Museum text translation in the Chinese context: the museum role and text production

Abstract

Discussion of museum text translation in the Chinese context started in 1991, and much attention is still being paid to language errors and ways of producing better translations, revealing the persistence of similar translation problems. This paper addresses the issue in a different way through engaging with museum studies. The museum was introduced into China a century ago by Western missionaries and gradually developed Chinese characteristics, especially in the museum role and museum text style, demonstrating the nature of Chinese museums as translation. Here we compare the museum role and museum text style in China and the West that greatly influence translation but are rarely noticed or touched upon in translation studies, perhaps because it needs to involve museum studies, which is outside the vision of many researchers. Based on the comparison, we propose some guidelines for translators, hoping to make a substantial contribution to the improvement of translation quality.