On Image Shift in Idiom Translation— from the Perspective of Reception Theory 从接受美学谈习语翻译中的意象转换.doc

从接受美学谈习语翻译中的意象转换on image shift in idiom translation from the perspective of reception theory摘 要文章从接受美学的角度分析了习语翻译中的意象转换。意象，是在语言的使用过程中语言使用者在头脑中所形成的心象、观念或者由此引发的意义或者联想。是否能得体的转换意象，很大程度上决定了翻译是否准确而成功。而习语作为语言中精髓，是文化的结晶，蕴含了大量生动形象的意象。接受美学理论指出，翻译不是作者或者文本的独断专行，而是通过文本、译者、读者之间交流与对话后形成的融合视域。文章对英汉习语的相同与不同做出比较，并分析了影响意象在双语中形成不同画面、形象感知的因素。接着，接受美学理论的核心观点：期待视野、意义的不确定性、以及作者与读者的关系在文章中得到了阐述。不论是从译者的角度和其作为特殊读者的角度、文化交流、还是从接受美学对意象转换的影响都充分表明接受美学应用于意象转化的必要性。最后文章从意象的内在文化特征入手，提出意象转换的方法：意象再现、意象保留、意象替换或者意象舍弃。关键词：意象；接受理论；习语翻译；意象转化- 18 -abstractthe thesis analyzes the issues of image shift from the perspective of reception theory. an image refers to a mental picture or an idea suggesting further meanings and association that are used in the readers mind by the use of language. whether the image can be properly shifted may directly affect the translation. idiom，as a beautiful gem of a language as well as crystallization of national culture, is characterized by its vivid images. the thesis attempts to introduce reception theory into image shifting. reception aesthetics points out that translating is not the monologue of the author or the text; rather, it is the fusion of horizon formed after the dialogue and communication between the text, the translator and target reader. this thesis gives a thorough introduction of image, makes a comparison between the images in english and chinese and analyzes the factors affecting the meaning of images. then, it expounds the theory of reception from the perspective of several main concepts of the theory, such as the indeterminacy of meaning, horizon of expectation, and the status of reader. next, the necessity of the reception aesthetics applied in image shift will be presented.last, the thesis will raise such strategies for shifting the image in idioms according to the characteristics of images as reproducing, deleting the image, or replacing the image.key words: image; reception theory; idiom translation; image shiftacknowledgements my deepest gratitude goes first and foremost to my supervisor, for her constant encouragement and guidance. she has walked me through all the stages of the writing of this thesis. without her consistent and illuminating instruction, this thesis could not have reached its present form. second, i would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to mr liang leyuan, who led me into the world of translation. i am also greatly indebted to the professors and other teachers at the department of english, who have instructed and helped me a lot in the past four years. last my thanks would go to my beloved family for their loving considerations and great confidence in me all through these years. i also owe my sincere gratitude to my friends and my fellow classmates who gave me their help and time in listening to me and helping me work out my problems during the difficult course of the thesis.contents1 introduction12 introduction to image2 2.1 definition of image.32.2 characteristics of images in both english and chinese.4 2.3 factors affecting the meaning of image 53 brief retrospect on reception aesthetics6 3.1 indeterminacy of meaning. 7 3.2 horizon of expectation8 3.3 readers role and status.9 4 necessity of reception aesthetics applied in idiom translation.10 4.1 cross-culture communication through idiom.10 4.2tranlator a peculiar readers.10 4.3influence of reception theory on idiom translation115 strategies of image shifting in translating idioms.12 5.1 preserving the same image13 5.2 replacing original image with familiar one.14 5.3 deleting or adding image while keeping the connotation156 conclusion. 16 references.171 introductionidiom, as a significant part of language, is as sparkling as a crystal of national culture. english and chinese both boast of time-honored history and bountiful culture and abound in idiomsset phrases and sentences, which have been used for quite a long time, containing specific meaning. meaning of idioms has intimate relationship with their national cultural heritage, which contributes to the hardships of its translation. during the process of translating, the image shift in idiom is composed of two aspects, namely the shift of the literary meaning and the shift of implied meaning. so image shift is a tricky mission, especially in the study of idiom translation. when the images in idioms are shifted appropriately, not only can the original spirit and meanings be faithfully conveyed, clearly understood and accepted by the target language readers, but it also enriches the chinese and english vocabularies which help to provide a broader culture vision. the issues of rendering idioms of one language into another are always not so easy to deal with, even much more complicated if the two languages involved are of backgrounds and cultures so different from each other. in the past translation history, the author and the text were highly emphasized and regarded as sacred and inviolable while the translator and the reader were regarded as passive and unimportant receptors. with the development of translation studies, the tendency that author-centered theories and text-centered theories dominate translation studies is declining, instead of which the reader and the translator draw more and more attentions from translation scholars. the german aesthetics of reception came into being at that time.aesthetics of reception, theoretically speaking, developing out of phenomenology and philosophical hermeneutics, is mainly represented by the german constance school critics. it was proposed by hans robert jauss(1982) in late 1960s. its main representatives are hans robert jauss and wolfgang iser. as treating the writer and the works, this theory takes the readers as its research subject to deeply study the readers status and function in literary activities.there are two features of aesthetics of reception. on one hand, it considers that the literary texts are realized in readers reading process; on the other hand, it regards the literature reception in the perspective of the literature history, especially discussing the constant changes of the literature in its different historical stages. by the end of 1970s, jauss and iser had gradually revised previous opinions and developed aesthetics of reception as a theory of communication and literary dialogues. the central point of this theory also changed from the reader-oriented to the mutual functions between the text and the readers.as a newly developed discipline, reception theory advocates turning to reading and reception of a literary text, from which great inspiration has been drawn. translation studies make no exception. literary history can only be successful in depicting a process when it takes into account the interaction between text and readers and thereby ceases to exclude the reception of literary text is equally unthinkable without the participation of the target receptors. the present author will not go into details of various and complex theories of reception theory, for that would be laborious and unnecessary. but a brief introduction will be made to illustrate the fundamentals of reception theory and its influence upon translation and on image shift in idiom translation in particular.idiom is an important part in culture and it embodies the colorful national culture. abundant english and chinese idioms should be translated appropriately concerning the issue of cross-culture communication. the most prominent feature of english and chinese idioms is the exotic cultural flavors expressed in these two languages. image shift in idioms is meaningful in that it can display the peculiar culture of the two nations. there is close connection between language and cultures. translation, as a practice of mutual conversion between at least two languages, is also an exchange activity between two cultures, involving inevitably culture transplant. so we can say that there is a close link between the reception aesthetics and image shift. the concern of this thesis comes first to introduce some of the main concepts in reception theory into image shift of idiom translation study in the hope of perceiving image shift in idiom translation from a new perspective, that is to say, the receptors perspective. as its secondary concern, this thesis attempts to explore a detailed discussion of some practical and effective methods for conveying the image in an idiom of a source language. such a discussion intends to provide a systematic answer to the question according to the characteristics of images: how can images be properly shifted in idiom translation? the thesis states proposes several strategies of image shift through analysis of image, and the strategies are as follows, preserving the same image, replacing original image with familiar one, deleting the original image while keeping the connotation. 2 introduction to imageenglish and chinese both possess grand history and time-honored culture. among these two languages, there are abundant idioms an important part of their numerous vocabularies. both english and chinese idioms are set phrases and sentences, which have been used for quite a long time. they are unique not only because of their grammatical constructions and established collocations, but also because of their specific meanings. the structures and meaning of these idioms can not be changed as people wish. being embedded with vivid images, apparently, is a characteristic of idiom, which contributes to the exotic cultural tastes, expressed in these two languages. a brief comparison of the features in both english and chinese idioms will be presented in the following part, since is can not only display the peculiar culture of the two nations but also help translator a lot while handling the issue of image shift in translation study. so this chapter will provide the concept of images and a comparative study on the characteristics of images in both english and chinese. more emphasis will be put on the analysis of the factors affecting the meaning of images.2.1 definition of image according to oxford advanced learners dictionary of current english (gimson, 1974), an image is a mental picture or an idea, concept of something or somebody. in addition, oxford concise dictionary of literary terms (baldick, 2001) mentions image in the definition of “imagery”. it says: the imagery of literary work thus compromises the set of images that it uses; these need not to be mental “pictures”, but may appeal to sense other than sight; an image suggests further meanings and association in ways that go beyond the fairly simple identifications of metaphor and simile are often called symbols. in a word, an image refers to a mental picture or an idea suggesting further meanings and association which are uses in the readers mind by the use of language in literary works. and according to websters new world dictionary,(mickael: 2003) image is a mental picture of something, conception or impression. image often embodies rich cultural connotations. the image can be various sorts of forms. it may be a certain creature in the nature, such as a plant or an animal, which makes idioms expressive and vivid. for example, the chinese idiom “牛不饮水不按头” has the cultural meaning that you can create opportunities for a person but cant force him to accept them. the characteristic of the image of a stubborn bull is rooted in the mind of national culture which helps to present the idea vividly. forms of images range from animals as mentioned to famous people, etc.2.2 characteristics of images in both english and chineseapparently, language and culture have close relationship with each other. every facet of cultural or social life will exert profound influence on the origin and development of idioms, just like a mirror; idioms reflect the social life and the national culture in various aspects. both english and chinese idioms have numerous vivid images from all kinds of ranges, for instance, animals, famous people, the sacred and mysterious to ordinary matters. all the images may embody many aspects of the nations history, environments, and customs, religious belief, fable or myths and literary or art.as mentioned above, it is indicative that language is the carrier of the national culture. “a nations cultural features and its national psychology, aesthetic perspectives and values are surely reflected in its language. the national culture features of a language refer to not only the connotations of culture but also the extension of the concept of culture the nations history, geographical conditions, economy, social system, religion and customs reflected and recorded in its language.” (yang xianyu, 2002:70) images in idiom, as a part of language, share the same features and reflect the concept of the culture of a nation. under some conditions, the understanding of certain image in a specific language can only be mastered by the people of their own nation. that is to say, certain image in one specific language culture has its own set association and creates different esthetic pleasure among the readers in another language culture. however, although many images in chinese and english have quite different meaning and connotation, there are still images in one of language that can arouse much the same association and bring much the same esthetic pleasure among the readers in the other countrys language. absolute equivalence may be rare, but similar images do appear in these two languages. this is mainly due to cultural similarities and the fact that cultural communication becomes ever highly frequent with the development of economy and society. therefore, some of the images in idioms can be easily accepted by the other country. for example: armed to earth(武装到牙齿)，new wine in old bottles（旧瓶装新酒）. thus images share similarities which both chinese and english can fully understand.2.3 factors affecting the meaning of imagethrough the image in english and english idioms, we may realize such a fact that when people share the same experience and similar background of the real life, the image in idioms can be the same, and consequently can be understood and appreciated by readers in both languages. however, unique features of different cultures can be characterized by certain image. the national color of the image is really complicated and difficult to understand, due to various factors, such as, different aesthetic value, different environments of living, different living customs; different religious beliefs, different fables, myths or literary works. as we know, aesthetic value may affect the meaning of image for example. the image of “dragon”, in chinese, can be found in many chinese idioms such as “望子成龙”, “龙凤呈祥”. so we may easily realize that the image of dragon in chinese is quite positive and even admired, because in culture of china, “龙” is the symbol of royalty. while in english the case is quite different, “dragon” seems to be a fierce and cruel animal.another factor that matters most, as for the meaning of image, is different living habits. english people and chinese people live with quite different habits. language comes from peoples life and it reflects peoples life. living habits and customs exert great influence upon the system of language expressions. there is a chinese saying going like “萝卜白菜各有所爱”( different people have different tastes, some like radish and some like cabbage.). in china, “radish” and “cabbage” are very common vegetables. so they are appropriate to be adopted to express the idea of different tastes or opinions of people. however, in britain, those two images may not arouse the same association. they may resort to “apple” and “onion”, since “apple and “onion” are two common foods in britain and the choice of “apple” or “onion” represents peoples different tastes. in english, we can find numerous idioms like “know ones onions” and “apple of love”, by which we can easily perceive their common appearance in english nations.meanwhile, different environment of living also plays an important role in affecting the meaning of images in idioms. in ancient china, people mainly live on farming, so there are idioms like, “种瓜得瓜， 种豆得豆” and “堆金不如积谷”. these images in chinese show how important farming is in china and how chinese farmers think of life. however, the living condition in britain is quite different. in english language, there are quite lots of idioms related to horse. “you can take a horse to the water, but you cant make him drink.” “a running horse needs no spur.” “dont put the cart before the horse.” from these idioms we can see the close relationship between english people and their horses. britain is a nomadic nation and its lives greatly depend on live stock husbandry, so thats the reason why so many idioms about horses appear in their language.3 brief retrospect on reception aestheticsas one of the most significant literary theories and criticism schools, reception theory arose in 1960s.the reception theory breaks the text-centered theory and ushers in the transition from the text center to reader center, which makes the reader become the creator of the meaning in the literary work and puts emphasis on the importance of the readers role played. it absorbs some important concepts on a large scale and reconstructs them in a creative way. typical examples are horizon of expectation, and indeterminacy, blank o