英语论文论英语典故与习语的来源与翻.docx

英语论文论英语典故与习语的来源与翻.docx

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英语论文论英语典故与习语的来源与翻

论英语典故与习语的来源与翻译

[Abstract]Idiomsarefixedphrasesthatgothroughthetestofhistoryandcannotbetreatedseparately.Inordertobeloyaltotheoriginaltext,thetranslationofEnglishidiomsshouldnotonlykeeptheoriginaltasteofthesource,butalsomeetthestandardsofwriting,especiallyformythologyandallusion.BecauseEnglishidiomshavemanifestedandabsorbedthedifferentnationalcultureofancientGreek,ancientRome,andNorthernEurope,itismoretypicalandrepresentativethanotherformsoflanguageonreflectingtheculturaldiversity.Domesticationandforeignizationaretwomainmethodsoftranslation.Andtherearesomeconcretetranslationskillsasfollows:

1.Literaltranslation2.Freetranslation3.Borrowing4.Literaltranslationwithannotation.Inthetrendofculturalglobalization,cultureamongvariousnationalitiespermeateandsticktogethermutually.Andthereaders’abilitytoacceptthenewculturalimageryhasimproveddaybyday.Thereforesolongasnottoaffecttheunderstandingofsourcelanguage,theauthoradvocatestranslatingEnglishidiomsdirectlyasfaraspossibletocarryontheculture,whichpromotestheexchangeandfusionofcultureallovertheworld.

[KeyWords]idioms;allusion;translationmethods

【摘要】习语是指那些经受了历史的长期考验,千锤百炼而形成的固定词组。

为了忠于原文,习语翻译既要保持源语的原汁原味,也要符合译入语语言文字的需求。

尤其在翻译习语中的神话典故时更应注意以下三点1.译入语结构的平衡2.译出源语的民族特色和地域色彩3.尽可能保留源语的形象。

因为英语习语吸收了众多来自古希腊，古罗马，北欧古代神话等欧洲各民族的文化精髓，所以在体现语言的文化差异方面,习语比其他语言成分更具有典型性和代表性。

基本的英语翻译方法有归化和异化，具体体现如下：

直译法，意译法，借用法，直译加注。

在当前文化全球化的时代背景下，各民族间的文化相互渗透和融合的趋势愈来愈强。

人们对于外来文化、异国情调的包容、接纳以至欣赏能力也日渐提高。

因此,作者认为只要在不影响译语读者理解的前提下,应提倡尽量以文化直入模式进行习语翻译,以促进世界文化的交流与融合。

【关键词】习语；神话典故；翻译方法

1.Introduction

WhenopeningOxfordAdvancedLearner’sDictionaryofCurrentEnglish,onecanseesuchanentry:

“Idiom（n.）Phraseorsentencewhosemeaningisnotclearfromthemeaningofitsindividualwordsandwhichmustbelearntasawholeunit.”[1]AndEnglishtranslationtheoreticianPeterNewmarkalsosaid:

“Anidiomisacurrentandfrequentlyusedgroupofwordswhosemeaningisnotclearfromthecommonmeaningsofitsconstituentwords”.[2]Inbrief,idiomsarefixedphrasesthatgothroughthetestofhistoryandcannotbeseparated.Sothewholemeaningusuallycannotbesurmisedintranslationandthecomponentsmustnotbeseparatedatone’sease.

2.Background

Englishasaninternationallanguage,itsusageiswide-ranging.ManycountrieschooseEnglishastheirofficiallanguage.Whatismore,sixtypercentofbroadcastingintheworlduseEnglishtopropagatetheirinformation.Ofcourse,therearemanyidiomsinEnglishandpartsofthemareloanwords.ThefeaturesofassimilatingloanwordsinEnglishareevident.Ontheonehand,itbelongstoGermaniclanguagefamilythatenablesittotakepossessionofthecommonwordsinGermaniclanguage.Ontheotherhand,EnglishkeepsintouchwithFrenchandRomanlanguagefamilycloselyforalongtime.TheancientGreekmythologies,RomanmythsandfairytalesofnorthernEuropearethepubliclyownedwealthofEuropeannations.TheyhavedeepinfluenceondevelopmentofwholeEuropeancultureinwhichmanystoriesprovidesourcematerialsforEnglishidioms.Therefore,EnglishidiomstakeinanywordthatcanrepresentthemainEuropeanculture.Anditismoretypicalandrepresentativethanothersinreflectingtheculturaldiversity.JustlikeBaconsaid:

Talent,quick-wittedandspiritinanationcanallbefoundinitsidioms.[3]

2.1ThesourcesofEnglishidioms

Aseveryoneknows,idiomscomefromdifferentaspects:

differentlivingenvironments;everydaylife;religion;historicalevents;literaryworksandmythologyandallusion.

2.1.1Idiomsfromdifferentlivingenvironments

   Idiomsarecloselyrelatedtopeople’slaborandlife,becausepeopleinaparticularcultureneedwordstonameandexplainobjectsandappearancepresentinthatculture.TheHanPeople,liveonland,andbelongtoanagrariansocietythatplacesagriculturalproductionatthetopofthenationalagenda.Duringthelonghistoryoffarming,theChineselanguagehasaccumulatedlargenumbersoffarmers’idiomslike瑞雪兆丰年（atimesnowpromisesagoodharvest）,五谷丰登（abundantharvestofallfoodcrops）.WhileBritishliveinanislandcountry,probablyhaveidiomsaboutwaterandsailing.Forexample,wespeak挥金如土inChinese，butweshouldrenderitintoEnglishas“spendmoneylikewater”.Andtherearesimilarexamplesasfollows:

“tokeepone’sheadaboutwater”（奋力图存），“infullsail”（全力以赴）,“towerone’ssail”（甘拜下风）.

Whatismore,therecomedifferentspecialproductsdeterminedbythedifferentgeographicalsurroundings.Forexample,“likemushrooms”and“springuplikemushrooms”inEnglish,means像蘑菇一样,and雨后春笋般地涌现inChinese.Bothofthemhavethesamemeaningofthegreatdevelopmentofathing,buttheyusetheirrespectivethingstoformthemetaphor,becauseChinaaboundswithbamboo,whereasitdoesnotgrowinEngland.SotheChinesepeoplearequitefamiliarwithbamboo;whiletheEnglishdon’t.Thiscaseisquitethesamewiththeidiom“plentiful

asblackberries”,forblackberriesareeasilyavailableinEnglandwhileinChinese,多如牛毛isused,forcattlecanbefoundeverywhereinChina.

2.1.2Idiomsfromeverydaylife

   Entertainmentandactivities,whicharepartsofnationalculture,arequitedifferentinvariouscountries.Horseracing,boxingandcricketareancientandtraditionalsportsinEngland,soinEnglish,thereareidiomslike“neckandneck”（不分上下），“downandout”（倒下出局），“notcricket”（不讲信用），and“straightfromtheshoulder”（直截了当），and“haveagoodinnings”（一帆风顺）；whereastheancientChinesepreferredhuntingandchess:

棋逢对手（diamondcutdiamond）,剑拔弩张（atdaggersdrawn）,明枪易躲，暗箭难防（Falsefriendsareworsethanopenenemies）.Therearesomeaspectsineverydaylifeinthefollowing.

（ⅰ）Idiomsfromfood

   InEngland,breadisusuallyeatentogetherwithbutter,andsalt,milkandcreamaretheireverydaydiet.Allofthemaretheeverydaydietforwesternpeopleandthusappear“Thereisnousecryingoverspiltmilk”（不要做无谓的后悔），“baker’sdozen”（面包师的第十三个面包）,and“polishtheapple”（拍马屁）；ChinahasalonghistoryofcookingandtheChineseareknownasthemostcritical,forwhoattachgreaterimportancetofoodthananyotherpeople,asisreflectedinthesayinglike:

画饼充饥（todrawcakestoallayhunger）

（ⅱ）Idiomsfromsea

   BothintheChineseandtheEnglishlanguages,idiomsabouttheseaarenumerous,becausebothofthesetwocountriesaresurroundedandhalf-surroundedbysea,andtheyarerichinnaturalresourcesoffish.Fishingplaysavitalroleintheireconomy,soalargenumberofidiomsconcerningfisharehandeddown:

“Fishbeginstostinkatthehead”（上梁不正下梁歪）,“Neveroffertoteachfishtoswim”（不要班门弄斧），and“tofishintroubledwater”（浑水摸鱼）.

（ⅲ）Idiomsfrommilitaryaffairs

Thehistoryofmankindisalmostthehistoryofwar,whichisthesourceofnumerousidioms.TheChinesenationhasalonghistoryofwarformorethantwothousandyears,andthereforetheChineselanguageisrichinsuchidioms:

项庄舞剑，意在沛公（XiangZhuangperformedthesworddanceasacoverforhisattemptonLiuBang’slife.---actwithahiddenmotive）;四面楚歌（beindesperatestraits）;暗度陈仓（tostealamarchon）.AnditisalsomirroredinthefollowingEnglishidioms:

“WhatmillionsdiedthatCaesarmightbegreat”（一将功成万骨枯）;“Meetone’sWaterloo”（遭遇惨败）;“Pyrrhicvictory”（得不偿失的胜利）;andgentleman’sagreement（君子协定）.

2.1.3Idiomsfromreligion

Religionisanimportantsourceforidioms.Itisasocialphenomenonandmainlyacodeofethicsgoverningpersonalandsocialconduct.Comparativelyspeaking,BuddhismhasgreaterinfluenceinChineseculturealthoughChinaisamulti-religiouscountry.ItwasfirstintroducedintoChinainthefirstcenturyAD,andhasshapedtheChineselanguage,diet,arts,etc.,andgreatlystimulatedthedevelopmentofChineseliterature.ThelargenumberofwordsandidiomsderivedfromBuddhismisoneofthemanifestationsofitsinfluence,suchas放下屠刀，立地成佛（AbutcherbecomesaBuddhathemomenthedropshiscleaver---awrongdoerachievessalvationassoonashegivesupevil）and做一天和尚，撞一天钟（takeapassiveattitudetowardone’swork）.AndtherearequiteafewEnglishidiomsfromreligion.Suchas:

Benjamin’smess（最大的份额）;

raiseCain（大吵大闹）;appleofSodom（金玉其外，败絮其中）;soptoCerberus（贿赂）;handwritingonthewall（不祥之兆）andsoon.

2.1.4Idiomsfromhistoricalevents

Inmostlanguage,peopleembellishtheirspeechorwritingwithreferencestocharactersoreventsfromtheirhistory,thatistosay,idiomaticexpressionsarecloselyrelatedtoacountry’shistory.TherearealotofidiomsintheChineselanguagecannotfindanequivalentintheEnglishlanguagebecausethehistoryofthetwocountriesarequitedifferent.Manyidiomsarefromtheirownhistory.TheEnglishlanguagehasmuchlessidiomsfromhistoricaleventsthantheChineselanguagebecauseEnglishjusthasahistoryofmorethanonethousandyearsduringwhichlessimportanthistoricaleventshappened.Forexample,“tomeetone’sWaterloo”（遭遇滑铁卢）isfromthedefeatofNapoleonatWaterlooin1815,whichmeanstobecompletelydefeated.

2.1.5Idiomsfromliteraryworks

LiteraryworksarealsooneofthemainsourcesofEnglishidioms.InEnglishliterature,themostglitteringstarisShakespeare.Hisdramasarethemajorsourceofthiskindidioms:

“toclaimone’spoundofflesh”（割某人的一磅肉）isfromTheMerchantofVenice;“makeassurancedoublysure”（加倍小心）comesfromMacbeth.Andthereareotherexamples:

“Readingmakesafullman,conferenceareadyman,writinganexactman”---BaconOnStudy;“theuglyducking”（丑小鸭）isfromHanAnderson’stales;“JekyllandHyde”（双重性格）originatesfromStevenson’sTheStrangecase