Cultural Translation from the Perspective of Pragmatic Presupposition Theory: A Comparison between Two English Versions of Six Chapters of a Floating Life
The theory of pragmatic presupposition provides a new perspective for cultural translation. Translators need to deal with the cultural pragmatic presuppositions in order to achieve cross-cultural communication and improve the acceptability of the translation. This paper makes a comparative analysis between two English versions of the second chapter of Six Chapters of a Floating Life translated by Lin Yutang and Shirley M. Black from the perspective of cultural pragmatic presupposition. The discussion concentrates on the differences and similarities between the two versions in terms of translation methods, including literal translation, amplification, conversion, and contraction, aiming at providing suggestions for foreign translations of Chinese cultural classics.