动物词汇-、动物习语翻译英语论文.docx

摘要

习语是语言的珍宝,是人类智慧的结晶。几百年以来,动物一直被视为人类的朋友,在大量的英汉习语中,人们用不同种类的动物来表达他们的感情。英汉这两种语言都有着丰富的动物习语,这些习语通过它们生动形象,以简洁的方式来描述人们的感情或解释一些复杂的规则或现象。英汉习语的完美翻译呈献给了目标语读者一张生动的文化图片。然而,由于中西方不同的历史渊源,地理环境,风俗习惯,宗教信仰等因素,完全透彻地理解一种文化中的动物习语对于生活在另一种文化中的人们而言是有难度的。本文从其影响因素如：地理环境、风俗习惯、宗教信仰、社会历史等方面入手，探讨动物习语的文化内涵、翻译策略等。第一章，对研究背景以及研究的必要性进行简单的介绍；第二章，将讲到习语的定义并对其进行一个分类；第三章，详细探讨影响动物习语的几大因素，并举例说明；第四章，分析在中西方文化中动物习语的文化内涵，包括分析中西方文化中动物词汇的象征意义；最后一章，文中将介绍动物类习语的翻译方法，包括直译法，意译法和套译法。

关键词：动物词汇 ，动物习语 ，文化涵义，文化差异 ，翻译策略

Abstract

Idioms are not only the treasures of a language but also the wisdom of human beings. Animals have been considered as good friends of human for hundreds of years, and Chinese people use different kinds of animals to express their feelings. Both English and Chinese have many animal idioms which are used by people to express their feelings or explain some complicated rules and phenomena in a concise way. However, duo to different history, customs, geographical environments and religious beliefs, it is difficult for people to completely understand the animal idioms in other culture. In this thesis, we will discuss the cultural connotations and the translation strategies of the animal idioms, from the factors that influence it, such as geographical conditions, customs, religions history and so on. In chapter one we will make a brief introduction of the researching background and the necessity of the research. In chapter two, we’ll talk about the definition of idioms and the classification of idioms. And in chapter three, a detailed discussion will be given to the factors that influence the animal idioms and illustrate them. In the last chapter, we will introduce some translation strategies about animal idioms, including direct translation, free translation and modeling application. In the end, there will be a conclusion for this research and talk about what we have learned from this thesis.

Keywords: Animal words，animal idioms，cultural differences，Cultural meaning，Translation strategies
Contents
Acknowledgments................................ⅰ
Abstract in Chinese................................................................................ⅱ
Abstract in English.................................................................................ⅲ
1 Introduction...........................7
1.1 Researching Background...............................................................................7
1.2 The Necessity and Significance of the Research..........................................7
2 The Definition and the classification of idioms...................................9
2.1The Definition of Idioms.................................................................................9
2.2 The Classification of Idioms........................................................................10
3 Factors of influencing the cultural differences of animal idioms ...12
3.1 Influence of Geographic Condition............................................................12
3.2 Influence of Customs....................................................................................13
3.3 Influence of Religions...........14
3.4 Influence of History......................................................................................15
4 Different Connotations of Animal Words in Eastern and Western Cultures ..................................16
4.1 Symbolic Significance of Animal Words in Eastern and Western Cultures ......................................................................................................................16
4.2 Connotations of Animal Idioms in Eastern and Western Cultures.......................................................................................................................17
5 The Translation Strategies of Idioms and Animal Words................20
5.1 Direct Translation...................................................20
5.2 Free Translation............................................................................................21
5.3 Modeling Application...................................................................................22
Conclusion.....................24

Bibliography............................................................................................25
23

1. Introduction

Idioms are not only the treasures of a language but also the wisdom of human beings. Animals have been considered as good friends of human for hundreds of years, and Chinese people use different kinds of animals to express their feelings. Both English and Chinese have many animal idioms which are used by people to express their feelings or explain some complicated rules and phenomena in a concise way.
1.1 Researching Background
English is the official language used by most countries in the world and it is also the world’s most extensive second language. Chinese has a long history and used by large amount of people. Both of the languages are not easy to learn The translation between English and Chinese is difficult and the translation of idioms even harder. It is not enough for us to translate idioms only from the literal meaning. People who have learn t English may face some difficulties when they read original English books or watch English original films. One of the major reasons is that they’re unfamiliar with the English idioms.
In the late 1960s, as one of the major figures of the linguistic school, Eugene Nida proposed the Functional Equivalence Theory. This thesis holds that translation is to bring out the most appropriate equivalent when we translate the source language into the target language. Make sure that there is no difference between the reflex of the target readers and that of the source readers. The animal image is an important carrier in the English idioms, and how to deal with the cultural differences is embodied in the translation of the animal image. So, it is of great importance for us to translate the idioms after analyzing the animal image in it, instead of translating it only from the literal meaning.
1.2 The Necessity and Significance of the Research
An Idiom is one of the colorful elements in language with great energy. It is an important part of language and also a special kind of expressing way of language or a kind of art of human language. Therefore, idioms are not merely folk language but also one part of mass culture. With the development of human language, people in different countries may have different understanding of the symbolic meaning of animals. In order to comprehend the language and culture of English-speaking countries and translate their language completely, what we should do is to learn more about the English idioms. Duo to different cultural backgrounds, both oriental countries and western countries have their own features. The same animal image in different cultural backgrounds may represent a completely different even opposite meaning. For instance, in China, the dog represents inferior social status and bad behavior, while in western countries, dogs become their favorite pets and intimate friends. Thus it can be seen that it is vital to study the cultural differences between China and the western countries.
The idiom study of other countries is benefit for us to improve our understanding about their politics, culture, especially their life. It may deepen our understanding of other counties in all respects so that we can speed up learning the cultural knowledge and science and technology of advanced countries, meanwhile, it can also enhance the enthusiasm for people to learn English.

2. The Definition and the classification of idioms

Idioms are the essence of language and it is also an integral part of the language. Idioms are fixed phrases or sentences which were used for a long period of time, including set phrases(成语）, proverbs（谚语）,two-part allegorical sayings(歇后语）, slang（俚语）, common sayings（俗语） or folk adages, ect. Now let’s talk about the definition and the classification of idioms.
2.1 The Definition of Idioms
The word “ idiom” is usually translated into “习语” in Chinese. However, you can seldom find the term“习语”in many Chinese dictionary. Chinese researchers would like to use “熟语”which means expressions formed by the fixed words whose structures usually cannot be changed at random when used.
The English word “idiom” comes from the Greek word “idioma” And the meaning of idioma is special or specialty. Here are some definitions of “idiom”:
(1)A group of words in a fixed order that have a particular meaning that is different from the meanings of each word understood on its own. (Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary)
(2)An expression established in the usage of a language that is peculiar to itself either in grammatical construction or in having a meaning that cannot be derived as a whole from the conjoined meanings of its elements. (Webster’s Third New International Dictionary)
(3) A group of words which have a different meaning when used together from the one it would have if the meaning of each word were taken individually. (Collins Cobuild Dictionary of Idiom)
From these definition above, it can be seen that there two features of idioms. One is the stability of the structure, and the other is the specialty of the meaning. Idioms have two construction forms, phrases and sentences. The stability of the structure, that is to say, each part of the idiom is fixed and we cannot separate them, replaced them, or exchange them with other elements. The specialty of the meaning is that an idiom is an entirety in semantics which can not be separated at random. The meaning of an idiom is not the combined meaning of each word (the literal meaning) but a new meaning of this idiom. Therefore we should comprehend it as a whole unit.
“I was pulling your leg.” In this sentence, “pull sb’s leg” is an idiom; it means “play a joke on sb” but not the literal meaning pull one’s leg. In addition, its structure is fixed which can not be separated or exchanged. For instance, “It is raining cats and dogs.” can not be exchanged by “It is raining dogs and cats.” Adding elements to an idiom at will is also incorrect. “On top of the world” is right while “on the top of the world” is wrong. We can’t cut down the element at will. “Once in a blue moon” is not “in a blue moon”.
2.2 The Classification of Idioms
Idioms include set phrases(成语）, proverbs（谚语）, two-part allegorical sayings(歇后语）, slang（俚语）, common sayings（俗语） or folk adages, ect. They are known as “熟语”in Chinese. The meaning of an idiom is not clear from the meaning of its individual words.
Set phrases were widely used in Chinese. We can still see them in spoken Chinese and vernacular Chinese writings. According to Practical Modern Chinese Dictionary(《实用现代汉语词典》），set phrases, also called chengyu, are formed by fixed phrases or short sentences which are brief in structure, incisive in meaning and long-time used idiomatically by people. Most set phrases are four-word phrases. Let’s bring some examples:
Fish in troubled waters 浑水摸鱼
Birds of feather 一丘之貉
As busy as a bee 忙碌至极
An old horse knows the way 老马识途
He rides a tiger is afraid to dismount. 骑虎难下
In terms of proverbs:
Every dog has his day 人人皆有得意之日
A lion at home a mouse abroad. 在家如狮，外出如鼠
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. 一石在手胜于两鸟在林
The wolf has a winning game when the shepherds quarrel. 鹬蚌相争渔翁得利。
For two-part allegorical sayings:
Love me, love my dog. 爱屋及乌。
A slow sparrow should make an early start. 笨鸟先飞。
Monkey face--out 猴儿的脸——说变就变
Cat belly Tiger tank----tough up 猫肚子放虎胆——凶不起来
From these examples about idioms we can see that there are some distinctions between Chinese idioms and English idioms, particularly the differences between Chinese animal images and English animal images. We can also learn that each country has its own understanding about animal images, such as fish, bees, dogs and so on. Chinese people regard many children as good fortune, so they like using the image of fish to express the meaning of continuous of generations while western people only consider fish as agility. Both in China and western countries, bees are always used to symbolize people who are busy with their work. Dogs, in western countries, are people’s intimate friends. However, in China, the phrases related to the dog are usually derogatory terms.

3. Factors Influencing the Cultural Differences of Animal Idioms

Culture has a vital influence on animal idioms. In this chapter, let’s make a detailed analysis of cultural influences on English and Chinese animal idioms from the following aspects.
3.1 Influence of Geographic Condition
On account of the differences of geographic condition, labor and living habits, different nations have their own understanding of idioms. People in west and China have their own ways of thinking.
Britain is an island surrounded by sea, with developed business and seafaring. As a result, most of the idioms of Britain are relevant to business and sea. China is located in Asian continent and people’s daily lives are closely related to the land, so, Chinese idioms are always connected with geographical conditions. For instance, our country is rich in bamboo, for that, Chinese people often use “bamboo shoots after a spring rain” to describe the rapid development and numerous production of things. However, in English “bamboo” seldom appears in their written or spoken language. They use mushroom rather than bamboo because western people know little about bamboo.
Before the Industrial Revolution, most Britain people made livings as fishermen and fishery is significant there, so there are many English idioms concern with fish.
drink like a fish 牛饮
have other fish to try 另有打算
Never offer to teach fish to swim. 不要班门弄斧。
It is a silly fish that is caught twice with the same bait. 聪明 人不上两回当。
In addition，idioms in western countries deeply affected by their animal husbandry. Therefore, some of the idioms are associated with animal husbandry.
black sheep 害群之马
as strong as a horse 力大如牛
a bull in a China shop 肆意捣乱
horse laugh 纵声大笑
If you sell the cow, you sell the cow, you sell her milk too. 卖 了母牛吃不着奶。
From the examples above, we learn that “horses” appears more frequently than “cattle”. It all is because in ancient time, western people cultivated land mainly by horse while Chinese people did it by cattle.
Quite different from Britain, China is an agrarian society. The ancestors of China live along our mother river,