On English and Chinese Idiom Translation浅谈英汉习语翻译.docx

XXXX大学本科毕业论文（设计）任务书编 号： 论文（设计）题目：浅谈英汉习语翻译 学 院： XXX学院 专业： XXXX 班级： XXX级XX班 学生姓名： XXX 学号： XXXX指导教师XXX 职称：XXX 1、 论文（设计）研究目标及主要任务本论文的研究目标是比较英汉习语的对应关系，并在此基础上，针对不同的对应类型提出具体的翻译方法。其主要任务是系统地分析习语的翻译以更好地促进两种语言和文化之间的交流。2、 论文（设计）的主要内容本论文分为三章。第一章是对习语定义和特征的简单介绍。第二章具体叙述了英汉习语的三种对应关系。第三章根据英汉习语不同的对应关系提出了具体的翻译方法。3、 论文（设计）的基础条件及研究路线本论文的基础条件是翻译家和语言学家对英汉习语及其翻译的研究成果。研究路线是对英汉习语从对应程度分类，并在此基础上提出不同对应类型的英汉习语的翻译方法。4、 主要参考文献Seidl Jennifer and W McMordie.1978. English Idioms and How to Use Them. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Nida E A. 1993. Language, Culture, and Translating. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.骆世平，2006，英语习语研究，上海：上海外语教育出版社。张培基，1980，英汉翻译教程，上海：上海外语教育出版社。5、 计划进度阶段起止日期1确定初步论文题目3月16日前2与导师见面，确定大致范围，填开题报告和任务书，导师签字3月16日-3月23日3提交论文提纲3月23日-3月30日4交初稿和文献综述3月30日-4月20日5交终稿和评议书5月8日前指 导 教师： 年 月 日教研室主任： 年 月 日XXXX大学本科生毕业论文（设计）开题报告书 XXX 学院 XXXX 专业 XXX 届学生姓名XXX论文（设计）题目浅谈英汉习语翻译指导教师XXX专业职称XX所属教研室翻译系教研室研究方 向翻译理论与实践课题论证：从英汉习语的对应关系的角度，针对不同的对应类型提出具体的翻译方法，系统地分析习语的翻译以更好地促进两种语言和文化之间的交流。方案设计：第一章介绍习语定义和特征。第二章具体阐述英汉习语的三种对应关系。第三章根据不同的对应关系提出具体的翻译方法。进度计划：3.14-3.16 确定论文题目3.16-3.23 拟写论文提纲3.23-3.30 提交并修改论文提纲 3.30-4.20 提交并修改论文初稿4.20-5.8 拟写并提交论文终稿指导教师意见： 指导教师签名： 年 月 日教研室意见：教研室主任签名： 年 月 日XXX大学本科生毕业论文（设计）评议书姓 名XXX学院XXX学院专业英语翻译年级（班）XXX论 文 题 目浅谈英汉习语翻译完成时间XXXX.5.5论文内容摘要习语作为一种特殊的表达方式，是语言的瑰宝。习语是具有特定形式的词组，其含义往往不能从词组中单个词的意思推测而得。从广义上讲，习语包括成语，俗语，谚语，俚语等。习语是人类智慧的结晶，并且来源广泛。因此，习语往往带有鲜明的民族特色和文化特征。本文由三个部分组成。第一部分是对习语定义和特征的简单介绍。第二部分分析了英汉习语的关系。英语和汉语中都有大量习语，二者相比较，存在着很多相似点和不同之处。根据英汉习语的对应程度，本文将英汉习语分为三类，即完全对应习语，半对应习语和不对应习语。在此分类基础上，本文第三部分针对各种类型习语提出了具体的翻译方法。翻译完全对应习语时，用直译法比较合适，而借用法则适合运用于半对应习语的翻译。至于不对应习语，译者可选择的方法较多，比如，直译加注法，意译法，意译加注法以及直译与意译相结合的方法。在翻译过程中，译者不仅要尽量保持原语特色，还要满足目标语读者的需求。译者应该根据不同的情况和语境灵活运用这些方法。指导教师评语 年 月 日指 导 教 师职称讲师初评成绩答辩小组姓名职称教研室组长成员答辩记录：记录人签字： 年 月 日答辩小组意见：组长签字： 年 月 日学院意见：评定成绩： 盖章： 年 月 日XXXX大学本科生毕业论文（设计）文献综述Literature ReviewIdiom is a set expression of several words whose meaning cannot be deduced from the meaning of each separate word. Idioms are full of cultural and regional colors. They are also distinct because of the fixed structure and the semantic meaning. Idiom study is much later than vocabulary study. But the development of idiom study is quite similar to that of linguistic. Both of them came through three stages, that is, standard, description and explanation. Early idiom study began in 1925, which is represented by Smith who published a book named Words and Idioms. In this book, Smith mainly explored the sources and structures of idioms, classified the sources of idioms and emphasized the basic features of idioms. Smith also paid special attention to the peculiarity of idiom structure. But he seldom involved the connotation of idioms. He pointed out the basic features of idioms, that is, the meaning of an idiom is not made up of the meaning of each word in the idiom and the connotation of idioms is inexplicit. Idioms can express determination, anger, and vituperation, which reflect the crafty usage of English vocabulary.During 1930s and 1950s, C. F. Hackett, a representative of this period, emphasized the important role of context in the recognition and explanation of idioms on the basis of structuralism. He explained the deep structure and semantic features of idioms, which normalized the definition of idiom. In the 1960s, the study of idioms relatively slowed down. Linguists represented by B. Fraser began to study the deep structure of idioms under the guidance of Chomskys generative transformational theory and they put forward the theory of frozenness hierarchy. They accepted the fixity of idioms and also accepted that idioms could be transformed. Idiom study thus gained attention again.Since 1980s, idiom study entered a new period. Linguists started to probe into the function of idiom in communicative activities and opened up functional study of idiom in communication, which is more significant in specific use. The most outstanding research finding is made by Australian linguist C. Fernando. Her representative work is Idioms and Idiomaticity. Since then, idiom study pays more attention to application rather than theory.Idiom study in China started late. Up to now, it is only about 30 years. According to the focus of research, idiom study in China can be divided into two periods. The first is the period of experience from 1978 to 1997 and the second is the period of multiple theories from 1998 till now. During the first period, the focus of research is the features of idioms and the techniques of idiom translation. While in the second period, the study of idiom is widened and deepened. A representative work of this period is Research of English Idiom written by Luo Shiping.There are many idioms in English and in Chinese. Because of cultural differences, it is difficult to translate one language into another, let alone idioms, which is full of cultural and regional color. It is difficult to find an appropriate expression to correspond with an idiom in target language. As famous British translator Mona Baker once said, “the main problems that idiomatic and fixed expressions pose in translation relate to two main areas: the ability to recognize and interpret an idiom correctly and the difficulties involved in rendering the various aspects of meaning that an idiom or a fixed expression conveys into the target language.” The sentence summarizes the causes of problems in the process of translation. Translation is never an easy job. As for the standard of translation, translators and scholars have different opinions. Yan Fu put forward the standard of “faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance” while Zhang Peiji proposed “faithful and fluent”. Equal concept comes from Qu Qiubai. Nida, a well-known American translation researcher, raised the concept of functional equivalence or dynamic equivalence. Fun Cunzhong pointed out in Translation Theory and Techniques that there are equivalent expressions in two languages but very few. Most are not correspondent. Although these opinions emphasis are different, the core is the same, that is, the translation must be faithfully and accurately express the meaning of the original text while keeping the original style. Translation is not to just change the words of one language into another language. It also involves history, culture, custom, religion and social background. The US translation theoretician Lawrence Venuti put forward the concept of domestication and foreignization. He defines the domestication and foreignization in The Translators Invisibility as follows: Domestication adopts the national center principle, enables the source language text to satisfy the value of target language and culture, and leads the source language readers into the target culture, while foreignization means to accept the differences between foreign language culture and target language culture to take target language readers to see the foreign scene.There are also some limits of idiom and idiom translation. To review the production of idiom study, it is easy to find that the research range and methods are similar. And most of idiom study is based on the traditional linguistics thus the research lacks innovation.本科生毕业论文设计题目： 浅谈英汉习语翻译作者姓名： XXX 指导教师： XXX 所在学院： XXX学院 专业（系）： 英XXXX 班级（届）： 2XXX届 完成日期 XXXX 年 5 月 5 日 On English and Chinese Idiom TranslationBYXXX XXXX, TutorA Thesis Submitted to Department of English Language and Literature in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of B.A. in English At XXXX UniversityMay 5th,XXXX摘要习语作为一种特殊的表达方式，是语言的瑰宝。习语是具有特定形式的词组，其含义往往不能从词组中单个词的意思推测而得。从广义上讲，习语包括成语，俗语，谚语，俚语等。习语是人类智慧的结晶，并且来源广泛。因此，习语往往带有鲜明的民族特色和文化特征。本文由三个部分组成。第一部分是对习语定义和特征的简单介绍。第二部分分析了英汉习语的关系。英语和汉语中都有大量习语，二者相比较，存在着很多相似点和不同之处。根据英汉习语的对应程度，本文将英汉习语分为三类，即完全对应习语，半对应习语和不对应习语。在此分类基础上，本文第三部分针对各种类型习语提出了具体的翻译方法。翻译完全对应习语时，用直译法比较合适，而借用法则适合运用于半对应习语的翻译。至于不对应习语，译者可选择的方法较多，比如，直译加注法，意译法，意译加注法以及直译与意译相结合的方法。在翻译过程中，译者不仅要尽量保持原语特色，还要满足目标语读者的需求。译者应该根据不同的情况和语境灵活运用这些方法。关键词 习语 特征 对应关系 翻译方法AbstractAs a kind of special expression, idioms are the treasure of language. An idiom is a set of fixed words that cannot be deduced from the meaning of separate words. In a broad sense, idioms include set phrases, common sayings, proverbs, slang etc. It is the crystallization of peoples wisdom and it has various origins. Thus idioms are characterized by distinctive national and cultural features. This thesis is made up of three parts. The first part is mainly introduces the definition of idioms and deals with structural and semantic features of idioms. The second part deals with the relationship of English idioms and Chinese idioms. As there are many idioms in English and Chinese, both similarities and differences exist in comparison. English idioms and Chinese idioms are classified into three types in this paper, that is, complete corresponding idioms, semi-corresponding idioms and non-corresponding idioms. This classification is in the light of the degree of correspondence. On the basis of this division, part three proposes concrete translation methods under each type. To translate complete corresponding idioms, literal translation is appropriate while borrowing translation is suitable for semi-corresponding idioms. As for non-corresponding idioms, translators have more choices such as literal translation with notes, liberal translation, liberal translation with notes, as well as combination of literal translation and liberal translation. In the process of translation, translators need try to not only conserve the original color but also meet the needs of target language readers. Translators should utilize these methods flexibly according to different situation and context.Key words idioms features corresponding relationship translation methods Contents摘要iiiAbstractivContentsvIntroduction1Chapter 1 Introduction of Idioms51.1 Definition of idiom51.2 Features of idiom71.2.1 Structural stability71.2.2 Semantic unity8Chapter 2 Relationship between English Idioms and Chinese Idioms102.1 Complete corresponding idioms102.2 Semi-corresponding idioms112.3 Non-corresponding idioms13Chapter 3 Methods Employed in Idiom Translation153.1 Idiom translation153.2Translation methods for corresponding idioms173.3 Translation methods for semi-corresponding idioms193.4 Translation methods for non-corresponding idioms203.4.1 Literal translation with notes213.4.2 Liberal translation223.4.3 Liberal translation with notes233.4.4 Combination of literal translation and liberal translation24Conclusion26Bibliography2930IntroductionAs the essence of language, idioms exist everywhere in language. Idioms originate from the culture of nations and from peoples day-to-day life. According to Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, an idiom is “a group of fixed words with a special and different meaning from the meaning of the separate words” (Pearson Longman, 2009, 1219). The Britain linguist, Jennifer Seidl, had said in the introduction of his book English Idioms and How to Use Them (1978) that “Idioms are not a separate part of the language which one can choose to either to use or to omit, but they form an essential part of the general vocabulary of English”(6). That is to say, English idioms are fixed phrases or expressions that carry special meanings, which cannot be understood by adding up the meaning of their individual words. According to Chinese scholar Luo Shiping, there are three points need to be take into consideration when an idiom is defined. First, an idiom usually has two or more than two words. Second, the structure is fixed and each part of idiom cannot be replaced arbitrarily. Third, the meaning cannot be understood by adding up the meaning of each individual part (骆世平, 2006:15).Without idioms our language and daily life might become dull and boring. Idioms come from varied origins and penetrate through people daily life. In a broad sense idioms include set phrases, common sayings, proverbs, and slang. An idiom, having a meaning different from the literal one and sometimes not conforming to the usual patterns of the language and grammar, is a construction expression. Some idioms have quite clear-cut and definite meanings. Some are implicit and profound which could cause a good deal of imagination, while others may include several meanings, which depend on the concrete context to define its specific indication. And idioms have many rich and varied origins. They are closely related to every aspect of peoples life such as living environment, religion belief, history, habits and customs. Thus, idioms are full of unique local color. In general, idioms are colorful language, carrying strong local color and national features. They are also stable in form and expressive in meaning. As Zhang Peiji says, many idioms are characterized with symmetry in form, beauty in syllable and harmony in meter. They are crystals of wisdom and essence of English language and culture (张培基, 1980).Therefore, because of these distinguishing features of English idioms, idiom translation is never an easy job. The idiom translation plays a significant role in the whole text translation and the quality of translation largely relies on the translation of idioms. Idioms are typically localized in a culture. As a vital part of culture, language is unavoidable under the influence of the social customs and traditional culture, not to mention idioms. One big challenge for all language learners and translators is the cultural aspect of the language. If translators are unaware of the cultural origin of the idioms, they will find themselves and their target language readers in a condition of confusion. To be a good translator, he or she should not only convey the meaning of one idiom in the target language, but also try to keep the full flavor of it, such as figures of speech, national or features, local color, and associations.English idioms and Chinese idioms are gems of the two languages as well as the treasure of the two national cultures. A large number of idioms exist both in Chinese language and in English language. There exist not only the differences of internal characteristics but also the similarities of idioms in the two languages. Most of idioms are of vivid images which are suitably used to compare to other things in one specific culture, as a result, idioms often contain distinctive national features and local colors. Based on the considerable and representative examples, this thesis provides more insight into the corresponding relationship between English idioms and Chinese idioms. As there are wide differences in structure and semantics between oriental and occidental languages, most of English idioms and Chinese idioms cannot correspond with each other in structure and connotation. But some of them are quite similar in form, some in meaning or using similar metaphor. Thus, on the basis of the similarities and differences, this thesis will discuss the relationship between English idioms and Chinese idioms. In this thesis, the relationship is divided into three types. They are complete corresponding idioms, semi-corresponding idioms and non-corresponding idioms. In order to keep the features of original source language idioms and meet the needs of the target language readers, translating skills should be properly employed in the process of translation. On the basis of the division of the relationship of English idioms and Chinese idioms, some concrete translation methods are put forward to match with each type of idioms. For example, when a translator translates complete corresponding idioms, for their similarity in form and connotation, they can find corresponding expression in target language. In this process, methods like literal translation and borrowing translation are usually employed. However, when non-corresponding idioms are translated, translators usually use liberal translation method and liberal translation with notes method. As it should be, these methods under each relation are not defined. In the process of translation, many problems may appear. Specific conditions need to be dealt with specific methods. Translators should try their best to apply translation methods to practice flexibly.Chapter 1 Introduction of Idioms1.1 Definition of idiomIdiom is the essence of language, which is originated from the process of peoples working and the recognizing of the world. It is a kind of fixed and special expressions of language accepted and obtained by people. It is the carrier of culture. By idioms, people can get a quick glimpse of the culture forms of a particular nation such as region, history, religion, literature and so on. They are brief and fixed in form, concise and expressive in meaning.According to Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, an idiom is “a group of fixed words with a special and different meaning or connotation from the meaning of the separate words”.