Cultural Degrees And English Idiom Translation

Idioms are cultural-loaded linguistic symbols. English idioms are succinct in English language and rich in cultural connotation and national favor. Thus the English idiom translation involves not only the transfer of language, but also the transmission of culture. An adequate English idiom translation plays an important role in cross-cultural communication.With the influence of a return to culture in 1990s, translation studies see a shift from a linguistic approach to a cultural approach. Language carries culture, while culture makes sense of language. Based on the analysis of linguistic and cultural characteristics of English idioms, this thesis tries to systematically explain the dialectical relationship of language and culture in cross-cultural translation from Sapir-Whorf's Hypothesis. On the one hand, according to Sapir-Whorf's linguistic determinism, what is the linguistic and cultural uniqueness to one language is a linguistic and cultural obstacle to another language. This peculiarity is the inborn deficiency in translation; therefore, the ideal translation is impossible. On the other hand, according to Sapir-Whorf's linguistic relativity, there is no limit in expressing any idea in any language. Linguistic and cultural universality, can cross linguistic and cultural barriers, and makes it possible to achieve its closest natural equivalence in a target language. Equivalence is a matter of degrees. Based on Nida's functional equivalence, cultural degrees (to which degree, the linguistic and cultural characteristics are effectively conveyed in the target readers and to which degree, the target language receptor's response is similar to the original reader's response) are proposed to guide English idiom translation to achieve its closest natural equivalent. Literal translation with notes and free translation with similar images are analyzed in this thesis for they maintain the peculiar linguistic and cultural characteristics of English idioms.It is concluded that the English idiom translation should serve the cross-cultural exchange between the two different nations. Literal translation retains the exotic...