Abstract

In order to improve our cultural competence and expand the influence of Chinese culture, translation assumes responsibility of introducing Chinese culture to the world. Translation builds bridges for cultural exchanges, through which not only a language switch can be realized but also cultural connotation of the source language makes sense to the target readers. Idiom is a particular form of language. There is great difficulty in translating Chinese idiom into English, for the reason that it often reflects the nation’s historical and cultural customs concisely and contains people’s wisdom and experience of life comprehensively. To explore translation methods of Chinese idiom, this thesis analyzes examples selected from two versions of A Dream of Red Mansions produced by David Hawkes and Yang Xianyi & Gladys respectively. There are generally six methods, including free translation, literal translation, combination of free and literal translation, omission, addition and borrowing. It is believed that David Hawkes lays emphasis on communicative function of translation and satisfies readers’ demands, while Yang Xianyi and Gladys concentrates more on reproducing the original Chinese culture for readers. It has been researched that the acceptability of either the translation or the original is at a relatively low level. The author thus suggests that a coordinated system should be developed to include Chinese translators as well as English proofreaders, so that audience can understand the original meaning and cultural connotation better.

Key words: Chinese idiom; translation of A Dream of Red Mansions; translation method

摘要

在经济全球化的大背景下，中西方文化交流愈加频繁。要想提高我国的文化竞争力，扩大中国文化的影响力，不仅要推动中国文化“走出去”，还必须让世界读懂中国文化。翻译作为文化交流的桥梁，其功能不止是把一种语言转换成另一种语言，更重要的是使目的语读者能够理解译文背后源语的文化内涵。习语作为一种特殊的语言形式，形象生动、言简意赅，是语言的精华部分。汉语习语映射着中华民族的历史文化传统，蕴含着劳动人民的生活智慧和经验，翻译起来有很大难度。本研究以《红楼梦》的两个英译本为例，从习语翻译的视角分析其中所使用的翻译策略，主要有意译、直译、直译和意译相结合、省略、增添和借用等六种方法。大卫·霍克斯着重于实现翻译的交际功能，尽量满足英语读者的阅读需求；杨宪益和戴乃迭则更加注重原文的还原，力图展现原汁原味的中国文化，要求读者具备一定的文化背景。但研究发现英语读者对于两个版本的接受度没有本质区别，不论是原著或译著，《红楼梦》在英语国家并不算普及。由此，本研究启示我们，要想更好地把中国文学作品推介给英语读者，应当为其发展出一套成熟的英译体系，将以中文为母语和以英文为母语的翻译人才都纳入其中，从而帮助英语读者更好地理解原文文意和文化内涵。

关键词：汉语习语;《红楼梦》英译本;翻译策略