Oral translation requires a good understanding of the cultural differences between two languages and cultural differences are one of the key factors for intercultural communication. Failure in intercultural communication will also result in failure of oral translation.
According to Richard E. Porter, there are eight cultural variahles which determine the success or failure in intercultural communication:
(1) attitudes
(2) social organization
(3) patterns of thought
(4) roles and role expectation
(5) language
(6) use and organization of space
(7) time conceptualization
(8) nonverbal expressions
1) Attitudes, referring to manners of feeling, behavior, judgment or opinion that influence our understanding of the messages received, e. g. Americans emphasize individualism but we Chinese collectivism. Americans don't care about the sex of a newborn baby, but most of us Chinese like boys.
2) Social organization, representing geograpbical societal organization, different social and religious classes and the way people of a certain culture organize themselves, e. g. Suppose an Ameriean tells you that his father is a lawyer, he may be actually telling you that he is proud of his father, however, we Chinese may not be able to get the implication.
3) Patterns of thought, indicating the main form of reasoning, e. g. Westerners pay more attention to logic in tbe process of reasoning, whereas we Chinese generally focus on intuition.
4) Roles and role expectations, meaning the social position of an individual, his/her responsibility and the social expectations of him/her, e. g. Westerners think that their grown-up children should have their own families, but many Chinese people would have their children live with them to show their filial obedience.
5) Language, including connotations, denotations and the influence of different culture experience, e.g. "Yaoji" in Chinese can only mean "medicine", but "drug" in English has the connotation of narcotics which means“duping”in Chinese.“宜传" (propaganda) is commendatory in Chinese while it is derogatory in English.
6) Use and organization of space, denoting the way people of different cultures use and organize space. Different cultures often attach different meanings to the same or similar interpersonal distance. In China, it is all right to read the newspaper on other people's private desks even without asking for permission, but it is considered impolite or rude to do so in western countries.
7) Time conceptualization, suggesting the way in which time is conceptualized, e. g. Meetings and appointments must be punctual in most of the western countries, but in China, they are generally a little delayed.
8) Nonverbal expressions, specifying movements of the body, e. g. Keeping eye contact with the speaker in western countries means you are carefully listening to the speaker, while in China we don't expect eye contact as much as westerners do. Too close eye concentration on a person, particularly on a young girl, is considered impolite and may sometimes cause misunderstanding.
The above-stated variables can be thought of as the causes of intercultural communication. They are interrelated and overlap during the process of oral translation activities. Any negligence of such variables will to a certain extent result in communication failure.
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