Research of Translation Strategies of Culture-Loaded Terms in Three Kingdoms from the Perspective of Functional Equivalence Theory

The unique cultures of different nations have emerged due to variations in lifestyles, social systems, and thought processes, including vocabulary laden with social and cultural significance, known as culture-loaded terms. In translation studies, the past half-century has witnessed a gradual elevation of the importance of cultural factors, accompanied by the emergence of new translation theories. Notably, Nida’s theory of dynamic equivalence integrates reader response into the evaluation of translation quality, emphasizing both formal and functional equivalence to ensure the translation elicits the same effects in target language readers as in source language readers. Nida argues that even if the translation reader is unfamiliar with the cultural background of the source text, a comprehensive understanding of the translation’s meaning is still achievable, constituting an excellent translation. Three Kingdoms, as a classical Chinese novel, encompasses numerous culture-loaded terms. The translation of these terms directly influences reader comprehension, crucial for overall translation quality. This paper focuses on Moss Roberts’ English version, guided by Nida’s theory, summarizing translation strategies and providing valuable insights for guiding the translation of classical Chinese literary works.

Keywords: Three Kingdoms, Cultural-Loaded Words, Dynamic Equivalence Theory, Translation Strategies.