英汉习语间的文化差异及翻译(一)(2)

 
 It is quite difficult to give a clear definition to the word “idiom”, for it possesses several meanings, which might cause us confusion. It may mean the language of a people or a country, or a dialect, or a linguistic usage that defies grammatical analysis. But the most suitable definition for this paper is as follows: “Idiom is an expression established in the long usage of a language that is peculiar to itself either in grammatical construction or in having a meaning that cannot be derived as a whole from the conjoined meanings of its elements.” English idioms, in a broad sense, include idiomatic phrase, proverbs, colloquialisms and slang. In comparison, the Chinese equivalent for “idiom” is “熟语”. It means a kind of set phrase or sentence, which, like a stock expression, is often quoted by the common people. Chinese idioms can be roughly divided into “成语”(set phrases),“俗语”(common sayings),“谚语” (proverbs),“歇后语”(a two-part allegorical saying),and “粗俗语”（vulgar expression).
2.3 Relationship between idiom and culture
 As has been noted, an idiom is the essence of a language. Therefore, the relationship between idiom and culture is just like the relationship between language and culture. First of all, language is a part of culture, but not the full content of culture, since material culture is manifested by man’s productions. Furthermore, language mirrors culture. The most important function of language is to reflect productions made by humankind, people’s outlook on life and the development of a community. Last but not least, language is influenced and shaped by culture. The development of culture promotes the creation of new words and expressions in a language. Besides, every aspect of culture, either material or spiritual, influences language directly. Owing to this kind of close relationship, language is described as the carrier of culture and the mirror of cultural characteristics. Therefore, idioms, the refined part of language, are influenced deeply by culture. They are culturally characterized. As is well known, different nations possess different cultures. As a result, idioms of different nations must be affected by their peculiar cultures.
III. Cultural Differences Reflected in English and Chinese Idioms
 Every nation has its own way of living and thinking, cultural environment and traditional culture. Because of this, the cultural information reflected by different languages is quite different. Both Chinese and English have plenty of idioms. Some of them are in the same meanings or are quite similar with each other. But in most cases, they are quite different from each other just because they are the products of different cultures. If we do some comparison work, we would see many interesting examples.
3.1 Differences in Natural Environments
 In a strict sense, natural environments are not cultural. They are introduced here on the consideration that they interact with the ways of material production and consumption of a culture and sometimes seriously affect the existence of culture. The value of culture is to inspire people to adapt themselves to the environment. If one wants to survive in the Arctic Pole, he should learn Eskimo culture, eat raw foods and live in igloo. This is a kind of cultural behavior, so environments are more or less related to culture.
3.1.1 Geographical conditions and features reflected in idioms
 As we all know, idioms have a strong color of nation. It’s so difficult to understand most of idioms for foreigner. For example, Britain is an island country, with Atlantic Ocean to the west and north, the English Channel to the south and the North Sea to the east, so British culture can be regarded as sea culture. There are a lot of idioms about sea and ocean.
 e.g. (1) all at sea: confused, not known what to do不知所措
 (2)a drop in the ocean: a quantity too small to make any improvement沧海一粟
 (3)between the devil and deep sea 进退两难
 The long and bendy coastline promotes British sailing and fishing, so idioms of this kind are in large quantities.
e.g. (1) plain sailing: a course of action that is free from difficulties一帆风顺
 (2) when one’s ship comes home/in: when one has become successful功成名就
 (3) a big fish: an important and influential person大亨
 (4) a fresh fish: a new prisoner新囚犯
 (5) a poor fish: a foolish person愚蠢易欺的人
 On the other hand, China has been a large continental country, only with seas to its east, and is chiefly based on agriculture. So a great number of Chinese idioms are derived from agricultural production.
 (1) 种瓜得瓜,种豆得豆: As you sow, so will you reap.
 (2) 瑞雪兆丰年: A snow year, a rich year.
 Besides, some particular geographical features in each country also play an important role in idioms.
 e.g. (1) to set the Thames on fire: to do something remarkable; to make a brilliant reputation做惊人之举
 (2) 不到长城非好汉: He who does not reach the Great Wall is not a true hero.
 (3) 上有天堂,下有苏杭: There is a paradise above and Suzhou and Hangzhou below.
3.1.2 Weather reflected in idioms
 The climate of Britain is the typical temperate oceanic climate, rainy and foggy. The annual rainfall of the whole Britain is about 1016mm. Moreover, it is foggy on the island, especially in winter. China is a country with a vast territory and various climates and has the temperate climate in the north whereas subtropical climate in the south. It is rainy in the east whereas arid in the west. So the weather is diverse. The traditional Chinese invented the lunar calendar, in which a year is divided into twenty-four solar terms. These solar terms are often used in proverbs to illustrate principles concerning weather and climate. The following are some examples:
e.g. (1) rain cats and dogs: rain very heavily.倾盆大雨
 (2) fog-bound: trapped by fog.因雾受阻
 (3) It never rains it pours: misfortunes usually cone in large numbers.不下则已，一下倾盆
 (4) 清明时节雨纷纷: Unbroken spell of wet weather around the QingMing Festival
3.2 Differences in Social Factors
 Social factor is an influential factor not only for a nation but also for a language. It plays an indispensable role in the development of a country. It also promotes the evolution of a language and affects its idioms.
3.2.1 Differences in Customs and Habits
 The Chinese and the British hold different opinions on the same thing, such as: time, animals, figures, and so on.
 Due to cultural differences, the Chinese and the British view time with different perspectives. And this can be shown in the following examples.
 The western people have very strong feelings on the limitedness time, so they say, “Time is money”. And the American believes that the most precious thing is time. They believe that “chasing time” is much important than making plans and checking regulations. So the American has “Procrastination is the thief of time” （拖延乃偷盗时间之贼）. Meanwhile, the British pointed the importance of punctuality in the proverb “Punctuality is the politeness of kings”(守时乃国王之礼).
  But in the Chinese society, cautious plan is more important. The Chinese people believe that a person should wait for opportunities to come with patience, because “心急吃不了热豆腐” meaning one could not be too eager to do something. Similarly, “慢工出细活” is used to mean “careful work makes perfect result”.
 Most English people like dogs so much that they keep dogs as their company or pets. In their eyes, dogs are loyal to their master and worth trusting. The idiom “as faithful as a dog” (象狗一样忠实) is to describe one’s faithfulness. When they say “dog” they often mean “the man” or “that fellow”. For instance, “love me, love my dog” (爱屋及乌) means that if you regard me as a friend, you must accept my friends as yours. Here “dog” refers to “friends”. More examples:   
Lucky dog: 幸运儿
A clever dog: 伶俐的小伙子
Dog tired: 非常疲倦
Dog does not eat dog:  同类不相残