英语本科毕业论文-习语汉译英研究.doc

编号：20120510215辽宁师范大学海华学院毕 业 论 文 （设 计）（ 2012 届本科） 题 目 ： 习语汉译英研究 专 业： 英语（国际贸易） 姓 名： 指导教师： 完成日期： 2012 年 5 月 222A Study on the Translation of Chinese Idioms into English Jiang NanA Thesis Submitted In Partial Fulfillment for the Requirements of the Degree ofBACHELOR OF ARTSSchool of HaihuaLIAONING NORMAL UNIVERSITYMay, 2012 Abstract Different nationalities have different cultures and these cultures have similarities and dissimilarities. Chinese idiom is the essence of Chinese culture. It is the authors motivation that strengthens Chinese cultures influence on English culture through effective translation practice and translation studies.In this thesis, the author will give a descriptive study of the influence of culture and pragmatics on translation. The thesis emphasizes that culture and pragmatics are influential in the study of idiom translation. The thesis studies the translation of idioms from new perspectives: culture and pragmatics. It is an integrated study paying due and equal attention to cultural and pragmatic approaches. It is a dynamic research on Chinese idioms and their translation. The study is carried out with the purpose of making due contributions to translation studies, especially to translation of Chinese idioms. In addition, the author hopes that the thesis might be conducive to people during their understanding and appreciation of Chinese idioms and that the thesis might provide new perspectives for people engaged in this field.Key words: Chinese idioms; pragmatics; Chinese culture; idiom translation 摘 要 各民族有不同的文化特色，正是这相似又不同的文化组成了中华民族的文化。其中，汉语习语更是中华民族文化的瑰宝。那么如何通过有效的英语文化翻译实践活动和翻译研究加强中国文化在世界的影响力是作者写这篇论文的动机。 本文通过对习语汉译英的理论基础、基本理念、内容、方法等进行学习研究，从而探究出有效进行汉语习语英译的方法，并以汉语习语英译的基本理论和文化背景为基础，从文化内涵和语用角度对汉语习语的英译进行研究，该方法给予这两种研究角度以同等合理的重视，是对习语以及习语翻译的动态研究。作者希望通过研究影响汉语习语英译的因素，习语可译性及翻译理论策略提出有效的翻译技巧，进而能为翻译研究特别是成语翻译研究做出应有的一点贡献。同时希望本文能够帮助广大学习者进一步掌握和鉴赏汉语习语，并为习语研究者提供新的研究视角。关键词：汉语习语；语用学；中国文化；习语翻译 Table of ContentsI. Introduction11.1 The Importance of Translation11.2 The Overall Structure of the Study1II. Literature Review32.1 Definition, Origins and Features about Idioms32.1.1 Definition of Idioms32.1.2 Origins of Idioms42.1.3 Features of Idioms42.2 The Culture Connotation of Idioms42.3 Previous Research Aboard52.3.1 Susan Bassnett and Andre Lefeveres “Cultural Turn Theory”52.3.2 Nidas view on Functional Equivalence62.4 Domestic Research6III. Controversial Issues in Idiom Translation93.1 Different Culture Factors between Chinese and English Idiomatic Phrases93.1.1 Regional Aspect93.1.2 Customary Aspect103.1.3 Historical Aspect103.1.4 Religious Aspect113.2 Translatability of Culture123.2.1 Cultural Translatability123.2.2 Cultural Semi-translatability123.2.3 Cultural Untranslatability133.3 Relationship between Cultural Equivalence and Idioms Translation133.4 Translation Strategies: Foreignization and Domestication153.4.1 Foreignization153.4.2 Domestication16IV. Significance of Pragmatic Study of Chinese Idioms18V. Conclusion19Works Cited20Acknowledgements22A Study on the Translation of Chinese Idioms into English I. Introduction In recent years, many researchers have been done and published in translation and there have been some new concepts and methods developed from the researches. And my research will focus on one of them, that is, translation involves two languages and two cultures. Translation between two languages is not only the rendering of denotative meanings of two languages, but also the exchange and grafting of two cultures. Many distinguished translation scholars attach great importance to cultural factors when they talk about translation. Eugene A.Nida holds that, “for truly successful translating, biculturalism is even more important than bilingualism, since words only have meanings in terms of the cultures in which they function” (Nida, 2001:82). 1.1 The Importance of Translation With the development of science and technology, globalization is no longer a new word to us. Its agreed that the world has become a global village and thus the communication has become more and more often and extensive. In order to communicate we have to learn the culture of the target language. And in this sense translation plays a rather important role in bridging the national thought politics economy art and so on. Obviously idiom translation as a quite important branch of translation is inseparable with culture. 1.2 The Overall Structure of the Study The paper gives a brief introduction of Chinese idioms, above definition, origins and features of idioms. Through Susan Bassnett and Andre Lefeveres “cultural turn theory” and Nidas view on functional equivalence, it points out the importance of Chinese idioms and controversial issues in idiom translation. At last this paper puts forward a descriptive study of the influence of culture and pragmatics on translation. The thesis emphasizes that culture and pragmatics are influential in the study of idiom translation. II. Literature Review Although studies on idiom translation have gone a long way, they have mainly focused on the English idiom translation into other languages. Researchers of the Chinese idiom translation into English are mainly limited within the scope of the definition, classification, and the function and lack of systematization. In this part, I will give a general review on the previous studies.2.1 Definition, Origins and Features about Idiom Chinese idiom covers not only idioms, but also proverbs, allusions, puns and proverbs etc., all of which vividly reflect the long history of China, highlight Chinese language and cultural characteristics. Chinese idioms widespread among the different texts, such as tourist information, advertising, news, and even in spoken English when we communicate with foreigners.2.1.1 Definition of Idioms An idiom is an expression, word, or phrase that has a figurative meaning that is comprehended in regard to a common use of that expression that is separate from the literal meaning or definition of the words of which it is made. In linguistics, idioms are usually presumed to be figures of speech contradicting the principle of compositionality; In phraseology, they are defined in a similar way as a sub-type of phraseme whose meaning is not the regular sum of the meanings of its components. John Saeed defines an “idiom” as words collocated that became affixed to each other until metamorphosing into a fossilised term. This collocationwords commonly used in a groupredefines each component word in the word-group and becomes an idiomatic expression. The words develop a specialized meaning as an entity, as an idiom. Moreover, an idiom is an expression, word, or phrase whose sense means something different from what the words literally imply. 2.1.2 Origins of Idioms Idioms are the essence of language. They have many sources and many different structures. China is a country with long history and a highly developed language, so it has a large number of idioms. Broadly speaking, Chinese idioms include proverbs, idioms, slangs, sayings and allusions and so on. Chinese idioms, which extract from the Chinese fixed phrases, are from the language use among Chinese people in the long history. They are the crystallization of Chinese peoples wisdom. Usually, idioms have a strong national and local color. Some idioms meaning can be seen obviously, but many idioms meaning is based on its context. Because idioms are not only the metaphor usage of one language but also a language usage with wonderful rhythm and profound meaning.2.1.3 Features of Idioms Idioms are a common idiomatic type in Chinese. Seen from the sources of its formation, the way of its expression and the style of its expression, the idiom has its striking features: the first is the richness and extensiveness of its sources; the second is the variability of its semantic generation; the third is the distinctiveness of its colloquial styles; the fourth is the simplicity of its pragmatic value. 2.2 The Culture Connotation of Idioms Short as they are, Chinese idioms have ever been one of the hardest nuts to crack in translation because of culture-specificness. But why does culture have a bearing on the translation of idioms? How does the former influence the latter? Linguists have long been attempting to resolve those questions. Here, it is helpful to make the problem clear by introducing the concept language. First, whats the relationship between idioms and language? Formed through long-time practice, idioms are closely related to daily life. Furthermore, due to their frequent use in writing and speaking, idioms have gradually become the core and cream of a language, to be exact, an integral part of it. Then, what is culture? According to Chen Hongwei, “culture refers to the material and spiritual wealth created by mankind during the development of society” (陈红薇, 2005: 21). Being so inclusive, culture “permeates virtually every aspect of human life” (Dai, 2005: 127); it follows that language, one of the most outstanding creations of human beings, is an indispensable component of culture. Culture to language is what water to fish, to use a common expression, culture is the breeding ground of language. In a word, idioms and culture are closely bound up, and “every aspect of social activities is reflected in idioms” (平洪, 2001: V). Generally speaking, Chinese idioms have four kinds of cultural connotations: regional culture, conventional culture, historical culture and religious culture.2.3 Previous Research Aboard In the past 30 years, many studies have been done on the issue and some theoretical analyses have been used in studies. Form the past literature, we may see that this field of study has become more and more important and many people, not only linguists, but also language teachers, have been involved in the study. 2.3.1 Susan Bassnett and Andre Lefeveres “Cultural Turn Theory” In the West academic world, Susan Bassnett and Andre Lefevere take the “cultural turn”. In 1970s, translation studies appeared an obvious trend, that is, attach more importance to rendering of cultures than to that of languages. Later on, many translation scholars broke through the traditional aesthetics or linguistics models in their translation research, and gradually turned their research perspective to culture. Susan Bassnett and Andre Lefevere, the representatives of “translation studies”, in their work of more than twenty years, have consistently built bridges within the field of translation studies and developed interdisciplinary connections to fields of study outside the discipline. In 1990, in Translation, History and Culture co-edited by Bassnett and Lefevere, they were first to suggest that translation studies take the “cultural turn”, and in their new book Constructing Cultures they presented a strong case for moving the field of cultural studies closer to translation studies. From then on, translation studies have been closely connected with cultural studies.2.3.2 Nidas view on Functional Equivalence Dr Eugene Nida, a well-known U.S. translation theorist, is the founder of the dynamic equivalence theory. In order to avoid misunderstandings on the concept, Nida replaced it by functional equivalence theory. He abandoned the text-centered idea and gave more attention to the neglected readers. His idea helped to solve the long-time disputes between literal translation and free translation. In his book Towards a Science of Translating, Nida proposed the equivalent translation theory. In order to have a standard between the target language and source language translation, Nida gave this theory from linguistic angle. In this book, Nida pointed out that the response of the source language readers should be equal with the response of the target language readers. He believed that translation is a language communication activity. The field of translation research should be extended to the target language readers, and translators should pursue the same feelings between the source language readers and the target language readers. “Judging the validity of a translation cannot stop with a comparison of corresponding lexical meanings, grammatical classes, and rhetorical devices. What is important is the extent to which receptors correctly understand and appreciate the translated text.”2.4 Domestic Research In China, in the early stage, scholars mainly focused on their origins, syntactic and semantic properties as well as comprehension of such expressions. Many books had been written during that period, such as Zhang Peijis （张培基） 习语汉译英研究, Luo Sis （罗斯）习语英译法, and Chen Wenbo s（陈文伯）英语成语与汉语成语. Since the beginning of the 1990s after the critical response to the international postmodernism debate, with the advancement of globalization and cultural communication, cultural studies have become a fashion especially in the field of literary theory and criticism. Therefore, in the field of idiom research, many scholars are devoted to comparative study of Chinese and English idioms from cultural perspective, which people can tell by referring to such works on idioms like A Comparison Study of English and Chinese Idioms by Yu Fumin (郁福敏) and Guo Shanlian (郭珊连), Jiang Leis(蒋磊)英汉习语的文化观照与对比 and英汉习语与民俗文化 by Yin Li(殷利) and Han Xiaoling(韩晓玲). Faithfulness, Expressiveness and Elegance are Yan Fus main translation thought. Since Yan Fu brought up the “Faithfulness, Expressiveness and Elegance”, it became the condensation of the translation theory in ancient China, and the focus of modern translation study. Some people regarded them as principles, some considered them were theories, and some thought they were standards. Each famous people of the translation circle aired their own views, commendatory or derogatory, but no one could surpass them. Therefore, some thought that studying the “Faithfulness, Expressiveness and Elegance” is equal to study the whole translation theories of China. Thus it can be seen, Faithfulness, Expressiveness and Elegance influenced profoundly in the translation circle of China. In the different period, different people in the translation circle had different viewpoints to the “Faithfulness, Expressiveness and Elegance”. Lin Yutang brought up the standard of “Faithfulness, Fluency and Beauty”, but this doesnt overstep the “Faithfulness, Expressiveness and Elegance”. Faithfulness means that the translator should transmit the meanings or thoughts from the originals during translating. In other words, the translation should reflect the whole information accurately and completely. The information maybe include the meanings and thoughts of the author, the culture and customs of a country, the life-style and the way of thinking of the people and so on. According to Yan Fu, Expressiveness in translating means the translation should be logical. If the translation is just a collection of all the information from the originals, the readers couldnt understand it. Of course, as a translator, to make readers catching the general idea of the translation is the basic work. Elegance is also a standard of Yans translation thought. Translating is not the information copied from the originals, but a creative project. A perfect translation is not only faithful and expressive, but also elegant. Elegance is the higher request of language. That is, the translation should be elegant. In a word, Yan Fus translation theory of “Faithfulness, Expressiveness and Elegance” influenced the translation circle deeply. A lot of scholars study it, and think it is an effective standard. The criteria of faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance summarized the scattered translation views in theory, brought up a standard for the later translation theory specific and practical, and promoted the Chinese translation theory up to a new stage.III. Controversial Issues in Idiom Translation Idioms are closely linked with a nations historical background, economic life, geographical environment, customs and religious beliefs. This part mainly discusses four controversial issues in idiom translation.3.1 Different Culture Factors between Chinese and English Idiomatic Phrases An idiom is generally a colloquial metaphor. A term requiring some foundational knowledge, information, or experience, to use only within a culture, where conversational parties must possess common cultural references. Therefore, idioms are not considered part of the language, but part of the culture. As culture typically is localized, idioms often are useless beyond their local context; nevertheless, some idioms can be more universal than others, can be easily translated, and the metaphoric meaning can be deduced.3.1.1 Regional Aspect Geographical environment plays an important role in shaping one country s culture and human beings have no choices and capacities to change the geography. As a result, idioms based on geographical features appear different.Britain is an island country, which does not share land border with any other countries except the Republic of Ireland. In history, its navigation industry has ever been the first one for a long time. So, British people have a special passion for water. However, the most part of China belongs to inland place where people cannot live without earth. This very geographical diff