On Keeping Cultural Ecology In Chinese Animal Idioms Translation From The Perspective Of Foreignization

Since the beginning of recorded history, human beings and animals have shared the Nature and depended on each other all the way. Animal images carry distinctive cultural significance to be passed down in specific linguistic expressions, especially in animal idioms. The study of cultural ecology focuses on cultural formation and representation between human beings and the Nature, explores the natural ecological environments and the formation and developmental rules of humanistic cultures, shows the ecological features of different national cultures and realizes the harmony between human beings and the Nature. Different cultural ecology from different nations causes the disparity between Chinese and English animal cultures in linguistic expressions and raises a question whether to keep the Chinese cultural ecology in animal words while translating Chinese animal idioms into English.Condensed with Chinese cultural connotations, Chinese animal idioms are one of the specific representations of the Chinese cultural ecology. By deeply discussing the cultural origins of both Chinese and English animal idioms, comparing the differences between Chinese and English animal idioms and listing some translating techniques used in Chinese animal idioms translation, the thesis will expose the fact and the significance that the cultural ecology rich in Chinese animal idioms is rid or covered up in translation into English and employ the famous translation theorists Venuti’s foreignization to study the purpose, the strategy, the functions and the significance of foreignization in Chinese animal idioms translation. Based on Chinese-to-English translation, the thesis suggests that Chinese animal idioms should be translated under the instruction of foreignization in order to pass down the quintessence in cultural ecology of Chinese animal idioms. The preservation of Chinese cultural ecology in Chinese animal idioms plays a considerably active part in enhancing Chinese culture and deepening foreigners’understanding of Chinese culture.