俗语翻译法.doc

习语大都具有鲜明代形象，适宜用来比喻事物，因而往往带有浓厚的民族色彩和地方色彩。不少习语前后对称，音节优美，韵律协调。由于习语具有这些特点，翻译时就应当尽量保持这些特点。译者除了忠实地表达原文习语的意义外，还应尽可能保持原文习语的形象比喻，丰富联想，修辞效果以及其民族，地方特点等。 英语习语就其广义而言，包括俗语，谚语，俚语等。 习语的英译汉有三种主要方法：直译法，套用法，意译法，直译加注法 一，直译法 To fight to the last man To break the record Under ones nose Armed to the teeth Packed like sardines A die-hard An gentlemans agreement An olive branch The heel of Achilles The open-door policy The most-favored-nation 血浓于水 吠犬不咬人 滚石不生苔 海内存知己，天涯若比邻 兼听则明，偏听则暗 以眼还眼，以牙还牙 引狼入室 自助者天助 千里之行 ，始于足下 The gift itself may be as light as a feather, but sent from afar, it conveys deep feelings. A gentleman uses his tongue, not his fists. Good medicine is bitter in the mouth, but good for the disease.套用法 也称为以习语译习语 Constant dripping wears the stone 滴水穿石 To burn ones boats 破釜沉舟 Walls have ears 隔墙有耳 Many a little makes a mickle 积少成多 Look before you leap 三思而后行 There is no smoke without fire 无风不起浪 谋事在人，成事在天 The burnt child dreads the fire 一朝被蛇咬，十年怕草绳 Better be the head of a dog than the tail of a lion 宁为鸡头，勿为牛尾 Where theres a will, theres a way 有志者，事竟成 杀机取卵 To kill the goose that lays golden eggs 成热打铁 缘木求鱼 To fish in the air Dont wash your dirty linen in public 家丑不可外扬 A fall into the pit, a gain in your wit 吃一堑，长一智 Hungry dogs will eat dirty puddings 饥不择食 Some idioms which exhibit strong national or cultural characteristics can neither be handled by borrowing idioms from the target language nor translated literally because it would cause misunderstanding or could not be easily accepted by native speakers of the other language. In this case, it is necessary to resort to paraphrasing according to the context. To be going from bad to worse; to be deteriorating. To know practically nothing about Whats done is done, and cannot be undone. Regardless of the consequences To be simply nothing compared to In a turmoil; to be extremely upset A fly on the wheel A bull in a china shop (an area) flowing with milk and honey By hook or crook To carry fire in one hand and water in the other hand Every dog had its day This approach is used when certain idioms, particularly those with historical stories or names involved, can hardly be understood and accepted by the listener, and the translator cannot find their proper equivalents in the target language. If literal translation were used, they would lose their original vividness. 杀鸡给猴看 To kill the chicken to frighten the monkey to punish somebody as a warning to others. 班门弄斧 To show off ones skill with the axe before Lu Ban the master carpenter-to display ones slight skill before an expert/ To teach your grandma to such eggs To offer to teach fish to swim 三个臭皮匠赛过诸葛亮 Three cobblers with their wits combined surpass Zhu geLiang the mastermind-to heads are better than onePrinciples for translating idioms 1. retain the vividness and forceful effect 既往不咎 Let bygones be bygones 有钱能使鬼推磨 Money makes the mare go; money talks The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak 物以类聚，人以群分 Birds of a feather flock together Once bitten, twice shy 2. retain the image A stitch in time saves nine Man proposes, God/Heaven disposes A gentleman uses his tongue, not his fists 3. achieve brevity The unexpected always happens Give him an inch and he will take an ell 天网恢恢，疏而不漏 Justice has long arms To have eyes but fail to see Taishan Mountain To entertain an angel unawares You cant eat your words You cant break your promise You are pulling my leg A horse stumbles that has four legs Hes leading a dogs life I am dead-beat today To take French leave A stony heart At ones fingertips To have a hand like a foot As mute as a fish To return good for evil To shut ones eyes against To talk black into white To turn a deaf ear to Practice makes perfect To face the music Plain sailing To be dead drunk Laugh and grow fat To fly into a rage To look for a needle in a haystack A leap in the dark To show ones colors To make a noise in the world More haste, less speed Neither fish nor flesh To pick holes in To mind ones Ps and Qs To be at the end of ones rope To flog a dead horse To turn over a new leaf To put all ones eggs in one basket He just had forty winks. His wife held the purse string. You should keep your nose out of here. That night he slept like a top, and woke with his knee of almost normal size. I am not talking about castles in the air-the donkeys carrot. Mother said, “John, youre talking through your hat. Youre craze”. His accent gave him away. The Nazis in Berlin became desperate and tried to make hell while the sun was shining. As blind as a bat As cool as a cucumber Between the devil and the blue sea To call a spade a spade Now or never Much cry and little wool With tongue in cheek To wear ones heart on ones sleeve The leopard cannot change its spots As the touchstone tries gold, so gold tires men. The proof of pudding is in the eating One cannot make a silk purse out of a sows ear. Do not count your chickens before they are hatched. The mills of God grind slowly. He laughs best who laughs last. Nothing venture, nothing gain. Fish begins to stink at the head. Speech is silver, silence is gold. 远亲不如近邻 Neighbors are dearer than distant relatives/ Neighbors are more helpful than relatives/ a remote kinsfolk is not as good as a near neighbor 情人眼里出西施 Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder/ love sees no fault/ Love blinds a man to imperfections 有缘千里来相会，无缘对面不相逢 Those who are meant to meet will meet even if they are separated by a thousand miles; those who are not meant to meet will not get acquainted even if they brush