OntheChineseTranslationofEnglishProverbs(浅析英语谚语的中文翻译).doc

内江师范学院本科毕业论文（设计）contentsabstract.2introduction3. the definition of english proverbs3. factors affecting the translation of english proverbs4a. the background of history and culture4b. the environment of geography5c. the customes and habits6d. the beliefs of religion6e. moral ideas7f. legends7. the translating methods of english proverbs8a. literal translation8b. free translation9c. literal translation and free translation9d. rhetoric translation10e. equivalent translation10. matters in need of attention in the translation of english proverbs.11a. making the translation easy to read11b. keeping the original style of the text translated11c. keeping languages features11d. avoiding catching the meaning of words literally from the context12conclusion12notes13bibliography14acknowledgements.15abstract: proverbs are the concentrated reflection of a nations talent, wisdom and spirit. it is an independent statement in the folk, with educational purpose and elegant art. english proverbs were produced by the ancients in the specific history, geographical environment, customs, religious beliefs, economic, cultural and social life, which were characterized by distinctive nation, ideology and art. the translation of english proverbs should be faithful to accurately express the meaning of original text, keep the original style, and faithfully reflect the original appearance. things like the geographical environment, historical factors, customs, moral ideas, and religious beliefs should be taken into account when we translate english proverbs. we can adopt literal translation, free translation, equivalent translation and combine with various methods. only by using the most appropriate approach in different situations, and concretely analyzing concrete questions, can we make the translation text exact, natural and vivid. by studying the culture and translation of english proverbs, chinese readers can not only appreciate the essence of english language, but also understand the rich anglo-american culture. keywords: english proverbs; the chinese translation; the methods of translation摘要：谚语是一个民族的天赋、智慧和民族精神的集中反映，它是在民间流传的、具有晦人目的和高雅艺术的独立语句。英语谚语是英国人民在特定的历史、地理环境、风俗习惯、道德观念、宗教信仰、经济、文化和社会生活中产生的，具有鲜明的民族性、思想性和艺术性。英语谚语的翻译要忠实准确地表达原文的意义，保持原文的风格，忠实反映原文的面貌。翻译时要考虑英语谚语所产生的地理环境，历史因素，风俗习惯，宗教信仰等。翻译英语谚语时可采用直译、意译和借译等各种方法，只有在不同的情况下运用最合适的翻译方法，具体问题具体分析，才能使译文达意确切、自然传神。所以通过对英语谚语的文化及翻译的学习和研究，以便使中国读者既可以欣赏英语语言的精华，又能了解丰富的英美民族文化知识。关键词：英语谚语；中文翻译；翻译方法on the chinese translation of english proverbsintroductionenglish proverbs, like literature and poetry, are the crystallization of the collective wisdom of working people, and an important part of english language culture, characterized by vivid lively image and concise saying, and is full of philosophy, the well-known british writer and philosopher, francis bacon once said, “the genius, wit and spirit of a nation are discovered in its proverbs.”1 concise proverbs can express rich implication, but how to vividly and accurately translate them into chinese? i think its not an easy question. the proverbs are one of the rich fruits branch in the tree which have language and culture of human beings, so proverbs are like a miracle in the white garden of language, we can view them as precious art. the definition of english proverbs what is a proverb? there are a variety of definitions at home and abroad. however, there are two kinds of famous sayings about the definition. one saying is made by a german scholar foley seller, in his book german proverbs, says that, “the proverb is an independent statement that goes around in the folk, with educational purpose and elegant art.2 the other saying is made by the english edition of longman modem english dictionary, which makes such an explanation about proverbs, saying that proverb is a brief familiar maxim of folk wisdom, usually compressed in form, often involving a bold image and frequently a jingle that catches the memory easily.3although the viewpoints above both are different from each other, they do reflect the characteristics of proverbs; a. the flash of wisdom; b. the elegant language; c. the crystallization of experience; d. the profound philosophy; e. the flying of imagination without wings; f. the true portrayal; h. the inspiration of life. to sum up, proverb is a form of language to express peoples emotions and feelings in their daily life; and is a short lively sentence or phrase from peoples social practice; and is the most concise and vivid part of their own language. proverbs are from peoples daily life，so the daily experience is the most important factor to affect the proverb; in other words, proverbs are the daughter of daily experience. (proverbs are the product of the daily life.) if you want to learn english more, you have to learn the english proverbs very well, but english proverbs are the deposit of anglo-american culture in thousands of years history; therefore, the differences between the anglo-american culture and chinese language can bring about great difficulty in our learning and understanding. the translation of proverbs plays a crucial role for us to correctly understand the proverbs meaning and the national culture they reflect. so i try doing a little exploration on english proverbs strategy in chinese translation by comparing the chinese proverb on the influencing factors of english proverb translation. a proverb is a simple and concrete saying popularly known and repeated for long time, which conveys a profound truth, based on common sense or the human being s practical experience. they are often metaphorical. a proverb that describes a basic rule of the production and life also is known as a classical motto. if a proverb is distinguished by particularly good phrasing, it may be memorized as a maxim by the old and the young. factors affecting the translation of english proverbs proverbs are the essence and core of a nations culture, also are the production of human civilizations development. the translation of proverbs is restricted by many factors. if we want to grasp the main point and the cultural connotation, we should take all the factors that affect its meaning into consideration in the translating process; such as the background of history and culture, the environment of geography, the customs and habits, the belief of religion, moral ideas, legends, so that we can fully understand the proverb itself especially the profound meaning it contains.a. the background of history and culturethe impacts of the social and historical development on language are huge. as is known to all, there are many diversities between the modern english and the old english, middle english in the language structure and usage, and those changes are the result of long-term historical development, as the times changes, the old language constantly updates even replaces new language. today we look round again, the change and development of the proverbs are the same as the continuous development of historical progress, which can clearly reflect the changes of the society and culture, so when we are translating english proverbs, we need to consider their historical background and social development, only in this way, can we correctly understand the meaning of the proverbs.there are rich cultural heritages in chinese history, many proverbs are reflected; such as “说曹操，曹操到”、“逼上梁山”、“过五关，斩六将” these proverbs with obvious national characteristics are closely related to chinese history and culture in 55 bc, the roman commander julius caesar had conquered the british isles, while the “roman conquest” began in 43 in the british history. from then on, the romans occupied the britain for 400 years. the influence of the culture of romans on britain remains on the island, we can still find the trace of history in todays english proverbs. for instance,(1) rome was not built in a day 罗马不是一天建成的。( 喻指冰冻三尺，非一日之寒)(2) while rome is burning 大难临头依然寻欢作乐。( 喻指对大事漠不关心)(3) all roads lead to rome. 条条道路通罗马。（喻指殊途同归) those proverbs all reflect the assimilation of language and culture for long time, and reflect that roman empire has brought great impacts on the development of english.b. the environment of geographythe generation of proverbs is closely related to peoples geographical environment where they live and work, so we can not separate the form of culture from the influence of the natural geography. while the special geographical circumstance brings up the special culture, the special culture is the production of the special expression methods of proverbs. china is giving priority to the land, it is a comfortable place where people could stay. the production of proverbs are closely related to the environment of local geography where people are living and working. its well known that chinese people originated in the yellow river basin, so there are many proverbs related to the yellow river. such as,“跳进黄河也洗不清” 和“不到黄河心不死，不撞南墙不回头”.while britain is an island nation, which locates on the british islands between western europe and atlantic ocean, with the english channel and the straits of dover on its south, and the north sea on its east. owing to the advanced oceanic transportations and fisheries, many proverbs about the voyages, fisheries, sea and water left.4 for example,spend money like water. （挥金如土，而不是“挥金如水”） all is fish that comes to his net. （进到网里的都是鱼）the great fish eat up the small. （大鱼吃小鱼）he that would sail without danger must never come on the main sea. （谁在航行时不冒险，他就永远不要来到大海上了）never offer to teach fish to swim. （不要教鱼儿游泳。这条谚语比喻意义“不要在行j家面前卖弄自己”相当于汉语谚语“不要班们弄斧”）the great britain island is a typical warm temperate maritime climate with the abundant rainfall, strong wind, fog and the heavily rainfall. then they had a proverb,“it never rains but it pours.” (不雨则已，一雨倾盆)c. the customers and habitsthe customs and habits are a way of peoples life in a region, including lots of things related to life in all fields. proverbs not only affect a nations politics, economy, religion, literature, but also reflect the nations customs and habits. proverbs and customs, habits are more closely related. the translation of english proverbs cant be known well without understanding the english customs and habits. any nation has their own favorite animals, so the culture on pets has district characteristics. chinese people always look down upon dogs and use them to describe an evil person or bad things. but most of the anglo-american countries have a good sense to dogs, they view dogs as their reliable friends. most of them dont have any derogatory sense except the part effected by other culture. while in anglo-american culture, “dogs” are always the allegory to describe the peoples life, so there have been many proverbs in reference of a dog.every dog has his own day. （每只狗都有它的好时光。）the metaphor of this proverbs is, “everyone has a proud day”. (人人都有他得意的一天。)love me, love my dog.（喜欢我就要喜欢我的狗。）it says,“anyone who wants to keep the friendship with me needs to accept and stand all the things that belong to me, including my own hobbies and opinions”. and its similar to the chinese proverb “爱屋及乌”. while in china, people are used to regarding dogs as immoral man or disgusting things. so there have formed plenty of proverbs about “dog”, 狼心狗肺；狗咬吕洞宾，不识好人心。 in contrast, chinese people are very fond of cats, cats are usually regarded as sweetheart by people. in western culture, the cat was used to describe a spiteful woman; such as, cats hide their claws. (知人知面不知心。)d. the beliefs of religion religious belief is not only a kind of ideology, but also a kind of culture. as a kind of spiritual customs, it is very complicated and related to humanitys production, life, work and study. confucius, the founder of the confucian school occupies an important position in the ideological field of china, confucianism has left precious spiritual wealth, in the chinese proverb, “严于律己，宽于待人”，“恭敬不如从命”。 the buddhism has been introduced to china for more than several thousand years, people believe that everything around the world could be dominated by the buddha, so there are many proverbs containing “buddha”and “temple” in chinese language, such as“借花献佛”,“无事不登三宝殿”chinese proverbs also reflect taoism like “福兮祸所伏，祸兮福所倚”and so on.the christianity is one of the three major religions in the world, the number of people who are faithful to christianity accounts for a quarter of the worlds population. the new christianity is viewed as britains national religion, although there are also many catholic population in britain, the well-known christian followers - protestants accounts for the most proportion. therefore, there are many english proverbs with christian characteristic. for example, if man proposes evil，god disposes of it上帝会阻止想要为恶的人(喻指谋事在人，成事在天，或尽人事，听天由命。) (1)god helps those who help themselves上帝帮助那些帮助自己的人。(喻指自助者，天助之。)(2)pay to caesar what belongs to caesar and god what belongs to god让上帝的归上帝，让恺撒的归恺撒。(喻指不在其位，不谋其政或做好自己的事。) in the western countries, god is the creator of all things, so god in english takes high position and is referred in proverb with high frequency. in the right church，but in the wrong pew. (进对了教堂，但坐错了椅子)比喻“总的来说是对的，但细节上不对”。e. moral ideasthe traditional moral and concept of china have paid attention to “propriety, righteousness, benevolence, honesty”, so there are some proverbs with unselfish spirit,“一人有难大家帮，一家有事百家忙”，“互帮互助，穷能变富” the british have paid more attention to personal gains and losses. such as, he that has but only one eye must be afraid to lose it.(只有一只眼睛的人当然怕失去它，隐义为“不借钱给你，也是理所当然的”。)lend your horse for a long journey; you may have him returned with his skin. (借马给人去远行，可能还你一张皮。隐义为“忘恩负义、恩将仇报”) lend your money, and lose your friend.(借出你的钱，失去你的朋友)。f. legendsthe bible is a great book, whose effects on the western world are so enormous that any other works cannot reach. many legends in the bible bring about a great impact on english countries. people widely used them to write essay for long period time in daily life; thus legends have brought forth a large number of english proverbs, which have become an important part of a language that is used widely.the heart knows his own bitterness. (一颗心知道它自己的痛苦，隐义为“切肤之痛”)every man must carry his own cross. (每个人必须背他自己的十字架，隐义为“自己的痛苦要靠自己来承受”。）those proverbs come from“the bible”, the cross is the one which the jesus is approaching to death with misery, nailed him to the cross and died at length. so the word “cross” has the meaning of misery and those proverbs mean that “everyone must be enduring the suffering in life, and bear their own burden”.5“forbidden fruit” is also a phrase from “the bible”, and is well-known for everyone. in the “genesis”, the apple that don adam had eaten in the garden of eve is called forbidden fruit. the implication is made in “forbidden fruit” means that the thing one wants to get because it was forbidden.6 forbidden fruit is always sweet. （禁果是甜的） it shows that“不让得到的东西往往就具有诱惑性”. (the thing you cant get is always quite attractive). the translating methods of english proverbsthe famous philosopher rousseau once said, “a proverb is the wisdom of men and the wit of one”. since the content of proverbs reflect, the flash of wisdom, the crystallization of experience, the sediment of the historical culture, and the translation of proverbs all are closely related to reflecting their own characteristics and revealing their connotative meanings. a well-known american translator linda left a famous saying, “its so necessary to pay attention to the response of the accepted people for all translation whether they are poets or articles. the effect on the audiences from the objective facts, is the most fundamental factor to evaluate any translation.”.7 so we should apply various methods to express the natural and connotative meanings of english proverbs. so here, i will present a brief introduction with several methods to translate the different proverbs.a. literal translation so-called literal translation refers to a skill that keeps english proverbs metaphor, form and the national characteristics on the basis that literal translation is in accordance with the standardization of language translation, and without causing errors in association and understanding. the following english proverbs can be directly translated into chinese proverbs, knowledge is power. (知识就是力量) all roads lead to rome. (条条道路通罗马) no pains, no gains. (不劳则不获) we can find that the literal translation can mainly retain the original image and metaphor, and retain the original unique technique of expression, which bings novel and chic sense to person. therefore, in the process of english proverbs translation, we usually give priority to use literal translation. blood is thicker than water. (血浓于水)he who laughs last laughs best. (谁笑到最后，谁笑得最好) learn to walk before you run. （先学走，再学跑）money isnt everything. （钱不是万能的） practice makes perfect. （熟能生巧）the eye is the window of the mind. （眼睛是心灵的窗户）we can see that this way has hold the original form, analogy and the expressing methods.b. free translationwhen by using the skill of literal translation to translate english proverbs is difficult or the translation makes the reader misunderstand, free translation should be generally adopted. free translation is a kind of skill that mainly refers to the proverbscontent and figurative meaning, but it sacrifices the form, and flexibly convey the original meaning combined with the context. such as the english proverb, “a