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An Analysis Of Chinese Four-character Idioms’Cultural Loss In Translation And Its Compensation

Posted on:2014-08-04Degree:MasterType:Thesis
Country:ChinaCandidate:J JiaoFull Text:PDF
GTID:2255330401480983Subject:Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics
Abstract/Summary:PDF Full Text Request
Idioms are one of the essences of human wisdom. With frequent communication and transmission between Chinese and Western culture, the translation of Chinese idioms becomes a focus of the Chinese and Western translators. Though the translation of Chinese idioms has a long history, it is still faced with various challenges. Translation is intercultural communication in essence, and its ultimate purpose is to promote the cross-cultural exchange. And idioms are the essence of language, so idioms are more typical to reflect the cultural features of language. Having realized the above facts, we can easily come to the conclusion that idioms should receive enough attention in translation practice and studies.Chinese four-character Idioms are the most vigorous and the most essential components of Chinese language, and also they are rich in cultural connotations or associative meanings. They can directly or indirectly reflect the national culture at the structure of lexemes. Even every change in the social life, every development in the national culture is directly and quickly reflected in the Chinese four-character idioms. Chinese four-character idioms usually contain much important cultural information. If we can translate them effectively into the target language, then we can give our Chinese culture a better comprehension and dissemination. Therefore, we must give more attention to the translation of Chinese four-character idioms. They are peculiar or unique to Chinese culture. To narrow down the topic. the author of this thesis mainly focuses on the research of Chinese four-character idioms and some of their translation strategies.Due to the differences between China and Western countries not only in culture but also in language, it is difficult to reach the best state in communication by way of translation. Therefore, the translation of Chinese four-character idioms is both important and difficult. The discussion leads to the conclusion that translation is not merely a linguistic activity, but essentially a cultural communication. Due to the differences in different languages, it is impossible to translate every aspect of words and expressions in the source language into the target language. Losses in translation, including cultural loss, are unavoidable. Therefore, compensation for cultural loss should also become a focus in translation studies.Based on theories and practical methods we usually use, this thesis analyses the definitions and characteristics of Chinese four-character idioms, and proposes the basic principles for the translation of Chinese four-character idioms. To begin with, it is difficult or impossible to find their equivalents or identities in other cultures, so they are peculiar or unique in Chinese culture, and they are embodiment of various rhetorical devices. Second, they are independent, irregular and fixed in structure and meaning, which cannot be guessed from its individual words. At the same time, the habitual usage of idioms is also another important characteristic of Chinese four-character idioms. Under the guidance of the basic principles, the author puts forward her translation methods to avoid cultural loss. This thesis consists of five chapters.In Chapter One the author gives her reason for the study of the translation of Chinese four-character idioms, and argues for the significance of the subject. At the same time, the author analyses the definitions and characteristics of Chinese four-character idioms. Chapter Two is a comprehensive literature review of Chinese four-character idioms. On the basis of Chapter Two, in Chapter Three, the author analyses the great difficulties rising from the translation of Chinese four-character idioms due to linguistic and cultural differences between English and Chinese. Cultural loss is inevitable. This paper analyzes the linguistic factors respectively, from the phonetic level to the form level, which are also a cause for cultural loss in the translation. As to cultural aspect, it is mainly caused by cultural gap and cultural differences, and the cultural loss in the translation can be reflected from different ecological environments, customs, historical and religious elements, etc. Besides, this paper probes into the main factors brought about by the translator. Therefore, the author analyses the cultural loss in Chinese four-character idioms, and puts forward that compensation for cultural loss should also become a focus in the translation studies. In Chapter Four, the author puts forward two basic principles, under the guidance of two basic principles, the author proposes some methods for the compensation of cultural loss in translation. The last chapter is conclusion, in which the author points out the limitations of this thesis and gives her proposals for such kind of research in the future. Firstly, the cultural compensation is very important in translation studies, so it should be a focus in the research of translation. Secondly, as a qualified translator, one should keep not only strengthening the consciousness of cultural equality, but also improving language competence. Next, the limitations of the thesis are listed, such as the limited number of examples chosen in the paper and insufficient exploration of the compensation for the cultural loss in the translation of Chinese four-character idioms. Then this paper gives some points for future research of this kind. Firstly, not only the original flavor, also the foreign cultural factors are very important. Secondly, A responsible translator should throw himself/herself to various reading materials on all subjects relevant to his/her research. Thirdly, the professional materials about the subject he/she dealt with should also be paid enough attention to.
Keywords/Search Tags:Chinese four-character idioms, translation, cultural loss, culturalcompensation
PDF Full Text Request
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