Analysis and Translation on English Idioms 英语习语分析和翻译.doc

analysis and translation on english idioms英语习语分析和翻译摘 要习语是语言中非常重要的一部分，每种语言都拥有自己丰富多彩的习语。当然，汉语与英语也不例外。习语能用一个简单的方式来表达一个很丰富生动的意义，有很强的民族性、历史性和地方色彩。习语的意义不能简单地从各个成分的表面意义去解释，这使习语的翻译非常困难。通过分析英汉习语,本文从目的论的角度出发，提出了一些实用的英语习语的翻译方法。 目的论作为一个技术术语，以翻译为目的，并作为翻译的目的，是在20世纪70年代由汉斯费尔梅引进的。目的论认为翻译是一种行为，一种跨文化的交际行为。目的论遵循的首要法则是目的法则，译文的交际目的才是最重要的。本文试图分析英语习语和汉语成语之间的相似和差异，并在此基础上从目的论的角度提出一些翻译英语习语的实际方法。本文介绍的翻译方法包括直译，直译加注，意译 ，意译加注，直译加意译。关键词：目的论；习语翻译；直译；意译abstract“idiom” as “a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words”, is a very important part of vocabulary, and every language has its own rich and colorful idioms. britain and china are no exceptions. idioms can employ simple forms to express rich and vivid meanings. they have strong national, historic and local colors, and their meanings cannot be worked out by their individual words. this makes idioms translation very difficult. this paper tries to analyze the similarities and differences between english idioms and chinese idioms, and on this base some practical methods are given on the translation from english idioms to chinese idioms from the perspective of skopos theory which was introduced into translation theory in the 1970s by hans j. vermeer as a technical term for the purpose of translation and of the action of translating. skopos theory considers translation as a type of transfer where communicative verbal and non-verbal signs are transferred from one language into another. the methods this paper introduces here are literal translation, literal translation with notes, liberal translation, liberal translation with notes, and literal translation plus liberal translation.key words: skopos theory; idioms translation; literal translation; liberal translation16contents摘要iiabstractiiiacknowledgementsvchapter one introduction1chapter two analysis of english idioms and chinese idioms32.1 definition of idiom32.2 similarities between english idioms and chinese idioms32.2.1 basic moral concepts and value viewpoint42.2.2 the same origins52.2.3 the same features52.2.4 the same classifications52.3 differences between english idioms and chinese idioms62.3.1 difference in metaphor62.3.2 difference in customs62.3.3 difference in environment7chapter three thranslation of english idioms from the perspective of skopos theory83.1 skopos theory83.2 methods of english idiom translation from the perspective of skopos theory103.2.1 literal translation103.2.2 literal translation with notes123.2.3 liberal translation133.2.4 liberal translation with notes143.2.5 literal translation plus liberal translation15chapter four conclusion17bibliography19acknowledgementsi would like to deliver my gratitude to all those who gave me help during my writing of the thesis. first im particularly indebted to my supervisor yuan lingjie , whose illuminating instruction and constructive suggestions have helped me a lot of shaping the idea and the framework. without her insightful direction and constant encouragement, the completion of the present thesis would have been impossible.then my profound gratitude and appreciation goes to all the teachers of my college courses, whose excellent teaching laid a solid foundation for this thesis. among them, my special thanks must be paid to professor wang lanying, professor zhang ruijun, and li ge teacher.last but not least, i owe a great deal of my parents and classmates for their profound love and care, constant encouragement and support.chapter one introductionin our study and daily life, we may often mention or use english idioms with which we are familiar. an english idiom is a group of words with a special meaning different from the meanings of its constituent words. idioms are usually semantically opaque, that is, metaphorical rather than literal. for this reason, it is hard to determine the meaning of an idiom from the literal meaning of the individual word, for example, to kick the bucket or to bite the dust means to die. the english language is noted for its wealth of idioms .besides semantic opaqueness, another important characteristic of english idioms is that they are structurally fixed or invariable .most of these idiomatic expressions are phrases of two or more words that function as a unit of meaning and must be learned as a whole. to sum up, an idiom may be defined as a combination of two or more words, which are usually structurally fixed and semantically opaque, and function as a single unit of meaning. it is an established form that has been accepted by traditional usage and forms an essential part of the general vocabularytranslation is a bilingual art, which is the cultural bridge and media between two languages. it is not an easy job, especially the translation of english idioms, which are independent, irregular and fixed part of language. for the purpose of keeping the flavor of english idioms and catering the versions of english idioms for all the chinese readers, not only to the readers who master english but also to those who do not know or know a little, translation skills must be employed in the process of translation. in the paper, the author will present several kinds of skills for english idioms translation from the perspective of skopos theory.skopos theory, which developed from german functionalism, holds that translation is a form of translational action based on a source text and the prime principle determining any translation process is the purpose (skopos) of the overall translational action. it allows the possibility of the same text being translated in different ways according to the purpose of the tt and the commission which is given to the translator. skopos theory provides a new and effective perspective for the study of english idioms translation.chapter two analysis of english idioms and chinese idioms2.1 definition of idiom new oxford dictionary of english defines “idiom” as “a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words”. while long-man dictionary of applied linguistics gives a definition like this, “an idiom is an expression which functions as a single unit and whose meaning cannot be out from its separate parts.”professor cowie explains english idiom as following: an idiom is a combination of two or more words which functions as a unit of meaning. ammer has another definition about english idiom in this way: “an idiom is a set of phrases of two or more words that means something different from the literal meaning of the individual words”. a simple definition of english idiom would be the use of common words in a special sense. in this paper, english idioms include phrases, proverbs, literary quotations, colloquialisms and slang expressions.2.2 similarities between english idioms and chinese idiomsbased on rich culture, both english idioms and chinese ones are of ancient origin and long development. they have recorded their respective national history, showed their respective national viewpoint and reflected their respective national culture as well as the formation of thinking. the similarities are showed as the following.2.2.1 basic moral concepts and value viewpointas human civilization has developed in a similar way, both english and chinese idioms are similar in this field, which has formed a common base for both cultures.2.2.1.1 persuading people to be kindboth english and chinese idioms have expressed good will and forgiveness of human nature:chinese idioms english idioms己所不欲，忽施与人do as you would be done好有好报one good turn deserves another慈悲心肠milk of human kindness既往不咎let bygones be bygonesthe surprising similarity of the above idioms in both culture and language style has showed the universal kindness and generosity of human beings. equivalents are required when they are introduced into the target language to preserve cultural accuracy, classical language style and vivid description.2.2.1.2 encouraging people to be active and venturousboth english and chinese are imaginative, hard-working, brave and indomitable. both march in the front echelon of all nations through their own effort. thus, there are many idioms in both languages to praise the pioneering spirit:chinese idiomsenglish idioms天行健，君子以自强不息god helps those who help themselves有志者，事竟成where there is a will, there is a way不入虎穴，焉得虎子nothing venture, nothing havelike 2.2.1.1, equivalents are required when they are introduced into the target language to preserve cultural accuracy, classical language style and vivid description. 2.2.1.3 persuading people to be dogged once determinedchinesese idiomsenglish idioms不成功，便成仁do or die已不做，二不休over shoes over boots有始有终from beginning to endthe above similarities are essential to the intercultural communication. different cultures may conflict in many aspects, but must agree on basic morals and value points. only by agreeing on basic morals and value points, can cultural conflicts be limited in a tolerable level and intercultural communication carried out.2.2.2 the same originsboth english idioms and chinese idioms have such same origins as : 1) the experience of the common people ; 2) myths and fables ; 3) historical events and anecdotes ; 4) classical literary works ; 5) social customs and habits;2.2.3 the same features idioms display its differentiation from other general expressions or structures in its own distinctive features: 1) fixed structure ; 2) abundant connotation ; 3) distinct cultural feature .2.2.4 the same classificationsin a limited sense, idioms just signify the set phrase or short sentences with fixed structure and complete meaning employed by the people for a long time. they usually contain four words in chinese but uncertain number of words in english. however, in a broad sense, the idiom is also defined in an almost same way, but it is composed of set phrases, idioms (in the narrow sense), two-part allegorical sayings, allusions, proverbs, maxims, sayings, epigrams, slang expressions colloquialisms, quotations and jargons. those listed above are all revised and rewritten again and again, and then handed down from generation to generation. up to the present, they are widely applied and studied by all the people.2.3 differences between english idioms and chinese idioms2.3.1 difference in metaphor there are many english idioms that have the same or similar meaning with chinese idioms, but they employ different images on metaphor. take english idiom “just like mushroom” for example. it means new things suddenly appear and develop in leaps and bounds. we know that in china there is a idiom “雨后春笋” having the same meaning with it. english people use “mushroom” instead of “bamboo”, because “bamboo” is not a native plant in britain, and even the word “bamboo” is borrowed from other nation, so it is impossible for english people to use the word “bamboo” as the element of english idioms. the following english idioms all belong to this kind of idiom: kill the goose that lays the golden eggs (杀鸡取卵) , look for a needle in a haystack (大海捞针) , like a rat in a hole (瓮中之鳖) , spend money like water (挥金如土) , to laugh ones head off (笑掉大牙) , kill two birds with one stone (一箭双雕) .2.3.2 difference in customsdifferent nations have different customs. english idioms are english cultural treasures. it can reflect the customs of english people. take “dog” for example, in britain dog is usually treated as a companion or pet of people. it can be used not only for watching for the door, but also for hunting, and english people usually have a good feeling for this animal, so english idioms which include “dog” usually have not derogatory meaning. for example: top dog (重要的人) ,lucky dog (幸运儿) ,love me love my dog (爱屋及乌) , every dog has its day (凡人皆有得意日) , not a dogs chance (毫无机会) , put on the dog (炫耀，摆阔) .however, in ancient china, people usually have a bad impression of dog. they disdain and scorn this animal. this custom reflects in language. for instance: 狗腿子 (lackey) , 狗杂种 (bastard) , 狗娘养的 (son of a bitch) , 狗急跳墙 (a cornered beast will do something desperate) , 狗嘴里吐不出象 (a filthy mouth cannot utter decent language) , 狗胆包天 (monstrous audacity) .2.3.3 difference in environmentbritain is an island country, which is surrounded by the sea; so many english idioms are connected with the sea. for instance: to know the ropes (懂得秘诀，内行) , to tide over (顺利渡过) , to clear the decks (准备战斗) , to sink or swim (好歹，不论成败) ,to go with the stream (随波逐流) , all at sea (无主意) .however, china, since the ancient time , has been a big agricultural country, so many chinese idioms are related to agriculture, such as “斩草除根”，“拔苗助长”，“柴多火焰高”，and so on.chapter three thranslation of english idioms from the perspective of skopos theory3.1 skopos theoryskopos theory is a significant contribution to the system of functional theories. skopos is the greek word for aim or purpose, and was introduced into translation theory in the 1970s by hans j. vermeer as a technical term for the purpose of a translation and of the action of translating. skopos theory considers translation as a type of transfer where communicative verbal and non-verbal signs are transferred from one language into another. translation is an “intentional, purposeful behavior that takes place in a given situation”. (nord, 2001: 11).therefore, the intention and purpose of translators could be taken as another key factor to explain many problems in translation studies. the major work on skopos theory is groundwork for a general theory of translation, a book vermeer co-authored with reiss in 1984. reiss and vermeer aim at a general translation theory for all texts. the basic underlying rules of the theory are：(1) a translation (or tt) is determined by its skopos(2) a tt is an offer of information in a target culture and target language concerning an offer of information in a source culture and source language.(3) a tt does not initiate an offer of information in a clearly reversible way.(4) a tt must be internally coherent.(5) a tt must be coherent with the st(6) the five rules above stand in hierarchical order, with the skopos rule predominating(reiss and vermeer 1984:119)some explanation is required here. rule (2) is important in that it relates the st and tt to their function in their respective linguistic and cultural contexts. the translator is once again, as in the translational action theory, the key player in a process of intercultural communication and production of the translation. the irreversibility in rule (3) indicates that the function of a translation in its target culture is not necessarily the same as in the source culture. rules (4) and (5) touch on general skopos rules concerning how the success of the action and information transfer is to be judged: the coherence rule (the fourth rule) states that the tt must be interpretable as coherent with the tt receivers situation. (reiss and vermeer 1984: 113) the fidelity rule (the fifth rule) states that there must be coherence between the translation and the st. (ibid: 114) these two rules together with the skopos rule (the first rule) make the major framework of functionalism.however, the hierarchical order of the rules means that intertextual coherence (rule 5) is of less importance than intratexual coherence (rule 4), which, in turn, is subordinate to the skopos (rule 1). this down-playing (or dethroning, as vermeer terms it) of the status of the st is a general fact of both skopos and translational action theory. (mundav 2001:79-80)according to skopos theory, the translator is the expert to carry out the commission by which a skopos is realized. he/she is thus responsible for choosing of information from the st as an information offer, and his/her work becomes an inspirational production of tt, instead of reproduction of st, and this task relies greatly on the accountability of the translator. this raises the status of the translator in translation action, and releases the translator from the corset of an enforcedand hence often meaninglessliteralness (vermeer 1989: 231). skopos theory provides a new and effective perspective for the study of english idiom translation. 3.2 methods of english idiom translation from the perspective of skopos theory3.2.1 literal translationliteral translation refers to an adequate representation of the original when the original coincides or tallies with the chinese in the sequence of vocabulary, in grammatical structure and rhetorical device. literal translation preserves the original form of english idioms without causing confusion in meaning. it transfers the original cultural information effectively and shortens the gap between the two languages, english and chinese. furthermore, literal translation keeps the full flavor of english idioms. for example:your plan is marvelous, but you will have to work out the budget before the board can give the green light. (a：你的计划很好，但在委员会给你开绿灯之前，你须预算出这个计划的开支。 b：你的计划很好，但在委员会批准之前，你须预算出这个计划的开支。)obviously a fits the original sentence better than b, because the english idiom “throw cold water” and “批准” in chinese are equivalence, but if we select b, “批准” cannot express the original meaning accurately, and lose the vivid image of the original idiom.the following are the other such examples: hot line (热线) , fast food (快餐) , white collar (白领) , green card (绿卡) , trade war (贸易战) , blood is thicker than water (血浓于水) , the cold war (冷战) , bottle neck (瓶颈) , last but not least (最后但并不是最不重要的) , knit ones brow (皱眉