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摘 要

习语是一个国家历史的沉淀和人民智慧的结晶。这让它们独特而又有着与众不同的魅力。中西方有着截然不同的文化，而文化环境对习语有着极大的影响。随着全球化的推进，能准确理解基于对方文化的俗语，可帮助促成更好的交流。

本文将回顾以往一些中西方著名的翻译理论，分别阐述它们的优劣。并对比不同环境下中英文习语的相同之处，以及从宗教、地理、动物、颜色几个方面谈谈它们对习语的影响。所以翻译习语并不是简单的语言转换，而是跨文化的理解。故本文也将提出一些切实可行的翻译俗语的方法。

关键词：习语 文化差异 翻译策略

1. Introduction

Every nation enjoys a precious treasure -- culture, and these untouched treasures make great contribution to the global cultural diversity and prosperity. Different countries enjoy their own historic process and social development, and these make them form unique culture.

Language is the carrier of culture. Every language is composed of diverse features of their cultures. There is no doubt that common people create idioms wisely in daily life. Idiom is a concise language (easy and convenient to use), which is conventional, and it will not have the complete meaning if we neglect even one word. Its meaning is not a simply integration of the sum of the sense of individual words. Due to idioms are born of long-term use, it has close links to the background of local culture. Even if the condition of the idiom has changed, these idioms still have its own integrity. Therefore the words which are in one idiom cannot be disassembled or be replaced by other words.

To some extent, we can see that culture and idioms exist like twins. Idioms cannot make sense without the supporting information of culture. Culture is the fundamental elements of idioms, meanwhile the idiom reflect some typical culture features. Then these characteristic cultural backgrounds build a barrier to understanding the idioms for foreign speakers. In particular, the culture differences between the orient and the west may cause few obstacles if they use idioms through their communication. They live in completely opposed position on earth. They have different religious belief, different opinions on colors and animals etc.

Chinese and English idioms stem from different cultural background and language environment. A great amount of Chinese idioms are formed base on some ancient traditions and custom. While many English idioms are from Bible and Greek mythology. As exotic speakers, we can hardly understand and gain all-round background information, which makes idioms difficult to translate and completely understand.

Nowadays, we have to face more communication with foreign people for many reasons. Therefore, the importance of translation is on the increase when people from different countries communicate with others. As we all known that translation is not an equivalence of its literal meaning but should take the factor of culture into consideration. I’ll list several cultural differences between China and western countries, and then propose some common methods we can use when translate idioms.

2. Literature Review

Translation is a tool for communication between two countries which used different language. Its purpose is to make progress on the development of the global politics, economy and culture. Its mission is to transfer the original into the target language with logic and artistry. Translation is an essential bridge for national association and cultural continuity. There are many practical and outstanding principles of translation both in domestic and abroad.

2.1 previous studies at home

In China, one basic and well- known principle is raised by a famous Chinese idealistic torchbearer named Yan Fu after the Sino - Japanese War of 1894. He put forward this principle, “faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance.” “Faithfulness” means the translation should convey the same meaning of the original text. “Expressiveness” means the reader can understand the translation easily, also the translation should be logic. “Elegance” means the translation should be exquisite and maintain the original style and implication. In his theory, Faithfulness should be the first step and basic requirement for translators. Making the translation elegant is a higher quality of a good translator. Expressiveness is like a bridge that bond faithfulness and elegance. Although many people hold different understanding and opinions on this principle, the general response to it is positive. Contemporary translation theories are mostly formed or developed on the basis of “faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance”, which enlightened many modern researchers more or less. “Faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance” is a holonomic system derived from the practical experience of translation by Yan Fu, and this principle is a milestone in Chinese history of translation. It makes immense contribution to the translation theory today. However, there is inevitable some flaws of this principle, owing to the special social environment of that times.

First of all, translation is not for common people to get access to the world masterpiece but propaganda and education, which leads to “faithfulness” a very limited concept. In his opinion that “faithfulness” means the translation should not convey different meaning of the original text. But he did not consider the culture difference and the style of the original text when he did the translation. This kind of translation is more like compiling or decoding. Also he had unilateral understanding of “expressiveness” and “elegance”. He insisted that people should use the word and the sentence structure which belong to the Han dynasty. Meanwhile he thought that the word and sentence which were used in translating should be the one commonly used in that era. It is obviously that Yan Fu has not recognized that language would be developed and enriched along with the development of society and culture. It is not strange that as brilliant as Yan Fu had this partial view on translation. On account of the bureaucracy and hierarchy, his targeted readers were bureaucrats and gentries but not the common people who may not be wealthy in knowledge. The deficiencies of this theory were caused by the historic limitation in fact.

Lu Xun, a Chinese famous patriotic writer who is also be known as man of letters and ideologist in the western world, has put forward a principle of translation, “Rather be faithful (in thought) than smooth (in language).” He emphasize that we should translate faithfully. To some degree, his principle has some similarities with the principle which we called Literal translation nowadays. In his view, it’s wonderful to make transformation both faithful and fluent. However, we cannot assure these two points existed in our translation at times. If we are in that situation, we should give faithfulness the first place.

These two literary giants both regard faithfulness as the fundamental criteria for the translation.

• 1. previous studies abroad

There are some famous principles in the west countries. A famous functional equivalence theory was raised by an American named Eugene A. Nida. In this theory, he identified that we should not neglect the correspondence of the language function, and give excessive stress on the correspondence of the word. He believed that the real meaning of the original text is not only relies on the word, which can only express the surface meaning, but sometimes is hidden between lines. Therefore, we should take many factors into consideration when we are translating, such as the content of the information, the tongue of the writer, the writing style, culture and society etc. Translators should try them utmost to make the meaning of translation more close to the original, and avoid misinterpretation. The core of this theory is that the target reader of this translation should have the same response, the same feeling and inspiration as the local people. According to this theory, he gave three steps when we wanted to make our translation accurate. First of all, we should recognize that there indeed are some analogies between different cultures but we cannot find two exactly similar cultures. Therefore it hardly exists a translation which perfectly reflects the authentic local culture. What a translator can do is to try his utmost to make the translation better. Second, if we cannot make sure that all the words corresponding when translating, we should choose words or images which can make the local people understand its real meaning rather than insist on the equivalence of words. For instance, there is an idiom like “spring up like mushrooms”, which is used to express something has a good tendency of development. However, in China we use bamboo shoots not mushrooms grow rapidly after a spring rain to express the same meaning. Third, we can use a method called reconstruction to let the translation make sense. As mentioned above, different countries have different culture. So sometimes we even cannot make the translation by changing few images or words. In this case we can use reconstruction that means we can use several words or phrases to make an illustration of the original text on the basis of understanding the real meaning of the original text. We may change the whole structure of the original sentence, and translate it by using simple structure and tell readers the deep meaning directly. Nevertheless, this method can hardly avoid misunderstanding. Also it will be a pity that we cannot feel the beauty of the local culture and lose the pleasant feeling of puzzle the real meaning out by tasting the original text.

Another famous theory of translation was raise by George Steiner. He is an American critic. After Babel is his master piece which makes immense contribution to translation studies. He put forward a view that translation is understanding on the basis of Heidegger’s theory. He gave translations a border concept. He regarded the progress of translation as the hermeneutic motion, and divided this progress into four steps: trust, aggression. incorporation, and restitution. Trust should be the prerequisite. As we know that understanding should on the basis of having interested to understand it. The reader would be willing to understand the original text and translate it if they trust what the writer had written. Then the reader or translator can have the desire to seize the meaning of the content and extract something useful from it. And then is the step of incorporation. The translator would absorb the information they get and think about how to translate it and make it sense. The final thing the translator should take care of is restitution. Translators may make efforts to make the translation become more fluent and elegant on the basis of understanding the real meaning of the original text. They may choose different methods to make their translation perfect.

• 1. Problems in previous studies

The two principles that mentioned above, raised by Yan Fu and Lu Xun takes both the author and the reader into account, and seems to be all-rounded, however, these principles are so all-embracing and abstract that makes it hard to be used in practical. Although China has made great progress in researching translation and broaden the range of studies about translation, we still have some aspects can be improved, such as the depth of research and innovation. These principles stress theory rather than practical implement. These principles are not systematic and authentic, and still have not been recognized by the world. At present, we should give emphasis on basic research to make excellent translation, and pave way for successful and complete study on large-scale and systematic principles in the near future.

The western principles of translation are more direct and specific. But they also prefer to focus on studies of theory, and their research is not undergone by the macroscopic readjustment and control. Therefore, they hardly can get a breakthrough on several major issues related to translation. Also they bury to research on something innovative and creative but ignore the importance of basic principles

1. Comparison between Chinese and English Idioms

3.1 Similarities in Chinese idioms and English idioms

Chinese and English idioms share something common in their form.

1. They all have been practiced for long time and have been concentrated, and then handed down from generation to generation. Therefore, either the Chinese or the Englishmen all prefer to use antithetic parallelism and antithesis in their idioms so as to make them look balanced and symmetrical.
2. Idioms are often used in daily life so they are colloquial. To some extent, the rhythm give people a harmonic and aesthetic feeling to make the idioms easy to read, and sound melodic, tuneful. We can find alliteration in some phrases such as first and foremost, might and main. “笑里藏刀” can be interpreted as a fare face my hide a foul heart.
3. Idioms come from life and meanwhile reflect the social life. It contains many vivid metaphor as well as profound philosophy of life. Therefore, it should not be taken in its literal sense but understand it on the basis of knowing its Cultural connotation and then explore its deeper meaning.
   1. Differences between Chinese and English idioms

3.2.1 Idioms related to religion

Religious faith is an indispensible part of human beings inner life, and it has great impact on the national culture. Western people are in favor of Christianity, and they regard Jesus as their god. “God” becomes a main element in some idioms. Eg. Man proposes, God disposes, which means the planning lies with man, the outcome with the god. We also can find some idioms come from the bible. Eg. A wolf in sheep’s clothing, which means people who look very kind from his/ her appearance but actually he/ she is an evil person. Its allusion or literary quotation is a story from the bible. Jesus preached a sermon in Galilee, and recruits a large quantity of disciples. One day, he said to them, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves" Mrs. Martin hasn’t realized who is the prophets and trusted the lawyer but finally she find he is the person that Jesus mentioned.

While in China, most people believe in Buddha or Buddha or the Jade Emperor--- the Supreme Deity of Taoism. Some of the idioms have close connection with their belief. Eg. “临时抱佛脚”, which means people profess devotion only when in trouble. Take another example, “佛口蛇心”, which has the same meaning as a wolf in sheep’s clothing. We can know that even if they want to express the same thing, people with different religious belief prefer to use their worshiping gods. If translate an idiom in hurry without considering the background information, you may make some embarrassing mistakes.

3.2.2 Idioms related to geography and culture

First of all we can make comparisons about several Chinese and English idioms which have the same meaning but they use different expression. In China, we say “挥金如土” while in the US, people say “spend money like water” to convey the meaning of describing a man spending money lavishly. In China, we say “千里之堤溃于蚁穴”, however, English people express the same meaning by using this idiom “Small leak will sink a great ship” Both of them As we all know that Chinese people and western enjoys different living environment. Some idioms are close related to people’s work and life, while people’s life may high depend on where they live. China is located in Asian continent while the US is an island country. Therefore, Chinese people’s life highly relied on the harvest of the land, and the US had a long and prosperous history of seafaring. In the middle and late 18th century, The US government regarded the seafaring as the most important part of strengthening national power. Therefore, we can easily find some foreign idioms related to the sea and water. Here are some examples, “God helps the sailor, but he must row”, “A smooth sea never made a skillful mariner”, “Living without an aim is like sailing without a compass”.

3.2.3 Idioms related to animals

There are a great percentage of Words related to animals which appear in idioms. This words can make the idioms become more interesting and vivid, also it can reflect the cultural connotation between China and the west obviously. Nevertheless, it makes this kind of idioms be hard to understand even can cause deviations and misunderstandings. The western people believe that dogs are their best friends, and they never eat dog meat. They regard it as a cruel and inhuman and cruel behavior. They see dogs as loyal and important companions, who help them never feel lonely. Therefore, if you see an idiom which contains the word--- dog, in most cases, it suggests a commendatory meaning. “Top dog” has the same meaning of winner. “Lucky dog” means one is favored by fortune. And a well-known idiom is “love me, love my dog”, which means love for a person extends even to his/ her dogs. While in ancient China, dogs are forbidden to take with you in public places. Moreover, some people even regard dogs as slaves and traitors. Eg. “丧家之” means people who become homeless just like a dog being thrown out by its master. “狗咬吕洞宾” means you treat the one who helps you badly for regarding him/ her as a bad guy. Thus, when you see the word--- dog in a Chinese idiom, its meaning is often a pejorative one.

Another animal which has diametrically opposed meaning to Chinese and western people is dragon (we call it “Long” in China). Due to dragon is a metaphor for China, you can hear people call themselves as descendants of dragon. They treat dragon as a symbol of sovereign, authority, and prosperity. So emperors in ancient China when they attend formal celebrations, they wear the dragon robe (a kind of formal dress which is golden with embroidered dragons). There is also many Chinese idioms contains the word--- dragon. Here are some examples. “鲤鱼跳龙门” which means have a success in one’s carrier or get a promotion. “望子成龙”, which literal meaning is hoping one’s son becomes a person like dragon in the future, and it means to have great expectations for one’s children in fact. “龙凤呈祥” means extremely good fortune. On the contrary, western people believe that dragon is evil and terrifying, which is a symbol of misfortune and wickedness. “Sow the dragon's teeth” implies stirring up mischief. “She is a real dragon” means the woman is hard to make friends with. “Chase the dragon” is an oral expression which means addicting to heroin and cocaine. From some idioms we can find western people and Chinese also have different view on animals such as lion, bat, horse, sheep, bird, etc.

3.2.4 Idioms related to colors

Traditionally, Chinese people wear a beautiful red suit for marriage. Chinese people consider that this color can bring them good luck and joyousness. While in western country people wear white wedding dresses because they think the color white implies purity, saint, and blessedness. “A white day” means the day is very lucky to you and “a white lie” means one says well-intentioned lies for some reasons with kind and benevolent spirit. From this we can see that people from different nations may have various attitudes on one color. Here is a Chinese idiom, “青出于蓝而胜于蓝” which can be literally translated as Indigo blue derives from an indigo plant while its color is bluer than the plant. If you are not a Chinese or you never have the background information, you may find it hard to understand. Actually, this idiom means the talent pupil can learn a lot from the teacher and then he/ she can become the real master better than his/ her teacher. The color blue is a metaphor, which refers to talented young people. In the west, we sometimes hear others say that sb. be in blue, and here blue means sad or not in a good mood.

When somebody mentions the color green, Chinese people usually have a thought of vigor, beautiful scenery as well as the season--- spring. Therefore, we usually use the idiom “green hills and blue waters” to describe the beautiful and vigorous scenery. However, green has a different meaning in the western countries. “a green hand”, “as green as grass” both of the “green” means inexperienced

1. Strategies of translating English idioms

To some degree, I think that the basic principles of translation should be faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance, which is raised by a famous Chinese idealistic torchbearer named Yan Fu. “Faithfulness” means the translation should convey the same meaning of the original text. “Expressiveness” means the reader can understand the translation easily; also the translation should be logic. “Elegance” means the translation should be exquisite and maintain the original style and implication. According to these principles, I will clarify 3 useful translation skills which can be effectively used in translating English idioms.

4.1 Literal Translation

In most case, literal translation may be the first choice for us when we translate something. Because it can make completely faithful translation of the original idiom without changing the content, organization and linguistic features but not misleading people or make people confused. Here are some instances.

A Chinese idiom “ 鼠目寸光” can be literal translated as “as short-sighted as mice” to describe a man who is short-sighted. “削足适履” can be translated as “To cut the feet to fit the shoes”. It is a metaphor for people who are inflexible and stubborn. “以眼还眼，以牙还牙” can be translated like “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” which means you can hit back by the means that the other one treat you.

4.2 Paraphrasing or Free Translation

Although literal translation is easy to use, in some cases, it cannot make the translation look reasonable for the cultural difference. To some extent, paraphrasing can tell readers real meaning, and may avoid misunderstanding. A Chinese idiom pronounced like “不管三七二十一” which literally means regardless of three times seven is twenty-one. It must make people feel confused let alone knowing it meaning. So we can use free translation on base of knowing its original meaning. “Casting all caution to the winds”, which can be a better one for foreigners. Here is another example. Some people may translate an old Chinese idiom “一个和尚挑水喝，两个和尚抬水喝，三个和尚没水喝” into “One monk can get water and drink himself, two monks can cooperate with each other and carry water , three monks may come across a problem and they cannot get water to drink.” This literal translation in which the Chinese basic meaning is retained while the metaphorical image of a bucket carrying water in Chinese culture is lost. Therefore, we use free translation. “One boy is a boy, two boys half a boy, three boys no boy.” In a word, translators should try their utmost to transfer the culture difference of the source language according to different culture contexts.

• 1. Literal Translation Combined with Paraphrasing

People prefer literal translation to paraphrasing so as to maintain the original culture features. However, due to cultural difference, we often need to add some annotations which can be a short phrase or a long sentence to the literal translation to make people understand its real meaning. Here are two Chinese idioms which are translated into English by this method. 1. Show off one’s proficiency with axe before Lu Ban, the master carpenter. If we neglect the annotations of Lu Ban, people in other country may feel confused, even misunderstanding. 2. The ugly imitates the beautiful in such a destroyed way that the ugliness of the ugly becomes worse. Here we use an appositive clause to illustrate the destroyed way.

• 1. Idioms for idioms

In China, we use the idiom “猴子捞月” to metaphor a fruitless attempt. While to make it become more accurate and authentic, we can translate it into “fish in the air”, which has the same meaning in English. And this translated method we called “idioms for idioms.” Some Chinese students may translate the Chinese idiom “宁做鸡头，不做凤尾” into English like “Better be the head of a cock than the tail of a phoenix.” This expression is typical Chinese English. Every language has its own conventional expression. Therefore, when we translate an idiom, we should take their culture and customs into consideration. In China, we make a comparison between “head of a cock” and “tail of a phoenix”. While in English, people prefer to use “head of a dog” and “tail of a lion”. So the authentic translation is “Better be the head of a dog than the tail of a lion.”

5．Conclusions

In this thesis, we discuss some famous principles of translation in both domestic and abroad. Through their theory, we can gain some knowledge related to translation. On the other hand, we find some advantages and short-comings in their principles. We mainly focus on the transformation of idioms which embrace some cultural, religious and national factors. We make a comparison between Chinese and English idioms. They have something in common, such as form, formation, and rhetoric skills. These similarities also bring us some difficulties to make a perfect correspondent transformation. Then I give some interesting examples to clarify the differences in idioms which caused by religion, animals and colors, and we find that background information is fairly important for us to understand idioms and then we can make our translation become more authentic. Finally, I draw on the experience of many translator of high reputation as well as my own experience. I list four basic and practical methods which are used most frequently while translate idioms. We can make better transformation of idioms by enriching our eyesight to know more about the background information, and use those methods mentioned above smartly.

References

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现代汉语词典

[9]钟震颖，2008， 浅析英汉动物习语设喻的异同及其翻译，《理论月刊》6：128-130。

[10]温中兰，2004，汉英习语翻译与文化认同，《上海科技翻译》3：43-45。

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