Idioms, Culture Vacancy And Translation

This paper is concerned with the application of adaptability theory to the translation of idioms with culture vacancy. Idioms are a special part of a language heavily loaded with culture messages which cause culture vacancy. It is always difficult for translators to transfer both the word meaning and its culture message of an idiom. Yet, the most important thing is to seek its communicative effect or its pragmatic equivalence of the idiom in the target language.According to the latest theory of pragmatics-adaptability theory, using language must consist of the continuous making of linguistic choices. Adaptability is the property of language which enables human beings to approach points of satisfaction for communicative needs. So the process of translating which is considered as a kind of communication between different languages and cultures is also a process of choices of language in terms of adaptability. In order to achieve the success of communication between the original language author and the translated text reader, the choice-making should be adapted to the context and structures. This means the translator should predict the mental world of his target readers and make the translated text acceptable in the target language. Then, the author applies adaptability theory to the analysis of idiom translation in Outlaws of the Marsh (Shui Hu Zhuan),and comes to the conclusion that adaptability can help to achieve pragmatic equivalence of idiom with culture vacancy in translation.