英语习语的翻译

【abstract】Idiom is a most colorful and vivid member of the family of language. Some traditional scholars strongly hold that idiom is the vulggar language of lower level and should
be tabooed and abandoned. Nevertheless, idiom is not the language of the underworld,
nor does most of it necessarily come from the underworld. Nowdays ,we can easily find
idiom words in great works of famous writers ,Times, New York Times, or even speeches
made by the U.S.president .Moreover ,when reading or tanslating literary
works ,newspapers ,and magazines ,we often come across new words and expressions , which
can never be found in textbooks or dictionaries and may cause much trouble in
understanding .The aim of this paper is to study the composition ,features and
application of idiom from the historical, cultural and etymologic point of view ,and
to conclud some general rules in idiom tanslation ,and foucuses on analyzing the
problems and discussing the translation strategies applied with the purpose of offering
something conducive to the good translation of english proverbs.
【Keywords】idioms translation proverb culture
1.Tranlastion as cross-cultural commucation.
Ttanslation is not only a social acticitu cut also a cross-cultural communication.This pointis worthy of more attention in translation between english and chinese ,two very different languages.people have detimed the term culture in many ways ,inculding a very funny one culture is whatever people do monkeys about.in a sense,language is part of culture as every language bdlongs to a certain culture.but culture is also the carrier,reflector many culturally loaded words and expressions which often have culturally specfic associations but also beause encironmental anditions,customs and habits ways of life and social calues and motivations .behind different languages are different cultures .how different peoples express what they see is detemind by how they percetve and react to teality .as there are inevitebly cultural gaps to be filled between similar expressions or ways of expressing between the source language and target language in translation,the translator must be biculteural so as to acnvey the meaning of the source text to the teader of the rarget text .this means the translatow must scquIre enough background knowledge of the source language.
(1). Now ,let’s look at some example .guo mo ruo translated engish poet Thomas Nashe’s pleasant king as春，甘美之春，一年中的尧舜。

This translation is a kind of cultural paradox .尧and舜 were well-known emperors of ancient China .How could Nashe Think of them ?and the standers of a good king or enperor are different in the west and china Gile’s translation of Li Bai’s verse吴姬压酒唤客尝into while phyllis with bumpers would fair cheer us up” has the same problem.
How would you translate “it’s c ase of january and may ?if it is translated as 这是一个一月和一个五月的情况。

People would ask for an explation as to what is partucular about the two months.This translation is a total failure because it does not convey the actual meaning .Thesaying refer to case in which an old man marries a young girl.Most dictionaries do not offer any information but we find it
in(Bvevwers, Dictionary of Phrase and False).The saying originates from “The Merchant’s Tale ‘in Chaucer’s (Cantebury Tales).January is the name of a Lombard,who marries a beautiful young girl named May when he is sisty years old .So it means老夫娶少妻（There is a very elegant saying in Chinese refering to similar case）一树梨花压海棠。

(2) Chapter 32 of＜水浒传＞tell the drunken courage .When he has drunk three bowls of liquor in the tavern at景阳冈the witer tries to stop him from drinking more.武行者心中要吃，那里听他分说，一片声喝道，“放屁，放屁”！Pearls Buck literally translated it into now Wu the priest longed much in his heart to eat ,and so how could he be willing to listen to the explanation .He bellowed forth ,”Pass your wind ,pass your wind !”What do you think of Wu Song’s imperative remark?
(3) A western scholar recently translated吹喇叭抬轿子王先生可真是个行家哩as Mr Wang is quite at home in blowing a trumpet andcarrying a sedan chair"english readers may think Mr wang is really a man of parts.actually there is a similar sayings in english:toot somebody's horn.or it can be translated as"lay it on the thick"or hang on somebody's sleeve".
(4).To an ear not familiar with american culture,the two sentences"he is a professional"and "she is a professional" may cause difficulty.you would probably ask"professional what"as professional can refer to any job.But to americans the meaning is clear without specific reference of the carrying a sedan chair"english readers may think Mr wang is really a man of parts.actual specific reference of the actual specific profession."he is a professional"means他是一个职业拳击手while "she is a professional"means她是一个职业妓女.
(5)There is a saying in chinese:恨铁不成钢its literal translation"to wish that iron could be turned into steel"does not make much sense as it fails to bring out the connotative meaning that the speaker is disappointed that someone-usually a loved one-does not do as good as has been expected."The making of a hero"is a good translation of the title of the chinese novel about the growth of a revolutionary fighter<钢铁是怎样炼成的>by吴运铎，If it was translated literally as "how steel is smelted"people would think it is most probably a technical book.:­
2. Cultural connotation and idioms
(1)Taking about culral connotations,one will first think of images represented by animals.both chinese and english have a lot of saying usinh animals names to refer to certain types of people.For example in chinese we have死老虎，拦路虎，夜猫子，小馋猫，狐狸精，老狐狸，千里马，笨驴，蠢猪etc.And english by no means lacks terms such as silly me duck,queer fish,early bird,lucky dog,black sheep,dark horse,drowned rat,rat in hole etc.
(2)Sometimes chinese and english share connotative meanings for example,both%and"fox"stand for "cunning"both%and"monkey"stand for"mischief"and both%and"stand for "savageness".but in many cases the same animal image may stand for different connotations.example is%and"dog"In chinese most phrases and idiomp with%contain derogatory senses走狗，看家狗，狗仗人势，狗腿子，狗血喷头etc.In
english,howerer"dog"is thought to be the most faithful friend of human beings,most phrases and idioms comtaining the word"dog"have neutral or commendatory implications:jolly dog,top dog,luck dog.sly dog.clever dog.like a dog with two tails,help a lame dog over a st ile,teach an old dog ­ new trickes .Every dog has its day .An article in China Daily about administrator on foreogn investmentin China is entiled”China’s watchdog finds Fake Investor”Here the word “watchdog “contains on bad sense at all.Perhaps we all reme mber in an essay鲁迅calls people to痛打落水狗，lest it should bite people again when it gets ashore.But if we tell people in the West to “beat the dog inthe water ,”they will think that would be cruel and inhuman .The connotatiions of animals terms mostly have derived from customs.Foa example ,as the Chinese nation has long used牛to plough and pull carts .There aare many phrases in Chinese with牛，老黄牛，牛脾气，初生牛犊不怕虎，多如牛毛etc.However ,more phrase with “horse “are found in english because the horse has been the number on draught animals;willing horse ,horse laugh, horse play ,horse sense ,eat like a horse ,look a gift horse in the month ,straight from the horse’s month ,flog a ded horse etc.
（3）In actual translation the context is very very important.A idiom may be translated in many ways acording to different contexts,including the genre,subject matter,style,etc,The ranslator often has a variety to choose from.For example ,the follwing idiom in english and Chinese are of similar meaning ;fish in the air缘木求鱼 cry for the moon水中捞月.
3．.Many idiomatic expression use quite different images of metaphors in different languages as people speaking different language have different living envioronments,habits and customs and different cultual tranditions.There are quite a number o f wrong traditions coming idioms(and proverbs,which are idiom s in a broad sense )-and some of them are offered by dictionaries –caused by cultual misunderstanding because those who translated them only saw the surface meaning but forgot different cultual conn otations .For example ;”Longest day must have an end “is translated us世界上没有不散的宴席。

Actually the two saying are of just the oppose meaning筵席stands for a happy gatering while the “longest day”emphasizes weariness or refers to hard work and the english proverbs hould be better translated as爱唱的工作也会有尽头or苦海总有边The proverb “A friend in need is a friend indeed”is offen translated as患难之交真朋友As a matter of fact “In need “does not mean患难but rather refers to the situation when one really needs help .So the proverb can be must properly translated as需要帮助的时候来帮助的人才是真正的莪朋友，at most it can be translated as逆境见真情。

4． To avoid unneassary cultual shift great care should be taken when one tries to use similar exising saying in the target language to translated idioms,especially proverbs.We have discussed a number of cases of translation ,there are also mang misinteretations.For example ,some people translate视同儿戏into “treat something as child’s play”and翻天覆地Into “more heaven and earth ,’For the first one ,视同儿戏in chinese means;trifle with something (not taking it seriously).but”child’s play means something which can be done easing.
4.Behind every language is the cuture of the community that speaks that particular language .Different cultures in the world share much ,but there is as much uniqueness In each culture.This casuses cultural gaps or vacancies. How to fill in such gaps and introduce into the target language thing unique inthe source culture is a different job .The following are source terms unique in Chiese culture;科举，虚岁，精神文明，In most cases literal translation fails to convey the meaning .So notes or explanation are often needed rto help the target reader understand their ture mwaning.
There are a large number of Chinesewords translated from english .They refer to thing that had not existeed in China but were introduced in or imported later .In sense they were once”unique”in english culture.As the most common way of translating such terms ,transliteration was adapted .But their translators made use of the cultural impication of Chinese characters and as a result some of them are really quite creative.
There are three main methods idioms (a) literal translation (b) free translation
(c) Chinese Synonymic applied (equivalent translation)
1. Literal translation refers the so-called literal language does not contravene the norms of a question does not cause the wrong associations and under the conditions of rain in the English translation to retain the metaphor, image and national local color method.Sometimes even though the metaphor of English, Chinese readers may compare the image on the unfamiliar, but because it is in a certain context has a strong political significance, or a clear western nation, local and historical color, so it should be used to retain the original expression ofliteral translation, idioms way out this way, the West transplanted to the Chinese idiom, the language of a question can often be rich.Such as, To fight to the last man to fight to the last man To break the record break the record
2. Paraphrase; If you can not or do not have to keep with the literal translation of English idioms and expressions in Chinese idioms can not find a synonym for the right to apply, you have up and down with the intention to ask the translation of English idiomsmeaning of expression.If, But the die was cast, he could not go back. But the matter has been decided that estoppel.
3. On the other translations' and some in English and Chinese idioms are consistent in content and form, the two sides not only have the same meaning and rhetorical, and have the same or answer the same metaphor, when we Translation forIf you encounter such a situation, may wish to apply directly synonymous Chinese idioms，如，TO praise to the skies 捧上天去 A drop in the ocean 沧海一粟（结论）Translation is not merly from on language to another,but also to introduce the cultuarl backgrounds, habits and customs,cultural traditions and others of the original,so is the translation of idioms which are rich in strong national and local colors, that is to say ,we should do more practices,pay more attention ,accumulate more knowlege,consult the dictionaries for the unknow more offen,and ask the experts for more adivice at originary times,besides,we also have to do desultory reading of the Bible ,the Fables of Aesop,W.Shakespeare’s plays,fairy tales and other classical masterpieces in weatern culture .In a
word,when translating the idioms ,we should keep faithful to the original,remaining the origiunal idioms’ vivid comparison ,rich assocition ,rhetorical effects,nationl and local colors,meanwhile,we should try our best to do the translation more vividly and more expressively.。