漢語成語翻譯

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【摘要】漢語成語承載著中華五千年的文化特色和文化信息.而翻譯并非只是兩種語言之間的一種簡單的對應轉換過程，而是一種文化的交流和傳遞。

因此，在漢語成語英譯的具體操作過程中，首先要充分理解漢語成語的內在含義，靈活運用不同的翻譯方法，對比英漢語言中習語（成語）的異同，進行適當的結構調整，將漢語成語所承載的文化特色和文化信息最大限度地傳譯給外國讀者。幫助外國讀者消除或減少語言及文化障礙就要求譯者盡最大努力把漢語成語翻譯成外國讀者樂于接受的形式。與此同時要在英語中再現漢語文化，這是一個很大的挑戰。

把漢語成語翻譯成英語，譯者們掌握和熟悉兩種語言以及其文化是非常重要的。他們必須從風俗和文化背景的角度，通過對漢語和英語語言學和文化差異的理解，盡量去把握成語的內在含義，從而使其觀點與原文的精神相一致。本文簡單介紹了漢語成語英譯的幾種方法。

【關鍵詞】漢語成語，英語習語，翻譯，文化內涵，源語，目標語

[Abstract]ChineseidiomsbearfivethousandyearsofChineseculturalcharacteristicandtheculturalmessages.Translationisnotonlyonekindofsimplecorrespondenceswitchingprocessbetweentwolanguages,butisonekindofculturalexchangeandtransmission.

Therefore,translatingChineseidiomsintoEnglishisaconcreteoperatingprocess.First,thetranslatorsmustfullyunderstandtheintrinsicmeaningoftheChineseidioms;second,theyshouldutilizeseveraldifferenttranslationmethodsnimblyandcontraststhesimilaritiesanddifferencesbetweentheEnglishidiomsandChineseidioms;third,theyshouldcarryonthesuitablestructureadjustmentandtranslateChineseidiomswhichbearculturalcharacteristicandculturalinformationinmaximumlimitfortheforeignreaders.HelpingtheforeignreaderseliminateandreducelanguageandculturalbarrierrequeststhetranslatortoworkdiligentlytotranslatetheformofChineseidiominthewaythattheforeignreadersaregladtoaccept.Atthesametime,thisisaverybigchallengetoreappearChinesecultureinEnglish.

TounderstandandtranslateChineseidiomsintoEnglish，itisveryimportantforthetranslatorstomasterandwellacquaintthemselveswiththeoriginallanguageandthetargetlanguageandtheircultures.TheyshouldsetoutfromtheaspectsofcustomsandculturalbackgroundsandtrytograsptheconnotationoftheoriginalidiombyunderstandinglinguisticandculturaldifferencesbetweenEnglishandChinesesoastomakehisversionaliketheoriginaltextinspirit.ThisarticleintroducedseveralmethodsontranslationofChineseidiomsconcisely.

[KeyWords]Chineseidioms；Englishidioms；translation；cultureconnotation；originallanguage；targetlanguage

1.Introduction

Abouttranslation,thetranslationtheoreticianshaveproposedmanydifferentviewpoints.InChina,themostpopulartheoryisMr.Yanfu’s“faithfulness,expressivenessandelegance(信，達，雅)”whileinthewesterncountries,themostpopularoneis“equivalentvalue,equivalenteffectandfunctionequivalence(等值，等效，功能對等)”.Theseviewpointsaremutuallyinfluencedandsupplemented.Althoughthetranslatorshavedifferentemphasispoints,theyalladvocatethatthetranslationmustexpresstheconnotationoftheoriginaltextfaithfullyandthestyleoftheoriginalworkshouldreappearintranslation.“所謂忠實表達原文的意義，應指忠實表達原文的字面意義，形象意義，隱含意義三個方面。”[1]p65(So-called“expressingtheindicationoftheoriginaltextfaithfully”,istoexpressthewordingmeaning,theimagemeaningandtheimpliedmeaningoftheoriginaltextfaithfully.)Butnotallexpressions,words,evencharactersintheoriginaltextsimultaneouslyhavethesethreekindsofmeanings.Maybesomeofthemonlyhavethewordingmeaning,butwithouttheimagemeaning;somemayhavethewordingmeaningandtheimagemeaning,butlackoftheimpliedmeaning.Anytwolanguagesareimpossibletobeallcoordinatedcompletely.Therefore,itisimpossibletocompletelyreproducethethreekindsofmeaningsoftheoriginaltext.First,becausetheculturaldifferencesproducethecontradictioninthetranslationprocess,thewordingmeaningortheimagemeaningmustobeytheimpliedmeaning.Second,theimagemeaningoftheoriginaltextcannotbefoundinthetargetlanguage.Sometimestheimagesarethesamebuttheimpliedmeaningsareactuallydifferent.Inthissituation,whatthetranslatorsneedtoconsiderfirstistheaccurateexpressionoftheimpliedmeaning.Theimagesoftheoriginaltextshouldbechangedintootherimagesthattheforeignreadersarefamiliarwith.

2.SeveralmethodsofChineseidiomtranslation

Theexistenceofculturaldifferencesbringscertaindifficultiestotheculturalexchange.Itisalsothebiggestbarrierinthetranslation.Whenthetranslatorstranslateonelanguagetoanother,besidesunderstandingthewritingofthesetwolanguagesthoroughly,thetranslatorsalsohavetounderstandtheculturaldifferencesbetweenthesetwolanguagesprofoundly.

InChinese“Idioms”meansthat“成語：人們長期以來習用的，簡潔精辟的定型詞組或短句。漢語的成語大多由四個字組成，一般都有出處。有些成語從字面上不難理解，如‘小題大做’，‘后來居上’等。有些成語必須知道來源或典故才能懂得意思，如‘朝三暮四’，‘杯弓蛇影’等。”[2]P130(Sincelongagothepeoplehaveusedhabitually,conciseandsuccinctwordsorshortphrases.MostChineseidiomsarecomposedbyfourcharacters,generallyallofwhichhavethesource.ThemeaningsofSomeidiomsareavailablefromthewordwriting,suchas:‘小題大做’and‘后來居上’;Themeaningofsomeidiomsshouldbegotfromitssourceorallusion.Suchas‘朝三暮四’and‘杯弓蛇影’.)OnChineseidiomtranslation,culturehasagreatinfluenceonthetranslators''''logicalthinkingandtheglossarychoiceofthelanguage.

Thesemanticsofidiomhastheintegrity.Usuallywecannotgetitssignificancefromasinglecharacter.IfmanyChineseidiomsweretranslatedintoEnglishdirectlyaccordingtothewordingmeaning,althoughtheforeignreaderscanunderstandthemeaningofeachcharacter,theystillhavedifficultiesinunderstandingtheoverallsignificanceofthisidiom.

2.1Metaphrase

Metaphraseisamethodthattheimageandtheformsoftheoriginaltextarepreserved,whichcanbetranslatedliterally.Thereadersalsocancatchtheimpliedmeaningbythewordingtranslation.SomeChineseidiomshavesimilarimages,whichtheforeignreaderscanassociatetotheequivalentEnglishidioms.

2.1.1LiteralTranslation

Inidiomtranslation,thereisatendencytofindEnglishequivalentidioms,equivalentinreferentialmeaningratherthanintheimages.ThereasonisthatthetargettextmustbeidiomaticallyEnglish.Therefore,literaltranslationofChineseidiomsisoftenconsiderednon-idiomatic.Aslongasthetranslationconveysavividimageandthereferentialmeaningisnotdistorted,literaltranslationcanintroduceChineseculturetotheworld.Literaltranslationisawaybywhichtherhetoric,nationalandregionalcharacteristicsarekeptinthetargetlanguage.Inthiswaythemeaningandtheformofthesourcelanguageareunchanged.

SomeChineseidiomscanbetranslatedliterallywiththesamevividfigurativeresultoftheoriginalones,whichcanmaketheforeignreadersassociatetotheequivalentEnglishidioms.

Forexample:

⑴對牛彈琴——Toplaythelutetoacow.ThereaderscanassociateittotheequivalentEnglishidiom“tocastpearlsbeforeswine”.

⑵竭澤而漁——Todrainapondtocatchallthefish(theequivalentidiom:Tokillthegoosethatlaysthegoldeneggs.)

⑶易如反掌——Tobeaseasyasturningoverone’shand(theequivalentone:Aseasyasfallingoffalog.)

⑷口蜜腹劍——Tobehoney-mouthedanddagger-hearted(theequivalentone:AJudaskiss)

ThoughtherearenotequivalentEnglishidioms,someChineseidiomswiththeliteralmeaningscanalsobetranslatedliterallywiththeaccurateimages.Suchas:

⑸井底之蛙——Tobelikeafrogatthebottomofawell

⑹史無前例——Tobewithoutprecedentinhistory

⑺七嘴八舌——Withsevenmouthsandeighttongues

2.1.2Replacement

RegardingChineseidiomstranslation,whatmanytranslationbooksdiscussedmainlywasthereplacementtechnique.Sometimes,equivalenttranslationscanbefound,butmostlyonlysimilarones.Usuallythereplacementtechniqueisnecessaryinthefollowingsituations.

(ⅰ)Chineseidiomshavesamemeaningsandculturemessagesasthoseinthetargetlanguage.

TherearemanyChineseandEnglishidioms,whichhavethesameimagesaswellastheexpressionforms.

⑴InChinese,“渾水摸魚”means“[釋義]渾水：渾濁的水。指在渾濁的水中摸魚。[用法]比喻趁混亂的時機撈取不正當的利益，也作‘混水摸魚’。”[3]P259ButtheEnglishidiom“tofishintroubledwater”means“takeadvantageoftroubledoruncertainconditionforpersonalprofit”.Thesetwoidiomsaresimilarinbothexpressionformandintrinsicmeaning.

Thesimilaridiomsareasfollows:

⑵赴湯蹈火——Gothroughfireandwater

⑶隨波逐流——Togowiththetide

⑷知識就是力量——Knowledgeispower.

⑸眼不見，心不煩——Outofsight,outofmind.

⑹謀事在人，成事在天——Manproposes,goddisposes

⑺空中樓閣——Castlesintheair

⑻充耳不聞——Turnadeafearto

(ⅱ)Chineseidiomssharesimilarmeaningsbutdifferentculturemessagesandimageswiththetargetlanguage.

TheChineseidioms,whichhavesameorsimilarvividanalogywiththeEnglishidioms,shouldbeexchangedintothesameorcorrespondingEnglishidiomsdirectly.Differentlanguageshavedifferentimages.

⑴Forexample:iftranslatorstranslatetheChineseidiom“胸有成竹”directlyinto“haveabambooinone’sstomach”accordingtothewordingmeaning.Theforeignreadersnotonlyhavedifficultiesingettingthemeaningthatthisidiomcontained,butalsohavethewrongassociationeasily.Therefore,thetranslatorsmustdiscardtheimagesinthisidiomandchangethemintotheimagesthattheforeignreadersarefamiliarwith.Soitmaybetranslatedas“haveacardinone’ssleeve”

⑵TheChinesesay“噤若寒蟬”(asmuteasawintercicada)”,yetthenativeEnglishsay,“asmuteasafish”.Fishandcicadahavesimilarfunctionintheaboveexamplesthoughtheyarenotsimilaratall.Asfaras“silence”isconcerned,fishisafamiliarimagetoEnglishspeakers,yettheChinesetendtoassociatethesensewithwintercicada.

⑶TheChineseidiom“甕中之鱉（theturtleinthejar）”means“[釋義]甕：大壇子；鱉：甲魚。大壇子中的甲魚。[用法]形容已在掌握之中，逃脫不了。”[4]P651.ButtheEnglishidiom“likesaratinahole”,whoseimageisamouse,whichisstrandedinahole.Itisinanextremelydifficultsituation.Thesetwoscenesagreewithoutpriorconsultationbuthappentoholdthesameview.Thoughthetranslatorsreplacedtheimage,theforeignreadershavenodifficultytounderstanditsmeaning.

ThesimilarChineseidiomsincluded:

⑷膽小如鼠——Astimidasarabbit

⑸揮金如土——Spendmoneylikewater

⑹東張西望——Lookrightandleft

⑺緣木求魚——Seekahareinhen’snest

⑻拋磚引玉——Tothrowasprattocatchaherring

So,familiarimagesofthetargetlanguageareoftenusedtoreplacethoseofthesourcelanguage.ItisveryregretthattheforeignreaderscannotunderstandtheexoticatmosphereofChineseculture.

(ⅲ)Chineseidiomssharesimilarimagesbutdifferentculturemessagesandconnotationwiththetargetlanguage.

SomeChineseidiomsandEnglishidiomsarealmostthesameintheexpressionform,butthecommendatoryorderogatorymeaning,whichtheidiomscontained,isdifferent.Sotheycannotbemutuallytranslated.

“習俗文化指的是貫穿于日常社會生活和交際活動中由民族的風俗習慣形成的文化。.[5]P64”（Thecustomculturereferstotheactivities,whichformedbynationality''''smannersandcustomsinthesocialdailylife）Asaresultofthecustomculturedifferences,thetranslatorsmustpayattentiontotheanimalwordsintheidiomswhosemeaningsaredifferent.Forexample,inChina,thepeopleoftenthinkthedogisloathing.Therefore,mostdog-relatedidiomsincludethederogatorymeaning.

⑴Forexample,“狐朋狗友（Packofscoundrels）”,“狼心狗肺（heartlessandcruel）”andsoon.Butinthewesternnation,thedogwasconsideredashuman''''sgoodfriends.Forexample:“helpalamedogoverastile(雪中送炭)”,“loveme,lovemydog.(愛屋及烏)”andsoon.

⑵Forexample:theChineseidiom“笑掉大牙”includesthemeaning“ridicules”.TheEnglishidiom“tolaughoffone’shead”isonlytheexpressionof“laugh”or“laughloudly”.Itisaneutralword.Thesetwoidiomslookverysimilarliterally.Butthecommendatoryandderogatorytermsoftwowordsaredissimilar.Sotheycannotbemutuallytranslated.

⑶TheChineseidiom“說曹操，曹操到(whenyoumentionCaoCao,hesoonarrives)”means“Iwasjusttalkingaboutyou!”itdidnotbringthederogatorymeaning,butEnglishidiom“talkofthedevilandhewillappear”hasthederogatorymeaning。

⑷Ifyoutranslate“亡羊補牢”toEnglishproverb“lock/closethestabledoorafter/whenthehorsehasbeenstolen”.Thedirecttranslationmistakesthemeaningof“亡羊補牢"whichmeans“stillhasnotbeenlate“!ButthisEnglishproverbexpressedthemeaning“hasalreadybeenlate,beyondanyhelp”。Therefore,亡羊補牢cancorrespondtotheEnglishproverb“astitchintimesavenine”or“betterlatethannever”

⑸IntheChineseidiom“令人發指”andtheEnglishidiom“tomakeone’shairstandonend”,[6]P164theformeronemeans“tomakethepersonextremelyangry“,thelatteronerefersthat“frightenorhorrifysomeone”.So‘令人發指’canbetranslatedinto“makethebloodboil”.

2.2Paraphrase

Paraphraseisamethodthattheoriginalcontentsarepreserved,buttheformsarechangedinthetargetlanguage.

WhenChineseidiomsaremetaphrasedintothetargetlanguage,readersstillcannotgraspthemeaningsduetoculturaldifference.“有些習慣用語帶有很濃的中國文化色彩…對于這部分成語，字面翻譯是無法為外國讀者所接受的。如加上許多解釋性的文字，就失去了成語精粹的特點。最好的辦法就是繞開其文化背景，譯出其真正的內涵意義。”[7]P139(SomeidiomshavetheChineseculturecharacteristic..Regardingthiskindofidioms,thewordingtranslationisunablefortheforeignreader’sacceptance.Ifweaddmanyexplanations,theidiomcharacteristicwilllose.Thebestmethodistodiscarditsculturalcontextandtranslateitsconnotation.)

Thus,paraphraseisneededtokeepmeaningstopointandkeepconnotationinlinewiththecultureinthetargetlanguage,thoughitmayfailtoshowthestyleoftheoriginallanguage.ItisagoodwaytoconveytheconnotationofChineseidioms.

2.2.1Negation

Mr.YeZinanmentionsnegationin《高級漢英翻譯理論與實踐》.Hegivesthedefinitionlikethis:“反面著筆法(negation)有時也稱正說反譯或反說正譯。其基本概念是原文從一個角度下筆，譯文恰恰從相反的角度下筆。”[8]P80（Sometimesnegationalsowascalledthattoexpresspositivelybutbetranslatednegativelyortoexpresspositivelybutbetranslatednegatively.Althoughthebasicconceptoftheoriginaltextstartswritingfromanangle,thetranslationexactlystartswritingfromtheoppositeangle.）.

Sometimesthetranslatorsutilizethenegationtechniquejusttoformanexquisitearticle.

Forexample:

⑴“塞翁失馬，焉知非福？”isarhetoricalquestion,butthetranslationis“Dangerisnextneighbortosecurity.”whichisanaffirmationdeclarativesentence.

⑵我很高興看見你安然無恙。——Iamgladtoseeyousafeandsound.

InChinese,“無恙”means“haven’tgotillness”,whichisexpressednegatively.Butitstranslation——“sound”,whosemeaningis“健康”,isexpressedpositively.

“英語中有許多含有否定或半否定語氣的詞語，在翻譯中可充分利用，以便使譯文符合英語習慣，并使句子結構多樣化。”[9]P60(TherearemanydenialorhalfdenialexpressionwordsandexpressionsinEnglish.Iftheyarefullyusedintranslation,thetranslationwillconformtotheEnglishcustomandthesentencestructuresaremorevaried.)

⑶Forexample:“木已成舟”inChineseisfirmlyadeclarativesentence.ButitsEnglishtranslationis“thingsdonecannotbeundone”whichexpressestheidenticalmeaningfromthedenialdeclarativesentenceangle.

⑷“不入虎穴，焉得虎子？”isarhetoricalquestion,whosetranslationis“nothingventure,nothinghave”.Itisanaffirmationsentence.

⑸他開車的時候心不在焉，幾乎闖禍。——Hisabsenceofmindduringthedrivingnearlycausedanaccident.

Thenoun“absence”concealsthemeaningofnegation.ItagreedwiththelogicsofthenativeEnglishreaders.

Mr.YeZinanhadadded“有時采用這種方法卻是譯者為了行文優美的目的，不用這個反面著筆的方法譯文并非不通。反面著筆的方法在實際翻譯中如果用的恰到好處，常常會使譯者絕處縫生，是英漢翻譯中非常有用的一個技巧。”[10]P81（Sometimesthetranslatorusesthismethodinordertoreachagoalofforminganexquisitearticle.Soeveniftheydon’tusethemethodofnegation,othertranslationmethodsstillwork.IfthetranslatorusesNegationproperly,hewillfindhiswayoutfromanimpasse.ItisausefulskillinChineseandEnglishtranslation.）

2.2.2Substitution

“Substitution”refersto“someChineseidiomsareabstractwhiletheequivalentEnglishidiomshaveconcreteimages;someChineseidiomshaveconcreteimagesbuttheequivalentEnglishonesarealwaysabstract.”

2.2.2.1Substituteabstractconceptforconcreteimages

TheChineseidiomisquiteabstract,whiletheEnglishidiomisconcrete.Becauseitsvividimagemayenablethereadertorealizeflavor.

⑴Forexample:“做賊心虛”maybetranslatedthat“abadconscienceisjustlikeasnakeinone''''sheart”.Weuse“asnakeintheheart”totransmit“心虛”—theafraidandguiltyconscienceofthethief.

⑵ThecorrespondEnglishidiomof“事與愿違”is“allyourswansaregeese”.Whensomeonefinedoutallswansareordinarygeeseandthedisappointedfacialexpressioniscontrarytowhatheexpects.

⑶“不知所措”correspondstheEnglishidiom“allatsea”.Shallwetrytoimaginethesituationthatapersonintheboundlesssea.Itishelpless.

⑷Theidiom“入鄉隨俗”maybetranslatedinto“wheninRome,doastheRomansdo.”WhyinRomebutnototherplaces？Buttheforeignreadersareveryfamiliarwiththisidiom.Wechange“鄉（village）”to“Rome”whichtheforeignreadersaresofamiliarwith.CertainlytheycanaccuratelyunderstandintrinsicmeaningoftheChineseidiom“入鄉隨俗”.

Thesimilaridiomsareasfollows:

⑸青出于藍勝于藍——Thepupiloutdoesthemaster.

⑹不擇手段——Byhookandbycrook

⑺不辭而別——TotakeFrenchleave.

2.2.2.2Substituteconcreteimagesforabstractconcept

“中國人特別喜歡用具體形象詞語比喻抽象的事物，以物表感，狀物言志。”[11]P30（TheChineselikeusingthevividconcretewordsandexpressionstosubstituteabstractthings,expressingtheirfeelingsandwillsbythings）SomeChineseidiomsusetheconcreteimagesorthingstodescribetheabstractconcepts.Therefore,intranslationprocess,thetranslatorsshouldboldlydiscardtheseimagesandtranslatetheconnotationofthemappropriately.

⑴Forinstance:ifthetranslatorstranslate“順手牽羊”directlyinto“walkoffwithasheep”accordingtothewordingmeaning.TheforeignreadersmaymisunderstandthatthethievesinChinaonlystealthesheepbutnototherthings.ButChinesereadershaven’tgotsuchmisunderstanding.Inthisidiom,“thesheep（羊）”isaconcretethingactuallywhichrefersto“others''''thingperhapstheproperty”.Itexpressesanabstractconceptwiththeconcretething.

⑵Whenwetranslatetheidiom“狗急跳墻”,wedonotneedtodescribespecificallythat“howanxiousthedogis(狗急)”,and“howittojumpthewall(跳墻)”.Aslongasweexpresstheintrinsicmeaning,theforeignreadersmaybeclearataglancewhenwetranslateitas“dosomethingdesperate”.

⑶Perhapswehavetohavealengthyspeechwhentranslate“明火執仗”.Butthedirecttranslationis“doevilthingsopenly”.Theforeignreaderscanunderstanditsintrinsicmeaningconcisely.

⑷Iftranslate“守株待兔”inadetailedway,dowehavethenecessitytotellthefablestorywhichconcealsthisidiomindetails?Evenwetoldthisstory;theforeignreadersalsocannotrealizetheimplication,whichthisidiomcontains.Ifwetranslateitdirectlylikesthis:“trusttothechanceandstrokeofluck”.Theforeignreadersmayunderstandtheimplicationeasily.TheonlyregretthingisthatitlackstheChinesecharacteristic.

BecausethenativeEnglishreaderscan’tacceptthefigurativeimagesofsomeChineseidioms,weshouldtranslatetheseidiomsflexiblyaccordingtotheiractualmeanings.

⑸Forexample,ifwetranslatetheidiom“眉飛色舞”into“hiseyebrowsareflyingandhiscountenanceisdancing”,thenativereaderswillnotonlyfeelconfusedandpuzzled,theywillalsothinkitfunnyandridiculous.

Moresimilaridiomsare:

⑹粗枝大葉——Tobecrudeandcareless.(Deadtranslation:withbigbranchesandlargeleaves)

⑺燈紅酒綠——Dissipatedandluxurious.(Deadtranslation:withredlightsandgreenwine)

⑻開門見山——Tocomestraighttothepoint.(Deadtranslation:toopenthedoorandseethemountain)

⑼大張旗鼓——Onalargeandspectacularscale.(Deadtranslation:tomakeagreatarrayofflagsanddrums)

⑽風雨飄搖——Beingunstable.(Deadtranslation:Thewindandrainarerocking)

2.2.3Additionalremarks&Note

Thereadersneedadditionalremarksandnoteifthemeaningoftheidiomisnotcompletelyunderstood.

2.2.3.1Additionalremarks

“Additionalremarks”refersto“toincreasetherelatedinformation,whichmayhelpunderstandtheintrinsicmeaningoftheidiominthetranslationprocess.”Itisusuallyconcise.

Forexample:

⑴Thetranslationof“事后諸葛亮”is“tobeawisemanlikeZhugeLiangaftertheevent.”Asweknow,ZhugeLiangisarenownedcharacterintheChinesehistory.Heisthesymbolofwisdom.Buttheforeignfriendsmaynotnecessarilyknowwhoheis.Therefore,thetranslatorhastoexplainwhoZhugeLiangis.Theforeignreadersareeasiertounderstandtheconnotationoftheidiom.

⑵你這是班門弄斧。——“YouareshowingoffyourproficiencywithanaxebeforeLubanthemastercarpenter.”

Inordertohelpforeignreadersunderstandthemeaningoftheidiom,translatorsadd“showingoffyourproficiency“toindicatetheconnotationof“班門弄斧”andalsoaddsomebackgroundknowledgeofthisidiom,thatistosay,LuBanisamastercarpenter.Themethodoftranslationnotonlymakesthetranslationprecisebutalsotakesthemeaningexpressionandtheculturalexchangeintoaccount.

⑶Like“東施效顰”maybetranslatedas“TungshihimitatesHsishih”(HsishihwasafamousbeautyintheancientkingdomofYueh.Tungshihwasanuglygirlwhotriedtoimitateherway).Itsconcealedmeaningis“imitatesotherstomakeafoolofoneself”.

⑷Ifwetranslate“八仙過海”to“theeightfairiescrossedthesea”withoutintroducing“八仙（theeightfairies）”arecharactersintheChinesemythstory,thereadersshouldbepuzzled.Thereforewemustaddtheannotationbehindthetranslation:theeightfairiesofTaoisminChinesefolklore.

2.2.3.2Note

“Note”refersto“toaddtherelatedinformationandbackgroundsoftheidiomsindetails.”Itisusuallythefootnotes.

Althoughthestructureissimple，theimpliedmeaningisprofound.Therefore，theycannotbesolelycomeuptheunderstandingandtranslationfromasingleword.SomeChineseidiomsarerichinChineseculturalbackgrounds,amongwhichcontaintheancientChinesenamesfrommythologyandhistory.Ifwetranslatethiskindofidiomsliterally,thenativeEnglishreaderswillnotunderstandthem.Ifwetranslatetheidiomswithmoreexplanation,thetranslationswilllosstheidiomcharacteristicofbeingconcise.Inthiscase,we’dbettertranslatetheidiomfreelywiththeactualmeaningratherthanfocusonitsculturalbackground.Ifweusethemethodofdirecttranslationtotranslatethiskindofidioms,itwillbringdifficultiestothenativeEnglishreader''''sreadingandunderstanding.Moreover,evenifweusethemethodofsignificancetranslation,westillcan’tvividlyreappeartheliteraryreferenceandtheculturalconnotationoftheChineseidioms.

Someforeignreadersdon''''tknowthemeaningoftheChineseidiomsfromtheparaphrase.Buttheymaybewonderingthestoriesrelatedtothem.Inthiscase,concisenoteisnecessarytocompensatetheculturaldifferencesanddecreaseculturalloss.Thesemethodsshouldbecautiouslyusedintheavoidanceoftediousnessandtheexplanatorynotesareusuallyfootnotes.

Suchas:

⑴“畫餅充饑”——Allayinghungerwithpicturesofcakes

Inthethreekingdomsperiod(220-280),thekindoftheWei,CaoRui,wantedtoselectaverycapablemantoworkforhim.Hesaidtohisministers:“whenchoosingatalentedperson,alwaysbewareofonewithafalsereputation.Afalsereputationisjustlikeapictureofacake,itcan’trelieverhunger.”later,thisidiomcametobeusedtomeancomfortingoneselfwithunrealisticthoughts,withoutsolvingpracticalproblems.

⑵“葉公好龍”——LordSheh’sloveofdragons

Shehwassofondofdragonsthatheadornedhiswholepalacewithdrawingsandcarvingsofthem,butwhenarealdragonheardofhisinfatuationandpaidhimavisit,hewasfrightenedoutofhiswits.

Thetranslatorshavetoaddafootnotetothisidiom,andtheforeignreaderscangettheconnotationfromit.

Moresimilaridiomsareasfollows:

⑶毛遂自薦——MaoSuirecommendinghimself

Inthewarringstatesperiod,thestateofQinbesiegedthecapitalofthestateofZhao.DukePingyuanofZhaoplannedtoasktherulerofthestateofChupersonallyforassistance.Hewantedtoselectacapablemantogowithhim.AmancalledMaoSuivolunteered.WhenthenegotiationsbetweenthetwostateswerestalledbecausetherulerofChuhesitatestosendtroops,MaoSuiapproachedhim,brandishingasword.Inthatsituation,therulerofChuagreestohelpZhao,againstQin.

SotheChineseuse“毛遂自薦”tomeanthat“tovolunteerone’sservice”

⑷“一鼓作氣”——Rousingthespiritswiththefirstdrumroll

Duringthespringandautumnperiod,anarmyfromthestateofQiconfrontedonefromthestateofLu.AfterthefirstrollofdrumsfromtheQisidetosummonLutobattle,theLurulerwantedtoattack.ButhiscounselorCaoGuisaid“weshouldwaituntilthethirddrumroll,sire.”aftertheQisidehadbeatenthedrumsthreetimes,theLuarmyattackedanddefeatedtheQiarmy.Afterthebattle,thekingaskedCaoGuithereasonsforhisoddadvice.CaoGuianswered,“fightingneedsspirit.Theirspiritwasarousedbythefirstrollorthedrums,butwasdepletedbythesecond.Anditwascompletelyexhaustedbythethird.Westartedtoattackwhentheirspiritwasexhausted.That’swhywewon.”

So,later,thisidiommeans,“togetsomethingdonewithonesustainedeffort.”

2.2.4Omission

MsHuAipinghasmentionedthat“漢語成語有些是對偶詞組，前后兩對含義相同，修辭上優美勻稱，尤其是在四字結構的成語中，多呈現‘同義反復’的現象。這種現象在崇尚簡潔的英語中是最忌諱的。”[12]P69(SomeChineseidiomsarethematchedphrases.Themeaningsofthetwopairsofwordsaresame.Theyareexquisiteandsymmetricalinrhetoric.Particularlythefourcharactersstructureidiomspresentthephenomenonof‘tautology’.ThiskindofphenomenonisatabooinEnglish,whichadvocatesuccinctness.)

TheimagesinChineseidiomsarevivid.Manyidiomshavethecompoundantithesisstructure.Thoughtheirexplanationsaredifferent,theconcealedmeaningsaresame.Regardingthiskindofidiomtranslation,Inordertoavoid“tautology“,translatingthemeaningofimageisok.

Forexample:

⑴近朱者赤，近墨者黑——Onewhostaysnearvermiliongetsstainedred./Whenyoutouchred，youbecomered.TherearesomesimilarexpressionsintheEnglishspeakingcountries:“onetakesthebehaviorofone’scompany.”or“onetakesontheattributesofone’sassociates.”or“watchthecompanyyoukeep.”

⑵“無影無蹤”，whosemeaningis“tovanishwithoutatrace”,themeaningof“無影”is“withoutanimage”,“無蹤”means“withoutatrace”.Hence,“withoutatrace”isenoughtoexpressthewholemeaningofthisidiom.

⑶忽聞有人在牡丹亭畔，長吁短嘆。（羅貫中《三國演義》）——suddenlyheheardarustleinthepeonypavilionandsomeonesighingdeeply.

Here,“長吁”and“短嘆”havethesamemeaningof“sighingdeeply”.

⑷“這斷子絕孫的阿Q！”遠遠地聽得小尼姑的帶哭的聲音。（魯迅《阿Q正傳》）——“AhQ,mayyoudiesonless!”Soundedthelittlenun’svoicetearfullyinthedistance.

Inthetranslation,“diesonless”canexpressthemeaningsofboth“斷子”and“絕孫”.

⑸她只覺得頭暈眼花，辨不出路徑——Shefelttoodizzytorememberthewayshehadcome.InChinese,“頭暈”and“眼花”havethesamemeaningof“dizzy”.

Thesimilaridiomsare:

⑹愁眉苦臉——Gloomyfaces

⑺天長地久——Eternallikeskies

⑻五光十色——Multicolored

⑼生龍活虎——Burstingwithenergy

⑽字斟句酌——Weigheveryword

3.Conclusion：

Nevertheless,translationmethodsarenotfixed.OneChineseidiommaybetranslatedinseveraldifferentways.Propertranslationsaretobechosenbyconsiderationofvariouscontextsandreaders’acceptability.

Mr.TanZaixihasexpressedEugeneA.Nida’sviewasfollows:“任何能用一種語言表達的東西都能夠用另一種語言來表達；在語言之間，文化之間能通過尋找翻譯對等語，以適當方式重組原文形式和寓意結構來進行交際。”[13]P20(Everythingthatcanbeexpressedinonelanguagealsocanbetranslatedintoanotherlanguage.Wecanfindouttheequivalentonebetweentwolanguagesandbetweentwocultures,andthendothecommunicationsbythewaywhichadjustthestructuresinaproperway.)TheChineseidiomsarethecreamofournationalculture.IntranslatingthemintoEnglish,weshouldtranslatenotonlythedenotations,butalsotheculturalconnotations.Ifnecessary,weshouldadjustthesemanticstructuressothatwecandecreasetheculturelossaslittleaspossible.Inthisway,wecanpromoteandexpandtheexchangeabroadoftheChineseculture.

Eugene.Nidathoughtthat,“對于真正成功的翻譯來說，雙文化能力甚至要比雙語能力更為重要。”[14]P70（Regardingthesuccesstranslationthat,thedoubleculturalabilityevenmustbemoreimportantthanthebilingualability）Therefore,translatingChineseidiomsintoEnglishisaconcreteoperatingprocess.First,thetranslatorsmustfullyunderstandtheintrinsicmeaningoftheChineseidiom;second,theyshoulduseseveraltranslationmethodsflexibly,contrastthesimilaritiesanddifferencesbetweenEnglishandChinese,adjustthestructuresuitably;last,trytheirbesttotranslateChineseidiomswhichbeartheculturalcharacteristicandinformationtotheforeignreaders.HelpingtheforeignreaderseliminateandreducelanguageandculturalbarrierrequeststhetranslatortotranslatetheformofChineseidiomsdiligentlythattheforeignreadersaregladtoaccept.AtthesametimeitisabigchallengetoreappearChinesecultureinEnglish.

Translationisnotonlytwolanguagesexchanges,butalsoonekindofcross-culturalexchange.Itsgoalistobreakthebarrierbetweenthetwodifferentlanguages.

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