习语文化与翻译

CultureinIdiomsandTranslation习语文化与翻译Language,cultureandtranslation•Languageisthemajorcarrierormediumofculture.•Idiomsarethelivingfossilsofculture.•Translationisanimportanttoolforinterculturalexchange,dealingwithbothlanguageandculture.ChracteristicsofEnglishidioms1)Englishidiomscanbeveryshortorratherlonge.g.:fortywinks,tocutone’scoataccordingtoone’scloth2)EnglishidiomstakedifferentstructuresThreekindsofstructures:a)Irregularstructureandclearmeaninge.g.:Iamgoodfriendswithhim.Diamondcutdiamond.(as)sureaseggsiseggs确实/无疑Thedeviltakethehindmost.落后者遭殃。b)Regularstructureandunclearmeaninge.g.:tohaveabeeinone’sbonnet(orhead)anIndiansummerc)irregularstructureandunclearmeaninge.g.:throughthickandthin不论祸福/不避艰险/赴汤蹈火3)Theidiomswhichcannotbechangedatallarecalledfixedidioms.e.g.:Astitchintimesavesnine.(a≠one,nine≠eight)Thelion’sshare(≠theshareoflion0titfortat(≠tatfortit)outofquestion毫无疑问(≠outofthequestion不可能)4）AnEnglishidiomhasaspecialmeaning.e.g.;toraincatsanddogs,abrownstudy5)Englishidiomsarenotonlyusedascolloquialexpressions;theycanalsobefoundinformalsituations,inpoetryorfiction,orinslang.e.g.:togoover(anysituation),priorto(formal),tobutterup(slang,“toflatter’)6)Someidiomsconsistofobsoletewordse.g.:kithandkin,learnbyrote,manyalittlemakesamickel.7)Englishidiomsrepresentasemanticunit,thoughtheycontainagroupwords.e.g.:tomakeupone’smind=todecide,tobringup=toeducate8)Englishidiomsareusu.madeofcommonlyusedword.Theyarevividinimage,briefinstructureandprofoundinmeaning.e.g.:toflyhigh=tobeambitious9)Englishidiomsareoftencreatedonthebasisofalliteration,rhyme,euphony,andrepetition.e.g.:firstandforemost,withmightandmain,,blackandblue[alliteration],wearandtear,dineandwine,roughandtough[rhyme],byandby不久以后,againandagain,throughandthrough反复/完全/彻底[repetition]Similarities&differencesbetweenChineseandEnglishidioms•SomeChineseidiomstranslatedfromEnglishorviceversa武装到牙齿armedtotheteeth牵着鼻子走ledbythenose夹着尾巴逃走了runawaywithone’stailbetweenone‘slegs火中取栗topullthechestnutsoutofthefire强权政治powerpolitics镀金时代goldenage王牌trumpcard蓝图blueprint顽固派die-hards流鳄鱼眼泪toshedcrocodiletears眼中钉，肉中刺athornintheflesh谁笑到最后，谁笑得最好Hewholaughslast,laughsbest像沙丁鱼罐头一样（挤得紧紧地）likesardines丢脸tolosefaceSimilarities1)Similarinform&meaninge.g.:tofishinmuddy/troubledwater混/浑水摸鱼aboltfromtheblue晴天霹雳tostrikewhiletheironishot趁热打铁toridethetiger骑虎难下togowiththetide/stream随波逐流Differences1)Similarinmeaningbutpartiallydifferentinforme.g.:toburnone’sboat破釜沉舟todrinklikeafish牛饮astimidasarabbit胆小如鼠inthesameboat同舟共济tolaughoffone’shead笑掉大牙2)Similarinmeaningbuttotallydifferentinforme.g.:whenone’sshipcomeshome/in当发迹的时候，衣锦还乡totalkofthedevil,andhewillappear.说曹操，曹操到tocastpearlsbeforeswine对牛弹琴，明珠暗投ratsdesertasinkingship树倒猢狲散sixofoneandhalfadozenoftheother半斤八两anyTom,DickorHarry张三，李四，王五3)Differentinbothformandmeaninge.g.:appleofone’seye掌上明珠tokilltwobirdswithonestone一箭双雕4)similarinform,butdifferentinmeaninge.g.:tohaveaboneinonethroat骨鲠在喉anexcuseforkeepingsilence(therealmeaningoftheEnglishidiom)Translationmethods•Literaltranslation直译Arollingstonegathersnomoss.滚石不生苔tolaughoffone’shead笑掉脑袋tolookforaneedleinahaystack大海捞针；草堆觅针目不识丁Onedoesn’tknowABC./Onedoesnotrecognize“丁”(oneofthesimplestChinesecharacters).•Literaltranslation+annotation直译+加注e.g.:aspoorasJob穷得像约伯①注:①Job约伯，《圣经》中的人物以善忍著称Achilles’heel阿基里斯的脚肿姜太公钓鱼，愿者上钩JiangTaigongfishestocapturethosewhowanttobecaught[fishlikeJiangTaigong,whocastahooklessandbaitlesslineforthefishthatwantstobecaught—askforwillingvictimorcollaborator]Note:ChangShang,alsonamedjiangTaigong,ofthe11thcenturyB.C.,wassaidtofishbytheWeishiRiver(presentSgensi),holdingalinewithnohookorbait,threefeetabovethewaterandsayingatthesametime,“Whoeverisordained,comeandtakethebait.”东施笑颦DongShi,knittinghereyebrowsinimitationofXiShi,thefamousbeauty愚公移山TheFoolishOldManremovedthemountainsLiteraltranslation+explanatione.g.:tocarrycoalstoNewcastle把煤运到纽卡斯尔——多此一举askeletoninthecupboard橱柜里的骷髅—见不得人的丑事（家丑，隐情）Pandora’sbox潘多拉的盒子-----祸患之源ToembraceBuddha’sfeetinone’shourofneed----toseekhelpatthelastmoment临时抱佛脚。月下老人theOldManoftheMoon----thegodwhounitespersonsinmarriage•Amplificatione.g.:RobinHood好汉罗宾fleshandblood血肉之躯笔剑唇枪thepenisassharpastheswordandthetongueasthespear.•Imitatione.g.:说曹操，曹操到TalkofCaocao,andheissuretoappear.树倒猢狲散Ratsdesertasinkingship.鱼米之乡landoffishandrice落水狗wetasadrowneddog•Semantic/freetranslatione.g.:喜糖weddingsugar花烛weddingcandle泰山aman’sfather–in–lawCombinationofliteraltranslation+freetranslation瞎子点灯-----白费蜡asuselessasablindmanlightingacandle事后诸葛亮tobewiseaftertheevent不到黄河不死心untilallisoverambitionneverdies.…….“我说两三百两银子，你说二三千两！戴着斗笠亲嘴，差着一顶帽子。”WhenIsaytwoorthreehundredtaels,yousaytwentyorthirty!It’slikekissinginstrawhelmets---thelipsarefarapart.!(《儒林外史》----TheScholar)Omission省略法“这断子绝孙的阿Q！”远远听得小尼姑带哭的声音。“AhQ,mayyoudiesonless!”soundedthelittlenun’svoicetearfullyinthedistance.–Findingtheoriginal(Backtranslation)e.g.:sourgrapes酸葡萄shuttlediplomacy穿梭外交hotline热线coldwar冷战ironcurtain铁幕–Replacement/substitutione.g.:事实胜于雄辩Factsspeaklouderthanwords.贪多嚼不烂tobiteoffmorethanonecanchew皇天不负有心人Godhelpsthosewhohelpthemselves.多吃饭少开口tosa