A Perspective of culture into the Translation of Chinese and English Idioms.doc

a perspective of culture into the translation of chinese and english idiomsintroduction1.1 aim of the studyit is a long history since language and culture have been linked to each other in research. to discuss translation by proceeding from the relationship between language and culture is a new topic as well as a rich field for research. widely recognized as the crystallization of language, idioms have also become the hot topic of the academic circle with their universal appeal. it has been noticed that, until now, much of the previous work on the study of english and chinese idioms has often been concerned with definitions, classifications, features, origins, and basic translation method, etc. these aspects have been made incisive studies by researchers; however, as the gem of a nations culture, idioms should have more connection with culture. it is the colorful cultural information, national flavor and the charm of alien culture that should be deeply studied and carried forward relying on the strength of translation. as juri lotman maintains, “no single language is not rooted in a specific culture; neither does a culture is not centered by the structure of some certain natural language.” (juri lotman, 1987) therefore, one can get a more satisfying result by considering cultural factors in the same time as studying the source language and rendering it to the targeted language. from this perspective, translators should not only translate the image and rhetoric devices of sl but also its national and local flavor and pay much attention to its cultural divergences. in view of the inadequacy and incomprehensive research done in the idiom translation field and the great significance of the influence of cultural factors on idiom translation, the present paper will make a comprehensive study of english and chinese idioms in the cultural perspective. in the present paper, the author will elaborate the relationship between language, culture and idiom translation, followed by a comprehensive analysis of influence of diversified cultural factors on idiom translation. by combining with a literature review of some translation theories and grices non-natural meaning theory, the author summarizes a few idiom translation methods and applies them in specific example idioms. it is hoped that what the author presents in this paper may serve as a useful tool for idiom translation from the cultural perspective. and the study would yield some useful insights into a deeper field on idiom translation.1.2 layout of the thesisthe following is a brief introduction to each chapter in order to make the thesis easily accessible.the first part gives a brief introduction to the purpose and layout of this paper and the specific content of each chapter. the main body of the paper can be divided into four chapters.the first chapter introduces language and idiom, where the concept of idiom is first given followed by an elaboration ranging from its definitions, classification, features, to changes in its developing process. finally, the status of idioms in language field is pointed out. this chapter aims to give a general outline of english and chinese idioms. the second chapter mainly discusses the interrelationship between language, culture and idiom translation. it introduces different definitions of culture, the relationship between language and culture as well as various kinds of cultural factors that may influence language and idiom translation. in the latter part of this chapter, different associative meanings and cultural and social origins will be contrasted and analyzed. the major obstacle in the way of idiom translation is the cultural differences between english and chinese idioms. therefore, this part proceeds from those aspects such as regional culture, custom and habits, religious culture and historical and literary quotations and introduces a good number of english and chinese idioms with different cultural connotations. it tends to see the cultural divergence in idiom translation in the cultural perspective. in the third chapter, the author makes a brief review of those major translation theories and principles in both chinese and foreign translation history. this chapter also introduces grices non-natural meaning theory and tries to clear the cultural obstacle by using grices theory. the last chapter is the core of this paper. on the basis of the comprehensive introduction of idiom and the brief review of translation theories, this chapter summarizes the inner relationship between culture and translation. it also gives more than ten kinds of idiom translation methods and skills according to english and chinese idioms different origins, cultural contexts and cultural connotations attached by many representative examples. it is believed that a contrastive study on the various aspects of cultural factors of english and chinese idioms can be both illuminating and rewarding to the study of idiom translation and cultural communication. meanwhile, a good mastery of basic translation principles and criteria and the rich living examples can add depth and accuracy to idiom translation.chapter 1 language and idioms1.1 the concept of languagemany animal and even plant species communicate with each other. humans are not unique in this capability, but are different from those by using languages. human language is unique in being a symbolic communication system that is learned instead of biologically inherited. such a system includes its rules for combining its components, such as words and it is used by a nation, people, or other distinct community. symbols in a language system are sounds or things which have meanings given to them by the users. originally, the meaning is arbitrarily assigned. for instance, the english word dog does not in any way physically resemble the animal it stands for. all symbols have a material form but the meaning cannot be discovered by mere sensory examination of their forms. they are abstractions.a major advantage of human language being a learned symbolic communication system is that it is infinitely flexible. meanings can be changed and new symbols created. this is evidenced by the fact that new words are invented daily and the meanings of old ones change to meet the need of the time or the consistent changing culture of a certain group of people. for example, the english word nice now generally means pleasing, agreeable, polite, and kind. in the 15th century it meant foolish, wanton, lascivious, and even wicked. languages evolve in response to changing historical and social conditions. some language transformations typically occur in a generation or less. for instance, the slang words used by older generation in the us were very likely different from those that the youngsters use today. a person born in the fifties probably are familiar with many technical terms, such as text messaging and high definition tv, that were not in general use even a decade ago.as stated above, language is a tool for cultural dissemination and communication. human beings have much in common. they live on the same globe. experiences and observations of the world are in many respects similar. cultures of various countries also have something in common. all these similarities and generalities are inevitably embodied in languages. thats why equivalents or close approximates can be found in terms of linguistic form and meaning. for example, the english idiom “castles in the air” has its absolute equivalent of chinese idiom“空中楼阁”.however, culture is important in giving a language its own characteristics, so the dissimilarities are naturally more apparent.1.2 the definitions of idiom the definition of idiom: an idiom is an element of a language that possesses a unique way of expression based on its time-honored use. (li funing, 1979: 4) in other words, an idiom is a fixed group of words or a single word, or even a sentence, with a special meaning that cannot be guessed from its structure. that is to say, the meaning of an idiom must be leant as a whole. a simple definition of the idiom would be the use of common words in a special sense. “to spill the beans”, for instance, is not at all connected with beans; it means “to tell something that is secret”.in english idioms and how to use them, j. seidle et al point out that idioms “are not a separate part of the language which one can choose either to use or omit, but they form an essential part of the general vocabulary of the language.”(seidle et al, 1978)merriam-websters collegiate dictionary (eleventh edition), published in 2003, gives four definitions of the term idiom. the first sense of the word idiom is “the language peculiar to a people or to a district, community, or class: dialect.” the second sense is “the syntactical, grammatical, or structural form peculiar to a language.” the third sense is “an expression in the usage of a language that is peculiar to itself either grammatically (as no, it wasnt me) or having a meaning that cannot be derived from the conjoined meanings of its elements (as monday week for “the monday a week after next monday”).” the fourth sense is “a style or form of artistic expression that is characteristic of an individual, a period of movement, or a medium or instrument ; broadly: manner, style.” (lin & liu, 2005)1.2.1 definitions of english idioms according to warren, the word “idiom” in english is used to describe special phrases that are an essential part of a language. these phrases need not follow normal grammar rules in the language and can have both idiomatic and liter meaning. an english idiom is defined in the websters new world dictionary of the american language, 2nd college edition, 1972 as “an accepted phrase, construction, or expression is contrary to the usual patterns of the language or having a meaning of different from literal”. in the cambridge advanced learners dictionary, its definition is “a group of words in a fixed order having a particular meaning, different from the meaning of each word understood on its own”.1.2.2 definitions of chinese idiomsin chinese, there also exist linguistic constructs which are similar to english idioms, so-called “成语”. similar to english idiom, “成语” are also lexical or word groups and phrases which are established through long time of use and are accepted through practice. this is the definition of chinese idiom in a narrow sense. in a broad sense, the chinese “equivalent” for “idiom” is “熟语”, it refers to a kind of a set phrase or sentence fixed by long usage. according to cihai (xia，1999), “熟语是语言中固定的词组或句子，使用时一般不能任意改变其组织，且要以其整体来理解语义，包括成语、谚语、格言、惯用语、歇后语等.” “shuyu are fixed phrases or sentences of a language, which cannot be modified arbitrarily. they must be interpreted as a semantic unit. they include set phrases, proverbs, maxims, locutions and two-part allegorical sayings, etc.” a chinese idiom is newly defined as “a chinese idiom, constituted by words, relatively fixed in structure, is a narrative language unit which can perform a multiple of functions.”(wen, 2005:17) 1.3 classifications of idioms1.3.1 classifications of english idiomsin a broad sense, english idioms cover all of the following forms: set phrases, proverbs, common sayings, colloquialisms, allusions and slangs. here three important forms of idioms are selected for explanation.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. one example with cultural traces is “to kick the bucket”. its origin 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. another examples “to show ones teeth” suggests “to take a threatening tone or to show an intention to injure”, which not only has literal meaning of showing ones teeth, but also acquires an implication. there are some typical examples of english set phrases listed below: to fall in love, to go dutch, a fly on the wheel, in black and white, etc.proverbs proverbs are a special kind of english idioms. longman modern english dictionary defines proverb as “a brief familiar maxim of folk wisdom, usually compressed in form, often involving a bold image and frequently a jingle that catches the memory.” they are rich in content and succinct in wording. 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. hundreds of english proverbs have great vitality because of their wide general application among people of all social strata. they express in a few words, a fact or a truth which deals with everyday experience. for instance, “first come, first served” means “people will be dealt with as they come, without special treatment for latecomers”; “once bitten, twice shy” suggests “a person who has been tricked will be more careful in the future”; “more haste, less speed” means “the more you hurry, the less real progress you are likely to make”; “no gains without pains” teaches us that “nothing can be gained without effort”; “a cat may look at a king” means “everyone is born equal”; “better late than never” states “it is better to do something late than not to do it at all”. besides, many proverbs may be found to back up almost any view. they may express contradictory opinions as “well begun is half done” and “a good beginning makes a good ending” emphasize the importance of the beginning stage of a task, whereas “all is well that ends well” lay stress on the finish or on the result.slangsslang expressions are dialectic, vulgar and colloquial language drawing numerous sources from the shoptalk of every profession: trade, sport, school, social group, 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, movies, monologue in the novel but are rarely used in formal contexts. eble, c. sums up three features of slang: ephemerality, innovation and the group-identifying function. (eble, 1996) metaphor is the most characteristic type of creation that slang admits. in slang a girl is called a “heartthrob”; while “a screw loose” means to be slightly mad. to be drunk is “to be three sheets to the wind” while to be discharged from a job is “to be sacked, fired or axed”. failure may be described as “hitting a foul ball”, “running into a stone wall” or “not getting to first base” and death may be said as “hopping over the perch” or “turn up ones toes”. other examples of slang are listed as follows: cancer stick, couch potato, pop, on the beam, bookaholic, etc. owing to its popularity with common people, slang is described as the ordinary mans poetry, reflecting their common but colorful lives.1.3.2 classifications of chinese idiomsgenerally speaking, chinese idioms include the following forms: set phrases (chengyu), proverbs, common sayings (suyu), proverb (yanyu), and two-part allegorical saying (xiehouyu). they will be explained with examples respectively below.set phrases (chengyu)chinese set phrases are “phrases with 2 plus 2 pattern with descriptive or informative function.” (wen, 2005:290) since they are generally composed of four characters, they are also called set phrases of four characters. chinese set phrases are forceful, terse and vivid in imagery. for instance, “杀鸡取卵” means “if you sell the cow, you sell her milk too”, “自食其果”, which means “to eat the fruit of ones own behavior”, “过河拆桥” means “the danger past and god forgotten” and “反唇相讥” means “to turn back at ones counterpart for blaming”. besides, some chinese set phrases are full of classical allusions which make them more difficult to understand. “重蹈覆辙”means “to follow the same old disastrous road or to meet the same fate” and “功亏一篑”means “to fail at the threshold of success for lack of a final effort ”. except these four character set phrases, there are a small number of set phrases in chinese language consisting of more or less than four characters, but they are so few that people would still regard them as set phrases. example are: “不到黄河心不死” (until all is over ones ambition never dies), “八仙过海，各显神通” (each one has its special skills and advantages), “眼中钉” (a thorn in ones flesh, a thing or person that makes someone furious ), “覆巢无完卵” (individuals cannot survive if the whole is ruined), “凡事预则立，不预则废”(one would be successful if he prepares well ahead of time, otherwise he will fail on the task), etc. (/cy/)common sayings (suyu) common sayings are popular, easy to understand and widely used in the colloquial language with looser requirements in syntax. compared with chinese set phrases, common sayings are not quite neat in form and relatively loose in structure. for example, “这山望着那山高” （it is always the other mountain that looks higher; the grass is greener on the other side; to be dissatisfied with what one has）, “杀鸡给猴看”(to punish someone as a warning to others) , “画虎不成反类犬”（the poor skill of painting makes the tiger look like a dog）, and “喝水不忘挖井人” (when you drink water, think of its source). interestingly, we can find the equivalents of the above common sayings i