Author(s)

Yifei Li ¹

Affiliation(s)

¹ School of Foreign Language, Dalian Jiaotong University, Dalian, China

Corresponding Author

Yifei Li

ABSTRACT

As an important way of cross-cultural communication, the accuracy of Chinese-English translation depends on whether the translator conveys the intention of the native speaker correctly. However, pragmatic errors often occur in daily Chinese-English translation, which often leads to misunderstandings. Firstly, this paper briefly introduces the characteristics of the three terms and defines the criteria of pragmatic failure in translation. Then it analyzes the causes of pragmatic failure in E-C translation from four aspects. The previous argument is reinforced by illustrating several typical comparative examples. The four main factors leading to pragmatic failure in Chinese-English translation are the translator's ignorance of Chinese culture, lack of common cultural context between China and Britain, translator's unproficiency in grammar, and ignorance of context. The reasons for several types of pragmatic failures analyzed in this study are worth thinking about. In the future, it is necessary to cultivate multi-disciplinary and culturally rich translation talents.

KEYWORDS

Pragmatic Failure, Pragmatic Translation, Pragmatic Incompetence

CITE THIS PAPER

Yifei Li, An analysis of Pragmatic Failures in Chinese-English Translation Based on Multiple Factors. Lecture Notes on Language and Literature (2023) Vol. 6: 137-142. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/langl.2023.061320.

REFERENCES

[1] Pinkham Joan. The Translator's Guide to Chinglish [M]. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 2000. 
[2] Thomas J. Cross-Cultural Pragmatic Failure [J]. Applied Linguistics, 1983, 4 (2): 91-112.
[3] Song Hong. On the Impact of Cultural Context on Pragmatic Failures in Chinese-English Intercultural Communication: A Contrastive Analysis [J]. International Forum of Teaching and Studies, 2016, (5): 34-38. 
[4] Dai Weidong. A New Concise Course in Linguistics for Students of English [M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 2013. 
[5] Geng Xue. A Study on Pragmatic Failures in Chinese-English Interpretation from the Aspect of Pragmatics [D]. 2003. 
[6] Li Wenzhong. Chinese English and Chinglish [J]. Foreign Language Education and Research, 1993, (4): 20-26. 
[7] Liu Fuqing & Zhang Yan. Aesthetics and Translation: A Textbook [M]. Beijing: Chinese Translation Press, 2016. 
[8] Liu Wenlan. An Analysis of Pragmatic Failures in Chinese-English Translation: Pragmatic Translation [J]. Journal of Changchun University of Science and Technology (Higher Education Edition), 2008, (9): 44-47. 
[9] Yu Mengwen. A Comparison of Chinese and English Cultural Translation [J]. Foreign Language Education and Translation Development Innovation Research, 2020, 9 (6): 444-446. 
[10] Zhao Yongmei. Pragmatic Equivalence in Translation [J]. South Wind, 2017, (12): 103-104.

Sponsors, Associates, and Links

---

• Journal of Language Testing & Assessment
  
  
• Information and Knowledge Management
  
  
• Military and Armament Science
  
  
• Media and Communication Research
  
  
• Journal of Human Movement Science
  
  
• Art and Performance Letters
  
  
• Lecture Notes on History
  
  
• Philosophy Journal
  
  
• Science of Law Journal
  
  
• Journal of Political Science Research
  
  
• Journal of Sociology and Ethnology
  
  
• Advances in Broadcasting