,关于父辈女性长者的称呼有“姑姑,姨妈,婶婶,舅妈”,而同样的称谓表达,在英文中都可以用“aunt”一词概括。相对比之下,中国文化在表达时更加注重长幼有别和亲疏远近,而西方文化则宽松许多。当然,这些血缘关系并非“我有人无”,其实英语国家也存在,只是英语对此不加以详细区分罢了。中西方文化在称谓表达上的这些差异是有其原因的:宗法等级社会在中国历史上延续的时间较长,宗亲、等级、尊卑观念在汉语文化中比在英语文化中牢固得多。
中西方文化的种种差异简单并直接地通过汉英两种语言就体现了其对应关系。从语法学方面来看,汉语是隐性(convert)语法的语言,而英语是显性(overt)语法的语言。详细而言,汉语更讲究语感,重意境和引申意义,即一句话表达的内在含义,句式多为主动句,强调内容和情感;而英语注重逻辑思维,更重形,讲究说话“有凭有据”,“有一说一”,强调所说内容的规范严谨,句式多用被动,语调相对平直。此外,文化差异也受客观因素的制约,如:地理位置、国体政体、历史、宗教等。如英国多面环海,英语中很多词和海洋有关。说“挥金如土”,英国人说spendmoneylikewater。而英文当中drinklikeafish,翻译成中文就可以是“牛饮”,体现了中华民族自古重视农耕和畜牧业的文化传统。
二、文化语境影响交际过程
文化语境的不同使得同一语言在表达时形成不同的交际意义。由于文化语境与一个民族的政治、经济、文化、价值观以及历史背景都有着密切的关系,因此,提升对文化差异的了解并在跨文化交际中有意识的作用到表达当中,对于跨文化交际顺利、有效地进行将起到良性的促进作用,了解双方文化语境,并将其渗透到交际行为当中。其具体作用可以体现在以下两个方面:
著名翻译家王佐良先生在他的《翻译:思考与笔记》中曾经指出:“翻译不仅涉及语言问题,也涉及文化问题。译者不仅要了解外国的文化,还要深入了解自己民族的文化。”由此可见,文化因素在翻译中的重要作用。文化因素的差异导致人们对同一事物的不同理解和解释,有时甚至会引起误解。因此,文化差异是翻译中的障碍和难题。要在两种语言之间进行翻译,除了要通晓两种语言之外,更重要的是了解两种文化之间的差异。
从哲学的层面上讲,汉民族主张“天人合一”、“物我交融”、“和谐”、“悟性”,对事物不讲究分析,而重视个人的感受和心领神会。西方则不然。他们主张“人物分立”,更重视形式论证和逻辑推理。这种思维方式的不同最终导致了英汉语言形态的不同。英语句子的成分多借助于各种连词、介词等连接,句式复杂;而汉语组词造句,完全通过语义逻辑或者语序,间接地显示出来。例如:China was not, is not, and will never be a superpower.(中国过去不是,现在不是,将来也不会是超级大国。)
She was puzzled that little George didn't want to be get what other children at his age want to get toys and snack.(其他与小乔治同岁的孩子都想得到玩具和零食,可是小乔治却不想得到这些东西,她对此很是不解。)
中国是个农业大国,受到地理环境的影响,牛耕是主要的耕作方式,因此汉语中有很多词和“牛”有关。英国虽然是一个岛国,但古时主要以马为耕作工具。牛和马在两国生产中的重要作用在各自的语言表达上很清楚地表现出来。例如汉语中说“吹牛”,翻译成英语就成了“talk horse”,汉语中的“牛饮”,到了英语中就变成“drink like a horse”。由于我国西依高山、东临大海的地理环境,故素有“东风送暖”、“西风凛冽”之辞。如明代蓝茂的诗句“东风破早梅……春从天上来。”马致远在《天净沙》中写到“古道西风瘦马,夕阳西下,断肠人在天涯。”与此相反,在英国,“east wind”是指从欧洲大陆北部袭来的寒冷的风,给英国人带来的是不愉快的感觉。英国西临大西洋,在春天,凉爽惬意,西风从海上徐徐吹来,带来万物复苏,恰似我国的东风使得春回大地,万物复苏。如英国桂冠诗人John Mansfield的"The West Wind”中有这样的描述:“It's a warm wind, the west wind, full of birds' cries ...And April's in the westwind.”(西风送暖,万鸟争鸣……春天就在西风中到来)从这一点上,可以看出在西方文化中,西风是和春天、生命紧紧联系在一起的,而不是东方文化中的东风。
西方人多信仰基督教,认为上帝创造了世界;而在中国人心目中,只有主宰一切的“老天爷”,上帝和老天爷的含义并不相同。另外,在英语中,dragon是一种长有翅膀、身上长鳞、有爪子的能够喷火没有地位的爬行动物,它常常跟邪恶联系在一起,在西方人心目中是凶恶而丑陋的象征。而“龙”对中国文化有着深远的影响,是民族文化的一部分。“龙”自古以来就是“神圣、高贵、吉样”的象征,是我们民族精神的象征。因此,在古代,皇帝被称为“真龙天子”,子孙被称作“龙子龙孙”,还有“龙袍”、“龙床”等词。我们中国的父母“望子成龙”,但是翻译成英语应说成to hope that one's son will become an excellent person,并没有出现dragon这个词。汉语中的亚洲四小龙到了英语中则译成“four Asian tigers”。
同一客观事物,在不同文化里有不同的文化象征,引起不同的联想。如在阿拉伯文化里,骆驼是大多数人的重要交通工具,骆驼是耐力的象征;英语中把bat看成是邪恶的象征,因为它外形古怪丑陋,居住在阴暗的角落,而且还有吸人血的vampire bat,提起来就令人恐俱。因此,英语中有as crazy as a bat, as blind as a bat等。然而,汉语中“蝙蝠”形象与英语中完全不同:“蝠”与“福”同音,蝙蝠被认为是幸福的象征。蝙蝠作为一个吉祥物,经常出现在民间的许多图上。红蝠的“红蝠”与“洪福”同音。因此更是象征着大吉大利。历史文化是特定历史发展进程和社会遗产的沉淀所形成的文化,各民族的历史发展不同,因而各自都有含有特定的人物和事件的语词来体现本民族鲜明的历史文化色彩。例如,英语中“to meet one’s Waterloo” (遭遇滑铁卢)是源于十九世纪拿破仑在比利时小城滑铁卢惨败一事,汉语中“败走麦城”是指古时三国的蜀国名将关羽被打败退兵麦城一事,两个语词分别来源于不同的历史事件,但喻义相同,都是指惨遭失败。因此这类语词的翻译需要了解各民族历史文化才能使译文更具文化个性。
同一颜色的词在东西方的文化中也有大的差异。如在英语社会中,白色被看作圣洁的颜色,用于婚礼仪式;红色象征危险,用于火等等场合。而在汉语里,白色是悲痛的色彩,用于丧葬仪式;红色象证幸福,用于喜庆场合。再如汉语中,黄表示“”等含义,故有黄色书刊(书刊)。而在英语中,“yellow”并没有“”的含义,表示“”意思时常用obscene, filthy, vulgar等词.
不同民族的神话传说与经典作品中产生了许许多多的习语与典故,反映了民族风味、社会世态,使各民族的语言充满了情趣与活力,具有独特的表现力。如英语中:“Think with the wise,but talk with the vulgar”(与智者同思,与俗子同询。)出自古希腊的格言“swan song”,是根据西方传说swan(天鹅)临死时发出美妙的歌声,用来比喻“诗人、音乐家等的最后的作品”。又如“sour grapes”(酸葡萄)出自《伊索寓言》,比喻“想要但要不到的东西”。汉语中有“万事俱备,只欠东风”、“逼上梁山”、“叶公好龙”等。这些说明在民族各自丰富的文化遗产中产生的语词包含着丰富的民族文化意味,构成了各民族语言表达方式的鲜明独特性是其他语言文化所不能替代的。
口语交际中文化差异更为明显。在中国,较为熟悉的人见面相互打招呼“吃了吗?”、“上哪儿去?”等诸如此类的话语,就如同英语中的“Hello "或“Hi”一样,很正常普通,没什么不妥之处,但若译成汉化式英语“Have you eaten your meal?”“where are you going?”就有可能引起误解:你要请我吃饭吗?你想了解我的私事?也很可能会对第二句给予反感的回答:It's none of your business.这种差异可能与中国人旧时所居高墙大院而外国人大都是单门独户所居而产生的不同文化习俗有关。又如,告别语如用上“Walk carefully(走好)或Walk slowly(慢走)”也会显得十分别扭,很可能使外国人感到迷惑不解,合适的说法应是“Take care. /Good bye. /So long. /See you later.”等等。对英国人来说,以谈论天气或就近就事论事打开话匣子较为妥当。如:“It's extremely cold today, isn't it?”,如在车站等车,可以说“Excuse me. Does this bus go to the railway station ?”等较为自然和妥当。此外,在口语交际中我们还应该注意到禁忌语的文化差异。西方人不愿意被问及关于年龄、婚否、收人、亲友关系、、政治立场以及病情等属于隐私之列的问题。除上述之外,口语交际的语用场合很多,比如:称呼语、感谢语、道歉语、祝贺语、恭维语、请求语、允许语、请客语、电话语…等等,在英语教材中随处可见,不一而足。
语言来源于生活,生活习俗与人情世故在一定程度上制约着语言的表达系统。例如,数词“8”在汉语中是现今最受人们喜爱的数字,因为其发音与“发”谐音,迎合人们发财致富的心理;而英语中“eight”则没有这种意义。在英文中数字5(five )和13(thirteen)也有不同的含义,星期五加13历来被认为是非常不吉利的日子,这是从神话、圣经故事、风俗习惯产生的一些不好的联想而来的。
由此可见,翻译既是对语言的翻译,更是对文化的理解。在翻译过程中应尊重各民族文化词语的特点与个性,保留语言存在和表现的形式,采取直译、意译、注释等多种方法,才能真正做到译文的准确、生动,且符合汉语表述习惯。
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一、前言
“文化”是一个宽泛的、理论性的概念,很难对其进行精确的定义,很多人类学家、社会学家、语言学家都一直致力于文化概念的研究,也得出了各个角度的文化定义。文化的具体定义可以视作一个民族、国家的历史地理、传统习俗、文学艺术、生活方式、思维方式、行为规范等。语言是人类文明的产物,也是人类文化的直接载体。对于语言来说,词汇是其重要组成部分,也是文化特征、文化发展的具体反映。任何语言的学习都离不开词汇的掌握,英语也亦如此,但是受中西方文化差异的影响,给词汇学习造成了不小的障碍,为了提高英语学习效率,就必须掌握中文词汇和英语词汇之间的文化差异。
二、文化差异对词汇的影响
词汇储备是英语学习的前提和基础,所以在英语教学中,引导学生理解词汇层次是非常必要的。由于词汇是文化的浓缩体现,所以文化差异会对词汇的内涵、用法、色彩意义、理性意义等方面产生影响。英语词汇中的中西方文化差异具体表现在以下方面:
(一)词汇理性意义的不同
概念范围不同:词义是词汇的中心,是正确使用词汇的前提。词义的主要特点是――概括性,它是人们在长期的语言使用过程中,使用简洁明了的语言对词汇意义的总结。中文与英语的部分同义词,其实概念范围是不相同的,在使用中文解释英语词汇时,就会出现扩大或缩小其概念范围的现象。以engineer为例,其词义为工程师,工程师在汉语中,是指有大学教育经历、具有丰富工作经验、得到国家相关资格认证的高级技术人员;但engineer在英语中的概念就非常多,engineer不仅指技师、工程师,还可以指轮机员、火车司机、工人等(《新英汉词典》),如sanitary engineer(打扫卫生的工人)。
语意重点不同:以as well as一词为例,它的意思是:与……一样,不亚于;此外、也。在以下句子中:
The tournament is open to amateurs as well as professionals.
若按照汉语思路,简单将其理解为“这次比赛不仅业余运动员可以参加,而且职业运动员也可以参加”,这样理解就将此句的重点放在了“职业运动员也可以参加”,颠倒了句子的原意。as well as一词的语意重点应当在前项,该句子正确的理解是:“这次比赛不仅职业运动员可以参加,而且业余运动员也可以参加”。
习惯用法不同:对于同一种事物,由于中国与西方国家文化背景的差异,所以在表达方式上也会有所差异。比如:“开会”是hold a meeting而不能使用中文意义上的open(开);“空心树”是hollow tree而不能使用通常理解下的empty(空的),这些都是西方国家长期以来的语言习惯造就的固定搭配。
(二)色彩意义有差异
词语的感彩是指词语中所包含的肯定、褒扬、尊敬或否定、贬斥、批评等情感。同样的词汇,在汉语角度是褒义,但其英语意义却可能没有这种感彩,甚至可能是贬义色彩。以fat为例,美国、英国人都此较为忌讳,如果说某人fat,会被认为是无礼的举动,而中国人则不同,人们常使用“胖乎乎”一词来表达大人对孩子的喜爱,很多时候“胖”这个词都有赞美、恭维的意思;再如white一词,中国人都较为忌讳白色,它通常让人联想到不好的事情(如丧事),但是在英美人心中却认为它是幸运吉利、纯洁无限的象征,white day是指吉日而非中国人理解的“不吉利日子”。
(三)词汇用法差异大
汉语对名词性搭配的表达较为笼统,英语却截然相反。汉语的基本单位是“字”,而英语的基本单位是“词”,在英语词汇学习中,容易受汉语造词习惯的影响,例如,“副”这个字,理解了其意思,在汉语中就可以自由地组成“副教授”、“副经理”、“副总统”等词语,然而这样的造词方式却并不适用于英语词语,英语的词汇搭配相对严格,如“副教授”是associate professor,“副经理”是deputy manger,“副总统”是vice president。
对于动词性搭配的词汇,由于汉语动词具有较强的模糊性,所以在进行搭配时较随意,正面的、反面的、具体的、抽象的词语都可以搭配,而英语则不能随意进行搭配。以relax(放松)为例,汉语说“放松自己”是没有问题的,但是如果在英语中使用relax myself则不妥。
(四)词义联想不同
联想是人的一种心理活动,它也能在一定程度上反映一个国家的文化。由于不同国家的自然环境、历史文化、风俗习惯的差异,致使其在面对同一事物时产生的联想各异。以动物举例,owl(猫头鹰)在西方国家常象征着智慧、聪明。在形容一个人聪明时常会使用成语as wise as an owl。但是猫头鹰在中国人心中则是不吉利的象征,常会让人联想到死亡、倒霉。
三、总结
文化和语言之间有着密切的联系,词汇是文化现象的具体反映。因此在实际的英语教学中,必须要重视文化差异带来的影响,在讲解词汇时应适当对其文化背景进行阐述,从而让学生回归到语言环境中来理解、使用词汇,防止出现“中文式英语”。
参考文献:
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