论文总字数：31828字

摘 要

随着科学技术的不断发展，计算机的应用变得广泛。为了吸收国外先进的计算机技术，计算机术语的翻译得到了越来越多的关注。然而，由于长期与大陆隔离，台湾已经形成了自身独有的地域文化，这也影响了台湾的语言特色。在此情况下，台湾的计算机术语翻译也与大陆存在一些明显的差异，甚至已经成为两岸计算机技术交流的障碍。本文从术语的定义出发，介绍了计算机术语翻译的一般性原则。同时，本文也尝试探寻两岸文化差异的历史以及社会成因，并由此分析两岸计算机术语翻译的差异。

关键词：计算机术语翻译差异；台湾；大陆

Contents

1. Introduction 1

2. Literature Review 2

2.1 Relevant Study 2

2.2 Introduction to Computer Term Translation 3

3. Analysis on the Causes of the Cultural Differences between Taiwan and Mainland China 5

3.1 Analysis from the Historical Perspective 6

3.2 Analysis from the Social Perspective 7

4. Translation Differences of Computer Terms Influenced by Cultural Differences 8

4.1 Different Translation Methods Influenced by Cultural Influences 9

4.2 Different Translation Features Influenced by Cultural Influences 11

5. Conclusion 12

Works Cited 14

1. Introduction

With the integration of cross-strait science and technology, the translation of scientific and technological terms, especially computer terms, has played a very important role in the exchanges of computer technology. Therefore, researching different translations of computer terms influenced by cultural differences between Taiwan and Mainland China may promote the cross-strait scientific and technological exchange and cooperation.

In China, however, most of the research is about the influence of English-Chinese cultural differences on translation. There are few researches conducted on the translation affected by the cultural differences between Taiwan and Mainland China, so more researches should be made in this field.

Obviously, translation correlates closely to culture because translation is not only a kind of language transformation but also a kind of cultural exchange at deeper level. Eugene A. Nida, a famous American translation theorist, considered that in general, the most serious mistakes in translation are not made by using improper words to express but by making wrong cultural assumptions. “In the final analysis, most of the problems in translation are originated from the obstacles caused by differences between two languages.” (Nida, 1982:294) Similarly, when dealing with different translations of the same language in different areas, like Chinese language in Taiwan and Mainland China, we also should focus on cultural differences. Due to many reasons of history, politics, geography, there are some differences in the translation of computer terms between Taiwan and Mainland China. Take “database” for instance, which means the way used to store data in the computer. In Mainland China, the translation of it is “数据库”, while it is translated to “资料库” in Taiwan.

As a result, these differences often lead to the failure of trade negotiations or economic contracts, which will cause economic losses and hinder the development of science and technology. So, cultural differences really have a profound influence on the translation of computer terms. This thesis analyzes the translation differences of computer terms between Taiwan and Mainland China from the cultural perspective. It reveals the influence of culture on the translation of computer terms through the study of cultural differences between Taiwan and Mainland China.

2. Literature Review

2.1 Relevant Study

Since reform and opening-up, science and technology has developed by leaps and bounds in China. The translation of scientific and technological terms has been paid more attention by science and technical professionals and the people in the translation circle.

Wu Zhongxian pointed out the characteristics of technical term translation and the difficulties in translating resulting from these characteristics. “English is a language used by many countries. Over the long history, it absorbed a lot of foreign words and used daily expressions in technical terms, which brought great difficulties in translating technical terms.” (Wu Zhongxian, 1981:26)

Yang Zhendan proposed that translation of technical terms should be unified in our country. “Different from the ordinary words, a technical term usually represents only one concept. Therefore, making technical terms standardized is necessary. Only in this way will we spread scientific and technological knowledge and promote the development of science and technology.” (Yang Zhendan, 1986:53)

Wu Fengming reviewed the inheritance of technical terms and the history of its translation in China. He believes that “the standardization of technical term translation has a very close relationship with its history of formation. Only when translators understand the meaning of terms can they get exact translation.” (Wu Fengming, 1991:31)

Besides, in the book Informationization in Science and Technology Translation, it is mentioned that in his letter to Zhou Guangzhao, the president of the Chinese Academy of Science, Xu Tong, professor from National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan complained that the experts from Taiwan and Mainland China had to communicate with each other in Taiwan Mandarin, Mainland China Mandarin and English language at a symposium on cross-strait science and technology. (Qiu Juliang, 2005:126-127) It shows that it is really difficult for the experts to communicate because of the different expressions in science and technology, so they have to use the source language of these terms—English to explain the concepts and confirm what the others expressed. This reflects the influences caused by different translations of the same term.

These researches mainly discussed the translation of terms from macroscopic view, which usually covers a wide range of technical terms. However, there are few researches conducted on the translation of technical terms in a specific subject from the cultural perspective, and actually this kind of researches has more realistic significance. Therefore, different from other researches, this thesis further analyzes the translation differences of computer terms between Taiwan and Mainland China from the perspective of culture on the basis of the predecessors’ achievements.

2.2 Introduction to Computer Term Translation

2.2.1 Definition of Terms

Nowadays, science and technology is developing rapidly. A large number of technical terms are produced everyday in every possible way. When we introduce and absorb advanced technology from foreign countries, it is sure that we will come into contact with many new terms. However, not everybody can have a deep understanding of these new terms. Therefore, in the beginning, we should know about the definition of terms.

According to the book Introduction to Terminology, written by the Canadian scientist G. Rondeau, term refers to a kind of language symbols defined by F. de Saussure, which is the union of Signifier and Signified. (Rondeau, 1985:157-160) It is really important to understand the meaning of some term in a right way. Generally, terms contains two meanings: literal meaning and academic meaning. Experts of science and technology tend to focus on the academic meaning, while translators must strike a balance between literal meaning and academic meaning.

From an intercultural perspective, term is the most basic unit of language in the process of cultural exchanges. In general, the generation of terms can be divided into two categories: one is to endow an existing word with a new meaning to express some new concept; the other is to create new terms by using existing words or morphemes. (Zheng Shupu, 2005:12-14)

From the mentioned above, it can be concluded that term is a complicated concept which covers quite a lot of ground and changes with the development of researches on terms.

2.2.2 The Principles of Computer Term Translation

With the rapid development of computer technology, there must be a new lexicon to define new phenomena or explain new things about computer. As a result, a large number of computer terms turn up and need to be translated.

In all of the translation texts, technical English is the easiest to be translated. We can easily know the trend of translatability from the following:

100%translatable 100%untranslatable

WST WN WC WEE

WST—works of science and technology

WN—works of narration

WC—works of comment

WEE—works of expression emotion

(Xin Hong, 2005:109)

“From what is said above, we can figure out that the more emotional words a text contains, the more difficult it can be thoroughly transferred to another language” (Huang Jinlian, 2006:16), while WST is easy to translate. Then, what principles of computer term translation should translators follow when translating technical terms?

The most important is that translators should follow the principle of accuracy. Henry G.Widdowson said: “Scientific discourse represents a way of conceptualizing reality; a way of communicating which must, if it is to remain scientific, be independent of different languages and different cultures.” (Widdowson, 1979:107) Therefore, computer term translation, as a part of technical term translation, should pay attention to its accuracy. If translators give up accuracy in order to pursue the fluency of translation, they may not only cause the loss of scientific and technological information, but also lead to misunderstanding or more serious consequences. Only when the translators grasp the accurate meaning of the term can they express the original meaning correctly.

In addition, translators should also follow the principles of succinctness and memorability by fully considering the transmission of information in the process of translation and make the most of flexible features of Chinese word formation. For example, if the term “IRC(Internet Relay Chat)” is translated to “互联网中继聊天”, it will be too complex to remember, so using the acronym of this term is a better choice.

3. Analysis on the Causes of the Cultural Differences between Taiwan and Mainland China

Culture is an important part of social life, and also plays an important role in the translation of computer terms. Speaking from a broad sense, culture refers to the sum of material wealth and spiritual wealth which are created in the process of social and historical practice. In the narrow sense, culture refers to the sum of spiritual wealth created based on a certain amount of material. Besides, culture has the characteristics of nationality and region. If the people live in different countries or nations for a long time, culture created by them will be different inevitably. Thus, culture can be said to the sum of the lifestyle of a country or a nation.

Since ancient times, Taiwan is closely connected with Mainland China in terms of history and culture. It is an inalienable part of Chinese territory. The culture of Taiwan is formed with the development of Taiwan society. People on both sides of the Taiwan Strait share the same culture, and there is no doubt that the culture of Taiwan is inheritance of Chinese culture, especially Confucianism. It is the spirit of the cultures on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, which has filtered into people’s minds because of the promotion by governments in different periods. Therefore, on the one hand, the culture of Taiwan has the basic characteristics of Chinese culture; on the other hand, Taiwan creates its own unique culture because of the long-term isolation with Mainland China and its characteristics of immigrant society. Therefore, the culture of Taiwan is a special regional culture in our country.

However, it is wrong to think that cultures on both sides are identical because there are still many differences. What’s more, there are many reasons that cause these differences, and this thesis will mainly analyze them from the historical and social perspective.

3.1 Analysis from the Historical Perspective

History has a profound influence on culture. Compared with Mainland China, Taiwan has the particularity of its historical development. In the 17th century, Taiwan was colonized by Dutch for 38 years. At the end of the 19th century, Taiwan was colonized again by Japanese for 50 years because the government of Qing Dynasty was defeated in the Sino-Japanese War.

When Taiwan was controlled by Dutch at the beginning of the 17th century, the Dutch culture had little effect on Taiwan. However, during the reign of Japan, it pushed the policy of national assimilation in order to try to force the Taiwanese to give up Chinese culture and accept Japanese culture, but it did not shake the dominant position of the Chinese culture because traditional Chinese culture has a long history of thousands of years. But Japan’s colonial policies still had an important impact on Taiwan society. “To a great extent, it infringed the national cultural tradition and independent spirit cherished by our compatriots in Taiwan and destroyed their belief and habits passed down from generation to generation.” (Chen Bisheng, 1982: 279)

In 1945, Japan was defeated in the war, Chinese government recovered Taiwan. After that, Taiwan and Mainland China entered a state of confrontation for decades. In this period, Taiwan and Mainland China were separated. The political and economic system in Taiwan had many differences from those in Mainland China, and the path of cultural development is not the same either. During quite a long period after 1949, Americans had great power in Taiwan. Their influence reached all aspects of life and conceptual consciousness of the people in Taiwan; moreover, Chinese traditional thought—worship and have blind faith in foreign things—was fully shown. At the same time, a large number of English words entered Taiwan language, and most of them appeared in the form of transliteration. To a certain extent, it also made the culture of Taiwan change remarkably. Therefore, The culture of Taiwan was deeply impacted by foreign cultures, especially the cultures of United States, Europe and Japan. After that, with the support of the international anti-China forces, “Taiwan independence” forces gradually emerged after the cross-strait confrontation and became worse in the 1990s. The “Taiwan independence” forces caused conflicts deliberately between the culture of Taiwan and Chinese culture, which had an impact on Taiwanese, especially the adolescents.

In contrast with Taiwan, the language in Mainland China did not has a large-scale and long-term communication with Japanese and English. Even if there are a few foreign words in Mainland China, most of them tend to use the liberal translation, thus they retains the original appearance of Chinese to a large extent. Since reform and opening-up, especially in the recent 10 years, Mainland China has had increasingly frequent contacts and exchanges with the outside world. Because of this, the number of foreign words greatly increase, but it is still far from the extent of Taiwan. Therefore, the culture of Mainland China become more and more different from the culture of Taiwan.

3.2 Analysis from the Social Perspective

First of all, people in Taiwan prefer the fast paced of life, which is shown clearly in the operations of the whole society and the activities of individuals in Taiwan. And the culture has all kinds of social information, so people inherit culture according to efficient and fast-paced standard and make it undergo some changes to meet the requirements of society and to provide better service for people’s social life. Thus, it forms the important characteristics of Taiwan social culture—simplicity and efficiency.

Secondly, it should be admitted that currently the level of social culture and public education in Taiwan is higher than that in Mainland China. Taiwan is a society which pays more attention to traditional culture, thus there are some cultural differences between Taiwan and Mainland China. These differences mainly includes the following two aspects: on the one hand, the culture of Taiwan has a strong color of ancientry by inheriting traditional culture. For instance, the traditional Chinese calendar is still very popular among conventional people. They still follow the calendar to arrange their daily activities such as building a new house, having a wedding or funeral. In Mainland China, only the older generation prefers to use the traditional Chinese calender. On the other hand, on contrary to Mainland China, Taiwan has an extensive use of foreign words.

Thirdly, industry and commerce are flourishing in Taiwan, and as a whole, Taiwan is in the strong atmosphere of commerce and utilitarianism. For example, “we found that the text of news and advertisements is the base camp of homonym and their motivation is to attract customers.” (Yao Rongsong, 1998:23) In fact, many newspapers and magazines want to make maximal commercial profit by using homonym to attract more readers, so they have to make every bit of effort to search for a new and special way of expression. Thus, the rapid development of industry and commerce in Taiwan also has a great influence on the culture.

Last but not least, Taiwan is a diverse society, in which people’s thoughts and behaviors are more open and diverse. Social diversity brings about cultural diversity and makes it become more complex. “The culture of Taiwan is a blend of Confucianist Han Chinese, Japanese, European, American, and Taiwanese aborigines’ cultures, which are often perceived in both traditional and modern understandings.” (Huang Chun-chieh, 1994:5) Compared with Mainland China, Taiwan is affected by different cultures from eastern and western countries, thereby absorbing and combining many beneficial elements of various cultures. In the long-term evolution, Taiwan gradually forms the distinctive culture and becomes different from the culture of Mainland China.

4. Translation Differences of Computer Terms Influenced by Cultural Differences

According to the principles of computer term translation mentioned above, there are a lot of limitations in translating computer terms and translators have to consider a lot. Take a simple phrase “Internet worm” as an example. If it is translated as “网虫”, it may be liable to be misunderstood because the word “网虫” has already been used to refer to those people who are addicted to Internet for a long time. In fact, “Internet worm” is a kind of virus transmitted on the network, so it is usually translated to “网络蠕虫病毒”. From this example, it can be concluded that it is not easy to deal with the translation of computer terms, let alone the translation differences between Taiwan and Mainland China.

In addition, due to various reasons mentioned above, Taiwan has its own distinct features in culture. Influenced by this, the translation of computer terms in Taiwan has some obvious differences from that in Mainland China. As we all know, cultural differences exist anytime and anywhere, which has affected scientific and technological exchanges. Thus, the key to improve the quality of exchanges is to be familiar with these translation difference influenced by cultural differences.

4.1 Different Translation Methods Influenced by Cultural Influences

4.1.1 Frequently-used Methods

Here are the three frequently-used methods of computer term translation.

Generally speaking, computer terms usually can present a single meaning from the lexical perspective, and most of them can be translated literally. Literal translation is a method based on the literal meaning of word. Therefore, literal translation is the most effective and the most popular method in the translation of computer terms.

Liberal translation is based on a maximal understanding of the meaning of original term, so it is used widely in the translation of literary works. In most cases, only when literal translation does not work, will the translators consider using liberal translation. For example, the word “computer” should be translated literally to “计算的人或物”. Computer is a kind of machine, but it cannot be translated to “计算器”, which has been used to refer to a small hand-held electronic machine for mathematical calculations—calculator. Thus, translating “computer” to “计算机” is the most appropriate option.

In addition, transliteration is also a method commonly used in the translation of computer terms. Transliteration is to translate the words into the corresponding Chinese characters in accordance with its pronunciation. For example, “Trojan horse virus” is usually translated as “特洛伊木马病毒”. In this way, it can not only retain the pronunciation of the original word, but also remind Chinese readers of the corresponding word in English when reading it. Meanwhile, transliteration preserves the pronunciation of source language but does not convey the meaning of source language, so it avoids the interference from the culture of target language.

4.1.2 Different Translation Methods in Taiwan and Mainland China

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