On the Translation of Chinese and English Idioms 英语论文.doc

学院 专业 年级 班 姓名 学号 考试课程： 考试地点： 考试时间： 年 月 日装订线 考查专用答题纸题号一二三四五六七八九十总分核分人得分阅卷人考生注意：答题时请注明题号on the translation of chinese and english idiomsabstracts: language is of importance in the part of culture, and also a carrier of culture. since different nations have their own unique and abundant deposits of culture, it is crucial to know their culture and language. as the essence of a language, idioms are unique and fixed expressions which are formed in using a language. then the translation of english and chinese idioms may face some difficulties. this paper involves the origin and the features of the idioms, and the cultural differences of idioms involved in chinese and english. according to these differences, we conclude some strategies and principles on translating the chinese and english idioms.key words: chinese and english idioms, cultural differences, strategies idiom is one kind of a conventional special language form accumulated in the long-term social practice. it concludes phrases, allusions, proverbs, aphorisms, old sayings, slangs and two-part allegorical saying in chinese. the geographic environment, social customs, religious beliefs and historical allusions cause distinctions between the chinese and english idioms. then we focus on the level of culture to illustrate the translation of chinese and english idioms.1. the origins and the features of idioms in english and chinese.idiom is a fixed phrase or a short sentence through a long-term use, which is passed, screened, tempered from generation to generation and become the essence of language and culture.chinese and english idioms have similarities in meaning and the forms of expressions, as well as some obvious differences. chinese idioms mainly come from the chinese texts, such as the four books and the five classics. besides, they also are collected form fables, myths and legends. on the contrary, the english idioms origin from the bible, the complete works of shakespeare, the greek stories and the aesops fables. besides, short and meaningful is the vital features of english and chinese idioms. however, the semantic unity and the stability of structure also make the translation between them uneasily.2. cultural differences display in following four aspects:(1) differences in living environment england is island country, while china is an inland and depend closely on land, which lead to idioms differ in various aspects. for example: take the wind out of someones sails(使某人狼狈), at sea(茫然，不知所措)，three sheets in the wind(酩酊大醉)，taken aback(吃一惊，被弄糊涂)，stand aloof(避开，不参与).but we describe one spend lots of money in english is “spend money like dirty” instead of “spending money like water”(挥金如土). another examples: it is mending your sail when it is fine weather(未雨绸缪 ), all the rats desert the sinking ship(树倒猢孙散). 1(2) custom differencesthe most obvious difference in custom is the attitude towards animals. dog is honest, reliable, brave and smart in english countries such as: gay dog, be top dog, you are a lucky dog and a good dog deserves a good bone; while it is despised in china such as: beat a dog into the water, a homeless or stray dog. also, dragon is lucky in china while a kind devil in western countries.(3) religious aspectsmost westerners religious belief is christianity, so much of idioms are from bible such as: god helps those who help themselves, be at the air，go to hell. 2 but people in china affected by buddhism and daoism: seek the temporary to tackle the present emergency, merciful heart.(4) historical allusionshistorical allusions which related in long history result in much difficulties in translation. for example: beat the air(源自寓言故事，指承担危险的事情，替别人冒险)，), between scylla and charybdis(源自希腊神话，指进退两难), a pandoras box(（潘多拉之盒棗灾难、麻烦、祸害的根源）. 3守株待兔: stand by the stamp to wait for the hare to dash themselves against it- trust to chances and windfalls.此地无银三百两: a saying that means a guilty person gives himself away by conspicuously protesting his innocents. in english-speaking countries, most idioms are from bible stories, greek tales and shakespeares works, for example: caviar to the general(源自莎士比亚戏剧，指阳春白雪); the trojan house (特洛伊木马, 喻指内部颠覆集团, 起内部破坏作用的因素 ); all is not gold that glitters. (发光的不一定都是金子 ) 43. the principles of english and chinese idioms translationdue to the impact of the relationship between images and semantic, the translating of english and chinese has its own complexity. therefore, some principles such as veracity, figurativeness and readability are indispensable in the translation of english and chinese idioms. accordingly, there followed four strategies: literal translation, free translation, set of translation and mix of literal and free translation. 5the principles are as follows:(1). veracityit means that we should be loyalty to the original text as much as possible. not only should we express the implicative meaning of the idioms, but also we need convey the lively image of original text.(2). figurativenessowning to the influence caused by the difference of geographical condition, custom and religious faith, people have different explains and opinions on the same objects. it is necessary for us make some changes on the image of idioms follow this principle in translation. such as remain the image or transform the image or even exceed the image.(3). readability we should attach to the importance of the receptivity and the foreign language level of the reader rather than keep the style of the text and the culture background when translate the idioms. only in this can we make out the text. 4. the strategies of english and chinese idioms translation(1). literal translationregarded as an important method in translation, it aims to express the hole meaning of the idiom by reasonable explanation and imagination instead translate it word by word. for example: you cant make a silk purse out of a sows ear. in chinese it means”母猪的耳朵做不成丝线袋”,then we can extend it to “朽木不可雕也”.6(2). free translationin the idiom of english and chinese, it is similar in meaning but differ in image and style. on account of these phenomena, we can use this strategy to keep the original meaning and fit to the idiom habit. for example: one boy is a boy, two boys half a boy, three boys no boy. in chinese it means “一个和尚挑水喝，两个和尚抬水喝，三个和尚没水喝”.(3).set of translationthere are quite a number of english idioms and chinese idioms accord whit each other both in content and form. they are not only have the same meaning and rhetorical style, but also contain the identical image and metaphor. that is why we use this strategy. it can get the result of unit in appearance and thought. for example: walls have ears. in chinese it means “隔墙有耳”(4) mix of literal and free translationthe free translation emphasis on the similarity in form, while the literal translation lies on the similarity in sprit. so the mix of these two strategies can make it express the meaning clearer. for example: 棺材上画老虎吓死.7 in english it means “painting a tiger on a coffin(lit)tofrighten the dead, (pun)to frighten to death”. in this example, both use of free translation -“to frighten the dead” and literal translation-“to frighten to death”, show a more distinct picture to the rea