Translation is a bridge between language and culture, and a country's translation style often reflects the country's cultural mentality. Modern China's tradition of translating Western names for "Xindaya" has been questioned and is seen as a reflection of China's cultural inferiority. Is the translation principle of "Xindaya" a manifestation of cultural inferiority?
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The concept of "Sindaya" is born in a specific historical context. At the end of the 19th century, China was invaded by the West and fell into internal and external troubles. Yan Fu put forward the translation principle of "Xindaya", with the aim of enabling Chinese to better understand the West and learn advanced Western ideas and technologies. "Xindaya" reflects the reality that China was facing a strong enemy at that time, and hoped to make China strong through translation.
It is more of an active exploration than a passive cultural inferiority, and the pursuit of elegant translation is not entirely a blind worship of the West. "Elegance" reflects the pursuit of "polite and polite" in China's own cultural tradition. Translating foreign place names into beautiful names is not to deliberately exaggerate their superiority, but to use the unique language rhythm of Chinese to make readers feel intimate and beautiful.
English direct pinyin is also not friendly enough for Chinese readers, and moderate "Yahua" can be seen as an organic adaptation in language conversion. There is no distinction between high and low languages and cultures, and translating a foreign name as "elegant" does not mean that the culture is superior.
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On the contrary, it may be a reflection of the cultural confidence of the Chinese literati not to be condescending to their own culture because of the way a place name is translated. Even if Washington is literally translated as "Worthington," our cultural self-confidence will not waver. Translation has always been an art, and how to strike a balance between "faith", "reach" and "elegance" requires the translator's meticulous linguistic sense.
There is no such thing as a mechanical rule. We should not simply judge the accuracy of the translation by the results of "refinement" or "literal translation", but should look at whether it has achieved organic language transformation and cultural transmission. Returning to the issue of translating place names, I think we don't have to deliberately "elegantize", nor do we have to insist on pinyin literal translation.
The important thing is to feel the beauty of the rhythm of the two languages with your heart, so that you can translate both "faithfully" and "reachfully" without losing "elegance". For example, the sound of "Oxford" in English also gives Chinese readers an elegant and ancient impression. You don't have to change the name "Oxford" to show cultural confidence.
On the contrary, it is necessary to properly handle the relationship between Chinese transliteration words and English pronunciation, so that translation can become a bridge between language and culture. The translation tradition of Sindaya is not simply equated with cultural inferiority, but is an active cultural exploration. We should not be trapped in value judgments, but should strike a balance between inheritance and innovation.
Translation requires professional linguistic skills and cross-cultural intelligence. Only with creativity and a sense of responsibility can translation become a bridge and glue between different languages, not a barrier and arrogance.