英汉姓名翻译

[Abstract]Ascarriersofcultures,ChineseandEnglishnamesarefullofculturalconnotations,andresultinculturalgapbetweenEnglishandChinese.Personalnamesarenotonlysymbolsthatdistinguishonepersonfromothers,butalsosocialsymbols.Itis“amirrorofculture”.Throughcomparativestudyona

nation’shistory,religion,conceptsofmoralandvalue,wecanseedifferentculturalconnotationsbetweenEnglishandChinesenames.Andthensuggestsometranslationprinciplesandmethods.TherearesomesimilaritiesbetweenEnglishandChinesenames,suchastotemism,consciousnessofroot-seeking,specializingpoints.InChinesenames,wecanfindthecultureofreligiousconcepts,Confucian-worship,hierarchy.Andthereligion,personal-orientation,individualismcanalsobefoundinEnglishnames.InthetranslationofChineseandEnglishnames,translatorsshouldfollowthepronunciationoftheowner’slanguageandadopttheestablishedpopulartranslatednames,usetransliterationandparaphrasesoastoreflecttherealmeaningofEnglishandChinesenames.

[KeyWords]EnglishnamesandChinesenames;culturalconnotation;translationprinciple;translationmethod

[摘要]姓名，作为一种文化载体，蕴涵着极其丰富的文化内涵，英汉姓名因而存在着巨大的文化差异。姓名不仅仅是一种简单的区别于他人的符号，它同时也代表一种社会文化现象，被喻为“文化的镜像”。通过对英汉姓名的历史渊源，，价值观念等的对比研究，揭示出英汉姓名的深层文化内涵及社会文化因素的影响，进而对这种富载文化内涵的姓名的翻译提出翻译原则和翻译翻译方法。英汉文化的共性，如图腾崇拜，寻根意识，特指性，心理暗示等使英汉不同姓名的系统中出现一些类同的现象。英汉文化内涵的差异，如中国的宗教观念，崇儒思想，等级制度等文化因素都可以从中国人的姓名中反映出来。而英语民族的，个人取向，强调个性也在英语姓名中有所反映。由于英汉姓名的文化差异，在翻译英汉姓名时应遵循“名从主人原则”和“约定俗成原则”，采取音译法和释义法，或者两者相结合，使人名的真实内涵得到体现。

[关键词]英汉姓名；文化内涵；翻译原则；翻译方法

1．Introduction

Namesareusedbyhumanbeingsandtheyarethesignsforpeopletodistinguishonepersonfromtheothers.Theyhavesomeparticularfunctionsthatnoothersignscanperform.Theyarenotonlylinguisticsymbols,butalsosocialsymbols,representingrelationshipinsocietiesandcultures.“Eachpersonhashisnamewhichdistinguisheshimselffromothermembersinthecommunity,andeachcountryhasitsownnamesystemowingtotheirdifferenthistoricalandculturalbackground”.[1]P1Inaword,personalnamesarewindowsforpeopletoseethroughdifferentculturesindifferentsocieties.Forthesereasons,thetranslationofChineseandEnglishnamesshouldfollowthepronunciationoftheowner’scountryandadopttheestablishedpopulartranslatednames,usetransliterationandparaphrasesoastoreflecttherealmeaningofChineseandEnglishnames.

2．Relationbetweenpersonalnameandculture

Personalnamesaretheproductsofthehistoricaldevelopmentofhumansociety.Theyreflecttheancientcivilizationandsplendidculturesfromdifferentrespects.Thechoiceofnametellssomethingabouthumansocietyandreflectsthesocialculture.Therefore,thedevelopmentofpersonalnamescannotbeisolatedfromthesocialculturebackground.Namesaretheinseparablepartofcultureandtheinevitableoutcomeofculturalevolution.Likeotherlinguisticphenomenatheyplaytheroleofcarrierandpropagatorofcultures.

Cultureinfluenceseveryaspectofhumansociallifeandinfluencespeople’sbehavior.Personalnamesaretheoutcomeofpeople’sbehavior,sotheinfluenceofculturecanbeseenfromthechangingofpersonalnames.Forexample,“inancientChina,“龟”（gui,tortoise）wasoftenusedaspersonalnamewhichhadgoodconnotationoflongevity.However,afterMingDynasty,theconnotationofthecharacterchanged,whichindicatesamanwhosewifeisnotloyaltohim.Thenfewpeopleuse“龟”aspersonalnames”.[2]P2Inaddition,personalnamesarerestrictedbyculture,forinstance,ChinesepeoplearegreatlyinfluencedbyConfucianism,soobviousproprietiescanbeseeninChinesenames.“EnglishpeoplebelieveChristianandreligioussensecanbefoundintheirnames”.[3]P51Ontheotherhand,asakindofsocialreality,personalnamesexertitsinfluenceandactiononsocietiesandcultures.Forexample,thetabooonusingthepersonalnamesofemperorswasformedundertheinfluenceoffeudalhierardyculture.Onceithadbeenformeditbegantorestricteveryaspectofpeople’slife.Inshort,personalnamesandcultureinfluencerestricteachotherandactoneachother.Frompersonalnames,peoplecanseetheculturalsimilarityanddifferenceindifferentsociety.

parativestudybetweenthetwonamesystems

Everynationhasitsownhistory,duringwhichithasshapeditsownparticularcharacteristics.Asaspecialsocialandlinguisticphenomenon,namesrelatetoculturesextensivelyandprofoundly.Whenwelearnaforeignlanguageandtrytomakeeffectivecommunication,wemustunderstanditscultureandneedtoknowaboutnamesandnaming,justaswhenwestudyalanguageweneedtoknowitsvocabularyanditsgrammar.Inthissection,wearegoingtomakeacomparativestudyontheseaspectsbetweenChineseandEnglishnamesystems.

3.1SimilaritiesbetweentheTwoSystems

3.1.1Totemism

“Atbeginning,thebasicofpersonalnameistotemism.Totemismmaybeanimals,plantsorunlivingthings.Thegroupoftentakessometotemastheirancestor,andthenuseditastheirownnames”.[4]P51“Inancienttimes,thehumanbeingswerenotonlyafraidofnaturalpower,butalsorespectit.Therefore,bothinChineseandEnglishpersonalnames,wecanfindlotsofnamesfromplace,animal,plant,unlivingthingsinnatureornaturalphenomenon”.[5]P82Forexample,inChinesenames,YanEmperor（炎帝,oneancestorofChinesepeople）livednearJiangWater（姜水,anameofariver）,sohistribeusedjiang(姜)astheirtribename,HuangEmperor(黄帝,anotherancestorofChinesepeople)livednearJiWater(姬水,anameofariver)andusedji(姬)asthetribe’sname,andyao(姚)camefromtheplacecalledyaoxu(姚墟)whereShun(舜,anancestorofChinesepeople)lived.InEnglish,peopleusedthenaturalphenomenonasfamilynames,suchasFrost,Rain,andSnowetc.Andsomenamescomefromanimalnames,forexample,Bird,Bull,Lion,Fox,Wolfandsoon.Somecomefromplantnames,forinstance,Flower,Apple,Lily,Rose.Thisphenomenonreflectssimilarculturalconnotationthatnamesareassociatedwithprimitivetotemism.

3.1.2Consciousnessofroot-seeking

InChineseandEnglishnames,wecanfindnamestakenfromtheirbirth-placenames,suchasLiuZongyuan(柳宗元),afamouspoetinTangDynasty,wasbornatHeDong,sohehasanothernameLiuHedong(柳河东).InChina,nowadays,wealsohavenameslikeWangChangcheng(王长城),LiChangjiang(李长江),etc.ThesenamesarecloselyconnectedwithChineseplaces.InEnglishpeoplealsotakeplacesastheirpersonalnames.“Forexample,Washington(华盛顿)，Brook(溪流),Well(泉),Wood(林木)andsoon”.[6]P81Thesesimilaritiesshow,ashumanbeing,theyallhavetheconsciousnessofroot-seeking.

3.1.3Specializingcharacter

Mostnamesinliteraryworkshavespecialmeaning.“Theysymbolizesomeconnotationsthatgofarbeyondtheirliterarymeanings.Theybecomesomegeneraltermsindicatingcertainmeaning,symbolizingcertainpeople,orreferringparticularlytocertainsituationsoractions”.[7]P31

Forexample,Shylock,inShakespeare’scomedyTheMerchantofVeniceindicatessomeusurersandbusinessmenwhoaremeanandcruel.Itcanalsobeusedasverbreferringtotheactionofowingusury.Forinstance,“Hisincomederivedfromillicitactivities-bookmaking,gambling,shylocking,andquestionableunionactivities”.

TakethepersonalnameZhuGeliang（诸葛亮）asanotherexample.Itcanbeusednotonlytorefertothespecificpersonwhooncereallyexistedinhistory,butalsousedasacommonnoun.“诸葛亮”inthesaying“三个臭皮匠，顶个诸葛亮”（Workingtogether,threeordinarymencanbeaswiseasZhugeLiangwhowasaverywisemanintheThreeStatesPeriod）isnotspecificaperson,itreferstosamewisemenlikehim.InChineseliterature,wemayfindnameswithspeciallyimpliedmeaningchosebywriterswhotendtotakeadvantageofhomophone,whichactsasapun.Forexample,charactersinTheStoryofStonethatwrittenbyChaoXueqin.JiaYucun(贾雨村)，Jiahua(贾化)，ZhenShiyin(甄士隐)，whichpronouncethesameasjiayucun(假语存--liesexist),jiahua(假话--telllies)，zhenshiyin(真事隐--truthishidden).

BothinChineseandEnglish,therearealsonamesingreatauthors’writingswhicharetakenascurrentvocabulary.

HamletistheheroinShakespeare’stragedy“Hamlet”.Hisunclemurdershisfathersohewantstotakerevengesonhim.Buthehesitatessomuchinhisavengingplanthatintheendhehastopretendbeingmad.“Hamlet”inpresentEnglishisnotonlyoneofthecharactersinShakespeare’stragedy,butalsoconsideredasasynonymtoapersonwhoishesitatingindoingsomethingortoahesitatingaction.Ifpeoplethinksomeoneisveryhesitatingindoingsomething,theymaysay“YouareHamlet”.RipVanWinkleisoneoftheheroesintheworksoftheAmericanwriterWashingtonIrving.Heisahen-packedman.Oncebeingscoldedbyhiswife,herunsintotheCatskill,amountainnearhisvillage.Hefeelsrelaxedthereanddrinkstoomuchbeforefallingasleep.Whenhewakesup,itistoomanyyearslaterthateverythinginthevillagehasbeengreatlychanged.RipVanWinkleisnowreferringtosomepeoplewhoareold-fashioned,orwhosemindsandthoughtsaredroppedfarbehindfromthepresentsociety.Peoplemayexpresssomeone’sideathatisoutofdate,bysaying“ThisistheopinionofsameRipVanWinkle”.

3.2Differencesbetweenthetwonamesystems

Itissaidthateverycoinhasitstwosides.Wetalkedabouttheirsimilaritiesabove,andnow,wearegoingtotalkaboutthedifferencesbetweenChineseandEnglishnamesystemsandtheircultureconnotation

3.2.1Originoffamilynames

Familynamesreflectdifferentnationalculturesandancientcivilizationfromvariouspointsofview.Beingakindofsocialphenomenonandcomplicatedpsychologicalprocess,familynamesrevealsocialreality.Sothedevelopmentoffamilynamescannotbeseparatedfromthesocialandculturalbackgroundonwhichtheyrely.Theformanduseoffamilynamesaredevelopingprogressivelywiththeevolutionofhistoryandchangingofsociety.

(i)OriginofChinesefamilynames

“ThenumberoffamilynamesinChineseismuchsmallerthanthatofEnglishname.Sofar,wehavealltogetherlessthantenthousandfamilynames,inwhich6363familynamesarefromtheHannationality.Butinthewest,thereare156thousandfamilynames,amongwhichthirty-fivethousandarefrequentlyseenindailylife”.[8]P6“ItisthoughtthatChinesefamilynamescameaboutinmatriarchalclansociety.Atthattime,everyclangotthedistinctiveclannamebasedontheirtotemordwellingplaces.TheclannamesaretheearliestfamilynameswhichinChinesearecalled姓(xing)”.[9]P9Afterpopulationofaclanmultiplied,theclandividedintoseveralbranchesandmovedtodifferentplacestolive.Theneachbranchwouldgettheirownbranchnametodistinguishthisbranchfromtheothers.Thenameofeachbranchiscalled氏(shi).Thedifferencebetweenthemisthat,theformeroneisusedtotellapartdifferentfamiliesinranksoffamilyinthesociety.So“xing”isnotchangeable,but“shi”canbechanged.InancientChina,therewouldbethousandofpeoplesharedthesamefamilynames,theycamefromthesameclansandlivedinthesamevillages,someofthemmaymovetootherplaces,buttheycouldn’tchangetheirfamilynames.

Accordingtohistoricalrecords,inXia,ShangandZhouDynasties,“xing”and“shi”begantohaveclasscolorbesidestheiroriginalfunction.“Shi”,especially,wasbestownedbytheirruler.Asaresult,“shi”becamethemarkofthearistocracy.Onlythearistocratshad“shi”,andtheordinarypeoplehadno“shi”.Allthearistocratsweremenatthattime.Therefore,onlymenhad“shi”.“Thedistinctionbetween“xing”and“shi”disappearedinQinandHanDynasty.Theybecameonethatiscalled“xingshi”inChineseandreferstofamilynames”.[10]P10Thisphenomenonindicatesthattheoriginalfunctionanddistinctionof“xing”and“shi”wereofnosignificanceafterthecentralizedfeudalsocialsystemwasestablished.

(ii)OriginofEnglishfamilynames

“ThehistoryofEnglishfamilynamesismuchshorterthantheChineseones.ItcameaboutintheMiddleAges”.[11]P34Theyareinlargenumber.SocialculturalfactorsplayanimportantroleinthedevelopmentofEnglishfamilynames.TheyreflectacompletepictureofEnglishfeudalsociety.SotheyarethelivingfossilsforstudyingEnglishhistoryandculture.

EnglishfamilynamesarethehistoricalproductofEnglishsociety.Theyexperiencednearlythreecenturiesfromnonexistencetofulldevelopment.Therewasatimewhennoonehadahereditaryfamilyname.“WhentheancestorsofEnglishpeopleinvadedBritaininthe5thcentury,theyformedatribalsociety.Englishpeopledidn’tgetfamilynamesuntil1066whenNormansconqueredBritain.TheNormanscertainlydidn’thaveafullydevelopedfamilynamessystem”.[12]P80Itwasnotyettheirconsciouspolicytoidentifyafamilybyonename.Buttherewerenotenoughnamesfordistinction.Inacertainperiodmoreandmorenameswereduplicated.Thisphenomenonbroughtgreattroubletopeopleincommunication.Sowhenpeopleweretalkingaboutapersonwhowasabsent,theyoftenemployedadditionalphrasesforfurtheridentification.Forexample,whentheyreferredtoJohnwholivedunderthehill,theywouldadddescriptivephraseas“fromthehill”.ThenJohnbecame“Johnfromthehill”toindicatewhichJohntheyweretalkingabout.Althoughtheadditionalphrasescanplaytheroleforfurtheridentification,theyaretoocomplicated.Therefore,someunimportantwordsareoftenomitted.Then“Johnfromthehill”ischangedinto“JohnHill”.Withthedevelopmentoffeudalsociety,therewasanurgentneedforpeopletosolvetheproblemofpersonalidentification.Forthisreason,peoplecreatedanewwayforexpressionthattheybegantoaddtheirfather’sormanor’snamebehindtheirgivenname.Infact,theadditionalphraseswhicharecalled“bynames”aretheembryosofEnglishfamilynames.TheyplayedanimportanttransitionalpartinthedevelopmentofEnglishfamilynames.Gradually,thesebynameswereturnedintohereditaryfamilynames.

Fromthebeginningofthe15thcenturynearlyallEnglishpeopleinheritedfamilynamesatbirthandtheword“surname”wasusedwiththemeaningwegiveittoday.IthadbeenborrowedfromFrench“surnom”,derivingfromLatinsuper,andwasusedatfirsttomean“anextraname”or“anickname”.ModernFrenchtranslates“surname”asnomdefemile,soinEnglishsurnameisalsocalledfamilyname.

3.2.2Formsofnamesandculturalconnotation

(i)Formsofnames

InbothChineseandEnglish,thepersonalnamescanbedividedintosurnamesandgivennames.Aperson’sfamilynameisinherent.He/Shegothis/herfamilynamebeforehe/shewasborn.Thereforefamilynamesarenotselectable.Thecaseisdifferentingivennames.Givennamesarenotinherentbutselectable;onecanchoosehisgivennames.Butthewayinwhichthesenamesareusedvariesinthetwolanguages.Afundamentaldifferenceistheorderinwhichthesenamesoccur.InChinese,thefamilynamecomesfirstandthegivennameisplacedafterit.Andtherearetwokindsoffamilyname,oneissinglesurname,theotherisdoublesurname.Forexample,王国强(WangGuoqiang),司马相如(SimaXiangru).Here王(Wang)and司马(Sima)arefamilynames,国强(Guoqiang)and相如(Xiangru)aregivennames.

However,inEnglish,thefamilynameisattheend,andthegivennameisinthefront.“ThegivennamecouldbedividedintoChristianname(firstname)andmiddlename(secondname)”.[13]P58

Inwesterncounties,mostpeoplehavemiddlenames,thenumberofwhichcanbeone,two,threeorevenmorethantens,suchas“anAmericanwriterRobertPeterTristramCoffinandaBritishwriterOscarFingalO’FlahertieWillsWilde”.[14]P11HereRobertandOscararegivennames,PeterTristramandFingalO’FlahertieWillsaremiddlename,CoffinandWildearefamilynames.Middlenamesareonlyusedinveryformalsituationforofficialpurpose,suchasonadocument.Usuallypeopleomitthemorusethecapitallettersinstead.ThereforethewritermentionedaboveiscalledRobertCoffinandOscarWildeonmostoccasions.AsmostEnglish–speakingpeoplebelieveinChristianityorCatholic,accordingtothereligiouscustom,ababywhowasbornaroundoneweekshouldbebaptizedandnamedinthechurch.SothegivennamecanalsobecalledbaptizednameorChristianname.AlthoughgivennamesarefrequentlyreferredtoasChristiannames,thisdoesnotmeanthatthepersonisaChristianorthenamehasbeengivenbythechurch.Nowadays,itisusuallyusedasasynonymfor“givenname”.Manyparentstaketheirbabytochurchtobebaptized,butthegivennamesarechosenbytheirparentsbeforethis.Andevenifapersonhasneverbeenbaptized,theirnamescanstillbecalledChristiannames.

(ii)Culturalconnotation

TheoppositeordersofChineseandEnglishnamesarereflectionofdifferentculturesonpersonalnames.Chinesefamilynamesrepresenttherelationshipofclan,groupandconsanguinity;TraditionalChinesecultureemphasizesthegenerality.Therefore,inthiskindofcultureatmosphere,Chinesepeopleputtheirfamilynameswhichrepresenttheirancestors,clansandgroupsbeforetheirgivennames,whichsymbolspersonindividualitywhilethewesternpeoplenotonlyemphasizeindividualpersonandindividuality,butalsovaluetheindependentpersonalityandself-consciousness,theythinkthegivennamesarelifeandsoulofaperson,sotheyhighlyvaluethem.

Contrarytothehighesteemofgivennames,Englishpeoplethinkfamilynamesarenotveryimportant.Thereflectionofthissenseleadstothedifferentorderofname,i.e.givennamesareputbeforefamilynames.Andwecanalsofindthedifferentcultureconnotationinwomen’snames.Chinesewomenremaintheirfamilynamesandgivennames,eveninthepast.However,inmostwesterncountries,thewomenoncemarried,theyshouldchangetheirfamilynametothatoftheirhusbands’accordingtothecustom.Forexample,whenMaryWhitemarredJohnBrown,hernameshouldbechangedintoMaryBrown.

Incidentally,asmentionedabove,thegivennamesinEnglish-speakingcountriesarealsocalledChristiannames.Thephenomenonreflectstheimportantroleinpeople’slife.

3.2.3Patriarchy,Confucian-worship,religion

“WiththeinfluenceofPatriarchy,Chinesepeopleoftenusebirthordersortheirfatherorgrandfather’sgivennamesasshi(氏).InZhouDynasty,peopleusedthecharacters孟（meng）,伯（bo）,仲（zhong）,叔(shu),季(ji)toindicatethebirthorderofchildren.Andtheywereusuallyusedasshi”.[15]P16AccordingtotheruleofPatriarchy,theemperor’ssonwascalled王子(wangzi,sonofanemperor),sonof王子iscalled王孙，（wangsun,grandsonofanemperor）,andthesonof王孙mustusethisgrandfather’sgivennameashis“shi”.ChinesenamearenotonlyinfluencedbyPatriarchy,butalsoinfluencedbyConfucian-worship.Anobviousfeatureistheuseofgenerationcharacter.Thatismembersofeachgenerationofapatriarchalfamilyusethesamecharacterintheirgivenname,differentgenerationusedifferentcharacter.Thusthenamecanshowtheirbearer’spositioninthefamilyhierarchy.However,thegenerationcharacterisgraduallydisappearingwiththedisappearanceofclanfamiliesandthefulfillmentoftheone-childpolicyinChina.Today,religioninfluencecanalsobefoundinEnglishpersonalnames.“Religion,especiallyChristianityplaysagreatimportantroleinthedevelopmentofEnglishpersonalnames.NotonlytheChristians,butalsocommonpeopleareinfluencedbyit.Therefore,theirnameshaveconnectionswiththereligion,theyreflectEnglishnationalcultures.InEnglish-speakingcountries,“John”isaverypopularnameusedbymen,whichcomesfromHebrew,Yohananmeansing“thegiftfromgod”.“John”isanameofbelieverinBible,soitbecomessopopularonpersonalnames”.[16]P35Inthe16thand17thcentury,Puritansshowgreatbeliefsinreligion.Theygavetheirchildrenslogannames,suchasBe-courteous,Fight-the-good-fight-of-faith,the-lord-is-near.Suchnamesweremuchlaughedatbythepublic.Themoresensiblepuritanshadinthemeantimemanagedtodisplaytheirreligiousbeliefsinlesseccentricwaysandcreatedagroupofnames,whichhavesurvivedtothepresentday.Thisnaminggroupfeaturedthe“virtues”anditincludessuchnamesasCharity,Faith,Grace,Honor,Joy,Hope,Patience,PrudenceandFelieity.

3.2.4Hierarchyandequality

“Confuciusemphasizedthedistinctionbetweenupperclassandlowerclass,thesuperiorgenerationandinferiorgeneration.Thehierarchyruleswerestrictlyobeyed”.[17]P75Infeudalsociety,whenpeoplecameacrossthegivennamesoftheemperor,theyhadtoavoidthem.Ifaperson’sowngivennamewasthesameastheemperor’sincoincidence,hehadtochangehisowngivennameevenfamilyname.Forinstance,“theemperorineastHanDynastywasnamed刘庄(LiuZhuang),when庄忌（ZhuangJi）inWestHanwenttoEastHan,hehadtochangehisnameinto严忌(YanJi)Notonlytheemperor’snamesweretaboos,thenamesoftheordergenerationwerealsotaboosfortheyoungergeneration.Therefore,inChinaasonneverusedhisfather’sgivennameashisownnames”.[18]P44

Whatishighlyvaluedinthewestisindividualismandasaresultequalrelationshipamongpeopleishighlyvalued.Andthereforewhatisadvocatedisnottheobligationsandresponsibilitiesascribedtoeachmemberofthesocietyaccordingtohisorhersocialpositionbuthumanitarianismandhumanrights.Thewayofusingtheirfatherorgrandfather’snamesastheirownnamesisapracticalwayofnaming.Forexample,“BritishpoliticianWilliamPittandhissonWilliamPitt,AmericanartistGeorgeInnessandhissonsharedthesamename”.[19]P44Thatisbecausebeforetheappearanceoffamilynames,theconsanguinityoffamilywasmainlymanifestedthroughduplicationofnamesandalliteration.Andduplicationofnamesisthesimplestway.Latterfamilynamesappeared,butthetraditionofusingfatherorgrandfather’snametonameababysurvived.Forthepurposeofidentification,“theelderandtheyounger”or“senior”or“junior”arerespectivelyputbehindthefatherandson’snames.Suchas,JamesEarlCarter,Sr,andhissonJamesEarlCarter,Jr,usuallyinBritainpeopleuse“theelderandtheyounger”,inAmerica,peopleuse“senior”,and“junior”.

3.2.5Otheraspects

“Chinesepeoplenotonlyhaveformalnameandcourtesyname(字),butalsohaveliteraryname(hao号),whichisnotuniquephenomenainChinesenames.Westernpeoplealsohavenickname,butitisnotascommonasChinese”.[20]P14ZiandHaoaretheproductsofancientChineseculture.“Zi”isusedbythepersonofinferiorpositiontoaddressthepersonofsuperiorposition.ThisreflectstheworshipofgivennamesandhierarchyinancientChina.“Hao”,whichiskindoflaudatorytitle,usuallyshowsaperson’sinterests,hopeorspiritualsustenance.Although“hao”hascomeaboutveryearly,itprevailedafterTangandSongDynastiesandreacheditsclimaxinMingandQingDynasties.ThisistheresultoftheprosperityofliteraturesinceTangandSongDynasties,butitisnotusednowanymore.

InbothsystemsofChinesenamesandEnglishnames,therearediminutivesorhypocoristicnames.ThesenamesareuseddifferentlyinBritainorAmericaandChina.Chinesediminutivescanonlybeaddressedbythefamilymembersorveryclosefriends.Theyoungergenerationandotherpeoplecannotaddressapersonwithhisdiminutives.WhileEnglishdiminutivesareassociatedwiththegivennamesandusuallyarethevariantsofgivennames.Andaperson’sdiminutivesareusedinhiswholelifeandcanbeaddressedbyotherpeoplebesideshisfamilymembersandfriends.

4.TranslationofNames

4.1Basicrulesinthetranslationofnames

Namesareusedtoindicateoneindividualinordertodifferhimfromotherpersonsinthecommunity.Therefore,themethodsandprinciplesintranslatingnameseitherfromChinesetoEnglishorEnglishtoChinesearehighlyregardedinthetranslationfield.Thetranslationofgeneralnamesshouldfollowtwobasicrulers:namelyfollowthepronunciationoftheowner’slanguageandadoptestablishedpopulartranslatednames.Besides,themethodsofannotatingtransliterationandparaphraseandothersarenecessaryintranslationinmanycasessoastoreflecttherealmeaningofthenames.

4.1.1ChinesenamesintoEnglish

“Followingthepronunciationoftheowner’slanguagemeanswhentranslatingpersonalnames,oneshouldfollowthepronunciationoftheowner’slanguage.Accordingtothisprinciple,thenamesofChinesepeopleshouldbetranslatedaccordingtoChinesePhoneticAlphabet”,[21]P70whichalsocalledtransliteration.However,ChinesenamesarequitedifferentwiththatofEnglishnames,greatconfusionappearsinspellings.Ifone’snameisZhangJianhua,theremaybeeightwaysofspelling.

ZhangJianhuaZhangJian-huaZHANGJianhuaZHANGJian-hua

JianhuaZhangJian-huaZhangZhangJianHuaJianHuaZhang

“Thesedifficultiesarecausedbythedifferencebetweentwonamingsystems.Thebasicsolutiontothemisculturetransmission”.[22]P39Inordertoletpeoplewhocomefromdifferentcountriesgetfullunderstandingofeachother’sculture,weneedsomeprinciplestostandardizethesenamingspelling.

(a)Toputfamilynameaheadofgivenname.Forexample,“张健”shouldbetransliterateinto“ZhangJian”,butno“JianZhang”.

(b)“Familynameandgivennameshouldbedeparted.Thereshouldbenotanyspaceormarkslikehyphenorpointbetweendifferentcharactersinthegivenname.Andthefirstletterofthemmustbecapitalized”.[23]P82Forexample,“邓小平”shouldbetranslatedinto“DengXiaoping”.

SomenamesofChinesepeoplearenottranslatedaccordingtoChinesePhoneticAlphabet.Theyadopttheestablishedpopulartranslatednames.ForexampleConfucius(孔子)，Sunyat-sen(孙中山)，SoongChingLing(宋庆龄)，TanKahKee(陈嘉庚)，YuanShi-Kai(袁世凯),ChouEn-Lai()andsoon.

4.1.2EnglishnamesintoChinese

OwingtothedifferencesbetweenChineseandEnglishnamingsystems,therearedifficultiesandconfusioninthetranslationofnames,principlesarealsoneededtostandardizethetransliteration.

(a)Toputthefamilynameatlast

Asweallknow,Englishnameshavetheirownforms:firstname+middlename+familyname.Accordingtotheirtraditionalculture,weshouldputtheirChristiannamesatfirstandthenmiddlenames,andfamilynamesintheend.

(b)Thereshouldbeapointamongthefirstname,themiddlenameandthefamilyname

Inthethirdpartofthisdissertation,wehavemadeacomparativestudybetweenthetwosystems.Chinesegivennamesmaycontaintwocharactersbutthesetwocharactersareconsideredasone.InEnglish,firstnameisdifferentfrommiddlename;theyhavedifferentfunctionsandareusedrespectively.Therefore,intransliterationEnglishfirstnameandmiddlename,thereshouldbea“.”betweenthem.And“.”isalsoneededbetweenfamilynameandgivenname.Forexample,“JohnF.Kennedy”shouldbetransliterationinto“约翰.F.肯尼迪”.Astotheshortformofmiddlename,wecanremainitinthetransliteration.

(c)TokeepthenationalcharacteristicsofEnglishnames

“TranslatorsshouldtrytokeepthenationalcharacteristicsofEnglishnamesintransliteration”.[24]P49Forexample,“Smith”into“史密斯”，“F.R.LeavisintoF.R.利维斯，J.Edgar.HooverintoJ.埃德加.胡佛”.[25]P79

AlthoughthesetransliterationsofnameskeepthenationalcharacteristicsofEnglishnames,theyaretoolongforChinesepeopletorememberthem.SosomepeopletranslateEnglishnamesaccordingtoChinesecustom.“Suchas‘VirginiaPenn’into‘潘美今’,‘MargaretFung’into‘冯美琪’,and‘HenryLewisStimson’into‘史仃生’andetc”.[26]P49Actually,thesearetheChinesenamesratherthantranslationoftheirEnglishnames.WhenfacingthesenamesChinesepeoplewillbemuchconfusedbywonderingwhethertheyareChineseorforeigners.

TherearesometranslationofEnglishnamesadopttheestablishedpopulartranslatednames.“Forexample,‘Wilde’(awriterofEngland)into‘王尔德’,butnot‘怀尔德’,‘Holmes’into‘福尔摩斯’,butnot‘霍姆斯’,‘BernardShow’(awriterofEngland)into‘肖伯纳’，butnot‘肖纳得.肖’,’Caesar’into‘恺撒’,butnot‘西泽’,‘Shelley’(apoemofEngland)into‘雪莱’,butnot‘谢利’”.[27]P237

4.2Translationofliterarynames

Astocharactersinliteraryworks,wehavetwomethodsfortranslation.Thefirstoneisthattheycanbetranslatedaccordingtotheirpronunciation.Thereasonwhywetranslateliterarynamesinthiswayisthatsomenamesplaylessimportanceintheliteraryworks,themainfunctionofthemistodistinguishthemfromothercharactersintheliteraryworks.Theotherisparticularnamesinliteraryworkswithconnotation.Inmostcases,thesenameslosttheiroriginaldistinguishingfunctionbutbecomegeneralwordsreferringtosomepersonsoractionsorsituations.Iftranslatorsdisregardtheirconnotationbytranslatingthemdirectly,thismayresultinthemisunderstandingandconfusion.

Intheabovechapter,wehavementionedthefurtherconnotationofthename“Hamlet”.Nowlet’stakeupthefollowing:“IamHamlet”.Inthissentence,theEnglishreadersorsomeoftheChinesepeoplewhoknowsomethingabouttheprinceinShakespeare’stragedywillhavenodifficultyinunderstandingthespeaker’srealmeaning.ButtothosepeoplewhodonotknowwhoisHamlet,itisimpossibleforthemtounderstandtherealmeaningwhenfacingtheChinesesentence“我不是哈姆雷特”.Ifwetranslatethissentenceinto“我决不犹豫”,thereadersmayloseachancetoknowtheculturalinformationofHamlet.Soweshouldtranslateitbycompoundingthetransliterationandtheparaphraseofconnotation.Accordingtothisprinciple,“IamnotHamlet”wouldbebesttranslatedinto“我不是哈姆雷特，决不犹豫”.

5.Conclusion

Thephenomenaofpersonalnamesareputinthescaleofcultureandrevealthedeep-goingcultureconnotationindifferentcultures.Fromtheanalysis,wecanseetherolesofvarioussocialfactorsplayedinnaming:patriarchysystem,hierarchyandConfucian-worshiparethekeyfactorswiththeinfluenceonChinesepersonalnames;religionandtheemphasisofindividualismarethekeyfactorsfunctionedinEnglishnamingprocess.TheChinesenamesystemisquitedifferentfromthatofEnglish,notonlyintheformsandnamingprinciplesandculturalbackground,butalsointhetranslation.Allthesedifferencesplayanimportantroleincommunication.Intranslationofpersonalnames,translatorsshouldbefullyawareofthesedifferences.

ThestudyofChineseandEnglishnamesandtheircultureconnotationsandtheirtranslationhelpustohaveabetterunderstandingofChinesecultureandChinesepeopleaswellasEnglishlanguageandEnglishpeople.Thusintheinterculturalcommunicationwecancommunicatemoreeffectivelyandsuccessfully.

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[4]同[3],P51

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[7]同[1],P31.

[8]同[1],P6.

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[10]同[9],P10

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[12]同[6],P80

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[14]同[2],P11

[15]同[2],P16

[16]同[11],P35.

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[19]同[2],P44

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[22]同[1],P39.

[23]同[4],P82.

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[26]同[13],P49.

[27]隋荣谊.英汉翻译新教程[M].中国电力出版社，2004，5.P237