Translating To Live: Cross-cultural reconstruction of high- and low-context cultural differences
《活着》的翻译研究：高低语境文化差异的跨文化重构

摘要

本文以余华的经典长篇小说《活着》及其白睿文（Michael Berry）英译本为研究对象，基于爱德华·霍尔（Edward T. Hall）提出的高低语境文化理论，深入剖析该译本在处理文化差异时采用的跨文化重构策略。作为中国当代文学外译的典范之作，《活着》承载着深厚的乡土文化基因与集体记忆，其文本中密集出现的文化负载词、隐喻性表达及隐含的意识形态，构成了典型的高语境文化特征。而白睿文译本在英语世界的广泛接受，则映射出译者对文化差异的创造性处理。本文通过对词汇、句法、语篇层面的实例分析，分析该译本在翻译过程中如何实现高语境文化特征的跨文化传递，以适应低语境文化读者的阅读习惯，为文学翻译中跨文化转换提供理论与实践参考。

Abstract

This paper takes Yu Hua's classic novel To Live and its English translation by Michael Berry as the research objects, focusing on the cross-cultural reconstruction strategies used to address cultural differences within the framework of Edward T. Hall’s high- and low-context culture theory. As a landmark work in the international translation of contemporary Chinese literature, To Live carries a deep imprint of rural cultural heritage and collective memory. Its text is rich in culture-loaded words, metaphorical expressions, and implicit ideological elements, all of which are hallmarks of a high-context culture. The widespread acceptance of Berry’s translation in the English-speaking world reflects the translator’s creative approach to bridging cultural differences. Through a detailed analysis of lexical, syntactic, and textual examples, this paper explores how the translation conveys high-context cultural features across languages while accommodating the reading habits of low-context culture audiences, offering both theoretical and practical insights into cross-cultural adaptation in literary translation.