Study on the Translation of Chinese and English Idioms from a Cultural Perspective从文化角度看英汉习语翻译

【摘要】習语是语言文化的结晶，缺少了习语，语言将会变得索然无味。习语在语言中的应用比比皆是，在写作或演说中适当地使用习语将会使篇章增色，加强语言的力量使语言更形象。习语被广泛应用于各类写作和演说中，如在文学作品中，在政治演说中，甚至在美国，习语都成为辩论中唇枪舌战的武器。美国第16届总统亚伯拉罕·林肯在他一篇著名演说中引用了圣经里的一句话：“互相分裂的房子无法站立。”来号召美国人民团结一致反对黑奴制度，停止内战。美国人对圣经的内容都很熟悉，他们为此深受感动。林肯废奴运动也取得了很好的结果。既然习语在语言运用中有如此重要地位，那么恰到好处地翻译习语将有助于跨文化交流。中英不同的文化使得英汉习语在表达上有很大差异，也使得翻译中容易产生误译，因此加强对英汉习语文化差异的了解有着重要意义。

【关键词】习语 文化 习语翻译

Study on the Translation of Chinese and English Idioms from a Cultural Perspective

Abstract： Idioms， having universal appeal， are widely recognized as the essence or the crystallization of language. Without idioms language would become dull and dry， whereas an appropriate use of them in speech and writing will add much to variety strength and vividness of the language. Idioms are widely used in almost all kinds of speeches and writings： they can be found in literary works， political articles and etc. even debates in the United States are often interspersed with idioms which become verbal weapons that are difficult to argue against. The 16th US President Abraham Lincoln once quoted an idiom derived from the Bible： “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” in one of his famous speech， calling on people to fight against slavery and Civil War. American people， who were familiar with the Bible， were greatly impressed and Lincolns antislavery campaign at last yielded fruitful result. Thus idioms hold an important position in language use， an adequate translation of idioms is not only helpful but also essential in intercultural communication.

Key words： Idioms； culture； the translation of idioms

1. Main Classification of Idioms

Idioms are commonly recognized as the essence or the crystallization of language. In a broad sense， idioms include slang， allusions， proverbs and set phrases.

1.1 Slang

Slang expressions are dialectic， vulgar and colloquial language drawing numerous sources from the shoptalk of every profession： trade， sport， school， etc. They draw on source from local peoples life experiences or their customs and are widely used in informal speech and writing such as drama， TV serials， monologue in the novel but are rarely used in formal contexts.

1.2 Allusion

Allusions of idioms are actually origins and national characteristics of idioms. On account of the different social background， customs and religious， some idioms are sure to have allusions to myth and legend， history and classic. Their meanings are much more remote from their literal senses. Without knowledge of the allusions made in idioms we can hardly read between the lines and catch what they imply.

1.3 Proverb

Proverb is often defined as the wisdom of many and the wit of one， stating commonly experienced or for the purpose of giving wise advice to others. Proverbs are the wisdom of people， so it is common people who have created a great number of proverbs that are terse， colloquial， vivid and charged with life through their practical work. Their varied proverbs are from all walks of life.

1.4 Set Phrases

One most important group of idioms are set phrases whose form is set and many of them are rather rigid and cannot show up in any other forms. There is an inexhaustible storehouse of set phrases that play an important role in English language. For example， the origin of “to kick the bucket” can be traced back to a religious ceremony of baptism in Christianity. As far as a Christian is concerned， his/her important three stages， birth， marriage and death， are closely connected with a religious ceremony： baptism. A Christian needs to receive baptism from an administrator when he/she was born， get married in the church with blessings of a certain minister and be baptized again when he/she is going to die”. So the idiom “kick the bucket” is a euphemistic expression connoting “to die” referring to the death of a Christian in the ceremony of being baptized.

2. Understanding Idioms and Translation from Cultural Contexts

2.1 Relationship between Idioms and Culture

Idioms are usually highly specialized in meaning and closely tied to distinctive cultural features and cultural attitude. It is believed that idioms are the most culturally-loaded element in any languages vocabulary. As the kernel and cream of a language， idioms are usually closely with the historical backgrounds， economic life， geographical environment， customs and mental states of the native speakers. As a matter of fact， idioms have been accepted by people and handed down

作者簡介：雷淇婷（1994-），女，湖南常德人，湘潭大学兴湘学院本科生，英语专业。

to the present day because of their universal value. As such， they can be regarded as the sinew of the language. Without idioms， language would lack color and become uninteresting.

2.2 Relationship between Translation and Culture

Translation is the transfer of the meaning of a text which may be a word or a book from one language to another for a new readership. Since language is part of culture， translation of language cannot simply be the transfer of linguistic symbols. Over the recent twenty years， with the deepening of cultural studies， it has been commonly accepted that translation involves both language and culture. Translation deals not only with turning the content in one language into another， but also with turning the cultural connotation in one language into another cultural form.

3. Discussion of Idioms Translation

3.1 Literal Translation Plus Annotation

The translation of literary works since the May 4th movement， has introduced many new and modern words and ideas along with the foreign original works to the Chinese language. and we now use many idioms originally coming from foreign languages， especially western languages like English.

Both English and Chinese have a lot of idioms which mostly have allusions or include certain historical stories. All of them have close relevance to culture. If we translate them with literal approach， sometimes we can achieve the two purposes but not always. Because many idioms cannot be understood clearly without their historical backgrounds or their origins. In this case， the translators have to take advantage of annotation.

3.2 Free Translation

Though the difference between Chinese and English always exists， sometimes we can find the similarity among the two languages. Chinese idioms and English idioms contain the similar contents forms such as picturesque metaphors or other rhetoric devices. In such way， we can find the point of crossing between English and Chinese idioms， which is so similar and common to the two countries people. So the translation then would be perfect. This approach vividly embodies the common source of wisdom of the oriental and occidental people. I will illustrate this skill through following examples：

Accidents will happen天有不測风云

ins and outs来龙去脉

A close mouth catches no flies. 病从口入，祸从口出

3.3 Image-shift Translation

Every national group has its specific way to convey concepts， because their cultures and customs are so different. Thus during translation a translator should adept ways of expression to characteristics of the target language. For instance， Chinese idioms"一箭双雕"or “一举两得” in English "to kill two birds with one stone"， while in Germany， it refers to "to kill two flies with an beat". The values of objective things are different from one another in different language， which manifests different relevance and different implications. Animal words are a case in this point.

Following are some examples of translation embracing different images of animals in Chinese and English idioms：

懒羊嫌毛重-- A lazy sheep thinks its wool heavy.

狐假虎威--donkey in a lion's hide

蠢得像头猪-- as stupid as a goose

Conclusion

Idioms constitute the kernel and cream of a language. Chinese and English have developed the abundant and variety of idioms， which make themselves more vivid， more succinct and more expressive. With complexity in culture， idioms take many different forms or structures， and constitute obstacles to their translation. Therefore how to solve the cultural factors in idioms is a touchstone of successful rendering of idioms.

Culture is reflected in image， emotion， structure and logic of idioms. But culture is not an insurmountable obstacle. A translator needs to avoid possible cross-cultural misunderstanding and meanwhile make efforts to introduce the source language culture to the target readers， as people from any culture background are capable of understanding a foreign culture provided that it is properly represented.

In this paper several methods of idioms translation have been proposed. There are surely some more methods to be adopted. But which method to employ will completely depend on a situation or context and the importance of culture elements concerned. Even the same idiom may be translated in various ways in different contexts. As a result of complexity in English and Chinese idioms， it is better to integrate principle with flexibility in translating their images.