4.2.3 Cultural Problems 13

ChapterⅤ Possible Solutions to Problems of Cuisine Name Translation 15

5.1 Three suggestions to Translators 15

5.1.1 Improving Language Ability 15

5.1.2 Applying Translation Strategies properly 15

5.1.3 Enhancing Intercultural Awareness 16

5.2 Three Criteria for Cuisine Name Translation 16

5.2.1 Linguistic Correctness 16

5.2.2 TT Receivers’ Acceptability 17

5.2.3 Functional Realization 17

ChapterVI Conclusion 19

References 20

ChapterⅠIntroduction

1.1 Background Information of Chinese Cuisine Translation in China. 

With the ongoing of globalization, people around the world have been provided with more and more opportunities to know other countries and their cultures. We are not surprised to see so many foreign guests are enchanted by our culture. The Chinese cuisine, being an important part of Chinese culture, also arouses the interest of many foreigners. Nevertheless, the current situation for cuisine name translation in China is far from satisfactory. Numerous translation problems in restaurants are frequently found. Some of the translation errors even scare away many foreigners. For example, the cuisine name “夫妻肺片” is mistakenly translated into “Husband and Wife’s Lung”. Such a translation brings foreign customers a bloody image which totally destroys the original beauty of the dish. The dish name “心肝宝贝”of  the restaurant Discovery(新发现) is translated into “Baby”, which will confuse the customers very much.

In Hangzhou, the catering industry has a very promising and fast development in recent years. They win the favor of customers for their delicious dishes, pleasant dinning environment and rational price. Under the influence of globalization, many restaurants translate their dish names into English in order to meet the needs of foreigners. However, their menus of English version prevailingly exist translation errors which confuse foreign customers very much. The current situation of cuisine name translation realizes the writer of the importance of translating Chinese cuisine name correctly.

1.2 Main Features and Originality

As a practical translation study, the purpose of this research is to find out problems of cuisine name translation of restaurants in Hangzhou. Translating cuisine name is a kind of practical activity with intended skopo that makes target language readers understand what they are going to eat. To take the feature of cuisine name translation into consideration, Skopos Theory is a valuable guideline for it.

Cuisine name translation is one of the important parts in translation research field. In domestic research, most scholars are focusing on translation strategies and principles; in overseas’ research, many theories are proposed to guide translation, among which Skopos Theory is one of the most concerned theories. This paper will specifically emphasize on the cuisine name translation of popular restaurants in Hangzhou. By analyzing the translating cases on the basis of Skopos Theory, this paper will give several solutions for translation improvement. Accordingly, the menus of English version of restaurants in Hangzhou can be more credible and understandable.

ChapterⅡ Literature Review

2.1 Domestic Research on Chinese Cuisine Translation

Cuisine name translation is a new field in translation research, and it is also an urgent mission in Chinese translation field. Recent years, articles about dish name translation are not rare in all kinds of national academic journals and periodicals. According to their aspects of research and contents, the domestic research achievements can be classified as follows: