A Study on Translation of Euphemism about Death—based on Nida’s Functional Equivalence Theory

【Abstract】： In people’s daily communication， speakers are inclined to resort to euphemism so that they can make the utterance sound less embarrassing or offensive to the listeners. As for death， one of the most negative topic which may make people feel extremely uncomfortable. Hence， the euphemism of death is widely used and has already formed its own pattern of system both in western and oriental society. This study aims to clarify the affection that Nida’s theory puts on the translators， besides， whether there are other elements that need to be considered when translating memorial speech.

【Key words】： Euphemism ； Death； translate； Memorial Speech

1. Introduction

No matter in Chinese or in English， euphemism is an indirect word which is used to beautify our daily communication. As people may understand， there are always some items people don not want to talk directly such as： sex， war， job or aging and death. That is why people use euphemism， at least it can make conversation involving this become less embarrassing. Besides this， euphemism is far more than a language phenomenon. To speak in a higher level， it is a cultural phenomenon， which demonstrates the specific attitude towards something of some certain group of people. Since two different cultures are quite hard for people to get all the meanings it shows as a translator； however， based on the misunderstanding， it is impossible to convey the message in another language. That is why it is significant for us to study the translation of euphemism.

Death seems to be a taboo topic in almost every culture， thus people are used to resort to euphemism when death appears in the conversation， for not only to show the respect to the dead people but also to comfort the ones who they love. Different culture usually has different euphemisms of death， which represents the special views when it comes to be discussed. Knowing all kinds of reference of death in different culture is necessary for us since only if we understand this clearly can we convey the meaning accordingly and respectfully as a translator or a interpreter.

2. Literature review

Euphemism comes from Greek word “euphemo”， its prefix “eu” means good， while the stem “phemism” means “speech”， so the meaning is “good speech”. The definition of euphemism in dictionary is a mild or pleasant word or phrase that is used instead of one that is unpleasant or offensive （Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary）. In a word， it just means when people come into some embarrassing topics， they prefer to use some words in a more obscure way to make it easier to accept. Take “death ” as an example， people are generally afraid of it and do not want to talk about it directly. So people would rather use expressions like “be gone”， “pay one’s debt to nature” or “kiss the earth” to make it sounds more obscure and acceptable.

3. An analysis of materials

A great light has gone out in the world. Nelson Mandela was a hero of our time.

一盞照亮世人的明燈熄滅了，曼德拉是我們這個時代的英雄。

In this part Mandela is compared to a great light， considering his great contribution to anti-Apartheid in South Africa， it is a fair metaphor. When translating this， “明燈熄滅”is the appropriate transfer of its original meaning， with Mandela’s personal experience being taken into account. The translator has understood the metaphor profoundly and conveyed it rightly， letting the Chinese readers understand the metaphor clearly， which perfectly meets the maximal level of Nida’s theory.

Our nation has lost its greatest son. Although we knew that this day would come， nothing can diminish our sense of a profound and enduring loss.

我們的國家失去了最偉大的兒子。盡管我們知道這一天終究會來臨，但我們仍然感到遭受了巨大的無法彌補的損失。

As the above one shows， president Zuma call Mandela as the son of his country and people， according to the tough experiences Mandela has when led the anti-Apartheid activity in South Africa and great contributions he had made to his country and people. The translator has confirmed the conception of “兒子” in his translation for in Chinese there is also this kind of conception. Clearly， in this one the personal experience and achievement are taken into consideration， thus the translator understand the meaning totally and transfer it correctly， letting the Chinese readers be able to appreciate the original meaning.

4. Conclusion

All the materials and translation work show the importance of following the theory， whether make the readers understand or let them appreciate the original meaning. No matter it is “lost” or “say goodbye to someone”， the translation work which is familiar to the target language readers is the best one. Thus we hold the “失去”， “告別” the good translation work and all the common things they share are familiarity to receptor readers and success in avoiding using the “death” or “死” directly. Secondly， besides the Nida’s theory， there are still some others elements for us to consider doing the translation. Personal experience and contribution of the dead maybe the first one to be thought over， like the one President Zuma has proposed， “our nation lost its greatest son”， this one requires us to think the personal experience and great contribution that Mandela made to his country in his lifetime. By doing in this way， it is not hard to understand the saying “son” and the translation “我們的國家失去了最偉大的兒子”.

References

Eugene A.Nida Charles R. Taber The Theory and Practice of Translation [M]. Brill Academic Pub 1982.

Eugene A.Nida Jan De Waard From One Language to Another [M].Thomas Nelson Inc 1986.

陳輝，2010，《“死”的委婉，“死”的文化---英漢表“死”委婉語的跨文化比較》[J]。蘇州科技學院學報（社會科學版）：105-108。

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作者簡介：李海誠（1992—），男，漢族，甘肅蘭州人，單位：西北師范大學外國語學院翻譯碩士 研究方向：英語口筆譯