英汉习语对比及其翻译(英文)-英语专业毕业论文

PAGEPAGE13英汉习语对比及其翻译【Abstract】Idiomsaretheessenceofalanguage,whichhavestrongnationalcolorsanddistinctiveculturalconnotations.SoitisdifficultforbothEnglishandChinesereaderstounderstandtheidiomtranslationthoroughlyandexactly.ThisthesisfirstanalyzesthesimilarityofEnglishandChineseidiomsfromtheaspectofrhetoricalmeans,suchasalliteration,rhyme,repetition,antithesisandsoon.ThenitprobesintothecausesofthedifferencesinEnglishandChineseidiomsfromtheaspectsofdifferentlivingcircumstances,differentcognitionsofthings,differentreligionsandbeliefs,anddifferenthistoricalallusionsandmyths,etc.Afterthat,ittalksaboutthethreetypicalproblemsinEnglish-Chineseidiomtranslation,suchasinterpretingtheEnglishidiomstooliterally,copyingChinesecustomarysayingsmechanically,andlackinginnecessaryexplanatorynotes.Finally,itsummarizesfiveidiomtranslationmethods,includingliteraltranslationwithexplanation,literaltranslationwithassociation,transformationofmeanings,applicationofChinesecoupletandequalconsiderationofbothimagesandmeanings.Allthesignificanceofthisthesisistoconveytheidioms’culturalinformationasmuchaspossible,whichisveryusefulforthelanguagelearning.【KeyWords】idiom;comparison;translation【摘要】习语通常包括成语、俗语、格言、歇后语、谚语、俚语、行话等。其表现形式音节优美，音律协调，或含蓄幽默，或严肃典雅，言简意赅，形象生动，妙趣横生，给人一种美的享受。习语是语言的精华，它带有浓厚的民族色彩和鲜明的文化内涵。因此对英语读者和汉语读者来说，做到彻底精确地理解蕴含深刻文化内涵的习语的翻译是相对比较困难的。本文首先从修辞手法方面分析了英汉习语的相似性，然后分别从生存环境、对事物的认知、历史典故、宗教信仰等四个不同方面来比较和分析英汉习语存在的巨大差异，接着概括了英汉习语互译中存在的典型问题，，最后，本文侧重探索了英汉习语互译的最佳方法，包括直译加解释、直译加联想、意译改造法、采用汉语对联的形式，形象意义兼顾法等五种手段。整篇论文的意义在于最大限度地传递习语中的文化信息，对语言学习具有重大指导意义。【关键字】习语；对比；翻译1.IntroductionIdiomsaretheessenceofalanguage,whicharealwaysphilosophicalandeternal.AccordingtoOxfordAdvantagedLearner’sEnglish-ChineseDictionary,anidiomis“aphraseorsentencewhosemeaningisnotclearfromthemeaningofitsindividualwordsandwhichmustbelearntasawholeunit”.“Inthebroadsense,idiomsmayinclude:setphrases;proverbs;sayings;epigrams;slangexpressions;colloquialisms;quotations;two-partallegoricalsayings,ofwhichthefirstpart,alwaysstated,isdescriptive,whilethesecondpart,sometimesunstated,carriesthemessage(chieflyinChinese).WhileinChinese,idiomsarecalledas‘熟语’,including:短语，成语(usuallyconsistingoffourwords),俗语，谚语，格言，箴言，名言(quotationorrecordedutterance)，警句，隽语，俚语，粗话，行话，歇后语(includingpun),习语,etc.”[1]However,thethesiswilldiscussEnglishandChineseidiomsinanarrowsense,andonlysetphrasesandproverbswillbeunderdiscussion.EnglishidiomsandChineseidiomsaregemsofthetwolanguagesaswellasthecrystallizationofthetwonationalcultures.Mostofidiomsareofvividimageswhichareappropriatelyusedtocomparetootherthings,consequently,theyoftencontaindistinctivenationalandlocalcolors.Someidiomshavequiteclearmeanings,someareimplicitandprofound,whichcouldcauseagreatdealofassociation,whileothersmayincludeseveralmeanings,whichdependonthecontexttodefineitsrealindication.BothEnglishandChineseidiomsareimportantrhetoricalmeansinlanguageaswellastheassembledmanifestationsofdifferentkindsofrhetoricalmeansinitself.Manyidiomshavesymmetricalforms,beautifulsyllablesandharmoniousrhythms.Allthesefeaturesgiverisetotheparticulardifficultiesintranslation:itismoredifficulttounderstandandmorechallengingtoconveytheculturalinformationclearlyandexactlythanthecommonlanguage,however,inordertokeepthetranslationfaithful,thesefeaturesshouldbepreserved.Notonlydoidiomsappearlargelyinliteraryworks,butalsoinpoliticalandscientificthesis.Thequalitiesoftheidiomstranslationdirectlyaffectthewholetranslation.Soitisessentialtostudytheidiomsandtheirmethodsoftranslationseriously.2.ThesimilaritybetweenEnglishandChineseidiomsinrhetoricalmeansAlthoughthereisalwayssome“culturaldistance”betweenChineseandEnglish,thereismuchoverlap,too,anditshowsinmanyaspects.However,thefocalpointofthethesiswilllieintheanalysisoftheEnglishandChineseidiomssimilarityfromtheviewofrhetoricalmeans.BothEnglishandChineseidiomsusuallyadoptrhetoricalmeans,suchasalliteration,rhyme,repetition,andantithesis,etc,forthepurposeofenrichingtherhymeandrhythm.2.1Alliteration“Alliterationistheoccurrenceofthesameletterorsoundatthebeginningoftwoormorewordsinsuccession”[2],whichsoundscontinualandiseasytoreadandtoremember.BothEnglishandChineseidiomstakefulladvantagesofthemeans,sothattheycouldbepasseddownfromgenerationtogeneration.Let’slookatsomeexamples.InChinesethereare“恍恍惚惚，红红火火,乒乒乓乓”,etc.InEnglishtherearealso“ascoolasacucumber”(泰然自若),“asbusyasabee”(忙个不停),“titfortat”(以牙还牙),“asthickasthieves”(非常亲密,要好),“singasongofsixpence”,“‘partandparcel’(主要部分)，‘mightandmain’(竭尽全力)”,[3]“Moneymakesthemarego.”(有钱能使鬼推磨),etc.Throughtheaboveexamples,wemaywellseethatbothEnglishandChineseidiomsarepopularbythismeans.2.2Rhyme“Rhymeisthesamenessofsoundbetweenwordsorsyllable”[4],whichsoundsverybeautiful.SomeEnglishandChineseidiomsusethismethodaswelltoachievetheacousticenjoyment.Forexample:InChinese,thereare“从善如登，从恶如崩、不经一事，不长一智、差之毫厘，缪以千里、失之东隅，收之桑榆”,etc.,whichusethemeansofrhyme.InEnglish,wealsocanfinditin“Afriendinneedisafriendindeed.”,“Beggarscan’tbechoosers.”,“Eastorwest,homeisthebest.”,“Healthisbetterthanwealth.”,“‘assnugasabuginarug’(舒舒服服)，‘highanddry’(孤立无援),‘byhookorbycrook’(不择手段)”[5],etc.BothEnglishandChineseidiomsthatusethisrhetoricalmeansareoftinklingandjinglingsounds.Notonlyaretheyeasytoremember,butalsoitseemsthatwearereadingabeautifulshortpoem.2.3RepetitionInrhetorics,“repetitionisacommonlyseenrhetoricaldevice,whichusuallyrepeatsasentenceorpartofsentenceatboththebeginningandendoflongsentences,stanzas,orparagraphs.Themainfunctionofrepetitionistoemphasizethekeypoints.”[6]BothEnglishandChineseidiomsusethismethodtoachievetheemphaticeffect.Theexamplesarelikethefollowing:InChinese,thereare“喜气洋洋，多多益善，沾沾自喜，泱泱大风，姗姗来迟，亭亭玉立，想入非非，落落大方，种瓜得瓜，种豆得豆”etc.InEnglish,thereare“measureformeasure”(一报还一报),“stepbystep”(循序渐进),“neckandneck”（并驾齐驱）,“diamondcutdiamond”（棋逢对手）,“aneyeforaneyeandatoothforatooth”（以眼还眼，以牙还牙）,“callaspadeaspade”(直言不讳)，etc.Usingthemeansofrepetitionmakestheidiomshaveobviouslyemphaticobject.Theirmeaningswillbeclearataglance.2.4Antithesis“Antithesisisthedeliberatearrangementofcontrastingwordsorideasinbalancedstructuralformstoachieveforceandemphasis.Theformoftheexpressionisveryimportantforeffect,fortheforceoftheemphasis,whetherforprofundityofjudgment,forhumororforsatire,dependschieflyonthejuxtapositionofdirectopposites,ofglaringcontrasts.”[7]Manyidioms,bothEnglishandChinese,adoptthisdevice,too.Theexamplesbelowillustratethepoint:InChinese,thereare“大同小异，古往今来，冷嘲热讽，阴奉阳违，顾此失彼，因小失大，小事明白，大事糊涂”，etc.InEnglish,thereare“farandnear(四面八方),upsanddowns(盛衰沉浮);soonerorlater(迟早);moreorless(或多或少),pennywise,poundfoolish(小事聪明,大事糊涂)”,etc.Thoughtheidiomshaveonlyafewwords,theycontainmuchtruthandphilosophyinthembycomparingtwocompletelyoppositethings.Antithesishasplayedanimportantroleinthisaspect,whichmakesthereadershavealotofaftertastewhileponderingoverthem.3.ThedifferencesbetweenEnglishandChineseidiomsEnglish-speakingandChinese-speakingcountriesaretwodifferentnations,sothereexistsvastdifferencebetweenEnglishandChinesecultureandthisdifferenceoccursinEnglishandChineseidioms,too.3.1DifferentlivingcircumstancesIdiomsarecloselyrelatedtopeople’sworkandlife.Sotheidiomshavestrongnationalcolors.BritainisanislandcountryontheAtlanticocean,surroundedbythesea,whichwasonceleadingtheworldwithitsnavigation,solotsofEnglishidiomshavesomethingtodowithnavigationandfish.Suchas:adropintheocean“沧海一粟”;plainsailing“一帆风顺”betweenthedevilanddeepsea“进退维谷”;knowtheropes“懂得秘诀”;gowiththestream“随波逐流”;ascloseasanoyster“守口如瓶”;steerclearofalldoubtfulquestions“避免一切暧昧的事情”;feelunderthewater“感觉不适”.While“Chinaisanagriculturalcountry.Thepeasantshavepresentedmanyidiomsaboutfarmwork,suchas‘斩草除根’whichistranslatedliterallyinto‘tocuttheweedsanddiguptheroots’,itsfigurativemeaningis‘tostampoutthesourceofthetrouble’.Moreexamples:‘瑞雪兆丰年’（atimelysnowpromisesagoodharvest）;‘顺藤摸瓜’（itsoriginalmeaningistofollowthevinetogetthemelon;itsextendedmeaningistotrackdownsomebodyorsomethingbyfollowingclues）;‘捡了芝麻，丢了西瓜’（itsoriginalmeaningistopickupthesesameseeds,butoverlookthewatermelons;itsextendedmeaningis‘mindfulofsmallmatterstoneglectoflargeones’）”[8],etc.Typicallyspeaking,Englishpeopleuse“spendmoneylikewater”todescribesomeonewhosplashesmoneyonsomething.WhileChinesepeoplesay“挥金如土”.“HowevermanyidiomsconcerningboatsandwatercannotbegiventhesameequivalentsinChinese,suchas,torestonone’soars（暂时歇一歇）,tokeepone’sheadabovewater（奋力图存）allatsea（不知所措）etc”.[9]Duetothegeographicalandenvironmentalfactors,thebambooshootsgrowabundantlyinChina,thus,thereareidiomsconcerningbamboo.Onthecontrary,bamboodoesn’tgrowinBritishislandsatall,eventheword“bamboo”isaloanone,sothatthereisnoEnglishidiomsinthisaspect.Forexample,“theChineseidiom‘雨后春笋’istranslatedinto‘springuplikemushrooms’”[10]inEnglish.“InChineseculture,‘eastwind’is‘thewindofspring’;summerisalwaysconnectedwithextremelyhotortheintenseheat,so‘赤日炎炎似火烧’‘骄阳似火’aretermsoftenusedtodescribesummer.WhileBritainislocatedinwesternhemisphere,withnorthtemperatezoneandmarineClimate,so‘westwind’isthesymbolofspring.ThefamousEnglishpoetShirley’s‘Odetowestwind’isapraisingsongofspring.SummerinBritainisawarmandcomfortableseason,whichisusuallylinkedwith‘lovely’,‘gentle’and‘nice’.Shakespearecomparetheetoasummerinoneofhispoems,‘shallIcomparetheetoasummer’sday?Thouartmorelovelyandmoretemperate’”[11]Sodifferentlivingsurroundingsmayproducedifferentidiomsindifferentlanguageanddifferentculture.3.2DifferentcognitionsofthingsBecauseofthedifferencesbetweeneasternandwesterncultures,peoplehavegreatlydifferentcognitionsofthings,andthisexertsagreatinfluenceonthedifferencesoftheoutcomeofbothChineseandEnglishidioms.3.2.1DifferentcognitionsofanimalsEnglishandChinesebelongtotwodifferentlanguagefamilies.ChinesebelongstotheHan-Tibetanlanguagefamily.Beinglimitedtothelivingconditions,climateandsoon,severalanimalsfindthesameenvironmentonwhichtheyrelyforexistenceasthehumanbeing.Theseanimalsandthehumanbeingsareinterdependent.Whilethemanarethemostemotionalanimalsthatgivetheanimalsdifferentaffection,asaresult,thesymbolicmeaningoftheanimalsvarygreatly.ThecattlehadoncedonegreatcontributionstoChineseagricultureinhistory,sothereemergedidiomsconcerningthisanimal,suchas“力大如牛”，“倔犟如牛”，“鞭打快牛”，etc.FortheEnglish,horseisusedasanimportanttoolwhosemeritsandcontributionsareoutstanding.Consequently,thereareequivalentidiomshavingthesamemeaningasChineseidiomsinEnglish,suchas“asstrongasahorse”,“asstubbornasamule”and“Thehorsethatdrawsbestismostwhipped.”Besides,theBritishadvocatehorsemanship.Theylikeraisinghorsesandholdinghorse-races.Thusthereareagreatnumberofidiomsconcerninghorse,suchas:“darkhorse”,“eatlikeahorse”,“betonthewronghorse”,“changehorseinmid-stream”,“holdone’shorse”,etc.Inwesternculture,thecunningfoxspeciallylikeseatingthegoosesurreptitiously.Ifleavingthefoxtolookafterthegeesealone,wouldn’titmeanlookingfortrouble?WehavenosuchknowledgeinChinese.Thereby,theEnglishidiom“setafoxtokeepone’sgeese”（让狐狸看鹅）wouldbequitebafflingtotheChinese.ButthereisanidenticalidiominChinese——“引狼入室”whichmeansthesamethingas“setafoxtokeepone’sgeese”.Bothofthetwoidiomsaretranslatedcorrespondinglyandvividly.Itisworthmentioningthat,inChinese’seyes,tigeristhekingofwildanimals.Ithasrichculturalsymbolizedmeaning,includingthecommendatoryconnotation,suchasvalor,grandeurandmight,aswellasthederogatoryconnotationofcruelty,savagenessandferociousness.WhileinEnglishculture,lionisthekingofallanimals,consequently,thereareobviouslymuchmoreEnglishidiomsconcerninglionthantheChineseidiomsconcerningtiger,sothat“weoftentranslatelioninto‘虎’inEnglishtranslation,suchas‘alionintheway’(拦路虎),‘placeoneselfinthelion’smouth’(深入虎穴)”,etc.[12]3.2.2DifferentcognitionsofcolorsTherearethreekindsofbasiccolors:red,yellowandblue.Colorsarecognizedmainlythroughthesevenkindsofcolors:red,orange,yellow,green,blue,indigoandpurpleinthespectrum.Duetothedifferentcountries’historicalbackgrounds,geographicallocations,customsandtraditions,peoplehavediversecognitionsofcolors,sotheidiomsrisingundertheconditionsreflectsuchregionaldifferences.Taking“red”and“white”forexample,inwesterncountries,redisregardedasbrutalityandunluckiness.Redmeansbleeding.Sothereappearssomehavingderogatoryandtaboocolorwords,suchas“redskin（对印第安人的鄙夷称呼），redtape（繁文缛节，官僚习气）,inthered（亏损）,outofred（扭亏为盈）,redalert（空袭、紧急警报）,redcock（纵火引起的火灾）,redcent（毫无价值的事物）etc.”[13]WhileinChina,redmeansluckandjoy.TherearemanyChineseidiomsobviouslyhavingcomplimentarysense,suchas开门红(getofftohaveagoodstart),红颜薄命(abeautifulgirlhasanunfortunatelife),红运当头(haveagoodluck),红光满面(inthepink),红男绿女(gailydressedyoungmenandwomen),红得发紫(extremelypopular),红极一时（enjoypopularityforatime）,红装素裹（cladinwhite,adornedinred）,etc.Peopleinwesterncountrieslookuponwhiteasthesymbolofpurity,aswellassomeimplicationsofracialdiscrimination.Thewesternersarewhitepeoplewhoentrustextremelynoblesymboltowhite.InEnglishthereare：whitehat（好人），whitelies（善意的谎言），white--headedboy（宠儿），thewhitehope（带来荣誉的人），whiteslavery（逼良为娼——西方人认为白种人不能做奴隶），etc.HoweveritisdifferentinChina.InChinese’seyes,whitestandsforfuneralandrevolt,whichhasderogatorycolor.Forexample,thereare白日做梦(indulgeinwishfulthinking),白费口舌(wasteone’sbreath),一穷二白(poorandblank),白忙乎(invain),白字连篇(reamsofwrongcharacters),白云苍狗(whitecloudschangeintogreydogs-thechangesinhumanaffairsoftentakefreakishforms)etc.3.2.3DifferentcognitionsofnumeralsNumeralworshipandtabooexistbothineasternandwesterncourtiers,however,thepeopleinthetwocountrieshavetotallydifferentcognitionsofnumerals.Inthewest,“13”isregardedasanunluckynumber,owingtothestoryintheBiblethatJesusChristwasbetrayedbyhis13thdiscipleJudas.“666”symbolizesdemonintheBible.“7”standsforgoodluck,greatprosperityandvictory.Butthereisnoparticularconnotationof“9”atallinEnglish.Theexamplesare:intheseventhheaven（极其快乐）,theSeventhDay（星期六——犹太人安息日）,etc.InChina,“13”,“666”,“7”havenospecialmeanings,therefore,thereisnotaboousageofthem.However,“six”(六)、“nine”(九)havepeculiarculturalconnotationstotheChinesepeople.“nine”(九).meansalongperiodofpeaceandorderorlastingpoliticalstabilityinChinesetraditionalculture.Theemperorsofthepastdynastiesworshipped“nine”(九),hopinghiscountrycouldbeingreatpeaceandorder.ThereareChineseidiomsconcerning“nine”(九),suchas“九九归一”,“九死一生”etc.“six”(六)meansthatsomethinggoesonsmoothlyinChinese，thereare“六六大顺”“六畜兴旺”etc.Meanwhile,Chinesepeopleplacetheallegoricalmeaningontheevennumber,suchas“双喜临门”、“四季发财”、“八面玲珑”etc.“ItiscalculatedthattherearefarmoreChineseidiomusingnumeralsthantheEnglishidioms,whichisadifficultproblemtothetranslation.”[14]3.3DifferentReligionsandBeliefsReligionplaysanimportantroleinthedevelopmentofthelanguage.Differentreligionsproducedifferentidioms.BuddhismhasbeentransmittedtoChinaformorethanonethousandyears,whichoccupiestheleadingpositioninChinesetraditionalreligions.Peoplebelievethereisa“Buddha”whocandominatetheworldanddecideeveryone’sdestine.ManyChineseidiomscomeformBuddhism,suchas“佛口蛇心”、“佛头着粪”、“借花献佛”、“五体投地”、“一尘不染”、“现身说法”、“回头是岸”、“在劫难逃”、“大慈大悲”etc.TherearealsoproverbscomingfromBuddhism.Forexample,“不看僧面看佛面”、“闲时不烧香，临时抱佛脚”、“跑得了和尚跑不了庙”、“泥菩萨过河，自身难保”、“放下屠刀，立地成佛”、“一个和尚挑水吃，两个和尚抬水吃，三个和尚没水吃”etc.InwesterncountriesespeciallyinBritainandAmerica，peoplebelieveinChristianity.TheBiblehasbeenregardedtheclassicalChristianscripture,whichestablishesafoundationofwesterncountries’culture,artandideology,IdiomsconcerningtheBiblecanbefoundeverywhere.Forexample,“doubtingThomas”（怀疑的托马斯）isanidiomfromtheBiblenowstandsfor“不肯轻易相信别人的人(peoplewhowillnotbelieveinotherseasily)”.AndTheidiom“castpearlsbeforeswine”（把珍珠丢在猪的面前）isalsofromtheBible:NewTestament,andnowitstandsfor“nottogivethepreciousthingstopeoplewhocannotreallyappreciateit(不要把珍贵的东西送给不识货的人)”or“nottoplaythelutetoacow(不要对牛弹琴)”.“Gotohell（下地狱去）”isacurse.Othersarelike“‘alionintheway’,‘Nobodyisbornlearned,evenbishopsaremadeofmen.’,‘It’sbettertoreigninhellthanserveinheaven.’,‘Badpriestsbringthedevilintothechurch’‘Judaskiss’,‘adeaddog’,‘theappleofone’seye’(掌上明珠),‘washone’shandsofathing’(洗手不干),etc.”[15]Besides,therearemanyproverbsinEnglishbasedonthemetaphorsandthemesofGodanddemon.Forexample:Manproposes,Goddisposes(谋事在人,成事在天);Godhelpsthosewhohelpthemselves.(自助者必有天助。);Everyoneforhimselfandthedeviltakethehindmost.(人不为己，天诛地灭。)3.4DifferentHistoricalAllusionsandmythsTherearelotsofidiomscomingfromhistoricalallusions,mythsandlegends.Thestructureoftheseidiomsisverysimplebuttheyhaveprofoundmeaning,sowecannottranslateandunderstandtheseidiomsfromtheliteralmeaning.It’snecessaryforustolearnandunderstandtheEnglishallusionandmythsaswellastheChineseallusionsandmyths.It’susefultolearnabouttheoriginanddevelopmentofEnglishandChineselanguageandculture.Forexample“东施效颦”itisfrom《庄子·天运》andnowitmeansimitatingsomebodystupidly.“名落孙山”itreferstoapersonwhofailintheexamandisnotenrolled.“叶公好龙”meansapersonwhoprofessedloveofwhatonereallyfears.Otherallegoricalstorieslike“守株待兔”、“愚公移山”、“黔驴技穷”、“刻舟求剑”areoftenquotedandwidelylovedbyChinesepeople.Theancientmythsandlegendsalsoproducelotsofidioms.InChinese,suchsetphrasesas“嫦娥奔月”、“夸父追月”、“画龙点睛”“精卫填海”、“女祸补天”areallpiecesofbeautifulandtouchingmyths.Theproverbs“天冷不冻织女手，饥荒不饿苦耕人”and“雷公先唱歌，有雨也不多”containthelegendarycharacters.WhileEnglishtraditionalcultureisdeeplyassociatedwiththeGreekRomanMyth.Forinstance,theTrojanHorse（特洛伊木马）,“Pandora’sBox”（潘多拉之盒，指灾难，麻烦，祸害的根源）”,Archilles’heel”（阿基里斯的脚后跟，指唯一致命弱点）,“meetone’swaterloo”（一败涂地）,penelope’sweb（铂涅罗铂的织物，指永远完不成的工作）[16]，“crocodile’stears”（鳄鱼的眼泪）,itisjustliketheChineseidiom“猫哭老鼠假慈悲”etc.“TherearealsomanysetphrasesbasedontheGreekRomanlegends.Forexample:IfeartheGreeks,evenwhenbringinggifts(Greekgifts:危险的礼物；糖衣炮弹).WhenGreekmeetsGreek,thencomesthetugofwar.Homersometimesnods.”[17]4.TheproblemsinEnglish-ChineseandChinese-EnglishidiomtranslationWhenwedotheidiomtranslation,wemaycomeacrossthiskindoforthatkindofproblemsinevitably.ThethesiswillgivesometypicalproblemsinbothEnglish-ChineseandChinese-Englishidiomtranslation.4.1TheproblemsinEnglish-Chineseidiomtranslation4.1.1InterpretingtheEnglishidiomstooliterallyWeknowthatsomeEnglishidiomslookverysimilartosomeChineseidiomsintheforms.PeoplearepronetoassociatetheEnglishwordsandexpressionswhichtheycomeacrosswiththeChinesemeaningorChineseversionmechanically.Asamatteroffact,inmanysituations,thoughEnglishandChinesehavethesimilarforms,theyhavedifferentmeanings,thatistheyareseeminglyinharmonybutactuallyatvariance.Forexample:1)pullsomebody’sleg.wrongtranslation:拉后腿revised:愚弄某人，开某人的玩笑2)Moveheavenandearthwrongtranslation:翻天覆地revised:想方设法，千方百计Theproblemoftenoccurswhenwedothetranslation.Weshouldtryourbesttoavoiditandgetclosetotheoriginalimpliedmeaningnotonlybytheliteralmeaning.4.1.2CopyingChinesecustomarysayingsmechanicallyAfterall,EnglishandChinesearetwocompletelydifferentlanguages.ManyEnglishidiomsandChineseidiomsalwaysreflectrespectivenationalcharacteristicsorlocalcolors.Sowhendoingthetranslation,wehavetopayattentiontoremainthedistinguishingfeaturesandavoidapplyingChineseidiomswhichhavedistinctivenationalorlocalflavortotheEnglishidiomsmechanically,incasethatChinesenationalfeaturesandlocalcolorsareimposedonthetranslatedversion,whichwouldcontradicttothecontext.Forexample:1)Twoheadsarebetterthanone.originaltranslation:三个臭皮匠胜过诸葛亮2)Whenthecat’saway,themicewillplay.originaltranslation;山中无老虎，猴子称大王Intheabovementionedexamples,theoriginaltranslationsimposethestrongChinesenationalcolorsonthetranslatedversion,whichareincompatiblewiththeoriginaltext.Weshoulddosometransformationlikethese:1)Twoheadsarebetterthanone.transformedtranslation:一人不及两人智2)Whenthecat’sawaythenicewillplay.transformedtranslation：猫儿不在，鼠儿作怪Aftersometransformations,notonlydotheEnglishidiomsremaintheoriginalmeaningsbutalsoavoidunnecessaryconflictsandcontradictionscausedbydifferentnationalcultures.4.1.3LackinginnecessaryexplanatorynotesSomeEnglishidiomshavemarkednationalfeaturesandlocalflavor,andsomealsocontaintheallusions.WhentheyaretranslatedintoChinese,theChinesemustbefollowedbytheexplanatorynotesforsupportingtheoriginalmeaninginordernottocausethereaders’unnecessaryguessingevenmisunderstanding.Forexample,“theEnglishidiom‘AChinesechance’doesn’tmean‘中国人的机会’,butitmeans‘没有机会’.”[18]Weshouldnoteclearlyinthetranslationlikethis:theidiomcameintobeinginthegoldrushinCaliforniain19thcentury.ItreferstothattheChineseemigrantsdidtheirutmosttowashthegolddregsleftoverbythewhitemen.Itcanbewellimaginedtheycouldobtainverylittleamountofgold.Consequently,thewhitemenwhogloatedovertheChineseplightcalltheawkwardsituationas“AChinesechance”.Thenthereaderscouldunderstandthegenuineconnotationofthisidiom.4.2TheproblemsinChinese-Englishidiomtranslation4.2.1CopyingtheEnglishmeaninginthedictionarymechanicallyTheremaybeseveraltranslationsforoneidiom.Thetranslationofanidiommaybedifferentfromthatofthesameidiominadictionary.Adictionarytranslationneedstoreproduceboththeformandthecontentoftheidiomwhileacontexttranslationneedstobefitforitsparticularsituation.Therefore,weshouldmakesomechangesaccordinglyinsteadofcopyingthetranslationinadictionarymechanically.“Usually,thetranslationof‘谋事在人，成事在天’is‘manproposes,Goddisposes’.ButinthetranslationofADreamofRedMansions,itwasrewritten.‘谋事在人，成事在天’，咱们谋到了，靠菩萨的保佑，有些机会，也未可知。（《红楼梦》第六回）‘Manproposes,Heavendisposes.’Workoutaplan,trusttoBuddha,andsomethingmaycomeofitforallyouknow.(TranslatedbyYangxianyi)”[19]‘Buddha’isaBuddhisttermwhile“God”isaChristianterm.Inordertomakethetextcoherent,“God”ischangedinto“Heaven”.4.2.2NeglectingtheChineseidiomlocalornationalcolorsinthetranslationIncontexts,idiomswhichhavemuchlocalornationalcolourscouldnotbetranslatedequivalently.“Forexample:‘小人有眼不识泰山，一时冒渎兄长，望乞恕罪。’（《水浒传》第二十三回）Theidiom‘小人有眼不识泰山’issimilarinmeaningto‘toentertainanangelunawares’.Butbothofthetwoidiomshavemuchlocalcolor.“泰山”(MountTai)whichisageographicaltermisoneofthefamousmountainsinChina.Theidiommeans‘tofailtoidentifyapersonofgreatability.’Theidiom‘toentertainanangelunawares’isfromTheNewTestament.Theoriginalis‘tobenotforgetfultoentertainstrangers,fortherebysomehaveentertainedangelsunawares.’Itcanbetranslatedinto‘有眼无珠’.ThereforeJacksontranslatedthesentencelikethis:‘IfailedtorecognizeyoureminenceandIhopethatyouwillforgivemeforthatblunder.’”[20]Intheexample,“有眼不识泰山”wastranslatedfreely,anditslocalcolorswerelost.4.2.3InterpretingtheChineseidiomstoocomplicatedlyManyChineseidiomsareantitheticalphrases.Eachofthemconsistsoftwopartswhichmeanthesamething.It’senoughtotranslateoneofthem.TakingtheChineseidiom“土崩瓦解”forexample,someonemaytranslateitinto“soilcollapsesandtilebreaksup”.Actuallyspeaking,wejustneedtotranslateitinto“tofallapart”.Anotherexample“沉鱼落雁之容，闭月羞花之貌”,theremayappear“fish”“wildgoose”“moon”“flower”inthetranslationwhichareextremelycomplicated.Weonlyneedtochooseonethinginsteadofalltotranslateitinto“Herbeautywouldputtheflowerstoshame.”5.MethodsusedinidiomtranslationThetranslationofEnglishandChineseidiomsisanextremelyimportantproblem.It’swellknownthattranslationisnotonlythecommunicationbetweenthetwolanguages,butalsothecommunicationandtransmissionofthetwokindsofculturalinformation.Idiomsareavaststorehouseofculturalinformation,containingahostofculturalcharacteristicsandculturalbackgroundsaswellasdistinctiveimagesandabundantassociation,therefore,idiomsas“theessenceofthelanguage”aredifficulttounderstandandevenmoredifficulttotranslate.TocounterthevastdifferencesbetweenEnglishandChineseidiomsandtheparticulardifficultiesgeneratedbythedifferences,therearefiverelativelypracticalmethodsthatcouldbeusedinidiomstranslat