中国习语与英国习语的不同翻译

CulturalDifferencesandTranslationinEnglishandChineseIdiom1. IntroductionWhatisanEnglishidiom?Anidiomisagroupofwordsestablishedbyusageashavingameaningnotdeduciblefromthoseoftheindividualwords.(Wang2000)Idiomsexistinanylanguage.TheEnglishlanguageisnotedforitswealthofidioms.TheyaretheessenceofEnglishlanguageandthecrystallizationofEnglishculture.Theyreflecttypicallythewholeexperiencesofworkingpeople’slivesandthesocialhistory.Havingexperiencedtheevolutionoferas,Englishidiomhasformedinphrasesandshortsentencesafteramplesocialpractices.Concerningitsbroadsenseappellation,itincludesidiom,phrase,proverb,slang,sequel,locution,allusionetc.EspeciallyEnglishandChinesearedefinedtothissortofexistingsentence,whichisalsocalledidiom(setphrase)thatindicatesfromfixedversatilepopularshortsentence.Theseform-fixedshortsentenceshavebeengraduallydevelopedandcan’tbetornapartfreelyorrebuilt.Theygenerallypossessfixedformandmeaning,denotesageneralconception,andappearsinasentenceasacomponentwithvividimage.Thusitispropertomodifymattersforitscharacterconcisenessandbeingeasilyunderstoodandremembered.Thereforeitispopularamongthemasses.Themeaningsofsomeoftheidiomsaredefinite,andothersareimplicitwhichcanraiseluxuriantassociation.Comprehensionofthemshouldbebasedonthecontextinordertounderstanditaccurately,fortheidiomspossesssomeextensivemeanings.AsfrequentexchangeofChineseandwestcultures,Englishidiomshavefoundtheirwaytoallfieldsofourlivesjustasournationalessence,atthesametime.Inthemeantime,EnglishidiomsandChineseidiomspossesssimilarsideanddifferentsideowingtothedistinctionbetweenbilateralnationalculturesandsocialsurrounding.Inordertodothetranslationwellwemustcarefullydistinguishthedifferences.Inthisessay,wewillanalyzethesourcesandculturalbackgroundoftheEnglishidioms,andwayoftranslatingthemintoChinese.2. SourcesofEnglishIdiomsTheabundanceandvarietyofidiomsintheEnglishlanguagemaybetogreatextentaccountedforbythehistoricaldevelopmentofthelanguage.Andaspartoflanguage,idiom’semergingandgrowingisjusttheresultoftheenrichmentofEnglishlanguage.SothesourcesofEnglishidiomsaredeeplyinvolvedintheprocessofpeople’scommunicationinwhichlanguageistheessentialmedia.Idiomsareoftenshortandbrief,buttowritedownthethoughtsandfeelingtheycontainneedslotsofbooks.Asidiom’sdefinitionstates,itiscreatedbythepeoplewhospeakEnglishduringalongperiodoftime.Knowledgeofthesourcesoftheseidiomsmayhelpustocomprehendwhattheyreallymean,soitisworthourefforttogiveanaccountofthefactorswhichleadtotheirformation.2.1 IdiomsfromDailyLifeGenerallyspeaking,thesourcesofEnglishidiomsarebasicallylivesofworkingpeople,suchasagriculturallife,economylife,nauticalandmilitarylifeandsoon.Forexample,“Aninetofivejob”:regularworkasanemployee,especiallyinanoffice,shop,andfactory,etc.Itcorrespondsto“常日班”inChinese.InEnglishspeakingcountries,worknormallybeginsatnineinthemorningandendsatfiveintheafternoon.Hencecomesuptheidiom.2.2 IdiomsfromLiteratureTherearealotofidiomscomingfromliteraryworks,suchasTheBible,workswritenbyWilliamShakespeare,TheFablesofAesop,andothermythsandlegends.Forexample“athorninone’sflesh”means(fig)“constantsourceofannoyance”.“Toflutterthedovecotes”means“toalarmquietpeople”.“Thelion’sshare”means“thelargerorlargestparting”.(TheLion’sSharefromArnoldBennett)3. TheCulturalDifferencesReflectedinIdiomTranslation“Themostelusivethingtocomprehendandtranslatetheforeignliteratureisitsassociatedmeanings,”asMr.ZhuGuangqiansaidinhisOnTranslation,“translationpossessesspecialemotionalenvironment,whichisverybroadanddelicateandtremendouslyimportant,butcannotbefoundinthedictionary.Wewillbeconfusedifwearenotfamiliarwiththelocalconditionsandcustomsabroadaswellasitshistoricalculturalbackgrounds.Howeverthisisabsolutelydifficulttohandlewithintranslation.”(1996,110)TheBritishanthropologistEdwardTailor,inhisoriginalculture,mentionedcultureasaconceptionfirsttime,andaddedthat“culture,includingknowledge,beliefs,arts,morality,lawandcustoms,isasortofcomplexabilityandhabitsacquiredinsocialpractice”.(Worrall1975)Obviously,culture,whichcoversfields,isacompoundsystem.Asacomponentofculture,idiomreflectscolorfulethicculturalphenomenal.Asstatedabove,wecansayculturaldifferencereflectedinEnglishidiomscanbedividedintovarietiesandmainlyembodiedinthefollowingareas.3.1 CulturalDifferencesinLivingSurroundingsIthascloserelationsbetweentheformationofidiomsandpeople’sactivitiesandlives.Asaninsularcounty,Britainhadoncebeenthemasterofthesea.Comparatively,ourHanPeoplelivedlongontheAsiancontinentpeopleandcouldnotliveanymoreoncetheysteppedoutoftheland.Therearemanywordsabout“boat”and“water”inEnglishidioms.It’sapitythatnocompletelycorrespondingidiomscanbeselectedinChineselanguage.Forexample,“torestonone’soars”(暂时歇一歇),“tokeepone’sheadabovewater”(奋力图存),“allatsea”(不知所措)etc.Simultaneously,inChineseculturalcircumstance,westwindreferstothewindinsiring,andsummerisalwaysconnectedwithbrutalandsultrywords,“赤日炎似火烧，骄阳似火”.Allthesewordsareadaptedtodescribesummerweather.InBritain,whichislocatedinthenortherntemperatezoneinwesternhemisphere,andenjoysoceanweather,westwindisthesymbolofspring’scoming,afamousBritishpoetShelleyexpressedhispraiseofspringinhisOdetotheWestWind.ItisjollyandamiableinEnglandwhensummeriscoming,soEnglishpeopleliketouse“lovely,warm,nice”todescribesummerweather.Moreover,Shakespearecomparedthelovelysummerinoneofhissonnets.“ShallIcomparetheetoasummer’sday?Thouartlovelierandmoretemperate”.3.2 CulturalDifferencesinCustomsTherearemanydifferencesinEnglish-Chineseidioms.Nothingifmoretypicalthanpeople’sopinionstoward“dog”,whichisahumbleanimalinChina,anditisfrequentlyassociatedwithderogatorymeaningssuchasdog-associatedwords,“狐朋狗党，狗急跳墙，狼心狗肺，狗腿子”etc.seeminglydog’sstatushasbeenacceptedandincreasedinrecentyearsduetomoreandmorepeopleadoptdogsaspetsinChina,thedogsaredeemedasthemostloyalfriendsinwesternEnglish-speakingcountries.Mostofdog-associatedwordsarenotderogatoryexceptsomeofthemaffectedbyotherculture.Wecanusuallycompareaperson’sbehaviorswithdoginEnglishidioms,forexample,“youarealuckydog”(你是一个幸运儿),“everydoghasitsday”(凡人皆有得意日),leadadog’slife(过穷困潦倒的日子)etc.Whenexpressingaperson’sterribleillness,peopleliketouse“sick”asa“dog”,whenexpressingaquiteexhaustedperson,peopleuse“dog-tired”.OnthecontraryChinesepeoplearefoundofcat,thustheyliketouse“馋猫”toindicateaperson’sgreedinessforfoodwithaffectionatesense.Butinthewesternculture“cat”isusedtodescribe“atrickyandmalevolentwoman(包藏祸心的女人).3.3 CulturalDifferencesinReligionandBeliefsThereisahostofreligion-and–beliefassociatedwordsinEnglishandChineseidioms.PeoplebelievethatthereexistsGodwhomastersallthingsintheworld.BuddhismhasadoptedbyChineseoveronethousandyears,whichhasmanyassociatedidioms,e.g.闲时不烧香，临时抱佛脚.PeoplebelieveinChristianverymuchinwesterncountries,especiallyintheU.S.andtheU.K.sotherearemanyassociatedidiomssuchas“godhelpsthosewhohelpthemselves”(上帝帮助自助的人),afamouscurseidiom“gotohell”(见鬼去吧).3.4 DifferencesinHistoricalAllusionsThereareanumberofidiomsoriginatingfromhistoricalinEnglishandChinesehistory.Theyareusuallysimpleinstructureandprofoundinmeanings.InsomuchwetranslatetheirmeaningsfromtheChinesehistory.Forexample,东施笑颦，名落孙山，and叶公好龙etc.MostoftheEnglishallusionscomefromtheBibleandancientGreekandRomanMyths,e.g.“Achillesheel”(唯一致命的弱点),“meetone’swaterloo”(一败涂地)“Penelope’sweb”(永远完不成的工作),“Pandora’sbox”(潘多拉之盒—灾难，麻烦，祸害的总根源)etc.ThoughtherearenocompletelythesameexpressioninEnglishandChinese,forexample,toholdone’sheadhigh(昂首挺胸，充满自信),stillwehavesimilarorrelatedcounterparts.4. WaysoftranslatingEnglishIdiomsintoChineseTounderstandthebackgroundandsourcesofEnglishidiomsandthedifferencebetweenEnglishandChineseidiomsbasicallyaretheprerequisitetotranslateidiomsintothegood,correct,correspondingversion,whichwearefamiliarwith.TherearealotofmethodstotranslateEnglishidioms,butthemainareliteraltranslation,freetranslationandequivalenttranslation.Let’sanalyzethemwithexamplesrespectively.4.1 LiteralTranslationWhenconductingthismethodtotranslate,weshouldnotviolatetheChineselanguagerules.Underthiscondition,wenotonlyshouldkeeptheoriginalcomparison,image,characteristicsandtheobvioustintofnation,localityandhistoryreflectedintheidioms,butalsocontributetoabsorbinsomenewwords,sentencestructureandexpressionsetc.e.g.1)HitlerwasarmedtotheteethwhenhelaunchedtheSecondWorldWar,butinafewyears,hewascompletelydefeated.Inthissentence,thetranslatortranslatedarmedtotheteethas武装到牙齿.Itismorevividlyandlively,simultaneously,andthetoneisstronger.Ifthetranslatortranslateditas全副武装,thetonewillbereduced.2)SayonewordmoreandI’llburyawhitebladeinyouandpullitred.再说别的，我让你白刀子进去红刀子出来。ThoughtherearesomeEnglishidiomscanbetranslatedintoChinesecorrespondingversionliterally,thevolumeisnotbig.InSentence2),thephrase“buryawhitebladeinyouandpullitred”(把白刀子捅进你身体，拔出来的是红色的)ifbasicallysameastheChineseidiom白刀子进，红刀子出.Itremainsthepeculiaritylikesimile,imageandsoonintheidioms.ThefollowingphrasescanbetranslatedintoChineseliterally;wecanfindtheequivalentidiomsinChineselanguage.Digone’sowntomb—自掘坟墓;Athornintheflesh—肉中刺，眼中钉Whenwedosuchkindoftranslationweshouldunderstandthewords’meaning,sometimesweshouldalsobeawarethatwecouldconvertthefunctionofvocabularywhenwetranslateEnglishintoChinese.Newwineinoldbottle—旧瓶装新酒;Packedlikesardines—挤得像沙丁鱼;Bloodisthickerthanwater—血浓于水4.2 EquivalentTranslationTherearesomeEnglishidiomssimilarasChineseidiomsinform,content,figureofspeech.Sowecanuseequivalenttranslation.SomeoftheidiomsinChineseandEnglisharethesame.1)Ithink,andIcertainlyhope,thosestoriesareterriblyexaggerated.Ourintelligencesays.Stillthereisasmoke.我觉得，我当然也希望这些报道是夸大了。我们的情报人员是这样，不过无风不起浪。Certainly,whenwetranslatesomething,ourmindsshouldbeliveandopen,sothefunctionofwordsorexpressioncanbechangeable.Sometimeswemustomitsomepartoftheoriginalsentencesorpassageswhenwetranslatethem,butsometimesweshouldaddsomethingtomaketheversionmoresmoothly.Inthissentencethephrase“thereisasmoke”isshortenedfromthephrase“wherethereissmokethereisfire”(有烟必着火，无火不起烟).Ifweareconfinedtotheellipsisformoftheoriginalandtranslateitas只要有烟or有烟的地方,readerswouldbeboundtobeconfused.Abettermethod,comparatively,istoemploytheequivalentChineseidiom无风不起浪withtheemissionofellipsisfromoftheoriginal,whichwouldbemorecorrectandappropriate.2)Well,it’stoolatetohidenow,musttrytoavoidsuspicionbythrowingthemoffthescent.如今即使赶着躲，想躲也躲不及了，少不得要使个金蝉脱壳的法子。Englishidiom“tothrowsomebodyoffscent”isdifferentfromtheimageofChineseidiom金蝉脱壳,butthemainideaofspeechisclose.Bothofthemhavethesamemeaning:trytoescape,sothissetofidiomscanbetranslatedequivalently.Fromthecontentsandexamplesmentionedabove,however,wecanconcludethatwhenequivalenttranslationisused,weshould,inmostcases,avoidoverexaggeratingthecase,becausewecouldnotfindcorrespondingversiontooneanotherabsolutely.Sometimes,weshouldbefamiliarwithuseoftranslationtechniques.Thefollowingphraseshouldbetranslatedinthisapproach.Addfueltothefire—火上加油;Wallshaveears—隔墙有耳;Spendmoneylikewater—挥金如土;Fishintroubledwater—浑水摸鱼.4.3 FreeTranslationWhenthemainideaoforiginalcontextcontradictswiththerepresentationoftheversion,theliteralmethodshouldnotbeadopted.Inthiscase,wecanchoosefreetranslationaccordingtothecontext,butitshouldnotlimitfromtheoriginalpassage.Sothat’stosay,wecanchange,restructuretodelivertheoriginalcontent.Sure,inEnglish,therearemanyrelatedthingstoaccountforonematter,butwhichonecanbechoseisuptosituation.Thussometimeswecanchoosesomerepresentationsalittlefarfromtheusedsentence’smeaning.1)Johncanbereliedonheeatsnofishandplaysthegame.约翰为人可靠，他既忠诚，又正直。Inthissentenceto“toeatnofishandtoplaythegame”cannotbeliterallyregardedas不吃鱼和玩游戏.Thisexplanationwouldmakesomebodyconfused.ToeatfishisanEnglishallusion,itsmainideaisthat:duringElizabethperiod,JesusChristian,ejectedtoabidebythecustoms“toeatfish”onFridayorderedbyRomanCatholicinordertoshowhisdevotiontoEnglandgovernment.Insomuchtoeatnofishmeans“faith,toplaythegame”andto“playfairmean”规规矩矩地比赛.Consequentlyitcanbetransferredto公平对待，举止光明正大，为人正直。2)AfterIfinishedmywork,hesaidthathewantedtogivemeahand.NeverthelessIthoughtthathisideawasjusttocarrycoalstoNewcastle.FromthisexampleitiseasytofindthattheoriginalmeaningofthesentenceisnotequalcompletelytoourChineseexpression.ButinEnglish’seyes,wecouldusethistoconveythemeaning,whichleadtoanamazingmentalfeedbackorreaction.TocarrycoaltoNewcastleoftheoriginalsentenceliterallymeans把煤运到纽卡索.Thatisanallusion.Newcastleisaplacewhichproducescoalprofusely.SotocarrycoaltoNewcastleisofnouse,andmoreoveritmeansdoingsomethingrepeatedlywithnoneed.So“tocarrycoaltoNewcastle”canbetranslatedas多此一举.WhentranslatingEnglishidioms,ifwecannotpreservetheoriginalmeaningandthefigurativemeanings,weshouldpresenttheimplicitmeanings.ThiskindoftranslationisverycommoninEnglishidioms.Forexample,ifwesimpleregardAchilles’heelas阿喀琉斯的脚跟.Itishardtobeunderstoodmostaccuratelyandacceptably.Withregardtoanothercaseofidiomconnectedwiththedogthatwillfetchabonewillcarryabone,onecannottranslatedog,boneliterallyas狗，骨头.That’stogiveupitsliteralmeaningandfigurativemeaning.Sowecantranslateitasitsimplicitmeaning对你说别人坏话的人也会说你的坏话.Thereisstillanothercase“raincatsanddogs”.Ifwetranslateitinto下猫和狗,itcannotbecomprehendedthoughitremainstheoriginalimagination.Andalsoitdoesn’tconfirmtoChineselanguageexpressionrules.wecantranslateitasitsimplicitmeaning倾盆大雨.Thefollowingphrasewouldbetranslatedassuch:Tokeepone’sowncompany—孤芳自赏，隐居独处，独往独来，离群索居;Holdthebaby—干苦差;smellatrat—怀疑其中有诈.4.4 Non-equivalenceinEnglishandChineseidiomsNow,wearesomehowfamiliarwiththenumerousdifferencesstatedintheabovepagesbetweenSino-westculturesseemingly,manyidiomsaresimilar,butmeaningsvaryalot,especiallyincolorandnumbertranslation.What’smore,sometimesthedifferencesbetweenthemareverygreat.LetusdosomeanalysisofthecorrectionwiththefollowingEnglishandChineseidiomscases.1)InthetranslationofEnglishandChineseidioms,weshouldpayspecialattentiontothenon-equivalenceofEnglishandChineseidioms.ThesimilarlymeaningofEnglishidiomsmaymisleadus—thecontrarymeaning.“Haveaboneinone’sthroat”notequalto“骨刺在喉”ThissetofEnglish-Chineseidiomscannotbedeemedtobeequal,eventhoughtheirmeaningisquitethesameseemingly,butthefigurativemeaningisafarcry.Theformerisanexcuseofunwillingtospeakwhatthetruthis.有骨头卡在喉咙里开不了口.Sowetranslateitas“难以启齿”.Thelatterismeaningthatbetteritas“有话不得不说”.Wecaneasilyfindthattheirmeaningsarequitedifferent.2)Apartfromaddingnegativeorpositivemeaning,thiskindofphraseorsentencemayembodythesuperficialmeaning,addingmorevividnesstothefacialmeaning.“awalkingskeleton”notequalto“行尸走肉”Literally,thissetofidiomsisquitesimilar.Walkingisequalto“行”,skeletonissimilarto“尸”.Actuallytheirfigurativemeaningsareutterlydifferent.Skeletonin“walkingskeleton”showsapersonbecomeasemaciatedasafowl(thinandshaggyperson).Itstressesonaperson’shealthystate.Thelatter“行尸走肉”referstoaperson’sspiritualballast.Thereisafarcrybetweenthetwophrases.3)Atthesametime,thepurposeofnon-equivalencemayaddemotionalqualities.“touchandgo”notequalto“一触即发”Theimageofthepairisquitesimilar,buttheirimplicitmeaningsarenotthesame.Englishidiom“touchandgo”denotedanarrowescape,andhasthemeaningofdangerandmainlyrepresentthepastmattersoruncertainties.But“一触即发”representsatrendofthing’sdevelopment,whichmeansexposure.e.g.Ourteamwonthegameallright,butitwastouchingandgoingforawhile.我们队是赢了，但却是悬得很。4).Itsometimeshasthefunctionoffiguresofspeech.“pullone’sleg(puttheleg)”notequalto“拉后腿”Theformatsofthesephrasesarequitesimilar,“pulltheleg”means“tryforajoke,tomakehimbelievesomethingthatisuntrue”(和某人开玩笑,愚弄别人,使人相信虚假的事情).InChineseidiom,“拉后腿”meansobstructingsomebody’swayorholdingdownother’sactions.e.g.foratimeIactuallybelievedthathiswifehadroyalblood,andthenIrealizedhewaspulingmyleg.我一度真的相信他太太有皇族血统,后来才明白原来他是愚弄我.5)Atlastbutnotleast,usingnon-equivalencemakestherelatedexpressionofeuphemism,orhasthefunctionofpun.Inthiscase,itcanmakereadermoreeasilybeingtouched.“liedownonthejob”notequalto躺倒不干Thispairofidiomsissimilarinformatbutdifferentinmeaning.“liedownonthejob”meansnotworkingbyhearandsoul.TherelativeEnglishidiomof“躺倒不干”is“throwingupone’sjob”whichmeansrejectingtowork.Sothemeaningsoftheseidiomsarenotthesame.e.g.thisparticulartaskrequirescloseteamworkandifanyoneofusliesdownonthejob,weshallneverbeabletofinishitintime.这一项任务要求互相相互配合得很好,任何一个人不好好干,我们就无法按时守成.Accordingly,wecanconclude,fromtheexampleandanalysisthatnon-equivalenceinEnglish-Chineseidiomalwayspreoccupiedus,mainlystressingthepurposeofthepresentations.Whenencounteringwithsuchcases,actuallyit’seveninevitabletocommitmistakefornewlearners,evenheorshehascertainknowledgeinthatfield.Therefore,weshouldfirstlynotethatthereexistsnoequivalencebetweenthem,butthevolumeofthissortissmall.Consequently,weshouldcollectthemasmanyaspossible.5. ConclusionEnglishidioms,proverbsandallusionsareanimportantpartoftheEnglishlanguageandEnglishculture.TolearnersofEnglishasaforeignlanguagetheyareoftenhardtounderstandandhardertousecorrectlybecausetheyareculturerichlanguageitems.Tolearnthemmeanstolearnnotonlywordsandgrammarbutalsotheunderlingculture.Thisisbynomeanseasy.However,theirproperuseisoftenamarkofone’scommandofEnglish.Itisworthwhiletomakeeffortstolearnthemwell.Thetranslationofidiomsiseasyandoftenrequirespainstakingeffort.WeoftenknowforeignfriendssaythatChineseidiomsandidiomsandidiomaticexpressionsare“themostdifficultpart”forthemtomaster.Honestly,wehavetoadmittoo.ThatitisidiomsandtheidiomaticpartofEnglishthatarethemostdifficultpartofEnglishthatarethemostdifficultpartforusChinesetomaster.Yet,withoutsomeknowledgeofEnglishidioms,noneofuscanadequateunderstand,speakorwrite,letalonetranslatethemadequately.InthetranslationofEnglishidioms,therefore,ourfirstandforemostconcernshouldbetogetanaccuratecomprehensionoftheoriginal,togetfamiliarwithandunderstandthedifferencesofSino-westcultures.SecondconcernisthattostriveforandadequaterepresentationinChinese.Onlyinthiswaycanwetranslateidiomsmoreaccurate,vividandpicturesque.

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