On The Definitional Translation Of Chinese Four-character Idioms In Foreign-oriented Chinese-english Dictionaries From The Perspective Of Image Schema Theory

Chinese four-character idioms(CFCIs),as culture-bound expressions,are extremely difficult for Chinese as a Foreign Language(CFL)learners.Foreign-oriented Chinese-English dictionaries(FCEDs),as important tools for CFL learners,are supposed to help them learn CFCIs well.However,current FCEDs do not attach much importance to CFCIs.This thesis aims to improve the current practice of CFCIs in FCEDs through their definitional translation.In order to achieve this objective,the schemas in CFCIs are analyzed first.Five kinds of image schemas are found.They are: containment schema,path schema,force schema,verticality schema and scale schema.CFL learners' difficulties in the use of CFCIs are discovered.After the analysis of 128 CFCIs searched in the HSK dynamic composition corpus,we find three types of errors,including improper forms of characters,semantic contradiction and semantic repetition.The CFCIs that CFL learners never use usually contain cultural symbols and cultural backgrounds.These findings show that CFL learners have difficulties in learning the conceptual features of CFCIs as well as their cultural connotations.Meanwhile,there are several deficiencies in current FCEDs in the representation of CFCIs.These involve unsystematic representation of the meanings of CFCIs,imprecise equivalents,insufficient examples and cultural hints,and the lack of usage notes and discrimination boxes.Last but not least,two features,three principles,and some methods are proposed for the definitional translation of CFCIs.The two features are the prominence of certain semantic components and the retention of cultural differences between Chinese and English.The three principles entail the systematic representation of semantic structure,the prominence of the cultural connotations,and the comprehensive presentation of conceptual features.The practical methods are to provide proper equivalents,sufficient and effective examples,cultural hints,usage notes,form varieties,and pronunciation in the entries.