Cultural Awareness

ISSN 1798-4769 Journal of Language Teaching and Research, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 74-83, January 2012 © 2012 ACADEMY PUBLISHER Manufactured in Finland. doi:10.4304/jltr.3.1.74-84

Cultural Awareness and Translation Teaching at Higher Vocational College: Problems and Solutions
Xuelian He
Quzhou College of Technology, Quzhou, Zhejiang, China Email: [e-mail]
Abstract—In this paper, an investigation has been done on culture knowledge acquisition and cultural awareness of English majors at Higher Vocational College by taking the students at Quzhou College of Technology as the subjects. The problem of lack of culture knowledge and cultural awareness has been shown through the analysis. The strategies and techniques on integrating culture into translation teaching at Higher Vocational Colleges are given for translation teaching by laying stress on imparting culture knowledge as well as translation skills so as to reduce students’ translation errors. Index Terms—cultural awareness, translation teaching, culture integration

I. INTRODUCTION Today, as the world evolves into the global world, various factors converge to drive people across national boundaries as never before, thus making intercultural contact a major concern and the importance of international communication takes on added urgency. However, distinct cultural perceptions and symbol systems have always stood in the way of intercultural communications. Translation always serves as an important means in cross-cultural communication in the history of human beings. Thus, translation involves two different languages, which are used to express what the two nations think, do, and say. Language is the carrier of culture. Culture influences language by way of symbols and rules as well as our perceptions of the universe. So, the process of translation, which is always regarded as bilingualism dealing, inevitably involves biculturalism. Since cultures are objectively different, translation is to deal with

References: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] Bao, Huinan. (2001).Cultural Context and Language Translation. Beijing: China Translation and Publishing Corporation. Bao, Huinan. (2004).Chinese Culture and Chinese-English Translation. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press. Bassnett, Susan. (2001). Translation Studies (Third Edition). Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press. Bassnett, Susan & Peter Grundy. (1993). Language Through Literature. London: Longman. Feng, Chunfen. (2004).Contrasts between Western and Chinese Cultures. US-China Foreign Language, Vol.2, No.12, PP48-51. Fu, Mengyuan. (2004). Cross-cultural Communication and Translation. US-China Foreign Language, Vol.2, No.8, PP68-69. Harris, Marvin. (1993). Culture, People, Nature: An Introduction to General Anthropology. New York: HarperCollins College Publishers. Jia,Yuxin. (1997).Cross-cultural Communication. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press. Liao, Jing & Tu Guoyuan. (2004.) On the Translator‟s Cultural Awareness and Cultural Creativity. US-China Foreign Language, Vol.2, No.6, PP16-22. Liao, Qiyi. (2000).Contemporary Translation Studies in UK. Wuhan: Hubei Education Press. Liu, Miqing. (2003). Translation Teaching: Practice and Theories. Beijing: China Translation and Publishing Corporation. Lu, Caihong. (2004).Translation of English Idioms Involving Animals. US-China Foreign Language, Vol.2, No.8, PP59-63. Lu, Lihong. (2002). Raising the Cultural Awareness of English Teachers at Higher Vocational Colleges. Master Dissertation, South China Normal University. Ministry of Education of the People‟s Republic of China. (2000). Basic Requirements on English Teaching in Higher Vocational Education. Beijing: Higher Education Press. Moore, Kenneth D. (1998). Classroom Teaching Skills (4th Edition). New York: McGraw. Mu, Lei. (1999). A Research on Translation Teaching in China. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press. Munday, Jeremy. (2001). Introducing Translation Studies: Theories and Applications. London: Routledge. Needham, J. (1956). Science and Civilization in China (eds.). Vol.2: History of Science Thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Nida, Eugene A. (2001). Language and Culture: Context in Translating. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press. Peng, Fangzhen. (2004). Cultural Psychology and Translation. US-China Foreign Language, Feb., Vol.2, No.2, PP11-25. Samovar, Larry A., Porter, & Stefani. (2000). Communication Between Cultures (3rd edn.). Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press. Samovar, Larry A., Porter, & Stefani. (2004). Communication Between Cultures (5th edn.). Beijing: Peking University Press. Tomalin, B. & Stempleski. (1993). Cultural Awareness. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Xu, Fang. (2002). On Culture Teaching for Non-English Majors in College English Teaching. Master Dissertation, Southwest China Normal University. Zhang Meifang. (2001). A Research on English-Chinese Translation Teaching Materials in China (1949-1998). Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press. Xuelian He, Quzhou, Zhejiang, PRC., 1976.09. 2002.03—2005.12 Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, Zhejiang, PRC. master in Education. 1994.09—1998.07 Hangzhou University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, PRC. Bachelor in Art. From 2001.01 up to now, she works at Quzhou College of Technology in Quzhou, Zhejiang Province. From 1998.09 to 2000.12, she works at Quzhou Normal School. By now, she has published more than ten articles in different Chinese journals and edited a textbook Practical English Writing, which was published by Zhejiang University Press in 2009. She is interested in the study and research of translation theories and teaching translation. She is a lecturer and head of the English teaching and research office. © 2012 ACADEMY PUBLISHER