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3. The Definition of Translatability and Untranslatability
Translation is full of paradoxes. Among the most ancient ones is the debate over translatability and untranslatability. This pair of terminologies was first come up with by the linguistic translation faction. On the basis of Dictionary of Translation Studies，translatability along with its opposite, untranslatability, is used to discuss the extent to which it is possible to translate either inpidual words and phrases or entire texts from one language to another.(Shuttleworth and Cowie 2004:179) In accordance with the interpretation of the two terms, it can be learnt that untranslatability refers to a relatively small extent to which source language can not be translated into target language. Namely, because of various reasons, the process of translating cannot achieve a perfect result. In ancient Italy, some philosophers asserted that translation was traitorous. In other words, they held the view that languages were untranslatable. Dante(1266-1321)，a great poet in Renaissance, once expressed his opinion in his work Convivo: any piece of work with lyrical beauty cannot be translated without losing its beauty. (Alighieri 1903:12) Hence, Dante saw eye to eye with the philosophers on untranslatability. As to the reasons constituting such untranslatability, several aspects may be involved.
Liu Miqing, a renowned Chinese translator, once concluded in his book The Basics of Translation that the main factors which cause untranslatability are as follows: different language structure, conventional method barriers, different expressional habits, semantic expression barriers as well as cultural gaps. (Liu Miqing 2010:13) The last factor will be given particular attention in this paper.