Abstract:Millions of foreign visitors come to China every year. They surely rush to the restaurants, bistro to enjoy their meals, or even eat some snack at the vendor’s stand. Food is the satisfaction firstly to the stomach then to the taste bud finally to the mind. Most the foreigners are curious about the name of this food and what this dish is made of. Inaccurate translation of Chinese dish names result in misunderstanding, jokes or even cause of anger.
This paper, according to faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance, the golden rule of translation, and translation practice, discusses how to translate Cantonese menus into English applicably and universally, holds that such translation should be concise and easy, not only literal, but also can explain inner meanings so as to meet the need for information to different extents by the English speaking receivers, and that when translation is needed to combine realism with romanticism, the receiver’s culture factors have to be taken into account so as to produce a translation text of well acceptability.
Key words: faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance，Cantonese cuisine, local color
摘要：每年都有数以百计的外国游客来中国，他们都不忘寻访于广州的几大著名的茶楼和酒家，流连于大街小巷，光顾路边大排档或小摊贩，对于粤菜的菜名和选材十分好奇。食物的作用先是果腹，然后可口，并使人愉悦。然而，不恰当的粤菜菜名翻译往往导致误解，笑话百出，甚至引起愤怒。
本文尝试从翻译的标准“信达雅”出发，结合翻译实际，探讨与总结普遍适用于粤菜菜名的翻译方法，认为粤菜翻译既要简单明了地表达出菜式的材料和烹饪方法，又要跳出菜名，译出其寓意，并尽量保持其独特的文化色彩，从而满足英语受众不同程度的信息需求。
关键词：“信达雅” ；粤菜翻译； 地方色彩
