Translation and Explanation Strategies for Culturally Loaded Words in “Chinese Language + Intangible Cultural Heritage” Instruction

Abstract

The international Chinese education industry is currently shifting from providing language proficiency to promoting cultural understanding. Intangible cultural heritage, as a living carrier of national wisdom, has become an instrumental point in the reform and development of teaching practices. Culture-loaded terms also carry cultural genes and historical memories in the inheritance of intangible culture. The translation of these terms faces the dual challenges of both the loss of cultural information and loss of contextual information. Teaching practice today must transcend the limitations of traditional language-centered pedagogical methods and reconstruct the transmission pathway of intangible cultural heritage terminology from the perspective of cross-cultural communication. The handling of such terminology makes a difference to the accuracy and successful representation of cultural heritage and ultimately contributes to the level of international society's understanding of civilization and culture in general. Educators face the dilemma of intention to maintain the local elements while simultaneously considering the cultural context of the target population. This balancing act presents the crux to success in teachings on intangible cultural heritages.