成语英译纵横谈（教授论文精粹）.doc

汉语成语英译纵横谈江丽容摘要：中华文化上下五千年，语言极为丰富，成语、谚语、歇后语以及备种俗语源远流长 其中尤以格式固定、结构稳定的成语在汉语言宝库中位置举足轻重英语同样是世界历史悠 久的语言，成语、习语构成其特定的内涵，在中西文化交流，尤其在翻译中汉英成语若能恰 当地对等运用，能起到“横看成岭侧成峰”的效果因此木文试图站在跨文化角度谈谈汉语成 语的英译关键词：成语翻译对等跨文化汉语成语的定义为：言简意赅，生动形彖，内涵丰富，比一般词语有着更强的表现力，是历 来为人们所喜欢用的一种精粹的语言材料更广义讲：“凡是具有特定含义的定型词纽•，已 经约定俗成，被书面语所接受了的，就是成语不管它原来是俗语、谚语、歇后语，还是政 治口号、科学术语等等,只要进入书曲作为成语运用的,一律总称成语"(陈文们,《英语成 语与汉语成语》，外语教学与研究出版社1982： 10)o有人认为，一个翻译工作者遇到的最 大的困难Z—就是成语翻译，因而成语的翻译乃至其可译性(translatability)与不可译性 伽translatability)就是人们争论的焦点笔者认为成语来源于生活，也是实际生活的反 映，是可以用另一种语言所表现的，因而成语是可译的，只是成语的翻译要根据形式与内容 统一的原则，具体情况具体分析，采取不同的译法。

一、汉英对应的成语许多汉英成语在内涵(connotation)和处延(exlension)上部有相对丿应的表达方式，对等翻译能使 语言生动活泼，并富于形象，达到异1111同工Z效果，也使译文读者有一种身临其境的感受1、汉萸成语字面上的对等有些成语按原文的字面翻译，或借用英语类似的成语，其比喻效果同原文一样生动，这类成 语本身就能使读者很快联想起英文中的对等词语如：打草惊蛇 beat the grass to frighten away the snake(相当于 wake a sleeping wolf /dog)对牛弹琴 play the lute in front of the cattle(相当于 cast pearls before swine)画蛇添足 draw a snake and add feet to it（相当于 paint the lily ）守 口 如瓶 keep one's mouth closed like a covered bottle（相 当于 keep one's mouth shut）挥金如土 spend money like dirt（相当于 spend money like water）雪 中送炭 send charcoal in snowy weather（相当于 help a lame dog over a stile ）易女口反掌 be as easy as the turning over one's hand（相当于 as easy as falling of a log ）掌上明珠 a pearl in the palm（相当于 the apple of one's eye）"守口如瓶'直译一般为"keep one's mouth like a bottle”（如《汉英词典》,四川人民出版社, 1996,下同；《实用翻译教程》等），瓶子各式各样，也可能是没有封口的，建议改译为“keep one's mouth like a covered bottle二2、汉英成语意义上的对等不少汉语成语不一定有非常对等的英语成语，但按照它们的字面意义翻译也能使译文读者得 到正确无谋的形象意义。

如：调虎离山 lure the tiger from the mountain攻其不备 strike sb when he is unprepared牢不 nJ破 be so strongly built as to be indestructible了如指掌 know sth like the palm of one's hand井底之蛙 be like a frog at the bottom of a well口 蜜腹剑 be honey-mouthed and dagger-hearted声东击西 shout in the east and strike in the west史无前例 be without precedent in history3、根据成语的实际意义寻找对应的英语成语有些成语照字面翻译译文读者难以接受，达不到交际H的搞翻译的人都知道曾有人将“胸 有成竹”译成"have a bamboo in his stomach",闹了场笑话这条成语出(］苏轼原语，意思是 说画家在画竹Z前，先必须在脑了里产生竹的形象，比喻在做事Z前心中已有了全面的考虑 只要理解了原总，就不难翻出它的比喻总义应该是"have a well-thought-out plan before doing sth", -与之意义相等有一条英语成语是“have a card up one's sleeve",由此看出成语翻译切忌 望文生义。

又比如"眉飞色舞",如果直译为"his eyebrows are flying and his countenance is dancing",译文读者就会莫明其妙，不知所云翻译时最好将成语的实际意义译出，即"to beam with joy”再看下面的例了 ：粗枝大叶 be crude and careless (直译：with big branches and large leaves)暗送秋波 make secret overture (o sb (肓译：make sheep eyes to sb)扬眉吐气 feel proud and elated (直译：raise the eyebrows and let out a breath)单枪匹马 be single-handed in doing sth (直译:a single rifle and a horse)灯红酒绿 dissipated and luxurious C克译：red lantern and green wine )开门见山 come straight to the point (JI译：open the door and see the mountain )海阔天空 an endless vast /talk at random (H译：boundless sea “nd sky )大张旗鼓 on a large and spectacular scale (直译：so many flags and drums)“海阔天空‘‘有两层含义，一是形容空间或境界广阔，译成an endless vast,如：“中国有句 占话：退一步,海阔天空。

"There is an old Chinese saying , draw back a step and you511 find an endless vast before you.二是比喻说话议论漫无边际，没有中心，英语对应的成语是talk at random.如："他吹得海阔天空，我几乎都不懂"He just talked at random , I could hardly und erstand.二、带有文化背景与典故的成语汉语言文化具有深厚的史学积淀，因而有相当一部分成语带有一定的中国文化背景有的成 语在字面上就会有中国古代的人名、地名，有的出自离言或历史典故特别是中国几部史书 与名著,如《论语》、《史记》、《封神演义》、《三国演义》、《红楼梦》、《西游记》、《水浒》都 闻名世界翻译这类成语最好注明岀处，以便译文读者能更好地理解同时，英语成语中也 有不少成语带有文化背景，如运用适当，更能使两种文化相互渗透，增加译文读者对中国传 统文化的认同如： 林;弓蛇彩 afraid of one's shadow (see a serpent's shadow in a wine cup) 八仙过海 vie with each other (like the 8 Immortals [in Chinese legendary story] cross the sea)东施效颦 blind imitation with ludicrous effect (just like Dong Shi, an uglywoman, knitting her brows in imitation of the famous beauty Xi Shionly to make herself all the uglier)黄粱美梦 vanished dream/a fool\ paradise (golden millet drearnffrom a Chinese old story])叶公好龙 professed love of what one really fears ( Lord Ye's love of drag on [from a Chin ese tale])初 出茅庐 just have first experience in(from The Roma nee of the Three Kingdoms)充耳不闻 turn a deaf year to (from the Bible)进退纟隹谷 between the devil and deep sea ( Greek mythology: between Scylla and Charybdis)三、表现民俗民风的成语这类成语多由习语、谚语、惯用语等提炼而成，在文章与谈话中时有出现，如果使用得当， 可能使语言鲜明生动，大增光彩。

翻译这类成语时同样要考虑中西文化的并异和风俗习惯的 不同，多采用意译1、日常生活类,如:此地无银三TJ两 A guilty person gives himself away by conspicuouslyprotesting his innocence・巧妇难为无米Z炊 One cant make bricks out of straw.情人眼里出西施 Beauty lies in the lover's eyes.彳、到黄河心不死 not stop until one reaches one's goal病疾乱投医 consult anybody when in a desperate situation天右 彳、测丿M云 A storm may rise from a clear sky. / Something unexpected may happen tmy time・ 2、劳动人民在长期与自然的斗争中增长了智慧，因而有不少表现智慧的成语如: 车到山前必有路 Things will eventually sort themselves out.吃一堑，长一智 a fall into the pit, a gain in your wit前车之鉴 a lesson to remember / burn one's fingers明枪暗务鸽 an open spear thrust and an arrow in the dark三个臭皮匠，顶个诸葛亮 three cobblers with their wits combined equal Zhuge Liang, the master mind三思而后 行 think thrice before you act / look before leap3、 对形势的判断。