Cultural-Difference-on-Translation-of-English-and-Chinese-Idioms英語(yǔ)專(zhuān)業(yè)論文

PAGEPAGE27中國(guó)某某某某學(xué)校學(xué)生畢業(yè)設(shè)計(jì)(論文)題目：CulturalDifferenceonTranslationofEnglishandChineseIdioms姓名：0000000班級(jí)、學(xué)號(hào)：000000000000系(部)：經(jīng)濟(jì)管理系專(zhuān)業(yè)：商務(wù)英語(yǔ)指導(dǎo)教師：000000000開(kāi)題時(shí)間：2008完成時(shí)間：20092008年10月2目錄畢業(yè)設(shè)計(jì)任務(wù)書(shū)…………………1畢業(yè)設(shè)計(jì)成績(jī)?cè)u(píng)定表……………2答辯申請(qǐng)書(shū)……………………3-5正文……………6-29答辯委員會(huì)表決意見(jiàn)……………30答辯過(guò)程記錄表…………………31課題CulturalDifferenceonTranslationofEnglishandChineseIdioms課題(論文)提綱0.引言1.關(guān)于中文和英文習(xí)語(yǔ)的翻譯2.翻譯英文習(xí)語(yǔ)的方法2.1直譯法2.2直譯加注法2.3意譯法2.4增刪法3.習(xí)語(yǔ)翻譯共有的錯(cuò)誤3.1沒(méi)有注意文化差異3.2錯(cuò)誤觀點(diǎn)3.3逐字翻譯4.影響英文習(xí)語(yǔ)和中文習(xí)語(yǔ)的文化差異4.1不同的生活環(huán)境4.2不同的傳統(tǒng)和習(xí)慣4.3不同的宗教和信仰4.4不同的歷史影射4.5社會(huì)科學(xué)發(fā)展4.6文化與娛樂(lè)5.結(jié)論二、內(nèi)容摘要習(xí)語(yǔ)是語(yǔ)言文化的精華，缺少了習(xí)語(yǔ)，語(yǔ)言將會(huì)變得索然無(wú)味。習(xí)語(yǔ)在語(yǔ)言中的應(yīng)用比比皆是。在寫(xiě)作或演說(shuō)中適當(dāng)?shù)厥褂昧?xí)語(yǔ)將會(huì)使篇章增色，加強(qiáng)語(yǔ)言的力量使語(yǔ)言更形象。奈達(dá)曾說(shuō)過(guò)，習(xí)語(yǔ)使比任何非習(xí)語(yǔ)更具沖擊力的表達(dá)，它帶有一種語(yǔ)言和文化的識(shí)別特征。習(xí)語(yǔ)在語(yǔ)言運(yùn)用中占有重要地位，恰到好處的翻譯習(xí)語(yǔ)將有助于跨文化交流。中英不同的文化使得英漢習(xí)語(yǔ)在表達(dá)上有很大差異，也使得翻譯中容易產(chǎn)生誤譯，因此加強(qiáng)對(duì)英漢習(xí)語(yǔ)文化內(nèi)涵差異的了解有著重要意義。本文試從六個(gè)方面就英漢習(xí)語(yǔ)所反應(yīng)的文化做簡(jiǎn)單比較，探索4種翻譯方法：直譯法、直譯加注法.意譯法.增刪法，使英語(yǔ)習(xí)語(yǔ)原汁原味呈現(xiàn)在中國(guó)讀者面前。參考文獻(xiàn)[1]OxfordAdvancedLearner’sDictionaryofCurrentEnglishwithChineseTranslation.Beijing:CommercialPress.1987.[2]OxfordIdiomsDictionaryforLearnersofEnglish[J].ForeignLuanguageTeachingandResearchPress.2003.[3]ChitraFernando.習(xí)語(yǔ)與習(xí)語(yǔ)特征（英文版）[J].上海：上海外語(yǔ)教育出版社.2000.[4]郭著章.李慶生.英漢互譯實(shí)用教程[M].武漢：武漢大學(xué)出版社1996.[5]何慧剛.英漢習(xí)語(yǔ)翻譯與文化交流[J].英語(yǔ)輔導(dǎo)。1996.[6]胡文仲.跨文化交際面面觀[M].北京：外語(yǔ)教學(xué)與研究出版社.1998:234,280[7]平洪.洪國(guó)揚(yáng).英語(yǔ)習(xí)語(yǔ)與英美文化[M].北京外語(yǔ)教學(xué)與研究出版社.2000.[8]冉秀霞.英漢習(xí)語(yǔ)的文化差異[J].重慶職業(yè)技術(shù)學(xué)院院報(bào).2004年7月第13卷第三期.[9]孫娟華.從英漢習(xí)語(yǔ)之來(lái)源比較兩種文化的區(qū)別[M].無(wú)錫職業(yè)技術(shù)學(xué)院院報(bào).2003年3月.第2卷第1期.[10]謝金良.西方文學(xué)典故詞典[M].北京：中國(guó)展望出版社.1986年.[11]孫凱.關(guān)于英語(yǔ)習(xí)語(yǔ)的翻譯[F].咸寧師專(zhuān)學(xué)報(bào).2002年2月.第22卷第1期.[12]葉先風(fēng).英漢習(xí)語(yǔ)的文化差異及翻譯[S].湖北汽車(chē)工業(yè)學(xué)院學(xué)報(bào).2005年9月.第19卷第3期.[13]鄭立信，顧嘉祖.英語(yǔ)與英國(guó)文化[M].長(zhǎng)沙：湖南教育出版社.1998[14]張以文.辛全寶.英語(yǔ)習(xí)語(yǔ)分類(lèi)詞典[A].上海：上海外語(yǔ)教育出版社.1999.CulturalDifferenceonTranslationofEnglishandChineseIdioms0000Abstract:Idioms,havinguniversalappeal,arewidely

recognizedastheessenceorthecrystallizationoflanguage.Withoutidiomslanguagewouldbecomedullanddry,whereasanappropriateuseoftheminspeechandwritingwilladdmuchtovarietystrengthandvividnessofthelanguage.Idiomsusuallycarrymoreimpact

thannone-idiomaticexpressionsbecauseoftheircloseidentificationwithaparticularlanguageandculture.Idiomsarewidelyusedinalmostallkindsofspeechesandwritings.Idiomsholdanimportantpositioninlanguageuse,anadequatetranslationofidiomsisnotonlyhelpfulbutalsoessentialininterculturalcommunication.ThispaperattemptstomakeabriefcomparativestudyoftheculturesembodiedinChineseandEnglishidiomsfromsixaspectsandexplorefourpracticaltranslatingwaysandskillsfromthepointofviewofkeepingtheflavoroftheEnglishwaysidiomaswallascateringforallChinesereaders.KeyWords:idioms;culturaldifference;translation.0.IntroductionLanguageisinseparablefromculture.Foronething.Languageisapartofcultureandplaysanimportantroleinit.Foranother,asamirrorofculture,Languageisstronglyinfluencedandshapedbyculture;meanwhile,itreflectsculture.Idioms,aparticularpartofalanguageandcultureofasociety,whichincludingmetaphoricalphrases,slang,colloquialismproverballusion,mottoandsoon,arecharacterizedbytheirconciseexpressionsrichandvivid,involvinggeography,history,religiousbeliefandlivingconvention.Theyareusuallyhighlyspecializedinmeaningandcloselytiedtodistinctiveculturalfeaturesandculturalattitudes.Asfarastheirunderlyingculturalinformationisconcerned,someidiomsarecompletelyorpartialequivalentbothinChineseandinEnglishwhilesomeothershavenothingincommonatall.EnglishandChineseidiomscloselyrelatedtotheirownculture,conveydifferentculturalfeaturesandmessagesoftheirownnation,reflecting,theirownculture.ThereexistvastdifferencesbetweenEnglishandChinesecultureandthisdifferentoccursinEnglishandChineseIdioms,too.AfewideasonEnglishandChineseidiomstranslationTheword“idiom”possessesseveralmeanings.Itiscommonlyacceptedasatypeofmultiwordexpression(redherring,makeup,smellarat,thecoastisclear,etc.)Thoughafewscholars(Hockett1958;KatzandPostal1963)acceptevensinglewordsasidioms.Idiomsareconventionalizedexpressions,conventionalizationbeingtheendofinitiallyadhoc,andinthissensenovel,expressions.Themeaningofanidiomsisnotthesunofitsconstituents,Inotherword,anidiomisoftennon-literal.Makkai’sIdiomstructureinEnglish,anextendedversionofhisdoctoralthesis(1965),reservesthetermidiomforunitsareglossedas“anypolylexoniclexememadeupofmorethanoneminimalfreeformorword(asdefinedbymorphtacticcriteria)”(Makkai1972:122).ButStrasslergiveshisownworkingdefinitionofanidiom:Anidiomisaconcatenationofmorethanonelexemewhosemeaningisnotderivedfromthemeaningofitsconstituentsandwhichdoesnotconsistofaverbplusanadverbialparticleorpreposition.Theconcatenationassuchthenconstitutesalexemeinitsownrightandshouldbeenteredassuchinthelexicon.(ibid:79)Formtheabovedefinitionswecanextracttwobasiccriteriaonwhichtodecideonwhichtodecidewhetherornotanexpressionisanidiom:Firstly,establishedandrefinedbylongpracticaluse,anidiomhasarelativelyhighdegreeofstabilityofthelexicalcomponents.Anidiomallowslittleornovariationinformundernormalcircumstances.Ingeneral,anychangeinthecomponentswillresultinabsurditiesorevenrendertheidiomsmeaningless.Aspeakerorwritercannotnormallydoanyofthefollowingwithanidiomunlessheorsheisconsciouslymakingajokeorattemptingplayonwords:Changetheorderofthewordsinit(e.g.“atsevensandsixes”insteadof“atsixesandsevens”);Deleteawordfromit(e.g.“akettleoffish”insteadof“anicekettleoffish”);Addawordtoit(e.g.“toshowone’swhiteteeth”insteadof“toshowone’steeth”);Replaceawordwithanother(evenwithasynonymousword)(e.g.“thepearofone’seye”insteadof“theappleofone’seye”)Changeitsgrammaticalstructure(e.g.”akingmaybelookedatbyacat”insteadof“acatmaylookataking”)Secondly,anidiomoftencarriesmeanings,whichcannotbededucedfromtheirindividualcomponents.Moreoftenthannot,itcannotbeinterpretedonlyaccordingtoitsliteralmeaning.Taketheexpression“togotown”forexample:Itmeanstoactfreely,especiallybyspendingalotofmoney,asin“Youcertainlyseemtohavegonetotownonthedecorationofyourhouse.”Italsomeanstodosomethingwithenthusiasmandvigor,asin“Wewenttotownonthesalescampaign.”Anidiomusuallyacquiresanimpliedmeaning,thatistosay,mostidiomsaremetaphoricalinconstituentwords.Inotherwords,idiomsconveymoremeaningasawholethanthefewwordstakenliterary,thephrase“bellsandwhistles”isnotanidiom.Inafigurativesense,“bellandwhistles”isnotanidiom.Inafigurativesense,“bellsandwhistles”impliesattractiveandextrafeatures.“Acat’spaw”doesnotrefertothepawofacatbutapersonusedasatoolbyanother.“JohnBull”isnotapersonwhocalledJohnBull;itmeanstheEnglishnationalofthetypicalaverageEnglishman.WaysofEnglishIdiomTranslationTranslationisanart,abilingualart,whichistheculturalbridgeandmediabetweentwolanguages.Asthereexistwidedifferenceinvocabularyandsyntaxbetweentheorientalandoccidentallanguages.Translationisnoeasyjob,especiallythetranslationofEnglishidioms.Translationisdifferentfromcommoncommunications.Itinvolvesalotoffactors,suchaslinguistic,cultural,psychologicalandartetc.Therefore,itdoesnotexcludethegeneralrules.Theimportantthingforthemtopaymuchattentionistousetherulesflexiblyaccordingtorelevanceprinciple.Becauseoftheculturaldifference,therearesometechniquesintranslationofidioms.Techniquesintranslationvaryandweshouldusespecificmethodsintreatingspecificproblemsaccordingtotheaboveculturaldifference,inanotherword,tofindtheoptimalrelevance.Inthefollowingsections,weshalldiscusstranslatingfromChinesetoEnglishandviceversa,andtrytoanalyzetheminthelightofrelevancetheory.Herearefourmainapproaches.2.1LiteralapproachTheChineseandEnglishlanguagesareverydifferentintheirformsandwaysofexpressionontheonehand,andsimilarinmanyrespectsontheother.Topreservethenationalcharacterandthespecialoriginalwork,andalsoacceleratethecultureexchangeofthetwonations.Thefirstapproachinidiomtranslationsistheliteralapproach.Itreferstoanadequaterepresentationoftheoriginal,whichpreservestheoriginalformofEnglishidiomswithoutcausingconfusioninmeaning.IttransferstheoriginalculturalinformationeffectivelyandshortensthegapsbetweenChineseandEnglish.Forexample,“sourgrapes”(酸葡萄)，“togointothered”(出現(xiàn)赤字)，“tobreaktherecord”(打破記錄)，“tobeonthethinice”(如履薄冰)，“tostrikewhiletheironishot”(趁熱打鐵)，“atoothforatooth”(以牙還牙)，“first-handmaterial”（第一手材料），“acastleintheair”(空中樓閣)，“toburntheboat”(破釜沉舟)，“tohavesomethingatoneshand”(了如指掌)等。Inthesameway,lotsofwordsandidiomsinEnglishareintroducedbythetranslationofChinese.Forexample,“tositonthemountainandwatchthetigerfight”(坐山觀虎斗)，“topouroilontheflame”(火上澆油)andsoon.Takeanotherexample:Donotthrowcoldwateronnewlyemergingthings;onthecontraryyoushouldsupportthem.不要給新生事物潑冷水，相反，你應(yīng)當(dāng)支持它們。不要反對(duì)新生事物，相反，你應(yīng)當(dāng)支持它們。ObviouslyAfitstheoriginalsentencebetterthanB,becausetheEnglishidiom“throecoldwater”“反對(duì)”inChineseareobsoleteequivalence.IfweselectB.“反對(duì)”cannotexpresstheoriginalmeaningaccurately.Onthecontrary,BcreatesdiversitytoChinesereadersinthought.2.2Literalapproachwithnotes.Translationinaliteralwaywillsometimesdo,butnotalwaysformanyidiomscanbeunderstoodonlywhenthehistoricalbackgroundortheiroriginiscompletelyexplained.And,someidiomshaveacloserelationship,moreorless,withanation’s(oraregion’s)customsandthetranslationofitisnoteasilydonebyafewwords,Thenthetranslatorshavetodotheworkwiththehelpofnotes.Forexample:“三請(qǐng)諸葛”—askyouthreetimes,likezhugeliang.Note:zhugeliangwasaherooftheThreekingdomsperiod.HehadtobeaskedthreetimesbeforehewouldgrantaninterviewtoLiuPeiThat’ssomethingforRipley,那簡(jiǎn)直是里普利的奇聞Note:AnumberofAmericannewspaperscarryafeaturetitled“Believeitornot”byRipley.Itpresentsstrangeorunusualfactsorhappeningsthatareallsupposedtobetrueandcanbeverified,butbecausetheyaresoodd,sooutoftheordinary,Peoplefindthemhardtobelieve.Theexpressionisgenerallyusedwhenreferringtosomethingthatseemsincrediblebutisprobablytrue.2.3LiberalapproachSomeidiomsareinfluencedbycultureandcustom,whichmakestheoriginalmeaningoftheidiomschange.Thetranslatorneedtranslateitintoanotherformknownbyreaderstokeeptheflavorandthepurposeoftheidioms.Liberaltranslationdoesnotadherestrictlytotheformorwordorderoftheoriginal.WhenthereexistsomedissimilaritiesorgreatdifferencebetweenEnglishandChineseinthesequenceofvocabulary,ingrammaticalstructureandartdevice,liberaltranslationbeemployed.Suchas“aseasyaspie”(易如反掌)，“bewiseaftertheevent”(事后諸葛亮),“Stillwaterrunsdeep”(大智若愚)，“Eachhasitsownmerits”(各有千秋).Forexample:Shefoundherselftobeafifthwheelinthefamily.A,她發(fā)現(xiàn)她成了家里的第五個(gè)輪胎。B，她感到她成了家里多余的人。ComparethesetwoversionsAandB.Aemployedliberalapproach,Busedliteralapproach,fromtheviewpointofthesentencestructureandgrammar,theyarebothright,butaccordingtothemeaningoftheoriginal,“afifthwheel”meanstheadditionalthingsorperson.But“第五個(gè)輪胎”thisversionhasnolinkwithpersonorthing.Ahasnomeaningof“afifthwheel”,itmightexpressthelogicalreason,Bwouldmakereadershaveamuddledidea.Hereisanotherexample:Saveyourbreath;thebosswillnevergiveyouthedayoffA,說(shuō)也無(wú)益，老板不會(huì)準(zhǔn)你的假。B，省省呼吸，老板不會(huì)準(zhǔn)你的假。ObviouslyAismoresuitable.Bbelongsto“stifftranslation”inChinese,theversionseemstokeepthe“flavor”oftheoriginal,butinfact,itnotonlydoesnotexpressthetruemeaning,butalsoproducesunreasonableChineseexpression,whichletsreader’sconfuse.2.4ApproachofadditionandomissionComplexidiomsshouldbetreatedinflexibleways.Sincetherangeofinferencesonecanmakefromanyphenomenonishugeandopen-ended,thereneedstobesomeconstraintthathelpstheaudiencetoidentifythoseassumptionswhichthecommunicatorintendedtocommunicate.BecauseofthedifferentnaturesoftheChineseandtheEnglishlanguages,thatis,theformerisimplicateandthelatterexplicate,differentapproachesoftranslationshouldbeused.OwingtotheimplicatednatureoftheChineselanguage,andinordertokeepitsnationalflavoring,wordsorphrasesshouldsometimesbeadded.That’swhytheapproachofadditionexists.Itisnotamatterof“somethingoutofnothing”.Instead,ithelpstheforeignreaderstohaveabettercomprehensionoftheoriginalwork.Forexample:借香獻(xiàn)佛borrowingjoss-sticksfromaneighborandburningthembeforeBuddhaforyourownsake.Thistranslationhasaddedthephrases“fromaneighbor”and“foryourownsake”togivethereadersacompleteideaofthespeaker.BecauseofthetersenatureofChineseidioms,theyoftencontainsomedeepmeanings,whicharenotshownonthesurface.Butthewholeideaswillnotbecompleteifnotexpressedinthetranslation.Inabovetranslation,ifthetwophrasesarenotadded,thereaderswillnotunderstandwhyone“borrowjoss-sticks”andwhyhe“burnsthemBuddha”.Andhere,neitherliteraltranslationisproper,fortheformerone-“Toborrowjoss-sticksandofferthemtoBuddha”cannotexpressthecompleteimplicatedmeaning,andthelatter-“tomakepresentsprovidedbysomebodyelsewilllosevividimageoftheoriginal”.Ontheotherhand,becauseofthespecialnatureofChineseidioms,someofthemoftencombinetwoidiomsofthesamemeaningforbettersoundandform.Asweknow,repetitionisoneofthecharacteristicsoftheChineselanguage.ButintranslatingthemintoEnglish,translatorswillfeelitdifficulttodothesame,becauseEnglishspeakersdonotoftensaythingslikethis.Theydonothavethehabitofrepeatingthings.Sointranslatingthem,omissionshouldbechosentoavoidunnecessaryandtediousrepetition.Lookatthefollowing:取之不盡，用之不竭-inexhaustibleTheidiomisquiteniceintheeyesofChinesespeakers,foritisbalanced,whichconformstotheChinesecultureandthefeelingoftheChinesepeople. ButtoEnglishreaders,whoareusedtobeingbrief,afeelingofbeingwordyandstrangewillbeunavoidablycausediftheyaretranslatorastheChinesewords.Thenthebetterwayforaskillfultranslatortochoosenowisomission,whichistobetranslatedas“inexhaustible”or“abundant”.Herearefewmoreexample:沉魚(yú)落雁之容，閉月羞花之貌—one’sbeautywouldputtheflowerstoshame.樂(lè)極生悲，否極泰來(lái)—extrmepieasureisfollowedbysorrow.3.CommonMistakesinIdiomsTranslationCultureisakindofsocialbehavior.Itneedstimeandpeopletoformtheculture.Idiomscomeupwiththenewthingsandnewideas.Oldidiomsfadewiththeoldthingsandoldideas.ItcanbereflectednotonlyinEnglishidiomsbutalsoChineseidioms.Sothegeneraldevelopingandchangingtendencyofidiomisthatthenewonesaremorethanthedisappearingones.Sotheamountofidiomsincreasecontinuouslywithcolorfulandvividexpressions.SoitisusefulandhelpfultounderstadandlearnabouttheculturaldifferencebetweenEnglishidiomsandChineseidioms.ItcanhelpustogetridofthebigbarriertounderstandingtheoriginalEnglishandChineseliterature.Onthecontrary,wealwaysignoretheculturaldifferencebetweenEnglishidiomsandChineseidioms.Wealsomakemistakesinidiomstranslationresultingfromoverlookingtheculturaldifferences.Therearesomecommonmistakesinthefollowingthatwealwaysmade.3.1PayingnoattentiontoculturaldifferencesDuetodifferentconvention,differentnationshaveobviousculturaldifferencesinconceptofvalueandaestheticstandards,butasanewlearner,weoftenpaynoattentiontoculturaldifference,suchaslivingcircumstances,traditionsandcustoms,religions,beliefs,andsoon.Therearelotsofidiomscomingfromthehistoricalallusion,thestructureoftheseidiomsareverysimplebuttheyhaveprofoundbackground,sowemusttakethemintoconsiderationwhentranslating,andformisoftenneglectedcoherenceisemphasizedandunderstandingthemeaningofawordanditsrelationtootherwordislargelydependentoncontext,ortoputitexactly,none’sintuition.Forexample“asfatasawhale”<身壯如豬>.Wecannottranslateaccordingtoliteralmeaning.Becauseasthecarrieroflanguage,culturenaturallyhasconnectedwiththecertaincircumstance,especiallythenaturalconditionsmakegreatdifferencesonwhichtwonationsofEnglishandChineserely.Withoutconditionsofculturaldifferences.Wemaytranslateitinto<身如壯鯨>.AsChinaisagreatagriculturalcountry,andlotsofidiomsarerelatedtopig,cowandsoon.ButEnglishidiomshavesomethingtodowithsea,ocean,andfish,andboat,Whaleetc,ct.SoitisusefultopayattentiontoculturaldifferencestomakeushaveagoodknowledgeofEnglishidioms.3.2MisusingofcommendationandderogatorysenseSomeidiomshavedifferentmeaningindifferentsentences.Soitmeansidiomsoftentakecommendationorderogatorysenseinsomesentencesorarticles.Weshouldunderstandthetruemeaningofidiomsaccordingtocontextorwhatthetalkerstalkabout.Forexample;beggarscan’tbechoosers.（誤譯：饑不擇食）,thisidiommeansthatthosewhoaskforfavorsshouldsubmittothetermsimposedonthem;thosewhodon’thavesufficientmoneytosoexactlywhattheylike,orthosewhodependonothersmustbesatisfiedwithwhattheycanget.Forexample;‘’Youwon’tsleepverywellonthiscounch,John,’”‘Itisallright,Gorge.Beggarcan’tbechoosers.’’（“你在這張長(zhǎng)沙發(fā)上睡起來(lái)可能不太舒適，約翰?！薄皼](méi)什么的，喬治。窮猿頭林，凱暇擇木”）.Itisobviousthatidiomstressesthathehasnochoicebuttosatisfythepresent.But“饑不擇食”inChinesereferstonottomakechoiceforurgentneeds.Theintentionoftwowaysarenotsame.Perhaps“饑不擇食”inChinesehasaderogatorysense.Fromthepointofmyview,butthisidiominEnglishisnot.Weoftenmisuseormisunderstandthecommendationandderogatorysenseoftheidiom.Itisthereasonthatwealwaysignoreofcombiningtheidiom,usingitscommendationandderogatorysenseproperly.3.3TranslatewordbywordSomeidiomsoftenmisleaduswhichhaveliteralandliberalmeaningsatthesametime.ThenthetranslatoralwayshaveatendencytoneglecttheprofoundmeaningsoftheidiomsandtranslateWordforword.Forexample;MarywentonwithJimfortwoyearsbeforetheyweremarried.Inthissentence,”gooutwithsomeone(havearomanticorsexualrelationshipwithsomeone)referstofallinlovewithsomeone,insteadofgototheoutsidewithsomebody.Sotheoriginalsentenceshouldbe’’’’’’’’’Takeanotherexample:TheMinisterlefttheChurchofEnglandandwentovertoRome.Here‘goovertoRome”(becomeRomancatholic).SothemeaningofthissentenceisthattheMinistergetsoutofthechurchofEnglandandbecomeRomecatholic.WewouldbelaughedbyothersifwetranslateittoleavethechurchforRoman.Itseemstobeinaccordancewithlogiciftheyareunderstoodliterally,andthereisnoobviousmarksoftheprofoundmeaninginthesentences.Inthiscase,itiseasytogowrongwithoutsimilaritytothemeaningsofidioms.Sowemustkeepitinmindatanytime;Donottranslatewordforword.4.CausesforCulturalDifferencebetweenEnglishandChineseIdiomsTranslation4.1DifferentenvironmentEverynationsurvivesanddevelopsinacertainnaturalcircumstances.So,idiomsarecloselyrelatedtopeople’sworkandlife.Britainisanislandcountry,whichonceleadingtheworldwithitsnavigation,lyingontheBritainIslesoftheAtlanticOcean.LotsofEnglishlikeoceanandalmostEnglishidiomshavesomethingtodowithnavigationandfish,sea,boat.Forexample:togobytheboard”（順著船舷走；計(jì)劃失?。?”toraisethewind(找風(fēng)，籌錢(qián)),“neveroffertoteachfishtoswim‘(不要班門(mén)弄斧),”adropintheocean”(滄海一粟),”betweenthedevilanddeepsea”(進(jìn)退兩難),Inacalmsea,Everymanisapilot”(風(fēng)平浪靜時(shí)，人人都可以當(dāng)舵手),”Stillwatersrundeep(大智者愚，靜水流深).WhiletheChineseliveonAsiancontinentonegenerationafteranotherandtheirlivescannotgoonwithoutland.Suchidiomsas“spendmoneylikewater’inEnglishmeanssplashingmoneyansomethingwhereasinChineseittranslatedas(揮金如土).However,manyidiomsconcerningboatsandwatercannotbegiventhesameequivalentsinChinese.Suchas,torestonone’soars(暫時(shí)歇一歇),tokeepone’sheadabovewater(奮力圖強(qiáng)),allatsea(不知所措)etc.InChineseculture,‘eastwind’is‘thewindofspring‘;Summerisalwaysconnectedwithextremelyhotortheintenseheat,so赤日炎炎似火燒”,“驕陽(yáng)似火”aretermsoftenusedtodescribesummer,whileBritainislocatedinwesternhemisphere,withnorthtemperatezoneandmarineclimate,so‘westwind’isthesymbolofspring.ThefamousEnglishpoetShirley’s‘OdetoWestWind’isapraisingsongofspring.TheBritainbelongstofogyandrainyclimate,suchidioms‘a(chǎn)srightasrain‘(像下雨那樣正確)areoftenpreserved.‘Afterraincomesfairweather“meansdifficultgoesandvictorycomes.Sodifferentlivingsurroundingsmayproducedifferentidiomsindifferentlanguageandculture.4.2DifferenttraditionsandcustomsThedifferencesbetweenEnglishandChinesetraditionsandcustomsvaryfromaspecttoanother.Thereisnomoretypicalaspectthanthatoftheattitudestowardspets.Petsarefriendsofhumanbeingsandbecomeapartofpeople’slife.Manyanimalshavebecomeakindofsymbolisminpeople’thought,whichisreflectedinthelanguage.HowevertheconnotationofanimalswordsinEnglishdonotnecessarilyconcidewiththoseinChinese.Therearemanycanineidioms(關(guān)于狗的習(xí)語(yǔ))。Forexampleit’sallrightrefertocertainpeopleasluckydog(幸運(yùn)狗)，slydoginmostcasesisassociateswithsomederogatoryconnotation,suchas“狐朋狗友”，“狗急跳墻”，“狼心狗肺”，“狗腿子”ect.ThoughmostChinesenowthinkthedogisafaithfulanimal,thederogatoryimageremainsdeeplyinChineseculture.TomostEnglishpeoplethe“chicken”standsfortimidity;suchaschicken-hearted,whilemostChinesethinktheimageoftheratistimidity,forinstance,“膽小如鼠”Chinesepeoplelovecatverymuch,“饞貓”standsfor“womanwithevilintent”.Forexample,“oldcat”means“脾氣不好的老太婆”，“putthecatnearthegoldfishbowl”istranslatedas“引狼入室”.ItcanbeseenfromabovethatEnglishpeoplehaveverydifferentassociationsofanimalsfromChinese.Thisisareflectionofdifferentculture.4.3DifferentreligionsandbeliefsReligionistheeverydaypracticesofacultureandgivesusinsightintothemembersofthatculture.SoalotofidiomsconceringreligionandbeliefsoccurinEnglishandChineselanguage.BuddhismhasbeentransmittedtoChineformorethanonethousandyears.Peoplebelievethereisa“Buddle”whocandominatetheworldanddecideeveryone’sdestiny.Sosuchidiomsas“臨時(shí)抱佛腳”，“五體投地”，“閑是不燒香”，“借花獻(xiàn)佛”areexamplesconcerningBuddhism.Inwestcountry,especiallyinBritainandAmerican,peoplebelieveinChristianitylargequantityofsentencesareseeninthewordsexpressionforeverydayuse.Forexample,God“sendsfortunetofools”(傻人有傻福)，“Likepriest,likepeople”(有怎樣的牧師，就有怎樣的傳教)，“aspoorasachurchmouse”(一貧如洗),“Thankgod”(謝天謝地)！“Godforbid!”(蒼天不容)！“Godblessyou/me!”(謀事在人，成事在天).TheBiblehasbeenregardedastheChristianscripture.SoitalsoinfluencestheBritishsocietyandculture.Thestories,figures,sentencesandphrasesintheBibleareusedwidely.Forexample,“aswiseasSolomon”(像所羅門(mén)一樣智慧)，“asgreedyasAhab”(像亞哈一樣貪婪)，“aspoorasJob”(窮得像約伯一樣)，“ThewaytoHeavenisbyWeepingCross”(懺悔受難，得進(jìn)天堂)，“NocomingtoHeavenwithdryeyes”(眼無(wú)淚水，難進(jìn)天國(guó))，“beattheair“standsfor“spendinvain”(白費(fèi)力氣)。4．4DifferenthistoricalallusionManyidiomscomefromthehistoricalzllusion,Thestructureoftheseidiomsareverysimplebuttheyhaveprofoundmeaning,Sowecannottranslateandunderstandtheeidiomsfromtheliteralmeaning.ItisnecessaryforustolearnandunderstandtheEnglishallusioninadditiontotheChineseallusion.Itcanenlargeourscopesofknowledge,widenourfieldofvisionanditisusefultolearnabouttheoriginanddevelopmentofEnglishandChineselanguageandliterature.Forexample,“名落孫山”itreferstoapersonwhofailsintheexamandisnotenrolled.“葉公好龍”meansapersonwhoprofessedloveofwhatonereallyfearsandsoon.MostEnglishallusionscomefromtheBibleandtheGreekRomanMyth.Forinstance,“Pandora’sBox”(潘朵拉之盒，把災(zāi)難的根源)，“Odyssey”（奧塞德，喻把漫長(zhǎng)的過(guò)程），“Achilles’heel”(唯一致命的弱點(diǎn)，可趁之隙)，“SuspicionofProcis”(普羅克麗絲的猜疑，把無(wú)端的猜疑，懷疑)，“Penelope’sweb”(鉑涅羅伯織布，把永久也完成不了的工作).4．5SocialandscientificdevelopmentIdiomsarecloselytiredtothecolorfulworld.Thesupersessionofthecultureproducessomenewidioms.AtthetwentiethcenturythedevelopmentofscientifictechniquewasthemainpareofEnglishpeople’slives.Sosomeidiomsaboutscientifictechniquehascomeintobeing.Forexample,“throwoutofgear”(脫離齒輪)standsfor“工作失調(diào)”，“short-circuit”(短路)standfor“不經(jīng)過(guò)較長(zhǎng)的程序而直接向上級(jí)部門(mén)或負(fù)責(zé)人聯(lián)系工作”.4．6PhysicalcultureandentertainmentAstheproductivityofhumanbeingsuptosomeextent,peopledonotneedspendalltimesandvigoursonthelaborofmakingliving,allkindsofentertainmentareproduced.Forexample,“turnuptrumps”(摸到王牌)standsfor“getsomebody’shelpunexpectelly”,“downandout”(到下出局)means“beyondone’sability,beatenbysomeone”,“pullone’sweight”(拉自己的重量)isequalto“doone’sutmost,doone’sbest”.5.ConclusionIdiomsarethecreamofthelanguageaswellasliteraturepoem.EnglishidiomsareimportantpartoftheEnglishlanguage,youmustlear