[江十六大翻译例子.doc

Topic 25 The Translation of Chinese Idioms and Four-Character Phrases into English 汉语成语及 “四字格” 的英译 Teaching aims: to master the techniques of translating Chinese idioms Main Language points: 1. The translation of Chinese idioms 2. The rendering of four-character phrases Difficult teaching points: the strategies of translating Chinese idioms Teaching references: 1. 孙致礼，新编英汉翻译教程2. 陈宏薇，新编汉英翻译教程 3. 彭长江英汉－汉英翻译教程 Teaching methods: Analysis and Practice Time arrangement: 2 periods What is an idiom? To quote Li Fu-ning, “An idiom is an element of a language that possesses a unique way of expression based on its time-honoured use.” In other words, an idiom is a fixed group of words or a single word, or even a sentence, with a special meaning that cannot be guessed from its structure. That is to say, the meaning of an idiom must be learned as a whole. In English Idioms and How to Use Them J. Seidle et al point out that idioms “ are not a separate part of the language which one can choose either to use or omit, but they form an essential part of the language.” The Chinese equivalent for idioms is “成语” or “习语”, or even “熟语”. Now let’s look at the definition of an idiom(成语) in 汉英双解《现代汉语词典》： “ 【成语】人们长期以来习用的、简洁精辟的定型词组或短句。有些成语大多由四个字组成, 一般都有出处。有些成语从字面上不难理解, 如 ‘小题大做’、 ‘后来居上’等。有些成语必须知道来源或典故才能懂得意思, 如 ‘朝三暮四’、 ‘杯弓蛇影’等。idiom; concise and meaningful phrases or short sentences that have been in long public usage. Most Chinese idioms have a historical origin and consist of four Chinese characters. The meanings of some are obvious e.g. ‘trivial topic, long article’ and ‘late comers become the first,’ but some can be understood only by knowing their sources, or the stories behind them, e.g. ‘three in the morning, four in the evening’ and ‘the shadow of a bow in a cup mistaken for a snake’”. Actually, “朝三暮四” means “blow hot and cold” or “chop and change”.And yet, in a definite context it can be rendered flexibly: 而且这规则是不像现在那样朝三暮四的。( 《鲁迅全集》) All these rules, unlike those we have today