The Year of the Dragon in Jiachen has begun, and various topics about "dragon" are becoming more and more popular. Netizens began to debate whether the "dragon" in the Year of the Dragon should be translated into "Dragon" or "Loong" in English. Some people believe that compared to the offensive image of "Dragon", the transliteration "Loong" for the Chinese Year of the Dragon is more appropriate and can better represent Chinese culture. Experts said that the translation controversy about "dragon" in the academic field has actually been discussed for decades. The English translation of "dragon" is slowly forming new choices and standards in the use of words by the public.
Yang Tianzi, Yangzi Evening News/Ziniu News reporter
"Loong" has appeared in CGTN reports many times
In current primary and secondary school textbooks, the English word "dragon" is mostly translated as "dragon". But in the past month, as the Year of the Dragon approaches, the English translation of "dragon" "loong" has gradually been accepted by more and more people. For example, on January 9, when CGTN reported on the "New Year Dragon Dance Challenge" event, it translated "Year of the Dragon" as "Loong Year" and "Dragon Dance" as "Loong Dance"; in the Xiao Nian report, CGTN "'Dragon'-themed artwork" is also translated as "loong themed artwork".
Don't think this is an unfamiliar word. The earliest appearance of "Loong" can even be traced back to 1809. When the British missionary Mahiman translated "The Analects of Confucius", he notated the basic Chinese characters used in the translation, including "龙" "The phonetic pronunciation is "loong". It’s not the first time “Loong” has been used in modern times. The English name of China's first computer CPU chip "Loongson" is "Loongson"; the English name of Kung Fu superstar Bruce Lee is translated as Lee Siu Loong.
Although "Loong" is an English word, it looks like a Chinese character. The two "o"s in the middle are like a pair of bright big eyes of a dragon. The "lengthened" "long" can also be better used in In appearance, it describes the long strip shape of "dragon" or "dragon boat".
Cheng Shuiying, an English teacher at the School of Foreign Languages of Nanjing University of Finance and Economics, said that when translating into English, transliteration is a more clever way of translating some proper nouns in Chinese that bear the imprint of traditional Chinese culture, which can input the culture of the source language to the target language readers. Information, such as kungfu, tofu, zongzi, etc. Nowadays, "dragon" is translated as "Loong", which is also accepted by more and more people.
What is the difference between "Loong" and "Dragon"?
What is the difference between "Loong" and "Dragon" with "big eyes"? According to experts, the dragon referred to by the English word "dragon" refers to a fictional animal in European mythology, with a huge body and a fierce image. The "dragon" in traditional Chinese culture mostly has beautiful meanings and is a symbol of auspiciousness, nobility, and bravery. The Chinese are also proud to be the "descendants of the dragon."
The fierce image of "Descendants of the Dragon" is inappropriate. As a result, the mascot "Long Chenchen" released by the 2024 CCTV Spring Festival Gala appeared in the public eye with a cute image, with a chubby body and big eyes, followed by "Long Chenchen" The official English name is "Loong Chenchen". CCTV also explained the name "Loong Chenchen":
Loong, which means dragon in English, has long held significant spiritual and cultural importance in China. The mascot embodies auspicious meanings of good fortune, peace and happiness. The image of Loong Chenchen comes from many archaeological discoveries that have the image of loong.( "Loong" means "dragon" in English. "Dragon" has always had important spiritual and cultural significance in China. The mascot "Long Chenchen" means good luck, peace and happiness, and its creative inspiration comes from Chinese archaeological discoveries. Many "dragon" images.)
The WeChat public account "Shanghai Federation of Literary and Art Circles" once conducted a survey on the acceptance of "Loong". Among the netizens who participated in the vote, more than 90% chose "Loong" between "Loong" and "Dragon".
There are also versions that take the "common divisor" and appear "Chinese Dragon"
The latest version of the "Oxford English Dictionary" has also added a new English translation of "dragon", including the entry "Chinese dragon". Controversy over the translation of "dragon" has always existed. Cheng Shuiying, an English teacher at the School of Foreign Languages at Nanjing University of Finance and Economics, showed relevant information to reporters. During the National Two Sessions in 2015, a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference proposed to further clarify the English translation of "dragon". According to The Paper, Huang Ji, an associate professor at the School of Communication at East China Normal University, proposed as early as 2006 that "dragon" should not be translated as "dragon" and that "loong" should be the correct English translation of "dragon".
In the bustling academic circle, there is no unified opinion on the English translation of "dragon". Some people believe that we do not need to change the translation of dragon, but should change foreigners' understanding of the word "dragon". Scholars who support the translation of "龙" as "Loong" give examples to prove that if the traditional Chinese "dragon boat racing" is translated as "dragon boat racing", the "dragon" here can easily be misinterpreted and cause unnecessary misunderstandings, even in certain cases. To a certain extent, it affects the image of Chinese traditional culture. So it might as well be transliterated as "loong". Then, "dragon boat racing" can be translated into "loong boat racing". This translation seems to be able to better express the cultural connotation of this traditional sports activity and is less likely to cause misunderstandings.
Regarding the English translation of "dragon", new choices and standards are slowly forming in the public's use of words. Experts say that with the increasing economic and cultural soft power of our country, Chinese culture is increasingly understood by foreign tourists. A large number of culturally loaded words can be understood and accepted simply by using transliteration, such as yin (yin). ), yang, taiji, etc. The transliteration method can retain the language style of the source language to the greatest extent, and at the same time, it can also convey the local cultural information in the original text to the greatest extent, giving foreigners more opportunities to understand China.