On the Cultural Differences in Tourism Translation

Abstract

With the rapid development of tourism industry in China, it is urgent to translate tourist text from Chinese into English. Translation is not a simple mechanic linguistic transference, but involves complex cross-cultural communication. English and Chinese have different cultures, so translator must pay attention to the cultural differences between the two languages for successful cross-cultural communication. A good tourist text will arouse potential readers’ interest in the scenic spots, which will help both the development of Chinese tourist industry, and the output of Chinese culture and the enrichment of the target culture. The paper makes an analysis of cultural differences between east and west from the aspect of thinking mode, historical background, and religion and speech rhetoric. Then, it studies the function of tourism text as well as some translation principles and methods, including rewriting, adding and cutting. In the conclusion, the author emphasizes that translators should not only lay solid linguistic foundation, but also pay attention to the cultural factors in both English and Chinese for the successful cross-cultural communication.