Abstract:

Descriptive terms account for a large proportion of all fragrance terms, but there is great uncertainty in the semantic translation of descriptive fragrance terms. By comparing synonymous terms in a monolingual context and equivalent terms in a bilingual context, this paper summarizes the three types of semantic correspondence in the translation of French-Chinese descriptive fragrance terms, and demonstrates the existence of semantic untranslatability of terms in the translation process. The fact of “untranslatability” is further analyzed from the perspective of cultural linguistics, conceptualization of objects and standardization of terms. Understanding the untranslatability of term semantics and the reasons for untranslatability can help translators solve the problem of semantic translation in a targeted manner, thereby ensuring the accuracy and standardization of term translation.

Key words: intralingual synonymy, interlingual equivalence, semantic untranslatability, descriptive fragrance terminology, French-Chinese translation