Abstract:As the old Chinese saying goes: food is what matters to people. Food is the most important basis for human survival, which is the same in all cultures. Different cultures have different ways to eat, and the different food shows different cultural meanings. As an important part of traditional culture, food culture inherits Chinese history and culture. 

For a long time, the discussion of translation standards has always focused on the fidelity degree of the translation to the original text and neglected the cultural connotation and purpose of the original text, which led to the different actual effects between the original text and the target text. Many Chinese dishes are translated focusing on raw materials and cooking methods, which helps foreign customers easily understand what they are to eat and what is consistent with their language-usage habit of conciseness. However, it have led to the loss of cultural connotations of Chinese traditional dishes. Therefore, it is not easy but very meaningful to give Chinese dish names a authoritative and uniform English translation and a unified translation principle.

Guided by the theory of functionalist, this thesis has made an attempt to analyze many examples in the manual book entitled Enjoy Culinary Delights: The English Translation of Chinese Menus, the author of this thesis has summed up five common and effective translation methods. In this way, the translation problems caused by the differences between Chinese and western languages and cultures, to a certain extent, can be effectively solved and the purpose of cultural exchange can be achieved. It will not only improve the qualities of service industries and make foreign customers feel convenient to have dinner in restaurants，but also in the long run will promote Chinese cuisine culture which has a long history with deep cultural connotations.

Key Words: Functionalist Theory; dish names; English traslation; cuishine culture

摘要:古人云：民以食为天。“食”作为人类生存的最重要的基础,这在各个文化都是一样的。不同的文化有着不同的食的方法,不同的吃食也被赋予了不同的文化含义。作为传统文化的重要组成部分，饮食文化传承着中国历史文化。

一直以来，对于翻译的标准的讨论，往往更侧重于译文对原文的忠实程度而忽略原文所要表达的文化内涵和意图，导致原文与译文产生的实际效果有所不同。大多数菜肴被翻译成英文后都注重原料和制作方法。这样翻译后的英文菜名虽然让外国食客一看就知道吃的是什么，符合外国客人追求简洁的语言表达习惯，但是却导致了许多传统的中国菜肴的文化韵味消失殆尽。因此，想要给繁杂的中国菜制定统一、权威的翻译原则，且中国菜的英文名称能与其背后的文化内涵相对应是很有难度，但十分有必要的一项工作。

本研究以功能翻译理论为指导，通过分析《美食译苑——中文菜单英文译法》这一原语文本并结合书中的译例，笔者归纳了五种有效的常见的中餐菜名翻译方法和技巧。从而有效地解决由于中西方语言和文化差异而导致的翻译问题并且达到有效地进行文化交流的目的。不仅可以提高餐厅服务水平，为外国友人点中餐带来便利，并且在很大程度上解决了现存于餐饮行业的菜单翻译问题，为发扬中国饮食文化助力。

关键词：功能翻译理论；菜名；英译；饮食文化

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

1 Introduction-１

1.1 Research purpose-１

1.2 Research significance-１

2 Literation review-２

2.1 Related research at home and abroad-２

2.2 Brief introduction of functionalist theory-２

3 Classification of Chinese dish names-４

3.1 Dish names with major ingredients and cooking methods-４

3.2 Dish names with metaphor and auspiciousness-５

3.3 Dish names after a person or a place-５

3.4 Dish names with Chinese features-６

3.5 Dish names related to allusion-６

4 Problems of the translaion of Chinese dish names-８

4.1 Problems-８

4.1.1 Lack of standard-８

4.1.2 Insufficient translation and mistranslation-８

4.1.3 Lack of cultural connotations of Chinese traditional dishes-９

4.2 Causes-９

4.2.1 Lack of attention-９

4.2.2 Exclusive Chinese food culture-９

4.2.3 Translator aspect-１０

5 Translation principles of Chinese dish names in English-１１

5.1 Introducing main ingredients-１１

5.2 Introducing cooking method-１１

5.3 Introducing shape or flavor-１２

5.4 Person’s name or place＋main ingredient or cooking method-１２

＋main ingredient＋person’s name or place＋style-１２

5.5 Using Chinese phonetic alphabet-１３

6 Conclusion-１４

References-１５

Acknowledgments-１７

Appendix-１８