Cultural Differences Between English And Chinese Proverbs And Their Translation

Proverbs are popular sayings that contain advice and state a generally accepted truth. On the whole, they are deep in meaning and rich in rhyme. It is no exaggeration to say that exploring the proverbs of a language is one of the feasible approaches through which one can penetrate deeply into the mentality and customs of its people. Translation, which is intercultural communication in the essence, the ultimate purpose of which is to promote the cross-cultural exchange. How to realize the transfer of the source language culture to the target language has become one of the important criteria to judge whether the translation is successful or not. The English-Chinese or Chinese-English proverb translation involves not only the transfer of language but also the transmission of culture. The present thesis is aimed at finding the most suitable strategies in English-Chinese proverb translation. The author of the thesis attempts to apply Eugene A. Nida's principle of dynamic equivalence in Chinese-English proverb translation practice. It is also the topic of the present thesis.The thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter one is an introduction, which offers the background and objectives of studying English and Chinese proverb translation. The second chapter concerns the previous studies on the translation of English and Chinese proverbs. Some important researches by famous scholars in this field at home and abroad are reviewed. These researches have paved the way for the author's work. The third chapter focuses on the comparison between the cultural features of English and Chinese proverbs. Similarities and differences between English and Chinese proverbs are analyzed from the angle of culture. The fourth chapter is the core part of the whole thesis. It is mainly devoted to the discussion of factors which influence proverb translation, with an aim to employ Nida's principle of dynamic equivalence in the English translation of Chinese proverbs. The fifth chapter comes to the conclusion of the thesis. It is concluded that to be a wise translator, he or she must master skills in adjusting different strategies according to norms, such as the acceptance of target readers, the cultural features of the source language, etc.