1、淺析英語習語的漢譯analysis of chinese translation of english idiomcontentsabstract.1key words.1i. introduction.2ii. relationship between idiom and culture.21. definition of idiom.2 2. characteristics of idiom.3 3. definition of culture.4 4. relationship between english idiom and culture5iii. several translat

2、ing ways of english idiom.6 1. liberal translation.7 2. literal translation.73. combination of liberal and literal translation.84. translation with annotation.9iv. conclusion.9references.10analysis of chinese translation of english idiomanalysis of chinese translation of english idiom abstract：an en

3、glish idiom is a group of words with a special meaning, which is different from the meaning of a free phrasefor the sake of using idioms correctly and appropriately in cross-cultural communication, we must firstly be aware of the cultural differences and national characteristics of english and chine

4、se idioms and then master a series of helpful learning and translating skills. moreover, idioms are profoundly affected by culture and the chinese culture differs remarkably from the english one. these two features make it difficult for us to interpret and translate them. so this paper offers four m

5、ethods used in idioms translation to help english learners understand idioms. they are literal translation, liberal translation, combination of literal and liberal translation and translation with annotation respectively. under different circumstances, one should use different methods to make the tr

6、anslation faithful to the source language and vivid in the target language. at the end of this paper, some opinions on idioms translation are given so as to do better translation.key words: idiom; literal translation; liberal translation; combination of literal and liberal translation; translation w

7、ith annotation 摘 要：英語習語是具有特殊意義并區別于自由詞組意義的一組單詞。在跨文化交際中，為了正確地和準確地使用習語，我們首先必須意識到英語習語和漢語習語的文化差異和民族特色。然后，再掌握一系列英語習語的學習與翻譯技巧。其次，習語受文化的深刻影響而中國文化與英國文化有具有顯著的差異。正是習語的這兩個特點，使得我們翻譯習語具有一定的難度。因此，這篇論文給出四種習語翻譯方法以幫助英語學習者更好地理解習語。它們分別是直譯，意譯， 直譯加意譯和加注釋翻譯方法。在不同的情況下，應使用不同的翻譯方法以使譯文忠實于源語言并使譯文在目標語中形象生動。在論文的結尾，作者又給出關于能更好的翻譯習

8、語的一些見解。關鍵詞：習語； 直譯；意譯；直譯加意譯；加注釋翻譯i. introduction in contemporary world, english has been used widely, and it becomes more and more important. if you want to learn english very well, you should know some certain english idioms and their correspondent chinese translation. english idioms have fixed chin

9、ese translations and have their own translation techniques. it is an expression established in the long usage of a language that is peculiar to itself either in grammatical construction or in having a meaning that cannot be derived as a whole from the conjoined meanings of its elements. in a broad s

10、ense, english idioms include idiomatic phrase, proverbs, colloquialisms and slangs. in comparison, the chinese equivalent for “idiom” is “熟語”. idiom plays a very important part in language,it is a group of words with special meaning different from the meanings of its constituent words，or different f

11、rom the meanings of a free phrase. and they play important role in english learning. so it is necessary for an excellent translator and very important for every english learner to know the translating methods of english idiom in chinese. in the following, the author will introduce some translation s

12、kills. and hope these skills can help improve the english levels of english learners.language belongs to a special cultural phenomenon. and the culture influences the appearance of the idiom, which plays a predominant role in english language. the idioms of a nation are closely associated with its c

13、ulture. english and chinese idioms are no exception to the rule. british and chinese geographical conditions, life experiences, histories, religious beliefs and literatures are all stamped on their idioms. for the sake of using idioms correctly and appropriately in cross-cultural communication, we m

14、ust firstly be aware of the cultural differences and national characteristics of english and chinese idioms and then master a series of helpful learning and translating skills. so it is very important to take a look at the effect of every field of culture on the appearance of english idiom. in a wor

15、d, we should not only master some translation methods of english idioms, but also be aware of the cultural differences between source language and target language. ii. relationship between english idiom and culture1. definition of idiom it is quite difficult to give a clear-out definition to the wor

16、d idiom, for it possesses several meanings, which might cause us confusion. it may mean the language of a people or a country, or a dialect, or a linguistic usage that defies grammatical analysis. but the most suitable definition for this paper is as follows. “idiom is an expression established in t

17、he long usage of a language that is peculiar to itself either in grammatical construction or in having a meaning that cannot be derived as a whole from the conjoined meanings of its elements.” english idioms, in a broad sense, include idiomatic phrase, proverbs, colloquialisms and slangs. in compari

18、son, the chinese equivalent for “idiom” is “熟語”. it means a kind of set phrase or sentence, which, like a stock expression, is often quoted by the common people. chinese idioms can be roughly divided into “成語”(set phrases), “俗語”(common sayings), “諺語” (proverbs), “歇后語”(a two-part allegorical saying),

19、and “粗俗語”(vulgar expression). an idiom is an expression which is unique to a language and cannot be understood simply from the meaning of its individual part. it is the core and cream of a language. idiom, or say common saying, proverb, slang and so on. its expression is so strong, rich and vivid. i

20、diom is a strong means to strengthen the ability of expression in original language; it often contains rich national cultural characteristic and information. during the translation, if we can display it as far as possible, the article will be colorful. some literates say: “idiom is the salt in dish”

21、. as some scholars say that idiom is the vitamin in food. thus, it can be seen that idiom plays an important role in language.2. characteristics of idioms idioms, as a special and inseparable part of language, are the instrument and shell of thinking. they are set phrases or sentences abstracted fro

22、m language and form an essential part of the whole vocabulary, which reflect the national colors of the native speaker and are said to be considered as the sinew of the language. so, it is important to master the translating techniques on chinese translation of english idiom. first of all, let us ha

23、ve a look at the characteristics of idioms. idiom has the following characteristics:1) an idiom is a special form of language. it must be well established and accepted through common practice. it stands as a whole. so no element in an idiom can be changed. in many cases, idioms hold implied meanings

24、, and cannot be interpreted just according to their literal meanings. 2) an idiom is the crystallization of language. language gives birth to idioms. it also polishes idioms. refined by long usage, idioms have been described as the core of language. 3) an idiom is the representative of a language. t

25、hough both british and chinese people use idioms and give the almost same definition of idioms, we cannot equal the two idioms, for their ranges are different. for example, english people think that dog is a kind of royal animal. so there are some idioms about it, such as “lucky dog” means 幸運的人, “ev

26、ery dog has his day” means凡人皆有得意日. while in china, dog is considered as contemptible animal. so idioms like 狼心狗肺，狗血噴人 etc, appeared. dragon is loved by chinese, while in england it is detested by the english. in china, the chinese think that dragon is good thing, the idiom about it龍風呈祥，龍騰虎躍 appeared

27、. in england, people regard it as an evil or dangerous animal. 4) idiom comes from the experience of common people. it reflects the national colors.5) idiom is the most important rhetorical device.6) idiom is the special component of language. sometimes, it is not conform to the regularity in gramma

28、r, and in logic. for example, “money makes mares to go”. the regular grammar point is that make somebody do something, but in this idiom the grammar is make somebody to do something. and the words of idioms keep rather fixed. for example, in idiom “a stitch in time saves nine” “a” can not be substit

29、uted by “one”.just because of the above characteristics of the english idioms, the translation of them is very difficult and complex.3. definition of culturedifferent people have different views on culture. culture derives from the latin word culture, which means cultivated materials and human culti

30、vated nature. among various definitions, the first generally accepted and comparatively complete definition is presented by an anthropologist sir edward tylor in primitive cultures (1871). he defines culture as that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, customs, and any o

31、ther capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of a society. some linguists consider culture as the deed and thought of a society. some famous translation theorists define culture as the way of life of a peculiar community, which is expressed by a language. afterwards, scholars enriched th

32、e concept of culture by adding material to it and divided it into three parts in broad terms. 1) material culture, which is manifested by various productions made by mankind. for instance, drinks, foods, buildings, dresses, tools, etc. 2) spiritual culture, which is presented by the way and the resu

33、lt of mens thinking process, including beliefs, ideas, views, values, outlook on life, etc. 3) social systems and customs, which means peoples way of life and social regulations, involving laws, customs, education, history, etc. but this classification is not the terminal one. other scholars, such a

34、s eugene a. nida, view ecology a part of culture. so generally speaking, culture is like an umbrella, covering every aspect of our life, from environment to cultivated nature, from social productions to spiritual works.4. relationship between idiom and cultureas has been noted, an idiom is the essen

35、ce of a language. therefore, the relationship between idiom and culture is just like the relationship between language and culture. first of all, language is a part of culture, but not the full content of culture, since material culture is manifested by mans productions. furthermore, language mirror

36、s culture. the most important function of language is to reflect productions made by humankind, peoples outlook on life and the development of a community. last but not least, language is influenced and shaped by culture. the development of culture promotes the creation of new words and expressions

37、in a language. besides, every aspect of culture influences language directly, either material or spiritual culture. owing to this kind of close relationship, language is described as the carrier of culture and the mirror of cultural characteristics. therefore, idioms -the refined part of language, a

38、re influenced deeply by culture. they are culturally characterized. as is well known, different nations possess different cultures. as a result, idioms of different nations must be affected by their peculiar cultures. now, let us take a look at the effect of every field of culture on the appearance

39、of english idiom.1) idiom and history in history, there are many wars among countries. with the high frequency of war and the invasion of enemy, the culture of the stronger country also changes the culture of the weaker country. in 43 bc, the romans conquered the britain. along with the conquest, th

40、e custom, clothes, life style of rome were infiltrated to britain. language also changed with it. in english idioms we can find the trace of the roman culture. for example, “do in rome as the romans do”, the chinese meaning is 在羅馬就要過羅馬人的生活即入鄉隨俗. “rome was not built in a day”, the chinese meaning is

41、羅馬不是一天建成的即偉業非一日之功. “all roads lead to rome”, the chinese meaning is 條條道路通羅馬即殊途同歸, etc.2) idiom and religion religion is a kind of cultural phenomenon. idiom has a closed relation with culture; therefore it can reflect the effect of religion on language. in english, there are more idioms related to c

42、hristianity. for example, “old adam” is an english idiom from a story of genesis. the god created the first man named adam then made a woman out of the rib of this man named eve. god let them live in the garden of eden; do not allow them to eat the fruits in the tree planted in the garden. but, one

43、day, they eat the fruits secretly tempted by the snake. at last, god found out this quickly. in order to punish them, god expelled them out of the garden of eden. so this idiom occurred, it means 人類原始的罪惡本性即本性的罪惡.3) idiom and tradition tradition of every country is different from that of the other co

44、untries. for example, english people have good sense of dog. they think that dog is a kind of loyal animal and regard it as their good friend. but chinese people dislike dog and only regard it as the inferior animal. as a result, people of these two countries create some idioms related to dog, which

45、 have sharp differences. in english, “love me, love my dog”, means 愛吾及物. “lucky dog”, means 幸運的人.but in chinese, they are some idioms, such as 狗仗人勢, 狗血噴人. 4) idiom and weather the climate of britain is the typical temperate oceanic climate, rainy and foggy. the annual rainfall of the whole britain i

46、s about 1016mm. moreover, it is foggy on the island, especially in winter. because of this kind of weather, some idioms appeared related to the weather of britain. the following are some examples: (1) rain cats and dogs: rain very heavily.傾盆大雨 (2) fog-bound: trapped by fog.因霧受阻 (3) it never rains it

47、 pours: misfortunes usually cone in large numbers.不下則已,一下傾盆 from the above we can see that if you know the culture behind the idiom, it can help you understand and translate the idiom better. culture contains lots of fields, such as custom, art, belief, sports, etc. every field has its own idioms; t

48、hey take up a large proportion in language. in order to communicate with native speaker without misunderstanding, we should be familiar with the idioms, translating techniques of english idiom and the relevant knowledge about it.iii. several translating ways of english idiomtranslation is an art, a

49、bilingual art, which is considered as the cultural bridge and media between two languages. as there are wide differences in vocabulary and syntax between the oriental and occidental languages, translation is no easy job, especially the translation of english idiom. therefore, in order to keep the fl

50、avor of the original english idioms as well as cater for all the chinese readers, translation skills should be reasonably employed in the process of translating. so in this paper several translation methods of english idiom are presented, such as the following translating ways and skills.1. literal

51、translationliteral translation refers to the complete representation of the original when the original almost accords with the chinese language in the form of vocabulary, grammatical structure and rhetorical device. in the terms of idiom translation, literal translation can keep the original form of

52、 english idioms without causing confusion in meaning.generally speaking, literal translation means not to alter the original words and sentences. and strictly speaking, literal translation strives to keep the flavor and style of the original, takes sentences as its basic units and takes the whole te

53、xt into consideration in the course of translation. furthermore, it strives to reproduce both the content and the style of the original works and retains as much as possible the figures of speech. for example: when i am in trouble, she offers fuel in snowy weather to help me go through it.a: 當我有困難時，

54、她幫助我度過難關。這簡直是雪中送炭。b: 當我有困難時，她給予我幫助使我度過難關。 from the above two chinese versions of “offer fuel in snowy weather”, we can see a is better than b, because the english idiom “offer fuel in snowy weather” and “雪中送炭” in chinese is perfectly equivalent. but b can not express the original meaning accurately.

55、 so in this case, literal translation should be employed.there is another example “she is as beautiful as snow white”.a: 她非常漂亮. b: 她像白雪公主一樣漂亮. it is not difficult to tell which chinese version is better. the example given above contains a simile; she is compared to snow white. although there is no snow white in chinese culture, we can know that snow white is the most beautiful girl in the world from the english fairy story named snow white and seven dwarfs. so version b can not lead chinese readers into misunderstanding,