从习语翻译看中西文化差异.docx

1、从习语翻译看中西文化差异从文化差异看英汉习语互译中文摘要: 世界上每一种语言都包含有丰富的习语,而作为习语,既有某些共同的特征,也有因文化背景的不同而存在的必然差异。中西民族文化传统的迥异,决定了其习语文化特征的显明区别.习语形式简洁而意思精辟，使语言更加凝练，更具有表现力。习语如果翻译处理得当，不仅能忠实地表达原作品的精神和思想，为读者所理解与接受，而且能开拓文化视野，丰富汉语与英语的词汇。然而，习语无论在语法结构、固定搭配、或是在含义上都是特殊的，使用时一般不能随意改变其结构和含义。且习语丰富多彩的来源使其具有强烈的民族文化色彩。中英两国各自的历史发展、地理环境、风俗习惯、宗教信仰、寓言神

2、话、文学艺术以及体育娱乐等都产生了大量的习语。两个民族各自的生活习惯，思维观念，无不反映在生动、形象、活泼的习语中。这些都给习语翻译增加了障碍和难度.本篇论文主要是从文化差异性入手,从大量的中英文习语实例分析翻译的原则和方法,在吸取前辈大量的经验和成果的基础上,进一步深化对习语翻译的理解和运用.中文关键词:习语; 文化差异; 翻译; 方法;原则.On Translating English and Chinese Idioms: From Culture Differences RespectiveAbstract: Each language in the world contains a

3、large number of idioms that not only share some common features but also bear some differences in accordance with the differences of cultural background. The differences between the Chinese and western culture decide the obvious differentiation. The style of idioms is simple but it contains rich mea

4、nings .If we translate the idioms correctly and unadulteratedly, the idioms not only shows the reader a real sprit of the works and also can enlarge the Chinese and English vocabulary. However, the idioms are special in the grammar structure 、fixed match and the meaning . We cannot at change the str

5、ucture and meaning at our will when we use them. Also, the idioms have a strong spirit of a nation. The idioms came into being of the Chinese and English history development, geography environment, Custom habits, religion , faith, literature ,sports and so on. So there are many difficulties for the

6、foreigners to understand the idioms in other countries. This paper mainly talks the translation between Chinese and English idioms and discusses the principle and ways from the projective of culture differences. Key words：idioms ;culture differences ;translation; ways; principles.On Translating Chin

7、ese and English Idioms : From the Culture Differences Aspect.1 IntroductionThe idiom is a fixed mode of presentation of a certain language, which is formed in the process of using . It is a kind of phrase or sentence whose meaning is not clear from the meaning of its individual words and which must

8、be learnt as a whole unit. The idioms being discussed in the paper include phrase common sayings, proverbs, allusions, maxims and the allegorical sayings. There is a quite long history in Chinese and English. Because of the differences in geography, history, religion belief, life style etc, it is ha

9、rd for us to understand and learn the English idioms .and the same to the foreigners. Different languages reflect different cultures; different cultures entail different language expression_s. So we could not learn English idioms without the knowledge of culture differences. In this process, transla

10、tion, as the bridge of the two languages, plays an important role. Therefore, this paper will talk the culture differences first, and then analyze the translation between the two kinds of idioms.1.1 1.1Definition of Chinese and English idioms Chinese idioms we talk always means the collection of set

11、 phrase, quotation, common saying, two-part allegorical saying, dialect etc. English idioms often refers to some proverb, saying, colloquial phrase, allusion, slang and so on.1.2 1.2The universality of Chinese and English idiomsIdioms in one language differ from those in other languages as a result

12、of differences in background information of history, economic life, geographical environment, customs, religious beliefs, living environment, social conventions and literature tradition etc. The idiom is a mirror that can reflect clearly national or cultural characteristics. Idioms are difficult to

13、translate because they are often of particular cultural origins. Each language has its characters, and the idiom is the most obvious symbol.2 Culture differences reflected in Chinese and English idioms2.1Differences in living environment Language came into being during the process human beings work

14、and life. Britain is an island country. Its navigation used to be the number one in the world. But the Chinese people have been lived on land from the very beginning. So, always ,if we want to say someone who wastes money, we will say :挥金如土(throw gold about like dirt),but the British will say: spend

15、 money like water. Also, the British peoples love for the sea can be found in the following examples: “when ones ship comes home” translated into (当某人发财时). “to keep ones head over water” means “勉强过日子” in Chinese and “to sink or swim” is translated into “不论成败”and to rest on ones oars(暂时歇一歇),keep ones

16、 head above wate(奋力图存),all at sea(茫然不知所措)etc. Just like the British cannot live without sea, the Chinese cannot live without earth, so in Chinese we have “面朝黄土背朝天”to describe the Chinese farmers toil in the field and “泥菩萨过江,自身难保”(Like a clay idel crossing a river) means that one is hardly able to sa

17、ve oneself ,let alone assist others)to describe those who cannot even protect themselves at certain circumstance. In Chinese literature, east wind is “the wind in spring”,always we talk summer and hot together. For example, we describe summer as “with the scorching sun directly overhead”(骄阳似火),“burn

18、ing sun”（烈日炎炎）.But Britain lies in the western Hemisphere, theyd like to describe spring by “west wind”. The summer in Britain is warm and comfortable which is quite different from China. And summer always is said by “lovely, beautiful, gentle”. Shakespear compares his lover as summer in one of his

19、sonnet, “shall I compare thee to a summers day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate.” Differences in custom.2.2.1 Differences in animals.Due to the culture differences of the two kinds of languages, people view the animals from different sides. Dog is one of the important symbol. In China, there

20、 are many idioms describing the bad things with dog. Such as: 狼心狗肺(rapacious as a wolf and savage as a cur), 狗急跳墙(a corned beast will turn at bay) 狗嘴吐不出象牙来(no ivory can come out of a dogs mouth),and also others:狐朋狗友,(evil associates)狗仗人势,(like a dog threatening people on the strength of its masters

21、power)狗眼看人(be damned snobbish)狗拿耗子多管闲事(like dog trying to catch mice-poke ones nose into other peoples business )etc. But in English,except for a few words ,the idioms are mostly praising dogs, such as: You are a lucky dog, Every dog has its day, Old dog will not learn new tricks and so on. Because

22、they take the dogs as their honest friends. Always, theyd like to describe people with “dog”, they would say “sick as a dog”, if “tired”, we would say: “dog tire”. In Chinese culture, the dragon is the symbol of power, but in English, it is the symbol of evil. In Chinese we have “龙飞凤舞”,(dragons flyi

23、ng and phoenixes dancing, or lively and vigorous flourishes in calligraphy.) Or we will say“望子成龙”“望女成凤”(long to see ones children succeed in life).But the westerners will never say like this.2.2.2 Differences in time. Because of the cultural differences, people say time differently too. The western

24、people have very strong feelings on the limited time, We can learn it from the following examples:“Time is money”；“Time flies”；“Time and tide wait for no man”. And the American believe that the most precious thing is time. They believe that “chasing time” is much important than making plans and chec

25、king regulations. So the American has “Procrastination is the thief of time”. Meanwhile, the British pointed the importance of punctuality in the proverb “Punctuality is the politeness of kings”. But in the Chinese society, cautious plan is more important. The Chinese people believe that a person sh

26、ould wait for opportunities to come with patience, because “心急吃不了热豆腐” meaning one could not be too eager to do something. Similarly, “慢工出细活” is used to mean “careful work makes perfect result”.2.2.3 Differences in numbers.The Chinese people love the number 6, because in Chinese we have “六六大顺”, which

27、 means everything goes well. But if there is a 6 in an English proverb, the meaning usually is the opposite, e.g. at six and seven meaning （乱七八糟），six to one, （相差悬殊），and “six penny” (不值钱). The Chinese numeral “四”4 is a taboo in Chinese culture because it sounds the same as the word“死”(si）is for death

28、 recent years in Chinese. Just as Judah who sold out Christ in the Last Super,the western people who are influenced by Christianity consider 13 sinister because Judah, the person who is the Thirteenth to come.2.2.4 Difference in the meaning of color word There are 7 kinds of colors: red, orange, yel

29、low, green, verdant, blue, and purple. In fact, objects themselves in nature do not have fixed colors as we see in our daily life. We mankind distinguish their colors by seeing the reflected light beams on the surface of the objects. The specific color is decided by the reflection of the light and a

30、bsorption of the objects. However，we human beings added “color” to emotions and make “colors” have emotional values and conceiving wondrous cultural meanings.Colors do exist in the nature even without mankinds influences. On the contrary the life of mankind has a close relationship with colors. We s

31、ee colors everywhere; we wear clothes in different colors; we eat vegetables of various colors. In one word, we human beings live in a “colorful” world. There are different colors in human languages; however, they are varying from race to race, from culture to culture, from social group to social gr

32、oup, mostly owing to their different realizations and recognitions towards colors. All these reasons make humans imagination of colors immensely rich.White and black are the most common colors in the world. They are the symbols of darkness and lightness respectively since human existence. In Bible darkness stands for evil and demon. In western culture white usually stands for the good and right, black for the bad and wrong. We Chinese uses the idioms “清白无辜” for an innocent person and “洁白无暇” for purity as well. White doves are always regarded as the symbol of p