Research on English Translation Strategies for Yi Ethnic Proverbs in Yi Ethnic Proverbs Translation in Liangshan

Abstract

Yi ethnic culture is an integral part of Chinese culture, and Yi ethnic proverbs are one of its symbols. The "going out" of national culture is not only a national strategy, but also a necessity for integrating national culture into global culture. Translation has built a “bridge” for national culture to reach the world. Rooted in daily life and practices of the Yi ethnic people, the Yi proverbs are rich in content and offer both unique national insights and universal philosophical wisdom. Giving the lack of research on the English translation of Yi ethnic proverbs by Chinese scholars, this paper selects examples from Yi Ethnic Proverbs Translation in Liangshan (Chinese version) as its subject of study. Based on relevant translation theories, it explores English translation practices to discuss the translation methods of culture-loaded words in Yi ethnic proverbs and how to best reproduce the national cultural characteristics embedded in them. The results show that foreignization is the primary strategy for translating Yi ethnic proverbs. Methods such as literal translation, transliteration and annotation can be used to fully highlight the linguistic and cultural features of the source language, while maintaining the meaning equivalence. Additionally, the domestication strategy, complemented by free translation and set translation, can bring the translation closer to the readers and enhance the text’s readability.