Cultural Dissimilarities and Idiom Translation2.doc

cultural dissimilarities and idiom translationcui jing ren huaiping 崔静 任怀平 abstract: chinese and english idioms carved with their own cultural characteristics account for a great part in translation. in this thesis, the effect of cultural dissimilarities is analyzed on the translation of chinese and english idioms, and specific approaches drawn to deal with the problem. key words: cultural barriers; chinese and english idioms; cultural dissimilarities introduction language can not exist without culture as its component. as part of language, idioms that include sayings and proverbs are characterized by their richness and vividness in their concise expressions. in translation, this special language form is greatly involved. in a broad sense, human beings share common culture and cultural similarities are the overlaps of cultural features between languages. when idioms of the source language is similar to those of the target language in terms of choice of words, collocation and social meanings, translation becomes easy because of the positive influence of cultural similarities. but a term in one language may not have a counterpart in another language. the main differences between chinese and english idioms lie not only in the language expression ways of vocabulary, grammar, and rhetoric devices, but also in their different cultural backgrounds, because chinese and english idioms originate from different cultures. thus, in translation of idioms, much attention should be paid to the dissimilarities of cultures as well as languages themselves. 1. cultural dissimilarities in any language, there is a profound cultural intention relative to its own physiology, convention, and religious belief, etc. eugene nida has categorized culture into five kinds: (1) ecology culture, (2) material culture, (3) social culture, (4) religion culture, and (5) language culture. english and chinese idioms, closely related to their own cultures, convey different cultural features that result in great effect in idiom translation.1.1 regional cultural dissimilaritiesregion cultures refer to the cultures formed by different regional environment and living conditions. different language forms, as partial reflection of region cultures, are applied by different nations to show their attitudes towards things or phenomena. briton is an island country where navigation business was in the lead while chinese have lived in mainland and cultivated a love for farming and land life. so saying someone is extravagant, we say “spend money like water” in english, but “挥金如土” in chinese. furthermore, there many english idioms about ship and water have no counterparts in chinese, e.g. “to rest on ones oars” (暂时歇一歇), “ to keep ones head above water”（奋力图存）, “all at sea”（不知所措）, “as close as an oyster”（守口如瓶）, “to trim the sails to the wind”（顺势前进）, etc. and there many chinese idioms related to land and farming can find no equivalence in english, both in meaning and in image, such as “立足之地” (a place to live in), “平分秋色”(to have equal shares of honor, power, etc.), “叶落归根” (to end ones days on ones native soil), “瓜熟蒂落” (at the right time things become easy.), “桑梓之情” (the friendship of fellow countrymen), “男耕女织”(man tilling the farm and wife weaving- living a happy country life), etc. 1.2 conventional cultural dissimilaritiesdue to different conventions, different nations have obvious cultural dissimilarities in metaphor and aesthetic standards. the representative one is embodied in peoples attitude towards dogs. a dog is a kind of low animal in china and dogs in chinese idioms are often used in a derogatory sense, as is reflected in sayings like “狐朋狗友”“狗急跳墙”“狗拿耗子，多管闲事”etc. in western countries, dogs are usually considered as mans loyal friends. the word “dog” in english idioms is neutral in its connotation. the image of dogs is often linked with human behavior. for example, when we say “every dog has his day.” , we mean that everyone may enjoy good luck or success sooner or later. and the idiom “sick as a dog” means seriously sick. similarly, the meaning of “dog-tired” is “very tired”.1.3 religious cultural dissimilaritiesreligion cultures, mainly formed by religious beliefs and consciousness, are the main components of human culture. different religion cultures reflect different attitudes towards admiration and taboo of different nations. in the west, religions play an important part in social life and ideological field, embodied in custom and art. the bible, the holy book of christian religion, is one of the chief sources from which english idiomatic expressions sprung. a great number of bible coinages and idioms have passed into daily english speech with no knowledge of their origin. for instance, “a thorn in the flesh”, “to turn the other cheek”, “the apple of ones eyes”, “a drop in the bucket”, “wolf in sheeps clothing”, “ pride goes before a fall”, “do as you would be done by” and many more. chinese culture is deeply affected by taoism, buddhism and confucius, among which the effect of buddhism is the most inveterate, because buddhism has a long history in china. so chinese idioms obviously reflect the influence of buddhism with their connotations far beyond their religious meanings throng long-terms use, e.g. “借花献佛”“闲时不烧香，临时抱佛脚”，“不看僧面看佛面”，etc.1.4 historical cultural dissimilaritieshistory cultures are formed by special history developments and historical legacies, and composed of allusion, decrees and regulations, myths, poems, ancient books and records. among them, allusion is most important and national. chinese and english enjoy different historical orbits. a lot of chinese idioms carved with obvious national characteristics are closely related to han culture. e.g. “有眼不识泰山”“暗渡陈仓”，“逼上梁山”. many english idioms are formed on the basis of famous historical events, e.g. “ cross the rubicon and burn ones boats (bridges)”. in ancient rome, once caesar crossed the rubicon with his fighters and then burned all the boats they had taken. he just wanted his fighters to realize that they had no way back already. some idioms come from literal works , e.g. “ catch-22 situation ”, etc. and shakespeares plays are the richest literary source of english idioms, such as , “to flutter the dovecotes”, “ pine the devil his due”, “ to wear ones heart on ones sleeves”, “ the primrose path and ones salad day”.2. principles and methods adopted in idiom translationcultural dissimilarities are a great barrier to idiom translation. only fully comprehend the cultural connotations of both chinese and english idioms can we make proper translation. some principles and methods adopted here respectively have their advantages and disadvantages.2.1 literal translation when their cultural similarities adjust positively, literal translation is used without violating the language rule and destroying expressive effect of idioms. but their messages in translation can be reduced difficultly by the readership of the target language, e.g. (1) it must be a great comfort to you to have all the news at first hand. 能够获得第一手消息，对你一定是莫大的安慰。(2) well, what else is there for me to do? you hold all the cards in your hands. 可是，我还有什么别的办法呢？所有的牌都捏在你手里。2.2 free translationwhen there is cultural dissimilarities between the source language and the target language, free translation is usually used in idiom translation, especially when vocabulary having weak cultural meaning in translating their messages. by way of this method, the content of the original idiom remains, but its form, its image or its rhetoric color may be lost in the translation, e.g.(1) i must go. i have other fish to fry.我得走了。我还有其他重要事情。 (2) 他今年又名落孙山了。this year he failed again in the entrance examination for college study. 2.3 equivalent translationwhen there exist cultural similarities, equivalent translation can be used. then chinese idioms and english idioms though may have the same conceptual meanings, their semantic meanings are different because of cultural dissimilarities. when an idiom functions as a semantic unit, this method is easily acceptable to readership in risk of confusing cultural characteristics, e.g.(1) 自食其言-to eat ones own wordsthe chinese means to break ones promise while the english means to be forced to take back ones words, usually accompanied by a sense of humiliation. (2) to blow ones own trumpet -各吹各的号the english idiom means to praise oneself: to call attention to ones own success. but the chinese idiom means each person doing his own thing.2.4 transferred translationsome correspondingly stable idioms, rich in contents and metaphorical images, are formed in the development of english and chinese languages. in translating these idioms, the original metaphorical images usually be transferred in the target language owning to cultural dissimilarities. e.g. (1) at the end of ones rope -山穷水尽(2) 那家伙胆小如鼠。that fellow is as timid as a hare. but in practice, we should pay attention to the idioms with typical national culture. for example, wed better not translate “as wise as solomon” into “智如诸葛”, because these two idioms are both branded with their own cultural and historical background. then we may add some substance, usually notes or interpretative words, to express their original meanings more faithfully. e.g.(1) i look at the sunlight coming in at the open door through the porch, and there i see a stray sheep- i dont mean a sinner, but mutton; 我往阳光射进敞着门的门廊那儿瞧，看见了一只迷了路的羊-我说的这只羊不是罪人， 而是宰肉吃的羊；注：基督教把“迷途的羊”比作误入歧途得罪人。(2) they were too strong to be opposed head on. to do that was