Abstract: The essence of translation is the communication between two cultures. Cultural difference is a problem that translators must deal with well. If it is not handled properly, it will easily cause ambiguity to readers. This paper analyzes the main differences between Chinese and western cultures and illustrates them with examples. This paper introduces the basic translation methods of this difference, namely foreignization, domestication and transliteration. These methods are explained.

Paper Keywords: cultural differences; Processing method; Alienation law; Naturalization law; transliterate

Language is the product of society and the crystallization of human history and culture. It embodies the social consciousness, history, culture, customs and all the characteristics of human society handed down from generation to generation by a nation. Different cultures need to communicate. Communication and translation are inseparable, which shows that culture and its communication are the origin of translation, and translation is the product of cultural exchange. The experience of translation teaching and research shows that translation theory and skills must be based on the comparative analysis of different languages and cultures. The reason why translation is difficult is, in the final analysis, language differences and cultural differences. English and Chinese have similarities in expression, but more differences. Therefore, it is very important for translation to understand the differences between Chinese and western cultures.

1 Main cultural differences between China and the West

In the historical process of China's feudal society for more than 2,000 years, Confucianism has always occupied a dominant position, which has had a far-reaching impact on China society. China people have always regarded modesty as a classic, which is the Confucian "golden mean". "Zhong" is the ideal realm pursued by Confucianism. In life, we should take moral concepts such as benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom and faith as behavioral guidelines, treat people and things, consider gentleness, kindness, courtesy, thrift and compromise, be proud of modesty, and be humble-oriented. Therefore, China culture embodies the cultural characteristics of the group, that is, it is not allowed to put individual values above the interests of the group.

Westerners have a strong sense of equality and a simple family structure. The nuclear family consists of parents and minor children. In western culture, people have many schools, strong personal consciousness, many initiatives, and are easily excited and unstable. In the west, the individual is the most important, and the world is home. In China, the country is the most important, the village is the most important, the family is the most important, and the individual is the second; In the arrangement of names, westerners put their own names first, their fathers first and their surnames last, while China people do the opposite: clan comes first, seniority comes last and name comes last; Others, such as address order and time order, are the same. Westerners are concrete or individual first, and the whole is behind, while China people are the other way around. Many Chinese and foreign scholars have discussed the cultural differences between China and the West, which can be summarized as follows:

(1) Cultural concepts in the source language have no corresponding words in the target language. For example, there are various hats in English, such as beret and bowler, but there are no words in Chinese, so the translation of these words is mostly explanatory. Some Chinese words can't find the corresponding English words. For example, the words Yan, devil, devil and Satan in English are roughly equivalent to the devil in Chinese, which is very different from Yan.

(2) The source language and the target language have corresponding words, but their meanings are different. For example, "dog", in China culture, most idioms related to dogs have derogatory meanings, such as a desperate dog and nonsense. In the west, dogs are regarded as people's loyal friends, and the image of dogs is often used as a metaphor for people's behavior. At this point, dogs are not derogatory. For example, top dog (winner)

(3) The concept of the source language has a clear classification, but the target language does not. For example, the word grandpa has two corresponding words in Chinese (grandfather and grandfather), and cousin corresponds to cousin, cousin and cousin in Chinese. Chinese is very strict in distinguishing cousins, not only by gender, but also by size, unlike English, which is a general word. (4) Different customs, objective living environment, national psychology, perspectives and methods of observing things promote different expressions of language. For example, the lion is called the king of beasts in the west, which can be seen from the famous cartoon "The Lion King". In China culture, the tiger is the king of all the animals, while in Shuo Wen Jie Zi written by Xu Shen in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the tiger is the king of mountain animals, but there is no lion.

2 translation methods

Because of these differences, it is very important for translators to deal with these differences and translate the cultural concepts in the original text most accurately. There are several ways to deal with this difference:

(1) Alienation method.

Preserving the cultural images in the original text in translation means domesticating foreign values into the target culture. If cowboy is translated into cowboy, there is no word cowboy in Chinese, and it is not an image in China culture. People in China can't imagine what kind of person this is after reading this word. But the fact is that China people have accepted this translation, and cowboys have become good translators. Examples of similar success include: Trojan horse, golden age, etc.

(2) domestication.

That is, "to show the linguistic and cultural differences in foreign styles in an unconventional way and send readers abroad", that is, to replace the cultural images in the original with those in the target language, or to translate them with the existing vocabulary in the target language. If "French departure" is translated into "French departure", then the translation will fall into a dead end of word-for-word translation, which is puzzling to read. This statement originated in France in the18th century. At that time, the guests who ate had the custom of leaving without saying goodbye to their hosts, so it was clear at a glance to translate it into "leaving without saying goodbye".

(3) transliteration.

Some cultural words and images are empty in the target language, and it is difficult to accurately translate their meanings in one or two sentences. At this time, it is necessary to express the pronunciation of the original text with a sound similar to the target language, that is, transliteration. What is unique in China culture is totally absent in British culture. At this time, words with special cultural connotations can be "transplanted" into English culture by transliteration. Such as "Kung Fu" Kong Fu, "Oolong Tea" and so on. Many words translated by transliteration have become foreign words in English and are widely accepted by the western public.

3 Conclusion

Language is a part of culture, and it is also the inheritor of culture. Culture relies on language to spread and communicate. Cultural differences between the East and the West have a profound influence on English-Chinese translation. Therefore, it is more important for translators to be familiar with Chinese and English cultures than to master them. Translation is inseparable from culture, and communication is inseparable from culture-based translation. This paper only lists three basic translation methods, and there is no uniform translation method and formula for dealing with cultural images, so translators should deal with them flexibly according to the context.