英汉习语的文化差异及翻译.docVIP

【标题】英汉习语的文化差异及翻译 【作者】王秀芝 【关键词】习语;文化差异；翻译方法 【指导老师】杨珍雨 【专业】英语 【正文】I. IntroductionBritish anthropologist Edward gave the definition of culture in Primitive Culture. He pointed that culture is a complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, moral, law, custom, other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society. 1 The coverage of culture is broad. Language is the carrier of culture and idioms are the essence of language.English and Chinese are highly developed languages with a long history and a large number of idioms. Idioms are not only the core of a language but also an indivisible part of it. Given the differences in geography, history, religious beliefs and living customs, English and Chinese idioms carry different characteristics and cultural connotations. Cultural differences are the main difficulties to be addressed in the translation of idioms. It is difficult for both English and Chinese readers to understand the idiom translation thoroughly and exactly. For instance,?“to fall out” means?“to quarrel”, but neither?“fall” nor?“out” has a sense of quarrel. Another example is?“To kick the bucket or to bite the dust” means?“to die”. Not only do idioms appear largely in literary works, but also in political and scientific thesis. The quality of the idioms translation directly affects the whole translation. So it is essential to study the idioms and their methods of translation. This paper analyzes the cultural differences present in English and Chinese idioms and discusses literal translation, free translation and substitution which are the main techniques in the translation of idioms in English and Chinese.II. Introduction to Idioms?A. Definition of IdiomsThe language peculiar to a people or to a district, community, or class; the syntactical, grammatical, or structural form peculiar to a language. 2An expression in the usage of a language that is peculiar to itself and its meaning cannot be derived from the conjoined meani