A Study on German Translation Strategies for Chinese Culture-Specific Items

This paper focuses on the translation of Chinese cultural-specific items (CSIs) into German, and analyses the selection and practice of translation strategies. Through analysing a large number of concrete cases, five main translation methods are summarized: phonetic translation, free translation, cultural substitution, annotation and mixed strategy, and the application of each strategy and its advantages and disadvantages are discussed in detail with examples. The study shows that the translation of cultural-specific items needs to seek a balance between cultural transmission and reader acceptance, and flexibly apply the principles of domesticationandforeignization. At the same time, this paper takes the German translation of Dream of the Red Chamber, classical Chinese literature, and modern Chinese cultural vocabularies as the objects of study, analyses the practical application effect of translation strategies, and then puts forward the establishment of dynamic cultural terminology database, the flexible application of mixed strategies, and other practical suggestions, hoping to provide theoretical support and practical reference for the relevant translation work.

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