论文总字数：33205字

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

Contents

Chinese declaration i

Acknowledgements ii

English Abstract iii

Chinese Abstract iv

Contents v

Chapter One Introduction 1

Chapter Two Literature Review 3

2.1 Idiom 3

2.2 English Versions of A Dream of Red Mansions 3

2.3 Idiom’s Translation in A Dream of Red Mansions 4

Chapter Three A Comparison of Idiom’s Translation Methods in the Two Versions 6

3.1 A Comparison of Idiom’s English Translation in the Two Versions 6

3.1.1 Free Translation 6

3.1.2 Literal Translation 7

3.1.3 Combination of Free and Literal Translation 8

3.1.4 Omission 9

3.1.5 Addition 10

3.1.6 Borrowing 12

3.1.7 Summary of Idiom’s Translation Methods in A Dream of Red Mansions 13

3.2 A Quantitative Study of Idioms in Chapter 74 of A Dream of Red Mansions 14

3.3 Major Findings 15

3.3.1 Findings of the Quantitative Study 15

3.3.2 Acceptability of the Two Versions Among Westerners 15

Chapter Four Conclusion 17

4.1 Summary 17

4.2 Limitations and Suggestions for Further Study 17

Works Cited 18

Chapter One Introduction

With the advancement of translation studies, it has been generally acknowledged that translation is a cross-cultural communication activity more than a simple switch of language. To play the role of a cultural medium, translation is required to restore information in the source language with accuracy and fluency in terms of semantics and literary style. Idiom is a special part of language. It often appears as a group of words in particular form, packing a good deal into a brief phrase. In most instances idiom carries not only literal meaning but also implication and connotation. Chinese idiom is a pithy reflection of traditional culture and custom that frequently applied in classic novels. Translation of idiom is significant to introducing domestic literature to the world.

However, in the current literary translation market, English translation of Chinese literary works does not appear to be prosperous. Besides a lack of qualified translators, another cause of the situation lies in negative acceptability of translated works, which is affected by cultural differences to a great extent. “A language is always a part of culture and the meaning of any text refers directly or indirectly to the corresponding culture.” (Eugene A. Nida 2011:11) Researches on translation methods manage to weaken cultural divergences between China and the West and reproduce the lingering charm of Chinese literature, for the purposes of pulling English readers in and promoting cultural exchanges.

A Dream of Red Mansions is a world-famous Chinese classic novel, so far there have been two representative English translations. One is The Story of the Stone produced by the British sinologist David Hawkes, another is done by the Chinese scholar Yang Xianyi and his wife Gladys. This thesis will firstly give a brief introduction to idiom and a review of previous studies in this regard. Then the author will analyze the two versions to explore the similarities and differences of translation methods adopted in idiom translation. In the third part, feasible laws in translation practice will be summarized. Furthermore, the acceptability of the two English versions of A Dream of Red Mansions will be discussed. Then the author will give suggestions about promoting Chinese literature to the world. Finally, the author will draw a conclusion of the study and raise limitations and suggestions for further study.

Chapter Two Literature Review

2.1 Idiom

According to The Oxford Companion to the English Language (1992), “an idiom is a phrase or a fixed expression that has a figurative, or sometimes literal, meaning”. Webster’s New World Dictionary (2003) defines idiom as “a combination of words having a meaning peculiar to itself and not predictable as a combination of the meanings of the individual words, but sanctioned by usage”. The authoritative definitions of idiom indicate that, in most circumstances, idiom is intended to communicate some particular information. It functions as a group of words making certain senses that cannot be deduced from their separate meanings. Cultural backgrounds, moreover, have an influence on the implication of idiom. Idiom is generally born out of people’s experience of life in specific environment. It is an epitome of national identity, which has recorded numerous changes of human society and reflected the course of cultural traditions. Generations are linked during the development of idiom and make contributions to its recording, refinement and dissemination. Since a language carries a nation’s history and cultural tradition, it is safe to say that Chinese idiom plays a symbolic role in Chinese culture. For this reason, translation of Chinese idiom conveys not only what it means but also what it represents in Chinese culture.

2.2 English Versions of A Dream of Red Mansions

As one of the four classic Chinese novels, A Dream of Red Mansions bears high reputation in the world. It is an encyclopedia of Chinese feudal society that manifests traditional culture including literature and art, ethics and etiquette, etc. Since the 1890s, English versions of A Dream of Red Mansions have gradually come out. In 1892 and 1893, 56 chapters of the novel translated by H. Bencraft Joly was published. In 1929, a domestic scholar Wang Jizhen produced an English version. The third version was published in 1958 by Florence and Isabel McHugh. Because of the lack of ample studies of the novel, the three early translations were riddled with misunderstandings and failed to be well known. Over ten years later, a significant English version of The Story of the Stone was produced by David Hawkes from 1973 to 1986. He adopted free translation to deal with most of the idioms (Du and Ren 2011:127), emphatically explaining the meanings and implications, rather than sticked to the word form of phrases. In 1978, a Chinese scholar Yang Xianyi and his wife Gladys’ translation of A Dream of Red Mansions was published. Yang noted in the foreword that the book was a product of class struggle, which was inevitably marked by the background of the Cultural Revolution (马经义 2008:255). This version prefers literal translation for Yang’s expectation of introducing the original Chinese culture to English readers (Du and Ren 2011:127).

2.3 Idiom’s Translation in A Dream of Red Mansions

As an expressive form of language, idiom is frequently adopted in various literary works. There is a wide range and an enormous quantity of idiom used throughout the 120 chapters of A Dream of Red Mansions. Researches on translation methods of Chinese idiom began in the 1980s. Chen Lin has put forward a method of annotation in A Study of Idiom’s English Translation (1980). She took Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung: Vol.Ⅴ as an example, holding that there is great difficulty in translating political idiom (14). At the turn of the century, studies on comparison of Chinese and English idioms sprang up. Wang Fang argued in A Study on Cultural Characteristics of Chinese and English Idioms (2001) that, three main differences between Chinese and English idioms are mode of thinking, religious belief and psychological association (34). In 2003, Gui Yanfang compiled the first Chinese-English dictionary of idioms from A Dream of Red Mansions. He appended Chinese and English annotation as well as examples to every entry, valuable for subsequent researches on translation of the classic novel. In recent years, there has been a growing number of studies on translation method of Chinese idiom, which are mostly based on the functional equivalence theory by the American linguist and translation theorist Eugene A. Nida. The key point of idiom’s English translation is more than transmission of meaning. The distinctive structure and linguistic features are of much significance, too. Because idiom plays an indispensible role in domestic literature and appropriate translation contributes to its acceptability, it is worthy of more research.

Chapter Three A Comparison of Idiom’s Translation Methods in the Two Versions

3.1 A Comparison of Idiom’s English Translation in the Two Versions

In this part, the author lists six methods of translating idiom in A Dream of Red Mansions. In order to demonstrate the applicability of the six translating methods, each method is illustrated with two examples. The author will compare the ways that David Hawkes and Yang deal with idiom’s English translation and try to analyze whose version is more appropriate and acceptable.

3.1.1 Free Translation

Example (1)

凤姐儿笑道：“我看你利害．明儿有了事，我也丁是丁卯是卯的，你也别抱怨。”(第四十三回)

“You’re a hard woman!” said Xi-feng. “One of these days when I have you at a disadvantage, you mustn’t complain if you find me just as much of a stickler.” (David Hawkes)

“What a terror you are,” protested Xifeng, smiling. “Don’t complain next time you’re in trouble if I put on the screws.” (Yang amp; Gladys)

This example is drawn from the context that You-shi found Xifeng did not offer the promised share for Li Wan, pretending to ask Grandmother Jia for the money. Xifeng responded with the idiom “丁是丁卯是卯”. “丁” and “卯” are both the forth in Chinese era but belong to different branches, so they cannot be mistaken. Xifeng was implying that since You-shi was such a disinterested organizer, later she would not be partial to You-shi in return. The two versions apply the same strategy of free translation, but Yang describes Xifeng’s joking threat against You-shi with the phrase “put on the screws”, more lively and vivid than Hawkes’s designation of “stickler”. Thus it is effective for translators to analyze information in the context and try to find expressions with similar moods when utilizing free translation strategy.

Example (2)

彼时黛玉才在窗下对镜理妆，听宝玉说上学去，因笑道：“好，这一去，可定是要‘蟾宫折桂'去了。我不能送你了。”(第九回)

Her answer to his announcement that he was off to begin school was smiling but perfunctory: “Good. I wish you every success. I’m sorry I can’t see you off.” (David Hawkes)

“Good,” she said. “So you’re going to ‘pluck fragrant osmanthus in the palace of the moon’. I’m sorry I can’t see you off.” (Yang amp; Gladys)

“蟾宫折桂” is a set phrase with a metaphor. The palace of the toad refers to the moon, and to pluck the osmanthus there means coming out first in the imperial examination in ancient China. The idiom is an allusion to getting good grades or making great achievements in competitions. Yang interprets the set phrase literally without any explanatory note, probably resulting in incomprehension of readers who do not know much about Chinese culture. On the contrary, Hawkes paraphrases the sentence in a brief benediction—I wish you every success. This translation accords with Daiyu’s affection for Baoyu and makes the confusing idiom understandable for English readers. Similar to example (1), free translation avoids much trouble for translators and readers.

3.1.2 Literal Translation

Example (3)

“古来说的：‘男大须婚，女大须嫁。’”(第九十回)

“It has always been said that every boy becomes a groom and every girl becomes a bride.” (David Hawkes)

“As they say: When the time comes do not tarry; boys must wed and girls must marry.” (Yang amp; Gladys)

This is a common saying known to Chinese people. Once again Yang adopts literal translation. He takes advantage of two clauses and selects “tarry” to rhyme with “marry”, not only explaining the meaning but also following the structure of the idiom, coming near to perfection. But when giving a free translation of the idiom, Hawkes loses part of information—there is an abstract time limit. Because of the diversity of Chinese and English culture, the British translator fails to get the significance of age for marriage in China, which confirms the argument that translation is a communicational activity concerning culture.

Example (4)

“错一点儿他们就笑话打趣，偏一点儿他们就指桑说槐的报怨。”（第十六回）

“You know their way of ‘cursing the oak-tree when they mean the ash’.” (David Hawkes)

“And you know how difficult our old stewardesses are, laughing at the least mistake and ‘accusing the elm while pointing at the mulberry tree’ if one shows the least bias.” (Yang amp; Gladys)

“指桑说槐” is an idiom invested with Chinese characteristics. In ancient China, both the mulberry and the elm are common trees in the countryside. It is reasonable that Hawkes and Yang adopt literal translation method, but there is a tiny difference. Yang faithfully translates the two nouns while Hawkes replaces the mulberry tree by the ash and the elm by the oak-tree, which are more common in America and Europe. Hawkes’s translation achieves functional equivalence and makes the text comparatively closer to audience.

3.1.3 Combination of Free and Literal Translation

Example (5)

“这可是‘仓老鼠和老鸹去借粮——守着的没有，飞着的有’。” (第六十一回)

“You asking me for fruit is like the granary rat asking the crow for corn: Have asking Have-not!” (David Hawkes)

“This is like the rat in the barn who asked a crow for grain, as if a bird on the wing had some while the rat living in the barn had none.” (Yang amp; Gladys)

This is an example of two-part allegorical saying, which is specific to Chinese idiom. It consists of two parts, the former is an interesting illustration and the latter is a concrete explanation. Yang explains the meaning of the idiom in the tone of narration, while Hawkes translates the first part literally and paraphrases the second part in a succinct statement of “Have asking Have-not”. In Hawkes’s version, the beauty of the rhythm persists. The translation method of combining literal translation and free translation together takes both the meaning and the structure into account, achieving satisfactory results.

Example (6)

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