Technically, both translatability and untranslatability are possible but neither is absolute。 Translatability and untranslatability are, like other paradoxes in translation, the two sides of a coin。 Therefore, it is not right to deny either of them。 Catford, a British translation theorist, pided translation into two categories:the linguistic untranslatability and cultural untranslatability (catford, 1980:179)。

2。 Literature Review

Up till now, theories on translation have experienced a significant change compared with that of the traditional translation theory。 Many translation theorists are interested in the study of untranslatability。

2。1 Culture and cultural differences 论文网

需要补充culture 和cultural difference的定义(是什么？)，然后简单说明下汉英文化差异的内涵和表现（如何理解它），例如，价值观，时空观，信仰，历史，思维习惯等，为下面的具体说明做铺垫。

2。2 Translatability and Untranslatability

Untranslatability refers to the fact that the meaning of a language is difficult to be translated into another language without changing its meaning。

Technically, both translatability and untranslatability are possible but neither is absolute。 Translatability and untranslatability are, like other paradoxes in translation, the two sides of a coin。 Therefore, it is not right to deny either of them。 Why do translatability and untranslatability co-exist in translating? In other words, for what reasons is language material translatable and untranslatable? To answer this question it is necessary to search for the theoretical foundations of translatability and untranslatability。

Translatability and untranslatability are both based on the language。For untranslatability it firstly lies in the language itself。 Language is only the tool for communication but also the unique objective reflection of life in various areas。 The difference between their living environment determines some unique features in their languages。 On the other hand, each language has its own unique vocabulary, structure, syntax, usage expression and so on。 It's extremely difficult to find equivalents to express the meaning in other languages，such as：riddle, palindrome，pun, word play etc。 The pure difference between languages also lead to untranslatability。 Catford pides untranslatability into "linguistic untranslatability" and “cultural untranslatability" (catford, 1980:179)。 文献综述

Linguistic untranslatability: there exist many disparities in pronunciation, vocabulary, forms of word and grammar between English and Chinese。 On account of these disparities, it is difficult for us to find the equivalent concepts or ways of expression to reproduce the original's nature。 Normally, the form may be forgotten while emphasis is laid on the content, otherwise, the content may be sacrificed to convey the form。 So the beauty and the taste of the original may be lost。 That is what we see in linguistic untranslatability。