论习语及习语的汉英翻译.docx

1、论习语及习语的汉英翻译毕业论文 题目：小论习语及习语的汉英翻译 Title: On Idioms and Their Translation from Chinese into English 2008年 05月20 日Acknowledgements Firstly, I will pay my appreciation to my family. It is who have given me so many supports and suggestions I could finally finish this paper. Their love always gives me enou

2、gh confidence in myself and in my writing course. I also want to thank my dear teachers who taught me lots of things throughout all fields so that I can finish my thesis. These teachers are really the most important part in my thesis writing. Thanks to my grammar teacher, she taught me a lot during

3、the courses so that I can have enough knowledge to finish my paper. Thanks to our writing course teacher Mr. Cai. Finally, I will give my deepest appreciation to my supervisor, Mrs. Liu. She always helps me to revise my thesis and gives me valuable suggestions, she plays a very important part in my

4、thesis writing. Thanks all of them so much! AbstractIdioms are just like incomparably resplendent bight pearls emitting dazzling rays in the palace of literature. Throughout the ages, they animate the works of countless men of literature and writing. Idioms have fixed patterns and abundant connotati

5、ons. Their vivid images explicitly convey incisive meanings. Chinese idioms are part of the essence of Chinese culture with a history of thousands of years. In this thesis, the English translation of Chinese idioms will be discussed on the foundation of simply introducing the definitions, origins, f

6、eatures, and classifications of idioms, and a series of principles and methods of idiom translation will be put forward, mainly involving the translation of the Chinese idioms which have similar and dissimilar implications in English. the dissertation attempts a probe and thesis discussed on 9 aspec

7、ts, which include the overall features of English idioms and Pragmatic Context, speech acts, conversational implicative, the role of discourse and pragmatic features, the negative significance of rhetoric and the actual use of language with the use with nine variations, such as aspects of the brief

8、and arguments. It is hoped that, by studying the idiom, this thesis will provide some help to idiom learners and those who are working in this field. Key words: Chinese idioms；similarity；Dissimilarity摘要 习语犹如文学殿堂里一颗璀璨无比的明珠放射着历久不衰的光芒，古往今来，无数文人墨客的笔下都闪耀着它的异彩。它结构固定而涵义深刻，用生动的形象明确地表达着深刻的思想。汉语习语是几千年华夏文化的精髓之

9、一。本文在简单介绍习语就的定义，来源，特点及分类的基础上，研究汉语习语的英语翻译并提出一系列的汉语习语英译的翻译原则和翻译方法,其中主要涉及对似和非对似汉语习语的英语翻译等几个方面进行分析与总结，还从认知的、社会的和文化的整体角度对英语习语的特征、语用语境、言语行为、会话含义、语篇作用、语用功能、否定意义、修辞语用以及实际运用中的活用与变体等9个方面的问题进行了简略的的探讨和论述。通过对英语习语的研究，希望对英语学习者有所裨益。关键词:汉语习语；对似性；非对似性ContentsI. Introduction to Idioms.2 1.1 Definition of Idioms .2 1.2

10、 Origins of Idioms.3 1.3 Features of Idioms . .7 1.4 Classifications of Idioms .8II. Idioms with Similar and Dissimilar Implications in Chinese and English .9 2.1 Idioms with Similar Implications . 9 2.2 Idioms with Dissimilar Implications .9.Translation of Idioms with Similar and Dissimilar Implica

11、tions from Chinese into English.10 3.1 Methods and Principles for English Translation of Chinese Idioms. 10 3.2 Principles for English Translation of Chinese Idioms with Dissimilar Implications in English. .12Bibliography.15Introduction Language is the most important communicative tool of all human

12、beings. It plays its role as not only the carrier and form of culture but also the most vital element of transmission and inheritance of culture. Language of any kind is the crystallization of the culture of its own nation. As the cream of the culture, the idiom is a kind of widespread set phrases o

13、r sentences, with specific implications, abstracted from the spoken language and experience of the people and the classical works. Due to its vivid image and profound connotation, the idiom is deeply loved by the masses, as a member with fine expressible ability in the family of language. Idioms fre

14、quently appear in the spoken language and literary works. Chinese idioms have a solid cultural base to take root, develop and flourish now that the Chinese nation has broad and profound culture. Nowadays, the international status of China is upgrading gradually. People all over the world take deligh

15、t in acquainting themselves with Chinese culture. As the essence of Chinese culture and the crystallization of the wisdom of the common Chinese people, idioms are bound to become an important part to promote the Chinese culture to the knowledge of people of all the other countries. The idiom is a co

16、ntact point of the knowledge of the Chinese culture for people all over the world. To sum up, in order to make the western peoples know Chinese culture thoroughly, the study of the English translation of Chinese idioms is quite necessary and of far-reaching significance.Introduction to Idioms Idioms

17、 are those set phrases or short sentences abstracted from the spoken language or classical works, and the like. They were passed from generation to generation for centuries. Idioms are the crystallization of peoples wisdom. After thousands of years accumulation, idioms are provided with vivid images

18、, profound implications and exquisite rhythms. Idioms could reflect the local customs and practices of different regions, the living style of the people, the natural environment and so on. We could see that the idiom has a very strong color of its nation. Therefore, to understand and study the idiom

19、 is supposed to start from its definition, origin, features, and classifications. 1.1. Definition of Idioms As for the definition of idioms, there are various editions according to different dictionaries. I picked out some of those definitions from some authoritative dictionaries as follows: (1) An

20、idiom is an expression which functions as a single unit and whose meaning cannot be worded out from its separate parts (Longman Dictionary of Applied Linguistics, 1985) and An idiom is a phrase, construction or expression that is recognized as a unit in the usage of a given language and either diffe

21、rs from the usual syntactic patterns or has a meaning that differs from the literal meaning of its parts taken together. (Websters New World College Dictionary 3rd Edition, 1996)Some experts, who have been engaged in the study of idioms for many years, also have opinions of the definition of idioms.

22、 (2) Weinreich held the view that a phraseological unit involving at least two polysemous constituents, and in which there is a reciprocal contextual selection of subsenses will be called and idiom. (3) Schweigert and Moates have the idea that idioms are common expressions used in colloquial speech

23、with accepted, figurative meanings that differ from their present-day literal meanings. These above are from dictionaries and experts or scholars. To sum up, we may come to the conclusion that idioms are those concise and incisive set phrase or short sentences, which mean something different from th

24、e literal meaning of the individual words, refined from peoples long-term employment, whose elements cannot be changed at random with simple words producing profound truth, thus widely spread among the common people. 1.2 Origins of Idioms The formation of idioms is on intimate terms with the culture

25、 of the nation which its language relies on. In a sense, the culture gives birth to the idioms. On the contrary, the idioms reflect all the features of the culture. Each nation has its own national culture which owns a distinctive style and tradition that come into being in the course of their work

26、and life, including history, language, custom, life style, ways of thinking, and so on . Idioms, a kind of language form used by the people for a very long time, to a great extent, rely more on the specific social cultural connotations than the common words. Idioms, having an extremely strong color

27、of a nation are one of the marks differentiating one language from another. Thus, the origin of the idioms may be quite varied. 1.2.1 The Experience of the Common People For thousands of years, people drew lessons and experience from their daily life, and then wrote them down to tell their offspring

28、 what they had got from their experiences. As a result, most of the idioms could invariably mirror almost everything related to the life of the common people. Take those reflecting the geographic environment of peoples inhabitations as example, Britain is a country with small land area but a long co

29、ast line; so many English idioms are relevant to the ocean. People in Britain always compare fish to the people. For example, they use cold fish to describe a person who is unconcern to something and feel like a fish out of water to express a feeling that is uncomfortable and unnatural. People alway

30、s wrote down the lessons they got from their experience, just as the idiom who has never tasted bitter knows not what is sweet telling the people if you dont undergo hardships, you will never know what happiness is. At the beginning of human society, owing to the low productivity and lack of further knowledge of most common phen