On C-E Translation of Culture-Loaded Words with Ethnic Minorities Based on Thick Translation Theory: the Marital Customs of the Yellow-Costumed Wa Group as a Case
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53469/jsshl.2024.07(01).04Keywords:
Culture-loaded words, Translation strategies, Marital customs of the Yellow-Costumed Wa peopleAbstract
Against the background of increasing cross-cultural communication, China’s ethnic minority cultures are gradually known by the rest of the world with the growing demand for translation. The marital customs of the Yellow-Costumed Wa people are distinctive both at home and abroad. However, various culture-loaded words with profound ethnic features make it hard for readers to understand clearly. Therefore, accurately and effectively conveying the connotation of culture-loaded words and helping readers to better understand these marital customs are of great significance to the exchange and dissemination of Chinese ethnic minorities’ cultures. This paper does case studies on the marital customs of the Yellow-Costumed Wa people. The author completes the C-E translation of the customs based on fieldwork and classifies the culture-loaded words into social, material, and linguistic categories. Then, from the perspective of thick translation theory, the case analysis method is adopted to study 11 typical culture-loaded words and discuss the translation strategies applied in translating culture-loaded words of ethnic minorities’ cultures. There are two conclusions: First, both in-text and out-of-text thick translation place translated text in a rich cultural context, which helps readers to better comprehend and appreciate the source culture. Second, translation of ethnic minorities’ cultures should be rooted in fieldwork to ensure accurate and effective translation based on author’s comprehensive grasp of the culture. It is expected to provide useful references for translating culture-loaded words of ethnic minorities’ cultures and promote the spread of their culture to the outside world.
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