培養(yǎng)單位：外國語學(xué)院
學(xué)科專業(yè)：外國語言學(xué)及應(yīng)用語言學(xué)
研究生：范珺
指導(dǎo)教師：
2004 年4 月
武漢理工大學(xué)碩士學(xué)位論文
分類號密級
UDC 學(xué)校代碼10497
學(xué)位論文
題目英語習(xí)用語翻譯中的等效性與文化現(xiàn)象的理解
英文The “Functional Equivalence” in English Idioms Translation and
題目Comprehension of Cultural Phenomena
研究生姓名范珺
姓名吳志芳職稱教授
單位名稱外國語學(xué)院郵編430070
申請學(xué)位級別碩士學(xué)科專業(yè)名稱外國語言學(xué)與應(yīng)用語言學(xué)
論文提交日期論文答辯日期
學(xué)位授予單位武漢理工大學(xué)日期
答辯委員會主席評閱人
2004 年4 月
指導(dǎo)教師
武漢理工大學(xué)碩士學(xué)位論文
摘要
論文以功能對等理論為基礎(chǔ)主要對英語習(xí)用語的翻譯進(jìn)行了分析和闡述。
論文從英語習(xí)用語概念的多樣性入手，介紹了英語習(xí)用語的特性及其起源。
習(xí)用語是語言的藝術(shù)，是語言的一種特殊表達(dá)方式。論文列舉了習(xí)用語表
現(xiàn)出來的幾類特性。首先，習(xí)用語是文化的表征，表現(xiàn)形式多種多樣，并且富
含各種修辭，習(xí)用語本身也是一種修辭；除了持久的生命力，習(xí)用語還有著語
義整體性和結(jié)構(gòu)穩(wěn)定性的特征。從它的來源來看，習(xí)用語與文化有著緊密的聯(lián)
系。有的習(xí)用語來源于人們的生活、風(fēng)俗習(xí)慣和地理環(huán)境，另外一些習(xí)用語來
源于宗教信仰、歷史、寓言和神話故事，或文學(xué)作品，有的習(xí)用語甚至來源于
外來語的借用。
蘊(yùn)涵著豐富文化特質(zhì)的習(xí)用語給翻譯工作帶來很大挑戰(zhàn)。在閱讀了大量的
有關(guān)習(xí)用語的翻譯作品之后，作者在論文中對習(xí)用語不同的翻譯版本進(jìn)行了深
入的分析和探討，習(xí)用語的意義不是由組成它的詞語的單個意義的簡單相加，
一些習(xí)用語的語言不符合語法邏輯，不能按常理來理解它。論文將習(xí)用語翻譯
中出現(xiàn)的問題歸納為三類。一類是不求甚解，就習(xí)用語的表面意義直譯；二是
生搬硬套，用意義不合的漢語成語替換；三是忽略了習(xí)用語的文化內(nèi)涵，使譯
文失去了原文的韻味。
翻譯為文化交流的一種形式，也是一種文化移植活動。論文詳細(xì)敘述了譯
者應(yīng)遵循的原理和策略，它們是歸化、異化和功能對等。就翻譯方法而言，因
為習(xí)用語的豐富的文化內(nèi)涵，直譯法總是處于最重要的位置，其后是替換、意
譯和直譯意譯相融法。
作為文化交流的媒介，習(xí)用語的翻譯極其重要。論文的主要目的和意義是
敦促譯者更多的注意習(xí)用語翻譯中的文化因素，提高文化交流效果，促進(jìn)中英
文化交流活動。
關(guān)鍵字：習(xí)用語，翻譯，文化交流，功能對等
武漢理工大學(xué)碩士學(xué)位論文
Abstract
On the basis of Functional Equivalence Theory, this dissertation mainly probes
into the translation of English idiom.
Starting with the divergence in the definitions of English idiom, the dissertation
introduces the characteristics and the origins of English idioms. Idiom is a special
kind of expressing way of language, or a kind of art of human language. The
dissertation reveals five types of characteristics of English idioms. The first, as well
as most important feature of idiom is that it is a mirror of culture. The second is that
English idioms are rich in figures, which have plentiful varied expressing styles, and
idiom itself is a kind of figure too. The semantic unity and structural stability are the
third and forth features of English idioms; the final one is long-lasting vitality.
Idioms are very close with culture, which can be testified by its origins. Some
idioms are originated from people’s lives, customs and environment while other
idioms are originated from religious belief, history, allegoric and mythical story, or
literal works. Still others originated from the foreign borrowing.
From the origins of English idioms, we know idiom, the culture-specific item,
would like to challenge the translator’s proficiency. Owing to the rich cultural
connotation of idiom, there are always some difficulties to make a sensible translation.
After reading numerous translation works of English idiom, the dissertation goes deep
into the different translation versions of English idioms, and explores the problems
occurring in the existing translation works. Idiom’s meaning is not a simple
combination of that of each constituent word. Some idioms are not logical
grammatically, cannot be understood by common sense. In the application or
translation of English idioms, some people take the superficial meaning of words or
phrases and translate it literally, or render it with the Chinese counterparts incorrectly.
Some people even interpret idioms word by word, so that the idiom loses its original
flavor.
Translation is a process of transplanting one culture into another. The
dissertation puts forward three principles, which a translator should follow. They are
foreignization, domestication and functional equivalency. As to the translation
strategies, owing to the cultural connotation of English idioms, one should give first
priority to literal translation. Then substitution and free translation should follow.
Finally is the combination of literal and free translation. With the guidance of
武漢理工大學(xué)碩士學(xué)位論文
functional equivalency theory, and the above-mentioned translation methods, a
translator can provide a satisfactory translation product definitely.
As a medium of cross-cultural communication, translation of English idioms
becomes more and more important, the study on the translation of English idioms is
of great significance. This dissertation can help the translators to pay close attention
to the culture of source language in idiom translation, and help to enhance the
effectiveness of cross-cultural communication.
Key Words: idiom, translation, cultural communication, functional equivalence
武漢理工大學(xué)碩士學(xué)位論文
Contents
Chapter One Introduction to English Idiom··························································1
1.1 Divergence in the Definitions of English Idiom ···············································1
1.2 Characteristics of English Idioms ·····································································1
1.3 Origin of English Idiom ···················································································14
Chapter Two Problems in the Translation of English Idiom ······························20
2.1 Misunderstanding or guessing the meaning literally ········································ 20
2.2 Substituting with Chinese counterparts incorrectly ········································ 23
2.3 The lose of original flavor················································································ 25
Chapter Three Principles of English Idiom Translation·····································27
3.1 Foreignization ·································································································· 27
3.2 Domestication ·································································································· 28
3.3 Functional equivalence ···················································································· 29
Chapter Four Proposed Strategies for Translating English Idiom ····················32
4.1 Literal translation / Literal translation with notes············································· 32
4.2 Substitution with Chinese counterparts or borrowing······································· 35
武漢理工大學(xué)碩士學(xué)位論文
4.3 Free translation / Free translation with notes ·················································· 39
4.4 Combination of literal and free translation······················································· 43
Chapter Five Significances and Prospects of English Idiom Translation··········45
5.1 Helping to pay close attention to the culture of source language······················ 45
5.2 Helping to enhance the effectiveness of cross-cultural communication ··········· 46
5.3 Helping to enrich the target language······························································· 46
Bibliography············································································································48
Acknowledgements ·································································································50
武漢理工大學(xué)碩士學(xué)位論文
05-10-1058 1
Chapter One Introduction to English Idiom
1.1 Divergence in the Definitions of English Idiom
Idiom is originated from Greek; it means a special kind of expressing way of
human language, or a kind of art of human language. Its form can be a few words,
phrase, clause or short sentence. Oxford Advanced Learner’s English-Chinese
Dictionary defines idiom as: Phrase or sentence whose meaning is not clear from the
meaning of its individual word and which must be learnt as a whole unit, such as
“give way, a change of heart” etc.
Most people think idiom is equal to Chinese “chengyu” (成語), actually English
idiom and Chinese xiyongyu (習(xí)用語) are in the same lexical category, Chinese
“chengyu” is just a special item of the category, it is not correct to call English idiom
as English “chengyu” in translation.
Thus, we can define that: English idiom is a set of phrases or one sentence,
whose meaning is not obvious through knowledge of the individual meaning of the
constituent words, but must be learnt as a whole. It is a special phenomenon, which
appeared during the long history of language development. In a broad sense, it
includes idiom, proverb, allusion, allegorical saying, maxim and colloquialism.
1.2 Characteristics of English Idiom
English is heavily idiomatic, English idiom is widely used both in writing and
speaking, it takes on various characteristics, which one can observe in the following
paragraphs.
Peter Newmark defines culture as: the way of life and its manifestations that are
peculiar to a community that uses a particular language as its means of expression.
Culture manifests itself in patterns of language, the amazing development of
human history is mirrored to a large extent in the development of the vocabulary,
Calver Waltin has once remarked, “though by no means a perfect mirror, the lexicon
武漢理工大學(xué)碩士學(xué)位論文
05-10-1058 2
of a language remains the single most effective way of approaching and
understanding the culture of speakers”, therefore, idiom as a specialized form of
language, will naturally reflect its culture like all other kind of words.
As the most sensitive part of vocabulary, English idiom may provide clues to
people’s history, geographical features, environment, customs, religion and literary
works, etc.
The emergence of idiom is related closely with people’s lives and their work.
history, people created a lot of idioms that have something with water, sea or
navigation. While Chinese people live on the mainland so far, therefore, the “land” or
“something with land” appears in the Chinese idioms very much.
Let’s look at some examples:
When we criticize someone who is extravagant, English people will say “spend
the money like water”, while Chinese people would say “揮金如土”。
Idioms, that have above-mentioned connotations, have different metaphors
between Chinese and English. This can be seen in many places. For example:
★ Fish in the air 水中撈月
★ A drop in the ocean 滄海一粟；九牛一毛
★ While the cat is away, the mice will play. 山中無老虎, 猴子稱大王。
★ Drink like a fish 牛飲
★ To kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. 殺雞取卵
★ Kill two birds with one stone. 一箭雙雕
★ Speak of angels and you will hear their wings. 說曹操, 曹操到。
★ Never offer to teach fish to swim 不要班門弄斧。
★ Neither fish nor flesh 非驢非馬
★ As wet as a drowned rat 濕如落湯雞
In
Chinese peasants take ox to complete the tough farming job, so the idioms to describe
the person who serves somebody wholeheartedly are different between Chinese and
English, English idiom is “work like a horse”, while Chinese idiom is “做老黃牛”.
Because of different geographical location, in
from the east, and “east wind” means the new start of a year, also it indicates that the
武漢理工大學(xué)碩士學(xué)位論文
05-10-1058 3
weather becomes warm, and trees and grass will blossom. But in
wind means the west wind, not “east wind”. The work of Shelley – Ode to the West
Wind, is an ode to “spring”. The summer of Chinese mainland always connects with
extreme heat, while
compared the lover as summer in one of his sonnet works: Shall I compare thee to a
summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate. We can see the difference
between Chinese and
and Chinese cultures.
Among English, there are a lot of idioms that cannot be found with Chinese
counterparts, they are just the mirrors of each culture, such as:
★ To rest on one’s oars 暫時歇一歇
★ To keep one’s head above water 奮力圖存
★ All at sea 不知所措
★ Miss the boat 坐失良機(jī)
★ Push the boat out 玩得痛快；享樂
★ The coast is clear. 已無阻礙，危險已過；時機(jī)正好。
There are also lots of Chinese idioms that cannot be found with English
counterparts:
★ 有眼不識泰山, Fail to recognize someone’s eminence.
★ 不到黃河心不死, Refuse to give up until all hope is gone.
From the definition of “idiom”, we know that the meaning of English idiom is
beyond the whole of general meaning, it is not a simple combination of meanings of
each constituent elements, which is a new one born of the combination. We can only
treat English idiom as a whole unity, and understand its connotation rhetorically.
Namely, idiom is a unity, the connection between the words cannot cut apart, if the
words are understood separately, the meaning of the sentence or phrase will be totally
different or even entirely opposite.
For example: a bolt from the blue
This idiom means something unexpectedly and unpleasant “晴天霹靂”, if we
武漢理工大學(xué)碩士學(xué)位論文
05-10-1058 4
comprehend the idiom literally, “bolt” equals to “thunderbolt”, “blue” means a kind
of color, then this sentence is unreadable and untranslatable. Here “blue” actually
means good weather or blue sky.
We can say that semantic unity of English idiom refers to the meaning of idiom
whose meaning is a new meaning originated from the whole of constituent words, at
the same time, the constituent words lose their previous semantic independences
accordingly in the combination.
Let us see more examples:
★ To break the ice
★ Born with a silver spoon in one’s mouth.
The meanings of “to break the ice” “打破僵局” and “born with a silver spoon in
one’s mouth” “出身于富貴之家” have nothing to do with the original ones of the
constituent words.
★ The name of the game
The literal meaning of this idiom is “游戲的名稱”, but the idiomatic meaning is
“主要意思，確切意思”.
★ All in the day’s work
The literal meaning of this idiomatic phrase is “都在一天的工作中”, but the
idiomatic meaning is “經(jīng)常發(fā)生或可以意料得到的”.
★ Show the white feather
The meaning is not“顯出白色的羽毛”, but “表示膽怯”.
★ Bring down the house
The meaning is not “拆掉房子”, but “博得全場喝彩”.
In other words, the meaning of idioms cannot be deduced from its constituent
words. Many idioms share above-mentioned implied meanings. Such as “as mute as a
fish” “噤若寒蟬”, “as good as gold” “真乖”, “to pick holes in” “吹毛求疵”, “shoot
the breeze” “閑聊”, “blow one‘s mind” “使驚訝”, “play to the gallery” “討好觀眾”,
etc.
Although one or a few words of idioms keep their original meanings, if the
idioms are not comprehended within the context, the general connotations of idioms
cannot be clear. For example, among the idioms “plain sailing”, “to turn over a new
leaf”, “to face the music”, “sailing, turn over, face” still keep the original meanings,
but if the idioms are not treated as a unity, then the general meanings of those idioms
武漢理工大學(xué)碩士學(xué)位論文
05-10-1058 5
cannot be deduced as “一帆風(fēng)順” “改過自新” “臨危不懼”,
Semantic unity is universal feature of all idioms, which is also a criterion of
separating free phrase from fixed phrase – idiom, just as someone defines “idiom” as
“the use of familiar words in an unfamiliar sense”.
Usually the words of idiom cannot be added, omitted or replaced by synonyms
randomly, they have their own stability, once the constituent words of the idiom are
changed, or the orders of the constituent words are changed, the meaning of the idiom
will alter accordingly or the meaning is not sound at all.
For instances:
★ Kick the bucket 死掉，翹辮子
Mr. Jones kicked the bucket two days before his ninety-fourth birthday.
Here the idiom cannot be changed, no matter whether it is the order of the idiom
or substitution of the words (we cannot use “pail” to replace “bucket”). If we say,
“The bucket has been kicked by a cowboy”, then the sentence is not idiomatic.
★ Off the cuff 即興的，臨時的
She sang a few lines off the cuff.
Here in the sentence the “off” cannot be replaced by “on”( “on the cuff” means
“賒賬的”).
★ Have other fish to fry 另有要事
I was invited to the party, but I had other fish to fry.
In the idiom, the word “other” cannot be changed to “some”.
Let’s see more examples:
★ “Out of question ” “毫無疑問” is not equal to “out of the question” “不可能”.
★ “Stare somebody in the face”, “迫在眉睫” cannot be changed “to stare
somebody in his face” “盯著某人的臉”.
★ “As cool as a cucumber” “泰然自若” cannot be changed to “as cool as a
potato” or “as cool as a watermelon”.
★ “Bear in mind” “牢記”, “at short notice” “一旦接到通知”, no any article can
be added before “mind, notice”; on the other hand, in the idioms such as “fly into a
武漢理工大學(xué)碩士學(xué)位論文
05-10-1058 6
temper” “發(fā)脾氣”, “to tell the truth” “說實話”, “keep an eye on” “小心地看著”, the
articles can’t be changed or omitted at all.
★ “Diamond cut diamond” “棋逢對手”, in this idiom, “s” which stands for
third person singular never appears after “cut”. The idiom is formed in the long
history of language development, if “cut” ends with “s”, it is not idiomatic.
But in “like cures like” “以毒攻毒”, the verb “cures”, the third person singular,
cannot be changed to plural form.
★ “By twos and threes”, almost has the same meaning of Chinese idiom “三三
兩兩”, but we cannot change this idiom as “by threes and twos” as our Chinese
speaking habits.
We can’t deduce an idiom according to our imagination, just like “dead letter”
“形同虛設(shè)的規(guī)定”，there is no idiom as “living letter”; Also we cannot conjure the
sentence “the boat is on the same foot/leg” which is just based on the sentence “the
boat is on the other foot/leg” “情勢已逆轉(zhuǎn)，責(zé)任在他人”.
All in all, English idiom has its own stability of meaning and structure. During
the long history of human development, idiom becomes the speaking habits of people
gradually. Idiom is more stable than other English phrases semantically and
structurally. People cannot alter its structure and meaning freely.
English idiom is rich in figures of speech, almost every kind of rhetorical device,
like simile, metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, alliteration etc., can see itself in the
English idiom, among which metaphor appears most frequently.
The following is the detailed description:
(1) Alliteration
The word “Alliteration” originates from Latin “lettera”, it means “repeating and
playing upon the same letter”. As a figure of speech, alliteration refers to the
appearance of the same initial consonant sound of two or more words, which is used
to give emphasis to words that are related in meaning.
For instance:
武漢理工大學(xué)碩士學(xué)位論文
05-10-1058 7
★ Practice makes perfect . 熟能生巧。
★ Fine feathers make fine birds. 人要衣裝，佛要金飾。
★ Fortune favors fools. 傻子自有傻福。
★ Penny wise, pound foolish. 小事聰明，大事糊涂。
★ Care killed a cat. 憂慮傷身。
★ Death pays all debts. 一死百債了。
★ Better bend than break. 寧彎不折。
★ Many a little makes a mickle. 積少成多。
★ Never trouble trouble until trouble troubles you. 別自找麻煩。
★ Dump dogs are dangerous. 咬犬不吠。
★ Time and tide wait for no man. 歲月不等人。
★ Where there is a will, there is a way. 有志者事竟成。
★ No sweet without sweat. 不經(jīng)過艱苦就沒有安樂；流汗如漿，糧食滿倉。
★ He laughs best that laughs last. 誰笑到最后，誰笑得最好。
★ Spare the rod, and spoil the child. 孩子不打不成才。
★ Deliberating is not delaying. 深思熟濾不誤事。
★ Look before you leap. 三思而后行。
(2) Simile
Simile is a very simple and common figure of speech in English, which is a
comparison of one thing with another by using “as” or “like”. Its usual form is that A
is like / as B. By using simile, the writer aims to make an explicit interpretation of
some complicated matter, and impress readers deeply.
For example:
★ As rust eats iron, so care eats the heart. 銹能蝕鐵, 憂能傷人。
★ Use a book as a bee does flowers. 讀書如蜜蜂采蜜。
★ Proud as a peacock 洋洋得意
★ As fit as a fiddle 神采奕奕
★ As cool as cucumber 泰然自若
★ Critics are like brushes of noblemen’s clothes.
批評家好比刷子, 為偉人刷去衣服上的灰塵。
★ Falsehood like a nettle stings those who meddle with it.
謊言似蕁麻, 誰玩誰被扎。
★ Wit without learning is like a tree without fruit.
武漢理工大學(xué)碩士學(xué)位論文
05-10-1058 8
沒有學(xué)識的機(jī)智猶如沒有果實的樹。
★ A man of words and not of deeds is like a garden full of weeds.
光說話, 不做事, 就像花園長滿刺。
(3) Metaphor
Some people say that metaphor is another kind of simile that without “like” and
“as”. Metaphor is the use of a word which originally denotes one thing to refer to
another with a similar quality。It is also a comparison, but the comparison is implied.
Its usual form is “A is B”. English idioms are rich in metaphor.
The following are the examples:
★ Adversity is a good school-master. 逆境是個好教員。
★ War is Death’s feast. 戰(zhàn)爭是死神的筵席。
★ A good tongue is a good weapon. 能言善辨是一件精良的武器。
★ Confidence is a plant of slow growth. 信任是一棵難長的樹。
★ Time is money. 時間就是金錢。
★ Life is as shuttle. 生命短暫如梭。
★ Spill the beans (Let the cat out of the bag) 泄露秘密
(4) Metonymy
Metonymy is substituting the name of one thing for that of another with which it
is closely associated. Metonymy is different from simile or metaphor, it doesn’t
reflect the similarity between two things, but rather the close relationship between
them, which can enable the reader know what the writer want to imply. In other
words, the focus of metonymy is association, not similarity, the reader associates with
B once A is reminded. When metonymy is well used, brevity and vividness may be
achieved, such as:
★ The pen is mightier than the sword. 文比武強(qiáng)。
Here “pen” refers to the writer or works, and “sword” refers to soldier or arms.
★ A heavy purse makes a light heart. 錢包沉重，心情才輕松。
In this idiom, “purse” means money or material sufficiency.
Let’s see more examples:
★ One swallow does not make a summer.
獨(dú)燕不成夏(Swallow is one of the things related with summer, but only one
swallow appearing doesn’t mean the summer is coming)。
武漢理工大學(xué)碩士學(xué)位論文
05-10-1058 9
★ A cat in gloves catches no mice.
戴手套的貓捉不到耗子(means: 四體不勤的人干不成事)。
★ It is a long lane that has no turning.
路必有彎(means: 事情必有轉(zhuǎn)機(jī), 鼓勵人們不要失望)。
★ It is a sad house where the hen crows louder than the cock.
母雞司晨, 家門不興(means: 丈夫懼內(nèi)，老婆專權(quán)的家庭)。
★ It is the last straw that breaks the camel’s back.
駱駝負(fù)載過重, 加根草就能壓死(means: 不能使人忍受的最后一擊)。
★ A wolf in sheep’s clothing.
披著羊皮的狼(means: 花言巧語偽裝成朋友的兇惡敵人)。
★ It is good fishing in troubled water.
渾水摸魚(means: 一些心術(shù)不正的人乘混亂的時候撈一把)。
★ Caesar’s wife must be above suspicion.
凱撒之妻必須無可懷疑(means: 作為女人或者跟偉人有關(guān)系的人必須潔身
自愛。凱撒是古羅馬大將，其妻Pompeia 與P.Clodius 一案有所牽連，凱撒因此
遺棄了她)。
★ Bacchus has drowned more than Neptune and has killed more than Mars.
酒比大海淹死人更多，比戰(zhàn)爭殺人更多(Bacchus、Neptune 與Mars 分別是
希臘羅馬神話中的酒神、海神和戰(zhàn)神)。
(5) Synecdoche
When a part of one matter is substituted for the whole or the whole is substituted
for a part, synecdoche is applied. For example:
★ Many hands make light work. 人多好辦事。
★ Great minds think alike. 英雄所見略同。
★ Two heads are better than one. 三個臭皮匠, 頂個諸葛亮。
In the above sentences, “ hands” stands for man, “minds” for great person or
social elite, “heads” for thinking or mediation.
(6) Hyperbole
Hyperbole is one figure of speech with overstatement. It indicates the writer tries
to exaggerate the subject intentionally with plentiful imagination to show strong
affection, or to make the statement or description impressive and interesting.
For instances:
聯(lián)系客服
