A Perspective of culture into the Translation of Chinese and English Idioms英语论文

A Perspective of culture into the Translation of Chinese and English IdiomsChapter 1 Introduction1.1The definition of idiom: an idiom is an element of a language that possesses a unique way of expression based on its time-honored use. (Li Funing, 1979: 4) In other words, an idiom is a fixed group of words or a single word, or even a sentence, with a special meaning that cannot be guessed from its structure. That is to say, the meaning of an idiom must be leant as a whole. A simple definition of the idiom would be the use of common words in a special sense. “To spill the beans”, for instance, is not at all connected with beans; it means “to tell something that is secret”.In English Idioms and How to Use Them, J. Seidle et al point out that idioms “are not a separate part of the language which one can choose either to use or omit, but they form an essential part of the general vocabulary of the language.”(Seidle et al, 1978)Merriam-Websters Collegiate Dictionary (Eleventh Edition), published in 2003, gives four definitions of the term idiom. The first sense of the word idiom is “the language peculiar to a people or to a district, community, or class: DIALECT.” The second sense is “the syntactical, grammatical, or structural form peculiar to a language.” The third sense is “an expression in the usage of a language that is peculiar to itself either grammatically (as no, it wasnt me) or having a meaning that cannot be derived from the conjoined meanings of its elements (as Monday week for “the Monday a week after next Monday”).” The fourth sense is “a style or form of artistic expression that is characteristic of an individual, a period of movement, or a medium or instrument ; broadly: MANNER, STYLE.” (Lin & Liu, 2005)1.1.1 Definitions of English Idioms According to Warren, the word “idiom” in English is used to describe special phrases that are an essential part of a language. These phrases need not follow normal grammar rules in the language and can have both idiomatic and liter meaning. An English idiom is defined in the Websters New World Dictionary of the American Language, 2nd college edition, 1972 as “an accepted phrase, construction, or expression is contrary to the usual patterns of the language or having a meaning of different from literal”. In the Cambridge Advanced Learners Dictionary, its definition is “a group of words in a fixed order having a particular meaning, different from the meaning of each word understood on its own”.1.2.2 Definitions of Chinese IdiomsIn Chinese, there also exist linguistic constructs which are similar to English idioms, so-called “成语”. Similar to English idiom, “成语” are also lexical or word groups and phrases which are established through long time of use and are accepted through practice. This is the definition of Chinese idiom in a narrow sense. In a broad sense, the Chinese “equivalent” for “idiom” is “熟语”, it refers to a kind of a set phrase or sentence fixed by long usage. According to Cihai (Xia，1999), “熟语是语言中固定的词组或句子，使用时一般不能任意改变其组织，且要以其整体来理解语义，包括成语、谚语、格言、惯用语、歇后语等.” “Shuyu are fixed phrases or sentences of a language, which cannot be modified arbitrarily. They must be interpreted as a semantic unit. They include set phrases, proverbs, maxims, locutions and two-part allegorical sayings, etc.” A Chinese idiom is newly defined as “a Chinese idiom, constituted by words, relatively fixed in structure, is a narrative language unit which can perform a multiple of functions.”(Wen, 2005:17) In a broad sense, English idioms cover all of the following forms: set phrases, proverbs, common sayings, colloquialisms, allusions and slangs. Here three important forms of idioms are selected for explanation.Set phrases One most important group of idioms are set phrases whose form is set and many of them are rather rigid and cannot show up in any other forms. There is an inexhaustible storehouse of set phrases that play an important role in English language. One example with cultural traces is “to kick the bucket”. Its origin can be traced back to a religious ceremony of baptism in Christianity. As far as a Christian is concerned, his/her important three stages, birth, marriage and death, are closely connected with a religious ceremony: baptism. A Christian needs to receive baptism from an administrator when he/she was born, get married in the church with blessings of a certain minister and be baptized again when he/she is going to die”. So the idiom “kick the bucket” is a euphemistic expression connoting “to die” referring to the death of a Christian in the ceremony of being baptized. Another examples “to show ones teeth” suggests “to take a threatening tone or to show an intention to injure”, which not only has literal meaning of showing ones teeth, but also acquires an implication. There are some typical examples of English set phrases listed below: to fall in love, to go Dutch, a fly on the wheel, in black and white, etc.Proverbs Proverbs are a special kind of English idioms. Longman Modern English Dictionary defines proverb as “a brief familiar maxim of folk wisdom, usually compressed in form, often involving a bold image and frequently a jingle that catches the memory.” They are rich in content and succinct in wording. Proverb is often defined as the wisdom of many and the wit of one, stating commonly experienced or for the purpose of giving wise advice to others. Hundreds of English proverbs have great vitality because of their wide general application among people of all social strata. They express in a few words, a fact or a truth which deals with everyday experience. For instance, “First come, first served” means “people will be dealt with as they come, without special treatment for latecomers”; “Once bitten, twice shy” suggests “a person who has been tricked will be more careful in the future”; “More haste, less speed” means “the more you hurry, the less real progress you are likely to make”; “No gains without pains” teaches us that “nothing can be gained without effort”; “A cat may look at a king” means “Everyone is born equal”; “Better late than never” states “it is better to do something late than not to do it at all”. Besides, many proverbs may be found to back up almost any view. They may express contradictory opinions as “Well begun is half done” and “A good beginning makes a good ending” emphasize the importance of the beginning stage of a task, whereas “All is well that ends well” lay stress on the finish or on the result.stick, couch potato, pop, on the beam, bookaholic, etc. Owing to its popularity with common people, slang is described as the ordinary mans poetry, reflecting their common but colorful lives.Generally speaking, Chinese idioms include the following forms: set phrases (chengyu), proverbs, common sayings (suyu), proverb (yanyu), and two-part allegorical saying (xiehouyu). They will be explained with examples respectively below.Set phrases (chengyu)Chinese set phrases are “phrases with 2 plus 2 pattern with descriptive or informative function.” (Wen, 2005:290) Since they are generally composed of four characters, they are also called set phrases of four characters. Chinese set phrases are forceful, terse and vivid in imagery. For instance, “杀鸡取卵” means “If you sell the cow, you sell her milk too”, “自食其果”, which means “to eat the fruit of ones own behavior”, “过河拆桥” means “The danger past and God forgotten” and “反唇相讥” means “to turn back at ones counterpart for blaming”. Besides, some Chinese set phrases are full of classical allusions which make them more difficult to understand. “重蹈覆辙”means “to follow the same old disastrous road or to meet the same fate” and “功亏一篑”means “to fail at the threshold of success for lack of a final effort ”. Except these four character set phrases, there are a small number of set phrases in Chinese language consisting of more or less than four characters, but they are so few that people would still regard them as set phrases. Example are: “不到黄河心不死” (Until all is over ones ambition never dies), “八仙过海，各显神通” (each one has its special skills and advantages), “眼中钉” (a thorn in ones flesh, a thing or person that makes someone furious ), “覆巢无完卵” (individuals cannot survive if the whole is ruined), “凡事预则立，不预则废”(one would be successful if he prepares well ahead of time, otherwise he will fail on the task), etc. (Common sayings (suyu) Common sayings are popular, easy to understand and widely used in the colloquial language with looser requirements in syntax. Compared with Chinese set phrases, common sayings are not quite neat in form and relatively loose in structure. For example, “这山望着那山高” （It is always the other mountain that looks higher; The grass is greener on the other side; to be dissatisfied with what one has）, “杀鸡给猴看”(to punish someone as a warning to others) , “画虎不成反类犬”（the poor skill of painting makes the tiger look like a dog）, and “喝水不忘挖井人” (When you drink water, think of its source). Interestingly, we can find the equivalents of the above common sayings in set phrases like “见异思迁”, “杀鸡儆猴”, “画虎类犬”, “饮水思源” which have the same meaning with its corresponding common sayings. According to some linguists in China, the category of common saying should be included into that of proverbs since they are both informal and to some extent illuminating, though proverbs are more refined and often have a parallel structure.Proverb (yanyu)Proverbs are not only plain and popular but also terse and implicit. They often expound a profound truth through a simple matter in daily life. The Former English Prime Minister once gave such a comment on proverbs: “proverbs are the daughters of daily experience.” Like the English proverbs, Chinese proverbs are also the accumulated wisdom of ordinary people. They sum up life experience and serve the guidance for people in how to behave oneself in society and how to solve the problems in certain situations. For instance, “路遥知马力，日久见人心”(As distance tests a horses strength, so time reveals a persons heart), “少壮不努力，老大徒伤悲”(Man who does not work hard in his youth will be grieved when he grows old), “到什么山上唱什么歌” (to do in Rome as the Romans do), “骄傲使人落后” (Pride goes before, and shame comes after), “玉不琢，不成器” (The finest diamond must be cut), “五十步笑百步” (The pot calls the kettle black), and “水能载舟，亦能覆舟”(The water that bears the boat is the same that swallows it up), “忠言逆耳利于行” (Unpleasant advice is a good medicine), etc. The meaning is plain yet the truth contained in each proverb is profound and illuminating. Chinese proverbs, like English counterpart, apply to a rule for conduct.As we know, an idiom is a form of expression peculiar to a language. Every language has its own peculiarities in expression, alien from each other. The four-character structures dominate the Chinese idioms, while an English idiom is a combination of two or more words. Both Chinese and English idioms are usually structurally fixed and semantically opaque, i.e. metaphorical rather than literal and function as a single unit of meaning. From the definitions of idiom, we can extract two characteristic features that an idiom manifests, on which we can decide whether or not an expression is an idiom or not. One is structural stability and the other is semantic unity. Firstly, established and refined by long practical use, an idiom has a relatively high degree of stability of the lexical components. An idiom allows little or no variation in form under normal circumstances, that is to say, no constituent word in an idiom can be omitted arbitrarily or be substituted by another synonymous word. In general, any change in the components will result in absurdities or even render the idioms nonsense. In normal cases, a speaker or writer cannot do any of the following changes unless he or she is consciously making a joke or attempting play on words: 1. Change the order of the constituent word (e.g. “at sevens and sixes” instead of “at sixes and sevens”); 2. Delete a constituent word (e.g. “chip off the block” instead of “chip off the old block”); 3. Add a constituent word (e.g. “cool as a fresh cucumber” instead of “cool as a cucumber”); 4. Replace a word with another (even with a synonymous word) (e.g. “born in the blue” instead of “born in the purple”) 5. Change its grammatical structure (e.g. “the separation of wheat and chaff” instead of “separate the wheat from the chaff”). In Chinese, similarly, we can only say: “七上八下” not “八上七下”; “五颜六色” not “五色六颜”, although “颜”and “色” both mean “color”. However, just as what has been mentioned above, sometimes, either for the sake of sarcasm or for the sense of humor or for the sake of style, we can build some irregular idiom structure from the original ones, but these irregular variants are only for temporary purpose, and may not be commonly acknowledged and accepted by people. The following are two examples for further illustration: (1) “cant see the ocean for the stream” is from “cant see the wood for the trees”;(2) “easy on the ears” is from “easy on the eyes ”.Similarly in Chinese:(3) “一石三鸟” (to shoot three birds with one stone) is an irregular variant of the set phrase “一石二鸟”(to shoot two birds with one stone);(4) “爱之入骨” (to love someone at an extreme level) from “恨之入骨” (to hate someone at an extreme level);1.4.2 Features of English IdiomsEnglish idioms are a kind of special speech form that is peculiar in grammatical structure, meaning and usage. They have the following fundamental features:1. English idioms can be very short or rather long.e.g. “affluenza”illness from wealth and rank; “bluebeard”criminal for serials of wife-killer; “boycott”to refuse to buy or take part in as a way of expressing strong disapproval; “catch-22”a difficult situation in which one can neither advance nor retreat; “ghostwriter”write on someones behalfSome idioms are much longer, sometimes consisting of entire sentences, e.g. “more than one way to skin a cat” mean that there are many methods to solve the problem; “to cut ones coat according to ones cloth”act according to actual circumstances; “bite off more than one can chew”ability not equal to ones ambition; “burn the candle at both ends”lead an indulgent and short life; “pot calling the kettle black” make fun of people who have the same shortcoming as oneself2. English idioms take different structures.There are three kinds of structures of English idioms. The first kind has an irregular and illogical structure. E.g. in the idiom “Diamond cut diamond”, the verb cut is an irregular and illogical form from the view-point of Modern English grammar. And so is the proverb “The devil take the hindmost”. The second kind has a regular structure, but the meaning is not clear. “to have a bee in ones bonnet”, for instance, has a regular structure, but the meaning is not clear. It means “to have a strange fixed idea about something.” It is impossible to explain the idiom from the original meaning of the individual words. It should be mentioned that most English idioms belong to this category. The third kind is a special group in which both structure and meaning are irregular. “(to do) through thick and thin” is an example. Not only the structure of (verb) + prep. +adj. (used as nouns) is a bit difficult for us to understand, but the meaning of the idiom cannot be guessed. It means “through both good and bad times” or “in spite of all the difficulties.”3. An English idiom has a special meaning.“To rain cats and dogs” is an idiom whose meaning cannot be determined from its component parts. Mastery of the idiom comes only through carefully study and practice. Only then can we grasp its meaning (to rain very hard).4. English idioms are usually made of commonly-used words. English idioms are vivid in usage, brief in structure and profound in meaning. E.g. “once in a blue moon”once in a very long time; very rarely; almost never; “to cry for the moon”to desire strongly something that cannot be gained; “to fly high”to be ambitious; “to put the cart before the horse”to do things in the wrong order; “to turn up ones nose at”to show disdain for5. English idioms are often created on the basis of alliteration, rhyme and euphony. Idioms like “black and blue”, “time and tide wait for no man”, “to buy in bulk”, “with might and main”, etc. are typical examples for alliteration in English. Rhyme can be found in many idioms, e.g. dine and wine, rough and tough, wear and tear, and so on. Many idioms in English may produce euphonic effect according to their sounds and structures. E.g. A stitch in time saves nine; an eye for an eye; a tooth for a tooth; Beggars cannot be choosers; First come, first served; Look before you leap. (Lin & Liu, 2005)Chapter 2 Language, Culture and Idiom Translation2.2 The Relationship Between Language and CultureThe famous translator and linguist Eugene Nida did point out clearly that “The role of language within a culture and the influence of culture on meanings of words and idioms are so pervasive that scarcely any text can be adequately understood without careful consideration of its crucial cultural background.” (Nida, 1993: 1) Similarities lie in different nations cultural values; however, different social systems, different economic conditions and different historical development stages will create different cultural phenomena and their corresponding cultural advantages will be differentiated. Whether the cultural values are same or not, they will all leave traces on the corresponding languages. The major role of language is that it is the instrument of thought, which provides a useful link between inner thought and public behavior. It is clear that language and culture are closely related with each other. For many years, researchers have been dwelling on the relationship between language and culture. They have contributed many theoretical comments and innumerable facts. In a word, language is the presentation of culture. Without knowledge of cultures, it is difficult to learn languages well. On the other side, culture is expressed through the actual use of the language. Mr. Deng Yanchang and Mr. Liu Runqing have well illustrated the relationship between language and culture, “Language is a part of culture and plays very important role in it. Some social scientists consider it the keystone of culture. Without language, they maintain, culture would not be possible. On the other side, language is influenced and shaped by culture and reflects culture. In the broadest sense, language is the symbolic representation of a people, and it comprises their historical and cultural backgrounds as well as their approach to life and their way of living and thinking.”(Deng & Liu, 1989:3) Similar illustration appeared in Mr. Wang Binqins book, he indicates that “as a tool to preserve and disseminate culture, language on the one side reflects culture and on the other side is restricted by culture. In the development process, a nations culture is constantly accumulated through its language, reflecting the nations social, historical, cultural and psychological characteristics. ” (Wang Binqin, 1995:1-2)From these remarks, we can see that language is an extremely special component of culture. Language reflects and embodies culture and culture influences language. As the most important carrier of culture, language reinforces and preserves culture, its beliefs, customs and future development. As long as a language exists, the culture it represents will survive. Even if a culture is out of human civilization, it can still be studied through its language.2.3 Cultural Factors Affecting Language and Idiom TranslationChinese idioms, such as “大公无私”, “天下兴亡匹夫有责”, “明哲保身, 舍生取义” testify peoples