On the Cultural Differences of Diet between China and English Countries and Some Points for Interpreting Chinese Dishes into English 试析中西饮食文化差异及中餐菜名英译中的几个问题

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Food, an essential prerequisite for the existence and development of mankind, remains a close relation with culture, and food culture varies with nations. Therefore, there are great disparities between China and the English countries in ideas, attitudes, contents and functions of dietary cultures. This paper endeavors to analyze the cultural differences and their rooted causes in Chinese and English dietary cultures from the perspectives of concept, etiquette and content. At last it emphasizes that the interpreters cultural awareness plays an important role in the interpretation.Key Words: dietary culture; Chinese dish names; cultural awareness; C/E interpretation摘 要 本文通过探讨中西方饮食文化的差异以及结合实例归纳总结中式菜肴名称的翻译方法和技巧,指出影响中西方餐桌文化口译工作的因素。餐桌上的口译必然与饮食有关，饮食与文化更是密不可分。不同的民族造就了不同的饮食文化，所以饮食文化具有浓郁的民族性和多样性特点。中国与英美等西方国家对饮食的观点和态度，饮食内容以及饮食特点等方面都存在着显著的差异。本文就餐饮文化方面着重分析了中国与英美等西方国家在饮食观念，宴会礼仪，饮食内容等方面的跨文化差异，揭示了饮食文化差异对中餐菜名英译的影响。同时通过中式菜名的翻译的事例来加以分析说明译员跨文化意识的重要性。关键词：饮食文化；中式菜肴名称；文化意识；英译Contents1. Introduction12. The differences between Chinese and English countries dietary cultures1 2.1 Differences in concept1 2.1.1 Sensibility vs. practicality1 2.1.2 Complexity vs. simplicity2 2.2 Differences in table manners3 2.2.1 Different table-wares: chopsticks vs. forks3 2.2.2 Different concepts regarding the time of attendance3 2.2.3 Different arrangements of seats4 2.3 Differences in contents4 2.3.1 Refinements vs. nutrients4 2.3.2 Differences of dish names4 3. Some points for interpreting Chinese dishes into English5 3.1 Some methods of dish names translation5 3.1.1 The preparation work5 3.1.2 Literal translation5 3.1.3 Liberal translation6 3.1.4 The combination of literal and liberal translation6 3.2 The cross-cultural awareness of the interpreter7 3.2.1 Study the dietary culture7 3.2.2 Know the level of guests understanding of Chinese culture7 3.2.3 Actively participate in the cultural communication84. Conclusion85. Notes106. Bibliography1. Introduction In recent years, with the rapid development of the Chinese economy and the influences of entering the WTO, the international communication activities between China and foreign countries are becoming more and more popular. Making friends during banquet is a kind of common form of communication. It is a good way to show ones love and friendship to others, help to create a harmonious cooperation atmosphere between business partners to publicize the Chinese dietary culture. The Chinese people, who are well known for their hospitality both at home and abroad, should not miss such chances to introduce their various delicacies to foreign friends. On such occasions, the interpreter, as a bridge over people from different countries, plays a tremendously important role in the process of their communication. However, in recent years, some interpreters are often misunderstood by foreign guests because of their lack of cross-culture awareness and their inability to translate some Chinese dish names correctly. They do not know much about the differences between Chinese and English countries dietary cultures and do not pay enough attention to the translation methods for the Chinese dish name, which affects the spreading of Chinese dietary culture all over the world, and even sometimes makes foreign friends confused. Therefore, the author of this paper feels that its necessary to analyze several differences of Chinese and English countries dietary cultures, probe into some Chinese dish names translation methods, so that the Chinese profound dietary culture could be spread in a better way. 2. The differences between Chinese and English countries dietary cultures Different peoples and countries have different dietary cultures; their richness and diversity of different nationalities are also the embodiment of their creativity. China, Britain, the United States and other English countries have some different views and attitudes toward diet, and these differences might hinder interpreters from translating properly and spreading Chinese dietary culture in a better way.2.1 differences in concept2.1.1 Sensibility vs. practicality In China, diet has developed to a very important part in peoples life. It is almost beyond any other material and spiritual forms, and this has been apparently reflected in peoples daily life. The seven so-called basic daily needs: firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauces, vinegar, tea, all have deep relations to diet. Eating goes through a mans whole life. When one was born, his parents would hold a birth celebration. Later when he was one month old or one year old, the family would get together and have a party again. When growing up, he would have birthday parties, wedding party and even funeral dinner held for him by his descendants when he passes away. When a visitor comes, he would prepare for the guest a formal dinner, which is called welcome dinner. He would invite friends to have dinner together when he moves into a new house, is promoted in his company or has solved a serious problem. All these show that people in China like eating with much emotions, for dinners have provided them lots of chances to show their love for friends, and exchange information. Even some emotional turmoil would be calmed down during the dinner time. Behind the form of eating, there are a profuse psychological and cultural significance, as well as peoples recognition and understanding of society, which embody a more profound social meaning. Eating not only has some original communication function, but has already transformed into an adjustment of social life and psychology.In Britain, U.S.A. and other English countries, eating is regarded as a way of communication and a necessary survival means. American psychologist Abraham Maslow divides humans needs into five levels in his famous theory Law of Demand. Eating is classified into the first layer, which is the lowest level of human requirements. Lin Yutang, a famous Chinese anthropological scholar, once said, “The diet concepts of people from English countries are different from those of the Chinese. They think that eating is just an act giving your body nutrients, like injecting fuel to a machine, to ensure its normal operation. As long as they are healthy enough to resist diseases, they care little about other problems.”1 Therefore, in the minds of the English people, eating just plays a life-sustaining role in their life. We can see clearly that the English people would not assign more important missions to eating, which has been done by the Chinese people for a long time.2.1.2. Complexity vs. simplicity There is a fundamental difference between Chinese andd English countries banquet concepts. Chinese people pay much attention to the dinner itself and its arrangement. They provide profuse wine and courses, including ten main courses at a formal banquet, besides snacks, desserts, rice or noodles in the whole procedure of a dinner. The more sumptuous dishes the host prepares, the better the hosts hospitality and guests social status are reflected.In English countries, grand banquet is usually no more than six dishes and much simpler when it is only a kind of common dinner. Sometimes friends in the United States would all contribute to a dinner, which is called potluck, 2 and means that each person has taken a dish for sharing. It is evident that it creates opportunities for friends to get together and exchange ideas. It is reminiscent of friendships and provides access for them to get information. It is subject to the concept of English countries banquet that the most important thing of a banquet lies not in the dishes themselves, but in the diversifying form of liberalization. The owner should try to create a relaxing, harmonious and cheerful atmosphere, let the guests enjoy the freedom of a wonderful time. Generally, that is the first purpose of a banquet in English countries.2.2 Differences in table manners Table manners seem to be especially important both in China and English countries. Different table manners have formed during centuries because of different cultural backgrounds. An excellent interpreter always knows how to take advantages of such differences to make the interpreting process smoother.2.2.1 Different table-wares: chopsticks vs. forksOn the dinner tables, the most obvious difference is the choices of their table wares. The Chinese use chopsticks to clamp rice and dishes, while people from English countries cut food with their forks. Clearly, these different consumption patterns are not an accidental phenomenon. Since ancient times, the Chinese people have been farming on land, and nowadays the majority of the Chinese are still farmers. In such a cultural environment, people usually live on cereal-based food, tending to live and work in peace, stressing the preciousness of stability, opposing aggression and attacks. While many people from English countries were hunters in the past. They lived on meat-based diet. In order to be able to survive in the cruel circumstances, they must be good at hunting, and be offensive, aggressive. Gradually they have developed an adventurous character trait. 3 These two cultural preferences are almost contrast to each other. So what is reflected in the diet tends to be the choices of their table wares and their eating ways.2.2.2 Different concepts regarding the time of attendancePunctuality seems to be a common term that is appreciated by every person. But people from different cultural backgrounds have different understanding of this term. Some people habitually cant be punctual.American renowned anthropologist Edward T. Hall, one of trans-cultural founders who study human relation thinks that time is a kind of commercial food which can be treated and used in different ways.4 So no matter in what situations, people from English countries arrive on time. However, in China, people are prone to be late except in some very formal and very important dinners. Shanshanlaichi is usually used to describe such guests who are going to attend friends party not on time. Various reasons cause people to be late when attending dinners. To westerners surprise, the host accepts their unpunctuality, and has prepared some entertainment activities for the other guests during the waiting time. Both the host and guests feel it is common, not regarding it as impolite. In contrast, in English countries being late when one is invited to attend a dinner party is thought to be impolite to the host and the rest of the guests. So when an English guest is at a Chinese dinner, waiting, the interpreter should give proper explanations when some Chinese friends are late, so as to eliminate misunderstandings.2.2.3 Differences in the arrangements of seatsThe arrangement of guests seats is also an important way to show peoples social status and personal relationship. In different countries, the layout of seats is different. Hall once said space speaks5 to describe the role of space. In China, the guests who are usually respected most would sit in the south of the table. The common friends sit in the north part of the table. While in ancient times, people from English countries thought the seats beside the host were the most respectable places. Another difference is the womans social status. In ancient times, Chinese women had no social status, being subordinate to men. Although Chinese womens social status has been proving and women can have dinner with men now, there is still such a phenomenon that women sit together at one table, and men sit at another table. In English countries, there is a slogan called woman first. In English countries women have taken important social places from an very early time. Women and men have dinner together and they usually sit together, which embodies that women and men are equal.2.3 Differences in contents2.3.1 Refinements vs. nutrients Great differences also exist in diet contents. From ancient to modern days, Chinese dietary culture has been improved to various dietary branches such as Lu, Chuan, E, Min, Shu, Zhe, Xiang, Hui. The dishes exquisiteness has been embodied in every branch. This dietary consciousness has penetrated into the whole process of dietary activity in an unconscious way. The process of choosing the materials, cooking, matching, using table-wares and even the eating environment, all have highlighted the dishes exquisiteness. Compared with Chinese food, English countries food is simple, lacking a kind of nice atmosphere. Moreover, their cooking technology is inferior to Chinas and many branches of English food were brought in from foreign countries. But judging from their nutrition value, English countries food emphasizes on their nutrition, and tries to make the food unsalted and keeps the balance of various nutrients. The English people think that eating is just a way to keep fit. No matter what they eat, no matter how simple the dinner is, they keep their eyes on their nutrition, and are sometimes ignorant of their taste. 2.3.2 The difference of dish names The names of Chinese food include lots of Chinese history stories and information of Chinese culture. For instance,东坡肉，宫爆鸡丁，霸王别姬，佛跳墙, etc. On the contrary, English dishes names are much simpler. We can see what well eat from the names of dishes. For example, Kentucky fried chicken, Italian noodles and fries beefsteak etc. This phenomenon has also reflected English peoples fast pace of life.3. Some points for interpreting Chinese dishes into English3.1 Some methods of dish names translation The names of Chinese dishes are really rich. No matter what dishes the interpreter has to translate, he had better tell the foreign friends what materials they contain, how they are cooked and so on. If time permits, the interpreter could give an introduction about their nutrient value, related folk stories, and history stories, which will not only promote their appetite, but spread our Chinese dietary culture and make the atmosphere more harmonious.3.1.1 The preparation work Before interpretation, the interpreter has to make some preparations. Firstly, he should get to know the theme of the interpretation work, including the professional knowledge in other various fields if possible. These are the basic elements for doing a nice job. Secondly, the interpreter has to learn some relevant terminologies. E.g.: The words or phrases of cooking: simmering, stewing, braising, frying, boiling, baking, steaming, smoking, scolding, stuffing; to quick-fry, to stir-fry, to deep fry, to twice cook, to pan-fry, to roast, to toast, to rinse, to grill, to spice, etc. The words of condiment: brawn sauce, white sauce, tomato sauce, onion, ginger, sesame oil, monosodium glutamate sugar, vinegar, salt, etc. The common ingredients: pork, fish, fillet, bean curd, sparerib, garlic, beef, steak, mutton, lamb chop, chicken duck, shark-fin, abalone, scallop, sea cucumber, birds nest, bears paw, monkeys brains, etc. The ways of using a knife include: slicing, shredding, filleting, dicing, cubing, grinding, mashing, etc. The main taste: salty, chilly, spicy, hot, sour, sweet, etc.3.1.2 Literal translation Literal translation refers to an adequate representation of the original. 6 That is to say, the interpreter can translate a dish with its cooking method, its ingredients or its taste. E.g.:红烧鱼 : Braised fish in brawn sauce 冬菇菜芯: Winter mushroom with green cabbage 青椒肉丝: Shredded pork with green peeper 怪味鸡: Multi-flawed chicken 炒肉丝: Sauted pork slices炖牛肉: Stewed beef 清蒸桂鱼: Steamed mandarin fish 煎鸡蛋: Fried eggs 回锅肉: Twice cooked pork or double cooked pork7 If there are large numbers of cooking terminologies in the interpreters mind, it wont be too difficult for him to translate the dish names literally, and would not cause misunderstanding in most cases.3.1.3 Liberal translation Liberal translation is also called free translation, which does not adhere strictly to the literal meaning or the word order of the original. 8 It is the word elegance that the names of Chinese dishes focus on. In order to keep their elegance, many dish names are completely different from their original materials. E.g.: 炒双冬 is translated into fried winter mushrooms and winter bamboo shoots, because 双冬refers to winter mushroom and winter bamboo, but from the Chinese name we dont know what we will eat. 三鲜汤: Soup with fish, shrimp and pork balls. The interpreter has to refer to its original materials. Many names of Chinese dishes use metaphors to add their vividness 翡翠虾仁: Stir-fried shrimps with peas 积雪银钟: Stewed mushrooms with white gangues蚂蚁上树: Sauted bean vermicelli with spicy meat sauce.These names, if translated literally, might cause misunderstandings. Here the author exemplifies the translations of several Chinese dishes just for reference. For examples, some people translate 霸王别姬 into “the king is saying goodbye to his beloved woman”; 全家幅is translated into “a photograph of the whole family”, which make the quests feel confused and still dont know at all what they will eat at last.3.1.4 The combination of literal and liberal translationThis translation method means that some dishes can be translated literally, but some explanations should be added. They can be divided into four groups.The first group refers to those names of dishes that include some famous peoples names. For example, 东坡肉can be translated into “poet Dong Pos braised pork”. Then the interpreter should explain that Su Dongpo was a famous poet in the Song Dynasty. 毛式红烧肉can be translated as “chairman Maos stewed pork with soy sauce”, then the interpreter can add that Chairman Mao was a great leader in China. 麻婆豆腐can be translated as “bean curd with minced pork in hot sauce”, and then you add that Mapo was the creator of this dish.The second group relates to the names which include places. For example, 北京烤鸭can be translated as “Beijing roast duck”, then you add that Beijing food is always delicious and wonderful. 成都子鸡can be translated as “stir-fried small chicken in Chengdu style”, with explanation that Sichuan food is characterized by its spicy and hot flavor. Its spicy and hot. 10The third group means the dishes which contain folk stories. 叫花鸡 can be translated into