文化詞彙之英譯分析研究：以孫子兵法為例

全文

(1)國立臺灣師範大學翻譯研究所碩士論文 A Thesis Presented to The Graduate Institute of Translation and Interpretation National Taiwan Normal University. 文化詞彙之英譯分析研究：以孫子兵法為例 Translating Cultural-Specific Items: Sun Tzu’s The Art of War as a Case Study 指導教授：胡宗文. 博士. Thesis Advisor: Dr. Daniel Hu 研究生：李唯佳. 撰. By: Clara Mae Lee 中華民國 106 年 1 月 11 日.

(2) Abstract In Translation Studies, many studies and articles have been written on the topic of translating cultural-specific items. Bilinguals, polyglots, and anyone interested in culture or language will realize that language and culture are interconnected. The cultural influences in language are ever present and have a big impact in terms of Translation Studies. In Translation Studies, there is generally a two-sided approach when it comes to translating cultural-specific items (CSI). The first approach is source-language orientation, in which the primary objective is to convey the source text’s CSI and other aspects into the target text. Target-language orientation takes the opposite approach, in which the goal is to have the CSI conform to the target text. This general concept was established by the German theologian and philosopher Friedrich Schleiermacher. This thesis covers various strategies, and using these Translation Studies strategies to analyze CSI present in Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, in hopes of finding the best method to translate CSI. Since one of the main difficulties a translator faces are culture-specific items, this study aims to discover possible solutions to help resolve the CSI issue while translating. Besides finding strategies to deal with CSI, this research will also focus on how three well established translators handle the CSI situation. The methods that will be used are explained below. First, the researcher will utilize a hybrid of Peter Newmark and Elaine Espindola and Maria Lúcia Vasconcellos categorization strategies to categorize and organize the discovered cultural-specific items found within the Chinese version of The Art of War. Next, after organizing the CSIs into categories, the researcher will proceed to then distinguish if the three English translators utilized any of Jean-Paul Vinay and Jean Darbelnet’s seven translation procedures and Monica Baker’s omission. In terms of the main findings, this research has discovered that each translator.

(3) interprets CSI differently. Thus, depending on the translator’s interpretation, background and career as a translator, they will select a certain strategy.. Keywords: Sun Tzu, The Art of War, culture-specific items, translation strategies, sourcelanguage and target-language orientation, Mona Baker, Peter Newmark, Jean-Paul Vinay & Jean Darbelnet. 2.

(4) 摘要在翻譯學領域中，關於文化詞彙的探討文獻很多，其實語言與文化兩者之間有緊密的關聯性，兩者會互相影響，而在翻譯時，文化更是影響譯文的一大關鍵。在翻譯理論中，通常採取兩種不同的理論來翻譯，第一種方式是原文取向，主要目的是在譯文中把原文的文化詞彙完整地表達出來，並能保存原文的文化特色與意涵；至於第二種方式，則是適度地轉換原文的文化詞彙，選擇譯文文化中可與之對應的詞彙來翻譯原文。這兩種理論是由一位德國哲學家 Friedrich Schleiermacher 所提出的。因為在翻譯領域中，譯者常會遭遇的問題之一，便是如何翻譯文化詞彙，因此本研究主要是以孫子兵法為分析文本，期待能找出較適合的翻譯策略，來翻譯孫子兵法中所出現的文化詞彙。此外，除了找出適合的翻譯策略以外，也會比較不同譯者的譯文，分析其他譯者在翻譯孫子兵法時，如何選擇翻譯策略來處理文化詞彙，說明文化的差別性。本研究使用 Peter Newmark、Elaine Espindola 和 Maria Lúcia Vasconcellos 所提出的文化詞彙類別理論作為分析架構，以找出孫子兵法中，具文化特色的詞彙，來進行比較、分析。接下來，用 Jean-Paul Vinay 與 Jean Darbelnet 的七種翻譯策略，以及 Mona Baker 的省略策略來分析，以了解各譯者傾向使用哪些策略來翻譯孫子兵法中的文化詞彙。而本研究結果發現，每位譯者會使用不同的策略來翻譯文化詞彙，而譯者的文化背景、職業也會影響他們在翻譯文化詞彙時的取向。關鍵詞：孫子、孫子兵法、文化詞彙、翻譯策略、原文與譯文的翻譯取向.

(5) Contents Chapter 1 Background.........................................................................................................................1 1.1 Sun Tzu the man, English versions of The Art of War, and Background of the Problem ..................1 1.2 Statement & Background of the Problem....................................................................................5 1.3 Significance of the Problem .......................................................................................................6 Chapter 2 Literature Review ................................................................................................................8 2.1 Culture and Translation .............................................................................................................8 2.2 Source & Target Language Orientation / Direct and Oblique Translations ................................... 16 2.2.1 Jean-Paul Vinay & Jean Darbelnet (1958) ........................................................................... 18 2.2.2 Categories of CSI .............................................................................................................. 20 2.2.3 Mona Baker’s Omission (1994) .......................................................................................... 23 2.2.4 Javier Franco Aixela’s Culture-specific items (1996) ............................................................ 24 2.3 The Adopted Culture-Specific Items Classification Process ......................................................... 25 Chapter 3 Methodology .................................................................................................................... 26 3.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................ 26 3.2 Setting.................................................................................................................................... 27 3.3 Materials ................................................................................................................................ 28 3.4 Procedural Steps and Data Analysis .......................................................................................... 29 Chapter 4 Results.............................................................................................................................. 31 4.1 Toponyms............................................................................................................................... 31 4.2 Measuring Systems ................................................................................................................. 39 4.3 Customs & Ideas ..................................................................................................................... 47 4.4 Idioms & Metaphors................................................................................................................ 58 Chapter 5 Conclusion........................................................................................................................ 66 5.1 Summary ................................................................................................................................ 66 5.2 Findings.................................................................................................................................. 67 5.3 Limitations of the Study........................................................................................................... 71 5.4 Recommendations for Research............................................................................................... 72 References ....................................................................................................................................... 74.

(6) Tables and Figures Table 1 Vinay and Darbelnet’s Model (1958) .............................................................. 18 Table 2 Eastern and Western senses ............................................................................. 55 Table 3 Frequency of Strategy Usage ........................................................................... 70 Table 4 Examples organized by proposed categorization process................................ 71. Figure 1 Landforms....................................................................................................... 37 Figure 2 Pincer Movement............................................................................................ 64 Figure 3 Lunar Phases................................................................................................... 47 Figure 4 Lunar mansion constellations ......................................................................... 47. 2.

(7) Chapter 1 Background 1.1 Sun Tzu the man, English versions of The Art of War, and Background of the Problem Sun Tzu, a mysterious figure born in ancient China, at a time when turmoil was ever prevalent, is also the author an important Chinese treatise on military strategies and tactics. The information that we do know about him are from ancient historians like Sima Qian (司馬遷). In his Historical Records (completed in 100 B.C.) Sima writes that Sun Tzu was a native of Ch’I State (齊國), who presented The Art of War to Ho-lu (闔閭), the king of Wu State (吳) during 6th century B.C (Griffith, 1963, p. iii). But even though Sima’s Historical Records state that Sun Tzu’s treatise did exist during this period, many scholars have questioned the validity of the date of the treatise’s existence. For instance, an 11th century Song scholar, Yeh Cheng-tse (葉適), suspected that Sun Tzu never existed and that The Art of War was a “fabrication of disputatious sophists” written during the Warring States period (453-221 B.C.) (Griffith, 1963, p. 1). According to Sima, Sun Tzu was a general of Wu State during the reign of King Ho-lu, but Yeh states that he is not mentioned in Tso Ch’iu Ming’s (左丘明) commentary in the Spring and Autumn Annals of the Lu State. Yeh also refutes the assumption that armies during the Spring and Autumn period were commanded by rulers, members of their families, powerful liege, or trusted ministers, noting that it was only during the Warring States period that armies were commanded by professional generals (Walker, 1953, p.939). Since much of Sun Tzu’s life is shrouded in mystery, many have arrived at the same conclusion: we will never truly be sure of Sun Tzu’s existence. Ergo, there will be a few things that will remain a mystery: when was Sun Tzu born, what was the exact time period of his existence, was he really a general, did he write The Art of War, and so on. These are just a few questions that will remain unanswered in the. 1.

(8) absence of new evidence. Therefore we must conclude that The Art of War is authorship unsettled. Even to this day, most his life remains quite a mystery. The man known as Sun Tzu, whoever he might be, is best known as the author of the military treatise known as The Art of War (孫子兵法). Sun Tzu’s treatise doesn’t include how to utilize weapons or how to train soldiers, but rather gives strategic suggestions to the commander. The thirteen chapters in his treatise explain what commanders should avoid or do in regard to how to treat the soldiers, their morale, or even how to utilize spies. There are various topics that Sun Tzu covers, and they all correlate to not only war but how to successfully obtain victory. The ancient Chinese format of the treatise, as previously stated, has thirteen chapters. The format of the text is unlike traditional novels, where there are paragraphs that divide each idea. Rather the format of Sun Tzu’s treatise is organized in short verses, similar to that of a poem. Since ancient Chinese utilizes characters differently than that of modern day Chinese, the length of ancient Chinese sentences are much shorter in length but still retain a lengthy meaning. The format for the English translations of The Art of War varies: some translators have decided to use a numbering system for each verse, while others have opted to keep the format of the original ancient Chinese text. English Translations of The Art of War The first Western translation of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War was published in Paris in 1782, by a Jesuit Father, Joseph Amiot (Giles, 1904, p. vii). Amiot’s translation gave other Western countries easier access to the text and eventually this French translation paved a path to allow other Latin based languages access the ancient Chinese text of The Art of War. The following paragraphs below introduce the translators behind the three of its many English translation of Sun Tzu’s treatise.. 2.

(9) The first translator that we will discuss is that of Brigadier General Samuel B. Griffith (May 31, 1906 – March 27, 1983) (Ban, 2012, p. 1-2). On Amazon’s best sellers rank, Griffith’s translation of The Art of War is placed at 28,1041 (rank # 1 is the best seller). Griffith served in the United States Marine Corps and participated in World War II. Upon his retirement from the Marine Corps, in 1961 he attended Oxford College to earn his Doctorate of Philosophy (D.Phil.) in Chinese Military History (Ban, 2012, p. 1-2). His thesis topic was the translation of Sun Tzu's The Art of War. Even though there are many translations of The Art of War, Griffith's translation is a requirement at the Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College (Ban, 2012, p. v). Many various translations stress the philosophical aspects of Sun Tzu's work but Griffith, on the other hand, focuses on the military ideologies, which one can expect from a translator having a military background.. The second translator is Ralph Sawyer, who studied Chinese Intellectual History at Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and National Taiwan University (sonshi.net,. “ Ralph. Sawyer interview,” n.d.). On Amazon’s best sellers rank, Sawyer’s. translation of The Art of War is placed at 224,4742 (rank # 1 is the best seller). Sawyer is also a translator and has contributed many translations such as Ling Ch'I Ching, The Seven Military Classics of Ancient China, and Sun Pin's Military Methods (sonshi.net,. “ Ralph. Sawyer. interview,” n.d.). Sawyer was intrigued with Chinese studies just when the Vietnam War was intensifying. As mentioned in the interview, Sawyer believes that Chinese military history was. 1 1 Amazon. Best Seller Ranking. https://www.amazon.com/Art-War-B-LiddellHart/dp/0195014766/ref=sr_1_ 4?ie=UTF8&qid=1484304911&sr=8-4&key words=sun+tzu+the+art+of+war 2 https://www.amazon.com/Art-War-HistoryWarfare/dp/081331951X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1484305042&sr=8 -2&key words=sun+tzu+sawyer. 3.

(10) unstudied and depreciated. Not only a scholar but also a businessman, he stated that The Art of War not only reflects the dynamics of business but also can apply to daily livelihood. Having read Sawyer's translation, it is apparent that his translation does a thorough job of focusing on the more military and political aspects of The Art of War. Sawyer spends a great effort into translating various ancient Chinese weapons that are utilized during the Warring State period of China.. The last translator to be considered is Thomas Cleary (born in 1949) with a Ph.D. in East Asian Languages and Civilizations from Harvard University and a J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley (sonshi.net,. “ Thomas. Cleary interview,” n.d.). On Amazon’s best sellers. rank, Cleary’s translation of The Art of War is placed at 26,5223 (rank # 1 is the best seller). He has also translated various books dealing with East Asian religions. In 1988 he published his translation and interpretation of The Art of War. Cleary's translation differs vastly from Griffith's, its focus being on the more religious and philosophical side of Sun Tzu's manual. Cleary's translation ties in ideas from I Ching and Tao Te Ching (sonshi.net,. “ Thomas. Cleary interview,”. n.d.). In an interview, Cleary indicates that he first took an interest in translation when he was a teenager and at the time was also interested in Buddhism. During his interview, Cleary mentioned that one of the main reasons he took the challenge to translate The Art of War was because many western versions focused primarily on the military and political aspect of The Art of War. Cleary wanted to ‘breathe life’ to the text by adding and focusing on the religious and philosophical aspects such as tying in his translation with Taoism (sonshi.net, interview,” n.d.).. 3. https://www.amazon.com/Art-War-Translation-Shambhala -Libraryebook/dp/B00DC6Q30U/ ref=mt_kindle?_encoding=UTF8&me=. 4. “ Thomas. Cleary.

(11) 1.2 Statement & Background of the Problem Language, the means to communicate within the same species, is an important tool of human expression. Having the ability to communicate allows the growth and proliferation of cultures and nations. Thus, this brings us to the current problem at hand, how does one cross language barriers and able to explain and translate culture-specific items (CSI) that occur within each language. In the field of Translation Studies there are two main views on how to translate CSI. Some argue that culture and translation harmoniously exist and with the suitable procedures can be translated, while others believe that cultural-specific items are untranslatable, and by trying to cross language barriers, the original meaning becomes lost in translation. Regardless of what people believe, language and culture can coexist and there are various examples, such as translated ancient texts, that show us language and culture can work harmoniously and that there are possible methods to solve CSI differences. This thesis will aim to cover the following issues: how do culture and language coexist, how do the three translators mentioned above approach and translate CSI, what recurring translation principles will be applied when rendering CSI, and which translations and its methods are most suitable to translate culture differences in different languages.. This thesis aims to use three of many well-known English translations of Sun Tzu’s treatise to understand what strategies these successful translators used to overcome culturespecific items while translating. Besides discovering what strategies these three translators might utilize, the researcher believes that there is a possible solution to quell the CSI headache, even if some scholars and translators think otherwise. The theories mentioned in this research are commonly taught to students when taking Translation Studies courses. By selecting these three 5.

(12) commonly seen and taught theories, the researcher aims to show readers and translators that there indeed is a possible method to overcome CSI’s when translating. But where does this problem stem from? Although this is a very open-ended question, the origins of the research problem derive from culture and language. The researcher believes that culture and language are two peas in a pod. Certainly, there are other outlets of representing culture such as music or art, but language is the core, or ‘building block,’ of culture and society. Many people believe that the translator's job is to simply render the original text’s meaning into the target text, simple as that no ifs or buts, but translating is not as black and white as it may seem. Hidden within Translation Studies is a thin line of gray that readers and ‘outsiders’ are not aware of or often overlook. These gray areas that are present while translating are invisible to the reader and publisher, and are only seen by the translator. One of the most common problems that occur within this gray area of Translation Studies is translating the source text or target text's culture meanings. Since translation has been around for a long time, what are the possible options to handle the situation of translating culture-specific items? This thesis will try to find viable options in translating culture-specific items to facilitate future translators and inform people about the problems that translators face when dealing with CSI.. 1.3 Significance of the Problem By investigating these questions, the researcher seeks to contribute to the field of Translation Studies. By discovering possible strategies that help solve CSI problems within Translation Studies, this research hopes to show and facilitate translate and scholars that there are possible solutions to CSI. This research will utilize Sun Tzu's The Art of War (originally in ancient Chinese) and then analyze the three of many English translated text. The researcher. 6.

(13) specifically chose The Art of War because of the CSIs present within the language of ancient Chinese compared. Since the contribution of globalization, there are many ancient Chinese texts that are being translated into Latin based languages. Thus, the clash of different culture-specific items arises when translating from Chinese to English or vice versa. As previously mentioned, in Translation Studies there are two general paths (source and target language orientation) when translating CSI. By trying to discover a solution to overcome this two-sided approach, the researcher hopes to find a hybrid solution to translating CSI. This hybrid solution will of course primarily be based on and utilize Jean-Paul Vinay & Jean Darbelnet’s seven procedures and Mona Baker’s omission strategy to fill in the gap of the two sided orientation approach.. .. 7.

(14) Chapter 2 Literature Review With every academic field, there will be an unavoidable clash of theories and various opinions that might cause discord amongst pupils and scholars. Similarly, Translation Studies also has this problem. One of the most commonly discussed concepts in the field are sourcelanguage orientation and target-language orientation. By utilizing three of many English translations of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, the researcher as previously stated will focus on discovering what methods established translators used to translate CSI and to also overcome the barrier of siding with source or target orientation. By trying to solve this mystery, translators will ultimately be able to bridge different language and cultures together. This study will predominantly utilize well-established translation study theories to analyze the cultural-specific items found within the texts. The resources that are used in the literature review section of this research have come from sources such as journals and theses. The researcher organized this paragraph by introducing relevant literature, then introducing terms that will be utilized within this study and explain the tree mentioned Translation Studies theories.. 2.1 Culture and Translation Since the existence of humans, there have always been some means to communicate. The establishment of language has allowed humans and countries to cultivate culture. Ever since the growth of nations and the process of encountering various countries and their cultures, many civilizations began translating and interpreting language. Since each nation and its peoples have different culture standards, the language that they speak are also embedded with culture-specific items. When people proceeded to translate, there has always been a dilemma of how to handle. 8.

(15) culture-specific items. Linguists, anthropologists, and translators have all been stumped or hesitant as to how to handle the delicate process of translating culture nuances. Translation theorists such as Nida believe that "language reflects the culture, provides access to the culture, and in many respects constitutes a model of the culture” (Nida, 1994: 1). Many people will agree with Nida, that a language certainly does reflect its culture, and that specific language acts as gatekeeper to that culture. But there are others who believe that culture cannot be expressed through language, such as Peter Newmark. Newmark believes that on an operational level, he does not regard language as a component nor a feature of language (Newmark 1998: 95). Newmark refutes that instead there are cultural deposits within language, or specifically culture exists in grammar, he gives examples of genders of inanimate nouns, forms of address and the lexis. Even with this belief, Newmark still gives a how to classify culture items. Since there are believers and non-believers that language and culture are intertwined, where does that leave translators and translations? Which brings us to Wilhelm Von Humboldt, a linguist and a translator well aware of the translator's dilemma. Humboldt states that "All translation seems to me simply an attempt to solve an impossible task. Every translator is doomed to be done in by one of two stumbling blocks: he will either stay too close to the original, at the cost of taste and the language of his nation, or he will adhere too closely to the characteristics peculiar to his nation, at the cost of the original” (Wilss, 1982: 35). So, then what is a translator to do, if we are already doomed from the start? By logically thinking about the author and readership, the translator then translates with those two things in mind.. 9.

(16) Terms utilized Vinay and Darbelnet’s and Peter Newmark’s theories and strategies are often taught and used within Translation Studies. Although each translator has their preference as to how to translate the source text, the mentioned translation theorists are just a few of the most commonly mentioned and used methods. If the three translators utilized strategies or did not include a translation that are not within the researcher’s theoretical framework, the researcher will list it as ‘omitted.’ The following terms below will occur within this research and will provide the reader a clear understanding of what will occur within the research.. Culture-specific items (CSI)- Per Javier Franco Aixela (1996), CSI are usually expressed in a text "by means of objects or systems of classification and measurement whose use is restricted to the source culture, or by means of the transcription of opinions and by description of habits equally alien to the receiving culture" (Aixela, 1996, p.56).. Culture- According to the Collins Cobuild English dictionary, culture means relating to a particular society and its ideas, customs, and art. It consists of activities such as the arts and philosophy, which are considered in relation to its beliefs, way of life, or art (Sinclair J., 1995, p.399).. Source-language orientation (SL) - As the name of the term states is the orientation of the original text of the translation. It is also known as the ‘source text (ST)’ (Munday and Hatim p. xx).. 10.

(17) Target-language orientation (TL) - Refers to the translated text or product of the source text. This term is also known as ‘target text (TT)’ (Munday and Hatim p. xx).. Translation- Is a piece of writing or speech that has been translated from a different language (Sinclair J., 1995, p.1781).. Adaptation- As the name of the term implies, the translator would use this strategy when coming across a situation where the ST is unknown or non-existent in the TT. Therefore, translators would have to ‘adapt’ or create new situations that are equivalent to the ST (Vinay and Darbelnet, 2004, p.134).. Borrowing- Vinay and Darbelnet stated that if translators did not occasionally utilize this strategy, then this term would not be worth mentioning. Borrowing consists of the translator creating a syntactic effect, such as "introducing flavor of the source language culture into a translation, foreign terms maybe be used." In Vinay and Darbelnet t's book, they gave examples such has using Russian words as ‘roubles’ ‘datchas,’ and ‘apparatchik.’ We often see the use of borrowing with food. For instance, in English, we often see words of various source language origins being kept in the target text translation, such as ‘a la carte,’ ‘tortillas,’ ‘sushi,’ ‘kebabs,’ the list goes on (Vinay and Darbelnet, 2004, p.129).. Calque- A calque is a different type of borrowing; it entails a word or phrase that is borrowed from another language by word-for-word, literal or root meaning (Vinay and Darbelnet, 2004, p.129).. 11.

(18) Equivalence- This strategy refers to producing completely different stylistic or structural methods in the target text, but tries to maintain the general meaning of the source text. This method is often used to translate idioms and proverbs and is very useful in translating cultural differences (Vinay and Darbelnet, 2004, p.134).. Literal Translation- Like the name of the term, literal translation is the process of a "word-forword" translation. It is one of the most common translation strategies utilized. It involves "the direct transfer of the source language text into a grammatically and idiomatically appropriate target language text" (Vinay and Darbelnet, 2004, p.130).. Modulation- Refers to "a variation of the form of the message, obtained by a change in the point of view" e.g. ‘God knows’; ‘沒人知道,’ which translates to ‘no one knows’ (Vinay and Darbelnet, 2004, p.133).. Transposition- Transposition involves "replacing one-word class with another without changing the meaning of the message" (Vinay and Darbelnet, 2004, p.132).. 2.2 Relevant Literature and Reviews. The researcher has discovered other relevant literature that also focus on examining Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. The thesis conducted by Sheng-fu Lin (林聲孚) titled “A Comparative Study among Three English Translations of Sun Tzu’s Art of War: The First Six Chapters (2013)” also aims to analyze Sun Tzu’s treatise in regards to the English versions.. 12.

(19) This paragraph will give a summary, critical look at the research, establish the major achievements, areas of debate and distinguished research questions or points. The relevant literature aims to focus on and analyze English versions of Sun Tzu’s treatise but instead of focusing on cultural-specific items, aims to inform readers the best methods of translating from Chinese to English and certain translation problems that might occur. Lin decided to utilize only six chapters of The Art of War, the reason for doing so is that he believed that these six chapters establish the main idea of Sun’s military thought. He also decided to utilize four translation theories to analyze the three English texts. The following theorists and their theories are used within his research: Walter Benjamin’s Task as a Translator, Eugene Nida’s theories of equivalence, Peter Newmark’s text analysis, and Mona Baker’s different levels of translation equivalence. In terms of the English versions of Sun Tzu’s manual, Lin selected Lionel Giles, John Minford, and Roger T. Ames. Lin then proceeds to give a critical analysis of the selected English versions of The Art of War, or in other words pointing out the translation errors in the selected examples. The researcher states that the primary categories of translation error include: mistranslation, over interpretation, omission, and inappropriate translation. The data analysis and discussion chapter is organized where the reader sees a brief explanation of the translation error principle, then an example, followed by analysis. The researcher also included their suggested translation and a back translation. From a critic’s perspective, this study has left the reader with a few questions that have not been addressed within the research, one of them being the structure and organization of the paragraphs. When Lin tries to explain translation theories the content is present within the paragraph but the organization and structures the paragraph makes it difficult for the reader to follow Lin’s ideas. By doing so, readers with no prior knowledge about this field will have difficultly comprehending the meaning. In terms of Lin’s examples, he does a. 13.

(20) good job explaining the problems that occur within the translation and even adds his own translation. The question here is, should Lin have added his own translated version? How reliable is his translation? What methods did he use? Did a professor approve this translation? There are many factors that could have influenced the accuracy of Lin’s translation. The researcher did not provide answers to any of the questions mentioned above. Although his research examines translation errors, Lin does not include which strategies would be better alternatives suited to avoid these errors. Although Lin’s research shows the readers what are some possible translation errors that occur between Chinese and English translation, the last chapter does not include an aggregated table or chart of his findings. This researcher does provide some possible reasons why these errors occur, and how can they be avoided, but again does not explain how future translators can avoid these mistakes. By including a chart, graph or a more visual method of his research findings, the reader could easily grasp and understand his findings. Although Lin’s research is like this research, there are several varying factors. The biggest varying factors are the Translation Studies strategies selected and the primary goal of the research. Another varying difference is that the researcher chose to analyze all of Sun Tzu’s treatise and instead of only focusing on English translation errors, she has decided to also analyze culture-specific items that occur in The Art of War. Furthermore, the researcher also explains the strategies used by each translator and tries to discover possible strategies to overcome the CSI headache. Lastly, Lin’s research stresses the dialectical aspect of translation, whereas this research not only focuses on the linguistic aspects but also discusses culturespecific items that occur within a language and how to find a solution when it comes to translating CSI.. 14.

(21) Reviews on the The Art of War Translations Since there are few theses that focus on Sun Tzu’s treatise in regards to translation and culture, the researcher aims to discuss the reviews on the selected English translation that will be utilized in this research. In this paragraph, the researcher will cover reviews on the various translation version that are used in this research. In the following paragraphs bellow are reviews discovered onJ-stor. Please take note, the researcher has found reviews on Griffith’s and Sawyer’s translation, but there were no results for Cleary’s translation of The Art of War. The first reviewer is B.E. Wallacker, who gives his general opinion on Griffith’s translations of The Art of War. This review was published in Journal of the American Oriental Society in 1963. Wallacker begins by comparing Griffith’s translation with that of Lionel Giles. Giles, a curator who worked in the British Museum for most of his career, was a prominent translator of his time. Giles translated several ancient Chinese texts, such as: Taoist Teachings from the Book of Lieh Tzu (1912), The Art of War (1910), The Book of Mencius (1942), and A Gallery of Chinese Immortals (1948) (Minford, 2007, para. 2). Wallacker even claims that Griffith’s version can supplant Giles’ translation. The reviewer mentions that Griffith’s version varies in style rather than degree of accuracy. The next few paragraphs mention Griffith’s supplemental content. Wallacker believes that Griffith’s version surpasses older translations of The Art of War because of the extra information about ancient Chinese military that is provided. The main paragraphs of this review are points in the translation that deserved to be mentioned. Here, Wallacker mentions that Griffith does a splendid job in translating 道 dào or ‘the way,’ the reviewer continues to state that the other translator, Giles chose ‘moral law,’ which the reviewer believes is a less suitable word choice. The whole review consists of Wallacker going over good. 15.

(22) translation points. In conclusion, Wallacker believes that Griffith’s version does a fantastic job in moving away from the Western European traditional ideologies on war. A second review is on Sawyer’s translation is by William A. Turner, who is from Air Command and Staff College. This review can be originally found in The Journal of Military History in 1997. In this short review, Turner mentions that Sawyer has done a great job of outlining concepts and principles within this version of The Art of War. The reviewer also states that “stripped of much historical background, battle analysis, and other scholarly information,” Sawyer’s translation is easy to understand (Turner, 1997, p. 356). Turner then turns to the topic of the rise of Communist China as a world power, and states that it is important to have materials that provide in depth study about ancient Chinese strategies.. 2.2 Source & Target Language Orientation / Direct and Oblique Translations As previously stated, this research will look at theories and strategies that are from source language orientation, target text orientation, direct and oblique translation methods. The first is source language orientation, which is referring to a method where the translated text still retains aspects from the source language regarding syntax, culture, form, and meaning. Some theorists that conform to the language of origin orientation are semantic translation (Newmark, 1988), equivalence (Nida, 1964/2004), and foreignization (Venuti, 1995). On the other hand, target-text orientation is quite the opposite of SL orientation. Target text orientation translation strategies refer to the translated text will conform to the target language and culture. The theories and theorists that fit this school of thought are communicative translation (Newmark, 1988), dynamic equivalence (Nida, 1964/2004), and domestication (Venuti, 1995). Both orientations have been utilized in various instances and are often in competition with each other. For translators who. 16.

(23) prefer to use SL orientation of translation, will be primarily staying faithful to the author and the source language and not lose any information. But by retaining SL orientated traits in the translated text, doing so may cause confusion for the audience in several ways. For instance, this might cause the reader to misunderstand the meaning of the text, or create culture confusion, etc. On the other hand, translators who prefer TL orientation will have allowed the audience to understand the translated text easily. This is because the translator has adapted the source language into the target language in ways of structure, meaning and cultural items. But at the same time, using TL orientation will have created a loss of faithfulness to the author and the original text's language culture. This could also forfeit the source languages' style and structure.. Direct & Oblique Translations The terms Direct and Oblique translation methods were first coined by Jean-Paul Vinay & Jean Darbelnet in their French to English translation comparison guide, Stylistique comparée du français et de l'anglais: Méthode de traduction. It was then that Catford said there is a ‘shift(s),’ or “departure from the formal correspondence in the process of going from source language to target language" (Catford 1965/2000: 141). Catford also states that these small, but meaningful, changes within the established translation processes are called translation shifts. These translational shifts that Catford mentioned are precisely what Vinay and Darbelnet (1958) further expanded on. These translation procedures differed from the norm of the source text and target text orientation; these two strategies are direct translation and oblique translation. Direct translation, which resembles the word-for-word or literal method, includes the following procedures: borrowing, calque, and literal translation. Whereas oblique translation is based on free translation or the translator interprets the contents of the source text, procedures that fall. 17.

(24) under this category are: transposition, modulation, equivalence, and adaptation procedures. Thus, this research will focus on of these three translation strategies mentioned here, which are possible translation strategies that the three translators might utilize. This research will also focus on which translation strategies and procedures are more suitable to solve the CSI issue present with Translation Studies.. 2.2.1 Jean-Paul Vinay & Jean Darbelnet (1958) The seven methods of translation procedures as previously mentioned originate from Vinay and Darbelnet's book Stylistique comparée du français et de l'anglais: Méthode de traduction (translated and edited by J. C. Sager and M. J. Hamel in 1995 as Comparative Stylistics of French and English: A Methodology for Translation). This specific translation book allows the reader to better understand linguistic changes that occur when translating. Vinay and Darbelnet's model of translation procedure are widely known by translators and linguists alike. In their comparative analysis of French and English translatio n differences, Vinay and Darbelnet proposed two broad translation methods: (i) direct or literal translation; and (ii) indirect or oblique translation (Vinay and Darbelnet, 1995: 31; 2004:128). These two broad translation methods are then broken down into more specific procedures: direct translation consists of three procedures: borrowing, calque, and literal translation, while indirect translation comprises of four methods: transposition, modulation, equivalence, and adaptation, as seen below. Table 1 Vinay and Darbelnet’s Model (1958). Translation Methods Direct or literal translation Indirect or oblique Translation. Translation Procedures borrowing, calque, literal translation transposition, modulation, equivalence, adaptation. 18.

(25) Vinay and Darbelnet believe that ‘the simplest of all translation methods is borrowing (1995, p. 31). This method doesn't literally translate into a new lexical meaning but rather directly uses or borrows the source language word and shifts into the target language. The following are a few examples of borrowed words from other languages that are transferred or shifted into English: hibachi, sushi, kimono, karaoke (Japanese); ballet, cognac, faux pas, quiche, rouge (French); tempo, stanza, soprano, voila (Italian); fjord, maelstrom, ski, smorgasbord (Scandinavian). Procedure two is calque, according to Vinay and Darbelnet this is a “special kind of borrowing,” (1995, p. 32) it is where the source language meaning or structure is translated into a literal translation. For instance, the English word ‘brainwashing’ would be 「洗腦」 in Chinese. Or the Chinese expression, 「好久不見」 translates into English as ‘long time no see.’ Another example would be the Chinese expression 「丟臉」, if using the calque procedure would translate into the English equivalent of ‘lose face.’ The third method is literal translation, which consists of a “word-for-word” translation, Vinay and Darbelnet believe this procedure is one of the most common between languages of the same family and culture (1995, p. 34). Some examples of literal translations are, ‘a wolf in sheep’s clothing,’ which literally translates into 「披著羊皮的狼」, or the phrase, to “be led by the nose’ translates to 「被牽著鼻子走」. But if literal translation is unacceptable because of the structural and metalinguistic sacrifices, Vinay and Darbelnet suggest that translators should make use of what they call ‘four oblique translation procedures.’ The first of the oblique translation procedures is transposition which comprises of changing one parts of speech for another (e.g. verb to noun) without changing the tenses. The second oblique translation procedure is modulation. Modulation, is changing the syntax and point of view of the source language. According to Vinay and Darbelnet, this change can be justified when other methods such as transposition or literal translation are 19.

(26) unsuitable or awkward in the target language. Some examples of modulation are instances where a double negative is commonly seen in English, but in French it is a rare occurrence, so the translator would utilize modulation to alter the source language’s double negative into something less awkward in French. The third translation procedure is equivalence; this refers to using different expressions to express the same meaning as the source language text, such as idioms and proverbs. Finally, the last procedure is adaptation; the circumstances in which translators might utilize adaptation are when the source language CSI when translated into the target language is awkward or unsuitable, but by using adaptation, will allow readers to better understand. Such as a French idiom, “comme un chien dans un jeu de quills” meaning literally “like a dog in a set of skittles” could be translated into the English phrase “a bull in a china shop” (Munday, 2001, p. 58). These seven procedures are what Vinay and Darbelnet established, in hopes to help and inform future linguists and translators about the various translation styles that can be utilized when dealing with CSI.. 2.2.2 Categories of CSI One of the biggest challenges that a translator will face is being able to identify a culture item, and then in turn decide what type of CSI has been identified. One of the very first Translation Studies scholars who first established the CSI categorization process is Peter Newmark (five categories), but since then scholars from other academic fields, such as Linguistics, have refined and narrowed down the process of categorizing CSIs. Amongst these scholars are Elaine Espindola and Maria Lúcia Vasconcellos (2006).. 20.

(27) Peter Newmark's Categorization of Cultural-Specific Items (1988) In Peter Newmark's book A Textbook of Translation, Newmark first states that dialect words are not culture worlds if they designate universals (Newmark, 1988, p. 94). He then proposes a method for categorization of culture-specific items. The list itself is grouped into five broad categories. The two categories that might pose a problem are the “social culture and organizations, customs, and activities” groups, when the researcher says it might be problematic, she means that it is possible that some CSIs can overlap, and can be categorized into both categories. Thus, from the list below, Newmark’s method although is one of the first of its kind in terms of classifying CSIs, but may be difficult to utilize. The following cultural categories are what Newmark believe to be common cultural nuances. . Ecology: flora, fauna, hills, winds, plains. . Material culture (artefacts): food, clothes, houses and towns, transport. . Social culture – work and leisure: ajah, amah, reggae, rock, sithar. . Organizations, customs, activities, procedures, concepts: political and administrative, religious, artistic, etc.. . Gestures and habits- cock a snook, spitting Newmark has clearly set and defined cultural categories for translators and linguists alike,. but again this process remains much debated since many CSIs can overlap in more than one categories. Thus, for a more complete process of organizing CSIs, we turn to other scholars who have refined Newmark’s categorization process. Elaine Espindola and Maria Lúcia Vasconcellos (2006) In their research titled, Two facets in the subtitling process: Foreignisation and/or domestication procedures in unequal cultural encounters, Espindola and Vasconcellos have 21.

(28) utilized various resources to propose their own CSI classification system. It is as follows (Espindola and Vasconcellos, 2006, p. 49-50): . Toponyms: a place name, a geographical name, a proper name of locality, region, or some other part of Earth’s surface or its natural or artificial feature. . Anthroponyms: ordinary and famous people’s names and nicknames and names referring to regional background which acquire identification status;. . Forms of entertainment: amusement or diversion including public performances or shows, it also encompasses hospitality provided, such as dinners, parties, business lunches. . Means of transportation: the facilities used for the movement of people and goods from one place to another; the term is derived from the Latin trans meaning across and portare meaning to carry such facilities are, many times, associated with specific cultures. . Fictional character: a person in a novel, play, or a film who is related to fiction, works of imagination. . Legal System: rules of conduct inherent in human nature and essential to or binding upon human society. . Local Institution: an organization that helps or serves people in a certain area - health, education, work, political, administrative, religious, artistic. . Measuring system: units used in the determination of the size, weight, speed, length, etc. of something in the different cultures. . Food and Drink: any solid or liquid substance that is used by human beings as a source of nourishment. . Scholastic reference: related to school or studying. . Religious celebration: to do something special to mark a religious occasion 22.

(29) . Dialect: user-related variation, which determines speaker’s status as regards social class, age, sex, education, etc. (Halliday, 1978, p. 110-111).. Espindola and Vasconcellos, have proposed a categorization method that is more refined and detailed. There are a total of twelve categories that range from ‘food and drink’ to ‘dialect.’ In contrast with Newmark’s these five categories, Espindola’s and Vasconcellos’ twelve categories can be deemed as more specifically planned, or in other words, none of the categories contain more than one CSI component.. 2.2.3 Mona Baker’s Omission (1994) In Mona Baker’s In Other Words: a coursebook on translation, she first discusses that omission can be used in several factors. The first factor is, ‘non-equivalence at word level’ means “that the target language has no direct equivalent for a word which occurs in the source text” (Baker, 1994, p. 20). The second condition is, ‘equivalence above word level,’ this is when words start to combine with other words to ‘form stretches of language’ (Baker, 1994, p. 3). Baker believes that whether the text is ‘non-equivalence at word level,’ or ‘equivalence above word level,’ omission can be applied in both circumstances. She defines ‘omission’ as the act of not translating a word expression in some contexts. Baker also states that in fact, it does no harm, if the particular item or expression is not vital enough to the development (Baker, 1994, p. 40). Thus, this research, will apply Baker’s omission strategy along with Vinay and Darbelnet’s seven procedures.. 23.

(30) 2.2.4 Javier Franco Aixela’s Culture-specific items (1996) What is a culture-specific item? There is a common ambiguity as to what exactly are culture-specific items. According to Javier Franco Aixela (1996), culture-specific items are “Those textually actualized items whose function and connotations in a source text involve a translation problem in their transference to a target text, whenever this issue is a product of the nonexistence of the referred item or its different intertextual status in the social system of the readers of the target text” (Aixela, 1996, p. 58). Aixela believes that the main difficulty with the CSI definition is that, “the fact that in a language everything is culturally produced, beginning with the language itself” (Aixela, 1996, p. 57). Furthermore, Aixela states that in Translation Studies, a CSI does not just exist by itself, but rather, is a result of “conflicts arising from linguistically represented reference in a source text which, when transferred to a target text language, poses a translation problem due to the nonexistence or to the different value of the given item in the target language culture” (Aixela, 1996, p. 57). He elaborates by giving examples in Bible translations, there is often arguments on how to translate the image of the ‘lamb’ into languages whose cultures is unknown or, if known, does not have the same significance of purity, defenselessness, etc. (Aixela, 1996, p. 58). Moreover, if the word ‘lamb’ were to be translated from Hebrew into the languages of Eskimos, this word would be labeled as a CSI. But if the same word, ‘lamb,’ were to be translated from Spanish to English, it would not constitute a culture-specific item, due to the similar culture connotation for ‘lamb.’ As previously stated, there are multiple problems that translators must face when working with two languages of varying culture. Being able to identify and translate culture-specific items in the source language is a crucial role translators must pay attention to. Pioneers of translation theory, such as Aixela have already established a foundation for what language terms are culture-. 24.

(31) specific items and the meaning of CSI. Aixela states that certain items that have different textual status in the culture system or that have non-existent equivalents in the target text are culturespecific. For the duration of this research, we will utilize Aixela's definition of culture-specific items to help identify CSI in Sun Tzu's The Art of War.. 2.3 The Adopted Culture-Specific Items Classification Process Therefore, this research will utilize Peter Newmark's (1988) and Elaine Espindola and Maria Lúcia Vasconcellos (2006) proposed categorization process of CSIs to organize the culture-specific items found in The Art of War. By using a hybrid of the two previous mentioned processes, the researcher will be able to explicitly choose, organize and analyze which texts are CSIs. By also including certain categories from Espindola and Vasconcellos (2006), the researcher proposes a hybrid classification system, which will be able to avoid problematic areas surrounding Newmark’s CSI classification system. The proposed CSI categorization process that will be adopted in this study: . Toponyms. . Measuring Systems. . Customs & Ideas (social, religious, political, etc.). . Idioms & Metaphors. 25.

(32) Chapter 3 Methodology 3.1 Introduction This research aims to discover further and explore methods on how to translate CSI. As mentioned in the previous chapters, language and culture go hand in hand, and it is the translator’s duty to fill the gap for readers. Translators should not only have a thorough understanding of the source text and target text languages but also have a clear understanding of the CSI present in both languages. To the average reader, these culture-specific items may not seem hard to translate, but in actuality, CSI require an advanced knowledge of the foreign text culture and language. With that said, this research will use Sun Tzu's The Art of War. The researcher has selected three well-known English versions of Sun Tzu’s treatise, with the mission of analyzing and discovering how these three translations differ from each other, in regards to how the translator translated culture-specific items. After establishing what a culture-specific item is, the researcher will then proceed to apply Peter Newmark's methods of categorizing cultural- items, to establish which vocabulary or phrases are indeed culturally related. The following paragraphs give the reader a thorough and better understanding of how this research will be conducted. One of the main focal points is to discover which translation strategies were utilized to translate culture nuances and how this may help the everyday translator. By conducting a qualitative research design the researcher aims to answer the following questions: . What procedures did each of the three English translators use to translate CSIs in The Art of War?. . Is there a certain solution as to how one should translate certain types of CSI categories?. . Are there any reoccurring translation strategies? Or same strategies that were used by different translators? 26.

(33) . Is there a pattern as to how each translator handled the CSIs? If so what, if not what could be the explanation?. 3.2 Setting The primary materials that will be utilized are three of many English translations of Sun Tzu's The Art of War. The process in which the translator selected these three specific English translations are calculated and carefully thought out. After doing extensive research, the researcher has discovered that amazon.com searching ‘Sun Tzu’s The Art of War,’ will recommend the most popular selections. Cleary, Sawyer and Griffith are amongst the most popular recommendations. Next, by browsing forum boards such as reddit.com, the researcher has established that many people who have read The Art of War highly recommended the Cleary, Sawyer and Griffith versions. Lastly, websites dedicated to Sun Tzu’s The Art of War often-time give a list of all the well-known and translated versions of Sun Tzu’s treatise. The three translations that the researcher has selected are mentioned in all three outlets (amazon, reddit and dedicated Art of War websites). The researcher believes that having a better understanding of the translator’s background will further aid in this research. Firstly, having a clear understanding about the translator’s biography will allow readers and students in the translation field to better understand why those strategies were possibly used. Secondly, understanding the time and place of their existence will inform readers of their English style (e.g. a person who lived during the 1970s might have a more formal usage of English compared to someone who lives in the 20th century). Lastly, each of these translators had different careers but all one common interest, which was reading and interpreting ancient Chinese. Their careers and past experiences will be a big influence as to how they translated and rendered the text. Much of the research was conducted in a research lab while analyzing the three of many English translations of The Art of 27.

(34) War. The researcher utilized all prior knowledge obtained from Translation Studies courses to organize, analyze and conduct this research. If any uncertainties occurred, the researcher would search translation journals, books and websites for reference and consult professors for assistance. As mentioned earlier, the primary task is to focus on finding and discovering how to possibly solve the CSI headache within Translation Studies, by examining what strategies the three translators applied to the discovered CSI within The Art of War. By determining what strategies, the three translators used or didn't use, will assist in future translators and readers to understand the situation with culture-specific issues better.. 3.3 Materials As for the materials used in this research, they will primarily consist of books and articles from established translators, Sun Tzu's treatise, other researcher theses and reviews from J-stor. Each of these items will play a significant role in this research. Books, articles and journals from various authors will be discussed in the literature review section. Other materials such as charts, graphs, and the three translated texts will play a critical component for this study. The culturespecific items found within each translation will provide the primary material for this research. The following three English translations and original Chinese of Sun Tzu's The Art of War will be used in this research: Tzu, S. (1963). The Art of War (S. B. Griffith, Trans.). New York: Oxford University Press. Tzu, S. (1993). The Art of War (R. Sawyer, Trans.). Boulder: Westview Press. Tzu, S. (2005). The Art of War (T. F. Cleary, Trans.). Boston, MA: Shambhala. 孫子，吳仁傑（譯者）(2015) ，《新譯孫子讀本》，三民書局，臺北。. 28.

(35) 3.4 Procedural Steps and Data Analysis The data was collected primarily from observing examples found in the three English translations. The data collection process consists of first reading the Chinese text, followed by reading the three English translations, and next carefully going over both Chinese and English versions of The Art of War to find CSI (using Newmark's culture standards). The researcher's role as an observer would be a nonparticipant. Once the researcher found the CSI examples, she would proceed to organize the said samples into a table for further analysis. During the analysis and examination process, the researcher also took notes as to how each translator translated the CSI. This includes the strategy they utilized and possible reasoning for choosing that translation approach. Besides organizing, and understanding each translator's methods of translating CSI, the primary objective here is to discover the strategies used. With this information, the researcher then proceeded to find a pattern in the results. The analysis and collection of data are conducted in the following methods and order:. 1.. Select and analyze possible CSI categorization methods: Newmark (1988) and Espindola and Vasconcellos (2006).. 2.. Propose a hybrid categorization process (based on Newmark and Espindola and Vasconcellos categorization methods).. 3.. Then identify CSIs within the English translations of The Art of War (a total of 20 CSIs were identified).. 4.. Using the proposed CSI categorization process, apply to the 20 CSIs.. 29.

(36) 5.. After finding CSI examples in original Chinese text, find the English equivalents, then analyze and examine the three translated versions of The Art of War.. 6.. Discover what translation strategies and procedures were used in translating the source text CSI.. 7.. During this process, the researcher will see if the translators applied the suggested theories and strategies mentioned in the literature review chapter of this research. Then, with the discovered findings, organize the results into charts and tables as necessary.. 8.. With the final results, discuss and address the above mentioned questions.. 30.

(37) Chapter 4 Results The researcher took CSI examples from three of many English translated versions of The Art of War, and then applied Peter Newmark’s culture category organization to identify culturalspecific items. Below the original sentence, the researcher also included a modern day Chinese interpretation of the source text. The modern day Chinese interpretations are by 吳仁傑 (2015) in 《新譯孫子讀本》. Then the researcher analyzed each English translation, to discover what methods were used to convey the source text CSI. The following selections are results of the research outcome.. 4.1 Toponyms 1. Original: 善守者，藏於九地之下﹔善攻者，動於九天之上。 Modern day Chinese: 善於防守的人，隱藏自己的兵力就像藏在地下，深不可見；善於進攻的人，發動自己的軍隊就像從天而降，迅猛異常。 Griffith: The experts in defense conceal themselves as under the nine-fold earth; those skilled in attack move as from above the nine fold heavens. p. 85 #7 Sawye r: Those who excel at defense bury themselves always below the lowest depths of Earth. Those who excel at offense move from above to the greatest heights of Heaven. p. 183 Cleary: Those killed in defense hide in those deepest depths of the earth, those skilled in attack maneuver in the highest heights of the sky. p. 59, loc 1714 This sentence describes what Sun Tzu believes is the best way to utilize the natural environment, or by using the natural environment’s variances to conceal and hide. The source language text contains CSI that has become an often-used idiom. According to the researcher’s proposed hybrid categorization system this would fall under toponyms, since it pertains to nature. Here, 九地九天 or jiǔdì jiǔtiān has dual meanings, the first originates from The Art of War,. 31.

(38) referring to ‘the highest points in the sky and the lowest points on earth.’ The more modern usage refers to ‘comparing two things that are very different or polar opposites.’ Two translators had used adaptation, whereas the other used literal translation. Griffith, decided to utilize Vinay and Darbelnet’s literal translation, as we can see he translated 九地 jiǔdì as nine folds earth and 九天 jiǔtiān as nine fold heavens. This procedure retains the cultural aspect, but some readers unfamiliar with Chinese culture might be confused and unsure as to what exactly are nine- fold earth and heaven. Sawyer, decided to also go with Vinay and Darbelnet’s adaptation by translating 九地 jiǔdì ‘as lowest depth’s and 九地 jiǔdì ‘as greatest heights of Heaven.’ The use of adaptation here allows the reader to clearly understand the meaning of the sentence. But using adaptation in this instance, although allows the reader to comprehend the meaning but loses the CSI. Cleary realized that by directly keeping and translating the CSI here. Cleary considered that the readers would be confused if he kept the CSI, thus he decided to find English equivalents. By using Vinay and Darbelnet’s adaptation, we can see that Cleary translated 九地 jiǔdì as ‘deepest depths of the earth’ and 九地 jiǔdì ‘as highest heights of the sky.’ When translators decided to keep the cultural context like what Griffith did, the sentences become unclear. Using adaptation in this instance may not be suitable as this leaves reader wondering what is nine- fold earth and nine- fold sky. If one were to retain the CSI, it is a good idea to leave a footnote or in parenthesis state an explanation.. 2. Original: 故其疾如風，其徐如林，侵掠如火，不動如山，難知如陰，動如雷霆。 Modern day Chinese: 這樣，軍隊行動快速時像疾風驟至，行動徐緩時像森林肅然，攻擊敵人時像烈火兇猛，駐守不動時像山岳穩固，掩蔽自己時像陰雲遮天，發動衝鋒時像雷霆萬鈞。. 32.

(39) Griffith: When campaigning, be swift as the wind; in leisurely March, majestic as the forest; in raiding and plundering, like fire; in standing, firm as the mountains. As unfathomable as the clouds, move like a thunderbolt. p. 106 # 13 Sawyer: Thus its speed is like the wind, it's slowness like the forest; its invasion and plundering like a fire; unmoving, it is like the mountains. It is as difficult to know as the darkness; in movement it is like thunder. p.198 Cleary: Therefore, when it moves swiftly it is like the wind, when it goes slowly it is like a forest; is rapacious as fire, immovable as mountains. p. 99, loc 2291. In Chapter seven, Sun Tzu explains how a general should maneuver and control the army during battle. In this sentence, the source language uses nature as an example of how to maneuver. The culture-specific items that are present in this sentence are the reference to nature, so this CSI would go under the toponyms category. The source text refers to how an army should move, swift as the wind, be as calm as the forest, raging like a fire, etc. One of the main culture problems that exist in this sentence are the different views on how humans and nature coexist between Western and Eastern countries. Specifically speaking, in Chinese culture, it is important to coexist harmoniously with the environment and nature. We can see this ideology stem from the 風水 fengshui philosophy. Furthermore, in Chinese culture not only is there an understanding that nature can be harnessed for its resources and power, there also exists a profound respect for nature and a feeling that deeper meanings can be found in nature (Bruun, Kalland, & Kall, 1995, p.186). In comparison to Western society, the views are drastically different. The perception of nature in the West usually involves the conquest of nature. Although in Western culture there indeed metaphors that harness nature to express quickness, emotions, or a phenomenon, there is a strong rooted belief in Western culture that humans should and be able to conquer nature. These ideas of conquering nature can be found in the Old Testament. In Genesis, the relationship between human and nature interactions are very noticeable:. 33.

(40) “Then God said, 「Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the [a]sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth (BibleGateway,1995,Genesis 1:26). From this excerpt of Genesis, the sentence predominately expresses that having control over nature is a key factor in the creation of our world. Therefore, when translating this sentence, it is important to keep in mind the vast culture differences of human’s relationship with nature. All three of the translators decided to use literal translation and directly translated the source text's use of nature as a metaphor. One of the differences between the three translations is Cleary omitted the last description that discusses thunder or lighting. Another difference between the three versions, is how each translator decided to interpret the movement. Griffith uses different adjective to describe what the army does, for instance, ‘campaigning,’ ‘marching,’ ‘raiding and plundering,’ whereas, Sawyer uses ‘speed,’ ‘slowness,’ ‘rapacious.’ Although they are minor differences, one can tell that Griffith is more familiar and comfortable with military terms, whereas Sawyer’s word choice is more “civilian,” or non-military in his word choice. Cleary also uses more non-military like word choices to describe the movement of the army. Even though the three translators utilized the same procedure to interpret the source text, Griffith’s translation flows the smoothest, due to his military background, he was able to add in more “technical” word choices, that allows the reader to easily transition from one metaphor to the next.. 3. Original: 凡地有絕澗、天井、天牢、天羅、天陷、天隙，必亟去之，勿近也。 Modern day Chinese: 遇到「絕澗」、「天井」、「天牢」、「天羅」、「天陷」、「天隙」這些險惡地形，必須迅速避開，不要接近。 Griffith: Where there are precipitous torrents, ‘Heavenly Wells,’ ‘Heavenly Prisons,’ ‘Heavenly Nets,’ ‘Heavenly Traps,’ and ‘Heavenly Cracks,’ you must. March speedily away from them. Do not approach them. p. 118 #16 34.

(41) Sawye r: You must quickly get away from deadly configurations of terrain such as precipitous gorges with mountain torrents, Heaven’s Well, Heaven’s Jail, Heaven’s Net, Heaven’s Pit, and Heaven’s Fissure. p.20 Cleary: Whenever the terrain has impassable ravines, natural enclosures, natural prisons, natural traps, natural pitfalls, and natural clefts, you should leave quickly and not get near them. p. 120, loc 2597 In this sentence, Sun Tzu describes the different landforms that generals might encounter and should be weary of. In regards to the categorization process, this example would go under the toponyms category. The following listed vocabulary are the various landforms: 絕澗 juéjiàn this type of landform describes ‘areas that are deep in the mountain with large bodies of water,’ 天井 tiānjǐng describes ‘a crater- like area, where the middle is the lowest point and is surrounded by higher land,’ 天牢 tiānláo describes ‘a land area when one enters unable to leave, a place that is dark, like going into a dark forest,’ 天羅 tiānluó is ‘an area with lots of vegetation and very hard to maneuver,’ 天陷 tiānxiàn describes ‘a swamp-like area with lots of mud,’ 天隙 tiānxì is ‘a deep mountain valley that is never ending.’ As previously mentioned in chapter one, Sun Tzu discusses the ‘five principles,’ and the second one is 二曰天 eryuē tiān, this means ‘the general should keep in mind of the heavens, 陰 yīn and 陽 yáng, and the seasons.’ Here the use of 天 tiān, which means the ‘heavens’ originated since from Zhou Dynasty and was continued to be used till the Tang Dynasty (Chang, 2000, p. 2). Since ancient China's Spring Autumn period lapses with Zhou Dynasty, much of the literature and ideology that was prevalent in Zhou Dynasty was still prevalent in later dynasties as well. The ideology of using 天 tiān, gained popularity during Zhou Dynasty, and after the conquest of Shang Dynasty, the administration of Zhou Dynasty utilized the word 天 tiān as a form of propaganda and justification that the Zhou Dynasty freed the peoples of Shang Dynasty from evil rulers (Chang, 2000, p. 12). The Zhou Dynasty elite used two Chinese. 35.

(42) characters, 天命 tiānmìng which means ‘Mandate of Heaven,’ was essential for the Zhou rulers to justify and maintain their rule (Chang, 2000, p. 14). The ideology behind ‘Mandate of Heaven’ consists of a belief that the ruler had a sacred relationship with the highest deity of the time which granted him the right to rule (Chang, 2000, p. 14). Addressing the translations, the first two translators decided to use Vinay and Darbelnet's literal translation method to translate the CSI. Although the target text stays faithful to the source text’s Chinese culture, there is a problem of the CSI being lost in translation. In other words, readers are able to read the translated text, but will have no idea as to what type of landform consists of ‘heavenly wells’ or ‘heavenly prisons.’ Whereas, Cleary on the other hand, decided to utilize adaptation, from the sentence above, Cleary translated 天 tiān which originally means ‘heaven,’ into ‘natural.’ By doing this, Cleary has made the sentence easier to read and comprehend, but doing so has abandoned the CSI in the sentence. For CSIs that contain ecology examples (specifically ancient texts), it might be best to use the adaptation procedure, and find a more modern word choice to represent the ecological CSI. Doing so allows readers to understand the meaning of the source text. Although, this abandons the source text’s culture and faithfulness to the author, but by using target text orientation strategies, the reader can at least understand what the author is trying to inform the audience, and after all that is one of the main purposes of translation. Ultimately, it will boil down to what the translators word choice and their interpretation. 36.

(43) 絕澗 juéjiàn. 天井 tiānjǐng. 天牢 tiānláo. 天羅 tiānluó. 天陷 tiānxiàn. 天隙 tiānxì. Figure 1 Landforms. 4. Original: 地形有通者、有掛者、有支者、有隘者、有險者、有遠者。 Modern day Chinese: 地形有「通」的，有「掛」的，有「支」的，有「隘」的，有「險」的，有「遠」的。 Griffith: Ground may be classified according to its nature as accessible, entrapping, indecisive, constricted, precipitous, and distant. p. 124 #1. 37.