A STUDY ON TRANSLATION STRATEGIES OF YUNNAN DAI CULTURAL TERMS FROM CHINESE TO THAI FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION BETWEEN CHINA AND THAILAND: A CASE STUDY OF THE THAI TRANSLATION OF “HISTORY OF THE DAI PEOPLE”

Abstract

This study aims to investigate translation strategies for cultural terms of the Dai ethnic group in Yunnan from Chinese into Thai, using the book “Dai Ethnic History” (傣族史) and its Thai translation “History of the Tai Ethnic Group” as case studies. A mixed-methods approach was employed: qualitatively, content analysis was conducted to classify cultural terms and identify translation strategies; quantitatively, frequency and percentage analyses were used to examine trends in strategy use across a dataset of 1,252 cultural terms categorized into 5 types. 1) The findings reveal that most terms belong to social culture (842 items, 67.3%), followed by linguistic culture (189 items, 15.1%), material culture (133 items, 10.6%), ecological culture (76 items, 6.1%), and religious culture (12 items, 1%). and 2) A total of 9 translation strategies were identified, with transliteration/ loanword being the most frequently used (48.9%), followed by accepted translation (13.6%), combined translation (10.7%), and descriptive translation (10.5%). The results indicate that transliteration plays a crucial role in preserving the original cultural identity of the Dai people, while the flexible integration of multiple strategies under the principle of functional equivalence enhances the effectiveness of cross-cultural communication. The use of cultural substitution requires careful consideration of functional equivalence and should be supplemented with explanations to avoid loss of cultural identity. Furthermore, literal translation, as well as the use of general or neutral terms, should be limited to prevent the reduction of deep cultural meanings, thereby respecting cultural diversity and promoting sustainable and effective cross-cultural communication.