A Simple Analysis of English Proverb Translation under Functional Equivalence Theory

王闯

【Abstract】English proverbs are fixed oral sayings widespread in English-speaking countries，expressing profound meanings in simple words.The content of English proverbs involves every aspect of social life of English-speaking countries，and the form presents the unique linguistic characteristics of English language.This paper explores the translation of English proverbs in the view of functional equivalence theory.

【Key words】English proverb； translation； functional； equivalence

【摘要】英语谚语是流传于英语国家的口头固定用语，用简单通俗的话来反映深刻的道理，内容涉及社会生活的各方面，富有独特的英语语言特点。本文将从功能对等理论视角浅析英语谚语的翻译。

【关键词】英语谚语 翻译 功能对等 翻译策略

Features of English Proverb Translation

Generally speaking，a proverb is a simple and concrete saying popularly known and repeated，which expresses a truth，based on common sense or the practical experience of humanity.They are orally spoken fixed terms of everyday life，reflecting profound truth with simple words.They are widely used in literary works and daily life since the content of proverbs relates to all aspects of the society and the appropriate use of proverbs makes dialogues and articles more lively and humorous，meanwhile imparting stronger expressive forces.

English proverbs，formed through the life and working experiences of various English speaking ethnic groups，are meaningful statement stereotypes popular in English speaking countries.Where content is concerned，English proverbs summarize the experience of people's struggles of life，teach people lessons and experience learned before，and contain abundant cultural information.While in terms of linguistic features，English proverbs are often simple and concise，well-structured，and employ rhetoric devices.To translate proverbs is difficult and the reason lies in mainly two aspects.First，proverbs reflect every aspect of social life and contain abundant cultural connotations； second，proverbs are always in simple words with special forms which are often exclusive to the original language.As a result，the translator needs to first understand fully the profound meanings of proverbs，and then express the profound meanings in appropriate forms consonant with the original forms，making a perfect combination of meaning and form.As we all know，translating activities are not only a process of transfer between two languages，but also a communication between cultures.Carrying cultural connotation，with well-structured language，proverbs has become one of the difficult tasks in translation.

English Proverb Translation under the Guidance of Functional Equivalence Theory

Eugene Nidas most influential theory is the functional equivalence theory，he attaches much attention to the readers response of translated texts，for the translations are made for the readers，and he holds that “translating means communicating，and this process depends on what is received by the persons hearing or reading a translation” （Nida 2001： 86）.Accordingly，functional equivalence is stated in terms of a comparison of the way in which the original receptors understood and appreciated the text and the way in which receptors of the translated text understand and appreciate the translated text （Ibid： 86）.According to functional equivalence theory，to decide whether a translation is good，the criteria should be if the readers in the receptor language understand and appreciate the translated text in the same manner and to the same degree as the readers in the source language did （Ma 2003： 19）.In order to achieve the equivalence of readers response，it is necessary to achieve the equivalence of both meaning and form to the original text.Then the translator，to translate the English proverbs well，has two fundamental tasks： first，to convey faithfully the linguistic and cultural information of the English proverbs； second，to make the Chinese expression natural and in proper form.The first task is the most basic role and the priority of all English proverb translating，without which no functional equivalence can be made； the second task is to ensure the effect of the Chinese text.

According to the functional equivalence theory good translation can lead to readers response equivalence between readers in the source language and readers in the receptor language，which requires that in the process of translation both meaning and form are of great importance but meaning is in the first place.So the principle of translation should be： the translated text bears both the equal meaning and form of the original text，while the meaning is the most important to be presented.This principle can guide the translation of English proverbs well，since the features of English proverbs lie in the cultural connotation and the language.Under the guidance of this principle，we put forward the following translation strategies and their application range.

Literal Translation

For some English proverbs there is a one-to-one correspondence between the English words and Chinese words in both meaning and form and no adjustment is needed in translating.Literal translation is the best choice.For example.

Knowledge is power.知识就是力量。

Health is happiness.健康是福。

Time is money.时间就是金钱。

Some English proverbs carry cultural connotation which cannot cause misunderstanding or offend the target language readers，we can choose literal translation because the input of the original texts content，form，spirit，rhetoric and ethnic characteristics into translated texts is enough to perfectly present the cultural connotations and language features of the original texts.For example，“A bird in hand is worth two in the bush” can be literally translated as “一鸟在手胜过双鸟在林”，and “The early bird catches the worm” as “早起的鸟儿有虫吃”.

Free Translation

Free translation is to translate the original texts into natural expressions of the target language both in wording and sentence patterns.Free translation has three characteristics： first，the translated text expresses the same profound meaning as the original text； second，the translated text uses the natural vocabularies，language structures and grammars of the target language； third，the translated text is easy for the readers in the receptor language to understand.

Under the principles of functional equivalence theory，free translation is of great use to translate most English proverbs，such as when a proverbs literal meaning and figurative meaning differ so greatly that literal translation cannot convey the exact meaning of the original text，and any extra explanation would make the translation seem too long，then the translator would have to break the structure of the original text and abandon the original image，then select the right words and proper images in Chinese to express the same meaning.

For example，in the proverb “Life is not all beer and skittles”，beer is a drink usually drunk in leisure time，and skittles a popular English pub game which is the pre-cursor to todays ten-pin bowling.So the two words stands for having a good time，and the proverb means that life is not always filled with happiness.If literal translated，the translation would be “人生不都是啤酒和撞球游戏”，which hardly makes sense，so it can be freely translated as “人生非尽乐事” which well presents the designative meaning of the original text.In the proverb “Amiens was taken by the fox and retaken by the lion” Amiens is a city in north France.It is said that Amiens was first taken by Lewis the Eleventh，and then shortly retaken by Charles the Bold by violence.It describes a situation of turbulence and being unsafe.Tough the image “fox” and “lion” have similar figurative meanings in Chinese，the city of Amiens is unknown to most Chinese readers，so the literal translation will still cause difficulty in understanding.It is better to directly give out the figurative meaning and translate it as “国无宁日”.

A special form of free translation is to apply synonymous Chinese proverbs.Western people and Chinese people share some similar understandings on some truths of life，so some English proverbs are similar to some Chinese ones in terms of the meaning.But not every word has a counterpart Chinese word，or the literal translation makes no sense or difficulty in understanding.As a result，applying synonymous Chinese proverbs can work to present the meanings of the original texts.For example，“Give a dog a bad name and hang him” can be translated as “欲加之罪何患无辞”，“Every little bits help” as “积少成多”，“Creep before you walk” as “循序渐进”，and “There are plenty of fish in the sea” as “天涯何处无芳草.”

Literal Translation Plus Free Translation

For some English proverbs，literal translation cant fully present the profound meanings，while free translation would lose the cultural connotations of some special images.Then it is necessary to put literal translation and free translation together，and the cultural connotations of the original texts can be fully presented.

For example，“There is no rose without a thorn” can be translated as “玫瑰都有刺，有甜必有苦”，“ A good dog deserves a good bone” as “好狗得好骨，功臣应受奖”，and “Dont hallo till you are out of the wood” as “森林路未了切莫先欢叫，人未出险境别高兴太早”.

Conclusion

According to the features of English proverbs，the functional equivalence theory has great guiding significance for English proverbs that the principles can be applied to resolve the problems and that the theory helps to find a good principle for English proverbs translation，under which different translation strategies effect for the process of translation.

As for the presenting of the cultural connotations of English proverbs，different translation strategies have their own range of use and specific effects.As for the presenting of the language features of English proverbs，there is no specific translation strategy for most language feature and every strategy may work for presenting them，since the presenting of language features of English proverbs lies in the presenting of cultural connotations.

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