從文化翻譯觀看漢語(yǔ)習(xí)語(yǔ)的英譯 英語(yǔ)學(xué)專(zhuān)業(yè)

從文化翻譯觀看漢語(yǔ)習(xí)語(yǔ)的英譯[Abstract]DomesticationandforeignizationarethetermsbroughtupbyanAmericanscholarL.Venutitodescribethetwodifferenttranslationstrategies.Theformerreferstotranslationinwhichatransparent,fluentstyleisadoptedinordertominimizethestrangenessoftheforeigntextfortargetlanguagereaders,whilethelatterdesignatesthetypeoftranslationinwhichatargettextdeliberatelybreakstargetconventionsbyretainingsomethingoftheforeignnessofthesourcetext.Translation,generallyspeaking,isnotonlyatransitionbetweendifferentlanguages,butalsotransferringinformationofcultureinthesourcelanguagetothatinthetargetlanguage.Andthenatureoftranslationisculturalcommunication.Since1980s,manyscholarsputforwardtheirownopinionsupondomesticationandforeignizationunderthelightofculturaltranslation.Intheiropinion,thefundamentaltaskoftranslationistotransfertheoriginalcontentsandculturescompletelyintothetargetlanguage.Duringtranslation,translatorsshouldconsidernotonlydifferencesbetweenlanguagesbutalsothosebetweencultures.Therefore,translatorsshouldputmoreemphasisonforeignization.TakeChineseidiomsforexample.Sincetheexchangesamongdifferentcountriesandregionsbecomemoreandmorefrequent,translatorsshouldputmoreemphasisonforeignizationintranslatingChineseidiomsintoEnglish.Duringtranslation,translatorsshouldfacsimileasmuchaspossibletheculturalfeaturesandconnotationsofChineseidioms.Inthisway,EnglishpeoplecanknowmoreandbetteraboutChinaandreallycontactwiththesophisticatedChineseculture.Meanwhile,tosomeextent,foreignizationcanhelptospreaduniqueChineseculturalmessageandevenhelptoenhanceculturalcommunicationbetweenChinaandforeigncountries.

[KeyWords]domestication;foreignization;culturaltranslationtheory;Chineseidioms

【摘要】歸化與異化是兩種不同的翻譯策略。譯界有許多學(xué)者對(duì)此發(fā)表了許多的觀點(diǎn)。歸化與異化之爭(zhēng)由來(lái)已久，從古至今，從西方到中國(guó)，歸化與異化都是學(xué)者譯者們爭(zhēng)論的熱門(mén)話題之一。翻譯基本上是一種語(yǔ)言轉(zhuǎn)換活動(dòng)但又不是一項(xiàng)純粹的語(yǔ)言轉(zhuǎn)換活動(dòng)，它還牽涉到種種非語(yǔ)言因素，特別是牽涉到種種文化因素。翻譯不僅是語(yǔ)言層面更是文化層面上的一種活動(dòng)，其本質(zhì)是文化交流。自20世紀(jì)80年代后，許多學(xué)者針對(duì)歸化與異化提出了應(yīng)該從文化角度來(lái)審視二者的觀點(diǎn)。孫致禮在《翻譯的異化與歸化》中提到:“翻譯的根本任務(wù)是準(zhǔn)確而完整地傳達(dá)原作的‘思想’和‘風(fēng)味’。在翻譯中，譯者不僅要考慮語(yǔ)言的差異，還要密切注視文化的差異，力求最大限度地保存原文所蘊(yùn)涵的異域文化特色。如果不是萬(wàn)不得已，特別不宜歸化，而要盡可能真實(shí)地傳達(dá)出來(lái)。”“歸化主要表現(xiàn)在‘純語(yǔ)言層面’，在‘文化層面’上則應(yīng)力求最大限度的異化。”以漢語(yǔ)習(xí)語(yǔ)為例，在當(dāng)今跨文化交流不斷發(fā)展的趨勢(shì)下，譯者在翻譯中應(yīng)多從文化的角度考慮，適度加以應(yīng)用“異化”策略及其方法，盡可能重現(xiàn)漢語(yǔ)習(xí)語(yǔ)的文化特征及內(nèi)涵，讓西方人更多更好地了解中國(guó)，接觸中華民族博大精深的文化，同時(shí)也有利于傳播中國(guó)獨(dú)有的文化氣息，進(jìn)而有利于實(shí)現(xiàn)中國(guó)與世界各國(guó)進(jìn)一步交流。

[關(guān)鍵詞]歸化;異化;文化翻譯觀;漢語(yǔ)習(xí)語(yǔ)1.

Onculturaltranslationtheory

Culturaltranslationisdiscussedinthebroadcontextofculture.Itincludesananalysisofthesurfaceanddeepstructuresofcultureandlanguage,andtheexaminationoftheinternalcontextbetweencultureandtranslationaswellastheobjectivelawspertainingtotheirinteraction.Inlate1980s,manyscholarsbegantogivetheirownopinionsontranslationfromtheperspectiveofculture.UmbertoEcoconsideredthattranslationequalstoculture,thatistosay,thetranslationactivityisakindofculturaltransportation.“LambertandRobynsheldthattranslationshouldbetreatedasnotonlyanactivitybetweentwolanguagesbutalsoacommunicativeactivitybetweentwocultures.Nidapointedout:foratrulysuccessfultranslation,biculturalabilityismuchmoreimportantthanbilingualability”[1]p70.Somescholarssuggestedthatculturebutnottextshouldberegardedasthetranslationunitandtranslatorsshouldpaymoreattentiontocultureduringtranslation.Tosomeextent,thoseviewsbecamesymbolsofformationofculturaltranslationtheory.

Differentcultureshavedifferentfeatures.Cultureindicatesanation,regionorarace’sfeature.Andthecommunicationofdifferentculturesneedstranslation.Translationistheproductionandintermediumofculturalcommunication.“Translationreflectsthefeaturesofbothcultureswhenonelanguageandcultureistranslatedintoanother.Andtheaimoftranslationistotransferthesourcecultureintothetargetculture”[2]p24.“WangZuoliangpointedout:Thedifferencebetweentwoculturesisthemostdifficultthingintranslation,sotranslatorsshouldhaveagoodknowledgeofboththeforeigncultureandthenativeculture.Themoretranslatorsunderstandtheculturalinformation,themorepossiblytheycanmasterthelanguageandreproducetheoriginalculture.HanZimanviewedthatthefeaturesofculturehaveaneffectonthewholetranslationactivitiesandtheviseversaisalsotrue”[3]p116.Therefore,thetransferenceofculturalinformationshouldplayakeyroleintranslation.

Inthebroadcontextofculture,translationmeansnotonlyonelanguagebeingtransferredintoanotherbutalsoacommunicationbetweentwocultures.Andthepurposeoftranslationistopromoteculturalcommunication.Translationisakindofculturalactivitythattranslatorsreproducetheoriginalcultureinthetargettext.Culturalinformationbutnotlanguageistheobjectoftranslation.“Duringtranslation,translatorsshouldtranslatethe‘form’and‘essence’oftheoriginallanguageintothetargetlanguagedirectlyandexactly.i.e.,translationshouldreservetheculturaldifferenceandreproducetheoriginal‘foreignness’asmuchaspossible”[4]p37.Here,“‘foreignness’meansthattranslationshouldkeepasmuchaspossibletheculturalfeaturesandinformationofthesourcetext”[5]p136.Allinall,inculturaltranslation,translatorsshouldtakecultureintoconsiderationandreconstructthesourcecultureasmuchaspossibleintothetargetlanguageduringtranslation.2.

Domesticationandforeignizationunderthelightofculturaltranslation

2.1Theoriginanddefinitionofdomesticationandforeignization

Thepairofterms,domesticationandforeignization,wasmentionedinTheTranslatorInvisibilitywrittenbyAmericanfamoustranslatorL.Venutiin1995,whichwereusedtodescribetwokindsoftranslationstrategies.TheirtakingoutwereonthebasisofGermanyphilosopherSchleierMarcher,whoviewedthatthereweretwokindsoftranslation,onewas“thetranslatorleavestheauthorinpeaceasmuchaspossible,andmovesthereadertowardhim.”theotherwas”thetranslatorleavesthereaderinpeaceasmuchaspossible,andmovestheauthortowardhim.”[6]p21.AccordingtoMarcher’sopinion,theformersentencereferstomeanthereader-orientedtranslationwhilethelattertheauthor-orientedone.Thereader-orientedtranslationreferstothetranslationthattranslatorspaymoreattentiontothetargetlanguagereaders’conventionsandunderstandingswhiletheauthor-orientedonemeanstothetranslationthattranslatorstakethesourcelanguageauthor’sideasandstyleintoaccount.However,heneverusedspecialtermstosummarizethem.ItwasSchuttleworthandCowiewhodefinedthem.Theygave“domestication”adefinitionas“atermusedbyVenutitodescribethetranslationstrategyinwhichatransparent,fluentstyleisadoptedinordertominimizethestrangenessoftheforeigntextfortargetlanguagereaders.”[7]p21Venuticonsideredthat“domestication”containedderogatorymeaning,because“itisidentifiedwithapolitycommonindominantcultureswhichare‘a(chǎn)ggressivelymonolingual,unreceptivetotheforeign’,andwhichhedescribesasbeing‘a(chǎn)ccustomedtofluenttranslationsthatinvisiblyinscribeforeigntextwith[targetlanguage]valuesandprovidereaderswithnarcissisticexperienceofrecognizingtheirowncultureinaculturalother”[8]p21.Inotherwords,accordingtoVenuti’sopinion,“domestication”usedintranslationindicatesthemeaningofthe“dominantculture”recombiningthelanguageandculturalfeaturesofthesourcetextwiththepurposeofdominatingthe“weakculture”.

For“foreignization”,SchuttleworthandCowiedefineditas“atermusedbyVenutitodesignatethetypeoftranslationinwhichatargettextisproducedwhichdeliberatelybreakstargetconventionsberetainingsomethingoftheforeignnessoftheoriginal.”Venutiregardeditasachallengingstrategyto“domestication”anditseffectisto“registerthelinguisticandculturaldifferenceoftheforeigntext,sendingthereaderabroad.”[9]p21Intranslation,translatorsshouldreservethelanguageandculturefeaturesofthesourcetext;therefore,readersofthetargettextcanfeelsome“strangeness”ofothercultures.

ThedefinitionofdomesticationandforeignizafionhaschangedwhentheyareintroducedintoChina.“Andthescopeofreferenceisenlarged.ItreferstonotonlythetranslationfromforeignlanguagestoEnglishbutalsothetranslationfromonelanguagetoanother,especiallyfromChinesetootherlanguages”[10]p22.What’smore,theelementsofculturalinequalityneverdrawpeople’sgreatattentionandevenareforgotten.

Fromtheexplorationanddiscussionmentionedabove,nowwecansumupdomesticationandforeignizationinthisway:theyaretwodifferenttranslationstrategiesusedbytranslatorsaccordingtodifferentaspectssuchasthedifferencebetweentwolanguagesandcultures,translationpurpose,typeoftext,intentionoftheauthorandreadersofthetargetlanguageetc.“Domestication”holdsthattranslationshouldbeinaccordancewiththetargetlanguageandcultureandgetridofthebarriersasmuchaspossiblesoastomeetthetargetlanguagereadersdemands;“foreignization”viewsthattranslationshouldreservetheculturalfeaturesofsourcelanguagesoastoenrichthetargetlanguageandcultureandmeetthetargetlanguagereaders’demandof“strangeness”.“Domesticationandforeignizationisapairofcomplementarytranslationstrategiesthatdon’trejectagainsteachother”[11]p68.2.2Foreignization-orientedstrategyunderthelightofculturaltranslation

Generallyspeaking,domesticatingtranslationgivesthereadermoreconvenienceandsavesthereadermuchtime.Intheglobalinformationage,convenienceandbriefnessbecomemoreandmoreimportant.Tosomeextentinformationismoneyandtimeismoney.Soitseemsthatweshouldusedomesticationstrategyasmuchaswecanintranslation.However,generallyspeaking,foreignizingtranslationgivesthereadermoreinformationthanthedomesticatingone.Fromtheperspectiveofinformationtheory,onlynewinformationisusefulinformation.Ifthetranslationcanonlyprovide“old”information,itisnotsovaluable.Supposingthesourcetextandthetargettextconveythesameinformation,thetargetreaderstillgetsomethingnewifwhatheorshereadsisaforeignizedtranslation.Meanwhile,withthedevelopmentofhightechnologyandtheimprovedmeansofcommunication,moreandmorepeoplewanttolearnforeigncultureandknowledgeandinassimilatingandlearningforeignlanguageandculture,foreignizationisusefulandessential.InChina,withthepolicyof“reformandopeningstotheworld”,Chinacommunicatesmorefrequentlywithforeigncountries.MoreandmoreforeignerstakegreatinterestinChinesecultureandurgentlywanttoacquireChinesecultureknowledge.Itisforeignizedtranslationthatcanmeetthisneedmuchbetter.Thereasonsareasfollows:

First,thenatureofforeignizationdeterminesthatitsdealingwiththeelementswithobviousculturalfeaturesinthesourcetextshouldinevitablyresultsinbringingsomenewexpressionsandculturalconnotationsinthetargettext,i.e.,bringingsome“foreignness”.Sinceexchangesamongdifferentcountriesbecomemoreandmorefrequently,nowadays,manysortsoflanguagesattainenrichmentstosomeextent.Andforeignizationtranslationplaysanimportantroleintheprocess.Forexample,termsandexpressionslike“Internet,Gene,blueprint,killingtwobirdswithonestone,crocodiletears”enrichedChineseand“qigong,taijiquan,kongfu,typhoon,tofu”etc.enrichedEnglish.Andtranslatorsuseforeignizationtomakemany“foreign”wordsgraduallybeacceptedandextensivelybespreadtothepublic.Insomeway,foreignizationisbeneficialforabsorbingnewelementsofforeignlanguage.Oncetheywereaccepted,expressionsofthetargetlanguagewouldbeenrichedandcommunicationfurtherpromoted.

Inaddition,thegapsamongdifferentcountriesbecomesmallerandsmallerbecauseoffrequentinternationalcommunicationinpolitics,economics,culture,etc.Andglobalizationisalsobecomingthetendencyofsocialdevelopment.Therefore,knowingmoreaboutforeigncountriesbecomesaninevitablepartoflife.Foreignizationisbeneficialnotonlyforintroducingnativeculturetoforeignersbutalsoformakingnativepeoplebefamiliarwithforeigncultures.Inthisway,peoplefromdifferentcountriescancommunicatewitheachotherbetter.Forexample,if“鐵飯碗”and“下?！盿retranslateddirectlyinto“ironricebowl”and“tojumpintotheseaofbusiness”,thetranslationsreservetheimageaswellasthemeaningofthesourcelanguage.Meanwhile,theuniqueChineseculturehasbeenintroducedtoEnglishreaders.TakeanEnglishidiom“topaintthelily”asanotherexample.Ifitistranslatedinto“多此一舉”,thesymbolicmeaningof“l(fā)ily”inwesterncountrieswouldnotbeknowntotheChinese.Soitisbettertotranslateitinto“為百合花上色”sothatChinesepeoplecanknowthesymbolicmeaningof“l(fā)ily”andsomemoreaboutwesternculture.

Foreignization,insomeway,hasanactiveeffectoncross-culturalcommunication.However,sometranslatorsusuallytakethereaders’acceptableabilitiesintoaccounttoturnagainstit.Theyconsiderthatreadersmayfeeldifficulttounderstandorevenmisunderstandthesourcetextinaforeignizedtranslation.Infact,readersareactive.Iftheyfindsomeforeignelementsinthetranslationthattheyhavenevercontactedbefore,theywilltrytounderstandandacceptitactivelyintermsofthecontextsornotes.Inthisway,theyalsocanenrichtheirownreadingexperience.Withtheincreasingdevelopmentofculturalcommunication,targetreadersshouldbecomemoreandmoreinterestedinforeignculture,sotosomeextent,domesticationisnotgoodforreaderstoknowmoreculturalinformationofthesourcelanguage.Therefore,translatorsshouldbelieveinthecapabilityofthetargetreaders.Intheend,itisnecessarytopointoutthatputtingmoreemphasisonforeignizationdoesn’tmeantodenyorrejectdomestication,forboththetwostrategiesareapairofcontradictoryunity.However,withthedevelopmentofculturalglobalization,puttingmoreemphasisonforeignizationwillbemorehelpfulfortheculturalcommunicationamongdifferentnations.Venutithoughtthatfluentdomesticatingtranslationmadetranslatorssufferfrom“invisibility”andthedifferencebetweencultureshadalsobeencovered,sothetargetlanguagereaderswilllose“strangeness”,i.e.,“thetargetlanguagereaderscannotfeeltheoriginalstyleandculturaldifferencesindomesticatingtranslation”[12]p25.SunZhilistatedthatdomesticationmainlyembodiesin“thelevelofpurelanguage”andforeignization“inthelevelofculture”.“Sincetheexchangesofculturalinformationamongdifferentcountriesbecomemoreandmorefrequentandpeoplefromallovertheworldcommunicatewitheachotherincreasinglyfrequently,foreignizationshouldbeforegrounded”[13]p42.Inmyopinion,foreignizationshouldbeconsideredmoreinordertoreproduceculturedifferencesinthetargetlanguage.3.

IntranslatingChineseidiomsintoEnglish,foreignizationshouldbetheleadingtranslationstrategy

3.1ForeignizationishelpfultoreproduceChinesecultureintranslatingChineseidioms

ChineseidiomsmainlycomefromChineseancientfables,fairytales,historicaleventsandallusions.TheybearrichandcolorfulChineseuniqueculture.Sincetheopen-doorpolicyhasbeenissuedandculturalcommunicationbetweenChinaandforeigncountriesbecomesmoreandmorefrequent,ChineseculturehasbeengraduallyunderstoodandacceptedbymoreandmoreforeignersandChineseidioms,asonepartofChineseculture,alsohavebeenappreciated.Therefore,thetranslationofChineseidiomsbecomesanimportantpartoftranslationofculture.IntranslatingChineseidiomsintoEnglish,translatorsshouldreserveChinesecultureandreproduceitintargettexts.Andtranslatorsshouldchooseforeignizationasthefirsttranslationstrategy,forforeignizationishelpfultoreproducetheculturalfeaturesandinformationofChineseidiomsintranslation.Thatistosay,intranslatingChineseidiomsintoEnglish,translatorsshouldreserveasmuchaspossibletheculturalfeaturesofChineseidiomsandtranslatetheconnotationsofthemaswell.IftranslatorschoosedomesticationintranslatingChineseidiomsintoEnglish,itwouldbeunlikelyforEnglishreaderstocontactwiththeculturalflavorofChineseidioms.Meanwhile,itwouldnothelptoretainChinesecultureandpromoteculturalcommunication.

Take“巧媳婦難為無(wú)米之炊”asanexample.Ifitistranslatedinto“Eventhecleveresthousewifecan’tmakebreadwithoutflour.”ChineseculturalfeatureshavefailedtoberetainedthoughEnglishreaderscanunderstanditeasily.Inthisway,Englishreaderswillnotknowwhat“rice”meanstoChinesepeopleandeventhinkthat“bread”isthemainfoodofbothChineseandthemselves.Ifso,itwillnotgoodforcommunicating.Therefore,theidiomshouldbetranslatedinto“Eventhecleveresthousewifecan’tcookamealwithoutrice.”Inthisway,theculturalconceptof“rice”isreservedandtheculturalfeatureoftheidiomisreproduced.Hereisanotherexample,“窮棒子鬧翻身是八仙過(guò)海各顯神通”.Itcanbetranslatedinto“Thewaywepoorfolkstrytoemancipateourselves,isjustlikethewaytheEightFairiescrossedtheseaeachdisplayinghisowntalent.”[14]p143-144Inthisway,theimageof“theEightFairies”hasbeenreservedandtheconnotationsofit“eachdisplayinghisowntalent”hasbeentranslated.Ofcourse,translatorscanaddanextraexplanationtointroduce“八仙”toEnglishreadersforknowingmoreabouttheidiom,i.e.,“TheEightFairies”istheeightimmortalsofTaoisminChinesefolklore.Perhaps,somepeoplewilldoubtthatEnglishreadersmayhavedifficultyinunderstandingandevenmisunderstandsomeidiomsiftheyaretranslatedinthisway,fortheculturaldifferencesbetweenChineseandEnglishreallyexist.Inmyopinion,translatorsshouldnotbeworriedaboutit.TheyshouldbelieveinthewisdomandimaginationofEnglishreaders.Furthermore,ittakestimeforonetoachieveunderstanding.Withthedevelopmentofculturalcommunication,misunderstandingwilldisappearandEnglishreaderswillfinallyacceptit.Therefore,translatorsshouldputtheemphasisoncross-culturalcommunicationandtrytoreservetheculturaldifferencesandreproduceasmuchastheuniqueculturalfeaturesofChineseidioms.3.2SeveralcommonlyusedtechniquesofforeignizationintranslatingChineseidioms

3.2.1Literaltranslation

InthetranslationofChineseidioms,literaltranslationmeansthatintheconditionofnotinvadingtheEnglishculturalconventionsandnotcausingthemisunderstandinganddisassociations,translationshouldcompletelypreservetheimage,figurativeandculturalfeaturesofChineseidiomsinordertopursuetheconformityofboththecontentsandexpressions[15]p70.

Chineseidioms,asweknow,containoneofthedeepestculturesofChinese.Itbearslotsofculturalfeaturesandmessage.Therefore,translatorsshouldhaveadeepknowledgeofChineseidiomsbeforedoingtranslation.WiththecorrectunderstandingofChineseidioms,translatorsshouldtranslatetheidiomswiththeguideofculturalreproduction,thatistosay,translatorsshouldretainculturesoftheidiomsintoEnglish.Duringtranslation,translatorsshouldtranslatenotonlytheimageandmeaningoftheidiomsbutalsotheculturalconnotations.

(1)七嘴八舌－withsevenmouthsandeighttongues

TheChineseidiom“七嘴八舌”maybetranslatedinto“havealoosetongue”.Ifso,Englishreadersmayknowthemeaningeasily.However,theycannotperceiveparticularwayChinesepeopleusetodescribe“noisy”.Ifitistranslatedinto“withsevenmouthsandeighttongues”,Englishreadersmaytakemuchmoreinterestinitandtrytounderstandwhat“sevenmouthsandeighttongues”reallymeans.Inthisway,notonlywilltheyfindoutitsmeaningsoonerorlater,theyalsocanreallylearnmoreaboutChineseculture.

(2)東風(fēng)壓倒西風(fēng)－theeastwindsubduedthewestwind

“東風(fēng)壓倒西風(fēng)”,itisusuallytranslatedinto“theeastwindsubduedthewestwind”or“theeastwindprevailsthewestwind”vialiteraltranslation.Here,theimageof“東風(fēng)”and“西風(fēng)”hasbeenkeptintranslation.MaybesomepeopledoubtthatEnglishreaderscannotunderstandit,for“thewestwind”inEnglandisdifferentfromthatinChina,andtheymaynotknowwhat“theeastwind”is.Infact,reservingtheimageof“東風(fēng),西風(fēng)”istocarryoutthedifferencebetweenChineseandEnglish.Becauseofthedifference,weneedcommunication,andwiththecommunication,EnglishreaderscanreallyknowwhattherealChinesecultureiscontainedintheidiom.Therefore,translating“東風(fēng)壓倒西風(fēng)”directlyintoEnglish,fromtheviewoftranslationofculture,isacceptableandnecessary,forthewholemeaning,imageandculturebehindithavebeenreservedandspreadintranslation.

(3)一寸光陰,一寸金－aninchoftimeisaninchofgold

Inaddition,translatorsshouldtranslatenotonlythedenotationsbutalsotheconnotationsofChineseidioms.“一寸光陰,一寸金”shouldbetranslatedinto“aninchoftimeisaninchofgold”.Here,“gold”isoneofthemostpreciousmetalsinChina,so“time”is“gold”.Butinwesterncountries,peoplethink“money”isthemostimportantarticleinlife.ThereisasayinginEnglish:“timeismoney”.Infact,themeaningofthetwosayingsisthesame.However,“aninchoftimeisaninchofgold”isabettertranslation,fortheculturalinformationof“一寸光陰一寸金”canbetransferreddirectlyandfaithfullyintoEnglishandthefeaturesofChineseculturehasbeenreproducedintranslation.

Fromtheexamplesmentionedabove,wecanseethatliteraltranslationisthefirstchoiceoftranslatingChineseidioms,foritcannotonlyreservetheimage,styleandmeaningofChineseidiomsbutalsoreconstructChineseculturalfeaturesandinformationasmuchaspossible.3.2.2Literaltranslationwithanote

Fromtheviewofculturaltranslation,translationistopromotethecommunicationofculture,soduringtranslatingChineseidiomstranslatorscantranslatetheidiomsdirectlyfirstandthenplusanotetopresentthereadersthestorieslyingbehindtheidiomssoastoenhanceunderstanding.Tosomeextent,itwillmakeEnglishreadersknowmoreaboutChineseculturequicklyandclearlyandeventakemoreinterestsinChinesecultureexistsbehindtheidioms.ThiswillbealsohelpfultopromoteculturalcommunicationbetweenChineseandEnglish.Hereareafewexamples:

(4)“難道這也是個(gè)傻丫頭,又像顰兒來(lái)葬花不成?”因又自笑道“若真也葬花,可謂東施效顰了;不但不為新奇,而是更是討厭”(DreamoftheRedChamber,Chapter34).

東施效顰－DongShiimitatingXiShi

Here,“東施效顰”shouldbedirectlytranslatedinto“DongShiimitatingXiShi”inordertoletEnglishreaderstrulycontacttheimageoftheidiom.Afterthat,translatorsmaygiveasimpleintroductionabout“東施效顰”.i.e.,DongShiimitatingXiShi,whichisaZhuangzi'sstoryofthebeautifulXiShi'suglyneighbor,whoendeavorstoimitatethelittlefrownthatpeopleranfromherinterror.Inthisway,Englishreaderscanknownotonlywho“DongShi”and“XiShi”arebutalsowhattheidiomreallymeans.Inthisway,Chineseculturecanbereproducedclearlyintranslation.

(5)葉公好龍－LordSheh’sloveofdragons

“葉公好龍”,hereitcanbetranslatedinto“LordSheh’sloveofdragons”andaconciseexplanationcanbeaddedafterit:Shehwassofondofdragonsthatheadornedhiswholepalacewithdrawingsandcarvingsofthem,butwhenarealdragonheardofhisinfatuationandpaidhimavisit,hewasfrightenedoutofhiswits.

(6)破鏡重圓－abrokenmirrormadewholeagain

“破鏡重圓”shouldbetranslatedinto“abrokenmirrormadewholeagain”.However,Englishreadersmayfeelpuzzledaboutthemeaningandcannotunderstandwhyabrokenmirrorcanbe“wholeagain”.Soashortnoteisneeded:IntheNorthernandSouthernDynastieswhentheStateofChen(A.D.557－589)wasfacingitsdemise,XuDeyan,husbandoftheprincess,brokeabronzemirrorintohalves.Eachofthemkeptahalfastokensincasetheywereseparated.Soonafterwards,theydidlosetouchwitheachother,butthetwohalvesofthemirrorenabledthemtobereunited.Inthisway,theidiom’sdeepermeaningcanbeknownexpressively.3.2.3Literaltranslationwithadditionalremarks

Thiskindofmethodisdifferentfromtheaboveone.Insomeway,theimagesandculturalmeaningsofidiomscanbedirectlytransferredintoEnglishduringtranslation.Additionalremarksusuallyembodiesinphases,oneortwoshortsentences.

(7)目不識(shí)?。璷nedoesnotrecognize丁,oneofthesimplestcharacterinChinese

Somepeopleconsiderthatthecharacter“丁”shouldbetranslatedinto“ABC”.However,“丁”reflectstheuniqueChinesecharacterculture.Ifitistranslatedinto“ABC”,theexactmeaningof“丁”andtheculturebehinditcannotbereconstructedexplicitlyinEnglish.Ontheotherhand,forthesakeofmakingEnglishreadersunderstandandknowmoreaboutChinesecharacters,abriefillustrationisneededhere.Thecharacter丁isaverysimpleonefortheChinese.Byexplaininginthisway,thereadercangettheconnotationwhileperceivingtheimageofChinesecharacter.

(8)泥菩薩過(guò)河－theclayidolfordingtheriver

“泥菩薩過(guò)河”itisaspecialChineseidiom.Translatorscanfirstlytranslateitdirectlyinto“theclayidolfordingtheriver”.Suchatranslationpreservesthevividfeatureoftheidiom.Andsecondly,translatorsshouldpulseanadditionalremarktoexplaintheexactmeaningoftheidiom,i.e.,“itismorethanonecandotosavehimselffromdisaster.”Inthisway,thefeaturesofChineseculturecanberetainedintranslationandEnglishreadersalsocanappreciatethewholeidiombetter.

(9)臨時(shí)抱佛腳－toembraceBuddha’sfeetinone’shourofneed—toseekhelpatthelastmoment

Inwesterncountries,manypeoplebelieveinChrist.Therefore,theycannoteasilyunderstandwhat“臨時(shí)抱佛腳”reallymeansifitistranslatedinto“toembraceBuddha’sfeetinone’shourofneed”.Perhapstheywouldbeconfusedaboutwhat“Buddha’sfeet”is.Soashortexplanationisnecessarilyaddedafterit,thatis,“toseekhelpatthelastmoment”.Byillustratinginthisway,theyca