A Pragmatic Approach To Idiom Translation From A Cultural Perspective

Idioms are gems of a language which have been refined through ages of use. Idioms are fixed sentences or phrases which are concise in form and comprehensive in meaning. Idioms are crystallization of human wit and wisdom. Idioms are the idiosyncrasies of a language, they best mirror the national characteristics embodied in a language and are thus always rich in cultural connotation and national flavor. Lots of cultural information is embedded in idioms. Language is a part of culture. Language is the important carrier of culture. Language and culture have close relationship with each other. The study of the relationship between language and culture has been considered a subject of great value. Owing to this, translation theorists and translators have put more attention to the cultural barriers that exist in translation. Therefore, translators have to better understand the relationship between language and culture and the relationship between culture and translation so as to render idioms from the SL into the TL faithfully and effectively. Based on Grice's non-meaning theory in pragmatics, this thesis analyses and solves the problems caused by cultural factors in translating Chinese idioms into English ones and vice versa. Then several translation methods have been proposed in dealing with idiom translation.This thesis is composed of four chapters.Chapter one mainly discusses the different definitions of English and Chinese idioms, the classifications of English and Chinese idioms and the characteristic feathers of English and Chinese idioms. Its purpose is to give a clear picture of idioms in the two different languages. Chapter two is concerned with the relationship of language, culture and translation. It discusses the concept of culture, the relationship between language and culture, based on which, the relationship of language, culture and translation has been revealed. The cultural differences in twolanguages cause great barriers to idiom translation. There are lots of differences in geography, conventional customs, religion and history. A list of culture-bound idioms in different cultural aspects is made to illustrate the dissimilarities between them from a cultural perspective. Chapter three offers a critical literature review of translation principles and criteria in Chinese and western translation history. It also discusses the core issues over literal translation versus free translation in Chinese translation history. Chapter four first introduces the Grice's theory of non-natural meaning. Then some several translation methods have been proposed specifically with the application of Grice's theory to idioms translation.