習語翻譯的歸化與異化

摘 要：一般認為的直譯/意譯和歸化/異化的翻譯策略，前者主要注重翻譯過程中的語言形式，而后者既注重語言形式，又注重文化內涵。

關鍵詞：習語翻譯 規劃 異化

1．The brief introduction to idioms

Idiom is a speech form or an expression of a given language that is peculiar to it grammatically or cannot be understood from the individual meanings of its elements， as in keep tabs on. Idioms own two features: semantical integration and structural fixation.

2. Idioms with contextual backgrounds and respective strategies

When translating the idioms with cultural images， besides the strategy of foreignization， the translator should make paraphrasing or add notes for the images to make interpretation to the reader and introduce the cultural connotation of the original in a particular nation’s culture， to hit the intention of cultural communication.

Text meaning and strategy

Sometimes， the work of translation should be done in the light of the meaning of the contextual text on the whole， otherwise， the translation may not express the meaning properly or even misunderstand the original.

For example， “the two friends are hand-and-glove with each other.” It can be translated as “這兩個朋友情同手足。” However， compare the following one: “The reactionaries work hand-in-glove with the imperialists to suppress the national liberation movement.” This one can be translated in Chinese as: “反動派和帝國主義狼狽為奸，以鎮壓民族解放運動。” From the two examples above， the translator should be more careful about the exact meaning of the idiom according to the part of speech whether it is a derogatory term or a commendatory one in the framework of the contextual text. In the example here， the English idiom “hand-and-glove” itself has no any other part of speech， but when put into the context， sometimes it can express the different sentiment and social attitudes of the author. In this case， the translator should take care to adopt a proper way of processing the original， to represent the original faithfully and explicitly. In the first example， the translator employs “情同手足” as the counterpart for the idiom to describe the relationship between the two close friends in the strategy of domestication. In this example the translator only gives a statement of fact that they are good friends with positive personal sentiment. As for the second example， the author of the original himself/herself takes a wrathful sentiment in expression， so this requires the translator gives a proper process to show the wrath of the author. So the translator employ the Chinese idiom “狼狽為奸” as the counterpart of the translation， and also in the strategy of domestication. By using the proper process in the strategy of domestication， it retains the basic sentimental foundation of the original.

Text style and strategy

The strategy of domestication is applicable to translate text and evaluates the effects of the reader’s reading practice. While in some cases， because of the different communication intentions， the translator needs to make different process in order to achieve the optimal semantical effects. Besides， the translator should turn to the style of the original to choose the strategies of translation whether in the way of foreignization or domestication. Look at the following examples:

I’ve let the cat out of the bag already， Mr. Corthell， and might as well tell the whole thing now. (F. Norris)

我早已把隱秘泄露了出來，科西爾先生，干脆現在就把全部底情透露給你吧.

In this Chinese translation， the translator employs the way of domestication to achieve the semantic equivalence. In this example， if the translation applicants the way of foreignization “我早已把貓從口袋里放出來了”， it does respects the original culture， and have displayed this culture， but the connotation of sentence viewed from the whole article will be not so integrated， and can make a suspicion of close translation， which is the blind alley of translation. It is worthy for all the translators to take notice of such situation and avoid such kind of translation. However， here in this example， the contextual environment is humorous; otherwise， the speaker can’t use the idiom “let the cat out of the bag”. Therefore， according to the style of the original， the translation “我早已放貓出來了，科西爾先生，干脆現在就把全部底情透露給你吧” is recommended in this thesis， by employing the strategy of foreignization， and thereof keeps the original flavor to the utmost.

3. Conclusion

In translating idioms， the translator should take care to maintain the prototype of the original as much as possible in both form and semantics. Foreignization is the basic approach for translating them， while they should in the aids of connotations or notes expounded in the way of domestication. When necessary， the translator should employ the strategy of domestication to make a better translation.

參考文獻：

[1] 金惠康 跨文化交際與翻譯 中國對外翻譯出版公司 2003

[2] 謝天振 翻譯研究新視野 青島出版社 2003

[3] Peter Newmark 翻譯問題探討 上海外語教育出版社 2001

作者簡介：濮雪(1984-1)，女，漢，成都電子機械高等專科學校機械系輔導員，本科，2010年四川大學研究生在讀，主要從事思想政治教育和大學英語教育