习语的分类与翻译.ppt

1、Classification and Translation of Idioms 习语的分类与翻译,Each language contains many elements derived from its culture, such as idioms and other fixed expressions. First, it is necessary to have a clear knowledge of some basic concepts. 一、A Brief Discussion of Several Fundamental Concepts 1.1 Definition of

2、 Idioms Each language has many idioms. Idioms are linguistic chunks (语言模块)made up of fixed,expressions and sentences. Idioms include set phrases, proverbs, allusions, common sayings or folk adages(俗语) , ect. They are known as “熟语” in Chinese. The meaning of an idiom is not clear from the meaning of

3、its individual words. An idiom must be learned as a whole unit. English has many idioms. E.g. give way, a change of heart, be hard put to it. Chinese also boasts plenty of idioms. E.g. “小题大做” (to make a mountain out of a molehill 鼹丘)、“后来居上”、“朝秦暮楚”(serve 等。,the State of Qin in the morning and the Sta

4、te of Chu in the eveningbe quick to switch sides; be fickle; be inconstant); “杯弓蛇影” (mistaking the reflection of a bow in the cup for a snakebeset with imaginary fears; extremely suspicious); “杯水车薪” （trying to put out a blazing cartload of faggots with a cup of water an utterly inadequate measure）,I

5、dioms are based on peoples common experiences in life. They shine with peoples wisdom and they are characterized by national cultures. No wonder some people say that idioms are the cream or the best part of language.,Translation is not only an inter-lingual transfer, but also a cross-cultural commun

6、ication. Before we talk about translation of idioms, we think that it is necessary to discuss the relationship between language and culture.,between language and culture.,1.2 The Relationship Between Language and Culture Culture is the medium evolved by humans to survive. Nothing in human life is fr

7、ee from cultural influence. It is the keystone in civilizations arch and is the medium through which all lifes events must flow (Samovar narrowly speaking, it refers to social ideology and the institution and org- anization structure corresponding to it.” (“从广义来说，指人类社会历史实践中 所创造的物质财富和精神财富的总和。从 狭义来说，指

8、社会的意识形态，以及与之 相应的制度和组织结构。”),“Language is the principal means where- by we conduct our social lives. When it is used in contexts of communication, it is bound up with culture in multiple and com- plex ways” (Kramsch, 2000:3). At first, language expresses cultural re- ality. The words people utter not

9、only re- fer to common experience and the know- ledge about the world that people share, but also reflect their attitudes and beliefs.,Secondly, language embodies cultural reality through verbal or non-verbal com- munication. Members of a social group Not only express experience; they also create ex

10、perience through language. They give meaning to it through the medium They choose to communicate with one another. Finally, language symbolizes cultural re- ality. Language is a system of signs that is seen as having itself a cultural value.,Speakers identify themselves and others through their use

11、of language; they view their language as a symbol of their social identity. The prohibition of its use is often perceived by its speakers as a rejection of their social group and their culture. “Although a language may be regarded as a relatively small part of a culture, it is also indispensable to

12、both the functioning and perpetuation of culture.” “Language And culture are two interdependent symbolic systems” (Nida, 2001:139).,Human culture without language is un- thinkable. Without language, there would No culture. Language is the keystone of culture. Without culture, language would lose all

13、 its meanings and vanish in the end. “A language is a part of a culture and a culture is a part of a language, the two are intricately interwoven so that one can not separate the two without losing the significance of either language or culture” (Douglas, 1980:16).,1.3 The Relationship Between Cultu

14、re and Translation Translation is in its essence a kind of Intercultural communication and is closely related to culture. Translation and culture share an interdependent relationship. First, translation definitely involves culture. In applied linguistics and anthropology, a culture is closely linked

15、 with a certain lan- guage and makes this language culturally- loaded in a manner different from other,languages. The intimate relationship bet- ween language and culture determines that in the process of translation, culture is an important part needed to be dealt with, and more attention should be

16、 paid to cultural elements. Second, translation is a means of trans- mitting culture ever since nations and languages have been in contact with each other. Translation serves as a bridge between different cultures.,For instance, many English expressions have found their way into the Chinese language

17、, while the Chinese people feel no foreignness at all, for they have been assimilated into the Chinese language, such as “Ivory tower” (象牙塔), “a trump card” (王牌), “honeymoon” (蜜月), “blue- print” (蓝图),“The Open-door Policy” (门户 开放政策), etc. Third, translation promotes cultural de- velopment by importi

18、ng foreign cultural,nourishments and transplanting the out- side cultures into its own cultural environ- ment, thus enhancing the improvement of the world cultures on the whole and leading to the bettering of the world civili- zation. Take China as an example. In Sui Dynasty and Tang Dynasty, a larg

19、e number of works of Sutra were translated into Chinese, which was s a great impetus to the development of Buddhism in Chinese religion.,Last but not least, culture exerts a great influence on translation. Eg. the translators aesthetic habits and options will be affected by the culture in which he f

20、inds himself. 1.4 Translatability and “Untranslatability” of Culture Translatability and “untranslatability” seem always opposite to each other; however, it is a matter of degree, since,there are similarities and differences be- tween cultures at the same time. “Untran- slatability” indicates the li

21、mitation of trans- lation, which is relative rather than abso- lute. To some extent, the degree of trans- latability depends on the relationship be- tween the cultures involved. The closer the relationship, the higher the degree.,Human beings live on the same globe and share many experiences. We kno

22、w that at least ninety percent of the basic structures of all languages are quite simi- lar, and language universals far outweigh the divergences. Though English and Chinese are different languages, we still can find many equivalent expressions and closely related expressions both at both linguistic

23、 and cultural levels. E.g.“burn ones boat”(破釜沉舟),“an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” (以眼还眼，以牙还牙),“to pour oil on the flame” (火上浇油), etc.,However, the diversity of culture is obvious. Because of different geogra- phical locations, conventions, religious beliefs, values, political systems and so

24、on, the cultural differences are displayed, which are certainly embodied in different languages. The influence of culture on language makes it difficult to translate artistic images, puns, allusions and other figurative speeches which are rather subtle,and ambiguous even to Chinese readers Without t

25、he prerequisite knowledge of history and poetic cultivation. They will always be the obstructions in the process of translation. Thus the translated version is bound to lose something, especially its beauty in form and in sound. In a word, the cultural universals of the whole world make languages tr

26、anslatable while the cultural characteristics of differ- ent nations make languages “untranslatable”.,Translatability coexists with “untransla- tability”. Therefore, in the process of translation, translators should have adequate cultural awareness and apply suitable translation strategies so that t

27、hey may avoid falling into the “Cultural Traps”.,1.5 Basic Strategies for Translation of Idioms,We have some essential translation approaches for translation of all texts, such as the literal translation approach, the liberal translation approach, and the literal-plus-liberal translation. Of course,

28、 they are suitable for translation of idioms. Lets review them one by one. How to define each of them?,These translation approaches have been popularized and adopted by many trans- lation theorists or he leaves the reader in peace, as much as possible, and moves the author towards him.” (Venuti, 200

29、4:19-20). It can be illustrated by the following figure:.,Although Schleiermacher gave a detailed description of these two translation strate- gies,he didnt propose definite terms for each. Different scholars defined these two translation strategies from their own understandings. E.g. Lu Xun (鲁迅, 19

30、84: 301) thought domestication as “rewriting, changing a foreign story into a Chinese story and changing foreigners into Chinese.”,Some scholars use other terms insteadof foreigni- zation, such as “alienation”, “Europeanization” or “westernization”. It was Lawrence Venuti, an Italian American transl

31、ation theorist, who first coined these two translation strategies in his book The Translators InvisibilityA History of Translation: a domesticating method (domesti- cation) is an ethnocentric (以人为中心的) reduction of the foreign text to TL cultural values, bringing the author back home, and a foreigniz

32、ing method (foreignization) is an,ethnodeviant (偏离人的，不考虑读者的) pressure on those values to register the linguistic and cultural difference of the foreign text, sending the reader abroad (2004:20). So generally speaking, domes- tication is a TL culturally oriented transla- tion strategy in which a natu

33、ral, fluent style is adopted in order to minimize the linguis- tic and cultural strangeness of the foreign text for target language readers; foreigni- zation is a SL culturally oriented transla-,tion strategy in which the original forms and content, especially the original cultural features are kept

34、 in order to retain the foreignism. 1.5.2 Domestication and Foreignization Vs Liberal Translation Nida, 1964,）得以彻底实施，即 这样的英汉习语应该套用相互对应的习语 进行对等翻译The literal translation approach is applicable here, and it is used with the best possible result. Why?,2.2 Practice in Various Ways 2.2.1 Ask your partner

35、or desk-mate to give more examples of this type of idioms. (1minute) 2.2.2 Translate and make sentences with the following idioms: be armed to the teeth be as mild as a lamb to play with fire as gay / cheerful as a lark (像云雀 那样快活),to shed crocodile tears Beauty lies in the lovers eyes. In the countr

36、y of the blind, the one- eyed man is king. to teach a pig to play on a flute to flog a dead horse There is no smoke without some fire. Beauty is but skin-deep. Can the leopard change his spots? As gaudy as a peacock 像孔雀一样华丽,武装到牙齿； 全副武装 鳄鱼的眼泪；伪善的眼泪；猫哭老鼠假慈悲 情人眼里出美人；情人眼里出西施 盲人国里，独眼人称王。 山中无老虎，猴子称霸王。 教猪吹

37、笛；对牛弹琴；做荒唐不可能的事 鞭打死马；做无用功；白费唇舌 无火不生烟。无风不起浪。 美貌只是一层皮。不可以貌取人。 花豹岂能改变身上的花斑？ 本性难移 像孔雀一样华丽；穿得过于艳丽,2.2 English and Chinese Idioms That Partially Correspond to Each other and Their Translation 英语和汉语分属两种不同的语系，属于不 同民族的母语。在不同的环境下生存的人们， 其生活经历和对外部世界的看法不可能完全一 致，因此，反映人民生产和生活的习语也必然 千差万别，对应的习语毕竟是少数，大量的习 语只是呈半对应关系。半

38、对应的英汉习语通常 是比喻意义相同，但喻体迥异。为使目的语读 者顺利地理解源语习语中所承载的文化信息和 比喻意义，译者最好对源语习语喻体加以转换，,用合适的目的语习语将其译出，以达到跨文化 交际的目的。如：as timid as a hare胆小如鼠； as strong as a horse力大如牛；as poor as a church mouse一贫如洗；Man proposes, God disposes谋事在人，成事在天。/ 宁为鸡口， 不为牛后。Better be the head of a dog than the tail of a lion. / 正中下怀 after one

39、s own heart / 一箭双雕 kill two birds with one stone /水中捞月 fish in the air / 过河拆桥 kick down the ladder /进退维谷 between the devil and the deep sea. 翻译半对应的英汉习 语时，套用喻体不同但喻意相同的习语是可取,可行的译法。这种改变喻体、 保留喻意的译法是一种活译法。 2.3 English and Chinese Idioms Which Do not Correspond to Each Other and Their Translation,由于英汉两种语言

40、有巨大差异，英语习语中存在大量与汉语惯用法和汉文化特征大相迥异的习语，既非对应的习语，汉语习语中也有为数不少的与英语表达习惯和西方文化大相径庭的非对应的习语。非对应习语的喻体意象和表达方式是源语所特有的，它们在译语中是空缺的，体现了东西方人民认识上的 差异。这类习语用两种不同的译法处理：一是采用直译法，二是使用意译法。由于人类有许多共识，,源语中有些包含独特喻体的习语在目的语读者 心中引起的联想意义很可能也相同，这类习语 的比喻意义谁都能理解。因此，英汉两种语言 均有很多互不对应的习语可采用直译法处理。 如：sour grapes 酸葡萄；eye foreye and tooth for to

41、oth以眼还眼，以牙还牙； bull market牛市；bear market熊市；armed to the teeth武装到牙齿；shed crocodile tears掉 鳄鱼眼泪；tower of ivory 象牙之塔。/ 竭泽而 渔 to drain a pond to catch all the fish; 打草惊 蛇 to stir up the grass and alert the snake; 易 如反掌 to be as easy as turning over ones,hand;对牛弹琴 to play the lute to a cow; 守口 如瓶 to keep

42、ones mouth closed like a bottle; 雪中送炭 to send charcoal in snowy weather; 画蛇添足 to draw a snake and add feet to it; 声东击西 to shout in the east and strike in the west; 井底之蛙 to be like a frog at the bottom of a well;调虎离山to lure the tiger from the mountain; 口蜜腹剑 to be honey-mouthed and dagger-hearted. 英语中

43、还有一些非对应习语涉 及广为流传的典故，亦可采用直译法翻译。例 如：Trojan horse （ 特洛伊木马）； as wise as Solomon（像所罗门一样聪明）； a Judas kiss（犹大之吻）。,总之，易为目的语读者所接受的源语习语 采用直译法为佳。著名翻译家张培基教授（1 980：12-13）指出，直译既能保持原文的内 容，又能保持原文的形式特别是保持原 文的比喻、形象、和民族、地方色彩等。通 过直译法，不同的语言、不同的文化相互学 习，相互借鉴，共同繁荣，共同发展。 文化之间必然存在差异，这是民族文化的个性。 民族文化个性蕴涵在许多习语中。包含民族文 化个性的习语如果采用

44、直译法翻译，能为目的 语读者所理解和接受，便可大胆使用直译法处 理。否则就必须采用意译法处理。,什么叫意译法？笔者参考刘重德教授（199 4：173）给意译下的定义，将意译定义为： 如果采用直译法处理，译文不忠于原文，或 不能为译语读者所接受，或诘屈聱牙，难读 难懂，在这种情况下，译者不得不舍弃或改 变原文的形式或修辞，使用目的语习惯表达 法，或运用目的语读者易懂的切合原文意思 的词语，并选用恰当句式来传达原文的涵义 和精神。许多英语习语涉及独特的西方文化 意象，染上了独特的西方文化色彩，只有采 用意译法处理，才能为我国读者所理解。,试观察以下英语习语及其译文。 to draw ones blood伤人感情，惹人生气；to hang on sb.s sleeve依赖某人；to hang on sb. s lips对某人言听计从；to make a monkey of sb. 愚弄某人；to bend an ear to倾听，聚精会 神地听；to bury ones head in the sand 采取 鸵鸟政策；to have an axe to grind 别有用心； to talk through ones ha