Untranslatable flavours : Examining the loss of culinary and cultural nuance in Chinese-to-English dish name translation
As globalisation broadens culinary exposure, accurately translating Chinese food names into English has become crucial in bridging cultural and linguistic gaps for international diners. However, the translation of Chinese dish names into English often entails a significant loss of culinary and cult...
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en |
| Published: |
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
2025
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/49676/1/3L_Untranslatable%20flavour.pdf http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/49676/ https://ejournal.ukm.my/3l/article/view/88825 http://doi.org/10.17576/3L-2025-3103-30 |
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| Summary: | As globalisation broadens culinary exposure, accurately translating Chinese food names into English has become
crucial in bridging cultural and linguistic gaps for international diners. However, the translation of Chinese dish names into English often entails a significant loss of culinary and cultural nuance, resulting in a diminished
representation of the original flavours, techniques, and heritage. This study explores the intricacies and limitations inherent in conveying the essence of Chinese cuisine to English-speaking audiences. The research aims to investigate the extent to which translation fails to capture essential cultural and culinary elements, thereby impacting
international diners' understanding and appreciation of Chinese dishes. The primary objectives of this research are
to explore how translation strategies such as literal translation, transliteration, and term translation affect the conveyance of culinary and cultural elements, and to evaluate the extent of nuance loss in translation.
Methodologically, a corpus of English-translated Chinese dish names was compiled and analysed to examine the
linguistic structures, cultural markers, and culinary terms to uncover patterns and identify translation limitations.
This study adopts Cultural Translation Theory as its analytical framework to examine how cultural meanings are
mediated and transformed across languages, with a focus on the interplay between language, culture, and identity in
the context of culinary discourse. The analysis drew on established frameworks in translation studies and cultural
semiotics to interpret how language choices influence the perception of the original dishes. By focusing exclusively
on comparative analysis, this study provides insights into the complexities of culinary translation, highlighting the
challenges of preserving cultural authenticity in cross-linguistic contexts. The study reveals that the translation of Chinese dish names into English is shaped less by cultural fidelity than by pragmatic considerations of clarity, accessibility, and marketability. |
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