英汉谚语的理解和翻译.doc

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1、Content摘要VAbstractVIChapter I. Introduction1Chapter II. Literature Review2Chapter III . Differences between Chinese and English proverbs33.1. Values33.2. History43.3. Religious and culture63.4. Region8Chapter IV. Translation methods of proverbs114.1. Literal translation114.2. Free translation124.3.

2、Combination of literal and free translation14Chapter. Conclusion15Works Cited18摘要谚语是人们日常生活经验的概括和总结，它既具有广大人民的生活和工作的经验，又具有诲人和劝诫的作用。所以要了解一个国家人民的价值观念、历史、民族文化、宗教信仰等，有必要先去了解它们的谚语。翻译不仅是语言的转换，更是文化信息的传递。语言的转换只是翻译的表层，而文化信息的传递才是翻译的实质。英汉谚语作为两种不同且不可多得的语言瑰宝，由于中西方文化的各自独立性而表现出巨大的差异。本文从一些经典的案例，如起源、历史文化、宗教信仰等方面着手进行比较

3、与分析，分别介绍了直译、意译、以及直译加意译三种方法，研究了英汉谚语的不同之处以及如何更通顺的互译英汉谚语，忠实再现谚语原意。关键词：文化差异；谚语；直译；意译Abstract Proverb is the summary of widespread experience and rich wisdom of people，it not only has the broad masses of the life and work experience of people, but also plays an important role of teaching and exhorting. I

4、t is necessary to learn proverbs before learn the values, history, culture and religious beliefs of a country or a nationality. Translation is not only the conversion of a language, but also the transmission of cultural information. The conversion of language is not only the surface of the translati

5、on, but the transmission of information is the essence of translation. As two different and rare treasures of language，English and Chinese proverbs show huge differences because of the independence of Chinese and Western culture. This essay uses some typical examples，such as origin、history and cultu

6、re、religious belief，etc., and respectively introduces the literal translation, free translation and combination of literal and free translation, to compare and analyze，research the difference between English and Chinese proverbs and how to fluent inter-translation English and Chinese proverbs and fa

7、ithful reduction the original meaning.Key Words: cultural differences; proverb; literal translation; free translation18Chapter I. Introduction Proverb is one of the most important channels to know the history and culture of a country, so the translation of proverbs occupies an important position. Th

8、e translation of it is also restricted by various factors, in order to be easier understood, it has to consider from the historical background, geographical environment, customs and habit, religious belief and so on to consider factors that affect the meaning, for correcting understand and translate

9、 proverbs to learn its profound meaning. Translation plays an important role in the process of learning English. This paper attempts to do some exploration in translation strategy of English proverbs from two aspects, one is the differences between English and Chinese proverbs, and the other is the

10、methods of translating English proverbs.Chapter1 is a brief introduction to the research background, goal, the meaning of the proverb and organization of the thesis. In chapter2, a literature review of the previous researchers way and conclusive which are prepared for the thesis. Chapter3 will analy

11、sis the cause of distinction from four aspects. Chapter4 is the methods of proverbs translation, such as literal translation, free translation and combination of two. Chapter5 is a conclusion of the thesis.Chapter II. Literature ReviewProverbs are the outcomes of humans wisdom. Proverbs, as a partic

12、ular part of language, are full of embodiments not only the form but also the content of many differences culture. The understanding and translation of English and Chinese proverbs on the one way involve the transference of the two languages, and on the other way also involve the transmission of the

13、 culture of English and Chinese. There are a lot of related studies about the understanding and translation of English and Chinese proverbs. There is not doubt that we can not ignore the learning of English proverb while learning English. But English proverbs are the precipitation of several thousan

14、d years of British and American culture, especially the cultural differences of British and America and China has added more difficulties to the learning and understanding of it (Garbaccia, Donna R, (1998): 20-23). Especially the proverb translation for our correct understanding of the meaning of th

15、e proverb itself and reflects the national culture has a vital role. So the major part of this paper will goes to the stress of the cultural differences between English and Chinese. Chapter III . Differences between Chinese and English proverbs3.1. ValuesThere are a lot of differences between the va

16、lues of Chinese and western. In Chinese traditional moral values, individual social worth is reflected in the dedication of the social. A person should not only responsible for himself, but also responsible for others and society. The individual and the group are interconnected, there are a lot of p

17、roverbs with this kind meaning can be found in China. Such as “A wire is easy to fold, ten chopsticks kink dont bend” “When people are of one mind and heart, they can move Mt. Tai.”The values of western are quietly different from Chinese. Americans have a strong concept of individualism. American in

18、dividualism comes into being with the birth of the United States of America. The British who came to America on the Mayflower far away from their mother country, though got free but lost everything they can rely on. In order to live, they must rely on their own strength. Nobody has the privilege, ev

19、eryone is equal. With the development of the society, individualism became the core value and has a profound impact on American life. Some proverbs show these values in American, such as “God helps those who help themselves” “Never trust another you should do yourself”3.2. History Along with the dev

20、elopment of globalization and further business development of China, our country has become a very modern country and has developed in a rapid pace. China, a country with about 5000 years history, which also has a long history of the science and technology activities, has made a great contribution f

21、or human development. In 1949, the establishment of the Peoples Republic of China had become a new starting point of science and technology. China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, and in my opinion, this is the turning point of Chinas economy and foreign trade market. In 2008, China host

22、ed the Olympic Games successful, and the Expo has taken place in Shanghai in 2010 which made the reputation of China has increased rapidly. More and more foreigners come to China to see the beautiful scenery, the friendly people and the fantastic culture. These significant events had brought the ope

23、ning of China. So it is of great importance for the proverb translator to translate the proverbs in a suitable way to make people know the fantastic culture of China. Due to the short history of western, the logic thinking of western emphasizes there are three kind of thinking in the world: identity

24、, non-contradiction, row of neutral. Western way of thinking is also called the analytical thinking, they are considering problems dont like the Chinese pursuit of compromise, but like to separate the physical from a whole, and the logical analysis of the nature of things. Due to the different histo

25、ry background, we can often see some proverbs have their own history background. For example: I fear the Greeks, even when bringing gift. (即使希腊人带来礼物，我也很担心)This example comes from the Greek myth of the Trojan War. And a lot of proverbs are come from “The Fables of Aesop”:We see not what is in the wal

26、let behind.(人们总是看不见自己的缺点)The fox said the grapes were sour. (吃不到葡萄说葡萄酸)And we can also see this kind of Chinese proverbs:一人得道，鸡犬升天. (When a man gets to the top, all his relatives and friends get there with him)And in western, due to their history background, they have proverb: Unkissed, unkind (不接吻，

27、不友善); while Chinese have 男女授受不亲( Grown-ups of different sexes are not expected to touch each others hand). 3.3. Religious and cultureIdentity theory thinks that things will not change; the nature of a thing is its own forever. Non-contradiction theory believes that a proposition cannot be right or w

28、rong at the same time. Row of neutral theory stressed that a thing either right or wrong, no intermediate (Lucas, Stephen E, 2001. 640-47). Because western thinking modes are very subjective, sometimes there will exist a lot of different ideas to one single problem between Chinese and western.Becaus

29、e that religion used exerted broad impact on people in feudal society, there still remain many proverbs which reflect religious beliefs at that time. Due to the different religious of Chinese and English, people used different figures in their own proverbs. In western country, people tend to believe

30、 the existence of God, devil, heaven, and so on (Dostoevsky, Feodor., 1964). There are few examples:The devil can site Scripture for his purpose. (魔鬼引圣经，不会怀好意)God helps those who help themselves. (上帝帮助自助之人)However, Buddhism has existed in China for over 1000 years and has great influence on Chinese

31、people. So most of Chinese proverbs are closely related to Buddhism and the images of 佛(Buddha), 和尚(monk) and so on. For example:借花献佛. (Present Buddha with borrowed flowers)道高一尺，魔高一丈. (The more illumination, the more temptation)Culture is the deposit of knowledge, beliefs, meanings, experiences, val

32、ues, religion, timing, roles, spatial relations, concepts of universe and material objects and possessions adopted by a large amount of people in the course generations through individual and group striving.(Richard E. Porter and Larry A. Samovar, 2000:31). In my opinion, there is no fixed definitio

33、n of culture. Culture is everything and we need to know and we should pay more attention to Chinese amazing culture. Learning a language is a kind learning of the culture of the country. Culture and language is closely related and can not be separated. And this kind of difference mostly reflected on

34、 their literal works. Too swift arrives as tardy as too snow. -“Romeo and Juliet” (欲速则不达)All that lives must die.-“Hamlet” (有生必有死)The courses of true love never did run south. -“A Mid-Summer Nights Dream (爱情道路多崎岖)The childhood shows the man. John Milton (从小看大，三岁看老)Virtue is her own reward. John Dryd

35、en (为善最乐) The above examples are very popular that we often use them without definite consciousness of their origins. And there are some Chinese proverbs:言必信，行必果. “论语.子路” (Promises must be kept and action must be resolute. Confucius Analects)谁言寸草心，报得三春晖. 孟郊“游子吟”(That such kindness as young grass rec

36、eives from the warm sun cant be repaid. Men Jiao “Song of a Roamer”3.4. Region The emergence of proverbs is closely related to the life and labor of people. The United Kingdom is a country on the island and the people there live along the coast line, which decides that their livelihood is dependent

37、on the coast. So their life is inalienable of sea and water and therefore they have many proverbs about sea and water. For example (Morales, Edis, 2002):There are more fish in the sea. (好的人和事物很多)Fish begin to stink at the head. (上梁不正下梁歪) There is as good fish in the sea as ever come out of it. (有了大海

38、，还怕没鱼)Hoist sail when the wind is fair. (乘风扬帆，乘机行事)From the above examples, we can see each of these examples have words describe the coastline living environment, and can figure out that British people can not live without sea. For China, the remote location, and the almost closed environment are t

39、he significant characters of Chinese. In the West and the North of China, there are plateau, desert and mountains, while in the East central south; there is sea which is not suitable for us to develop the agriculture. And these are the natural barriers. On the other hand, Chinese people are lack of

40、interest to the resources in the sea. Operations at sea are not only difficult but also very dangerous. And Chinese people tend to live in a stable and safe environment, so why they would want to seek danger? From the psychosocial, the farming life also helps farmers to like calm rhythm and simple l

41、ifestyle of life. So Chinese people often work on the land and got a history of agriculture producing. Just like British can not live without sea, Chinese people can not live without earth. Therefore, a lot of Chinese proverbs come from farmers and something about them. In Chinese proverbs, we have

42、examples: 瑞雪兆丰年. (A timely snow promises a good harvest)种瓜得瓜，种豆得豆. (Reap as one has sown)人勤地不懒. (If man is diligent, soil is not idle) It is hard for us to figure out that farming plays an important role in the heart of Chinese and how Chinese farmers think of life. And we can also see we have 面朝黄土背

43、朝天 to describe the toil in the filed of Chinese farmers and 泥菩萨过江，自身难保 to describe the kind of people who can not even protect from themselves at some circumstance. Chapter IV. Translation methods of proverbs4.1. Literal translationThe translation of proverbs can not be always easy. Due to English a

44、nd Chinese proverbs posses their own national culture, sometimes we translate some English proverbs should follow the exactly the literal meaning which can not against the English culture. In this kind of situation, we tend to use literal translation to translate English proverbs (Schofield, Janet W

45、., 2002). For example:“Is Lily beautiful?” asked Mrs. Smith.“She is anything but beautiful.” replied Mr. Smith.“Then how could David fall in love with such a girl?” Mrs. Smith feels confused. “Why not? Beauty lies in the lovers eyes. As this saying goes.” Mr. Smith answered with a gentle smile. And

46、here is the translation:“莉莉漂亮吗？” 史密斯太太问道。“一点儿也不了漂亮。”史密斯先生答道。史密斯太太感到惊讶：“那为什么大卫会爱上这样的一个女孩子呢？”史密斯太太感到惊讶。史密斯先生温和笑道：“有什么大惊小怪的？俗话说得好：情人眼里出西施。”In the translation part, we can see the word 西施, which was a beautiful woman in ancient China. And how could it appear in English culture? The translation of this s

47、entence goes against the English culture although it does convey the original meaning. So we should use literal translation to translate it into “情人眼里出美人”, which is not only faithful to the original meaning, but also loyal to the original culture (Sadie, Robert, 2002). Literal translation is often u

48、sed to translate some terms and idioms, sometimes limited to some simple sentences and terminology translation of science and technology. There are some examples:God helps those who help themselves. (上帝帮助自助之人)Crosses are ladders to heaven. (十字架是登上天堂的梯子)借花献佛。(Present Buddha with borrowed flowers)泥菩萨过河，自身难保。(A clay idol fording a river is hardly able to save itself)Literal translation must be readable, that is to say the translation will not cause the readers misunderstanding.4.2. Free translationFree translation is an alterative approach which is used mainly to convey the meanin