英语习语汉译过程中的文化不可译性学位论文

AbstractAlongwiththedevelopmentandmaturityoftheoriesontranslation,agrowinginterestamongtranslatorshasemergedtoexploretheuntranslatabilityintranslation.Translatorsgraduallybegintoexplorethetranslationlimitationsfromtheaspectsofthelanguageitselfanddifferentculturalorigins.Thetranslationofidiomshasalsobeenoneoftheresearchinterestsinstudiesoftranslation.SomecoloridiomsfromOxfordDictionaryofCurrentIdiomaticEnglisharecollectedandanalyzedindetailtoexploretheuntranslatabilityandthereasonsthatcauseuntranslatabilitybasedonCatford’stranslationtheory.ThepresentstudyanalyzestheculturaluntranslatabilityandthereasonsthatcauseculturaluntranslatabilityinEnglishtoChinesecoloridiomstranslation.ItishopedthatthisstudywillbenefittranslatorswhostudyandtranslateEnglishidiomsandgiveinspirationstothem.KeyWords:coloridiom；Catford’stranslationtheory；untranslatability；culturaluntranslatability摘要随着翻译理论的不断发展和成熟，可译性和不可译性问题日渐受到翻译学家的关注。翻译学者们逐渐开始从语言本身和不同国家的文化渊源对翻译的可译程度进行探讨。对习语的翻译研究也是热点研究之一。本文收集了《牛津当代英语习语字典》若干条颜色习语，运用卡特福德的翻译理论，对不可译性和产生不可译性的原因进行研究。本文分析了颜色习语中的文化不可译性，描述了颜色习语的文化不可译性产生的原因。希望本文的研究结果能为译者在翻译英语习语过程中提供帮助并希望对译者有所启发。关键词：颜色习语；卡特福德的翻译理论；不可译性；文化不可译性INDEX\o"S"\c"2"\z"2052"ContentsAbstract i摘要 ii1.Introduction 11.1Aimandobjectives 11.2Researchmethodanddatacollection 11.3Organizationofthedissertation 12.LiteratureReview 32.1PreviousresearchonEnglishidioms 32.1.1PreviousresearchonEnglishidiomsinforeigncountries 32.1.2PreviousresearchonEnglishidiomsinChina 32.2Previousresearchontranslation 32.2.1Previousresearchontranslationinforeigncountries 32.2.2PreviousresearchontranslationinChina 42.3Basictheory 42.4Previousresearchonculturaluntranslatability 52.4.1Previousresearchonuntranslatability 52.4.2Previousresearchonculturaluntranslatability 63.DefinitionofIdiomandUntranslatability 73.1ThedefinitionofEnglishidioms 73.1.1ThedefinitionfromEnglishdictionary 73.1.2Thedefinitionfromexpertsandscholars 73.2Thedefinitionofuntranslatability 74.AnExampleStudyontheUntranslatabilityofEnglish-ChineseColorIdiomsTranslation 94.1Whiteandidioms 94.2Blackandidioms 104.3Blueandidioms 114.4Greenandidioms 114.5Redandidioms 124.6Othercolorsandidioms 135.Conclusion 155.1Asummarizingoverview 155.2Limitationsandsuggestions 15References 16Acknowledgments 181.Introduction1.1AimandobjectivesTherearelotsofidiomsinEnglish.IdiomsaretheeliteofEnglishvocabulary.Anidiomisafixedandspecialmeansofexpressionintheprocessofusinglanguage.ThecoloridiomsareoneofthemajorconsistingelementsofEnglishidiomsandthereflectionofobjectivethings.Colorsintheuseofidiomshadmadeagreatcontributiontolanguageexpression.Butowingtothedifferencesofvariouscountries’languageandculture,thereisnoabsoluteequivalenceincoloridiomstranslation,orevenintranslation.Untranslatabilityisinevitableintranslation.Varioustranslationtheoriestrytofigureoutthebestwaytoreachtranslationequivalence.Forexample,oneisNida’s(2001)theoryofdynamicequivalence.TheotheroneisCatford’s(1965)equivalencetheory.AccordingtoCatford(1965:21),“acentraltaskoftranslationtheoryisthatofdefiningthenatureandconditionsoftranslationequivalence”.Withequivalenceasthecentergoal,translatorsaresupposedtofollowtheoriginaltextascloselyaspossible,andthereisnoplacefortranslators’subjectivityintranslation.However,becauseofdifferentgeographicalconditionsanddifferentlevelofcivilization,untranslatabilityhasoccurredinthetranslation.Duetothisreason,theauthorinsiststhattheresearchonuntranslatabilityofEnglishcoloridiomsisworthwhileandvaluable.ThepresentstudyattemptstopresenttheuntranslatabilityinEnglishtoChineseidiomstranslation,byapplyingCatford’stranslationtheorytoexploretheuntranslatabilityandthereasonsthatcauseuntranslatability.Thedissertationisprimarilyconcernedwiththefollowingtworesearchquestions:(1)HowmanyfactorsmaycauseculturaluntranslatabilityinEnglishtoChineseidiomstranslation?(2)WhatarethesefactorsthatcauseculturaluntranslatabilityinEnglishtoChineseidiomstranslation?ItishopedthatthisstudywillbenefitEnglishlearnerswhostudyEnglishidioms.1.2ResearchmethodanddatacollectionThepresentstudyfollowsGrotjahn’s(1987)exploratory-interpretiveparadigm,whichemploysanon-experimentalmethod,yieldsqualitativedata,andprovidesaninterpretiveanalysisofthatdata.SomecoloridiomsarecollectedfromOxfordDictionaryofCurrentIdiomaticEnglish(1998)writtenbyCowie,A.P.1.3OrganizationofthedissertationThisthesisconsistsoffivechapters.Thefirstchapterillustratestheaimsandobjectivesofthedissertation,researchmethodanddatacollection,andgeneralintroductionoftheresearch.ChapterTwocontainsinformationaboutthepreviousstudyontheEnglishidioms,thetranslationandtheuntranslatabilitybothathomeandabroad.ChapterThreerelatestothetheoriesonEnglishidiomstranslationanduntranslatability.ChapterFourisanexamplestudyontheuntranslatabilityofEnglish-Chinesecoloridiomstranslation.ChapterFiveservesastheconclusionofthisstudy.2.LiteratureReviewThischapterfirstdiscussesthepreviousstudiesontheEnglishidiomsbothinotherforeigncountriesandinChina.Then,itcontinuestointroducethecurrentresearchsituationontranslationandthebasictheorytheauthorusestothepresentstudy.Atlast,theauthorintroducesthepreviousresearchonuntranslatabilitybothathomeandabroad.2.1PreviousresearchonEnglishidiomsThissectionwillbeginwiththepreviousresearchonEnglishidiomsinforeigncountries,andthenthepreviousresearchinChina.2.1.1PreviousresearchonEnglishidiomsinforeigncountriesManyoftheEnglishidiomsstudieshavebeencarriedoutbyforeignscholars.Forexample,SmithL.P.(1925)publishedhisbookWordsandIdiomsandhismaincontributionsareaboutoriginsandstructures.Smithpaidmuchattentiontotheinnerstructureofidioms,butseldomrelatedtothemeaningsofidioms.Hisbookhadbecomerepresentativeworksinearlyidiomatologystudy.In1980s,theresearchofidiomshasenteredanewstage,andobtaineddelightfulachievements.Fernando.C(1996)hasmadeasignificantachievementinthisaspect.Shedividedidiomsintoideationalidiomaticexpressions,interpersonalidiomandrelationalidiom.2.1.2PreviousresearchonEnglishidiomsinChinaInChina,manyfamousscholarsalsostudyEnglishidioms.HuZhuangLin(2002)studiesEnglishidiomsfromcognitivelinguisticperspective.Hebreaksanewpathinidiomsresearch.Hebelievesthatthefunctionsofidiomsincludeinformativefunction,interpersonalfunction,emotivefunction,communicativefunction,entertainmentfunctionandmetalinguisticfunction.LuoShiPing(2006)publishedabookAResearchonEnglishIdioms.Inhisbook,hemainlydiscussedidiomsandculture,thetranslationofidioms,thecomparisonofEnglishidiomsandChineseidiomsandsoon.Furthermore,ZhangZhenHua(2007)publishedhisbookAStudyofEnglishIdiomsfromNewPerspectives:CultureandPragmatics.HestudiestheEnglishidiomsfrominterdisciplinaryanddifferentlevelaspect,andpresentsaseriesofeffectivelearningstrategiestohelpEnglishlearnersreallyunderstandEnglishidiomstrueessenceanditscognitionrule.2.2PreviousresearchontranslationThissectionwillbeginwithpreviousresearchontranslationinforeigncountries,andthenthepreviousresearchinChina.2.2.1PreviousresearchontranslationinforeigncountriesAsameansofcommunication,translationplaysanimportantroleinhumancivilization.Inthepastdecadestranslationtheoriesandactivitieshavedevelopedfastbothathomeandabroad.EugeneA.Nidaisagreattranslatorofcommunicativetranslation.ThecoreofEugeneA.Nida’stranslationtheoryisFunctionalEquivalence.Ithadgreatimpactontranslationstudiesinthe1960sand1970sandwasoneofthetheorieswhichwereintroducedintoChinaatanearlytime.AccordingtoNida(1969),hesupposesthattranslatingconsistsinreproducinginthereceptorlanguagetheclosetnaturalequivalentofthesource-languagemessage,firstintermsofmeaningandsecondlyintermsofstyle.Nida’stranslationtheoryhadaprofoundinfluenceintranslationstudiesinChina.JohnCatford,anothergreattranslatoroftranslation.HepublishedhisbookALinguisticTheoryinTranslationin1965.Hisstudywasopenupanewwaytoexplorethetranslationtheory.2.2.2PreviousresearchontranslationinChinaManytranslationactivitieshavebeentakeninChina’shistory.Forexample,YanFu(1853-1921)becameanactivereformistanddevotedtoweavingviahistranslationWesternstudiesinthebroadspaceoftheChineselanguage.IntheprefacetothetranslatedEvolutionandEthicsYanFusetdownthetripletranslationcriteria,namely,“faithfulness，expressivenessandelegance”.WithwhichheopenedanewchapterinthetranslationofChina.ProfessorXuYuanchong(2006:122)raisedhisownprincipleoftranslationinhisbook.Hebelievesthataliterarytranslatorshouldexploittheadvantageofthetargetlanguage.Andhealsobelievesthatthosetranslationswhicharefaithfultotheoriginal,smoothinformoftheversion,enhancingtheadvantagesoftheversion,canbetreatedascriteriainliterarywords.2.3BasictheoryInthissection,thetheoryusedintheresearchwillbedescribed.TheauthorfirstbrieflyintroducesthesystematictranslationtheoryofCatford.Thenthebasictheory—Catford’ssystematictranslationtheoryandtheuntranslatabilityoftranslationwillbeutilizedbytheauthortoexplaintheuntranslatabilityinEnglishtoChineseidiomstranslation.InCatford’s(1965)bookALinguisticTheoryinTranslation,henamedhistheoryas“descriptive”translationtheory.Heexplainsthecorequestion“whatistranslation”fromfiveaspects,includingnatures,types,equivalence,shiftsandlimitations.Firstly,thenatureintranslation.Catforddefinedtranslationasthereplacementoftextualmaterialinonelanguageorthesourcelanguagebyequivalenttextualmaterialinanotherlanguageorthetargetlanguage.Secondly,thetypesintranslation.Asfarasextentisconcerned,translationcanbedividedintofulltranslationandpartialtranslation.Whileregardinglevels,translationcanbedividedintototaltranslationandrestrictedtranslation.Asfaraslanguageranksareconcerned,translationcanbedividedintowordforwordtranslation,literaltranslationandfreetranslation.Thirdly,theequivalenceintranslation.Ononehand,equivalenceintranslationisaphenomenonbasedonexperience,andithasbeendiscoveredfromthecomparisonoftwolanguages.Ontheotherhand,theoccurrenceofequivalenceintranslationmuststudywhetherthetranslatedtextandtheoriginaltexthavethesameorpartoftheessentialcharacteristics.Fourthly,shiftsintranslation,thismeansthedeparturesfromformalcorrespondencewhileintranslation.Shiftsoftranslationcanbedividedintolevelshiftsandcategoryshifts.Amongcategoryshifts,shiftscanfallintostructureshifts,wordshifts,unitshiftsandtheinnersystemshifts.Atlast,thelimitationsintranslation,thatistosay,theuntranslatabilityintranslation.Catfordthinksthattherearetwokindsofuntranslatabilityintranslation,includinglinguisticuntranslatabilityandculturaluntranslatability.Thelinguisticuntranslatabilitymeansthatthetargetlanguageandthesourcelanguagedidnothavethesamecorrespondenceinlanguageforms.Theculturaluntranslatabilitymeansthatthedifferencesofnon-verbalelementslikedifferentsocialcustomsanddifferentsocialbackgroundandsoon,andthesefactorscausetheculturaluntranslatability.InEnglish-Chinesetranslation,theremusthavesomeeasyanddifficultpoints.Forexample,inEnglish-Chinesetranslation,Englishasasourcelanguage,itishardfortranslatorstoexpressitscultureoremotionstothetargetlanguageChineseintranslation.Therewilllostsomeinformationintranslation,andtheseinformationarethesourcesofuntranslatability.Idiomsincludeanationandastate’sconditions,geographicalfeatures,historybackground,literatureandcustoms.Idiomsdeliveralargenumberofinformationandphilosophythattranslatorscannotexpressidiomsoutoflanguage.Therefore,culturaldifferenceisoneofthereasonsthatcauseuntranslatability.Culturaluntranslatabilitymeansthatthedifferencesofnon-verbalelementslikedifferentsocialcustomsanddifferentsocialbackgroundandsoon,andthesefactorscausetheculturaluntranslatability.Differentgeographicalconditionsandlevelsofcivilizationofdifferentlanguageswillbringtheuntranslatabilityintheprocessoftranslating.Inthisdissertation,theauthorusesCatford’stranslationtheory—theculturaluntranslatabilityintranslationtoexplorethepresentstudy.2.4PreviousresearchonculturaluntranslatabilityThissectionwillbeginwiththepreviousresearchonuntranslatabilityandculturaluntranslatability.2.4.1PreviousresearchonuntranslatabilityUntranslatabilityhasmadeabigdifficultyintranslatingtheEnglishidioms.Somanyscholarsstudythisphenomenon.Forexample,Asfarastranslationisconcerned,EugeneA.Nida(2001:78)publishedhisbookLanguageandCulture—ContextsinTranslation.Headvocatesthattheadequacyoftranslationshastraditionallybeenjudgedonthebasisofthecorrespondenceinlexiconandgrammarbetweenthesourceandtargetlanguage.Healsobelievesthatallthestructuresoflanguageareninetypercentsimilarandallkindsoflanguage’scommonpointismorethandifferences.InChina,intermsoftranslationmethodsofEnglishtoChineseidiomstranslation,manyauthoritieshavedonetheresearchesasfollows：ZhangNing(1999)believesthatculturaldifferencesbetweenChinaandtheEnglish-speakingcountries,whichhavebeendevelopedinhistory,makeidiomsapparentlydissimilarbetweenChineseandEnglishinmeaningduetodifferentlivingconditions，customs，geographicalfeaturesandhistoricalbackgrounds.InFanZhongying’s(2004:202)bookAnAppliedTheoryofTranslation,hestudiestheconditionsoftheuntranslatabilityintranslation.Hefindsthefollowingconditionsthatmaycauseuntranslatability.Thefirstconditionisthatthesourcelanguageandthetargetlanguagedonothaveequivalentwords.Thesecondconditionisthatthestyleandthecontentcannotbeconsideredatthesametimewhileintranslation.Thelastconditionisthatsomewordsmayhaveextendedmeanings.2.4.2PreviousresearchonculturaluntranslatabilityAllkindsoflanguages’culturearenotthesame.Therefore,thecultureofidiomswillnotthesame,too.RichardE.PorterpublishedhisbookInterculturalCommunication:AReaderin1972.Hepointsoutthatthereareeightculturalvariablestoaffecttheinterculturalcommunication,includingattitude,socialorganization,patternsofthought,rolesandroleprescriptions,language,useandorganizationofspace,timeconceptualizationandnonverbalexpression.Hebelievesthatthereareculturaldifferencesofdifferentnationsintheobservationofsocialphenomenon,andtheseculturaldifferencesarethemainobstaclescausedculturaluntranslatabilityintranslation.InChina,ProfessorLiuMiqinghadstudiedtheculturaluntranslatability.InLiuMiqing’s(1999:108)bookContemporaryTranslationTheory.Hedividedtheobstaclesincommunicativetranslationintofiveaspects,includinglinguisticstructureobstacles,idiomaticexpressionobstacles,expressiveobstacles,semanticexpressionobstaclesandculturalobstacles.Thisclassificationmakesadistinctionbetweenlinguisticuntranslatabilityandculturaluntranslatability.Inthischapter,thepreviousstudiesrelatedtoEnglishidioms,translation,untranslatabilityandculturaluntranslatabilityhavebeenreviewedindetail.ThenCatford’stranslationtheoryhasbeenstudiedindetail.Fromsuchreviews,theauthorfoundthatmanystudieshavebeencarriedouttoinvestigatetheEnglishidiomsandtheuntranslatability.However,therearefewstudiesontheuntranslatabilityofEnglishcoloridioms.3.DefinitionofIdiomandUntranslatabilityThischapterbeginswiththedefinitionofEnglishidiom.ThedefinitionisbothfromEnglishdictionaryandtheexpertsandscholars.Then,itcontinuestointroducethedefinitionofuntranslatability.3.1ThedefinitionofEnglishidiomsThissectionwillintroducethedefinitionofidioms.Firstly,itwillexplainthedefinitionfromseveralEnglishdictionaries.Then,itwillintroducethedefinitiongivenbytheexpertsandscholars.3.1.1ThedefinitionfromEnglishdictionaryItisnoteasytogiveanaccurateandcommondefinitiontotheidiom.EachEnglishdictionarywillgiveadefinitionoftheidiom.Thissectionwillgivethedefinitionofidiomsfromthreedefinitivedictionariesasfollows:(1)AccordingtoNewOxfordDictionaryofEnglish(1998:189),“Anidiomisagroupofwordsestablishedbyusageashavingameaningnotdeduciblefromthoseofindividualwords.”Thisdefinitionsticksoutthatitisnoteasytodeducethephrasestructureandmeaningoftheidiom.(2)AccordingtoLongmanDictionaryofAppliedLinguistics(2010:4thedition:201),“Anidiomisanexpressionwhichfunctionsasasingleunitandwhosemeaningcannotbeworkedoutfromitsseparateparts.”Thisdefinitionemphasizesidiom’sutilityoffunction.(3)AccordingtoWebster’sThirdNewWorldCollegeDictionary(2002:168),“Aphrase,construction,orexpressionthatisrecognizedasasyntacticpatternsorhasameaningthatdiffersfromtheliteralmeaningofitspartstakentogether”.Thisdefinitionrelatestotheidiom’sintegrity,thespecialtyofthestructureandthemeaningnotonlyaddtheliteralmeanings.3.1.2ThedefinitionfromexpertsandscholarsAccordingtoCowie(1998:2),“Anidiomisacombinationoftwoormorewordswhichfunctionsasaunitofmeaning.”AccordingtoAmmer(1997:4),“Anidiomisasetphraseoftwoormorewordsthatmeanssomethingdifferentfromtheliteralmeaningoftheindividualwords.”Fromtheabovedefinitions,theauthoranalyzesthatanidiomisagroupofwordsorasetphraseoftwoormorewordswhichhasameaningdiffersfromtheliteralmeaningoftheindividualwords.3.2ThedefinitionofuntranslatabilityTranslationisafieldfullofparadoxes,andtranslatabilityanduntranslatabilityisoneofthem.ThecultureandbackgrounddifferencesbetweenEnglishandChineseleadtoroundednessorevenuntranslatabilitybetweenthemutualtranslationofChineseandEnglish.ThefamousGermanscholarCatford(1965:21)dividesuntranslatabilityintolinguisticuntranslatabilityandculturaluntranslatability,andheproposesthefollowingdefinitionsinhisbookALinguisticTheoryofTranslation:Linguisticuntranslatability:failuretofindatargetlanguageequivalentisdueentirelytodifferencesbetweenthesourcelanguageandthetargetlanguage.(2)Culturaluntranslatabilityariseswhenasituationalfeature,functionallyrelevantforthesourcelanguagetext,iscompletelyabsentfromthecultureofwhichthetargetlanguageisapart.DuetotheculturaldifferencesbetweenChinaandwesterncountries,itisdifficultforreaderstounderstandtheidiomsexactly.Differentgeographicalconditionsandlevelsofcivilizationofdifferentlanguageswillbringtheuntranslatabilityintheprocessoftranslating.4.AnExampleStudyontheUntranslatabilityofEnglish-ChineseColorIdiomsTranslationColorhasacloserelationshipwithourhumanbeings.Colorisareflectionofobjectivethings.Nomatterinwhatplaces,thecontentstheypresentarebasicallythesame.Butowingtothediversityofdifferentnationality,colorhastakendifferentcultureconnotationthroughdifferentcultures.Thisdifferencethereaderscanbeseenclearlyinthecoloridioms.Differentculturesgivedifferentcultureconnotationstothesamecolor.Therefore,whenwehaveinterculturalcommunication,weshouldunderstandandpaymuchattentiontothedifferentsymbolicmeaningsofthesamecolor.Theyoftenchangetothesymbolofabstractsense.Themeaningisalwaysoutoftheoriginalmeaningofcolor.ThissectionwillintroducethemeaningsofsomecoloridiomsandtheculturaluntranslatabilityofsomecoloridiomsintermsofCatford’suntranslatabilityintranslationtheory.Inthefollowingparts,theauthorwilltakethecolorlikewhite,black,blue,green,redandsomeothercolorsintheEnglishidiomscollectedfromOxfordDictionaryofCurrentIdiomaticEnglish(1998)astypicalexamplestoshowtheuntranslatabilityintranslation.AndthetargettextsarecollectedfromLuoShiPing’sbookAResearchonEnglishIdioms(2006)andZhangZhenHua’sbookAStudyofEnglishIdiomsfromNewPerspectives:CultureandPragmatic(2007).4.1WhiteandidiomsTheword“white”inEnglishoftenusedtoexpresspureandnicethings.Forexample,thebridewearswhiteweddingdressintheweddingceremony.Thisisthesymbolofpurelove.ButinChina,whiteisnotaluckycolor.Luckily,thewordwhiteintheidiomseldommeansitsoriginalmeaning.Therefore,whenonetranslatestheEnglishidiomsintoChinese,he/sheshouldbetternottranslate“white”thisword.Oneshouldunderstanddifferentculture’sdiscrepancies.Theexamplesareasfollows:Example1:SourceText:AwhitemanTargetText:一个好人Inthisidiom,whiteisnotthepurecoloratall.Itmeans“goodorhonest”.Asaresult,thisidiomactuallymeans“agood/anhonestfellow”inChineseratherthan“apersoninwhiteskin”.Chinesepeopleareallyellowskin,soitisimpossibleforChinesepeopletoassociate“awhiteman”as“agoodperson”duetotheculturaldifference.Example2:SourceText:WhiteelephantTargetText:昂贵而无用的东西Example2asanEnglishidiom,themeaninghasnothingtodowithcolor.Themeaningofthisidiomisanextendedmeaning.ItissaidthatintheancientThailand,ifaKingisdissatisfiedwithhisambassadors,hewillgivethemawhiteelephant.Attheancienttimes,peopleregardelephantsasholythings.Theycannotkillthem,andcannotaskthemtodothefarmworks.SincethewhiteelephantisgivenfromtheKing,theymaynotdaretosendtheelephanttoothers.Theycanjustfeedthembytheirownandspendalotofmoneytofeedtheelephants.Afteratime,thisambassadorhasgotnothingleft.Afterthen,peoplecompared‘whiteelephant’tothose‘expensiveanduselessthings’,suchasfurniture,house,artworkandsoon.Becauseofthehistoricalreason,thisidiomwasborrowedfromtheThailandculture.Thisidiomnotonlyborrowedthemeaning,butalsoborrowedtheculturefromThailand.Therefore,whentranslatortranslatesthisidiomintoChinese,ifthetranslatortranslatesitaccordingtoitsliteralmeaning,hewouldmakeabigmistake.Theinnerculturalbackgroundhasmadeaculturaluntranslatabilityinthisidiom.ThetranslatorshadtranslatedthisidiomintoChinesebasedonitsThailandculture.Inexample2,thisidiomturnsupwithacertainculturalbackground.Ifonedidnotknowtheculturalbackgroundclearly,itisimpossibletotranslatetheexactmeaningofthisidiom.Differentcustomsandculturalbackgroundcauseuntranslatabilityintranslation.4.2BlackandidiomsBlackandwhiteisthesymbolsofdarknessandshiningallthetime.Ourhumanbeingsperusetheshiningtime,anddisgustatthedarkness.Thisisthehumansimilarity.Inwesterncountries,whiteofgoodandpositivethings,whileblackonbehalfofbadandnegativethings.Blackmeansdarkness,evil,terrorandsoon.English-speakingcountriestakeblackasa“deadcolor”.Example3:SourceText:BlackTuesdayTargetText:星期二的股市崩溃Ifyoudon’tconnectitwithaspecificfinancialaffairandignoreitsoriginalmeaning,youcannotunderstandthemeaningatall.TheoriginalmeaningofExample3isthatonTuesdayonOctober19th1987,theWallStreet’sstockmarkethasbeenbreakdown,andlatertheworld’sstockmarkethasbeenbreakdown,too.Example3relatestotheAmerica’seconomy.TheeconomyofAmericaiscapitalisticeconomy,whileChinaissocialisteconomy.SincethisidiomrelatestoAmerica’seconomy,thetranslatorcannottranslatethisidiomaccordingtoitsliteralmeaning.HeshouldunderstandtheeconomyofAmericaandtranslatetheidiombasedontheAmerica’seconomy.IfonedidnotknowthefinancialaffairinAmerica’shistory,hewillneverthinkaboutthe“BlackTuesday”asafinancialcrisis.Thisidiomcannotbetranslatedbyitsliteralmeaning.America’sculturalbackgroundcausesuntranslatabilityinEnglishtoChinesetranslationinthiscoloridiom.4.3BlueandidiomsWhencomestoblue,peoplealwaysconnectitwithskyandocean.Thiscolorgivesusahappy,coolandcalmfeeling.Therepresentativemeaningofblueisdeepandprofound.Themeaningof“blue”isdifferentbetweenEnglishandChinese.Blue,inChinese,itmeans“thecolorlikethesunshinesky”.Thatonlyreferstopurecolorandpeaceful.However,inEnglish-speakingcountries,thecolorbluesometimesusestoexpresstheunhappyandgloomyfeelings.Example4:SourceText:InabluemoodTargetText:心情郁闷InEnglishidioms,thecolorblue,besidesthemeaningofblueandsky,alsomeanssad,gloom,andnasty.Theseextendingmeaningsalsocausetheuntranslatabilityinthetranslation.Moreover,whiletranslatingthiskindofidioms,weshouldunderstandtheculturebackgroundwhichtheidiomcontains.Example5:SourceText:BluebloodTargetText:贵族，名门“Blueblood”meansamanwhoiswellbornandnoble.TheoriginalmeaningofthisidiomisthatsincetheSpanishnoblesarethepureprogenyofG