论文总字数：32386字

摘 要

习语，语言之精华，是语言在长期使用过程中自然积淀形成的。包含着大量的文化信息和社会风俗。社会风俗与习语相生相成。英汉习语承载着不同的民族特色和社会风俗。因此，鉴于认识到习语与社会风俗的这种特殊关系，本文旨在以中西社会风俗差异为切入点探究英汉习语翻译。本文还分析了英汉习语中所体现的不同社会风俗，并概述了英汉习语翻译的不同方法旨在促进对习语翻译的进一步研究。

关键词：英汉习语；社会风俗；文化差异；翻译方法

Contents

1. Introduction………………………………………………………………1
2. Literature Review…………………………………………………………2
3. Idioms, Culture and Translation …………………..…………………...3

3.1 Language and culture………………………………………………….3

3.2 Culture and idioms….………………………………………………........4

3.3 Idioms and translation………………………………………………...4

1. Social Customs Reflected in English and Chinese Idioms.………….6

4.1 Festival customs………………………………………………………5

4.2 Digital customs…………………………………………………………...6

4.3 Dietary customs……………………………………………………….6

5. Translation Methods………………………………………………….7

5.1 Literal translation……………………………………………..……………. 8

5.2 Free translation………………………………………………………………9

5.3 Rhetorical devices…………………………………………….……………10

5.4 Image-shift translation……………………………………………………..11

6.Conclusion…………………………………………………………………..12

Works Cited…………………………………………………………………...13

1. Introduction

This thesis is a tentative study of Chinese and English idioms translation from the perspective of the differences between Chinese and western social customs. The significance of studying idioms translation from the social customs lies in the two following aspects:

Firstly, idioms can appear in various stylistic texts such as literary works, scientific papers, political commentary and other genres. Therefore, in order to realize the target audience’s correct understanding of the idioms in the source language, the accurate and perfect translation of English and Chinese idioms is of great importance. Although the same object and concept can be expressed in different languages, because of different cultural backgrounds, people in different cultures may associate different meanings with the same word(Adamsamp;Thomas Wamp;Susan R. Kuder 54). Words that have the same conceptual meaning may have different affective meanings in different cultures. For example: White in English symbolizes purity in the eyes of Westerners, so wedding dresses are always designed with white cloth, while in Chinese culture, white (白)is traditionally associated with bereavement, thus, people tend to wear a long piece of white cloth in a funeral. Therefore, in order to come up with a precise and elegant translation of words and expressions in the source languages. translators must have cultural awareness in the process of translation. Although it is not necessary for the translator to translate a text word for word, he/she must correctly understand each culture-loaded word in the original text for the purpose of translating it accurately. Therefore, cultural messages and social customs embedded in idioms, to a large extent, are important factors that the translator should take into consideration in the course of idiom translation.

Secondly, in the past several decades, the studies of idiom translation have mainly stayed at the level of daily communication, and seldom take into account cultural connotation behind the idioms. Therefore, it is a necessary to study the relationship between cultural connotation and idiom translation.

Owing to different social customs and cultural traditions,there are many cultural-loaded idioms in both English and Chinese. On one hand, these idioms with cultural connotations enrich the two languages of Chinese and English with special charm. On the other hand, these typical culture-laden idioms also turn out to be a barrier in the process of idiom translation. This paper consists four parts. The first part is an introduction to English and Chinese idioms. The second focuses on discussing the differences between English and Chinese idioms. The third part gives a brief introduction to English and Chinese idiom translation methods. The last part is the conclusion. In conclusion, in the process of Chinese and English idiom translation, it is vital for the translator to take into consideration the social customs and cultural backgrounds of different nations.

2. Literature Review

Idioms, as an important element of a language, contain numerous national social customs and cultural characteristics. In the 21st century, owing to high frequency of intercultural communication, idiom translation plays an increasingly important role in circulating foreign cultures, which entails the translator’s studying and mastering more theories about Chinese and English idiom translation. In this section, relevant studies will be presented from two aspects: studies on social customs and previous studies about idioms translation.

2.1 Relevant theory and social customs

Social customs are involved in a variety of aspects of a society such as economy, history, culture and politics. Therefore, many scholars explored social customs from different perspectives and proposed some relevant theories, which have been gradually improved with further research. In 1890, the Introduction to Folklore, edited by L.Gomme, and published by the British Folklore Society, made a study of only ancient concepts and superstitions, etiquette, games, oral language and literature rather than social customs and political systems. But in 1914, this book was revised by C.S. Burne and published in a second edition, in which are included social and political systems, personal life style, industry and other customs. Later on, the Swiss folklore society published an annual journal of folklore in which E.H.Krayer expanded the scope of social customs further into social customs including rural culture, folk crafts, and living habits. From then on, the study of social customs in various countries has entered a new stage, at which folklore experts would explore social customs on the basis of relevant cultural background.

2.2 Previous studies about idioms translation

Most idioms tend to carry with them rich cultural messages. Therefore, in the process of translation, the most important task is to translate the cultural connotation embedded in idioms. A translated work is not only a presentation but also a recreation of the original language text. Robert Escarpi, a French sociologist, proposed that Translation should be a kind of creative work and translator should have a strong cultural awareness in the process of translation. In the past two decades, translation studies have gradually shifted to intercultural comparison. Since Bassinet and Lefebvre, the representatives of the school of translation, officially proposed the translation theory of culturology, translation scholars have paid more and more attention to cultural factors. In the past decades, cultural and literary studies, anthropology, information science, cognitive science, psychology and linguistics all have played a great role in promoting the research of idiom translation(Shi 15). Venetia, an American translation theorist, published The Translator Invisibility: A history of translation in 1995. This book further summarized the two translation methods that Schleiermacher had proposed. The first translation method is domestication and the second one foreignization. A prominent scholar Gu Zhengkun once said that: In the field of idiom translation theory, the issue of translation standards is undoubtedly of the greatest historical significance. Therefore, it is not surprising that the topic of translation method has attracted the attention of so many theorists.

Therefore, aiming to find out some effective strategies of Chinese and English idiom translation to promote intercultural communication further, this article discusses some case studies in relation to idiom translation from the perspective of the difference between Chinese and English social customs.

3.Idioms, Culture and Translation

Language and culture are mutually related. Different cultures can be presented in different languages. Meanwhile, language is an essential part of human communiations. As an important part of language, accurate idiom translation is of great significance in enhancing intercultural communication. All in all, in order to raise his/her idiom translation level, the translator needs to figure out the relationship between cultural idioms and translation.

3.1 language and culture

As a carrier of human culture, language plays a great significant role in all human activities. It is not only, a communicative tool for people but also a social phenomenon and a medium that integrates people and culture. Language has been shaped and developed with the foundation and evolution of society (Pingamp;Zhang 4). Without culture, the existence of language would be impossible. The founder of human linguistics and American anthropologist E.Sapir proposed: Language does not form without culture and does not survive in isolation from society. (Brightamp;William 196) Language is the premise of the formation and development of culture and can help to preserve and enrich culture as well as the social customs embedded in the language.(Feng 223-224) As a part of culture, language is not only the carrier and expression of culture, but also plays an important role in cultural transmission and inheritance. In a word, language and culture rely on each other. Language can signal the developing orientation of culture. Meanwhile, culture gives people social identity through their use of language.

3.2 Culture and idioms

As an important part of national culture, social customs refer to the material and spiritual life styles that are created, enjoyed and inherited by a nation in the long course of its historical life. Idioms are created by the masses in social life and closely connected with social customs. Idioms, like a mirror, can clearly reflect the various elements of a national culture such as geographical environment, historical background, economic life, social customs and religious beliefs. Both Chinese and English idioms are closely related to their own histories and cultures. English idioms are often derived from Aesop"s fables, Greek myths, bible stories or Shakespearean plays (Funkamp;Wilfred John 68). While China has rich culture and idioms mostly stem from historical documents, language stories, myths and legends. In a word, idioms are peculiar not only in established collocations but also in their specific meanings. When we use idioms, we should focus on cultural characteristics embedded in them.

3.3 Idioms and translation

Translation is a cross-cultural communication based on language conversion. Idioms, as an important element of a language, display the unique national culture of each country. When we translate an idiom, what needs to be converted in translation is not the language symbol but the cultural meaning it carries. Three difficulties in idiom translation between Chinese and English should be noticed. Firstly, most of what we learn in school is standard written language more than oral English, so we are unfamiliar with idioms English used in daily life (Broukalamp;Milada 177). Secondly, The Chinese and the British have different thinking modes. When we speak another language with the mode of our thinking, although we make no grammatical errors, we fail to convey what we really intend to. Last but not least, Chinese carries with a lot of Chinese cultural messages, while English has also specific cultural messages of English-speaking countries. These cultural differences add many difficulties to idiom translation（Zao 37-42）. In short, it is not easy to translate English and Chinese idioms properly in the process of idiom translation, so we must pay attention to the cultural differences embedded in English and Chinese idioms.

4. English Social Customs Reflected in English and Chinese Idioms

Language, representing and reflecting culture, bears the specific social customs. F.de Saussure, a great modern linguist, holds the point that: A nation’s social customs are reflected in its language. In addition, it is language that constitutes a nation.( Geibleman James 73). A large number of idioms have been formed and developed in both Chinese and English long history. Meanwhile, cultural differences are ubiquitous and add much more difficult problems in idioms translation. In order to compare the differences between English and Chinese idioms and translate them properly, this part will elaborate English and Chinese idiom differences from three aspects: festival customs, digital customs and dietary customs.

4.1 Festival customs

Festivals, the special days of the year with specific social significance, are the products of a country’s long-term cultural accumulation. With different culture backgrounds, Chinese and English idioms have numerous differences in festival custom.

Chinese festivals are the cultural synthesis of Chinese civilization. Chinese traditional festivals are mainly connected with seasons and climates (Wu 98). Because China has been an agricultural country for a long time, seasonal and climatic changes are the direct determinants of agricultural activities. Chinese people have formed some customs and manners about traditional festivals in daily life. Some typical Chinese idioms are the results of those festival customs, such as :“额头上放爆竹——响头”(set off fire-crackers on heads----good luck)，“大年初一吃饺子——没外人”(It is all families that get together and eat dumplings on the first day of the lunar year)。“七月七，银河会”(The seventh evening of the seventh moon is the lovers festival).

Compared with Chinese traditional festivals, Western traditional festivals are mainly connected with religions. Christianity is the essence of the spiritual civilization in the western society. Almost all the influential traditional festivals in the West are related to Christianity (Barfieldamp;Owen 73). Therefore, there are numerous idioms containing God in the western culture. Such as God bless me, God helps these who help themselves. As the only important book of Christianity, the Bible also appears in numerous idioms. There are numerous English idioms which can be reflected the Bible, for example, “separate the sheep from the goats”(区别好坏）, “cast pearls before swine”.（对牛弹琴）

4.2 Digital customs

Numerical idioms refer to the idiomatic expressions that contain Numbers. In both English and Chinese, the numbers have a lot of wonderful features, which constitute numerous informative idioms. These digital idioms carry rich national and historical messages, vividly displaying the cultural characteristics of different nationalities. Some of the numbers are also loaded with obvious emotional overtones. Numbers can represent good or bad, likes or dislikes and any other cultural emotions.

In Chinese idioms, Numbers are widely used, such as “千军易得，一将难求”，“不如意事常八九，可与人言无二三。”In a word, every moment in social life is inseparable from Numbers. In addition to calculation and measurement, Numbers also play the role of information transmission. Many Chinese digital idioms embody Chinese traditional culture and social mentality. The number three in Chinese expresses many, even extreme meaning. This number also presents a complex and changing state. such as “三寸不烂之舌”，“三个臭皮匠顶个诸葛亮。”.

Compared with the Chinese people who believe in harmony, westerners have faith that disharmony is beauty. This is because the west has emphasized the dichotomy of conflict and polarity since ancient Greece(Yinamp;Han 310). In English idioms, the mantissa one is often added to the even number of a whole hundred or thousand. For example, “ one hundred and one thanks”(十分感谢），“have one thousand and one things to do(日理万机)”. In addition, in Christian culture, the concept of trinity defines the mysterious culture of the number three. Westerners hold the point that the foundation and development of all cam be divided into three. The number seven is also seen as a lucky number in most english-speaking countries because of the biblical legend that god created all things in seven days.

4.3 Dietary customs

With the development of society and culture, human dietary habits have finally formed the national dietary customs and culture. Diet is a kind of social behavior with rich cultural connotation. Due to the natural environment, geography, climate, economy, politics, religion and many other factors, different regions, countries and nations have gradually formed their own distinctive food cultures. Dietary custom is the embodiment of dietary culture (Huang 438-440). Therefore, a large number of Chinese and English idioms embody these specific customs.

Bread plays an important role in English-speaking countries. Bread can be divided into many kinds, such as hamburger, hot-dog, roll, cake or pancake. In addition to bread, butter is also a specific feature on the western table. Bread and butter are indispensable in western people lives. There are various related idioms about bread and butter. The most important implication of them is the way to make a living. The idioms that reflected the customs are: “eat the bread of idleness”(做实，不劳而获），“the bread and butter of a business”(经济收入的主要来源）

Compared with western dietary culture, there is richer and more colorful dietary culture in China. Except for rice and noodle, which are the two main types of Chinese food, Chinese also pay much attention to the taste when they cook. They will add a lot of condiments, oil, salt, vinegar and other condiments are sauces that Chinese use in daily life. There are a large number of idioms reflecting Chinese customs ：“开门七件事，柴米油盐酱醋茶”，“五谷加红枣，胜过灵芝草。”

5. Translation Methods

There are many theorists proposing various views on the definition of idiom from the past to the present. A famous American translation theorist Eugene A. Nina holds a translation viewpoint that embodies his linguistic paradigm: One way of defining a D-E translation is to describe it as “the closest natural equivalent to the source-language message. This type of definition contains three essential terms(1)equivalent, which points toward source-language ,(2)natural, which points toward the receptor language, and (3) closest, which binds the two orientations together on the basis of the highest degree of approximation.”What he emphasized in his definition of translation is that translation should first realize that information of translation text should be equivant to the original text. Secondly, the language of the translation should match the expression habit of target language. Finally, the translation language style should be as beautiful as possible. However, when it comes to idioms, a language phenomenon with large cultural load, language equivalence becomes extremely difficult (Houghton, Patricia 90). Because idioms carry profound cultural messages, we should focus more on using accurate translation methods in the process of translation. This section sums up the processing translation methods into four categories: literal translation, free translation, rhetoric methods and image-thift.

5.1 Literal translation

Literal translation means that the translation should pay much attention to retaining the language form，style and charm of the source language. Because people in different countries have similar life experiences or have the same attitude towards some things, in the process of idiom translation, translators should try their best to retain the imagery and rhetoric of the source language. For example:

Example1:

时间就是金钱 (Time is money)

paper tigers (纸老虎)

A gentleman uses his tongue, not his fists (君子动口不动手)

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