2021年1月23日发(作者：首选)
The Translation of Idioms























--by Wu Xiaofei, Hu Ping, Fu Mei

Thank
you
very
much.
Honorable
Mr.
Zhang,
Ladies
and
gentleman,
Good
morning!
I am very happy to have this chance to give my presentation.
As you see, our theme is the translation of idioms.
Firstly,
I
would
like
to
talk
about
the
definition
of
the
terms
I
shall
use
in
my
presentation.
Definition

Idioms are words, phrases, or expressions that cannot be taken literally.

In other words, when
used
in
everyday language,
they
have a meaning
other than
the basic one you would find in the dictionary.

Every language has its own idioms.

Idioms are set phrases or short sentences that are unusual either grammatically or
semantically for their meanings cannot be derived from the conjoined meaning of its
elements, as in “It’s raining cats and dogs!”

Background information
As we all know, idioms can somehow reflect characteristics of
culture
. The Chinese
and English idioms are actually the typical examples. I’d like to show the differences
as follows.

ences of comparison

(
比喻
)
中国人常常用成语
“
雨后春笋
”
来形容一般事物的迅速发展和大量涌现。英语 则
用
j
ust like mushroom(
犹如蘑菇一样众多
)
来形容同样的意思。竹子不是英国土生
土长的植物，甚至连
bamboo
(< br>竹
)
这个词也是引进的外来语。因此，英国人不可能
以竹笋作成语的形象来比喻 。

e
.g.
：

Kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.
杀鸡取卵。

Look for a needle in a haystack.
大海捞针。

Like a rat in a hole.
瓮中之鳖。

No smoke without fire.
无风不起浪。

A good conscience is a soft pillow.
日间不做亏心事，夜半敲门心不惊。

Neither fish nor fowl.


1
非驴非马。

You cannot make a crab walk straight.
不是狼改不了吃肉，是狗改不了吃屎。

ences of custom (
风俗习惯
)
狗
对于英国人来说，既可以用来看门或打猎， 也可视作人的伴侣和爱物。所以
英国人对狗一般有好感，常用来比喻人的生活。

e.g
.
：

dog one’s steps
跟某人走；

lucky dog
幸运儿；

Love me, love my dog.
爱屋及乌；

Every dog has his day.
凡人皆有得意的日子。

但是，
dog
受外来文化的影响，有时也含有贬义。

中国民间虽然 有养狗的习惯，但一般在心理上却厌恶鄙视这种动物，常形容和
比喻
坏人坏事
。

e.g
.
：


狗胆包天
monstrous audacity
狗急跳墙


A cornered beast will do something desperate.
狗嘴里吐不出象牙。

A filthy mouth can’t utter decent language

e.g
.
：
He is in the doghouse.
他名声扫地了。

He was a bit of a dog in his younger days.
他年轻时过着花天酒地的生活。

3. Differences of History (
历史文化
)
中国自古以来是一 个以农业为主的大国，农业人口占很大比例，因此，成语中
有很大一部分是农谚。

e .g
.
：
斩草除根；
柴多火焰高；瑞雪兆丰年；解甲归田；
拔苗助长 ；枯木逢春；
顺藤摸瓜；树大招风；雨后春笋；瓜熟蒂落；桃李满天下；捡了芝麻，丢了西瓜，
等等。

英国是一个岛国，英国人喜欢航海，因此，有很大一部分成语源于航海事业。

e.g
.
：
know the ropes(
懂得秘诀；
内行
)
；
tide over(
顺利渡过
)
；
sink or swim(
好
歹；不论成败
)
；
go with
the
stream(
随波逐流
)
；
clear the
decks(
准备战斗
)
；
all
at
sea(
无主意
)
；
plain sailing(
一帆风顺
)
；
rest on one’s oars(
暂时歇一歇
)
；
keep one’s
head above water(
奋力图存
)
，等等。



2
All right, let us turn to the next part.



Means of Translation

Well,
generally,
there
are
3
ways
when
we
translate
the
idioms.
That
is,

Literal
translation, free translation and equivalent translation.

一．

Literal translation


直译法指在不违背译文语言规范以及不引起错误联想的 条件下，在译文中保留
英语的比喻、形象和民族及地方色彩的方法。

例如：

show one’s cards
。

摊牌

armed to the teeth
。

武装到牙齿

a wolf in sheep’s clothing

披着羊皮的狼

Blood is thicker than water.
血浓于水。

A rolling stone gathers no moss.
滚石不生苔。

He laughs best who laughs last.
谁笑在最后，谁笑得最好。

strike while the iron is hot

趁热打铁

flowing past in an endless stream

川流不息

to serve like a dog or a horse
犬马之劳

as easy as turning over one’s hand
易如反掌

to rack one’s brain
绞尽脑汁

walls have ears
隔墙有耳

the style is the man
文如其人

castle in the air

空中楼阁

open the door to a dangerous foe
引狼入室

above average
出类拔萃

be shamed into anger
恼羞成怒

misfortunes never come single
祸不单行

a heart of stone
铁石心肠

fight against one’s own men
同室操戈

know like the back of one’s hand
了如指掌

one’s hair stand on end
毛骨悚然

二、

Free translation
在不可能或没有必要用直译法保留英语成语的表达形式，并且也找不到相应的
汉语成语以套用时，就可以配合上下文进行意译，以保证原作思想内容的完整性。

E.G.
：

a bed of roses
安乐窝

play a good game
手法高明

at all hazards
孤注一掷

carry one’s head high
趾高气扬

rain cats and dogs
下倾盆大雨

play one’s last card
采取最后手段



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