翻譯第十四講(漢語成語英譯例析)

Translation(14)TranslationofChineseIdioms漢語成語英譯例析1. LiteralTranslation1)“對牛彈琴”這句話，含有譏笑對象的意思。

Thesaying“toplaytheharptoacow”impliesagibeattheaudience.2）叫一聲“請!”一齊舉箸，卻如風卷殘云一般，早去了一半。（吳敬梓，《儒林外史》）

Atthesignaltobegin,theyfelltowiththeirchopsticks,likeawhirlwindscatteringwispsofclouds.(WuJingzi,UnofficialHistoryoftheLiterati)3）旁邊一人鼓掌大笑曰：“此事易如反掌，何必多議！”（羅貫中，《三國演義》）

Thenoneofthoseabouthimsuddenlyclappedhishands,crying,“Itisaseasyasturningoverone’shand!Whysomuchtalk!”(Luo

Guanzhong,TheRomanceoftheThreeKingdoms)4）“四海之內(nèi)，皆兄弟也”，相煩借一條路。

Withinthefourseasallarebrothers,soletususeyourroad.5）“寶姐姐，你還不擰她的嘴？你問問她編派你的話！”寶扠笑道：“不用問，狗嘴里還有象牙不成！”“Pinchherlips,Chai!”shesaid,“Youshouldhearwhatshehasbeensayingaboutyou.”“Idon’tneedto,”saidBaochai.“Onedoesn’texpectivoryfromadog’smouth!”MoreexamplesofChineseidiomsthatcanbeliterallytranslatedintoEnglish:watchthefireacrosstheriver

dragonflyskimthewatersurfacemakeafeintintheeastbutattackinthewestassureasMt.Taiagrainintheoceanaseasyasblowawaythedustwithoutlips,theteethwillfeelcoldtoleavenotevenaninchofgrasslurethetigerawayfromthemountainThethoughtofgoinghomeflieslikeanarrowtofishupaneedlefromtheseaastorkamongchickeneventhefowlsanddogsarenotsparedfromkillinggentlemanofthebeamslikeafishgettingbackintowaterkillthehentogettheeggenjoylongevitylikeMt.NanshantoscoopupthemoonfromthewaterWhenrabbitsareexterminated,thedogswillbeslaughtered.askthewayfromtheblinddressed-upbeastgrowlikebambooshotsafterspringrainclimbatreetoacquirefishquenchone’sthirstbygazingatplumstosatisfyone’shungerbydrawingapictureofcakes2.FreeTranslation1）范進被胡屠戶一口啐在臉上，罵了個狗血噴頭……ButcherHuspatinhisface,andpouredoutatorrentofabuses…2）寶玉聽了這話，不覺轟了魂魄，目瞪口呆……

Pao-yuwasthunderstruckandstoodaghast.3.UsingTwoorMoreMethod1）張飛大叫：“此必董卓！追呂布有甚強處，不如先拿董賊，便是斬草除根！”“CertainlythereisDongZhuo,”criedZhangFei.“WhatistheuseofpursuingLuBu?Betterfarseizethechiefrebelandsopluckuptheevilbyroots.”2）都像你這樣一毛不拔，我們喝西北風！Ifeveryonewaslikeyouandwouldn’tgiveusacent,we’dhavetoliveonair.4.Omission1）忽聞有人在牡丹亭畔，長吁短嘆。（羅貫中，《三國演義》Suddenlyheheardarustleinthepeonypavilionandsomeonesigningdeeply.2）天有不測風云，人有霎時禍福。Man’sfateisuncertainastheweather.3）此時魯小姐卸了濃妝，換幾件雅淡衣服，遽公孫舉眼細看，真有沉魚落雁之容，閉月羞花之貌。（吳敬梓，《儒林外史》）BythistimeMissLuhadchangedoutofherceremonialdressintoanordinarygown,andwhenJulookedatherhesawthatherbeautywouldputtheflowerstoshame.回憶詞類翻譯法——重復(fù)法——為了生動的目的——第三條AABB結(jié)構(gòu)！??！moreexamplesofsimilarChineseidioms:人山人海aseaoffaces出類拔萃standoutamongothers/riseabovetheherds捕風捉影catchtheshadow煙消云散vanishintotheair自暴自棄abandononeselftodespair四通八達stretchinalldirection家喻戶曉beahouseholdword四平八穩(wěn)steadyandsecure胡思亂想daydream無影無蹤withoutatrace油嘴滑舌glib-tongued四面八方farandnear/inalldirections5.AdditionInordertoexpresstheoriginalmeaningmoreclosely,sometimeswehavetoaddsomewordsaccordingtothecontextwhenwetranslateChineseidiomsintoEnglish.1）今得見肖先生，如魚得水了！NowthatIhavemetMr.Xiao,Ifeellikeastrandedfishputbackintowater!2）若非此人來報，都打在網(wǎng)里。Hadhenottoldus,wewouldhavebeencaughtlikefishinanet.6.Restoration恢復(fù)原狀SomeidiomsinChinesearetranslatedfromEnglishorsomeotherlanguages,sowhenwecomeacrosssuchexpressionsinourtransl