The Translation of Hot Words and Buzz Words

胡洋

【Abstract】The present-day life is full of various hot words and buzz words， most of which have appeared first on the internet and they have become important parts of peoples spiritual life and recreational world. This paper will analyze the comparative analysis of the different translation of these words， then give the conclusion of the most appropriate translation version according to various situations.

【Key words】hot words； buzz words； meaning； translation

Ⅰ. Introduction

Though some argue that the wide use of hot words and buzz words may be a great challenge to traditional Chinese culture and Chinese words， there is no denying that they have already become an important part of Chinese modern culture and language. Apparently， they are also contributing to Chinese peoples intellectual life.

However， it is very hard for some foreigners to understand the meaning of these words， because they may not be well-translated and only a few books and magazines have the translation of those words. So its very necessary to study and analyze the right ways of translating Chinese hot words and buzz words.

II. The Translation of Hot Words and Buzz Words

The process of translation consists of two phases：comprehension and expression. Generally speaking， comprehension is of foremost importance， and expression is the natural consequence of the thorough comprehension. However， in the practice of translation， one may find that now and then some words in their usual senses are very difficult to deal with because of the difference between English and Chinese. In this paper， some special means of translation have to be resorted to.

Literal translation and free translation are two useful approaches in dealing with some awkward situations.

Superficially speaking， literal translation means “not to alter the original words and sentences”； strictly speaking， it strives “to keep the sentiments and style of the original” It takes sentences as its basic units and takes the whole text into consideration at the same time in the course of translation. Furthermore， it strives to reproduce both the ideological content and the style of the original works and retains as much as possible the figures of speech.

Some situations suitable for literal translation：

Total equivalents：（When there are total equivalents in both the languages， we may use literal translation.）

For examples：樂活族 this word is introduced from western countries at first， now it has been given new intentions by Chinese people， which is to describe a new life style， a lifestyle of health and sustainability. Thus， we can directly translate it into LOHAS， which is the abbreviation of “lifestyle of health and sustainability”.endprint

Free translation is an alternative approach which is used mainly to convey the meaning and spirit of the original without trying to reproduce its sentence patterns or figures of speech. This approach is most frequently adopted when it is really impossible for the translator to do literal translation. For examples：

1.全職媽媽：this word describes mothers who give up their jobs so as to take care of their babies and the have enough time to handle the housework while their husband can concentrate on earning money. “stay-at-home mom” can express the condition of this phenomenon.

2.拼車 this word shows peoples sense of time-saving and money-saving as they can cooperate with each other， every one will benefit from it， so we can use “car-pooling” to translate this word.

Ⅲ. Conclusion

When translating， literal translation and free translation are two useful approaches in dealing with some awkward situations. We would like to concentrate on the form and meaning of the original when we use literal translation and free translation. When have enough time， we should use free translation to find out the best translation so as to convey the original meaning of the word as possible as we can. While we are interpreting， we can use literal translation of those words since we do not have enough time， but we have to keep the basic meaning remain unchanged.

References：

[1]Ann Rogers，Morton Schagrin，and Helen Young，ed，The 1Society and Culture of Major English-Speaking Countries an Introduction，Book Two Beijing：Higher Education Press，2005.

[2]陳宏薇.新實用漢譯英教程[M].武漢：湖北教育出版社，1996.

[3]張培基.英漢翻譯教程[M].上海：上海外語教育出版社，1983.endprint