On The English Translation Of Chinese Idiomatic Expressions From A Cultural Perspective

Translation is considered to be a cross-cultural communication event, which concerns not only the transfer between languages, but also the transfer between cultures. As a special means of communication, it is sure to be restricted and guided by the theories or principles about communciation. For example, the importance of analyzing the context and the participants (including the author, the translator, the SL and TL readers in translation ) in communication is the same for translation. In addition, communication is a social and cultural phenomenon. It is safe to say culture is frozen communciation and communication helps restore culture to its vitality. Therefore, factors involved in translation are much more than two diffferent languages. Translation is not only interlingual but also intercultural.The truth that translation is also an intercultural activity can be further proved by the relationship between language and culture. Culture is generally regarded as a concept which includes everything about a group or the whole of people. Language is a human-specific means whereby human beings conduct their social lives. Since human beings always socialize with each other in a certain social circumstance and cultural background, the language they use to communicate with each other is certainly characterized by a certain culture. Language and culture are closely connected with each other. In simple words, language mirrors culture and culture decides the use of language. Therefore,in any translation,it is important and essential to study the two different cultures and their impact on the two different languages.As Chinese and English belong to two linguistic families whose cultural backgrounds are so different from each other, what is evident and understandable for the Chinese may turn to be unclear or unintelligible for the English. This is especially the case of the English translation of Chinese idiomatic expressions. Chinese idiomatic expressions,as one ofthe most important constituents of the Chinese language, are sure to reflect the long history and brilliant culture of China. In Chinese,they are linguistic symbols which are most heavily bound up with Chinese culture. The English translation of Chinese idiomatic expressions, therefore, is not an easy matter. Factors contributing to the difficulty of the English translation of Chinese idiomatic expressions are too many to be illustftied completely. But no matter what the factors are, they are all primarily related to the culture itself. It is, therefore, justifiable to approach the English translation of Chinese idiomatic expressions from the cultural perspective. In addition, as more and more people in other countries are eager to know about China(including its past), it is even more necessary for the translator to try a cultural approach to the English translation of Chinese idiomatic expressions.This thesis mainly aims to suggest a cultural approach to the English translation of Chinese idiomatic expressions. By "the cultural approach to translation;" the* autihor means that translation should be based on sufficient consideration of both the source culture and the target culture. The-status of-the source culture and the target culture and the cttteral competence of the TL readers should all be considered in the English translation of Chinese idiomatic expressions so as to use saitabte translation strategies and methods to treat the cultural elements boraid in the Chinese idiomatic expressions. Of course, it is the translator's cultural awareness and creativity that make the cultural approach to the English translation of Chinese idiomatic expressions possible and fruitftil. By "creativity" here, the author does not mean that things non-existent in the source or viewpoints of the translator can be created and written into the target version. The author holds that the translator should not be restricted by the linguistic form or the cultural image of the source. Instead, he should be flexible enough to change the linguistic form or the cultural image of the...