THE CORRESPONDENCES AND NONCORRESPONDENCES BETWEEN CHINESE AND LUSOPHONE LANGUAGE AND CULTURE: AN ANALYSIS OF BOTANICAL TERMS

Abstract

Despite belonging to two totally different language families, there is always a translatability between Chinese and Portuguese. The first Portuguese-Chinese dictionary by Matteo Ricci and Michele Ruggieri dating from the 17th century is the most persuasive evidence of this fact. On the one hand, there is no shortage of translation masterpieces today, and on the other hand, cultural exchange is intensifying at a rapid pace as the globalization process deepens. It is becoming urgent to pay attention to the differences existing in the two different cultures and the non-correspondences in their translation. Partial knowledge about another culture can lead to imprecise translation and result in equivocation of other related concepts in sequence. Undoubtedly, biological and cultural differences cause the phenomenon of non-correspondence the most. However, searching for similar concepts in the target language culture is also used as a frequent strategy, facilitating both the translator’s work and the target audience’s understanding. However, translation facilitation can bring misunderstandings. The non-matching of hyperonyms and hyponyms between the two cultures makes the translation of some concepts somewhat difficult. This paper aims to exemplify some of the issues of non-correspondence between the two languages, with the objective of contributing to a better understanding of the two cultures and the enhancement of translation between Chinese and Portuguese.

Keywords
translation; Chinese language; Portuguese language; hyperonym; pragmatics