Translation Theory||Translation of Qin dialect terms

This article is transferred from: Drama Network, Translator

During this period, Chinese and foreign translators put forward a series of translation standards and methods, such as the famous Nida's "equivalence" theory, Yan Fu's "letter, reach, and elegance" translation standards, the German functional school's "teleology" and other translation standards, and translation methods such as literal translation, paraphrase translation, and transliteration. These theories interact with each other and provide a reliable theoretical basis for current translation practice. Guided by these theories and with reference to the more mature translations of Peking Opera, the author has made a tentative translation of the terms of the Qin dialect, and systematically analyzed the translation methods, which has certain reference value for the translation of the Qin dialect in the future.

One

Trial translation of Qin dialect terms

• 1. Translation of Qin dialect performance techniques

There are four main performance techniques of singing, reading, doing, and playing:

唱 singing

念 reciting

做 acting

打 acrobatics

• 2. Translation of Qin dialect terms

In order to perform all kinds of characters with different temperaments and personalities, they have produced a profession in opera. Generally speaking, the opera industry can be roughly divided into sheng, dan, pure and ugly. Here, according to the different nature of the trades, the author uses the paraphrase method to translate the four major trades as:

生 male role

旦 female role

净 painted-face role

丑 clown

On the other hand, Sheng, Dan, Jing and Chou are the unique names of Chinese opera, and you can refer to the translation method of Chinese cuisine "dumplings", "buns" and "steamed buns", and directly transliterate the four major lines in Chinese pinyin as:

Sheng

旦 And

净 Jing

丑 Cabbage

Qin Xiangxing is known as the "Thirteen Doors and Twenty-Eight Categories", which refers to the old students, Xu Sheng, Xiao Sheng, Wu Sheng, Doll Sheng, Zhengdan, Xiao Dan, Lao Dan, Matchmaker, Hua Dan, Dajing, Vice Jing and Chou. Similarly, according to the characteristics and essence of each trade, the author translates them as follows:

老生 elderly male role

须生 male role with a beard

小生 young male role

武生 acrobatic male role

娃娃生 child male role

正旦 chief female role or chief Dan

小旦 young maiden

老旦 elderly female role

媒旦 matchmaker role

花旦 piquant female role

大净 primary painted-face role or leading Jing

毛净 secondary painted-face role or supporting Jing

丑 clown or Chou

• 3. Translation of Qin dialect mask terms

The overall composition and type of Qin cavity mask The overall composition of Qin cavity face mask is composed of color, ornamentation, pattern and geometric figures such as square, circle, long and flat (including the forehead and face parts of the character). In terms of overall composition, the Qin cavity face mask mainly includes the whole face, broken face, old face, young face, three tile faces, four big faces, yin and yang faces, tofu block faces, chicken heart faces, crooked faces, spin faces, ingots faces, waist faces, two-bore faces and so on. When naming the Chinese name of the Qin cavity face, it is based on the appearance characteristics of the face as the main naming standard, for example, the three tile face is a picture that further exaggerates the eyebrows, eyes and nose on the basis of the whole face, and uses lines to outline two eyebrows and a nose socket, and the structure is very similar to three tiles, so it is called "three tile faces". On the other hand, when naming a face, it is sometimes named according to the characteristics of the character depicted in the mask, such as the young face and the old face are named according to the age of the person depicted. Combined with the Chinese naming standards of the Qin cavity face, the author tries English to describe the appearance and characteristics of the face, and translates the main Qin cavity face as follows:

整脸 full face

碎脸 multi-patterned fragmented face

老脸 elderly man’s face

少脸 young man’s face

三块瓦脸 three-tile phase

四大块脸 four-tile face

阴阳脸 yinyang face

豆腐块脸 beancurd-shaped face

鸡心脸 chicken heart-shaped face

歪脸 twisted face

旋脸 gyrate face

元宝脸 gold ingot shaped face

腰子脸 kidney-shaped face

两膛脸 two sectioned face

Generally speaking, there are eight kinds of techniques, commonly known as the "Eight Methods of Hooking the Face", namely washing, wiping, kneading, hooking, strangle, meaning, sticking, and hanging. It can be seen that the Chinese expressions of the eight techniques are all verbs, that is, the techniques used to draw faces, and the author translates "Eight Methods of Hooking Faces" as follows according to the practical operation essentials and characteristics of the eight techniques:

洗 wash

抹 smear

Knead rub

勾 outlined

勒 tighten

意 add a crowning touch

粘 glue

挂 hang

• 4. Translation of Qin costume and prop terms

The classification of costumes in the traditional Qin opera is generally determined by packing, and there are four categories: coat box, second suitcase, third suitcase, and head hat box. The coat box is in charge of uniforms, mainly male pythons, female pythons, male and female official clothes, horse coats, robes, pleats, drapery, etc. The trial translation is as follows:

蟒袍 ceremonial robe

官衣 official dress

马褂 mandarin jacket

道袍 Dress

褶子 pleated dress

帔 short embroidered cape

The second suitcase is in charge of armament, mainly relying on, arrow clothes (slit robes, including dragon arrows), soldier clothes, dragon suits, etc. The trial translation is as follows:

靠 armor

箭衣（开衩袍，包括龙箭） arrow resist dress

兵卒衣 tiredness

龙套衣 walk-on parts’ dress

The three suitcases are dedicated to boots, shoes, harlequin clothes, padded clothing for actors, and various canes. The trial translation is as follows:

靴 boot

把杖 staff

The head hat box is dedicated to all kinds of helmets, crowns, scarves, hats, helmets, hat wings, mouth strips (whiskers), hair buns and other head accessories. The author's trial translation is as follows:

盔 helmet

冠 crown

巾 turban

帽 hat

Mouth strip (whisker) beard

Bun bob

Two

Methods of translating Qin dialect terms

Words are the smallest unit of translation, and the discussion of the translation method of Qin dialect terms has important reference significance for the translation of Qin dialect passages and the translation of Qin dialect scripts in the future. Generally speaking, there are four main methods for translating words: literal translation, paraphrase translation, transliteration, and a combination of transliteration and paraphrasing.

• 1. The application of literal translation in Qin dialect translation

Literal translation refers to the method of completely retaining the referential meaning of Chinese words in the English translation without violating the English cultural tradition, and seeking consistency between the content and the form. (3) The literal translation method is often used in the translation of Qin dialect terms, which can make the Qin dialect vocabulary be well transformed in both content and form, which is conducive to the dissemination of cultural information. For example, in the translation of Qin Dialect Facial Mask, the literal translation method is generally adopted, which can better convey the rich information of Qin Dialect Facial Mask, express the profound connotation of Qin Dialect Facial Mask, and allow the translated readers to more accurately grasp the characteristics of various facial masks, such as: full face, multi-patterned fragmented face, chicken heart-shaped face, etc.

• 2. The application of paraphrasing in Qin dialect translation

Paraphrasing refers to the method in which the translator has to abandon the literal meaning of the original text in order to make the translated text consistent with the content of the original text and similar to the main language function when the translator is limited by the social and cultural differences of the target language. Human history is long, the culture of various ethnic groups is colorful, people live in different environments, the understanding of nature and society will change, language is the carrier of culture, so there must be a lot of vocabulary vacancy, many terms in the Qin dialect are typical representatives of cultural vacancy. In this case, the translator may use paraphrasing to appropriately discard the literal meaning of the original text and strive to unify the content of the translated text and the original text. For example, when translating the python robe, the translator did not directly translate it literally, but grasped the characteristics of the python robe and translated it into ceremonial robe, so that the translated readers could understand the python robe more accurately and quickly, and avoid misunderstandings caused by cultural differences. For another example, in the process of translating the "Eight Methods of Hooking the Face", several techniques such as "washing, wiping, and kneading" are easier to understand, but the sixth technique, "meaning", is not intuitive enough to understand. Therefore, when translating, it is necessary for the translator to have a deep grasp of the text, not to look at the meaning of the text, but to simply translate it literally, and to have an in-depth understanding of the technique of "meaning", to be clear about its practical operation essentials and characteristics, and to express it accurately. After verification, "Yi" is actually based on the completion of the first five parts, just like the effect of "finishing touch", which makes it vivid, which is why the author translates "Yi" as add acrowning touch.

• 3. The application of transliteration in Qin dialect translation

Transliteration refers to a translation method that retains the pronunciation of Chinese in the English translation with phonemes as a unit in order to highlight the main language functions of the original text. (3) The symbol system of the language is not closed, and under certain conditions, foreign symbols can be absorbed to form foreign words, and when some proper nouns or terms cannot find suitable corresponding words in the process of translation, transliteration can be used to make up for the gap in words. Translating "Mapo Tofu" into Mapo Tofu is a prime example of transliteration. In the translation of Qin dialect terms, transliteration can also be used, such as translating Qin dialect Xingdang into Sheng, Dan, Jing, Chou, etc., such a translation version is also a unique embodiment of the unique culture of the nation. 4. The use of transliteration and transliteration in Qin dialect translation: Transliteration and transliteration combined method refers to the English translation that not only retains the pronunciation of the original text, but also reflects the referential meaning of the original text, and achieves functional similarity in a homophonic and harmonious way. The general form is to add an ideographic word before or after pinyin, so that the translation can not only maintain the cultural character, but also conform to the English expression habits, and make it easy for foreigners to understand. For example, the yin and yang face in the translation of the Qin dialect yinyang face, Zhengdan chief Dan, Dajing leading Jing and so on.

Three

Conclusion

This traditional art form should be protected. However, while protecting it, we should also make it more extensive. The more we look at traditional Chinese culture from the perspective of the world, the more regional and unique Chinese traditional culture is, and Qin dialect is no exception.

About the Author:

Zhang Bihang (1982-), female, from Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, Xi'an University of Science and Technology, School of Foreign Chinese, Teaching Assistant, Master of Arts, main research directions: foreign Chinese linguistics and applied linguistics, translation theory and translation practice.

Sun Hongbing (1977-), a native of Qianxian County, Shaanxi Province, is a teaching assistant at the School of Humanities of Xi'an Polytechnic University, with a master's degree in literature, and his main research interests are translation and cognitive linguistics.