文化差異對(duì)英漢成語(yǔ)對(duì)譯的影響及其翻譯策略

【Abstract】Idiom as a part of language， it is the necessary part of culture in every country， but for the readers， it is very important and complicated things to understand and use idiom correctly. Culture differences have essential influences on translation； the differences between Chinese and English culture have effects on Chinese-English idiom translation. First， this thesis shows the understanding of these two definitions of these ‘idioms’ both in English and Chinese. Second， this thesis shows you the range of these two terms. But the most important part must be the influences of culture differences which have influenced on different aspects； different people from different cultures may have different understandings of the same sentence because they know little about the target cultures. According to analyze these culture differences which have influenced the translation of English and Chinese idioms， the people should pay more attention to these elements carefully. At last， the author hopes that through her thesis everyone will know much more background information about Chinese and English countries， and also have a good understanding of different idioms which come from different cultures.

【Key words】idiom； culture differences； ranges； methods

1.Introduction

According to the record of past， BC 3000 year， the empire of yashu had a formal translation in words. In our country， in the past period， people can find some information from Donghan empire， which was to translate some Confucius classics in Buddhism ， the Buddhism translation from Dong han to tang dynasty， and also after that， China has IT translation during Ming dynasty and Western translation in “jingwen” .above all ，Chinese translation have three climaxes.

Idiom is an important reflection of the culture of a language. English and Chinese are both rich in idiom. Idiom contains plenty of cultural information， which includes a large number of cultural features and cultural backgrounds information. But there has differences in geographies， histories， religions， and beliefs， etc. Chinese and English idioms carry different national culture characteristics and culture information. So people should know these two languages' culture backgrounds clearly. This paper mainly talks about the cultural differences in English and Chinese idioms and some methods for the readers have a better understanding in different countries.

Different authors have different opinions for the translation of idioms， but they also have the same ideas， which is that no matter how they different， there are still some similarities， because of different geography， different nations， different religions， and also other differences. So when they translate such kind of idiom， they have their methods. The author of this paper also has some of her own personal methods for the idiom translation.

2. Definition of Culture

There is some information from the Internet. Culture refers to the cumulative deposit of knowledge， experience， beliefs， values， attitudes， meanings， hierarchies， religion， notions of time， roles， spatial relations， concepts of the universe， and material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of generations through individual and group striving. Culture is the systems of knowledge shared by a relatively large group of people.

In 1871 E.B. Taylor defined culture as \"that complex whole which includes knowledge， belief， art， morals， law， customs， and many other capabilities and habits acquired by...[members]of society.\" \"Culture means the total body of tradition borne by a society and transmitted from generation to generation. It thus refers to the norms， values， and standards by which people act， and it includes the ways distinctive in each society of ordering the world and rendering its intelligible. Culture is a set of mechanisms for survival， but it provides us also with a definition of reality. It is the matrix into which we are born： it is the anvil upon which our persons and destinies are forged.\"

2.1 Definition of Chinese “idiom”

The Chinese word “idiom” （chengyu） is often translated into \"idiom\". In Cihai （1989）， chengyu is defined as “set phrases\" which have been customarily used， mostly consisting of four characters\"； while shuyu refers to\" set phrases or sentences， whose structures are often established and can't be easily changed. Chinese idioms mainly include set phrases， proverbs， slang， two-part allegorical sayings （xiehouyu） and common sayings（suyu）.

2.2 Definition of English “idiom”

According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English， an “idiom\" refers to a phrase or sentence whose meaning is not clear from the meaning of its individual word and which must be learnt as a whole unit”. Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language （College Edition 2nd， 1972） defines “idiom” as an accepted phrase， construction， or expression contrary to the patterns of the language or having a meaning different from the language or having a meaning different from the literal. English idioms mainly include set phrases or expressions， colloquialism， proverbs and slang.

The New Oxford English Dictionary （2001） gives the definition for idiom： （1） a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words； （2） a form of expression natural to a language， person， or a group of people.