英汉习语对比及其翻译 [7]
论文作者:洪丽君论文属性:短文 essay登出时间:2009-04-09编辑:黄丽樱点击率:13122
论文字数:7874论文编号:org200904091623061783语种:中文 Chinese地区:中国价格:免费论文
关键词:idiomcomparisontranslation习语对比翻译
of fact, in many situations, though English and Chinese have the similar forms, they have different meanings, that is they are seemingly in harmony but actually at variance.
For example: 1)pull somebody’s leg.
wrong translation: 拉后腿
revised:愚弄某人,开某人的玩笑
2) Move heaven and earth
wrong translation: 翻天覆地
revised: 想方设法,千方百计
The problem often occurs when we do the translation. We should try our best to avoid it and get close to the original implied meaning not only by the literal meaning.
4.1.2 Copying Chinese customary sayings mechanically
After all, English and Chinese are two completely different languages. Many English idioms and Chinese idioms always reflect respective national characteristics or local colors. So when doing the translation, we have to pay attention to remain the distinguishing features and avoid applying Chinese idioms which have distinctive national or local flavor to the English idioms mechanically, in case that Chinese national features and local colors are imposed on the translated version, which would contradict to the context.
For example: 1)Two heads are better than one.
original translation: 三个臭皮匠胜过诸葛亮
2) When the cat’s away, the mice will play.
original translation; 山中无老虎,猴子称大王
In the above mentioned examples, the original translations impose the strong Chinese national colors on the translated version, which are incompatible with the original text. We should do some transformation like these:
1) Two heads are better than one.
transformed translation: 一人不及两人智
2) When the cat’s away the nice will play.
transformed translation:猫儿不在,鼠儿作怪
After some transformations, not only do the English idioms remain the original meanings but also avoid unnecessary conflicts and contradictions caused by different national cultures.
4.1.3 Lacking in necessary explanatory notes
Some English idioms have marked national features and local flavor, and some also contain the allusions. When they are translated into Chinese, the Chinese must be followed by the explanatory notes for supporting the original meaning in order not to cause the readers’ unnecessary guessing even misunderstanding.
For example, “ the English idiom ‘ A Chinese chance’ doesn’t mean ‘中国人的机会’, but it means ‘没有机会’.” [18]We should note clearly in the translation like this: the idiom came into being in the gold rush in California in 19th century. It refers to that the Chinese emigrants did their utmost to wash the gold dregs left over by the white men. It can be well imagined they could obtain very little amount of gold. Consequently, the white men who gloated over the Chinese plight call the awkward situation as “A Chinese chance”. Then the readers could understand the genuine connotation of this idiom.
4.2 The problems in Chinese-English idiom translation
4.2.1Copying the English meaning in the dictionary mechanically
There may be several translations for one idiom. The translation of an idiom may be different from that of the same idiom in a dictionary. A dictionary translation needs to reproduce both the form and the content of the idiom while a context translation needs to be fit for its particular situation. Therefore, we should make some changes accordingly instead of copying the translation in a dictionary mechanically.
“Usually, the translation of‘谋事在人,成事在天’is ‘man proposes, God disposes’. But in the translation of A Dream of Red Mansions, it was rewritten.
‘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)
‘Man proposes, Heaven dispos
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