DifferenceonIdiomTranslation.docx
《DifferenceonIdiomTranslation.docx》由会员分享,可在线阅读,更多相关《DifferenceonIdiomTranslation.docx(8页珍藏版)》请在冰豆网上搜索。
DifferenceonIdiomTranslation
TheInfluenceofCulture
DifferenceonIdiomTranslation
Abstract
Inmodernsociety,translationisplayingamoreandmoreimportantroleinculturalexchanges.Notonlyisthelanguagerelatedwithtranslation,butalsoistheculture.
Idioms,whicharethecrystallizationofpeople’sintelligence,isakindofpermanentlyexpressionformedduringthelonghistoryoflanguage.Astheessentialpartofthelanguageculture,idiomsarealsothecarrierofculture,thequintessenceoflanguages.Therefore,thetranslationoftheEnglishidiomsdealswithnotonlythemeaningitself,butthemostimportantoneistheculturalinformationtheyconvey.Sometimes,people’sill-understandingofvariousculturalfactorsactastherestrictionontranslation,aswellasontheunderstandingofthecontentsofcommunication.
Giventhis,thisthesisdoesapreliminarysurveyonculturalfactorsandtranslationitself;alsoitpresentsaspecificdiscussionandexplorationontranslation,integratingtheenvironmentalfactors,thecustomaryfactors,thereligiousfactorsandsoon.Bynailingdowntheirinfluencesonidiomtranslation,wecandevelopourtranslationmoreeffectivelyandmoreaccurately.
Keywords:
Culturaldifference;influence;idiomtranslation;
Contents
ChapterOneIntroduction…………………………………………………………...…1
ChapterTwoConceptsofCulturalDifferenceandIdiomTranslation………………...3
2.1Whatisculturaldifferenceanditsinfluence………….....................................3
2.2Thedefinitionandfeaturesofidioms................................................................4
2.2.1Thedefinition…………………………………………………………...4
2.2.2.thefeaturesofidioms………………………………………………….5
2.3Thenecessitiesofthestudyonculturaldifferentonidiomtranslation………..6
ChapterThreeTheInfluenceofCultureDifferencesonIdiomTranslation…………..7
3.1Thegeographicalandenvironmentalfactorsinidiomtranslation…………….7
3.1.1Thelivingsurroundings………………………………………………..7
3.1.2Thenaturefeatures……………………………………………………..8
3.1.3Theclimatefactors……………………………………………………..8
3.2Thereligiousfactorsinidiomtranslation……………………………………..9
ChapterfourConclusion……………………………………………………………11
Notes………………………………………………………………………..……...12
Bibliography………………………………………………………………………...12
ChapterOneIntroduction
Nowadays,owingtotheincreasingimportanceofculturalexchange,moreandmoreattentionispaidonthetranslationofEnglishidioms.Asasocialactivity,translationisalsoakindofculture,whichisconcernedwiththeindividualsandthesocialenvironmentandtheculturalbackgroundstheyarein.ThetraditionaltranslationinChinaattachestoomuchimportanceonthegrammaticalstructure,translatingwordtowordaccordingtothetext.Itisapparentthatitdoesnotconformtotheprincipleofidiomtranslation.Soinevitably,manymistakesanderrorscouldbemadeifwetrodtheoldpathandpeopleareeasilytobemisledandgetconfused.
ThedistinguishedEnglishprofessorofChinesestudyJohnagencyoncesaid:
“everylanguagedrillsitsvigorandnutrientfromitsculture,sothesolotransformingofonelanguageintoanotherisfarfromnecessary,andweshouldalsoknowthedifferentcustomsinthinkingandexpression.Nidaalsosaidthattheinfluenceofcultureonidiomtranslationwassodeepthatthecolorfulnationalculturewouldbeignoredwithoutacarefulresearchofculturalbackgrounds.Truly,idiomsnotonlybearahintofnationality,butalsosignifythesharpestdifferencebetweentwodifferentlanguages.
Fromthesewords,itisnotdifficulttoknowthatthereexistsaintenserelationshipbetweenlanguagetranslationandculturethatagoodunderstandingofculturaldifferenceisanecessitytogoodtranslation.Ofcourse,itisthesamecasewithidiomtranslation.Therefore,inordertoguaranteetheefficiencyandaccuracyoftranslation,weshouldnotonlydipintosomefactorsaffectingidiomtranslation,butalsoneedtotakethetranslationtechniquesintoconsideration,suchasword-for-wordtranslation,word-for-wordtranslationtogetherwithexplanationandfreetranslation.Forthesakeofthefocalpointsofmystudy,Ihavedonealotofeffortsincludingreferringtomanyreferencebooksandmaterialsandsummarizingthemtogetageneralknowledgeofthequestion.Atthesametime,becauseofthefactthatEnglishtranslationisapracticaltechnicalability,whichmeansthatthestudyofidiomtranslationcannotbeconfinedtobooks,asurveyandconversationalresearchtosomepeople,toalargeextent,areofgreatconsequences,whichserveasagoodexampleofhowtheculturalfactorsimpedeorboosttheidiomtranslationandtheunderstandinginourdailylife.Sointhisthesis,quitealotofexamplesandcontrastsareemployedtoexplaintheinfluence,andsometranslationmethodsareputforwardforthesakeofbettertranslationqualityandbettercomprehension.
ChapterTwoConceptsofCulturalDifference
AndIdiomTranslation
2.1Whatisculturaldifferenceanditsinfluence
Anexactunderstandingofculturaldifferenceistheprerequisiteofthesisstudy.Manyareincludedintheterm“culture”,anditiswidelyusedinourdailylife.Sobothitsconnotationandextensionmeaningsaresoabundantthatitishardtogiveanexclusivedefinition.ThecontemporaryscholarPoterandSamovar(1988)defineculturelikethis:
cultureisthedepositofknowledge,belief,experience,attitude,specialrelationshipanduniversalconceptsgainedbyacertaingroupofpeople,aswellassomesubstantialmaterials.Somescholarssearchingintothepracticalproblemsalsogivetheirideas,forexample,DavidBrown(1987)holdsthatcultureisagatherofcommonlyheldbelief,habits,lifestyleofapeoplelivinginacertaingeographicallocation.Culturehelpstopresentusabetterunderstandingoftheoriginofuniverse,andtherelationbetweenhumanandtheGod.Inbrief,cultureistheguidanceoflife.
Inconclusion,thereareonmorethantwokindsofthedefinitionofculture,broadlyspeaking,cultureistheassembleofmaterialandspiritualtreasureduringthecourseofhumanlife,narrowlyspeaking,cultureistheknowledgesystemofpeople“svalue.(束定芳,1996)Theconceptisthekeyofculture,bywhichwecandifferthekindsofcultures.(胡文仲,2004)Soitisobviousthatitisjustbecauseofthecomprehensivenessthatgivesbirthtothedifferenceordiversityofcultures.Thatiswhylivingunderdiversesurroundings,peoplewillhavedistinctvalues,knowledgestructureandcustomsmorals.Soinacertainregion,whentheculturalvaluestendtoconvergewithoneanother,aexclusivekindofcultureexistsanddistinguishitselffromtheothers.Thaiiswhatwecallthedifferenceofcultures,whichisnotonlyreflectedinregions,butalsointheeastandwestcountries.
Thiskindofculturaldifferenceresultsinthedistinctivecomprehensiontowardsthepropertyandconceptsofthings,whichismanifestedinbothpeople’slifestyleandotherspheres.Suchasinsocialstratus,familystructure(thesizeoffamily,familyrelations,marriageanddivorce),career(types,characters,class,andsoon),socialeventsandthewaysofpeople’sdailyactivities,suchasgreeting,call,eatinghabits,taboos,greeting,handshakingandsoon.Whileamongthese,themoretypicaloneislanguage,especiallydaily-usedlanguageincludingtheidioms.Idiomsaremorerepresentativeandtypicalthananyotherkindsoflanguagecomponents.Likewise,itismoreeasilyaffectedandswayedbycultures,whichconsistsofthesurroundings,conventions,historicalillusions,literatureworksandsoon.OwingtothefactthatthereisaseriousgapbetweenChineseandEnglishcultures,itislikelytobringsomemisunderstandingsandcollisionswhencommunicatingwithpeopleofdifferentculturalbackgrounds.Therefore,adeepanalysisofthesefactorsandsometargetstandpointsarequitenecessary.
2.2Thedefinitionandfeaturesofidioms
Beforethestudyofinfluencefactorsofidiomtranslationandthetranslationmethods,weshouldgetclearofitsdefinitionandfeaturessothatwecangetagoodcommandofit.
2.2.1Thedefinition
Idioms,asacomplicateditem,arehardtogiveafixeddefinition.AccordingtotheOxfordEnglishDictionary,idiomis:
1)Theformofspeechpeculiarorpropertoapeopleorcountry;oftheirownlanguageandtheirowntongue;
2)(Inanarrowersense):
Thatvarietyoflanguagewhichispeculiartoalimiteddistrictorclassofpeople;
3)Thespecificcharacter,propertyorgeniusofanylanguage,themannerofexpressionwhichisnaturalorpeculiartoit;
4)Aformofexpression,grammaticalconstruction,phrase,etc,peculiartoalanguage;
5)Aspecificformorproperty,peculiarnature,peculiarity.
Itisobvioustoseethatidiomisapalimony,whichcannotonlyrefertoalanguageonthewhole,butalsorefertoaspecialunitinacertainlanguage.Idiomsarealsothecarrierofculture,thequintessenceoflanguage.Theyarereflectedspecicily,gracefully,vividlyandsometimeshumorouslywithatouchoflocalcolor,intenseculturalconnotationandclosenesstopeople’smentality.Alltheserenderitwelcomedandappreciatedbypeople.
2.2.2Thefeaturesofidioms
Howeverthedifferentviewsare,aswellasthedifferentemphasesonidioms.Thefeaturesofidiomarealmostthesame,thatis:
thesinglelinguisticofunit,institutionalization,irreplaceability(衡孝军,1990).Firstly,unity.Itconsistsoftwolayersofmeanings:
Thefirstmeansthatanidiomcannotbeseparatedanditisasetphrase.Forexample,turnoveranewleaf(改过自新),facethemusic(临危不惧),makehaste(赶快).wecannotaddanywordasasubjectintothemiddle,nor