Translating Four-character Chinese Idioms Into English From The Perspective Of Frame Semantics

Almost all languages contain a large number of idioms which are distinctive, established and widely accepted. They are colorful, forceful and thought-provoking, being a deposit of human beings. In the Chinese language, four-character Chinese idioms are indispensable elements of Chinese idioms. Characterized by their conciseness in expressions, richness in implications, classic in literature, four-character Chinese idioms call for special treatment in translation. To find an ideal translation method of four-character Chinese idioms, many scholars have proposed different approaches. For example, Nida's "functional equivalence" theory was applied to the translation of four-character Chinese idioms, aiming to achieve equivalent effect in target language by getting an equivalent express form in the English language.Frames semantics, also called scenes-and-frames semantics, was first proposed by Fillmore in 1970s. Based on the concept of context in linguistics, the concept of prototype in psycholinguistics, and the concept of frame in artificial intelligence, Fillmore believes that determination of meaning must refer to a certain background knowledge hierarchy which reflect knower's experience, belief, and practice (Fillmore.1992). This knowledge hierarchy was first called "scene" and later "frame" in Fillmore's theory.According to frame semantic theory, each character of the four-character Chinese idioms can be seen as a node, with their relation hidden between lines. They are combined to construct a frame which carries the whole original cultural elements. In other words, translating each character as a node and combining them with hidden relation to form a frame is a better way for four-character Chinese idioms. Separate characters are not easy to understand for foreigners, and cultural elements will be surely lost. But with some necessary notes, a balance can be gained between cultural elements transmission and better acceptance to foreigners. Moreover, missing links between cultures can lead foreigners to further study the Chinese culture. Thus, the study may promote the Chinese culture popularization and enhance cultural exchange.The thesis consists of five chapters. The first chapter gives a brief introduction to the whole thesis. Chapter two mainly introduces definition, sources and features of Chinese four-character idioms, and methods of translating them as well as problems in their translation. Chapter three is about theoretical foundation, which is the one of the important parts in this thesis. It mainly introduces frames semantics theory and present application of frame semantics in translation. The next chapter is the most important one. It firstly introduces specific method of translating Chinese four-character idioms by following steps: translating character into node, finding hidden relation, and combining nodes into frames according to relation. After making a comparison between frame of source text and frame of target text, it draws a conclusion of advantages of this method. Chapter five serves as the conclusion of the thesis, major findings, implications and limitations of the study are illuminated.