摘 要

大学校训是一种特殊的应用文体，是大学精神和文化的浓缩，也是学校育人理念与办学特色的体现。中国高校的校训，大多都源自于儒家经典，名人题词和名言摘录，具有显著的中华文化特点，蕴含独特的中华文化内涵。近年来，随着全球化进程的加快，中国高校的对外联系与交流也日益紧密和频繁。出于文化宣传和对外交流的需要，校训的准确英译也随之得到了前所未有的关注。本文搜集整理了多所中国高校的校训，在近年来中国大学校训英译研究所取得的成果的基础上，具体分析阐释了中国大学校训的文化内涵，并对比分析了中西方大学校训在历史根源及语言特点上的差异，希望在此基础上找出可循的校训翻译中文化内涵的翻译原则与策略，以实现中西文化的有效交流。

关键词：大学校训； 文化内涵； 英译原则与策略

Abstract

As a special practical style, university motto is the concentration of university spirit and culture, as well as the embodiment of its educational ideal and school-running characteristics. In China, most of the university mottos derive from Confucius scriptures as well as inscriptions and extracts by the renowned individuals, containing conspicuous Chinese cultural characteristics and unique Chinese cultural connotations. In recent years, with the acceleration of the globalization process, relations and exchanges between Chinese universities and overseas universities have become increasingly close and frequent. And for the sake of cultural propaganda and external communication, a proper translation of university motto has gained unprecedented attention. Based on the studies on university motto translation in the past few years, this paper presents an analysis of the collected university mottos, along with the analysis of the cultural connotations of Chinese university mottos and the differences between Chinese and Western University mottos, to fathom out some referential principles and strategies for the translation of cultural connotations in university motto, so as to accomplish an effective cultural communication between the Chinese universities and those overseas.

Key Words: university mottos; cultural connotation; Chinese-English translation principles and strategies

Contents

1 Introduction 1

2 Cultural Connotations of Chinese University Mottos 3

2.1 Morality as Priority 3

2.2 Academic Development as Main Task 3

2.3 Patriotism and Responsibility as Emphasis 4

3 Comparison between Chinese and Western University Mottos 5

3.1 Origin 5

3.1.1 Origin of Chinese university mottos 5

3.1.2 Origin of Western University mottos 6

3.2 Linguistic Features 6

3.2.1 Linguistic Features of Chinese university mottos 6

3.2.2 Linguistic Features of Western University mottos 7

4 Translation Principle and Strategies 9

4.1 Functional Equivalence 9

4.2 Foreignization 10

4.3 Domestication 10

5 Conclusion 13

References 14

Acknowledgements 16

A Study on the Translation of Chinese University Mottos

1 Introduction

The university motto refers to a refining phrase meant to formally describe the educatioanl motivation or intention of the university. It is the concentration of the university spirit and culture, as well as the embodiment of its educational ideal and school-running characteristics.

Generally, there are two functions of the university motto. First of all, for the university itself, the motto is at the very core of the campus culture, working as the conduct codes and moral rules for both faculty and students of the university. It also plays an indispensable role in the publicity of the university. On the other hand, for the society, university motto performs the function of radiating culture and guiding humanity, which means that the university has an indirect impact on the local and surrounding environment. Along with the economic development of China and its opening up to the outside world, many of Chinese universities are going international as well. One of the representatives is the exchange students. In recent years, numerous foreign students keep coming to China for higher education, and the university motto is an access for them to get the first impression of the university. In addition, as to thoes universities which aims at becoming the top universities in the world, an excellent translation of the university motto is a must, because it can promote the campus culture and enhance the university image, enabling the university to be much more competitive and well-known. In brief, now that a university motto shoulders university spirit and in the mean time functions as a way of publicity, its English translation is of prime importance to the introduction of the university to the outside world.

In the past few years, there has been plenty of studies on university motto translation. From the perspective of Chinese-English Contrastive Study, Du Zhengming compared the Chinese and English texts of the university motto of Suzhou University from various dimensions, and discusses the application value of translation and language comparison and the differences between English and Chinese way of thinking. Zhang Shunsheng only made a passing discussion about. the translation of university motto, with no in-depth reasearch or explanation. Fan Wuqiu compared the language structure, aesthetic effect and stylistic coloring of the  Chinese and Western University motto, and put forward five basic requirements for the translation on the basis of analyzing the existing problems in universtiy motto translation. Zhou Yongmo, on the other hand, after analyzing the origins and linguistic features of Chinese university mottos, presented the “three principles of translation”, namely, Intertextuality, Meaning-conveyance, Terseness. ( Maiamp;Wang, 2009).