Abstract—China English, standard English with Chinese
characteristics, exists largely in English translation of
traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) terms with unique
Chinese philosophy and culture. This study conducts a
translation criticism on English Translation of TCM terms
selected from Classified Dictionary of Traditional Chinese
Medicine from the perspective of China English under the
guidance of Coordination Theory of Translation, that is,
translators are required to coordinate all aspects and
relationships in translation to the greatest extent. The key
issues to be resolved in this study are as follows: 1) What are
the word-formation methods of China English in the
translation of TCM terms? 2) How should English translations
of TCM terms in Classified Dictionary of Traditional Chinese
Medicine be evaluated? 3) What strategies, methods, and
techniques should be adopted in English translation of TCM
terms? Through the translation criticism of typical cases,
conclusions are made as follows: firstly, domestication and
foreignization strategies should be used together in a
coordinated way on translation of TCM terms; secondly, as for
terms whose corresponding expressions cannot be found in
Western medicine, the translator should coordinate the use of
various translation methods and techniques, such as literal
translation plus free translation, transliteration with
annotation, and literal translation with annotation. The
findings of this study are expected to promote the
normalization and standardization of English translation of
TCM terms as well as provide some implications for future
studies on TCM translation.
Index Terms—China English, coordination theory of
translation, English translation of TCM terms.
Xue Li and Yan Wang are with the College of Foreign Languages,
Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing Municipality, 400000 China
(e-mail: shirleyli1993@163.com, yanwang97@163.com).
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Cite:Xue Li and Yan Wang, "A Preliminary Study on China English in Translation of Traditional Chinese Medicine Terms," International Journal of Languages, Literature and Linguistics vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 290-294, 2022.