on translation of englishchinese and chineseenglish idioms英汉互译中对习语翻译的探.docx

1、on translation of englishchinese and chineseenglish idioms 英汉互译中对习语翻译的探On Translation of English-Chinese and Chinese-English Idioms英汉互译中对习语翻译的探析 ContentsAbstract.1Key Words.11. Introduction .22. Gaps between English Idioms and Chinese Idioms.2 2.1 The Gaps in Religion.3 2.2 The Gaps in Living Circum

2、stances.3 2.3 The Gaps in Social Custom and Habit.3 2.4 The Gaps in History Allusion.43. The Categories of Translation of Idioms.43.1 The Translation of Corresponding Idioms.43.1.1 The Translation of Corresponding Idioms in English.5 3.1.2 The Translation of Corresponding Idioms in Chinese.53.2 The

3、Translation of Partial Corresponding Idioms.53.3 The Translation of Specific Idioms.64. The Methods of Translating Idioms.8 4.1 Literal Translation .8 4.2 Literal Translations with Notes .9 4.3 Free Translation.9 4.4 Free Translation with Notes.9 4.5 Free Translation-Replacements with Similar Idioms

4、.10 4.6 Combination of Literal and Free Translation.105. Conclusion.10References.11On Translation of English-Chinese and Chinese-English IdiomsAbstract: Idioms are linguistic chunks formed by the regular phrases and sentences. It is a special and inseparable part of language. An idiom takes a very i

5、mportant part in the language, which reflects the national colors of the native speakers and is considered as the sinew of the language. Every language has its own idioms. There are a large number of idioms existed in both English and Chinese, and they make the two languages more colorful and beauti

6、ful. This thesis is about the translation of idioms in both English and Chinese. After the general understanding and introduction to the source of idioms, a series of methods of idioms translation would be discussed. The thesis is divided into three parts. Firstly, it will give the general understan

7、ding and introduction to the source of the idioms. And the source of the idioms will be divided into four parts. Secondly, it is discussed the ways of translation of the three kind idioms according to the relationship between English idioms and Chinese idioms. Thirdly, several practical translating

8、methods of the English idioms and Chinese idioms would be introduced from the point of the view of keeping the flavor of the original idioms.Key words: English idioms; Chinese idioms; categories; translating methods摘要：习语是指由固定词组和句子组成的模块。它是语言中不可分割的一部分。习语反映了一个国家的民族特色在语言中占有举足轻重的作用。因此它可谓是语言的精髓和源泉。英语和汉语中都

9、存在着大量的习语。这篇论文是对英汉语习语的浅析。它首先对习语做了整体上的介绍并对其来源进行了分析。接着从两个角度分别讨论了习语的翻译方法。一是根据英汉语习语的关系探讨了三种习语的翻译方法。二是从保留英语习语迎合汉语习语口味目的角度讨论了六种实用的翻译技巧。关键词：英语习语；汉语习语；类别；翻译技巧1. Introduction Idioms are widely used all over the world. They are a large number idioms existed in literature works and our daily life that contain s

10、pecial meanings. It has been described as the quintessence of the language. Without idioms language would become dull and dry. So understanding the language and the language culture plays a very important role in the translation of idioms. According to The Oxford Advanced learners Dictionary, idioms

11、 are “phrase or sentence whose meaning is not obvious through knowledge of the individual meaning of the constituent words but -must be learnt as a whole”. We can see the characteristics of idioms that the meaning of an idiom is not the collective meaning of all the words that form it and each part

12、of the idiom can not be replaced by other words. On the whole both English idioms and Chinese idioms are fixed phrases with special meanings that can not be changed in any way. As most of the idioms are formed or created by the people especially during their daily life, idioms are the creation of th

13、e working peoples life practice and experience in some degree and can not be changed freely. We must keep its original form. For example, if you say one stitch in time saves nine instead of a stitch in time saves nine, a foreign native speaker would feel strange since the native speakers do not say

14、English that way. Only we know the cultures of the two languages we can have a better translation. Of course peoples daily life is not the only one source of the idioms. There are also some others. A large percent of the English idioms come from the literature works, Bible and Greek myths. Idioms, s

15、uch as the apple of ones eye, a drop in the bucket, wolf in sheeps clothing, pride before a fall and a living dog is better than a dead lion are from Bible. Shakespeares play and other famous writers works are other sources of idioms.From the above we can easily see that idioms have close relationsh

16、ip with peoples common life, Literature, religion, ancient legends and fables. As idioms have kinds of different sources, every idiom has its own special and proud meaning. Just for that idioms are widely used in the whole world. If we can do well in idiom translation it is very helpful for us to ha

17、ve a better understanding of the culture of the countries in the world.2. Gaps between English Idioms and Chinese IdiomsJust because of these differences in the culture between English and Chinese, there are a lot of difficulties in the process of translation. We must consider about the culture back

18、ground. Four main parts must be considered carefully.2.1 The Gaps in Religion Religion is peoples consciousness about the nature and social power that control the life of them. All over the world people always considered the unreal images as the control power. And just this religion not only affects

19、 politic, science, art and other social aspects but also affects the cultural psychology structure that influences peoples thought and actions. Every religion has its own belief that also affects peoples life style and language. Buddhism is one of the biggest religions in the world. Most Chinese bel

20、ieve in Buddhism. Buddhism praises highly that all over lives are painful and all pain in the world will disappear. So you have no need to pursuit for something. Believing in Buddhism and dropping out all desires can get us out of the pain world and reach the happiness world. But most westerners bel

21、ieve in Jesus. They consider the God as the master of the world. Jesus Christ is the son of the God. Jesus comes to the world and aims to save human beings. We can reach heaven by persisting belief in Christ. Otherwise we will be thrown out to hell. Bible that was written by Jesus followers is the m

22、ost popular book in western world. It describes Jesus effort to save human beings. As the thought of Christ was known throughout all kinds of peoples daily life, we can easily find the word “God”.2.2 The Gaps in Living Circumstances The whole world is rich and colorful nature. The climate, land prop

23、erty and living condition are different from one to another, so the culture is also different from the others. In China “coward” is described as “Afraid leaves falling down hit head”. Because leaves are so light that even ten leaves hit on head, there is nothing at all. But in the other country “Afr

24、aid leaves falling down hit head” is not fit for describing a coward. For example, some peasants who live in inland take care of cattle know that the cattle always take amount of water. As a result they use “牛饮” to describe someone who drink too much water. But England is an island country. The part

25、icular geographical environment makes English people familiar with fish. They always see fish drink water without stopping. So they describe those who drink too much water “drinking like a fish”.2.3 The Gaps in Social Custom and Habit Custom and habit are formed in the process of development. They a

26、re reflected in every aspect of peoples life. As it is not based on law, the custom and habits of different nations shows different methods. In another word, they are different from nations to nations. Every nation has its own custom and habit. For example, in China, people often refuse on the reaso

27、n of politeness when receiving gifts. But in America and England, they are glad to receive the gifts at once and say “thanks” to the given side and praise the gifts. The given side would talk about the gift and ask: Do you like it? It is completely different with Chinese.2.4 The Gaps in History Allu

28、sionDifferent social systems have different culture. From the historic allusion the culture of slaving society is different from feudal society, capital society and socialist system. In Chinese, thirty years ago, people called “comrade” for each other in their daily life. However, in American people

29、 are called “sir”, “madam” or “miss”, instead. In China, people always stress the social relationship and emphasize moral principles. They pay much attention to the social status. On the contrary, westerners pay much attention to the personal success and individual freedom. Chinese people will avoid

30、 a taboo word in their name. But westerners never consider that. 3. The Categories of Translation of IdiomsThe two languages, English and Chinese, belong to two different cultures individually. English idioms and Chinese idioms are countless and form the crystallization of two respectively. From the

31、 perspectives of the comparison of the two languages, English idioms and Chinese idioms can be divided into three categories: the translation of corresponded idioms, the translation of partial corresponded idioms and the translation of specific idioms.3.1 The Translation of Corresponding IdiomsMany general features have existed in the aspect of human itself, which contain thinking ways, life style, cognitive ability and th