3.1An Overview of Sense and Reference 

Gottlob Frege’s(1892) gave an illustration of sense and reference in his most influential and best known work On Sense and Reference (On Sinn und Bedeutung). According to Frege, reference (Bedeutung) refers to a definite object. If a definite object is designated by a sign (name, combination of word, written mark), it should be called the reference (Bedeutung) of the sign.Moreover, it is quite normal for one definite thing to own several signs(names). 

Frege introduced sense (Sinn) to accommodate difficulties in his early theory of meaning. Sense which is a mode of presentation is something possessed by a name. The sense of different names is different. 

The distinction between reference and sense of a sign is the associated idea. Once a reference (an object) is labeled by a sign, it is attached by an idea. The idea is subjective: one man’s idea is not that of another. 

To make it clear, Frege makes use of the following example.

Let a, b, c be the lines connecting the vertices of a triangle with midpoints of the opposite lines. The point of intersection of a and b is then the same as the point of intersection of b and c. So we have different designations for the same point, and these names (‘point of intersection of a and b’, ‘point of intersection of b and c’) like wise indicate the mode of presentation; and hence the statement contains actual knowledge. 

In the above example, one point is connected with two signs, and designated by the signs, so the point may be called the reference of the sign. In other words, the reference of the names ‘point of intersection of a and b’ and ‘point of intersection of b and c’ would be the same, but not their sense. There is another example that the reference of ‘Evening star’ would be the same as that of ‘Morning star’, but not their sense.

Based on Frege’s theory, ‘The sense of a proper name is grasped by everybody who is sufficiently familiar with the language or totality of designations to which it belongs; but serves to illuminate only a single aspect of the reference, supporting to have one.’

Now we can no that one object can be thought of an reference. It could be designated by signs(or names), which consists of sense of the reference. Meanwhile, each sign has its unique sense which is different from any others. The connection between a sign, its sense and its reference is that the sign there corresponds a definite sense and to that in turn a definite reference, while to a given reference there dose not belong only a signal sign. Because every individual holds a special towards one thing, people have various ideas to each sign. 

3.2 Chinese Dishes’ Names on Sense and Reference

On account of the Sense an Reference theory, we can also analyze a dish and its name in the way that a dish is the reference of its name, which has sense. The regular connection between a dish’s name, its sense and the dish (the reference) is of such a kind that to the to the name there corresponds a definite sense and to that in return a definite dish, while to a dish there does not belong only a single name. 

To make it more explicit, the author takes the dish named “蚂蚁上树” or “肉末粉条”for example. The exampled dish is a reference. It has several alternative names, such as 蚂蚁上树 and 肉末粉条. Their sense are different. From the former name, some people can hardly get detailed information of the dish, while from the latter one, almost every Chinese people has an access to know what the dish is. The name “蚂蚁上树” is related to an allusion about a well-known Chinese woman Dou E. It is said that Dou E’s mother-in-law was in serious ill. She is so poor that she had difficulty in cooking something delicious for his mother-in-law. With efforts, she got a little piece of pork. She minced it and fried the pork with sauteed vermicelli. Her mother-in-low was deeply satisfied by this dish and named it 蚂蚁上树. The dish was so named because the dish Sauteed Vermicelli with Spice Minced Pork looked like some ants in the branches. Hence, the name 蚂蚁上树 is attached by a sense. The latter name has a sense as well. It is one mode to express the dish and emphasizes the ingredients. 

In our example, the dish is a reference, and the two names have respective sense. Those who know the allusion about Dou E and those who don’t hold different ideas to the name 蚂蚁上树. Different people also have different ideas to 肉末粉条.

3.3 Sense to sense translation and Sense to Reference Translation

We have discussed the Original Chinese names, its sense and its reference. We know that one dish( a definite reference) can has more than one name, and each name link an special sense to the reference. Each name only represent one aspect of the dish. 

When translate a definite a certain name. The object of translation is a name, which is in effect a sense of the reference. There is two main approaches to translate the sense from Chinese into English, sense to sense translation and sense to reference translation, respectively. 

Sense to sense translation is a sense-oriented (original-name-oriented) translation method. The translated version should share the same sense with the original version. That is, in the case of the name of Chinese dishes translation, the translated version retains the sense represented by the original name. That is consistent with Frege’s opinion that the same sense has different expressions in different language or even in the same language. As the original name is a sign of the reference, and the translated version is aimed to explain the original one in a foreign language, the translated version can be regarded as a ‘sign of a sign’.

Sense to reference translation is a reference-oriented (dish-oriented) translation method, in which the original sense is totally abandoned. The translation pays more attention to the reference, the dish itself to name an English name, concerning its ingredients, cooking methods, styles and some other elements.

To make it more downright, the example of 东坡肉 is given here. There are several alternatives for the translation of 东坡肉, such as Dongpo Pork and Sauced and Steamed Pork. Form the original Chinese name 东坡肉, we can easily link the dish with the famous poet Su Dongpo in Southern Song Dynasty. The dish was so named by the Hangzhou residents to honor Su Dongpo for his contribution to the Hangzhou citizen. Therefore, the name attaches a sense to its reference. When it was translated into Dongpo Pork, the sense was retained. It is sense to sense translation. While, if it was translated into Sauced and Steamed Pork, it is sense to reference translation, because it is no longer related to the Su Dongpo.