从韦努蒂归化与异化法看中英文习语翻译

从韦努蒂归化与异化法看中英文习语翻译【摘要】长期以来，中英文习语就被学者以及其他对其感兴趣或经常运用它们的人广泛研究。

而另一方面，在过去的几十年中，随着翻译事业的飞速发展，有诸多耳熟能详的翻译理论和方法建立起来并被投入使用。

现在越来越多的人已意识到，习语往往出自日常生活及经历，它们形式灵活、通俗易懂。

可是也有很大一部分人认为，翻译理论在某种程度上可以说是固定而老套的，因此它们很难同实际翻译操作，尤其是同中外习语翻译结合起来。

基于此，本文以韦努蒂的归化及异化理论为中心，力图针对该理论展开对各类习语以及它们实际运用的分析和分类，继而归总了归化及异化理论何时、如何被应用于习语翻译，而这一部分也构成了本文的主旨所在。

总言之，该论文目的在于运用结合实例和理论指导的观点看习语翻译，以表明两者间和谐一致之关系。

【关键词】习语翻译；韦努蒂；归化；异化an analysis of idiom translation based on venuti’s domestication and foreignization strategy【abstract】english and chinese idioms have long been extensively studied by scholars as well as other people who are interested in or actively make use of them. on the other hand, during the past decades, along with the prosperous development of translation, various translation theories and methods have been formed and put into use. more and more peopleare now keenly aware that idioms, most of which are derived from our daily lives and actual experiences, are quite flexible and demotic, at the same time carrying abundant cultural specifics. but a large number of people hold such a point of view that formed theories are to some extent so theoretic and stereotyped that they cannot be connected to practical translations, especially that of english and chinese idioms. with this understanding, the paper centers upon lawrence venuti’s domestication and foreignization theories and attempts to provide an analysis and classifications of different idioms and their concrete applications according to the theories. furthermore, a sum-up of the actual cases when and how domestication and foreignization are preferred in idiom translation is carried out and constitute the pivot of the whole theme. in all, the paper aims to study and analyze idioms from a relatively combinative perspective, joint together their actual usages and theory guidance, in order to indicate the compatible role they play to each other.【key words】 idiom translation; venuti; domestication; foreignization【中图分类号】g623.31【文献标识码】b【文章编号】1001-4128（2011）07-0175-06contentsabstract in chineseabstract in englishintroduction1. background1.1 definition of idioms1.2 idiom translation and cultural specifics2. related strategies in idiom translation2.1 a brief review of some translation strategies2.2 venuti’s domestication and foreignization strategy 2.2.1 reason why venuti’s strategy is of special significance2.2.2 introduction to domestication and examples2.2.3 introduction to foreignization and examples2.2.4 summary of venuti’s translation strategy3. further study of venuti’s strategies in idiom translation3.1 classifications of methods used in idiom translation 3.1.1 foreignization and its concrete applications3.1.2 domestication and its concrete applications3.1.3 combination of the two and its concrete applications3.2 summary of the applications3.2.1 cases when domestication is preferred3.2.2 cases when foreignization is preferred3.2.3 cases when the combination of the two is preferred conclusionreferencesintroductionin recent years, the words “culture” and “translation”have been increasingly connected to each other. no great translation work can be done if the cultural background has not been taken into consideration or even if there remains a slight degree of misunderstanding in the cultural contexts. idiom, a special linguistic phenomenon and a succession of words, whose meaning is not obvious through knowledge of the individual meanings of the constituent words but must be learnt as a whole, conveys plenteous cultural messages. a failure to translate the cultural information shall no doubt result in the formation of non-idiomatic expressions. in short, idiomatization is a process, during which many factors interact. a good translation work will fully bring thesefactors into play and to a large extent, retain their cultural values.this paper intends to explore ways of treating cultural specifics in idiom translation by means of studying the practical translation methods according to different situations, since there is no “one-size-fits-all”translation methods used in idiom translation. therefore, here the arguments shall be based on the previously-raised strategies with its focus on venuti’s strategies and then go deeper to apply them to the actual usages of idiom translation, with the hope to avoid the non-idiomatic expressions in english and chinese.1. background1.1 definition of idioms。

although idioms constitute a fairly great part of our linguistic repertoire, actually the task of defining what an idiom is still remains a rather difficult and controversial one. a given structure is not idiomatic once and for all, but gradually acquires its idiomaticity. this helps to make idioms at the same time holistic and analyzable, although various scholars have raised different definitions on idioms.the oxford dictionary of current idiomatic english (cowie,2004: 158) defines idiom as “a language of a certain people or country, specific character of this.” while to take it more specifically, idioms are concluded words, phrases and short sentences through long time practice in history and daily living. moreover, according to the australian linguist chitra fernando (2001:1), idioms are “conventionalized multiword expressions, often but not always, non-literal”. apart from the definitions above, seen from appearances and forms, idioms are composed of freely occurring units whose global meaning cannot be reduced simply from the meanings of these units. at the same time, idioms in a broad sense may include: 1) set phrases, 2)proverbs, 3)sayings, 4)epigrams, 5)slang expressions, 6) colloquialisms, 7)quotations, 8) two-part allegorical sayings, etc.. in the examples in the following part of this paper, various types of idioms will be cited, with much attention paid to the commonly used set phrases and sayings.the above definition of idioms serves as a precondition for further study of idiom translations. there are two basic criteria to decide whether an expression is an idiom or not, so as to arouse the translators’ attention:first of all, each idiom is well-established and accepted through common practice. normally one cannot change the word order, or delete or add words to an idiom at random. for example, we can only say “the long and the short of it”instead of “the short and the long of it”. usually, an idiom allows no variation in form unless the writer is consciously making a joke or is attempting a play on words. secondly, an idiom often conveys an implied meaning. an idiom cannot always be interpreted only according to its literal meaning. for example, when taken literally, the phrased “at the eleventh hour” and “the man in the street”seem to be nonsense. but in their figurative sense, the former implies “the last moment”, whereas the latter refers to “an average person”, who represents general opinion.1.2 idiom translation and cultural specifics。