Cultural Differences in the Translation of English and Chinese Idioms英语专业毕业论文.docx

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1、Cultural Differences in the Translation of English and Chinese IdiomsAbstract: Idioms are unique and fixed expression_rs which are formed in using a language .Idioms are the essence of a language, and also the quintessence of a nations culture and wisdom .The translation of English and Chinese idiom

2、s occupies a prominent place in the whole translation. This paper probes into the cultural differences between the two languages in living environments, translational customs, material cultures, religious beliefs, and historical allusions. It also includes the translation skills of English and Chine

3、se idioms.Key words: English; Chinese; idioms; difference; translation.摘要：习语是某一语言在使用过程中形成的独特的固定的表达方式。习语是语言的精华，也是一个民族文化与智慧的结晶。英汉习语的翻译在整个翻译中占着突出的地位。文章探讨这两种语言在生存环境、风俗习惯、物质文化、宗教信仰等方面的文化差异，以及习语在翻译中的具体技巧。关键词：英语；汉语；习语；差异；翻译IntroductionIdioms are a set of fixed expression_rs peculiar to a nation formed thro

4、ugh the use of language over along period of time ,including colloquialisms, proverbs, slang expression_rs and so on, making up one of the essential parts of language of that country. Chinese and English speaking countries especially Great Britain have a long history of languages and the background

5、of cultures. Most of idioms are vivid, carrying strong local color or national features. Some of them are explicit; some are implicit and can arouse varieties of associations; some may contain more than one meaning and must be judged from the context. If language is the minor of culture, idioms, as

6、the essence of language, are the quintessence of culture. Therefore, the quality of translation largely depends on the translation of idioms. Translation is a rendering from one language into another, i.e. the faithful representation in one language of what is written or said in another language. Ho

7、wever, language and culture are closely are connected. On the one hand, language is part of culture and carrier of culture. On the other hand, culture has great influence on language. Therefore, with the development of translation, people no longer consider translation merely as a switching of langu

8、age symbols, but as a cross-cultural communication. That is to say, the switching of language symbols is the surface level of translation, whereas cultural transmission is the essence of translation. Idiom translation is the most typical in translations field.Eugene A. Nita divided the character of

9、language culture into five groups: Ecology, Material Culture, Social Culture, Religious Culture, and Linguistic Culture. So we summarize the cultural differences of English and Chinese idioms into five aspects: living environment, traditional customs, material cultures, religious beliefs, and histor

10、ical allusions.1. Cultural differences of English and Chinese idioms1.1 Different living environmentGeographical environment plays an important role in shaping one countrys culture and human beings have no choices and capacities to change the geography. As a result, idioms based on geographical feat

11、ures appear different. Britain is an island country, which does not share land border with any other countries except the Republic of Ireland. In history, its navigation industry has ever been the first one for a long time. So, British people have a special passion for water. However, the most part

12、of China belongs to inland place where people cannot live without earth. This very geographical difference results in different idioms in the two languages. For example, to show somebody being extravagant, there is a Chinese idiom 挥金如土, but in English the idiom is spend money like water. Take the ot

13、her instance, in southern China with mild and moisture weather, bamboo is a familiar plant for people there, so they use the idiom 雨后春笋 to describe the new things cropping up in great numbers. Correspondingly, English have the idiom spring up like mushrooms to tell the same meaning, since in England

14、 mushroom in spring can be seen everywhere. Besides the different idioms expressing the same notion in the two languages, there are a lot of idioms related to water in English and earth in Chinese which have no corresponding counterpart in the other language, like the English idioms to rest on ones

15、oars, to keep ones head above water, all at sea and etc.1.2 Different traditional customsThe differences of traditional customs of the two nations exist in different living customs, productive pattern, and i.e. These two peoples are used to raising dogs. Most of idioms about dog in Chinese contain d

16、erogatory sense. For example: 狼心狗肺 狗急跳墙 狐朋狗友 狗腿子and so on.Although in these recent years the number of population who take dogs as pets is largely increasing and the dogs status seems to change, the derogatory meaning of dog has been deeply rooted in the culture of Chinese language.However, to the w

17、estern, dog could be taken as doorkeeper or used to hunt as well as human pet, friend or partner. In English language, most of idioms about dog contain dual sense. For instance: You are a lucky dog. 你是一个幸运儿。Every dog has his day. 人人都有得意日。 Old dog will not learn new tricks. 老人学不了新东西; to be a top dog居

18、于要位，and so on. Dog tired means very tired. Its literal meaning is tired like a dog. Because English people usually see their dogs coming back, and then the dogs will lie on the ground as dead if they are very tired. Therefore, the idiom has been used to describe human tiredness. On the other hand, d

19、og in English culture also means hostility and sneer. Like the following:You are going to the dogs.你就要像狗一样完蛋了。It means somebody will degenerate or go to the bad.This is a dogs life.这简直不是人过的日子。It means the very poor life.1From above off, the meaning of dog differentiates greatly between Chinese and E

20、nglish, which make some trouble in the inter-translation of the idioms.1.3 Different material culturesWith the economic globalization and the increase of international communication, western cultures about diet, residence, and closing, i.e., have increasingly influenced on every aspect of Chinese tr

21、aditional culture. For example: coffee, sofa, chocolate have been translated as 咖啡沙发巧克力.These words have been usually used in our daily life. Meanwhile, Chinese has the similar influence on western language. For example:豆腐麻将have been translated into tofu mahjong.Therefore, with the development of tr

22、anslation, people no long consider merely as a switching of language symbols, but as a cross-cultural communication. That is to say, the switching of language symbols is the surface level of translation, whereas cultural transmission is the essence of translation. That is a saying in China: 巧妇难为无米之炊

23、.Somebody translated it into“ Even a clever housewife can not cook a meal with no rice.” The version and the original are equivalent in form. It caters for the Chinese readers who understand Chinese diet habit, but the English and American, for those readers who do not know much about this habit. Be

24、cause “rice” is not the staple food of English and American. They would probably make this response: Why not cook a meal with flour? For flour is more popular than rice in their diet habit. 1.4 Religious differencesReligion exists in every county and nation and affects much in peoples belief and lif

25、e, especially before the modern civilization. Numerous idioms were generated from the fountain of religion. The people in different countries mostly believe in different schools of religion. Therefore, some differences of idioms between Chinese and English can be traced back to the origin of religio

26、n. Religion played a key role in British society especially before capitalization. The majorities of the English people believe in Christianity and regard the Bible as one of the most important classical works in their life. The Bible is comprehensive of nearly all the matters in life so that it act

27、s not only a classic in religion but also an important supporter of British culture, or even of western culture. Innumerable idioms are originated from the Bible, such as the idiom referring to the unwise act of forcing the extremely conservative person to accept new conceptions, to put new wine in

28、old bottles, the idiom describing thrilling horror caused by something, to make ones hair stand on end, another idiom denoting revenge in the same way, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth and etc. Besides, the idiom as poor as a church mouse also is somewhat influenced by religion. In Christian c

29、hurch, there is no devoted food, which is not the same case in Chinese temples. Therefore, the mice in the church, which have no food, can be said as poor. Different from Britain, Chinese culture evolved from Confucian School, Taoist School. There are traces of Taoist principles and Confucian princi

30、ples in Buddhist doctrines. Therefore, although Buddhist culture originated from the other country, it has been assimilated in Chinese culture through a thousand years of spreading and accepting Chinese feathers at the same time. It has been a part of Chinese culture and exerted enormous influence o

31、n Chinese traditional culture and present life as well. In language, a large number of Chinese idioms can be traced back to Buddhist School. For example, the idiom 道高一尺, 魔高一丈 is originally the warning in Buddhism to warn Buddhist disciples of the outside temptations, which remind the disciples of th

32、e hard prospect to overcome all the difficulties both inside and outside in order to make the slightest development. Now it is used to tell there is always at least one power stronger than the other. For another instance, “一尘不染” is also a Buddhist term. Buddhist School calls sex, sound, smell, flavo

33、r, touch and rule as “六尘” and Buddhist disciples should not be affected by the above six. Now this idiom evolved to describe a person who is pure and honest or a thing which is clean and in order.1.5 Different historical allusionsThere are many idioms shaped by historical allusions in English and Ch

34、inese languages. The structure of these idioms is sample but the meaning is profound. They can not be apprehended and translated literally. For instance: cry wolf means 狼来了.This idiom comes from The Fables of Aesop伊索寓言.It said about a shepherd boy usually shouted wolf is coming to deceive his neighb

35、ors to help him to strike wolf. He felt happy from this behavior. One day, a wolf truly came. Although he cried out wolf is coming again and again, no neighbor believed what he said. As a result, his sheep had been eaten out by the wolf. From that on, this idiom has been used to inform the people wh

36、o like to deceive other person will hurt himself at last. For example: The newspaper placards that had cried wolf so often, cried wolf now in vain.报纸广告经常虚张声势，大喊狼来了，现在已经没人信了。Most of English idioms about allusions come from The Bible and Roman myths. For example: hole and corner 偷偷摸摸wash ones hand of

37、a thing 洗手不干eye to eye, tooth for tooth. 以眼还眼，以牙还牙 The Achilles heel of the Australian economy today is that, although its structure is geared to international trade, its participation in trade has declined.致命的弱点，要害部位Many Chinese idioms derived from Chinese ancient codes and records, stories of Aeso

38、p, and legends. For instance:守株待兔 叶公好龙 画龙点睛 精卫填海 i.e. These idioms embody the unique ancient culture of Chinas nation. It is very difficult to find out their equivalent idiom in English. That is a great distinction between the two cultures.If 东施效颦 in Chinese allusion is literally translated into Don

39、g Shi imitates Xi Shi, the version does not show its original inner connotation. Yang Xian Yi translated it into Dong Shi imitates Xi Shi Xi Shi was a famous beauty in the ancient kingdom of Hue Dong Shi was an ugly girl who tried to imitate her way. He used the method of the translation with notes

40、to translate it faithfully. Another example: 三个臭皮匠，合成一个诸葛亮 is translated into The cobber with their wits combined would equal Zhuge Liang the master mind. It points out that the masses have great creation. If the version does not explain who is Zhuge Liang, it would make readers confused .Readers ha

41、ve no idea about its social meaning and the relationship between Zhuge Liang and cobber.As a translator, who has double responsibility to the author of original and Chinese readers, he or she has to know both English and Chinese as well as cultural differences between English and Chinese. It is undo

42、ubtedly true that the translation of idioms is no easy job, involving differences in culture as well in language. Therefore, some translation skills must be adopted in translating idioms so as to make our versions faithful and smooth.2 Specific strategies used in idiom translation2.1 Literal transla

43、tionLiteral translation refers to a full representation of the original when the original coincides with the target language idiom in the sequence of lexical items, grammatical structure and rhetorical device. Literal translation faithfully conveys the meaning of the original and at the some time ke

44、eps the full flavor of English idioms. This is the ideal solution. Let us look at two examples: She refused several offers of marriage, and then, at the age of forty, found herself left on the shelf.A.她拒绝了多次求婚，到四十岁，发现自己没有结婚的希望 了。.她拒绝了多次求婚，到了四十岁，发现自己被束之高阁了。Hereone the shelfwas translated literally as

45、束之高阁.In this way,the translation expresses the content of the sentence smoothly and faithfully and at the same time retains the figure of speech.If it is translated liberally as没有结婚希望,though smoothly,but translation loses the original form and the figure of speech and seems to be inferior. When she

46、was young, she was an ugly duckling, but now she is a beautiful lady. A. 小时候，她长得很丑，而现在成了一位美丽的妇女。小时候，她是个丑小鸭，而现在成了一位美丽的妇女。This original sentence contains a metaphor. She is compared to an ugly duckling. Although in China duckling can not represent ugliness, her fairytale is well known by every family,

47、 particularly to the children, that is to say, this English idiom has been assimilated by Chinese culture after a long time of translation. Therefore, B adopts literal translation, it does not cause confusion, and the expression_r is vivid and living. A omits the metaphor of the origin, produces the

48、 loss in cultural meaning, and violates faithfulness of translation standard.2.2 Liberal translationIf liberal translation is also called free translation, which does not adhere strictly to the form or word order of the original. When there exist in dissimilarities or great difference bet and Chines

49、e in the sequence of vocabulary, in grammatical structure and art device, free translation would be employed. For example: The teenagers do not invite Bob to their parties because he is a wet blanket.青年们不邀请他参加他们的聚会，因为他是个扫兴的人。青年们不邀请他参加他们的聚会，因为他是块湿毯子。Comparing these two versions A and B, A employed liber