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【摘要】習語是語言文化的結晶，缺少了習語，語言將會變得索然無味。習語在語言中的應用比比皆是，在寫作或演說中適當地使用習語將會使篇章增色，加強語言的力量使語言更形象。奈達曾說過，習語是比任何非習語更具沖擊力的表達，它帶有一種語言和文化的識別特征。習語被廣泛應用于各類寫作和演說中，如在文學作品中，在科學著作中，在政治演說中，甚至在美國,習語都成為辯論中唇槍舌戰(zhàn)的武器。美國第16屆總統亞伯拉罕·林肯在他一篇著名演說中引用了圣經里的一句話：“互相分裂的房子無法站立?！眮硖栒倜绹嗣駡F結一致反對黑奴制度，停止內戰(zhàn)。美國人對圣經的內容都很熟悉，他們?yōu)榇松钍芨袆?。林肯廢奴運動也取得了很好的結果。既然習語在語言運用中有如此重要地位，那么恰到好處地翻譯習語將有助于跨文化交流。中英不同的文化使得英漢習語在表達上有很大差異，也使得翻譯中容易產生誤譯,因此加強對英漢習語文化內涵差異的了解有著重要意義。本文在探討英漢習語文化內涵差異的基礎上提出了四種翻譯方法:直譯法、意譯法、意象轉移法、增刪法。

【關鍵詞】習語；文化；習語翻譯

【Abstract】Idioms,havinguniversalappeal,arewidelyrecognizedastheessenceorthecrystallizationoflanguage.Withoutidiomslanguagewouldbecomedullanddry,whereasanappropriateuseoftheminspeechandwritingwilladdmuchtovarietystrengthandvividnessofthelanguage.Idiomsusuallycarrymoreimpactthannone-idiomaticexpressionsbecauseoftheircloseidentificationwithaparticularlanguageandculture.Idiomsarewidelyusedinalmostallkindsofspeechesandwritings:theycanbefoundinliteraryworks,inscientificandpoliticalarticles;evendebatesintheUnitedNationsareofteninterspersedwithidiomswhichbecomeverbalweaponsthataredifficulttoargueagainst.The16thUSPresidentAbrahamLincolnoncequotedanidiomderivedfromtheBible:“Ahousedividedagainstitselfcannotstand.”inoneofhisfamousspeech,callingonpeopletofightagainstslaveryandCivilWar.Americanpeople,whowerefamiliarwiththeBible,weregreatlyimpressedandLincoln’santislaverycampaignatlastyieldedfruitfulresult.Thusidiomsholdanimportantpositioninlanguageuse,anadequatetranslationofidiomsisnotonlyhelpfulbutalsoessentialininterculturalcommunication.

ThispaperattemptstomakeabriefcomparativestudyoftheculturesembodiedinChineseandEnglishidiomsandexplorestheroleofthecultureinunderstandingandrenderingofbothEnglishandChineseidioms.

【KeyWords】Idioms;culture;thetranslationofidioms

1.Introduction

Culturalstudieshavecurrentlybeenprevailinginthewest.AndtalkingaboutculturalstudieshasalsobecomeafashioninthecircleofpresentChinesecultureandacademia,especiallyinthefieldofliterarytheoryandcriticism.Accordingly,inthewidesphereoftranslationstudies,therearesomescholarsbothathomeandabroadwhohavetriedtoreplacetranslationwithculturaltranslationstudiesandinterpretation.Translationisconsideredtobeacross-culturalcommunication,whichconcernsnotonlythetransferbetweenlanguages,butalsothetransferbetweencultures.However,thewaysofthinking,beliefs,attitudesandvaluesofdifferentculturesnotonlygiverisetofailuresormisunderstandingsincross-culturalcommunicationbutalsoposeheadachestotranslationtheoristsandtranslators.

Anidiomisabeautifulgemofalanguageaswellascrystallizationofnationalculture.Yetitisalsooneofthemostdifficultthingstolearnanduseinaforeignlanguage.Theyareoftenratherhardtounderstandfromthemeaningofindividualwords.ChineseandEnglishbothaboundwithidioms,whosesuccinctformsandprofoundmeaningsmakethemselvesmorecondensedandexpressive.Manyidiomsbearfiguresandstrongculturalflavors.Iftheyaretranslatedappropriately,notonlycantheoriginalspiritandmeaningsbefaithfullyconveyed,clearlyunderstoodandacceptedbythetargetlanguagereaders,butalsotheChineseandEnglishvocabulariescanbeenrichedtoprovideabroaderculturalvision.Theissuesofrenderingidiomsofonelanguageintoanotherarealwayscomplicated,ifthetwolanguagesinvolvedaresounlikeinbackgroundsandcultureswitheachother.Thispaperexpoundsthecloserelationshipbetweenidiomsandculturetranslation,andtheissueofidiomtranslationisexploredfromaculturalperspective.

2.Definitionsandformsofidiom

2.1Thedefinitionsofidiom

Theword“idiom”possessesseveralmeanings.Itmaybedefinedas“thelanguageofapeopleoracountry”,asin“theChineseidiom”;or“adialect”asin“Cantoneseidiom”.Itmayalsobedefined,accordingtoOxfordAdvancedLearner’sEnglish-ChineseDictionary,as“phraseorsentencewhosemeaningisnotclearfromthemeaningofitsindividualwordsandwhichmustbelearntasawholeunit”[1]p734.Theseconddefinitionmostsuitsthepurposeofthispaper.TheChinese“equivalent”for“idiom”is“習語”,italsoreferstoakindofasetphraseorsentencefixedbylongusage.Fromtheabovedefinitionswecanextracttwobasiccriteriaonwhichtodecidewhetherornotanexpressionisanidiom(or:習語):

Firstly,establishedandrefinedbylongpracticaluse,anidiomhasarelativelyhighdegreeofstabilityofthelexicalcomponents.Anidiomallowslittleornovariationinformundernormalcircumstances.Ingeneral,anychangeinthecomponentswillresultinabsurditiesorevenrendertheidiomsmeaningless.Aspeakerorwritercannotnormallydoanyofthefollowingwithanidiomunlessheorsheisconsciouslymakingajokeorattemptingplayonwords:

a.Changetheorderofthewordsinit(e.g.*“atsevensandsixes”insteadof“atsixesandsevens”);

b.Deleteawordfromit(e.g.*“akettleoffish”insteadof“anicekettleoffish”);

c.Addawordtoit(e.g.*“toshowone’swhiteteeth”insteadof“toshowone’steeth”);

d.Replaceawordwithanother(evenwithasynonymousword)(e.g.*“thepearofone’seye”insteadof“theappleofone’seye”)

e.Changeitsgrammaticalstructure(e.g.*“akingmaybelookedatbyacat”insteadof“acatmaylookataking”).

SimilarlyinChinesewecanonlysay:“七零八落”not“八零七落;”“無的放矢”not“無的放箭”,although“矢”and“箭”bothmean“arrow”.However,justaswhathasbeenmentionedabove,sometimes,eitherforthesakeofsarcasmorforthesenseofhumororforthesakeofstyle,wecancreate,asamakeshift,someirregularvariantsfromtheoriginalidioms,buttheseirregularvariantsaretransient,andmaynotbeacknowledgedbypeopleasawhole:

(1)“toreadmorethanonecanchew”isfrom“tobiteoffmorethanonecanchew”;

(2)“bedressedtotheteeth”isfrom“tobearmedtotheteeth”.

SimilarlyinChinese:

(3)“一箭三雕”（toshootthreehawkswithonearrow）isanirregularvariantofthesetphrase“一箭雙雕”（toshoottwohawkswithonearrow）;

(4)“權令智昏”(tobeblindedbylustforpower)from“利令智昏”(tobeblindedbylustforgain);

Sometimesforrhetoricaleffect,anidiomcanbemadebriefwithonlythecoreelementremained:

(5)Thehotelwasexpensive,thefoodwaspoorandthebadweatherwasthelaststraw.

Inthissentence,“thelaststraw”isadaptedfromtheidiom“Itisthelaststrawthatbreaksthecamel’sback.”

(6)Makehay.Themarketisgoodnowdon’tmissthechance.

Here,“makehay”isabbreviatedfromtheidiom“Makehaywhilethesunshines”.Suchadaptationusuallycallsforthefamiliarityoftheidiombythereadertorecognizetherealmeaning.

Secondly,anidiomoftencarriesmeanings,whichcannotbededucedfromtheirindividualcomponents.Moreoftenthannot,itcannotbeinterpretedonlyaccordingtoitsliteralmeaning.Taketheexpression“togoDutch(withsomeone)”forexample:InsteadofgoingtotheNetherlands(Holland),itmeanstoagreetosharethecostofsomething(withsomeone),asin“Willyouletmetakeyououttodinnertonight?“AslongaswegoDutch”.TakeanotherChineseidiomforexample:“胸有成竹”(literallymeanstohavethebambooinone’smind,figuratively,tohavereadyplansordesigninone’smind.cf.tohaveacardupone’ssleeve).Anidiomusuallyacquiresanimpliedmeaning,thatistosay,mostidiomsaremetaphoricalinmeaning.Themeaningofanidiomissomewhatmorethanthesummeaningsofitsconstituentwords,inotherwords,idiomsconveymoremeaningasawholethanthefewwordscouldcarryseparately.Thiscanbefullyillustratedbythefollowingexamples:whentakenliterary,thephrase“themaninthestreet”isnotanidiom.Inafigurativesense,“themaninthestreet”impliestheaverageperson,whorepresentsgeneralopinion.Whensomeonesays,“Youcannotunscramblethescrambledegg”,heisnotmerelyreferringtotheegg,andheisusingametaphortotellanotherpersonnottoworryaboutsomethingthatcannotbeundone.“Cat’spaw”doesnotrefertothepawofacatbutapersonwhohasbeenfooledorexploited.“Blacksheep”isnotasheepwhichisblackatall.Anditmeansanevilmemberofaherdoragood-for-nothingperson.

2.2Formsofidioms

Inabroadsense,idiomaticphrasescoverallofthefollowingforms:setphrases,proverbs,commonsayings,colloquialisms,allusionsandslangs.Herefourimportantformsofidiomsareselectedforexplanation.

2.2.1Setphrases

Onemostimportantgroupofidiomsaresetphraseswhoseformissetandmanyofthemareratherrigidandcannotshowupinanyotherforms.ThereisaninexhaustiblestorehouseofsetphrasesthatplayanimportantroleinEnglishlanguage.Ishallselectoneofthemwithculturaltraces.Forexample,theoriginof“tokickthebucket”canbetracedbacktoareligiousceremonyofbaptisminChristianity.AsfarasaChristianisconcerned,his/herimportantthreestages,birth,marriageanddeath,arecloselyconnectedwithareligiousceremony:baptism.AChristianneedstoreceivebaptismfromanadministratorwhenhe/shewasborn,getmarriedinthechurchwithblessingsofacertainministerandbebaptizedagainwhenhe/sheisgoingtodie”.Sotheidiom“kickthebucket”isaeuphemisticexpressionconnoting“todie”referringtothedeathofaChristianintheceremonyofbeingbaptized.

2.2.2Allusions

Allusionsofidiomsareactuallyoriginsandnationalcharacteristicsofidioms.Onaccountofthedifferentsocialbackground,customsandreligious,someidiomsaresuretohaveallusionstomythandlegend,historyandclassic.Theirmeaningsaremuchmoreremotedfromtheirliteralsenses.Withoutknowledgeoftheallusionsmadeinidiomswecanhardlyreadbetweenthelinesandcatchwhattheyimply.Tounderstandtheidiomsofthiskind,knowledgeoftheetymologyofidiomsisindispensable.OnlyasmallpartofEnglishidioms,itissaid,drawonsourcesfromthelegendofGreeceandRome,mostofthemareofbiblicalorigin[2]p97.

Forexample,“boneoftheboneandfleshoftheflesh”,aphraseofbiblicalorigin,isnowmetaphoricallyusedtoreferto“bloodrelation”or“unityinthought”,butwhyandhow?Astothesequestions,thereadershavetorefertotheBible,aninspiredaswellasaninspiringbook,whichprovidesmenandwomenwithpromisesandpunishmentsfromGod.Itischerishedculturalheritageallthroughthehistoryofthewestbutnowitsinfluencehasspreadtomostofthecivilizedworld,justasthespiritofConfucianismhaspenetratedintoourChinesespirituallife,theessenceofBiblealsoinfluenceshowpeopleinthewestlookatlife.

2.2.3Proverbs

Proverbisoftendefinedasthewisdomofmanyandthewitofone,statingcommonlyexperiencedorforthepurposeofgivingwiseadvicetoothers.Proverbsarethewisdomofpeople,soitiscommonpeoplewhohavecreatedagreatnumberofproverbsthatareterse,colloquial,vividandchargedwithlifethroughtheirpracticalwork.Theirvariedproverbsarefromallwalksoflife.Herearesometypicalonesreflectiveofcommonpeople’slivesasfollows[3]p286:

Sailorswillsay:

(7)“Inacalmseaeverymanisapilot.”(在平靜的海洋上,人人都是領航員)

Carpenterswillsay:

(8)“Suchcarpenters,suchchips.”(什么木匠出什么活)

Cobblersmaysay:

(9)“Thecobbler’swifeistheworstshod”.(鞋匠的老婆沒鞋穿)

2.2.4Slangs

Slangexpressionsaredialectic,vulgarandcolloquiallanguagedrawingnumeroussourcesfromtheshoptalkofeveryprofession:trade,sport,school,socialgroup,etc.Theydrawonsourcefromlocalpeople’slifeexperiencesortheircustomsandarewidelyusedininformalspeechandwritingsuchasdrama,TVserials,movies,monologueinthenovelbutarerarelyusedinformalcontexts.

3.Idioms,cultureandtranslation

3.1Idiomsandculture

Idiomsareusuallyhighlyspecializedinmeaningandcloselytiedtodistinctiveculturalfeaturesandculturalattitude.Itisbelievedthatidiomsarethemostculturally-loadedelementinanylanguage’svocabulary.Asthekernelandcreamofalanguage,idiomsareusuallycloselywiththehistoricalbackgrounds,economiclife,geographicalenvironment,customsandmentalstatesofthenativespeakers.Asamatteroffact,idiomshavebeenacceptedbypeopleandhandeddowntothepresentdaybecauseoftheiruniversalvalue.Assuch,theycanberegardedasthesinewofthelanguage.Withoutidioms,languagewouldlackcolorandbecomeuninteresting.

Let’stakeproverbasanexample.Proverbsarethedaughtersofdailyexperience.Innearlyeveryculture,proverbsofferanimportantsetofinstructionsformemberstofollow.Andthankstotheenduranceofthese“wordsofwisdom”,eachgenerationlearnsaboutwhataculturedeemssignificant.

BelowaresomeproverbsfromtheUnitedStates,eachofwhichstressesanimportantAmericanvalue:avalueheldbythedominantculture.

(10)Strikewhiletheironishot.IntheUnitedStates,peoplewhotakequickactionarevalued.

(11)Godhelpsthosewhohelpthemselves.ThissayingcallsattentiontothestrongbeliefinAmericathatpeopleshouldshowinitiative.

(12)Thesqueakywheelgetsthegrease.IntheUnitedStates,peopleareencouragedto“speakup”andmakesuretheirviewsareheard.

3.2Cultureandtranslation

Translationisthetransferofthemeaningofatextwhichmaybeawordorabookfromonelanguagetoanotherforanewreadership.Sincelanguageispartofculture,translationoflanguagecannotsimplybethetransferoflinguisticsymbols.Overtherecent20-years,withthedeepeningofculturalstudies,ithasbeencommonlyacceptedthattranslationinvolvesbothlanguageandculture.Translationdealsnotonlywithturningthecontentinonelanguageintoanother,butalsowithturningtheculturalconnotationinonelanguageintoanotherculturalform.So,itisquitenecessaryforatranslatortothinkabouttheculturalconnotationeveryunitmayembodywhentranslating[4]p39.ThefilmTheFirstBloodistranslatedinto“第一滴血”.However,thetranslationcannotreflecttheculturalconnotationbehindthewords.Infact,“thefirstblood”isanidiomfullofculturalimplication,referringtothefirstsuccessincontest.Itwillbemorereasonableiftranslatedinto“初戰(zhàn)告捷”or“旗開得勝”.

Atranslatormustbearealculturist.It’ssaidthatatranslatormustgrasptwolanguages;indeed,hemust.Butwithoutunderstandingthesocialculturalconnotationinonelanguagenoonecanreallymasterthelanguage[5]p5.EvenNidaE.A.oncealsopointedoutthatforatrulysuccessfultranslator,itismoreimportantforhimtogetfamiliarwithtwoculturesthantomastertwolanguages,becauseawordwillmakesenseonlyintheculturalbackgroundwhereitfunctions.

Atranslatorshouldknowforeigncultureaswellasthecultureofhisownpeople.Humanbeingshavemuchincommon.Theyliveonthesameglobe.Experiencesandobservationsoftheworldareinmanyrespectssimilar.Culturesofvariouscountriesalsohavesomethingincommon.Allthesesimilaritiesandgeneralitiesareinevitablyembodiedinlanguages.That’swhyequivalentsorcloseapproximatescanbefoundintermsoflinguisticformandmeaning.Forexample,theEnglishidiom“castlesintheair”hasitsabsoluteequivalentofChineseidiom“空中樓閣”.However,cultureisimportantingivingalanguageitsowncharacteristics,sothedissimilaritiesarenaturallymoreapparent.Intheprocessoftranslation,atranslatorismoreoftenfacedwithculturaldifferences.Everycountryhasitsownethnicgroups,geographicallocation,religiousbeliefs,values,politicalsystemsandsoon.Alltheseformthedifferencesofnationalculture,whicharealsocertainlyembodiedinlanguage.Theinfluenceofcultureonlanguagebringsdifficultiestotranslating.Thelackofculturalawarenessonthepartofthetranslatorisoftenthecauseoferrorsordefectsofculturalnatureintranslating.

Aslanguageisatoolforculturaldisseminationandcommunication,translationis,ofcourse,abridgeandanessentialmeansofculturalunderstandingandexchange.Withouttranslation,therewasnoculturalcommunication.Studiesontherelationshipofcultureandtranslationwillgiveanimpetustoculturalcommunication,tothepromotionoftheprosperityofculturesindifferentcountriesanddifferentnations,totheenrichmentoftheglobalcultureandaccelerationofthedevelopmentoftheworldcivilization.Thepurposeandcharacteristicsoftranslationaretoexchangeideasandculture.Therefore,translationisreferredtoasacross-linguistic,cross-culturalandcross-socialcommunicationevent.

Asstatedabove,languageisthecarrierofcultureandtranslationisatoolforculturalexchange.Asanessentialandmoreexpressivecomponentoflanguagesandculturesconcerned,abeautifulgemofalanguageaswellascrystallizationofnationalculture,aclosestudyofthemisinevitableintranslation.Thepossibilityoftranslationisduetothegeneralityofculturesindifferentcountries,whilethelimitoftranslationisbasedontheirculturaldifferences.Asweknow,anidiomisaformofexpressionpeculiartoalanguage.Everylanguagehasitsownpeculiaritiesinexpression,alienfromeachother.Thefour-characterstructuresdominatetheChineseidioms,whileanEnglishidiomisacombinationoftwoormorewords.BothChineseandEnglishidiomsareusuallystructurallyfixedandsemanticallyopaque,i.e.metaphoricalratherthanliteralandfunctionasasingleunitofmeaning.Manyidiomsbearstrongnationalculturalflavors,paredwithotherlinguisticexpressions,theyarebothmoredifficulttounderstandandevenmoredifficulttoexpress.Yet,wehavetokeeptheirfeaturesinordertomaintainfaithfulnessofthetargetlanguageandculturetothesourcelanguageandculturewhentranslating.Inviewoftheirfrequentappearanceinliteraryworksandevenpoliticalandscientificessays,whetherornotidiomsarewelltranslatedwillaffectthequalityoftranslationasawhole.

4.Understandingidiomsfromaculturalcontext

4.1Theoriginalandnationalcoloring

Theoriginsofidiomsarevaried,butthechiefsourcesarefromthespeechofthecommonpeople.Ordinarypeople,suchaspilots,hunters,farmers,workers,housewivesandcooks,createmanyidioms.Overalongperiodoftime,thesepeoplehavecreatedagreatnumberofidioms.Sailorshaveinventedmanylivelysea-faringphrases,laborersinthefieldshavecreatedexpressionsconcerningfarm-work,andworkersofallkindsofoccupationshavecreatedtheirown.Moreover,thefishermantalksoflifeintermsoffishing,thehousewifehelpsherselfoutwithmetaphorsfromherkitchenorherfarmyard,thesportsmanexpresseshimselfintheidiomsofsports,andthehunterofhishunting,orhisdogsandhorseetc.Theseidiomsareterse,colloquial,vividandchargedwithlife.Andbeforelongtheyacquireawideapplicationtoanalogoussituationsineverydaylife.Littlebylittlethemostvividandmostusefuloftheseidiomsmaketheirwayfrompopularspeechintothestandardlanguage,andfinallycometobeuniversallyunderstood.Sufficeittogiveafewexamplesbelow:

(13)Astrawshowswhichwaythewindblows.

(14)Asamansows,soshallhereap?

(15)Tocallaspadeaspade

Here,thewords`straw,wind,sow,reap,spade''''areobviouslythingsandactivitiesconnectedcloselywiththeeverydaylifeoffarmers.

(16)Tostrikewhiletheironishot.

(17)Tocryoverspiltmilk.

Thesimplenatureoftheseidiomsandthesimplewordsconnectedwithdailylifeshowthattheyarecreatedbyhousewivesandcooks.

AsBritainisanislandcountry,alotofEnglishidiomshavetodowithsailingandfishing:

(18)Toclearthedecks

(19)Toknowtheropes

(20)Togoagainstthestream

(21)Tobeallatsea.

Thewords"decks",ropes","stream"and"sea"makeitclearthattheidiomscomefromthepilotsorseamen.

Traditionally,Chinahasbeenalargefarmingcountry.Ahighpercentageofitspopulationarefarmers.Therefore,plentyofChineseidiomsarerelatedwithagriculture.TheyaretheoutcomeoftheChinesefarmer’workandhavebeenhandedfromonegenerationtoanother.Theyreflectthediligentnatureofthefarmers:

(22)種瓜得瓜，種豆得豆:Plantmelonsandyougetmelons,sowbeansandyougetbeans.

(23)對牛彈琴:Toplaythelutetoacow

Thedifferentplantsandanimalsmentionedaboveshowclearlythattheywerecreatedbypeopledoingagriculturalwork.

Farmers,workers,cooksandhousewivesfirstusedalltheidiomsoncertainoccasions.Astimewentby,peoplefoundtheywerealsousefulinsomeothersituations.Timetestedthemandtheybecamethepopularsayingsusedinsimilarsituations.Take"Throwalonglinetocatchbigfish".Itwasusedtoexplaininthebeginningtheactionof"catchingfish"only.Astimegoesalong,peoplefinditcanexpressasimilarsituationof"doingsomethingwithforesight",whichconnectstheidiom''''smeaningcloselytopeople''''severydaylifenow.Inthisway,manyidiomsbecomesetphrasesinthelanguagetoexpresssimilarsituations.

WeknowthatBuddhismwasonceratherpopularinChinaandisstillfollowedbysomepeopletoday.TheChinesepeopleareveryfamiliarwithsuchwordsas“寺廟”temples,“和尚”monksand“菩薩”Buddha.ThatiswhythesetermsareoftenfoundinChineseidioms.

(24)跑了和尚跑不了廟:Themonkmayrunaway,butnothistemple.

(25)做一天和尚撞一天鐘:Goontollingthebellaslongasoneisamonk.

Similarly,inwesternsocieties,peoplebelievethattherearesuchthingsasGod,hell,paradise,devil,etc.AndtheEnglishtranslationoftheBiblehasalsoinfluencedthe1anguageprofoundly.Therefore,someidiomsreflecttheirfearofhellandsomehavecomefromtheBible.

(26)Gotohell,damnyou

(27)Towashone''''shands(tosayoneisnolongerresponsibleforsomething)

(28)Tofightthegoodfight(thespiritiswillingbutthefleshisweak).

Furthermore,manyidiomsshowthelifeexperienceofpeoplefromallwalksoflife.Theyplayaveryimportantroleineducatingyoungpeopleandpassingdownsocialvaluesandnorms.SuchidiomsarenumerousbothinEnglishandChinese:

(29)Moneymakesthemarego.

(30)Manproposes;Goddisposes.

(31)Failureisthemotherofsuccess

(32)Birdsofafeatherflocktogether.

Asiswellknown,bothpeoplescreatedmanyidiomsconcerningthe“heart”,whichtheyregardedsimilarlyasthecenteroftheirsoul,thoughtandemotion.Thus:

(33)Toloseheart:tolosecourage,confidence,hopeortobecomedispiritedanddiscouraged.(灰心喪氣)

(34)Heartandsoul:withone''''sdeepestfeelingsandthoughts.‘Heart’referstoemotion,and‘soul’tomindorspirit.(全心全意;一心一意)

(35)心有靈犀一點通:Heartswhichbeatinunionarelinked.

FromtheidiomsmentionedabovewecanseethatthereisasurprisingsimilarityintheoriginsofEnglishandChineseidioms.Butontheotherhand,owingtothedifferentsocialbackground,customsandreligions,differencesaresuretoappearinidiomsinbothlanguages,particularlyintheirnationalcharacteristics.ThedifferentopinionsofthedoginEnglishandChineseareagoodexample.Thoughbothhavecultivatedthehabitofkeepingdogs,theEnglishpeoplehaveaveryhighopinionofit,andtheChinesepeopleoftenassociateitwithbadthings.

(36)Loveme,lovemydog.

(37)Everydoghasitsday.

(38)狗仗人勢:Likeadogthreateningpeopleonthestrengthofitsmaster''''spower.

(39)狗嘴里吐不出象牙:Adog''''smouthemitsnoivory.

Theaboveidiomsshowtheiroriginsandnationalcoloring.Asidiomscomefromthelivesofordinarypeople,theyunavoidablycarryculturalcharacteristicscloselyconnectedwithanation''''shistory,economy,geography,religion,customsandmentality.Theseconstitutethenextcharacteristicofidioms,namelyculturalloading.

4.2.Theculturalloading

Culture,inthispaper,doesnotmeanone''''sabilitytoreadandwrite.Itmeans,astheauthoritativeanthropologistEdwardB.Tytlorwrote:“Cultureorcivilizationtakeninitswideethnographicsense,isthatcomplexwholewhichincludesknowledge,belief,art,morals,law,custom,andanyothercapabilitiesandhabitsacquiredbymanasamemberofsociety(1871)轉引”[6]p14.Peopleagreethatculturehasfourbasiccharacteristics:

1)Itislearntfromsociety,notgotfromHeredity.

2)Itissharedbyallofasociety,notjustafewindividuals.

3)Ithasthefeatureofsymbol,andlanguageisthemostimportantsymbolicsystem.

4)Itisanintegratedunitandeachofthemisrelatedtoothers.

Inhumanhistory,thegreatestimpactsonnationalcultureincludethechangeoftheearth''''ssurface,themigrationoftheraces,andtheconquests,assimilationsandwarsbetweengroups.Toanalyzetheculturalpeculiaritiesofidioms,itisnecessarytobrieflyreviewthemajoreventsthatinfluencetheoriginationanddevelopmentofthetwolanguages.

5.Translationmethodsofidioms

Translationisdifferentfromcommoncommunications.Itinvolvesalotoffactors,suchaslinguistic,cultural,psychologicalandart,etc.Therefore,itdoesn''''texcludethegeneralrules,especiallytothetranslators.Aftertheyfinishedtherelevantinferenceanddecisionandbegantodothecodetransformation,certaintranslationruleswillavoidthemfrombeingblind.Theimportantthingforthemtopaymuchattentionistousetherulesflexiblyaccordingtorelevanceprinciple.

Techniquesintranslationvary,andweshouldusespecificmethodsintreatingspecificproblems,inanotherword,tofindtheoptimalrelevance.Inthefollowingsections,weshalldiscussmethodsthatcanbeusedindealingwithspecificidiomsintranslatingfromChinesetoEnglishandviceversa,andtrytoanalyzetheminthelightofrelevancetheory.Herearefourmainapproaches.

5.1Theliteralapproach

TheChineseandEnglishlanguagesareverydifferentintheirformandwaysofexpressionontheonehand,andaresimilarinmanyrespectsontheother.Topreservethenationalcharacterandthespecialcoloringintheoriginalwork,andalsoacceleratetheculturalexchangeofthetwonations,thefirstapproachinidiomtranslationistheliteralapproach.Itisusedundertheconditionthatthewordingdoesnotviolatetheruleofthetargetlanguage.TaketheChineseidiom“雨后春筍”forexample,wecanborrowtheEnglishidiom"likemushroom"buttheliteralapproachcanalsobeused(ifproperinthecontext)totranslateitas"likebambooshootsafteraspringshower".Anotherexampleis“貓哭老鼠”.ThoughwecanborrowtheEnglishidiom"toshedcrocodiletears",wecanalso,andwithbetterresults,translateitas"thecatweepsoverthemouse''''sdeath".Here,weintroducetheimageof"bamboo"totheEnglishpeople,whowilleasilyunderstandit,sincepandasarebecomingpopularintheworldnow,andtheirfood"bamboo"shouldalsobewellknowntothepeopleintheworld.Andtheanimals"cat"and“mouse",arealsowellknownworldwide.TheonlyproblemisthattheEnglish-speakingpeopledonothaveexactlythesameidiom.Ifwetranslatethemintheliteralway,wewillnotonlytranslatetheidiom''''smeaningbutalsointroducesomethinginterestingtotheEnglishpeopleandhelpthetwopeopleunderstandeachother.

Asamatteroffact,theexchangeofforeignexpressionsbetweennationshasneverstopped.ThetranslationofliteraryworkssincetheMay4thmovement,hasintroducedmanynewandmodernwordsandideasalongwiththeforeignoriginalworkstotheChineselanguage[7]p4.Andwenowusemanyidiomsoriginallycomingfromforeignlanguages,especiallywesternlanguageslikeEnglish.

HundredsofEnglishidiomscomefromTheBible,whichwerenotborninthenativelanguage,buthavecomefromHebrewandGreek.TheEnglishpeopledonotfeeluncomfortableinusingthem,butfeelproudthattheypossessthevividandrichlanguageintheworld.TheChineseidiom“丟臉”(loseface)hasnotonlybecomeasetphraseinEnglish,butalsobeenliterallytranslatedintomanyotherlanguagesintheworld.Foryearstheidiom“紙老虎”isverypopularafteritwastranslatedas"papertiger".ModernChinese,too,hasabsorbedmanyforeignidioms,suchas"sourgrape",translatedas“酸葡萄”.AndthetwoEnglishidioms“l(fā)iketheappleoftheeye”and“eyeforeye,toothfortooth”,havebeenliterallytranslatedas“像眼珠子一樣”and“以眼還眼,以牙還牙”.

5.2Literaltranslationplusannotation

Aswementionedinthepriorsection,bothEnglishandChinesehavealotofidiomswithallusions,whichcontaincertainhistoricalstories.Allofthemareculturallyloaded.Doingthiskindofwork,thetranslatorshoulderstwoimportanttasks:1)toconveythemessagetotheforeignreaders;2)toconveytheculturalandhistoricalinformationtothemaswell.Translatingtheminaliteralwaywillsometimesdo,butnotalways,formanyidiomscanbeunderstoodonlywhenthehistoricalbackgroundortheiroriginiscompletelyexplained.And,someidiomshaveacloserelationship,moreorless,withanation''''s(oraregion''''s)customsandthetranslationofitisnoteasilydonebyafewwords.Thenthetranslatorshavetodotheworkwiththehelpofannotation,especiallyforsomeidioms,whichareintroducedtoforeignreadersforthefirsttime.Thefollowingareafewexamples:

(40)TheChineseidiomofallusion“塞翁失馬，焉知非?！眎swhentheoldmanatthefrontierlosthishorse,whocouldhaveguesseditwasablessingindisguise.

English-speakingreadersgettheideathatamanlosthishorse,buttheywillbeinthedarkaboutwhyitwillbeablessingindisguise.Whoblesswhomandwhotrytodisguise?Withsomanyquestionsinthereaders''''minds,thetranslationcannotconveyadequateinformationtofulfillthecommunication.Thatistosay,theintendedmeaningofthespeakerdoesnotmeetthereaders''''expectationaccordingtotherelevancetheory,andthecontextualeffectscannotbeyieldedatminimalprocessingcost.Inotherwords,theaudienceofthetargetlanguagewillhavetomakealotofprocessingefforttounderstandthemeaningoftheSL.Atthistime,thecrucialpointisthatthecommunicator,accordingtorelevancetheory,shouldtrytoproduceastimulus-verbalorotherwise-formwhichtheaudiencecaninferwhatsetofthoughtorassumptionsthecommunicatorintendedtoconvey.And,sinceidiomswithallusionsoftenhaveahistoricalstorybehindthem,anannotationshouldbeaddedtomeettheintendedmeaningofthespeaker:

Annotation:thisisanallusiontoastorypopularformorethan2,000yearsinChina.Whenanoldmanlosthishorse,hisneighborsconsoledhim."Thismaybeagoodthing,"hesaid.Thehorsecamebackwithanotherhorse,andtheoldman''''sneighborscongratulatedhim."Thismayproveunlucky,"hesaid.Whenhisson,wholikedthenewhorse,rodeitandbrokehisleg,oncemoretheneighborscametoexpresstheirsympathy."Thismayturnoutforthebest,"saidtheoldman.And,indeed,justthentheHunsinvadedthecountryandmostable-bodiedmenwereconscriptedandkilledinbattle;butthankstohisbrokenlegtheoldman''''ssonsurvived[8]p407.

Theannotationisaveryinterestingstory,whichsolvesthereaders''''problemofunderstanding,suppliesadequateinformationandaddstothebeautyoftheidiom.Let''''sciteanothertwoexamplestoillustratethispointofview:

(41)“三請諸葛”-askyouthreetimes,likeZhugeLiang.

Annotation:ZhugeliangwasaherooftheThreeKingdomsPeriod.HehadtobeaskedthreetimesbeforehewouldgrantaninterviewtoLiuPei,whomheafterwardsserved,andhelpedtobecomeemperor.[6]p351

(42)That''''ssomethingforRipley那簡直是里普利的奇聞

Annotation:AnumberofAmericannewspaperscarryafeaturetitled"Believeitornot,"byRipley.Itpresentsstrangeorunusualfactsorhappeningsthatareallsupposedtobetrueandcanbeverified,butbecausetheyaresoodd,sooutoftheordinary,peoplefindthemhardtobelieve.Theexpressionisgenerallyusedwhenreferringtosomethingthatseemsincrediblebutisprobablytrue.

Obviously,theoriginalmeaningoftheidiomsabovecannotbeunderstoodwithouttheannotations,nottomentionthepreservationoftheoriginalculturalloadingandintroducingittotheforeignreaders.Takeidiom(三請諸葛)asanexample.Thequestionsof"WhoisZhugeLiang?"and"Forwhatreasontoasksomebodythreetimes?"willobviouslydwellontheaudience''''smind.Toexplainthequestionsinthepointofviewofrelevancetheory,wecanseeclearlythattheaudienceoftheTLhasnotenoughsharedknowledgeorsharedcognitiveenvironmentwiththeSL.Sotheaudiencecan''''tinferfromwhatofferedtothemtoyieldthecontextualeffectandtheintentionthecommunicatorwantstoconveycannotbesharedwiththeTLaudience.Thatistosay,onlywiththeannotation,cantherebetheresonancebetweenSLandTL.

However,itmustbenotedthatthismethodshouldbeusedonlywhensomethingnewistobeintroducedtoforeignreaders.Inspeech,theinterpretersorpeopleconversingwithEnglish-speakingvisitorsshouldgivearoughequivalentorabriefexplanationwithoutgoingintodetails,soasnottodistractthemfromthemainthreadoftheideabeingdiscussed.Andfortheidiomswithallusionwhicharenotsostrangetotheforeignreaders,orthosethatcanbeunderstoodinthecontext,inotherwords,theaudiencehasenoughsharedknowledgewiththespeaker,translatorsshouldbecarefulnottowastesomuchspaceinexplainingthemindetailsoasnottoreducereadersinterestinthewholework.

5.3Image-shifttranslation[9]p117

Becauseoftheinfluenceofdifferentculturesandcustoms,eachnationhasitsownwayofexpressingthesameconcept.Sointranslating,atranslatorshouldchangewaysofexpressiontoconformtothehabitsofthetargetlanguage.Forexample,Chineseidiom“一箭雙雕”or“一舉兩得”inFrenchrefersto"tohittwoplaceswithonestone",inEnglish"tokilltwobirdswithonestone",andinRussianitbecomes"tokilltworabbitswithonebullet",whileinGermany,itrefersto"tokilltwoflieswithanbeat".Andamongvariouslanguages,culturaldifferencesarereflectedbypeople''''srecognitionoftheobjectiveworld.Theobjectivethingcontainsdifferentvaluesindifferentlanguages,whicharousedifferentassociationsandcontaindifferentconnotations.Animalwordsareacaseinpoint.

Asweknow,manylanguagescontainquiteanumberofidiomswithanimalwords.Someanimalsstandforsimilarimagesinbothlanguages,suchasthefox.Bothculturesthinkthefoxstandsforcunningandslyness.Someanimalsstandforverydifferentimagessuchasthedogandthedragon.InEnglish,thedogstandsforfriendshipwhileinChineseitstandsforfaithfulness[10]p146.ToChinese,thedragonissomethingsacredandshowingmajesty,andhasbeenreferredtoastheancestoroftheChinesenation---that''''swhytheChinesecallthemselves龍的傳人(descendantsofthedragon)andChinesefeudalemperorswereoftenreferredtoas真龍?zhí)熳?Thusappearidiomssuchas望子成龍(hopeone''''ssonwillturnoutadragon---expectone''''ssontobetalentorbecomesomebody),龍鳳呈祥(thedragonandthephoenixbringingprosperity---excellentgoodfortune)，生龍活虎(doughtyasadragonandlivelyasatiger---befullofvimandvigor).However,inthemindoftheEnglish-speakingpeople,thedragonissomeevilmonsterthatcanspitfire,andsometimespossessesthreetoninehands.[11]p99Someareofverysubtledifference,suchasthepig,e.g."asfatasapig"and“胖得象頭豬”.Certaincharactersarerepresentedbydifferentanimalsintwolanguages.Forexample,thehorseinEnglishoftenplaystheroleoftheoxinChinesesuchas"asstrongasahorse"and壯“得像頭?！?，andthelioninEnglishoftenassumestheimageofthetigerinChinesesuchas"lionintheway"and“攔路虎”.Soitisnecessarytomakeappropriatetransference.Infact,thisisonewayof"culturaltransference".

HerearesomeexamplesoftranslationcontainingdifferentimagesofanimalsinChineseandEnglishidioms:

(43)狐假虎威donkeyinalion''''shide

(44)牛飲:todrinklikeafish

(45)蠢得像頭豬:asstupidasagoose

(46)老虎屁股摸不得.Oneshouldnottwistthelion’stail.

5.4Theapproachofadditionandomission

Complexidiomsshouldbetreatedinflexibleways.Sincetherangeofinferencesonecanmakefromanyphenomenonishugeandopen-ended,thereneedstobesomeconstraintthathelpstheaudiencetoidentifythoseassumptionswhichthecommunicatorintendedtocommunicate.BecauseofthedifferentnaturesoftheChineseandtheEnglishlanguages,thatis,theformerisimplicateandthelatterexplicate,differentapproachesoftranslationshouldbeused.OwingtotheimplicatednatureoftheChineselanguage,andinordertokeepitsnationalflavoring,wordsorphrasesshouldsometimesbeadded.That''''swhytheapproachofadditionexists.Itisnotamatterof"somethingoutofnothing".Instead,ithelpstheforeignreaderstohaveabettercomprehensionoftheoriginalwork.Forexample:

(47)借香獻佛borrowingjoss-sticksfromaneighborandburningthembeforeBuddhaforyourownsake.Thistranslationhasaddedthephrases"fromaneighbor"and"foryourownsake"togivethereadersacompleteideaofthespeaker.BecauseofthetersenatureofChineseidioms,theyoftencontainsomedeepmeanings,whicharenotshownonthesurface.Butthewholeideaswillnotbecompleteifnotexpressedinthetranslation.Inabovetranslation,ifthetwophrasesarenotadded,thereaderswillnotunderstandwhyone"borrowjoss-sticks"andwhyhe"burnsthembeforeBuddha".Andhere,neitherliteraltranslationnorfreetranslationisproper,fortheformerone---“Toborrowjoss-sticksandofferthemtoBuddha”cannotexpressthecompleteimplicatedmeaning,andthelatter---“tomakepresentsprovidedbysomebodyelsewilllosethevividimageoftheoriginal.

Ontheotherhand,becauseofthespecialnatureofChineseidioms,someofthemoftencombinetwoidiomsofthesamemeaningforbettersoundandform.Asweknow,repetitionisoneofthecharacteristicsoftheChineselanguage.ButintranslatingthemintoEnglish,translatorswillfeelitdifficulttodothesame,becauseEnglishspeakersdonotoftensaythingslikethis.Theydonothavethehabitofrepeatingthings.Sointranslatingthem,omissionshouldbechosentoavoidunnecessaryandtediousrepetition.Lookatthefollowing,

(48)取之不盡，用之不竭--inexhaustible

TheidiomisquiteniceintheeyesofChinesespeakers,foritisbalanced,whichconformstotheChinesecultureandthefeelingoftheChinesepeople.ButtoEnglishreaders,whoareusedtobeingbrief,afeelingofbeingwordyandstrangewillbeunavoidablycausediftheyaretranslatedastheChinesewords.Thenthebetterwayforaskillfultranslatortochoosenowisomission,whichistobetranslatedas"inexhaustible"or"abundant".Herearefewmoreexamples:

(49)沉魚落雁之容，閉月羞花之貌one''''sbeautywouldputtheflowerstoshame.

(50)樂極生悲，否極泰來--extremepleasureisfollowedbysorrow.

6.Conclusion

Idiomsconstitutethekernelandcreamofalanguage.ChineseandEnglishhavedevelopedtheabundantandvarietyofidioms,whichmakethemselvesmorevivid,moresuccinctandmoreexpressive.Theymainlycomefromthelaboringpeople,fromancientlanguagesorforeignlanguages,inwhichliterature,history,religionandsportsetc,havegivenrisetomanysuchwonderfulphrasesandsentencesconcerned.Withcomplexityinculture,idiomstakemanydifferentformsorstructures,andconstituteobstaclestotheirtranslation.Thereforehowtosolvetheculturalfactorsinidiomsisatouchstoneofsuccessfulrenderingofidioms.

Cultureisreflectedinimage,emotion,structureandlogicofidioms.Butcultureisnotaninsurmountableobstacle.Atranslatorneedstoavoidpossiblecross-culturalmisunderstandingandmeanwhilemakeeffortstointroducethesourcelanguageculturetothetargetreaders,aspeoplefromanyculturebackgroundarecapableofunderstandingaforeigncultureprovidedthatitisproperlyrepresented.

Inthispaperseveralmethodsofidiomstranslationhavebeenproposed.Therearesurelysomemoremethodstobeadopted.Butwhichmethodtoemploywillcompletelydependonasituationorcontextandtheimportanceofcultureelementsconcerned.Eventhesameidiommaybetranslatedinvariouswaysindifferentcontexts.AsaresultofcomplexityinEnglishandChineseidioms,itisbettertointegrateprinciplewithflexibilityintranslatingtheirimages.Weshouldalwayskeepinmindthatmethodsoftranslationaretoservethepurposeoffullycarryingouttheprinciplesoffaithfulnessandexpressiveness.

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