ABSTRACT

Idioms, as a special and inseparable part of language, are the shell and instrument of thinking. There are abundant animal idioms in both Chinese and English and most of them are metaphorical. These animal idioms are fixed phrases or sentences abstracted from the language, which become the cream in the process of using a language. They are essential part of the whole vocabulary of language, which reflects the national characteristics of the native speakers and are the essence of the language. During the process of translating animal idioms, we have to focus on the social and cultural background of both source language and target language. And in the contrastive analysis of the similarities and differences among their cognitive metaphorical meaning, we can find the best translation techniques to transfer the vivid meaning of animal image in the original work, thus fulfilling the goal of cross-culture communication.
Under the guidance of the Theory of Metaphor, this thesis analyzes the metaphorical characteristics of English animal idioms. Based on the analysis of the similarities and differences between English and Chinese animal idioms in terms of metaphors and combined with the cultural background of Chinese, this thesis probes into some translation methods of English animal idioms. Relying on numerous examples, this thesis points out that flexible application of literal translation, liberal transliteration, substitutive translation and other translation methods can be tailored to specific situations, so as to meet the target readers’ reception as far as possible. There is no doubt that the results of this study will make great contributions to the better understanding of English animal idioms as well as the translation of them.

Key Words: English and Chinese animal idioms  Metaphor  Translation techniques

摘  要

习语是语言中不可分割的部分，是思维的外壳和工具。英汉两种语言中都有大量隐喻性动物习语。这些习语是从语言中抽象出来的固定短语和句子，经过很长时间的使用成为语言的精华。习语在语言中占有举足轻重的作用，它反映了一个国家的民族特色，因此它是语言的精髓。在翻译动物习语时,必须立足于源语和目的语的社会文化背景,通过其认知隐喻意义的异同对比分析,进而选择最佳的翻译方法,传达原作中动物的形象意义,以达到有效的跨文化交际的目的。
本研究在隐喻理论的指导下，分析英语动物习语的隐喻特点，结合汉语的文化背景，在分析英汉动物习语在隐喻方面的异同的基础上探讨相关英语动物习语的汉译方法。本文结合大量实例，指出可以根据具体情况灵活运用直译、意译、套译等翻译方法，使得目的语在形式与内容上最大限度的保持与源语对等。研究结果对于更好地理解英语动物习语和对其进行恰当地翻译均有积极作用。

关键词：英汉动物习语  隐喻  翻译技巧