论文总字数：25666字

摘 要

在我国旅游业蓬勃发展的背景下，越来越多的世界游客前来拜访我国的名胜山川。作为最广泛接受的语言，英语译文在各种旅游指南、景点介绍、标示标牌、当地特色产品等中总是少不了的。由于涉及诸多原因，英语译文并不能被外国游客广泛接受和欣赏。旅游文本的英译是一项意图明确的交流活动，是实用型的翻译，其目的和功能的实现主要依赖读者对译文的接受和反应。接受美学提出以读者为中心，强调读者的积极能动性，对旅游文本资料的英译有着重要的启示。在其指导下，译者在翻译时更加重视读者群的主观审美意识和接受能力，使译文更易被读者群所接受，让外国游客更能有主体意识，使其在旅游中能更好地去体验中国文化。

关键词：接受美学；读者中心；旅游文本；英译

Contents

1. Introduction………………………………………………………………1

2. Literature Review…………………………………………………………2

3. Aesthetics of Reception……………………………………………………2

4. Application and Strategy on Tourism Text Based on Aesthetics of Reception…………………………………………………………………3

4.1 Application in Tourism Text Translation ………………………………3

4.2 Strategies for Tourism Text Translation…………………………………6

5. Conclusion………………………………………………………………11

Works Cited…………………………………………………………………12

1. Introduction

In recent years, with the booming of tourism industry in our country, the beauty and charm of Chinese natural scenery as well as historical sites and cultural relics attract tourists from all over the world. English, the widest accepted language, are necessary and essential in many aspects such as tourist guidance book, public signs, and the local featured products. However, the target text cannot be fully appreciated by foreigners due to the poor quality of translation. For this reason, how to make the beauty known to the foreign visitors and arouse the interest of tourists becomes a hot topic. Tourism translation is a special because it serves to the tourist from the other culture.(Chen Gang,2004:59) It is a cross-linguistic, inter-cultural and cross-space communicative action. It is also widely acknowledged that an excellent translation of tourism text should not only give readers all required information, but help them acquire a better understanding of Chinese history, society and culture. Apart from the linguistic mistakes and cultural errors in the translation, there still exist great conflicts in cultural backgrounds, moral concepts, customs and traditions, and aesthetic tastes and modes of thinking, which badly hinders readers to understand the target text. Because of such differences, it is no doubt that it is a tough job to translate tourism text into English in a proper manner.

Aesthetics of Reception, putting the readership at the central position, sheds much enlightenment on tourism text translation, under which guidance, the translator should pay more attention to the readers" subjective aesthetic consciousness and acceptance ability. Through interacting and resonating with readers" conscious, the text can guide the reader to actively participate in the process to achieve the aesthetic enjoyment and to make foreign visitors have a better understanding in Chinese culture.

To my disappointment, there still lacks researches on English translation of tourism text built on Aesthetics of Reception. Given such situation, the dissertation focuses on explaining how Aesthetics of Reception acts as a guide to English translation of tourism text, and on that basis, further working out some practical and effective approaches and strategies for translation of tourism text.

2.Literature Review

Aesthetics of Reception is originally a literature theory, but then applied in the translation studies since 1970s, which was a huge breakthrough in translation history. Since then, scholars at home and abroad have done some researches on translation from the perspective of Aesthetics of Reception, but there still leaves some rooms for improvement.

Some scholars have attempted to apply Aesthetics of Reception to translation study. But most of the study is targeted at literary translation, Recently, scholars such as professor Chen Gang have shifted their attention to pragmatic translation, whose Tourist Translation and Tour Guide for Foreigners emphasizes on practice of tourist translation.

In the previous studies of English translation practice of tourism text, some Chinese scholars claim most of the unsuccessful translation result from the ingrained habit of “translating in English form but Chinese thinking mode”. Ignorance to the linguistic and cultural disparity concerning source text and target text is the root cause of all the mistakes described as above, which occur on the surface structure of language.(Jia Wenbo, 2003: 52)

Translation of tourism text belongs to the pragmatic translation range. Many western theories of translation are based on literary translation but not well applied in pragmatic translation. Eugene Nida"s functional equivalence theory can also provide applicable guidance for pragmatic translation.

Generally speaking, in China, though there has been a relatively long history for the application of Aesthetics of Reception in translation study, however, few of this application is conducted in pragmatic translation, particularly in the study of tourism text translation.

3. Aesthetics of Reception

Aesthetics of Reception, a literary criticism theory, was established by some scholars at the University of Constance. Its major representatives are Hans Robert Jauss and Wolfgang Iser. Aesthetics of Reception focuses on reader"s reception of the text and participation in the literature works rather than the text itself. Literature works is a dynamic, open and interactive process so we should emphasize the reader"s subjective status and response when they are reading the text. Jauss believes that a work, even printed is still only half-finished before read by reader. According to Jauss, a literary work, even when it appears to be new, does not present itself as something absolutely new in an informational vacuum, but predisposes its audience to a very specific kind of reception by announcements, overt and covert signals, familiar characteristics, or implicit illusions. (Jauss, 1982: 23) The reading experience, reception ability, cultural background and aesthetic taste of the readers, comprises the horizon of expectations, a kind of appreciation level on literary works, which in turn influences the reader"s reception of translation works.（Zhu Liyuan, 2004: 127）

4. Application and Strategy on Tourism Text Based on Aesthetic of Reception

4.1 Application in Tourism Text Translation

4.1.1 Principle of Reader-orientation

According to Aesthetic of Reception，the translated text should place the readership at the center and take full account of the reader"s language customs, expressions approaches and cultural significance. Aesthetics of Reception believes that the readers are not just passive received, but active create the literature history. The theory emphasizes the reader"s subjective status when they are reading the text and appreciating the work. Through interacting and resonating with readers" conscious, the text can guide the readers to actively participate in the reading process to achieve the aesthetic enjoyment. Reader-orientation rule should be abide by to show consideration for target language readers when we do tourism translation. If the translator only express the equivalent meaning of the original text and ignores the target readers" acceptance, it will be very hard for the readers to accept. Tourism translation is a special activity which carries a lot of cultural information and is aimed at conveying to people from other country. Seen in this way, tourism translation can not be regarded as a simple language transformation, and the translators should take the target readers" cultural and aesthetic habits into consideration. What"s more, linguistic and cultural differences should be flexibly dealt with to arouse the target readers" aesthetic interest and make the translation meet the readers" horizon of expectations. To satisfy the horizon of expectations, the key is to transform the tourism text into a piece of work. Specifically speaking, Aesthetics of Reception will be twice applied in translation process to meet the reader"s horizon of Expectations. The first is that the translator translate the text with their own experience and knowledge; the second is the communication between target text and the readers. At this point the audience will use their own horizon of expectations to measure whether the translations have the information they need, and this is the second one. The combination of these two acceptance emphasizes the degree of consistency between "horizon of expectations" and the text. The translator should translate the text with reader"s horizon of expectations. The original text is interpreted, analysed and then converted into the target language which can be understood by the reader. Eventually the translated text in the target language provides the target language a good acceptance. Only in this way can the translation cater to readers" custom of language expression and aesthetic philosophy and can the readers understand the translation better.

Example1:

四川西部有一美妙去处，它背依岷山主峰雪宝顶，数目苍翠，花香袭人，鸟语婉转，流水潺潺，它就是松潘县的黄龙。

Which can be translated as follows: One of the finest scenic spots is Huanglong (Yellow Dragon), which lies in Songpan County just beneath Xuebao, the main peak of Minshan Mountain. It has lush green forests filled with fragrant flowers, bubbling streams and songbirds.

Full consideration is given to the reader"s reading habits and aesthetic expectations, including “美妙去处” ”树木苍翠” ”花香怡人” “鸟语婉转” ”流水潺潺”, which is reorganized in its structure logically. Although it fails to conserve the features of original form, the beauty of scenery is well-informed to the readers.

4.1.2 Principle of Conveying Culture

On one hand, the works must meet the target readers" horizon of expectation; on the other hand, they should break down readers" existing horizon of expectations, go beyond readers, and generate readership. The translation of tourism materials should consider cultural differences, and embody different psychology to make readers from different cultures understand and appreciate the target tourism text. The readers" horizon of expectations changes as well as their aesthetic expectations and aesthetic tastes with the development of the age. The process of reading is not only a process of acceptance of information, but also a process of communication and cultural collision. If every translation conforms to readers" language convention, the readers can not taste the real beauty of the original text. If the obscure information is deleted in English translation of tourism introduction, the beautiful intention and abundant historical and cultural information will lose, though it caters to foreign readers" language convention. To make things worse, the readers have no access to Chinese culture. The translation of scenic spots is not a simple transformation between two kinds of languages. But it is a study of inter-cultural communication. Most readers are foreign tourists, so the main purpose of the translation is to maintain the differences between eastern and western culture when we translate. In the translation of tourism text, translators should take the target readers" ever-changing horizon of expectations and aesthetic expectations into consideration, go beyond the readers to broaden readers" horizon of expectations rather than always comply with readers. Comparing English and Chinese, we can easily find that Chinese words are rich in meaning, for example "dog" "Dragon" and other animal images has both implication meaning and imagination meaning which are totally different, which is a stumbling block of understanding and translation. And Chinese characters are accustomed to using a variety of rhetorical expression under different conditions; while English has obvious non-rhetorical and simple expression. Words can transmit different emotions in a relatively logical way. Take tourism text for example, Chinese text uses dual or parallel four-character structure, giving the audience a beautiful feeling; but mostly English text is simple, objective and realistic .

Example2:

“在乡下，死人下葬前会请来风水先生看风水、断阴阳” The translation is ”In the country，before funeral a geomancer will be invited to investigate Fengshui—practicing geomancy, and distinguish Yin and Yang-sunny or shadowy location. Chinese people believe that the location of a house or a tomb will give great influence on the fortune of the family；and in Chinese philosophy, Yin, refers to the feminine or negative principle in nature; Yang, the masculine or positive principle in nature.”

Obviously, the translation is longer, but makes those people who lack the cultural backgrounds and converse the Chinese unique culture. ”风水” and ”阴阳” have some links to “environmental geography”, but differs in its connotation and meaning, because “风水” and ”阴阳” deal with not only geography but beliefs. The proper translation of tourism text promotes foreign visitors to understand the Chinese culture, and spread the Chinese culture.

4.2 Translation Strategies for Tourism Text Based on Aesthetics of Reception

4.2.1 Amplification

Amplification refers to add more relevant background information to make the translation understood easier by foreign tourists. Chinese tourism text often includes historical events, leading figures, or local customs which are difficult for foreign tourists to understand if they are not familiar with Chinese history and culture. Tourist attractions guidebook contains a lot of Chinese unique history and culture, in which case, the foreigners are often unfamiliar with the culture information. The translator"s task is original in to convey the full information to the foreign. To achieve this purpose, the translator have to add relevant background materials and cultural knowledge, taking annotation approach, to meet the foreigners acceptance.

Example3:

胡耀邦祖籍地: Hu Yaobang"s Ancestral Home; 朱轼陵园: Cemetery of Zhushi. Such attractions are difficult to attract them due to the lack of knowledge about 胡耀邦and 朱轼. Therefore, we try to translate as follows:胡耀邦祖籍地: Ancestral Home of Hu Yaobang（a Chairman of China）; 朱轼陵园: Cemetery of Zhu Shi （a well-known official in Qing Dynasty）

Example4:

"茶馆" translated in a literal translation methods is "teahouse", which not only make tourists surprised, but also break the cultural connotation of original text. Given the cultural background of foreign tourists are not comprehensive, it should be translated as "Lao She Teahouse".

Example5:

旁边有一支小山峰，很像一把巨大的斧头，人称此景为“劈山救母”。

Translation: Another smaller peak resembling a huge ax is nearby, so the

inhabitants have named this “Splitting the Mountain to Save Mother”. (This is a famous fairy tale in China: once upon a time, a fairy from heaven ventured to the earth and fell in love with a kind and knowledgeable young man. They were married and had a son, whom they named Chen Xiang. The fairy"s behavior in marrying a mortal violated heaven"s law, so she was punished by the Jade Emperor, who imprisoned her in these mountains. When Chen Xiang came of age, he endeavored day and night to learn the magical secrets which could unleash the power to split the mountain and deliver his mother. He succeeded in freeing her and returning his family.）

In this example, if fairy background is not given, many foreign tourists will be confused by the introduction. Moreover, the additional information tells foreign tourists about the Chinese legend, broaden the target readers" existing horizon of expectations and arouse their imagination and interests.

4.2.2 Omission

When Chinese tourism text contains redundant and meaningless information or too much cultural elements, literal translation may only destroy the aesthetic sense of the texts. Under the circumstances, it is better to omit the unnecessary and untranslatable information to ensure the fluency, conciseness and acceptability of the translated text. Let us look at the following examples.

Example6:

中国有句俗语“赶得早不如赶得巧”，赶上地坛庙会那就是巧。这里蕴含着浓郁的京味文化，叫北京人和外地人都喜爱。

Translation: The Earth Temple Fair is a collection of the traditional Beijing style culture and has a strong appeal to people in and outside Beijing.

Translator makes a reasonable omission for the source language, makes "temple" subject, deletes the personal comments “赶得早不如赶得巧” and highlights the theme, in which treatment appeals to foreigners psychology.

Example7:

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