中英习语的文化内涵与翻译
习语的文化内涵及其翻译
目录习语的文化内涵及其翻译【摘要】本文从习语的概念开始理解，分析习语的文化内涵及其翻译方法，习语承载着语言的文化内涵，具有鲜明的民族特色。
语言是文化的载体，任何一种语言都反映了与其相应得文化，一个民族的语言势必反映该民族的文化。
习语是文化的精华，反映国家的风俗习惯，它作为语言的精华承载着丰富的文化信息。
习语的翻译不应只是两种语言的简单转换，更应是文化的交流。
习语翻译对跨文化交际起着至关重要的作用。
在这几年的实践教学中，笔者发现，习语的理解错误很多是由文化因素引起的。
文化影响到习语的方方面面，不深入了解其文化内涵就根本无法准确理解。
【关键词】习语文化内涵翻译【Abstract】This article from the concept of idioms, begin to understand the culture connotation and its analysis idiom translation methods, idioms bearing the language culture connotation, has distinct national characteristics. Language is the carrier of culture, a kind of any language reflect and its related culture, a national language inevitably will reflect the national culture. Idioms is the essence of the culture, reflect the local custom of the buying country, it as the essence of language is bearing the rich cultural information. The translation of idioms should not just two kinds of language, the more should be a simple conversion cultural exchange. Translation of idioms cross-cultural communication plays a vital role. In these years of practice teaching, the author found that the understanding of the idioms of mistakes is caused by cultural factors. Culture affects all aspects of the idioms, not understanding the cultural connotation cannot accurately understanding.【Key words 】Idioms Cultural connotation Translation引言习语是某一语言在长期使用过程中的独特固定的表达方式，具有浓厚的民族，历史和地方色彩。
英汉习语的文化差异及翻译
英汉习语的文化差异及翻译当我们在翻译英汉习语时，往往会遇到文化差异带来的挑战。
文化差异指的是不同文化背景的人们在价值观、习俗、传统和社会习惯等方面的差异。
这些差异在习语中得到了生动的体现，使得我们在翻译时必须深入了解其文化内涵。
从词汇角度来看，英汉习语中的文化差异尤为明显。
例如，英语中的“in the same boat”和汉语中的“同舟共济”都表达了共同的意境，但在文化背景上却大相径庭。
英语中的“in the same boat”源自欧洲的航海文化，而汉语中的“同舟共济”则源自中国的传统水文化。
同样，英语中的“black sheep”和汉语中的“害群之马”虽然都表示“不合群的人”，但在文化意象上却存在差异。
因此，在翻译时需要深入理解习语的文化内涵，以确保译文的准确性和生动性。
从语法和表达方式方面来看，英汉习语之间也存在显著的文化差异。
英语常常采用比喻、拟人、反语等修辞手法，而汉语则更注重对仗、平衡和和谐。
例如，英语中的“talking through one's hat”和汉语中的“纸上谈兵”都表示“空谈”，但英语中的比喻让人产生更加直观的感受。
英语中的习语往往言简意赅，而汉语中的习语则更为凝练、含蓄。
例如，“a skeleton in the cupboard”和“家丑不可外扬”都表达了相似的意境，但英语中的习语更显得简洁有力。
针对这些文化差异，我们在翻译英汉习语时需要采取适当的翻译方法。
对于一些具有特定文化背景的习语，我们可以采用直接音译的方法。
这种方法能够保留原文的文化意象，同时使读者更容易产生共鸣。
例如，英语中的“情人节”（Valentine’s Day）就直接音译为“瓦伦丁节”，既保留了其文化源头，又让中国读者更容易接受。
对于一些在意象和语法表达上存在明显差异的习语，我们可以采用意译的方法。
这种方法更注重译文的生动性和准确性，能够让读者更好地理解原文的内涵。
例如，“to break the ice”可意译为“打破僵局”，形象生动地表达了原意。
英汉语中“虎”及其习语的文化内涵与翻译
英汉语中“虎”及其习语的文化内涵与翻译在博大精深的中国文化中，动物文化占有很重要的地位。
中国的“虎”文化历史悠久，汉语中虎为百兽之王。
在人类漫长的发展历程中，人类对虎产生了敬畏、崇敬、膜拜等错综复杂的情感，并在此基础上赋予虎多样的文化内涵。
这些内涵成为了文化特有的成分。
但因中西方文化背景、风俗习惯及民族特色的不同，虎这一动物形象在中西方文化中也不尽相同，因此深入了解英汉语文化背景的差异，选择恰当的翻译策略，真正理解和翻译虎的文化内涵，对促进东西方文化交流具有重大意义。
标签：虎习语文化内涵翻译策略一、引言虎作为陆地动物中的霸主，体型巨大，威猛无比，是自然界众猛兽之首。
在以往长期的斗争中，人类依靠自身的聪明才智渐渐强大，对虎的情感也随之发生了巨大的变化。
从最初的惧虎、敬虎、打虎，到如今的护虎，人类与虎的关系已进入更为和谐的阶段，在这个过程中，虎的文化意象也经历了不同的发展变化。
虽然，英汉语文化中人们对虎“威猛凶悍”的形象具有相同的认识，但由于虎是亚洲的特有种类，主要产地在东北亚和东南亚地区，所以虎在中西方文化中所占的比重并不完全相同。
介于这个原因，在处理有关虎的文化内涵的翻译时，我们并不能将汉语中所有的“虎”都对等翻译为“tiger”。
在后文中，笔者希望在分析前人有关虎的翻译的基础上，总结出虎在不同语境下的翻译方法，真正帮助读者理解和翻译虎在东西方文化中的内涵意义。
二、“虎”在中外文化中的内涵比较虎在中国文化中的发展历史由来已久，具有十分丰富的内涵意义。
虎是正义、勇猛和威严的象征，一直受到中华民族的崇拜。
在人类社会发展初期，人们总受到各种飞禽猛兽的侵扰，由于不具有与野兽抗争的能力，人们往往难以抵御像虎这样的猛兽袭击，在畏惧虎的同时产生了对虎的崇拜心理。
在他们的思想认识中，虎代表凶猛有力、神圣不可侵犯的力量，因此很多氏族部落选择虎作为自己的象征，作为他们信仰的图腾。
他们认为自己和虎有着血缘关系，同样拥有神圣不可战胜的力量。
英汉习语的文化内涵差异及其互译
英汉习语的文化内涵差异及其互译英汉习语的文化内涵差异及其互译语言不仅是传达信息的工具，而且牵涉着一个文化的背景、文化思维、文化价值及本土社会文化等。
大量的英汉习语的文化内涵的差异让学习者很难理解，也使得这些习语的互译极具挑战性。
一、英汉习语的文化内涵1.历史背景英汉习语的诞生都依托于母语的历史发展背景，历史背景的差异导致了英汉习语的文化内涵有着千差万别的差异。
例如，在英语习语“oncein a blue moon”中，“blue moon”一说源自古老的英国历史，意思是满月二次出现；而中文习语“千载难逢”却指的是罕见而难能可贵的事情。
2.思维方式从文化角度看，汉语习语是理性的，具有哲学的内涵，特别强调人的内在本质；而英语习语，其说话方式经常依赖于比较和外界信息，为向外扩展和传播而构建的短句更具有意义及实用价值。
例如“one applea day keeps the doctor away”暗示了一件好事可以把大不了的问题远远避开，而“人无完人”却暗示优秀是不存在的。
3.文化价值英汉习语在文化价值上也有差异，汉语习语崇尚朴实无华，重视能够磨练心智的思考和行为；而英语习语则崇尚高尚的文明，强调坚持原则，如“no pain no gain（不努力没有收获）”。
二、英汉习语的互译由于英汉习语的文化内涵差异，仅通过翻译不能完全表达原有的内涵和意义，这就导致英汉习语的互译很容易出现问题。
1.词义辨析单纯以词义辨析为准，很容易翻译错误。
例如，英语中的“apple”既指苹果又指英国的“苹果公司”，而中文中的“苹果”则只指吃的水果，并不能翻译成“Apple”。
2.文化差异由于文化差异，原有的文化背景意义很容易丢失，也影响了英汉习语的可操作性。
例如，英语中的“red tape”指的是政府官僚作风，表现在中文中就变成了“繁文缛节”；另外，英语习语“pig in a poke”源自旧时西洋猪拳，中文则变成“买老虎铁笼”，并多带着贬义。
英汉的文化差异及翻译
英汉的文化差异及翻译外国文学最难了解和翻译的第一是联想的意义，接下来，小编给大家准备了英汉的文化差异及翻译,欢迎大家参考与借鉴。
英汉的文化差异及翻译一、英汉习语中所反映的文化差异朱光潜先生在《谈翻译》一文中说："外国文学最难了解和翻译的第一是联想的意义……"，"它带有特殊的情感氛围，甚深广而微妙，在字典中无从找出，对文学却极要紧。
如果我们不熟悉一国的人情风俗和文化历史背景，对于文字的这种意义就茫然，尤其是在翻译时这种字义最不易应付。
"英国文化人类学家爱德华·泰勒在《原始文化》(1871)一书中，首次把文化作为一个概念提了出来，并表述为："文化是一种复杂，它包括知识、信仰、艺术、道德、法律、风俗以及其作社会上习得的能力与习惯。
"可见文化的覆盖面很广，它是一个复要的系统。
语言作为文化的一个组成部分，反映一个民族丰富多彩的方化现象。
1、生存环境的差异习语的产生与人们的劳动和生活密切相关。
英国是一个岛国，历史上航海业曾一度领先世界;而汉民族在亚洲大陆生活繁衍，人们的生活离不开土地。
比喻花钱浪费，大手大脚，英语是spend money like water，而汉语是"挥金如土"。
英语中有许多关于船和水的习语，在汉语中没有完全相同的对应习语，如to rest on one's oars(暂时歇一歇)，to keep one's head above water(奋力图存)，all at sea(不知所措)等等。
在汉语的文化氛围中，"东风"即是"春天的风"，夏天常与酷署炎热联系在一起，"赤日炎炎似火烧"、"骄阳似火"是常被用来描述夏天的词语。
而英国地处西半球，北温带，海洋性气候，报告春天消息的却是西风，英国著名诗人雪莱的《西风颂》正是对春的讴歌。
最新习语的文化内涵与翻译
习语的文化内涵与翻译习语的文化内涵与翻译赵万哲(河南省南理工学院外语系, 473006)摘要：本文探讨了习语的文化内涵及相应的翻译技巧。
指出习语的翻译要处理好语言和文化的矛盾，在充分认识理解习语的形象，喻义，修辞的基础上，体现出民族特色，达到最佳文化交流的效果。
关键词：习语翻译文化内涵习语,也称习惯用语 (the idiomatic phrases)，它是语言中经过长期使用而提炼出来的固定的词组，短语和短句。
习语中蕴含着丰富的文化信息，包含不同语言的民族心理意识，文化形成过程，历史习俗传统，宗教文化以及地域风貌特性等一系列互变因素，即习语具有强烈的文化特征。
因此，习语的翻译要同时处理语言和文化的矛盾，不仅要译出原语习语的形象，喻义，修辞，还要译出其民族特色和地域色彩，这样才能达到最佳程度的文化交流。
1．在翻译中使用归化法处理文化和语言的相通性无论是在古代还是在现当代，不同国家民族的生活和思想观念都有相似之处。
有时一种语言和另一种语言中类似的成语和词组在表达技巧和语言结构上几乎完全一致，反映了不同国家和民族的文化与语言之间的相通性。
就英汉两种语言而言，表达方法不谋而合之处就很多，例如，“as light as a feather”轻如鸿毛，“an eye for an eye , a tooth for a tooth ”以眼还眼，以牙还牙，“to sit on pinsand needles”如坐针毡，“burn one’s boats”破釜沉舟，“to kill two birds with one stone ”一石双鸟，“All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full ”百川归海而海不盈，等等，我们都可以用归化法，根据其字面意思找到在另一语言中相似或相近的对等习语，比如中文中的“雨后春笋”因英国不产笋，故可借用英语短语like mushroom ，“隔墙有耳”可译为 walls have ears ，“杀鸡取卵” kill the goose that lays the golden eggs ，“红运” good luck，“爱屋及乌”love me , love my dog ，“旁敲侧击 beating around the bush等。
中英习语的文化差异及其翻译方法
中英习语的文化差异及其翻译方法中英两国习语是两种不同文化背景下的表达方式，反映了当地人的思维方式、生活习惯和价值观念。
由于各自的文化差异和历史背景，中英两国的习语在表达方式和内涵上存在着许多差异。
翻译中英习语时，需要充分考虑文化差异，恰当地传达原文的意思，使译文能够被读者所理解和接受。
本文将从文化差异和翻译方法两方面进行探讨，以便更好地理解和翻译中英习语。
一、文化差异1. 礼貌与表达方式中英两国的文化差异在于对待礼貌的态度和表达方式，这也体现在他们的习语中。
在英国，人们对于礼貌和面子很重视，因此在表达上往往会更加委婉和间接。
而中国人在习语表达上则更愿意使用直接而直白的方式。
举个例子，英国人可能会用“Could you please pass me the salt?”来委婉地请求盐，而中国人则可能会直接说“给我盐”。
2. 自然环境与历史文化中英两国的自然环境和历史文化差异也会在习语中得到体现。
在英国，由于其多雨的气候和充沛的水资源，习语中常常以水相关的比喻来表达丰富和多样性。
而在中国，由于其广阔的土地和丰富的自然资源，习语中则更常以土地和土壤为比喻，表达稳健和厚重。
3. 宗教与哲学思想中英两国的宗教信仰和哲学思想也造就了他们不同的文化差异。
在英国，基督教传统影响深远，因此习语中常常会涉及到圣经故事和宗教寓言。
而在中国，儒家思想和佛教文化对习语的影响更为显著，因此习语中常常会体现出崇尚和谦逊的价值观。
二、翻译方法1. 直译与意译在翻译中英习语时，我们需要根据文化差异进行适当的处理，一方面要尽量保持原文的意思和表达方式，另一方面也要让译文更符合目标语言的表达习惯。
有时候，可以采用直译的方法，尽量保持原文的形式和结构不变；而有时候，也需要进行意译，根据目标语言的文化背景和表达习惯来进行调整。
2. 补充说明和解释由于中英习语在文化背景和表达方式上存在差异，因此在翻译时可能需要对习语进行一定的补充说明和解释，让读者更好地理解原文的内涵和意义。
英汉习语的文化差异及翻译
英汉习语的文化差异及翻译习语指的是某一语言在使用过程中形成的独特的固定的表达方式。
若从广义的角度讨论习语，那么习语可以包括成语、谚语、歇后语、典故等。
我们到知道，英语和汉语都历史悠久，其中包含着大量的习语，这些习语有的含蓄幽默，有的严肃典雅，有的言简意赅，有的形象生动、妙趣横和，不仅内涵丰富，而且给人一种美的享受。
但是由于地理、历史、宗教信仰、生活习俗等方面的差异，英汉习语承载着不民的民族特色和文化信息，它们与文化传统紧密相连，不可分割。
习语中的文化因素往往是翻译中的难点。
H.P.Grice教授曾把把话语的意义分为自然意义（natural meaning）和非自然意义（non-natural meaning）两种。
话语的非自然意义指人们意欲表达的意义，即在特定的场合下表达出交际者意图的语用隐含意义。
那么，由于英汉两种语言的文化背景的差异，同样字面意义、形象意义的话语文章可能具有完全不同的隐含意义。
隐含意义才是说话人或作者所要表达的意义。
英汉习语之间的多方面差异可归为两类：一是形象意义的差异，一是隐含意义（包括褒贬义）的差异，而它们都是字面以外的意义，是文化差异的具体反映。
由此出发，本文提出了英汉习语文化意义翻译的具体原则和方法。
习语来源于生活，是一个民族语言和文化的高度浓缩和集中体现。
英国哲学家弗朗西斯•培根说：“Genius wit and spirit of a nation are discovered by their proverbs.”（一个民族的天赋、智慧和精神都从他们的谚语中表现出来）。
由于地理、历史、宗教信仰、生活习俗等方面的差异，英汉习语承载着不同的民族文化特色和文化信息，它们与文化传统紧密相连，不可分割。
[1]本文借助一些典型的例子，从起源、地理环境、风俗习惯、宗教信仰、历史典故等文化侧面入手，探讨了英汉习语之间存在的文化差异。
由于英汉两种语言的文化背景差异，同样字面意义、形象意义的话可能具有完全不同的隐含意义。
中英习语的文化差异及其翻译方法
中英习语的文化差异及其翻译方法习语是每个语言都不可或缺的一部分，它们是人们日常交流的重要组成部分，也是语言和文化的体现。
由于中西文化的不同，中英习语之间存在着一些差异。
在进行翻译时，常常会遇到一些难题。
本文将就中英习语的文化差异及其翻译方法进行探讨。
一、中英习语的文化差异中英习语的文化差异主要表现在以下几个方面：1. 文化背景差异：中西方文化背景的差异导致了中英习语的不同。
“一箭双雕”在中国习语中表示一举两得，而在英语中可能用“kill two birds with one stone”来表达同样的意思。
2. 传统习惯差异：中西方的传统习惯也影响着习语的表达方式。
“千里之行，始于足下”这个中国谚语，表达了行动的重要性，而在英语中可能会用“a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”来表达同样的观念。
3. 历史文化差异：中国拥有悠久的历史和文化，所以中文中的许多习语都源自古代的故事、典故或者传说。
“不翼而飞”就是一例，它出自《诗经》中的《小雅·鹤鸣》：“鹤鸣于九皋，声闻于野。
非不说子，自有先焉。
不翼而飞，沉水而止。
”而在英语中，由于历史文化不同，习语常常与西方的历史和神话有关。
以上内容表明，中英习语的文化差异存在于语言的表达方式、内涵和源头等方面，这给中英习语的翻译带来了一定的难度。
二、中英习语的翻译方法针对中英习语的文化差异，我们在翻译时需要采取一些对应的方法来保持习语的原汁原味，也要使其容易为目标语言的读者接受。
以下是一些翻译方法：1. 直译法直译法是最常见的中英习语翻译方法，它在尽量保留习语原意的基础上，用目标语言中与之相类似的习语来替换。
中文中的“九牛一毛”在英语中可以直译为“a drop in the bucket”。
2. 动态对等法动态对等法是相对灵活的一种翻译方法，它不是简单地对习语进行翻译，而是根据习语的内涵和文化特色，选用目标语言中更具有表现力和文化内涵的习语。
英汉习语的文化差异及翻译
英汉习语的文化差异及翻译习语是某种语言经过长期使用而提炼出来的固定短语或短句。
习语范围很广，通常包括成语、谚语、格言、俗语、典故和俚语。
如果说语言是一个民族文化的瑰宝的话，那么习语便是这个瑰宝中最耀眼的一颗明珠。
习语的出现汇聚着一个民族一个国家的民情、国情，地理风貌，历史背景，文学作品，风俗习惯，凝聚着无数语言使用者数代的智慧和心血，它承载着无数难以言表的超乎语言之外的信息与哲理。
英语和汉语是两种高度发展的语言，因而都拥有大量的习语，由于地域、历史、宗教、习俗等方面的差异，英汉习语承载着英汉两种文化不同的民族特色及文化信息。
因此习语的翻译不仅要翻译出原语习语的形象、修辞方法，还要翻译出其民族特色和地方特色，并充分注重其文化差异。
1.英汉习语的文化差异文化差异是指人们在不同的生态和自然环境下习惯养成的语言、知识、信仰、人生观、价值观、思维方式、道德、风俗习惯等方面的不同。
文化的差异会导致人们对同一事物或统一理性概念的不同理解和解释，有时甚至会引起误解，习语恰是反映这种文化差异的极精练的方式之一。
就英汉习语而言，文化差异主要表现在以下几个方面：1.1地理环境英汉语中有不少反映其地理环境特点的习语。
英国是个岛国，航海业和渔业在英国经济生活中占有重要的地位。
由此，产生了大量的与航海和捕鱼有关的习语；例如，spend money like water比喻花钱浪费，大手大脚；go by the board 表示“（安排）落空，（计划）失败”；burn one’s boats比喻“破釜沉舟，自断退路”；all at sea表示“不知所措”的意思；like a fish out of water比喻“处在陌生的环境中不自在”等等。
而中国则是陆地国家，是一个历史悠久的农业国家，与此相关的习语有很多。
如“瓜熟蒂落”、“斩草除根”、“种瓜得瓜，种豆得豆”等等。
1.2 历史典故中英两国都有着悠久的历史，文化的博大精深蕴藏着丰富的民间传说和历史故事，习语中有很大一部分皆来源于此。
英语论文-英汉习语的文化差别及翻译
英汉习语的文化差别及翻译中文摘要习语通常包括成语(idioms)、谚语(proverbs)、俗语(colloquialisms)、俚语(slang)以及典故(allusions)等。
英汉习语源于生活，纷繁浩瀚，源远流长，文化信息异常丰富。
习语常用形象生动、浅显易懂的语言，准确地描述社会现象、自然法则，高度地阐述人文习俗、思想感情。
由于受历史背景、地理环境、宗教信仰和生活习俗等方面文化差异的影响，英汉习语中有些文化信息完全对应，有些部分对应，还有一些无任何对应的关系。
为了形神兼备地传递其中的文化信息，在翻译习语时，应当充分了解英汉习语中所含的文化内涵，视具体情况，或英汉对译，或文外加注，或另添字词。
本文从多方面比较英汉习语中所体现的文化差异，列举出在英汉习语翻译中常见的方法，如直译、意译等。
直译多适用于文化信息完全或部分对应的英汉习语翻译，而意译多用于无对应关系的习语。
关键词：习语、文化差异、翻译AbstractIdioms usually include idioms, proverbs, mottoes, colloquialisms, slang and allusions. Large in quantity, long in history and rich in cultural information, both English and Chinese Idioms are deeply rooted in life. Idioms represent the social phenomenon and natural rules accurately with lively and plain words. As far as their underlying cultural information is concerned, some idioms are completely or partial equivalent both in Chinese and in English while some others have nothing in common at all. In order to convey their cultural information fully, faithfully and effectively, we can translate these idioms word for word, give notes or add extra words. This paper explores the cultural differences between Chinese and English Idioms, discusses the influences of cultural differences on the idioms and gives some specific approaches in translation of Chinese and English idioms.Key Words: Idioms, cultural difference, translation.在汉语和英文悠久灿烂的文化宝库中，都有习语这一语言表达形式。
英汉习语的文化差异及其翻译方法
to carry coal to Newcastle
字面意思：将煤运往纽卡斯尔”（英国产煤中 心），指“多此一举，背着石头上山” Don’t be too proud of your premature success, as it always turns to be a Pandora’s box. 切不可为过早的成功得意忘形，因为它常常会变成 灾祸的根源（Pandora’s box 潘多拉的盒子，见希 腊神话，用来比喻灾难、麻烦、祸害等的根源）
或相似，隐含意义也相同的表达方法，就是 说，此类习语字面意义和形象意义传达出了 相同的文化信息，可以相互转换。
像蜜蜂一样忙碌 as black as crow 向乌鸦一样黑 He who laughs last laughs best 谁笑到最后谁笑得最好 A fall in the pit, a gain in your wit 吃一堑，长一智
Mary and her mother are as like as two peas。
玛丽和她的母亲长相酷似。 He treated his daughter as the apple in the eye. 他把女儿视为掌上明珠。
to spring up like mushroom
to tread upon eggs as thin as a shadow to fish in the air
waters”(浑水摸鱼)； “to sink or swim”(不论 瓜熟蒂落 成败)； “still waters run 五九六九河边看柳，七 deep”(大智若愚)； 九八九耕牛遍地走 “to keep one’s head above water”(奋力图存) 瑞雪兆丰年
习语文化与汉英翻译
习语文化与汉英翻译习语文化与汉英翻译习语包括成语、歇后语、谚语等。
习语具有强烈的民族文化特征，体现独特的民族的生活方式和风俗习惯。
汉语中的习语更是具有这样的特征。
英译通常可采用直译、意译、直译加注释、直译兼顾意译、套译等。
1）叔叔两下里住着，过个一年半载，即或闹出来，不过挨上老爷一顿骂……就是婶子，见?生米做成熟饭?，也只得罢了。
（曹雪芹《红楼梦》第六十四回）Then you will have two homes, uncle. After a year or so, if word does get out, at most you will get reprimanded by your father … When Aunt Xifeng sees that the rice is already cooked, she?ll have to put up with it. (the yangs) (the rice is cooked ---- what is done cannot be undone; it can?t be helped) (反正生米作成熟饭，大家都已经认可了。
Anyway it was already a fait accompli, accepted by everybody.)2）他一家子在这儿，他的房子地在这儿，他跑？跑得了和尚，跑不了庙。
（周立波《暴风骤雨》第一部第六章）Escape? But his house and property can?t escape. “The monk may run away, but the temple can’t run away with him.”(Hsu Meng-hsing) (the monk may run away, but not the temple ---- a fugitive must belong to some place that can provide clues (to his whereabouts))3）怎么的，你倒把好心当作驴肝肺！好，咱们支部会上见。
英汉习语的文化内涵与翻译方法
一
的谚 语 、 言 、 习语 作 为 其 文 化 精 粹 ， 映 芸 芸 众 生 的 生 用 “ｅ ｏ ｅ ｓｈ ｉ ｄ ｗｎ 来 比喻 经 过 一 段 时 间 的 紧 张 后 “ 格 和 反 ｌｔ ｎ ’ ａ ｏ ” ｒ 轻
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英语习语中的文化内涵及翻译时应注意的问题
知识文库 第23期207英语习语中的文化内涵及翻译时应注意的问题李玥君英语，作为当今全球的通用语言，是我们学习的主要任务之一，因为这是我们在地球村里交流的工具。
与汉语相同的是，英语中也有着一些习语，这些习语也是英语文化的特色所在。
而且这些习语不能按照通常的方法来翻译，而是有其特定的含义，正确的翻译这些习语不仅是语言严谨性的要求，也是对于西方文化的尊重。
“Bob is really a lucky dog.”鲍勃是一只幸运的狗。
若是这样翻译，怕是会被会被人笑掉大牙。
对英语有一定学习的人都应该知道，“lucky dog” 指的是幸运儿的意思。
若是翻译成为幸运的狗的话就难免存在望文生义的错误了，那为什么这么翻译呢，因为这是英语中的习语。
举个简单的例子，在中文中我们称颂一个人成就很高会用到这样的说法。
李医生是医学界的泰山北斗，我们的意思并不是指李医生是泰山北斗，而是为了突出李医生的成就很高。
这就是习语，是语言文化中代表民族特色的部分，是一个民族文化的精髓之一。
1 习语所反映的文化差异就像人体基因染色体一样将人体的特征承载传承下去，习语是一个民族的基因。
他们与文化传统紧密相连，承载了一个民族的文化传承。
这些文化的差异，来源于地理环境、历史进程、生活习俗等方面的影响。
2 英语习语在汉语文化中的对等翻译 2.1 地理方面地理对于文化的影响是非常大的。
我们都知道英国是一个岛国，在古代的历史上，英国人在航海的道路上走得更早更远。
在英语中，spend money like water 用来比喻那些花钱没有概念像流水一样的人，而汉语中我们常常用“挥金如土”来形容这种现象。
与英国发达的航海文明相对比，我国的历史上内陆的文明是相当发达的，土地的意识在名族的灵魂里根深蒂固，我们的生活繁衍离不开这片黄土地。
在英国尚未进行工业革命的时候，由于岛国的原因，英国的捕鱼业是很发达的，许多的人依靠捕鱼为生。
渐渐的，许多与鱼有关的习语也就诞生了。
中英习语的文化内涵与翻译
中英习语的文化内涵与翻译中英习语的文化内涵与翻译Cultural Connotations of the Idiomatic Phrasesand Their TranslationInspired by the article of “Let's talk about Idioms - Cross culture challenge by @itchyfeetdonica”written by my respected @livinguktaiwan, I would like to talk about the differences between Chinese and English idiomatic phrases.English idiomatic phrases include set phrases, proverbs, sayings, colloquialisms, allusions, and slang, which are an important part of the English language and English culture. When we read some idiomatic phrases in English and Chinese, we can find a surprising coincidence between them that some of them are similar, and even identical in meaning and form. This shows us the fact that human beings are living on the same earth, have experienced similar developmental procedures in history, and have shared the material and resource so that thay have some similarities in their language as well. For example:To strike while the iron is hot 趁热打铁To be on the thin ice 如履薄冰To fish in the troubled waters 浑水摸鱼As light as a feather 轻如鸿毛Though they are identical in meaning and form, the majortity of idiomatic phrases cannot translated literally. Let us compare the following.High school 中学（不是高等学校）Lover 情人（不是爱人）Dutch wife 藤制睡椅（不是荷兰老婆）Wester 西风（不是西方人）To pull somebody’s leg 开某人的玩笑Swan song 绝唱An Uncle Tom 逆来顺受的人Cast pearls before swine 对牛弹琴As translators we are not just dealing with words written in a certain time, space and socialpolitical situation; most importantly we should take into account the cultural aspect of the text.受前辈@livinguktaiwan 那篇文章的启发（Let's talk about Idioms - Cross culture challenge by @itchyfeetdonica），在此特谈一谈中英习语文化翻译的不同。
中英习语的文化差异及其翻译方法
中英习语的文化差异及其翻译方法习语是每个语言和文化中不可或缺的一部分，它们承载着文化的精髓和民族的智慧。
由于不同国家和地区的文化差异，习语在不同语言中的表达往往存在着较大差异，这给习语的翻译带来了一定的难度。
本文将围绕中英习语的文化差异及其翻译方法展开讨论。
一、中英习语的文化差异中英两国拥有着悠久而深厚的文化底蕴，习语作为文化的一部分，在两国之间存在着较大的差异。
中西方的价值观和文化背景不同，导致了习语表达的差异。
中文习语中的“以柔克刚”和英文中的“kill two birds with one stone”表达了不同的文化观念。
在中文中，“以柔克刚”强调通过柔和的手段来对待强硬的问题，反映了中国人讲究柔和、平和的价值观；而英文中的“kill two birds with one stone”则强调一举两得，追求高效率和结果，反映了西方人务实的思维方式。
中英两国的职业和社会制度也带来了习语表达的差异。
中国是一个传统的尊老爱幼的社会，讲究“家和万事兴”，这在中文习语中体现得淋漓尽致；而英国是一个注重自由和个性的国家，讲究“天下为公”，英文习语更注重个人的独立和自由。
中文中的“国色天香”强调国色天香，美丽动人，体现了中国人对美好的追求；而英文中的“devil's advocate”则强调挑战权威，发表不同见解，体现了西方人讲究个人独立和自由的思维方式。
中英两国的宗教信仰和历史传统也对习语表达产生了影响。
中国是一个多神教的国家，儒释道三教合一，因此在中文习语中常常出现对神灵和佛教文化的表达；而英国是一个天主教传统的国家，基督教文化在英文习语中占据着重要的地位。
中文中的“炼石成金”和英文中的“sour grapes”分别反映了中国人追求神话传统和英文中人们对基督教故事的理解。
二、中英习语的翻译方法由于中英两国文化差异的存在，习语的翻译不仅要求翻译人员精通两国语言，还需要对两国的文化背景和价值观有深入的理解。
英汉习语的文化语境与翻译
英汉习语的文化语境与翻译英汉习语的文化语境与翻译英汉习语的文化语境与翻译英汉习语的文化语境与翻译摘要: 英汉习语具有强烈的文化特征,习语翻译要处理好语言和语境的矛盾,不仅要译出原语习语的形象、喻义,还要译出其民族特色和地域色彩。
所以英汉习语互译时,除用直译、套译和意译外,还要运用直译兼意译以及增补译法。
关键词: 英汉习语; 文化语境; 翻译习语,即习惯用语(the idiomatic phrases) ,是语言经过长期使用而提炼出来的固定词组、短语或短句。
习语范围很广,通常包括成语(set phrases) 、谚语(proverbs) 、格言(sayings) 、俗语(colloquilisms) 、典故(allusions) 和俚语(slangs) 。
习语在语言上具有精辟、生动、优美、形象、通俗、寓意深刻等特点。
因此,正确理解、确切翻译英汉习语,对于我们学习和使用英语的人来说是十分必要,也是必不可少的。
一、英汉习语互译与文化语境有关语言与文化密不可分。
语言是文化的载体,可以容纳文化的各个方面,也可以反映文化的任何内容,同时它也受到文化的制约。
正如J uri Lotman 所说:“没有一种语言不是根植于具体的文化之中的;也没有一种文化不是以某种自然语言的结构为中心的。
”习语是语言的精髓,它蕴含着丰富的文化信息,包含着大量的文化特征和文化背景,具有鲜明的形象和比喻,带有鲜明的民族特色和地域色彩。
如习语“有眼不识泰山”,大家知道泰山位于我国山东省,我国古人以泰山为高山的代表,用来比喻敬仰的人或重大且有价值的事物。
汉语习语中用了这一特定地域的事物,来比喻重要的人物。
英谚也是如此,如:All roads lead to Rome。
因此要翻译好习语,就必须了解这些习语中用作比喻的内涵。
风俗习惯也同样影响习语,如“情人眼里出西施”。
一般西方人不太可能知道西施是中国历史上的美人,因此不可能理解这句习语中富有中国文化特色的喻义。
The Cultural Connotations of English Idioms and Their Translation 英语习语的文化内涵及其翻译
英语习语的文化内涵及其翻译The Cultural Connotations of English Idioms andTheir Translation摘要论文以习语来源分析文化对成语的影响，并对英语习语的翻译进行了分析和阐述。
习语是语言的艺术，是语言的一种特殊表达方式。
首先，习语是文化的特征，表现形式多种多样，并且富含各种修辞，习语本身也是一种修辞：除了持久的生命力，习语还有着语义整体性和结构稳定性的特征。
从他的来源来看，习语与文化有着紧密的联系，有的习语来源于人们的生活，风俗习惯和地理环境，另外一些习语来源于宗教信仰，历史，寓言和神话故事，或文学作品，有的习语甚至来源于外来语的借用。
蕴含着丰富文化特质的习语给翻译工作带来很大的挑战。
在阅读了大量的有关习语的翻译作品后，作者在论文中对习语不同的翻译方法进行了深入的分析和探讨。
习语不是由组成它的词语的单个意义的简单相加，一些习语的语言不符合语法逻辑，不能按常理来理解他。
不同的文化背景的人对同一句话有不同的理解，因为他们对目标文化了解的很少。
所以，学习中国和西方国家文化的不同是必要的。
这本论文中，作者以文化的一部分--习语作为例子来探讨英语的翻译。
除了这些，作者介绍了两种和四种英语成语的翻译方法。
译者应该根据具体的语境来采用不同的方法。
关键词：成语来源文化翻译The Cultural Connotations of English Idiom and Its Translation Abstract: On the basis of analysis of source of idiom,this thesis mainly probes into the translation of English idiom.idiom is a special kind of expressing way of language,or a kind of art of human language.the first,as well as most important feature of idiom is that it is a mirror of culture.the second is that English are rich in figures,which have plentiful varied expressing styles,and idiom itself is a kind of figure too.the semantic unity and structural stability are the third and forth features of English idioms;the final one is long-lasting vitality.Idiom are very close with culture,which can be testified by its origins,some idioms are originated form people's lives,custom and environment while other idioms are originated from religious belief,history,allegoric and mythical story,or literal works,still others originated from the foreign borrowing.From the origins of English idioms,we know idiom,the culture-specific item,would like to challenge the translator's proficiency owing to the rich cultural connotation of idiom,there are always some difficulties to make a sensible translation.after reading numerous translation works of English idiom,the thesis goes deep into the different translation versions of English idiom,and explores the problems occurring in the existing translation works.idiom's meaning is not a simple combination of that of each constituent word.some idioms are not logical grammatically,cannot be understood by common sense.People from different cultures may have different understandings of the same sentence because they know little about the target cultures. Thus, it is necessary for us to study the cultural differences between China and Western countries. In this thesis, the author takes idiom—a part of culture as an example to study English translation.Besides, the author introduces two methods and four skills of English idiom translation. Translators should adopt different methods and skills according to specific conditions.Key words: Idiom, Origin,Culture,TranslationIntroductionTranslation is not only one kind of simple correspondence switching process between two languages, but is one kind of cultural exchange and transmission.Therefore, translating idioms is a concrete operating process.The translators must fully understand the intrinsic meaning of the Chinese idioms and they should utilize several different translation methods,this thesis analyse the definition of idiom and his region of idiom,let the reader know more about the idiom and his relationship with culture.Beside those,author introducte some methods and skills to leach how to translate English idiom.reader get a deep understanding with the help of some examples.it is useful for the English learner.Chapter 1 Definition of Idiom1.1.Idiom is originated form Greek;it means a special kind of expressing way of human language ,or a kind of art of human language.its form can be a few words,phrase,clause or short sentence.Oxford advanced learner's English-Chinese dictionary defines idiom as:phrase or sentence whose meaning is not clear from the meaning if its individual word and which must be learnt as a whole unit,such as"give way,a change of heart"etc.Thus,we can define that:English idiom is a set of phrases or one sentence,whose meaning is not obvious through knowledge of the individual meaning of the constituent words,but must be learnt as a whole.it is a social phenomenon,which appeared during the long history of language development,in a broad sense,it includes idiom,proverb,allusion,allegorical saying,maxim and colloquialism.1.2.For instance, “to fall out” means “to quarrel”, but neither “fall” nor “out” has a sense of quarrel. Another example is “a feather in one‘s cap”, which means “an honor or a success, of which one can be proud”. The meaning of this idiom is metaphorical. “Under the rose” is also very difficult to understand from the literal meanings of its component words. Its true meaning is “secretly”. “To have a bee in one‘s bonnet” means “to have a strange fixed idea about something”. “To kick the bucket or to bite the dust” means “to die”. The figurative interpretation of “shoot the breeze” is “to talk without purpose”. Unlike literal language, it is impossible to explain idiom s from the literal meaning of the individual words because they are a combination of two or more words, which function as a unit of meaning. Thus, English idioms are difficult to understand and acquire.1.3.For we Chinese students, English idioms are a stumbling block. It is very possible that theyoften not only feel at a loss in understanding conversations because of a key idiom but also misuse idioms. In this paper, the author is going to make a study of the relationship between idioms and culture and how to translate English idioms.As we all know, language is closely related to culture and can be said as a part of culture. From a dynamic view, language and culture interact with each other and shape each other. Language is the carrier of culture which in turn is the content of language. We can dig out cultural features from language and explain language phenomena with culture.Idioms as a special form of language exist in both of them and carry a large amount of cultural information such as history, geography, religion, custom, nationality psychology, thought pattern and etc, and therefore are closely related to culture. They are the heritage of history and product of cultural evolvement. Consequently, we can know much about culture through studying idioms and in turn get better understanding of idioms by learning the cultural background behind them.Chapter2. The origins of the idiomAfter we know the definition of idiom, it is better to talk about the origin of the idiom.Getting to the roots of idioms, we can find that they originated from literary masterpieces, the Bible, Greek and Roman mythologies, ancient fables, historic events, anecdotes, customs, seafaring, agriculture, daily life, animal habitual behaviors, etc, which involved every aspect of life. That is why idioms are hard to understand.The essential point of studying idioms well is to learn them through the background of the traditional culture, thought pattern, geography, religion, and custom.2.1. Literary masterpiecesMany popular western literary masterpieces have the classic words, phrases and sentences that attract people greatly. They are shaped to evolve the hidden meaning. For example:Screw up one’s courage: to overcome one’s fear; to stop oneself from being afraid.Man Friday: a faithful and willing attendant, ready to turn his hand to anything. The young savage found by Robinson Crusoe on a Friday, and kept as his servant and companion on the desert island.To the manner born means ‘be born to do’. HamletPound of flesh: fair but unreasonable request. The Merchant of VeniceIf we do not read literary masterpieces, it is difficult for us to get the meaning of them. Guess is not a way to know them, reading more books is a best and only way to deal with the problem of understanding English idiom.2.2. The BibleIt is a firm concept of western people that God created people. They think that God is omnipotent and sacred. God, Christ, devil, Adam and some educational segments of the stories in the Bible are passed down because of people’s favor or even some historical and political causes. For example: Judas’s kiss: a deceitful act of courtesy. Judas betrayed his Master with a kiss. Matt.xxvi, 49 Much cry and little wool: a proverbial saying expressive of contempt or derision for one who promises great things but never fulfils the promises. Originally the proverb ran,” Great cry and little wool, as the Devil said when he sheared the hogs”; and it appears in this form in the ancient mystery of David and Abigail, in which Nabal is represented as shearing his sleep, and the Devil imitates the act by “shearing a hog”.Turn the other cheek: to take no action against the person who has hurt or harmed one, esp. to allow him to do it again. Do not resist one who is evil. But if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also…——New Testamente.g.: The murders have made me change my mind about capital punishment. We should bring back hanging. It is time to stop turning the other cheek.The widow’s cruse: a small supply of anything that, by good management, is made to go a long way and to be apparently inexhaustible. In allusion to the miracle of the cruse of oil in 2 kings,ⅳSo when we learn idioms from Bible, we can read Bible, which will increase our knowledge and help us to be familiar with the features of western culture and have a clear understanding of the hidden meanings of idioms.2.3. Greek and Roman mythologiesMythologies are ancient stories that are based on popular beliefs or that explains natural or historical events because the people of the primeval society were scared of the nature and longed for the nice future.Midas touch: the excellent skill of making money. Midas is a legendary king of Phrygia who requested of the gods that everything he touched might be turned into gold. His request was granted, but as his food became gold the moment he touched it, he prayed the gods to take their favor back. He was then ordered to bathe in the Pacto´lus, and the river ever after rolled over golden sands.Pandora ’s Box: a prolific source of troubles. In Greek mythology a box containing all the evils of mankind and given by Zeus to the mythological Pandora, who opened it against the command of Zeus, thus, all the evils flew forth and they have ever since continued to afflict the world, only Hope remained in the bottom; something that produces many unforeseen difficultiesSphinx’s riddle means ‘the difficult riddle’ Sphinx is a monster of ancient mytholog y; The Grecian Sphinx was generally said to be a daughter of Typhon and Chimaera; she infested Thebes, setting the inhabitants a riddle and devouring all those who could not solve it. The riddle was——What goes on four feet, on two feet, and three. But the more feet it goes on the weaker it be?and it was at length solved with the answer that it was a man, who as an infant crawls uponall-fours, in manhood goes erect on his two feet, and in old age supports his tottering legs with a staff. On hearing this correct answer the Sphinx slew herself, and Thebes was delivered.2.4. Ancient fablesthough short and refined, ancient fable stories teach people many philosophic and educational theories while being narrated. They are also parts of preliminary education of Chinese children. It is obvious that they are popular even among Chinese people. They, especially Aesop‘s Fables are the favorites of Chinese people. For example, naked truth means the plain, unvarnished truth or the truth without trimmings. The fable says that Truth and Falsehood went bathing; Falsehood came first out of the water, and dressed herself in Truth’s garments. Truth, unwilling to take those of Falsehood, went naked.Sour grapes, disparage something that is beyond one’s reach. The allusion is to Aesop’swell-known fable of the fox, which tried in vain to get at some grapes, but when he found they were beyond his reach, he went away saying, “I see they are sour.”Bell the cat: risk one’s own life to do something dangerous. The allusion is to the fable of a cunning old mouse, who suggested that they should hang a bell on the cat’s neck to give notice to all mice of her approach.Cat’s paw: the tool of another, the medium of doing another’s dirty work. The allusion is to the fable of the monkey who wanted to get some roasted chestnuts from the fire, and used the paw of his friend, the cat, for the purpose.The lion’s share: the largest part: all or nearly all. In Aesop’s Fables, several beasts joined the lion in a hunt; but, when the spoil was divided, the lion claimed one quarter in right of his prerogative, one for his superior courage, one for his dam and cubs, “and as for the fourth, let who will dispute it with me.” Awed by his frown, the other beasts yielded and silently withdrew.2.5. Historic affairsIn most languages, people embellish their speech or writing with references to characters or events from their history, that is to say, idiomatic expressions are closely related to a country’s history.A lot of English idioms cannot find Chinese equivalents because the histories of the two countries are quite different. Many idioms are from their own history. The English language has much less idioms from historical events than the Chinese language because English just has a history of more than one thousand years during which less important historical events happened. For example, “to meet one’s Waterloo” is from the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815, which means to be completely defeated.2.6. AnecdotesMan for all seasons: the person who is erudite and adaptable.Mickey Mouse: small, insignificant, or worthless person. From the name of a mouse-like cartoon character created by Walt Disney 1901-1966, US cartoonist2.7 CustomsIndian File: one after the other, singly. The American Indians, when they go on an expedition, march one by one. The one behind carefully steps in the footprints of the one before,and the last man of the file is supposed to obliterate the footprints. Thus, neither the track nor the number of invaders can be traced.A feather in one’s cap: an honor; something to be proud of. The allusion is to the very general custom in Asia and among the American Indians of adding a feather to the headgear for every enemy slain.Nest egg: money laid by. The allusion is to the custom o f placing an egg in a hen’s nest to induce her to lay her eggs there. If a person has saved a little money, it serves as an inducement to him to increase his store.The skeleton at the feast: the thing or person that acts as a reminder that there are troubles as well as pleasures in life. Plutarch says in his Moralia that the Egyptians always had a skeleton placed in a prominent position at their banquets.2.8. The animals’ habitual behaviorsAs wide as owls: very clever. The owl was given to Minerva as her symbolNo spring chicken: the woman who is no longer young.Swan’s song: the last work of a poet, composer, etc. The song fabled to be sung by swans at the point of death.Bury one’s head in the sand: refuse to take any notice of a difficulty; refuse to admit that something is a problem and hope that it will get better by itself.2.9. SeafaringKeep one’s head above water: avoid bankruptcy. The allusion is to swimming; so long as one’s head is above water one’s life remains, but bad swimmers find it hard to keep their heads above water.On the rocks: “stony broke,” having no money.A phrase from seafaring; a ship that is on the rocks will very quickly go to pieces unless she can be got off; so will a man.(All) at sea: wide of the mark; quite wrong; As we all know, if a person is in the open ocean without compass or chart, he will get lost.With colors nailed to the mast: to the bitter end. If the colors are nailed to the mast, they cannot be lowered to express submission.e.g.: If they catch you at disadvantage, the miners for your life in the word; and so we fight them with our colors nailed to the mast. ——Scott: The Pirate, ch. XxiTo sail under false colors: to act hypocritically; to try to attain one’s object byappearing to be other than you are. The term is a nautical one, and refers to the practice of pirates approaching their unsuspecting prey with false colors at the mast.2.10. AgricultureTo hold out the olive branch: to make overtures for peace. In allusion to the olive being an ancient symbol of peace. In some of Numa’s medals the king is represented holding an olive twig, indicative of a peaceful reign.To nip in the bud: to destroy before it has had time to develop; usually said of bad habits, tendency to sin, etc. Shakespeare has——The third day comes a frost, a killing frost; And, when he thinks, good easy man, full surely His greatness is a-ripening, nips his root, And then he falls, as I do. HenryⅧ,ⅲ, 2.As cool as a cucumber: perfectly composed; not in the least angry or agitated.cucumber-time: the dull season in the tailoring tradeThe last straw: the only hope left; the last penny; an addition to a set of troubles, which makes them at last too much to bear. The allusion is to the old proverb, “It is the last straw that breaks the camel’s back.” In weighing articles, as salt, tea, sugar, etc., it is the last pinch which turns the scale; and there is an ultimate point of endurance beyond which calamity breaks a man down. Turn on a new leaf: to begin a new course of improved behavior, habit, etc.To beat the bush: to allow another to profit by one’s exertions. The illusion is to beaters, whose business is to beat the bushes and start the game for a shooting party.2.11. Daily lifeA dark horse: a person who keeps his true capabilities to himself till he can produce them to the best advantage. a horse whose merits as a racer are not known to the general publicSee how the cat jumps: like “see which way the wind blows”; which of the two alternatives is likely to be the successful one before you give any opinion of its merit or adhesion to it, either moral or otherwise. The allusion is either to the game called “tip-cat”, in which befo re you strike you must observe which way the “cat” has jumped up, or to the cruel sport mentioned above.Idioms are the essence of a language, which have strong national colors and distinctive cultural connotations. So it is necessary for Chinese readers to understand English idioms thoroughly and learn the translation methods.Chapter 3.The difficulties in the translation of English idiomsIn the 1950’s the American writer Hackett put forward the concept “random holes in patterns”which means “the accidental gap” in conservation when contrasting two languages. There must be information drains in any course of conservation and the absolute equity is never possible. The goal of translation is conservation in maximum to enable the foreign readers understand the source culture. There are two reasons as follows. Firstly, the formation and solidification of English idioms are in relationship with the different histories, environments and cultural backgrounds. It contains certain national culture characteristics and information. Furthermore, Chinese and English live in different regions, so their living environments and experiences are different, especially in their ways to observe the world, understand the world and transform the world. Their culture atmospheres are unique. Secondly, Chinese belongs to the Sino-Tibetan language family while English belongs to the Indo-European language family, so their language structures are different. All mentioned above enrich the idioms and make them more complex.3.1 The development of translation principleThe principle of translation between English and Chinese has developed for a long time. For translation standards, translators from home and abroad put forward different opinions. From Yan Fu’s “faithfulness, expressiveness, elegance” to Mr. Zhang Peiji’s “faithfulness and smoothness”;from Fu Lei’s “approximation in spirit” to the American famous translation theoretician Eugene Nida’s “functional equivalence” or “dynamic equivalence”, we may see that these positions affect each other, supplement each other although their emphases are different. However, the focus is to translate the source text faithfully, meanwhile, to keep the original taste as much as possible.The quality of idioms translation has the direct influence on the entire article. In order to be loyal to the original text, the translation must not only maintain its original taste and flavor, but also conform to the demand of writing in the target language. However, the idiom translation is difficult to meet these two standards at the same time. It is extremely important to translate idioms faithfully, and translators must pay attention to the following three points:3.1.1.Idioms are heavily culture-loaded; they have manifested different national flavors. Therefore, the translation of idioms must try to keep the original taste and not to use those target words that have strong national characteristics.3.1.2. Chinese idioms stress to the rhythm and structure. So it is necessary to augment or readjust the original language structure when translating English idioms.3.1.3. Do one’s best to translate the original images, metaphoric meaning and rhetoric of the source language.Chapter4. Translation Methods of English Idioms4.1 Two main translation methods of English idiomsDomestication and foreignization are two main methods of translation. The US translation theoretician Venuti defines the two methods as follow:Domestication adopts the national center principle, enables the source language text to satisfy the value of target language and culture, and leads the source language readers into the target culture, while foreignization means to accept the differences between foreign language culture and target language culture to take target language readers to see the foreign scene. From the definitions, we can see both of them hold different metodes toward the cultural differences. But the author believes that domestication is the best way to enrich the expression of target language. Adopting domestication in maximum can enable the target language readers emerge the same or the similar association as the source language readers.4.2 Four concrete translation skills of English idiomsThere are some concrete translation skills between English and Chinese, which are cited as follows:4.1.Literal translation4.2. Free translation4.3. Borrowing4.4. Literal translation with annotation4.5. Literal translationLiteral translation can fairly retain the English idioms’ analogy, image, national and local flavors, in the position of not violating the standard of translation or causing the readers to misunderstand. This way of translation can not only retain the original intention, but also enrich Chinese language. It can be seen clearly in the following examples:An apple of discord comes from Greek mythology. The story is like this : a goddess named discord is angry and never forgives King Paris and his wife because they don’t invite her to participate in their wedding banquet. In order to give vent to the hate, she abandons a golden apple on the table of the wedding banquet, declaring that this apple is given to the most beautiful lady in this wedding banquet. There are three goddesses who want to obtain this golden apple. And then it causes a wrangle in a mess. From then on, the meaning of “an apple of discord” spreads. It becomes the synonym of “the cause of disaster” and “the source of the disagreement”.These are the Greek gifts for you. The literal translation of this idiom is 希腊人的礼物, which comes from the well-known epic poem “Odyssey”. When the Greek had left Troy, they left behind a big wooden horse outside the Troy city. Priest Laocoon tried his best to persuade his king not to accept the thing that the Greek stayed behind. He said that, “I fear the Greek, even when bringing gifts.” But what a pity, the king and the people did not listen to his advice. They pulled the big wooden horse into their city. Actually, in the wooden horse there hid the most excellent Greek soldiers. At that night, they killed the Trojan and fired the city. This wooden horse brought disaster to the Troy. In English Greek gifts is equal to the proverb: When the fox preaches, take care of your geese. The similar Chinese idiom is黄鼠狼给鸡拜年―不安好心(the yellow weasel goes to his respects to the hen-----with the best of intention)4.6.Other examples are：Achilles' heel which means the only weakness, or strategic point;Cut the Gordian knot means taking the drastic measures;The sword of Damocles, the sword hanging above Damocles’ head is compared to the worrying mentality.Furthermore, we should never neglect the following facts. Make a general survey of the history of translation, we are not difficult to see many literal translations are temporary means to meet emergency. The most remarkable represent is transliterations. However,going through a long time, transliteration stands firmly and slowly and is gradually accepted by Chinese. In the end they become our everyday terms. Like “humor, sofa, hamburger” and so on. And we should realize another two ways of translation: one is imitating the original text that is more or less a little nondescript, and the other is explaining the original text clearly, but it would be lengthy. Translating the allusion in English idioms is the same.Here is a typical example on transliteration. Right now the Chinese are probably familiar with these two words: science and democracy. But in fact, they are not locally born. On the early 20th century, the translations of these two words were rather strange to us. The former is transliterated into 赛因斯or shortened as Mr. Sai(赛先生), while the latter is 德谟克拉西or shortened as Mr. De（德先生）. Afterwards they are changed into 科学and 民主. Even Mr. Lu Xun also has made the very interesting attempt in this aspect. He translated English word “fair play” into 费尔泼赖which was accepted by the Chinese at that time. Actually, either “science” or “fair play”is just a temporary ideal approach of translation in the situation that had no equivalents in Chinese.There is another example. In the 1960’s there was a large quantity of young men called “the decadents” in America. They were discontented with the social situation, hated anything, held the resistance to the traditional value, did anything new and different in order to be out of ordinary, kept the long hair, wore the outlandish clothes, and advocated intercourse freely. They were called “hippies” in English. How to translate it into Chinese? Since in Chinese glossary, no ready-made word can express the above section of speeches, s ummarizing the word as “the men to counter tradition” or “people dissatisfying the reality” unavoidably lose the cultural meaning. So transliterating “hippies” into 嬉皮士can well solve this problem.4.6.1.Free translationFree translation is similar to domestication. It refers to such a translation method: when the translators are confined by the cultural differences; they have to discard the cultural message to keep the original content and its communicative function. Free translation is an incorporating explanation to deal with cultural differences. Obviously free translation in the process of dealing with cultural difference is very important. Regarding the readers who never get in touch with “Mongolia and Peacey” which is translated into 达蒙和皮西阿斯, they do not have any ideas of this idiom even if the translation looks so faithful. Even more, the source information losescompletely.Both literal translation and free translation are loyal to the original text. In fact, here is a dialectical unification. Because the traditional translation is too subjective, Nida proposed functional equivalence viewpoint that is more objective. It means to request the target language readers to have the same or similar response with the source language readers. The majority of target language readers do not understand the source language and culture exactly. They grow in totally different environments; their thinking modes are different. So the translators have to seek some kind of language that contains the same cultural information of the source language. However, functional equivalence theory has its limitation. Stating from preceding translation methods, Nada’s theory indeed gains great achievement in translating idioms. It has abandoned the form to focus on the content, put aside the language difference to focus on the readers’ response, compared with the translation theory before; it can be rated as one kind of innovation. Therefore, the functional equivalence doubles the translation favor, and was once fashionable all over China in 1980s. Until now, the influence of functional equivalence is still extensive. But someone points out that Nida raised his viewpoint when he studied the translation strategy of “Holy Bible”. So it is more suitable for the missionary idioms that are in religious ancient books, myths and fables in the western culture.For example:A Juda’s kiss comes from “Holy Bible”; as wise as Solomon is from Greek and Roman myth. Although this kind of structure of idioms is simple, its significance is profound, and its cultural characteristics are strong. Therefore, they often cannot be understood or translated from the semantic level. It must be transplanted directly from the source language culture to the target language culture. This method is called “cultural facsimile”. Venutt proposed his “Resistance translation” as a kind of solution for translation between Chinese and English. He thought translation itself undertook the cultural exchange and the readers have the ability to understand the external culture completely. What is more, foreignness will play an important role in enriching the target language in future.Just like one hundred years ago, “All roads lead to Rome” was translated into殊途同归(reaching the same goal or conclusion from different approaches) . But today it is translated into条条大路通罗马(each strip path passes to the Rome) because the Chinese have accepted the word Rome. Perhaps certain years later, the Chinese can also accept the idio m “Mongolia and Peacey”. Besides this change, there is another situation in the interior change of the source language. For example, in the period of pre-liberation and at the beginning of liberation the peasants stood for those men who were short of education; they are ignorant, backward and poor because of the low productive。
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中英习语的文化内涵与翻译Cultural Connotations of the Idiomatic Phrases
and Their Translation
Inspired by the article of “Let's talk about Idioms - Cross culture challenge by @itchyfeetdonica”written by my respected @livinguktaiwan, I would like to talk about the differences between Chinese and English idiomatic phrases.
English idiomatic phrases include set phrases, proverbs, sayings, colloquialisms, allusions, and slang, which are an important part of the English language and English culture. When we read some idiomatic phrases in English and Chinese, we can find a surprising coincidence between them that some of them are similar, and even identical in meaning and form. This shows us the fact that human beings are living on the same earth, have experienced similar developmental procedures in history, and have shared the material and resource so that thay have some similarities in their language as well. For example:
To strike while the iron is hot 趁热打铁
To be on the thin ice 如履薄冰
To fish in the troubled waters 浑水摸鱼
As light as a feather 轻如鸿毛
Though they are identical in meaning and form, the majortity
of idiomatic phrases cannot translated literally. Let us compare the following.
High school 中学（不是高等学校）
Lover 情人（不是爱人）
Dutch wife 藤制睡椅（不是荷兰老婆）
Wester 西风（不是西方人）
To make a blue joke 讲黄段子、开下流玩笑
To pull somebody’s leg 开某人的玩笑
Swan song 绝唱
An Uncle Tom 逆来顺受的人
Cast pearls before swine 对牛弹琴
As translators we are not just dealing with words written in a certain time, space and socialpolitical situation; most importantly we should take into account the cultural aspect of the text.
受前辈@livinguktaiwan 那篇文章的启发（Let's talk about Idioms - Cross culture challenge by @itchyfeetdonica），在此特谈一谈中英习语文化翻译的不同。
英语的习语包括成语、谚语、格言、俗语、典故及俚语等，是英语语言和文化重要的组成部分。
尽管中英两种语言在习语方面存在着部分惊人的一致，无论在意义还是形式上，但大部分还是有着天壤之别。
部分习语能够一致，说明我们生活在同一个地球，经历了
相似的历史发展过程，共享自然赐予人类的物质和资源。
但由于大多数习语是与其文化紧密相连的，所以就产生了不同。
因此，在两种语言的翻译中，我们不能仅仅局限于语言的转换，更应注重于文化的置换。
To strike while the iron is hot 趁热打铁
To be on the thin ice 如履薄冰
To fish in the troubled waters 浑水摸鱼
As light as a feather 轻如鸿毛
这些无论在意义还是形式上，都是一致的。
但是由于两种文化的不同，大多数还是不能望文生义。
例如：
High school 中学（不是高等学校）
Lover 情人（不是爱人）
Dutch wife 藤制睡椅（不是荷兰老婆）
Wester 西风（不是西方人）
To make a blue joke 讲黄段子、开下流玩笑
To pull somebody’s leg 开某人的玩笑
Swan song 绝唱
An Uncle Tom 逆来顺受的人
Cast pearls before swine 对牛弹琴
所以，翻译不仅仅是处理一些按照某一时空、社会政治状况而书写的词语，重要的是，我们必须考虑其文化因素。