Application of Alienation and Domestication in Chinese menu translation

【Abstract】： This paper aims to analyze the translation of Chinese dish and make conclusion of several applicable approaches used in menu translation. Based on the English version of Chinese dishes， discussion is made to compare different applications of alienation and domestication， trying to find out rules to resolve the current confusion in menu translation and contribute to the publication of Chinese food culture. Finally， a conclusion arises that the best way to C-E menu translation is according to the situation you facing， and decide to use which translation skill.

【Key Words】：Chinese menu; Alienation; Domestication

1.The development of Chinese cuisine study

The study of menu is a relatively new area in China as well as in the West. Therefore， an academic study on Chinese cuisine is almost the rarest of the rare， which does not match its outstanding position in Chinese culture.

English linguists J.C. Catford first gave the definition to menu translation： “Menu translation is the process of inter-lingual transform action for semantic equivalence in the specific area of menu and terms in culinary culture.” in 20th century， more recently according to the survey on the website， the research begun in the book HotelRestaurant Hand book published in 1999 shows Chinese round table dinner menu. The newest is the manual book English Versions of Chinese Menu mainly served for World Expo 2010. But to our disappointment， very few western academicians engage in the study of menu translation， so it’s impossible to find works finished by western scholars.

2. The application of Alienation and Domestication in Chinese menu translation

2.1 Application of Alienation

2.1.1 Literal translation with cooking details

Generally speaking， most Chinese dish names are realistic and usually these names directly contain the name of raw materials， cooking methods， color， flavor and form of the dish. So when doing translation three aspects can be included ingredients， cooking methods and characteristics of the dishes， like檸檬雞 Lemon Chicken and松仁香菇 Black Mushrooms with Pine Nuts.

2.1.2 Literal translation with people’s name

Old Chinese people enjoy in naming dishes with people’s name or using history story in order to memory people better.

（1）. 東坡肉 " Poet Dong Po's Braised Pork

（2）. 左宗棠雞 General Tso’s Favorite Chicken

（3）. 宋嫂魚(yú)羹 Sister Song's Fish Soup

The above shows examples of cuisine with people’s name， as 宋嫂 and 左宗棠are easy to understand， we just translate it directly. In cuisine’s name 東坡肉， English readers may unfamiliar with this people as Chinese， so we’d better add “poet” as explanation to make sure the English readers can understand what it stands for.

2.1.3 Literal translation with place

There are eight cuisines in China both of them formed with special local features. Chinese people can understand the special flavor through the dish’s place name. For foreign people， however， only literal translation is very difficult to understand. And there’s two ways in translation for reference. Firstly： 西湖醋魚(yú) West Lake Sweet and Sour Fish or南京板鴨 Nanjing Steamed Duck. These dishes are the unique one in china which can’t be found in other place. In these dishes’ name， place is put in the front and followed the ingredient， the second style is as follow：四川辣子雞 Spicy Chicken， Sichuan Style with山城辣子雞 Fried Spring Chicken Dices in Red Pepper and Chili Oil， Chongqing Style. We can see the difference in this example. To be honest， even our Chinese can’t point out the difference between them. So in order to make a distinction between them， we may add local name + style for better understanding.

2.2 Application of Domestication

2.2.1 Free translation with Figurative Name

Ancient Chinese people are full of imagination that they like to use figure of speech to describe dishes in order to create a vivid image for people who enjoy it. The most obvious example is “霸王別姬 "Broiled Chicken Cutlets with Turtle”. When you use literal translation， it could be “The King Say Good Bye to His Beauty” which will make the foreigner puzzled a lot. More examples shows as follow can help affirm it better.

2.2.2 Free translation with Number

Number always is an amazing existence whatever in poem、idiom、lyrics. There is a very famous Chinese dish called “炒雙冬”， this name even common Chinese people can’t understand the real meaning let alone west friend. Actually， “雙冬” means mushrooms and bamboo shoots， so “炒雙冬” can be translated into Fried Sautéed Mushrooms and Bamboo Shoots. Other examples listed：

2.2.3 Loan words

Some foods like“芥蘭，韭菜，白菜”，exist in China only and people cannot find exactly equivalent foods in western cuisine culture， so they usually adopt similar concepts in the same category resulting in the loan of the words to make up the cultural vacancy. For example “脆蝦白菜心”， in western country there’s no “白菜”， while in china it’s quite common. In this reason we have to find similar food to replace it to express better. So it is translated into “Chinese Cabbage with Fried Shrimps”. The following shares the same situation.

3. Conclusion

Although this study has discussed some findings about Chinese menu translation， there still exist limitations. For one thing， not all the features of Chinese dish names are discussed in this paper due to the inadequate research preparation and the lack of related reference materials， such as “面湯” which we have no idea in translating more on “面” or “湯”. For another thing， all things we talk about based on what our Chinese think not foreigners or the foreign citizen of Chinese origin. So it will be more powerful if the material comes from the Chinese restaurants in foreign countries， which are well accepted by the foreigners.

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