第15-16讲 Proverbs and Sayings.pptVIP

Translation of Proverbs and Sayings Contents 1. Chinese English Proverbs and Sayings 2. Features of Proverbs 3. Translation Methods 4. Translation Practice Related part in the textbook: Section 2, Chapter 1 About Proverbs the glittering gems of the cultural treasure house Proverbs are short sentences drawn from long experience. (Cervantes--Spanish writer best remembered for ‘Don Quixote’which satirizes chivalry and influenced the development of the novel form (1547-1616) ) “Proverbs are daughter of daily experience.” (An English proverb) Proverbs are the cream of a nation’s thought. Proverbs are the wisdom of the ages. -- German The genius, wit and spirit of a nation are found in its proverbs. (Francis Bacon) Chinese English Proverbs Chinese Yanyu:“谚语是流传于民间的简炼通俗而富有意义的语句，大多反映人民生活和斗争的经验.” (《辞海》，1989) an old or common saying, especially, a sentence which briefly and forcibly expresses some practical truth, or the result of experience and observation. --Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary Chinese English Proverbs Chinese Yanyu: 谚语是在群众中间流传的固定语句，用简单通俗的话反映出深刻的道理. 如“三个臭皮匠，赛过诸葛亮。”，“三百六十行，行行出状元”，“世上无难事，只怕有心人” 。 (《现代汉语词典》，1993：1573) Proverbs are the collective wisdom of all nations, of all ages, of all times. A proverb typically expresses a commonplace thought in a succinct, often metaphorical way. (Gregory Titelman, Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings) Comparison English Proverbs are special idiomatic expressions on the sentence level. Chinese idioms on the sentence level comprise at least three major types: yan-yu, su-yu (or su-hua), xie-hou-yu. Of these three, xie-hou-yu, with its two-part constitution, probably a unique linguistic phenomenon in Chinese, can be easily distinguished from other two categories of Chinese sentence idioms. Features of Proverbs 1. terse and succinct 2. vivid and forceful 3. Pregnant with profound meaning. rhetoric features: rhyme, assonance, alliteration and antithesis instructive