【中英翻译】汉语成语翻译的若干方法

汉语成语翻译的若干方法【摘 要】 汉语成语承载着中华五千年的文化特色和文化信息.而翻译并非只是两种语言之间的一种简单的对应转换过程，而是一种文化的交流和传递。因此，在汉语成语英译的具体操作过程中，首先要充分理解汉语成语的内在含义，灵活运用不同的翻译方法，对比英汉语言中习语（成语）的异同，进行适当的结构调整，将汉语成语所承载的文化特色和文化信息最大限度地传译给外国读者。帮助外国读者消除或减少语言及文化障碍就要求译者尽最大努力把汉语成语翻译成外国读者乐于接受的形式。与此同时要在英语中再现汉语文化，这是一个很大的挑战。把汉语成语翻译成英语，译者们掌握和熟悉两种语言以及其文化是非常重要的。他们必须从风俗和文化背景的角度，通过对汉语和英语语言学和文化差异的理解，尽量去把握成语的内在含义，从而使其观点与原文的精神相一致。本文简单介绍了汉语成语英译的几种方法。【关键词】 汉语成语，英语习语，翻译，文化内涵，源语，目标语Abstract Chinese idioms bear five thousand years of Chinese cultural characteristic and the cultural messages. Translation is not only one kind of simple correspondence switching process between two languages, but is one kind of cultural exchange and transmission. Therefore, translating Chinese idioms into English is a concrete operating process. First, the translators must fully understand the intrinsic meaning of the Chinese idioms; second, they should utilize several different translation methods nimbly and contrasts the similarities and differences between the English idioms and Chinese idioms; third, they should carry on the suitable structure adjustment and translate Chinese idioms which bear cultural characteristic and cultural information in maximum limit for the foreign readers. Helping the foreign readers eliminate and reduce language and cultural barrier requests the translator to work diligently to translate the form of Chinese idiom in the way that the foreign readers are glad to accept. At the same time, this is a very big challenge to reappear Chinese culture in English. To understand and translate Chinese idioms into English，it is very important for the translators to master and well acquaint themselves with the original language and the target language and their cultures. They should set out from the aspects of customs and cultural backgrounds and try to grasp the connotation of the original idiom by understanding linguistic and cultural differences between English and Chinese so as to make his version alike the original text in spirit. This article introduced several methods on translation of Chinese idioms concisely. Key Words Chinese idioms；English idioms；translation；culture connotation；original language；target language IntroductionAbout translation, the translation theoreticians have proposed many different viewpoints. In China, the most popular theory is Mr.Yanfus “faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance（信，达，雅）”while in the western countries, the most popular one is “equivalent value, equivalent effect and function equivalence（等值，等效，功能对等） ”.These viewpoints are mutually influenced and supplemented. Although the translators have different emphasis points, they all advocate that the translation must express the connotation of the original text faithfully and the style of the original work should reappear in translation. “所谓忠实表达原文的意义，应指忠实表达原文的字面意义，形象意义，隐含意义三个方面。” p（Socalled “expressing the indication of the original text faithfully”, is to express the wording meaning, the image meaning and the implied meaning of the original text faithfully.） But not all expressions, words, even characters in the original text simultaneously have these three kinds of meanings. Maybe some of them only have the wording meaning, but without the image meaning; some may have the wording meaning and the image meaning, but lack of the implied meaning. Any two languages are impossible to be all coordinated completely. Therefore, it is impossible to completely reproduce the three kinds of meanings of the original text. First, because the cultural differences produce the contradiction in the translation process, the wording meaning or the image meaning must obey the implied meaning. Second, the image meaning of the original text cannot be found in the target language. Sometimes the images are the same but the implied meanings are actually different. In this situation, what the translators need to consider first is the accurate expression of the implied meaning. The images of the original text should be changed into other images that the foreign readers are familiar with. Several methods of Chinese idiom translationThe existence of cultural differences brings certain difficulties to the cultural exchange. It is also the biggest barrier in the translation. When the translators translate one language to another, besides understanding the writing of these two languages thoroughly, the translators also have to understand the cultural differences between these two languages profoundly.In Chinese “Idioms” means that “成语：人们长期以来习用的，简洁精辟的定型词组或短句。汉语的成语大多由四个字组成，一般都有出处。有些成语从字面上不难理解，如小题大做，后来居上等。有些成语必须知道来源或典故才能懂得意思，如朝三暮四，杯弓蛇影等。” P （Since long ago the people have used habitually, concise and succinct words or short phrases. Most Chinese idioms are composed by four characters, generally all of which have the source. The meanings of Some idioms are available from the word writing, such as：小题大做and 后来居上; The meaning of some idioms should be got from its source or allusion.