On Functional Equivalence Theory of Proverbs’ Translation and culture loss 基于功能对等理论英汉谚语翻译及文化缺失现象的研究 18页

基于功能对等理论英汉谚语翻译及文化缺失现象的研究摘要：谚语是熟语的一种。是流传于民间的比较简练而且言简意赅的话语。多数反映了劳动人民的生活实践经验，而且一般都是经过口头传下来的。它多是口语形式的通俗易懂的短句或韵语。谚语可称得上是语言中的精华，但是在英汉互译过程中，谚语由于其承载的文化信息和其约定俗成的意思，经常会给译者带来一定的理解困难或理解错误。虽然，在功能对等翻译理论的指导下，我们可以按照功能对等理论翻译原则译出大多数谚语的近似对等意思，但在翻译这些谚语的同时有时会失去了源谚语所要传递的文化信息。本文将从谚语的来源，功能对等理论，及在此理论下英汉谚语的翻译等方面进行研究，从而提醒译者在运用功能对等翻译理论翻译谚语时应避免产生文化缺失现象，尽可能地使译文达到传递民族文化信息的目的。关键字：功能对等理论，英汉谚语翻译；文化缺失现象 OnFunctionalEquivalenceTheoryofProverbs’TranslationandculturelossAbstract:Proverbisakindofsayings.Proverbismadeupoftheconciseandcomprehensivewordswhichwinagreatpopularityamongthefolklives.Themostofthemreflectthelivesandexperienceofthelaboringpeoplegainedfrompracticalactivities.Theyareinheritedfromgenerationtogenerationorally.Sotheyaremostlyspokenintheformofeasyphrasesorrhymes.Proverbsarethepreciousfruitsofthelanguage.However,translatorsarealwaysmakingsomeerrorsormisunderstandingsontranslationofproverbsduetotheirownculturalinformationandfixedconventions.Basedonthefunctionalequivalencetranslationtheory,wecantranslatethebasicmeaningofsuchproverbsapproximately,butunfortunately,wefailtotransferthoseproverbs’culturalinformationintotranslationatthesametime.Thisarticlewilldoresearchonthesourceofproverb,thefunctionalequivalencetranslationtheoryandtranslationofproverbs,andsoon,forpurposeofremindingthetranslatorsoftheculturalinformationlossintheuseoffunctionalequivalencetranslationtheorysothattheycanavoidmakingmistakesofculturaltransmissiononproverbs’translation.Inthisway,wewillhaveabettertranslationwhichismoreidentifiedwiththeoriginalmeaning.Keywords:sourceofproverbs;Functionalequivalencetheory;translationofproverbs;cultureloss1.IntroductionBothEnglishandChinesearehighlyadvancedlanguageswhichbearagreatnumberofproverbs.Theyarethetreasurescreatedbyourhumanbeingsoverthe history.Theyreflectmanypreciousdoctrinesandqualitiesconcludedbyallwalksoflife.Aproverbcombinestocertainculturalinformationwhichreflectsthevarietyinformation,suchasthegeography,economics,andpoliticsandsoonatthatperiodtime.Forexample,inChineseproverbs,hereis“庄稼一枝花,全靠肥当家”itreflectstheimportanceofthefertilizertoagriculture.Atthesametime,itreflectstheconditionsofChinawherepeoplearehighlydependingonthecropsastheirlivingresource.InEnglishproverbs,“EveryDogHasHisDay”.Asweknow,Chinesepeopleusuallyregarddogastheviciousanimal,andtheyalwayscomparedogtothebadormiserable.Asamatteroffact,dogisusedwithadisapprovingmeaninginChineseculture.However,dogisakindandloyalanimalinEnglishlives,itisalwayscomparedasagoodthing.Sowhatdoesaproverbmean?Aproverb(fromLatin:proverbium)isasimpleandconcretesayingpopularlyknownandrepeated,whichexpressesatruth,basedoncommonsenseorthepracticalexperienceofhumanity.Theyareoftenmetaphorical.(Fromfreeencyclopedia,Wikipedia)AndinChineseversionfrom《辞海》,谚语是高度概括实践经验，可以指导人们行动的口头语。诞生于上古社会。多为民间作品，亦有文人之作。如“工欲善其事，必先利其器”<谚语几乎都是以经验为基础的，几乎永远是真实的>，<只有在得到生活的验证后，谚语对你来说才称其为谚语>（《现代汉语辞海》，延边人民出版社，1975）Therefore,wecanmakeaconclusionthatinbothEnglishandChinese,proverbiscreatedbyordinarypeople,whichispopularamongpeopleoverthetimes,andconveysashort,conciseandpersuasivemessagetomakepeople’slifebetter.Moreover,itiseasytorememberandhelpfultopeople’slives.Asweknow,“nosmokewithoutfire”everythinghasitsorigins.AccordingtoWikipedia,Proverbsareoftenborrowedfromsimilarlanguagesandcultures,andsometimescomedowntothepresentthroughmorethanonelanguage.BoththeBible(BookofProverbs)andMedievalLatinhaveplayedaconsiderableroleindistributingproverbsacrossEurope,althoughalmosteveryculturehasexamplesofitsown.ButChineseproverbsarecreatedmainlybyChinesewithitsownculturalinformation.Thus,IwouldliketosearchtheoriginsbothEnglishandChineseproverbsasfollows.1.1TheinfluenceofagriculturalactivitiesProverbsarecreatedinearlytimesbeforetheindustrializedsociety,mostsocietieswerestillinagriculturalstage,andsomanyproverbsarerelatedtotheagriculturalactivitiesoverthedifferentperiodbothinEnglishandChineseculture.Forexample,“makehaywhilethesunshines”,Duetotheweatherconditions,Britainisplentyofrain,sosunshineisveryimportanttothefarmersandordinarypeople,soeverymanorwomancanhaveasameempathyevenwithoutknowingthesamephraseorpatterns.Becausemanypeoplefinallyfindthisproverbthatcanexactlyandeasilyexpresstheirfeelingsandexperienceaftermanytrialsanderrors,sotheyjustremember andpassitontonextgeneration.Sodoestheproverb:“Don’tputallyoureggsinonebasket.”Itcomesfromacommonsenseoftheagriculturalproductstrade.TherearesameoriginsinChineseproverbs,forexample,“有收无收在于水,多收少收在于肥!”Itmeansthatbothwaterandfertilizerareimportanttoagoodagriculture.“人误地一时,地误人一年.”Itmeansthatpeople’sattitudetowardtheagriculturewilldeterminetheirharvestofnextyear.Moreover,manyagriculturalactivitiesarelimitedbythelocalgeography,whichinfluenceontheproverbs.Forinstance,theGreatBritainisanisland,anditenjoyedanadvancedseamanshipinhistory,somanyactivitiesarerelatedtothesea,andmanyproverbshavetheclosecontactswiththeseaandboats.“Spendmoneylikewater,”(English-Chineseproverbs,GaoLanying,2002.9,322)”“Hoistyoursailwhenthewindisfair”;“Livingwithoutanaimislikesailingwithoutacompass.”“Hethatwouldsailwithoutdangermustnevercomeonthemainsea.”ButChinaisacontinentcountry;somanyactivitiesarerelatedtothesoilandfields,suchas,“大路朝天，各走一边”Amainroadbeingtowardsthesky,anypersoncanchoosetowalkoneithersideofit.Thedeepermeaningiseachoneshouldmindhisorherbusiness.“道不同不相为谋”Thosewhogodifferentwayscannottakeoneanothertoheart.Therefore,agriculturalactivitiesareoneofmostimportantsourcesoftheproverbsbothinEnglishandChineseculture.1.2TheinfluenceofcustomsandconventionsDifferentnationshavedifferentcustomsandconventions.Thesedifferencesreflectintheirlanguage,ofcourse,andintheproverbsofthesenations.Forexample,inwesternculture,peopletendtocomparecattoaviciouswoman,however,Chinesepeopleseemtoprefertocompareacattoalazyandgluttonouschild.InEnglishculture,peopleregardfoxasacunningandtrickyanimalwhichisdifficulttodealwith.Forexample,“whenthefoxpreaches,thenbewareyourgeese.”（遇上狐狸说教，当心鸡鹅被盗）ButinChineseculture,peopletendtouseaimageoffoxtocompareacunningandbeautifulwomanwhoisgoodattakingadvantageofherbeautytosubvertastate’speaceandregime,orsomeone’stricksarerevealedatlast.Forexample,“凭尾巴抓狐狸”(thetaildoesoftencatchthefox.)or“狐狸尾巴藏不住”（Evilscannotbecoveredup.）(ADictionaryofChineseIdiomaticExpressionswithEnglishTranslations,ShanghaiEducationPress,2006,272)“飞跑的狐狸证明自己有罪”(Thefoxwhofliesproveshimselfguilty.)InEnglishculture,peoplethinkthatitisterriblebadtoletyourhorsebelostowetoitsimportancetoyou,onthecontrary,peoplethinkthatitdoesnotmattertolosehishorse,maybethemissinghorsecanbringlucktohiminChineseculture.Forinstance,inChineseculture,hereis“塞翁失马，焉知非福”(Justliketheoldfrontiersmanlosingahorse,whoknowsbutthatwhichseemsamisfortunemayproveablessingindisguise).ButinEnglishculture：“Betterlosethesaddlethanthehorse.”(宁可丢鞍，不可失马)；“Itisgoodtogoafootwithahorseinhand.” （有马牵在手，步行最悠闲）。Therefore,anation’sconventionsandcustomsareplayinganimportantroleinformingitsownproverbs,anddifferentnationsvarygreatlyonthesameobjects.1.3TheinfluenceofreligionandmythologyReligiousbeliefhasstronginfluenceonanation’scultureandisoneofimportantfactorsofpeople’sspirituallife.Butdifferentnationsvarygreatlyintheirbeliefs,sothesedifferencesoftenreflectintheirlifestyles,especiallyinproverbsoftheirlanguage.InChineseculture,people’sbeliefisbasedonthreereligions:Buddhism,TaoismandConfucianism.SothereareagreatnumberofChineseproverbsrelatedtothosethreereligions.InBuddhism,peoplestressthatonlypeoplestopdoingbadthingscantheybecomeaBuddhaorimmortal.AndBuddhaenjoysthehighestpositionintheirfaith,forexample,“不看僧面看佛面”（Ifyouwon’tdoitforthemonk’ssake,doitfortheBuddha’ssake.）“放下屠刀，立地成佛”（tolayone’sbutcherknifeandsuddenlybecomeaBuddha.）InTaoismculture,therearemanypracticalphilosophicalmethods.Theyreflectsthephilosophicalmethodofmovement,forinstance,“柔能克刚，弱能制强”（Softnesscanovercomethehard,andtheweakcandefeatthestrong.）“福无双降，祸不单行”（Blessingsnevercomeinpairsandtroublesnevercomesingly.）InConfucianismculture,therearemanytheoriesonhowtoadjusttherelationshipamongdifferentclasssoastohaveaharmoniouslifewiththesurroundings.“己所不欲，勿施于人”（Don’tdotootherswhatyoudon’tlikeotherstodotoyou.）“既来之，则安之”（Sinceyouarehere,you’dbetterrelax.）(ADictionaryofChineseIdiomaticExpressionswithEnglishTranslations,ShanghaiEducationPress,2006)However,inEnglishworld,manyproverbsarerelatedtoBiblewhichtellsthebirthoftheworld,humanbeingsandallcreaturescreatedbyGod.BibleisthehighestdoctrineinChristianworld.AndGodenjoysthehighestpositionintheuniverse.SotherearemanyproverbsfromBible.Forinstance,“Godmakesandmanshapes”(上帝创造人，衣着美化人)“Godnevershutsonedoorbutheopensanother”(天无绝人之路)“Godandparents,andourmaster,canneverberequited”(上帝，父母和老师的恩情是报答不尽的)(DictionaryofEnglishproverbsinCurrentUse,ShaanxiPeople’sPress,157)Atthesametime,thereareanumberofproverbsfromGreekmythologyinEnglishworld.Forexample,“anappleofdiscard”(斗争之源)，“swansong”(最后的杰作)“APenelope"sWeb”（永远做不完的工作）However,inChineseproverbs,thereareafewonesfromChinesemythology,suchas“猪八戒照镜子”[ahog（acharacterinJourneytotheWest）islookingintoamirror.]“猪八戒倒打一耙”（Hogisstrikingbackwardswithhisrake-tomakeunfoundedcounter-charges.）(ADictionaryofChineseIdiomaticExpressionswithEnglishTranslations,ShanghaiEducationPress,2006)Thus,wecanfindthattherearemanyproverbs boundingtothedifferentnationsreligionsandrelatedmythologies.Eachproverbhasitsownspecialculturalinformation.1.4TheinfluenceofhistoricaleventsandliteratureworksTherearemanyproverbsfromhistoricaleventsandliteratureworks.InChina,manyproverbsarerelatedtothehistoricalfigures,eventsandliteratureworksassameasthoseinwesternworld.Forexample,inancientthreekingdomsofchina,thereisawisemanwhowasagreatgeniusatwar.Hereareproverbsrelatedtohim.“三个臭皮匠，顶个诸葛亮”（ThreecobblerswiththeirwitscombinedareequivalenttoZhugeLiang,themastermind.）Itstressesthegreatwisdomfromcommonpeople.“三请诸葛亮”（toinvitesbthreetimes,likeinvitingZhugeLiang-toinvitesbearnestlyandrepeatedly.）Itreferstoone’searnesteffortstoinviteorconsultsomeoneforacertainpurpose.InChineseliterary,“桃李不言，下自成蹊”(fromShihChiwrittenbySimaQian,Handynasty.)(Thoughpeachandplumtreesdonotspeak,apathiswornbeneaththem./amanoftrueworthattractsadmiration.)“堂屋里挂草帘，不是画”（fromThescholarswrittenbyWuJingzi,Qingdynasty.）Itmeanswhatsbsaidisnonsense.Atthesametime,therearethesamewaysofformingproverbsinEnglishworld;thereisawiderangeofproverbsinShakespeare’sworks.Forexample,“Theentireworldisastage.”（世界就是一台戏）；“Haveishave.”(到手的东西才算数)；“Itisawisefatherthatknowshisownchild.”(聪明的父亲才了解自己的孩子)ButthereisnotonlyonesourceofproverbsfromEnglishWorld,andmanyfromothernations,especiallyinliterary.Forinstance,inRussianovelist,Tolstoy’sworksAnnaKarenina,“Allhappyfamiliesresembleoneanother,everyunhappyfamilyisunhappyinitsownway.”（幸福的家庭彼此相似，不幸的家庭各有不幸）AndEnglishproverbborrowingfromFrance,“Donotputthecartbeforethehorse.”(不要本末倒置)(DictionaryofProverbsinCurrentUse,Shaanxipeople’sPress)Sotheseproverbscontainawiderangeoftheiruniqueculturalinformation,wecannotbetoocarefultoEnglishprtranslatetheminthedifferentlanguage.Therefore,proverbsarethepreciousfruitsoflanguagewiththedifferentoriginsandbackgrounds,whichcausethedifficultiesintranslation.Asforthisfact,weshouldattachagreatattentiontothemethodsonproverbs’translation.2.FunctionalEquivalencetheory 2.1TheDevelopmentofFunctionalEquivalenceEugeneA.Nida,theproposedofthetheory,hasbeenapioneerinthefieldsoftranslationtheoryandlinguistics.HistranslationtheoryhasexertedagreatinfluenceontranslationstudiesinWesterncountries.Hisworksontranslationsetoffthestudyofmoderntranslationasanacademicfield,andheisregardedas“thepatriarchoftranslationstudyandafounderofthediscipline”(Snell-Hornby1988:1;Baker1988:277).BeforeNidaputforwardhistranslationtheoryinthe1960s,therewasatendencyintranslating,i.e.theemphasisontechnicalaccuracyandliteralism,whichhadaverynegativeeffectonBibletranslationsinthe19thcentury.MostEnglishversionsofBibleatthattime,adoptingthe16thcenturyforms,wereonlypopularwiththeological“ponies”,butneverpopularwiththeChristiancommunityofEnglish-speakingpeoplefortheirbadperformanceincommunicatingeffectively.Herecomesthecreationof“dynamicequivalence”fromNida.Nida’stheoryofdynamictheoryishismostnotablecontributiontotranslationstudies.Theconceptisfirstmentionedinhisarticle“PrinciplesofTranslationasExemplifiedbyBibleTranslating”(1959)asheattemptstodefinetranslation.Later,theexpression“dynamicequivalence”issupersededby“functionalequivalence”inhisworkFromOneLanguagetoAnother(1986,withEdward).However,thereisessentiallynotmuchdifferencebetweenthetwoconcepts.Thesubstitutionof“functionalequivalence”isjusttostresstheconceptoffunctionandtoavoidmisunderstandingsoftheterm“dynamic”,whichismistakenbysomepeopleforsomethinginthesenseofimpact.Sincethen,functionalequivalencehasbeenwidelyadoptedbymanytranslatorsandhasbeensuccessful,althoughtherearemanyquestionsandchallengesagainstit.2.2FunctionalEquivalencetheoryAsImentionedinabove,functionalequivalencetheoryisstemmedfromdynamicequivalencetheory,withoutmuchessentialdistinctionbetweenthem.Theacquaintanceofdynamicequivalenceisamustinordertounderstandwhatfunctionalequivalenceis.InNida’sinfluentialworkTowardaScienceofTranslating(1964),hepostulatesdynamicequivalenttranslationasfollows:“Insuchatranslation(dynamicequivalenttranslation)oneisnotsoconcernedwithmatchingthereceptor-languagemessagewiththesource-languagemessage,butwiththedynamicrelationship,thattherelationshipbetweenreceptorandmessageshouldbesubstantiallythesameasthatwhichexistedbetweentheoriginalreceptorsandthemessage.(1964:159)”Theninhis1969textbookTheTheoryandPracticeof Translation,dynamicequivalenceisdefined“intermsofthedegreetowhichthereceptorsofthemessageinthereceptorlanguagerespondtoitinsubstantiallythesamemannerasthereceptorsinthesourcelanguage”(1969:24).About20yearslater，herestatedhisideaaboutdynamicequivalenttranslationtogetherwithProfessorJinDiinOnTranslation(1984:124)asfollows:“Thedynamiccharacterofsuchatranslationdependsuponacomparisonoftworelations.Thatistosay,therelationoftargetlanguagereceptorstothetargetlanguagetextshouldberoughlyequivalenttotherelationshipbetweentheoriginalreceptorsandtheoriginaltext.Itisthisdoublerelationshipwhichprovidesthebasisforthedynamicequivalence.(2008:25)”Accordingly,thedynamic-equivalenttranslationcanbesimplydefinedas“theclosestnaturalequivalenttothesource-languagemessage”,whichcoversthefollowingcriticalfactors:1)Equivalent,pointingtothesource-languagemessage2)Natural,pointingtothetargetlanguage3)Closest,combiningthetwoorientationstogetherTherefore,theterm“functionalequivalence”embodiestheessentialspiritofNida’stheory,whichhighlightsthesameimpactthemessagehasonthetargetlanguageandthesourcelanguagereader.Byfunctionalequivalence,Nidareferstotheequivalencefirstintermsofmeaningandsecondintermsofstyle.Nidaalsoholdsthatthedegreetowhichthereceptorsofthemessageinthereceptorlanguagerespondtothetarget-languagetranslationshouldbethesameasthedegreetowhichthereceptorsinthesourcelanguagerespondtothesource-languagetranslation.Ithinkthetwopointsaboveareineffectthesamebecausewhenthetarget-languagetranslationandthesource-languagetranslationarefunctionallyequivalentinmeaningandstyle,thedegreetowhichthereceptorsofthemessageinthereceptorlanguagerespondtothetarget-languagetranslationissurelythesameoralmostthesameasthedegreetowhichthereceptorsinthesourcelanguagerespondtothesource-languagetranslation.InLanguage,CultureandTranslating(1993),Nidahasfurtherdivided“functionalequivalence”intocategoriesontwolevels:theminimallevelandthemaximallevel.Theminimallevelof“functionalequivalence”isdefinedas“Thereadersofatranslatedtextshouldbeabletocomprehendittothepointthattheycanconceiveofhowtheoriginalreadersofthetextmusthaveunderstoodandappreciatedit”(1993:118).Themaximallevelisstatedas“Thereadersofatranslatedtextshouldbeabletounderstandandappreciateitinessentiallythesamemannerastheoriginalreadersdid”(1995:224).Thetwodefinitionsofequivalencerevealthattheminimal levelisrealistic,whereasthemaximallevelisideal.ForNida,goodtranslationsalwaysliesomewherebetweenthetwolevels.Itcanbenotedthat“functionalequivalence”isaflexibleconceptwithdifferentdegreesofadequacy.Finallywecanmakeaconclusionthatfunctionalequivalence,sometimesalsocalleddynamicequivalence,isatranslationmethodinwhichthetranslatorgivesprioritytotheexpressionoftheideasofthewriterinthesourcelanguageratherthanthewordsandforms.Themostimportantpointtoachievefunctionalequivalenceistotranslateasnaturallyaspossible,irrespectiveofthelimitsofthewordsandtheforms.3.ApplicationofFunctionalEquivalenceinTranslatingproverbsWhatIdiscussedabove,weknowthatFunctionalEquivalenceneedstranslatortofindtheclosestnaturalequivalenttotheoriginalworks.Andwhenwetranslatetheproverbs,weneedtotakethethreeimportantfactorsintoconsideration;theyareontranslationofproverbs’meaning,culturalinformationofproverbsandtheaestheticvaluesofproverbs.顺序应和下文暗拍一致3.1FuctionalequivalenttranslationonproverbsmeaningDuetothecommonsimilarityinhumanbeing’smindsetandtheobjectivityoftheworld,differentlanguagesrepresentmanysimilaritiesatthesametime.Thankstothesesimilarities,onlytranslationcancomeintobeing.Theequivalenceonproverbstranslationrepresentsintwophrases,oneisequivalenceforsuperficialmeaning,andtheotherisequivalencefordeepermeaning.Forthefistone,itiseasytoachievethedesiredpurpose,butforthesecondone,itneedsagreatefforttomakeitbecausethedifferencebetweenEnglishandChineseproverbsinmanyways,suchas,insentencestructures,rhythmespecially,onculturebackgroundandsoon.Translationproverbsonfirstphrase,Forexample,inEnglishproverbs,“Bestischeapest.”译为：“最好的东西最便宜”first,theEnglishversionistranslatedinChinesewordbyword,andcloselytotheoriginoneinthemeaning.“最好”is“best”;“最便宜”is“cheapest”.Andthistranslationisinconfrontationwiththesecondprincipleoffunctionalequivalence,“-st”in“Bestischeapest”belongstotherhetoricofRhyme.Andthetwo“最”intheChinesetranslationversionbelongstotherhetoricofrepetition.Sobothtwoversionsareusedwiththerhetoricmethods,andthemeaningoftheChinesetranslationisbasicallythesame.“Betterbeafoolthanaknave.”译为“ 宁为傻子，不作恶棍”inthesetwoversions,first,theEnglishproverb’sbasicmeaningistranslated,“傻子”is“fool”;“恶棍”is“knave”.Atthesametime,theChineseversionisinaccordancewiththeChinesecultureandtraditions.InChineseworld,peoplepreferusingthefour-characterphrasetoexpressthesentence,inthisway,thefour-characterphrasenotonlycanexpressthemeaningofthethings,butalsocanmakethephraseeasyrememberandunderstand.InChineseproverbs,“呆子帮忙，越帮越忙”译为“Afoolwillonlymakethesituationworse.”“物以稀为贵”译为“Athingpricedifitisrare.”ThesetwoEnglishversionsonlybelongtothefirstprincipleoffunctionalequivalencetheory,theydeliverthebasicmeaningsoftheChineseversions.So,fromaboveexamples,wecanfindthatweonlyneedtoadopttheliteraltranslationmethodtoreachourpurposeoftranslationforthoseproverbs.Heretranslationonsecondphrase－equivalentdeepermeaning,Whenwefacesomeproverbs,weneedtothinkdeeplyandevensometimeswehavetogetridoftheoriginalsentencestructureorsentencestylesoastoreachitsrealmeaningaccordingtothefunctionalequivalencetheory.Forexample,inEnglishproverb,“Allthatglittersisnotgold.”Thus,wehavetoleaveouttheoriginalsentencestructure,andweshouldtranslatetheproverbas“闪光的东西并非全是金子”insteadof“所有闪光的东西都是金子”“Everydoghashisday.”Asforthisproverb,weshouldnotrestrictusonthesuperficialmeaning,andweshouldnotbecheatedbytheword“dog”,weshouldomitthesurfacemeaningsoastoreachtheexactmeaning,then,weshouldtranslateitas“凡人皆有得意时”insteadof“每个狗都有它的一天”Therefore,accordingtofunctionalequivalencetheory,astosomeproverbs,wecantranslatethemimmediately,onlyneedtotranslatethemwordbyword;Butforotherproverbs,weshouldbecautiousaboutorgiveuptheirsentencestructureorsentencestyles,forthepurposeofreachingtherealmeaningduringthetranslating.3.2Functionalequivalenttranslationonproverbs’aestheticvaluesAsweknow,everynationhasitsownsymbolsintheirlanguage.Thesesymbolsrepresentintheirsoundscomposition,rhetoricalformsandsoon.Accordingtothefunctionalequivalencetheory,onthepreconditionofhavingbeenreachedtheclosestmeaningoftheoriginalproverbs,weshouldattachagreatimportancetotheoriginalproverbs’aestheticvalues.Forinstance,inEnglishproverbs,“stufftodayandsuffertomorrow”译为“今天大吃大喝，明天忍饥挨饿”Theoriginalproverbusedtherhetoricmethods,forexample,“s-”、“t-”belongstotheAlliteration,and“stuff”translatedas“大吃大喝”，“suffer”translatedas“忍饥挨饿”theyareinaccordancewithChineseculture,theyarefour-characteridiomswhichareeasiertobe acceptedandremembered.So,theyareinthesimilarsentencestructureandaestheticvalues.“eastorwest,homeisbest”译为“金窝，银窝，不如家里草窝”TheChinesetranslationversionareidentifiedwiththeEnglishoriginalproverbinthesentencestructureandrhetoricmethods.TheoriginalproverbusedtheAlliteration:three“-st”;buttheChinesetranslatingusedthree“窝”Theseproverbshavestrongbeatsandrhythm.SotheChinesetranslationisperfectlymatchedtheoriginalEnglishproverbbothinthemeaningandaestheticvalues.“Bestischeapest.”译为：“最好的东西最便宜”thistranslationisalsoinconfrontationwiththesecondprincipleoffunctionalequivalence,“-st”in“Bestischeapest”belongstotherhetoricofRhyme.Andthetwo“最”intheChinesetranslationversionbelongstotherhetoricofrepetition.Sobothtwoversionsareusedwiththerhetoricmethodstoreachtheiraestheticvalues.InChineseproverbs,“经一事，长一智”译为“Afallinthepit,againinyourwit.”TheEnglishtranslationaswellastheoriginalChineseproverbisveryconcise,simple,andstrongbeat.TheEnglishtranslationisnotonlydelivertheoriginalproverb’sbasicmeaning,butalsousetheAlliterationtostrengthentherhythmandbeattoreachtheoriginalproverb’saestheticvalues.“Inthecountryoftheblind,theone-eyedmanisking.”Thisproverbhascausedincreasingcontroversy,therearemanypeoplewhotranslateditas“山中无老虎，猴子称霸王”，ifweadoptthisversion,itseemstooreluctanttofitwiththeoriginalmeaning,becausewecannotmake“thecountry”“theblind”“one-eyedman”“king”equalto“山”，“老虎”，“猴子”，“霸王”,somosttranslatorspreferthisversion:“盲人国中，独眼称雄”thisversionnotonlydeliverstheoriginalbasicmeaning,butalsokeepstheoriginalversion’srhetoricmethod.Thereaderscanhavethesameempathy,atthesametime;theycanenjoytheoriginalbeauty.TherearemanyproverbsandcorrespondingtranslationsbothinEnglishandChinese,weshouldcatchtheproverbs’closestmeaningsfirst,thenweshouldkeeptheoriginalproverbs’aestheticvaluestolargestextentaccordingfunctionalequivalencetheory.3.3Functionalequivalenttranslationonproverbs’cultureinformationAsImentionedabove,bothChineseandEnglishproverbscontaintheirownbackgroundandculturalinformation.Accordingtothefunctionalequivalencetheory,weshouldfindthemostnaturalwaytoexpresstheclosestmeaningoftheoriginalproverbsduringtranslating.InEnglishproverbs,forinstance,“Manproposes,Goddisposes.”Inwesterncountry,peoplebelievetheGod,however,inChineseculture,theChinesepeoplebelievethattheycanbealivewiththehelpofChinese“天”，so heretheChinesetranslation“谋事在人，成事在天”thisversionnotonlyexpressestheoriginalversion’sclosestmeaning,butalsorevealsthecultureinformation.Afterreadingthisversion,readerswillhavethecommonaspiration.Anotherexample,“forbiddenfruitissweet”Asweknow,“forbiddenfruit”isrelatedtotheBible,thisphraseisfromthereligion,thus,itsbettertotranslateitas“禁果分外甜”insteadofotherversions,inthisversion,itcantransfertheculturalinformationtothereaderseasily.InChineseculture,hereis“一个碗不响，两个碗叮当”ThisChineseproverbmeansthateverythinghappenedwiththeotherreason,oronecannotquarrelwithhimself.Inwesterncountries,peoplehardlyusethe“碗”,butinChina,everyfamilyownsthedifferentkindsof“碗”；Sothisisthedifferentculturebackground,Therefore,inordertodeliveritsbasicmeaningandtheculture,wegotitsEnglishtranslationversion:“Onebowlisquiet，twobowlsmakearow.”,Inthisversion,“row”meansquarrelling.Itisfitfortheoriginalproverb.Anotherexample,“司马昭之心路人皆知”InthisChineseproverb,“司马昭”isahistoryfigure’name,whohadaverystrongambitionwhichcouldsubvertthestate’ssovereigntyinhistoryofthreekingdom.So,inordertodelivertheChineseculturetothereaders,wecantranslateitas“SiMazhao"strickisobvioustoeveryoneinthestreet”insteadof“thetrickisopen”,inthisway,wecannotonlydeliverthebasicmeaningoftheoriginalproverb,butalsowecantransmitourChineseculturalinformation.IfthepeopledonotknowwhoisSiMazhao,sheorhesurelywouldconsulttoothersorfinditbysomemeans.Thus,tobeinconfrontationwithprinciplesofthefunctionalequivalencetheory,wedoreachourtarget:theclosestmeaning,aestheticvalues,andtransmissionofculturalinformation.Underthethreeprinciplesoffunctionalequivalencetheory,wecanfindtheclosestmeaningoftheoriginalproverbs;throughthetranslationversion,wecanenjoytheiraestheticvalues;wecanrealizeourpurposeforculturetransmission;andwecanrealizeallofabovethreeaimsatthesametime.Therefore,fromabovediscussed,wecanreachanagreementthatfunctionalequivalencetheorydomakeagreatcontributiontothetranslatingarea.Andwecanuseittoguideourtranslatingworkandtherelatedprojects.3.CulturelossofFunctionalequivalenttranslationonproverbs Underthefunctionalequivalencetheory,abovethreepointsareveryimportantforustotranslateproverbsintopractice.However,sometimes,wemayhavetogiveupsomecultureinformationsoastoreachtheproverbs’aestheticvaluesandtheclosestmeaning.Thus,sometimes,bothEnglishandChinesepeopletendtousethewordswhichhavealreadyexistedintheirownlanguagetoreplacetheoriginalonesaccordingtothefunctionalequivalencetheory;asaresult,thismethodcausesthecultureinformationloss.Theselostcultureinformationnotonlyaffectsthewholecontentoftheproverbsinthepassage,butalsopreventsthereceptorsfromunderstandingtheoriginalmeaningoftheproverbsinoriginallanguage,eventmakingthereaderorreceptormisunderstandtheculturalinformationinoriginalworks.ThankstothedifferentoriginsofChineseandEnglishproverbs,inordertoreachthetargetlanguage,translatorhastogiveuptheCulturalinformationsoastorealizetheclosestmeaningoftheoriginalproverb.Forexample,“swansong”canbeliterallytranslatedas“天鹅之歌”，itrefersto“Aperson"sfinalpublicperformanceorprofessionalactivitybeforeretirement”(DictionaryofEnglishProverbsinCurrentUse,Shaanxipeople’sPress)ThisproverbisfromGreekmyth,inancientGreekmyth,Apollo,thegodofsunandluminosity,whowasgoodatArtsandmusic,peopleregardherasprotectorofArts.Swanisherbird,sopeoplecomparetheswantothearts.Itissaidthatswanneversinguntilheisdying,andhissongismostbeautifulandtouching.Thisisthefirstpieceofsonginhiswholelifeanditisalsothelastpieceofsonghesingsinhisentirelife.Thewesternersusethisproverbtodescribeone’slastworkbeforehisdeath.InAisopos,wecanfindtheevidencethatthisproverbhasbeenusedtorefertothelastworkofsomeone.ButinChina;swanonlyisregardedasakindofbeautifulbirds,nosuchmeaningsinChineseculture.Accordingtothefunctionalequivalencetheory,themostclosestmeaninginChineseis“最后的杰作”，fromtheChinesetranslationthatwedoreachthedeepermeaningofit,butwelosethecultureinformationanditscorrespondingstory.“WhatwillMrs.Grundysay?”(格伦迪夫人怎么说？或人家会怎么说？)InaplaycalledSpeedthePloughbyThomasMortonandfirstproducedin1798,Mrs.Grundyisthesymbolofconventionalpropriety.Shedoesnotappearintheplay,butherneighbor,DameAshfield,isconstantlyafraidofincurringherdisapproval.(p447英语谚语辞典)itisalwaystranslatedas“人言可畏”inChineseversion,it’sobviousthatthedeepermeaningisputonthepaperaccordingtothefunctionalequivalencetheory,but“人言可畏”isfarfrom“WhatwillMrs.Grundysay?”whatonearthistherelationshipbetween“Mrs.Grundy”andChineseversion“人言可畏”?WewonderwhoisMrs.Grundy?And whatdoesshesaid?And“Mrs.Grundy”waslostinChineseversion,inthisway;wearenotonlylosingtheculturebackgroundbutalsolosingavividstoryfromThomasMorton.Itisthesameastheproverb“AllroadsleadtoRome”.ManyChinesepeopleliketotranslateitas“殊途同归”,fromthisversion,wehavefoundtheclosestmeaninginChineseaccordingtothefunctionalequivalencetheory,anditisveryclosetoChineselanguage,andmanyChineseliketouseitintheirdailylife,buttheyhardlyknowthecultureinformationoforiginalproverb.Hereistheorigin:“Towardstheendofthefourteenthcentury,Chaucerwroteinatreatiseontheastrolabe,anancientastronomicalinstrument,that‘diversepathsleaddiversefolktherightwaytoRome.’Fromthisandotherreferences“themanyroadstoRome”hasdevelopedtheproverbmeaningthatanumberofperson-scientistsperhapscanarriveatonecommonobjectivebydifferentmeans.”Ifwetranslatetheoriginalproverbas“殊途同归”inChineseculture,wecanacceptit,evenitseemstobeawonderfulphraseinpracticeaccordingtofunctionalequivalencetheory,unfortunately,welosethemostimportantbackgroundandrelatedinformation.InChineseproverbs,forinstance,“徐庶进曹营-一言不发”（XuShuenteringCaoCao’smilitarycamp－nottoutteraword.）HerebothXuShuandCaoCaowerehistoricalfiguresinThreekingdomsofancientChinesehistory.ButmanyChinesepeopletranslateitimmediatelyas“tokeepone’smouthshut”,accordingtofunctionalequivalence,thistranslationiskepttheclosestmeaningwiththeoriginallanguage,.butunfortunately,theymaketheChinesehistoricalinformationloss.ThuswhenanativeEnglishpeoplereadthisEnglishversion,sheorhecertainlycancatchonit,buttheymaymisunderstand“徐庶”“曹操”andtherelatedformationofChineseculture.“衙门八字朝南开，有理无钱勿进来”（TheYamenhasitsgateleftajar,towelcomenotthepoor,northeuninfluential）ButmanypeopletendtotakeYamenforcourtgranted,forexample,theytranslateitas“Thecourtopensitsgatewide;withjusticebutnomoney,donotgoinside.”TheythinkthatthecourtismostclosestequivalenttoYamenaccordingtheprincipleoffunctionalequivalencetheory.Doyouthinkthatthecourtisequalto“Yamen”?Yamenisabsolutedifferentfromsocalled“court”inmanyaspects,ifthenativeEnglishpeopleregardthattheircourtisChineseYamen,theywillreallymisunderstandtheChineseancientculture.Sotherightunderstandingoftheoriginalproverbsisthepreconditionoftherightuseofthefunctionalequivalencetheory.Chinesereligionisbasedonthreebranches:Buddhism,TaoismandConfucianism.Sotherearemanyproverbsrelatedtothesetreereligions.Forexample, “道高一尺，魔高一丈”（whenspirituallyoneprogressesafoot,thecunningofthedemonsincreasesbyamile.）Manypeopletranslateitas“Diamondcutdiamond.”Thistranslationisinaccordancewithaestheticvaluesoffunctionalequivalencetheory,two“diamond”belongstotherhetoricfigureofrepetition.ItisinthelinewiththeEnglishstyle.WhentheEnglishpeoplereadit,theycaneasilyunderstandthemeaningofit,buttheycanhardlycombineChinese“道”and“魔”,“尺”and“丈”totheircultureduetothattranslation.Inthispointofview,thus,theirtranslationfailstotransmitthecultureinformationtoreaders.“做一天和尚撞一天钟”（Solongasoneremainsamonk,onegoesontollingthebell.）Accordingtothefunctionalequivalencetheory,thistranslationisthemostbasicmeaningtotheoriginalproverb,buthereisproblem,asweknow,itistheeverydayordinaryroutineforamonktotollthebellinatempleorintheBuddhismworld.Sothereistheproverblikethat,peopleoftenusethisproverbtocomparetoapersonwhohasapassiveattitudetowardshiswork.Andmanypeopletranslateitas“(aperson)takingapassiveattitudetowardssomething”inChinese.Althoughtheygetthebasicmeaningofit,yetitishardforaEnglishpeopletoconnect“monk”,“bell”tohisorherculture,becausethereisnocorrespondingsamethingssuchas“monkandbell”inareligionbasedonChristianity.Therefore,inordertodelivertheclosestmeaningoftheoriginalproverb,manypeopletranslateitas“onetakesapassiveattitudetowardhiswork”,inthisversion,peopledogetthetruemeaningoftheoriginalproverb,buttheygiveupthecultureinformationoforiginallanguage.So,therightperceptionoftheoriginallanguageandtheproverbisforemostimportantpreconditionoftranslationforusingfunctionalequivalencetheory.Althoughthefunctionalequivalencetheorycanensurethemostbasicmeaningoftheoriginalproverb,it’sacontradictionbetweenitsexactmeaninganditscultureinformationoraestheticvalues.Inordertoensuretheoriginalmeaning,wehavetogiveuptherelatedcultureinformationsometimes.Thus,weshouldnottranslatealltheproverbsunderthetheoryoffunctionalequivalence;weshouldadoptotherwaystoreachthetargetlanguageandusethetheoryoffunctionalequivalenceasreference.3.ConclusionProverbsarethepreciousfruitsofhumanbeingsfromtheirrealpracticeinbothEnglishandChineselanguage,theyhavethesimilaritiesanddifferencesoftheir origins,formsanduniquecultureinformation,sotheyarebearingtheuniquevalues,however,theircultureinformationalwaysbringthedifficultiestothetranslatorswhentheyneedtotranslateproverbsintoatargetlanguage.Infact,thefunctionalequivalencetheoryisthebestguidancetotranslatetheseproverbsintothetargetlanguage,anditcansolvemanypracticalproblemsintranslation,andit’sverypracticaltheoryforresolvingtherealproblem.Therefore,manypeopleputforwardthatweshouldadoptNida’sfunctionalequivalencetheorytodealwithallthetranslation;unfortunately,throughwhatIdiscussedabove,wefindthatthefunctionalequivalencetheorycansolvemanytranslationproblemsandhaveagreatinfluenceontranslationinmanyaspects;atsametime,itcannotbeappliedtoalltheproblemshappenedinalltranslations,inthatcase,manyproverbtranslationsfailtopasstheoriginalcultureinformationtothetargetlanguage.Therefore,weshouldattachagreatimportancetotheprinciplesofthefunctionalequivalencetheory,andnotmisusethem.Atthesametime,weshouldtryourbesttoremainthecultureinformationoforiginallanguage.WorksCitedwww.freeencyclopedia/wikipedia.comBaker,M.RoutledgeEncyclopediaofTranslationStudies[M].London:Routledge,1998:277 GaoLanying,English-ChineseProverbs,ShandongYouyipress,2002Newmark,Peter.ApproachestoTranslation[M].NewYork:PrenticeHall,1988Nida,E.A.andJinDi.OnTranslation[M].Beijing:ChinaTranslationandPublishingCorporation,1984Nida,E.A.onScienceofTranslating,Beijing:ChinaTranslationandPublishingCorporation,1964Nida,E.A.TheTheoryandPracticeofTranslation,ShanghaiForeignLanguageEducationPress,1984Nida,E.A.Language,CultureandTranslating[M].ShanghaiForeignLanguageEducationPress,1993DictionaryofEnglishProverbsinCurrentUse,Shaanxipeople’sPressChineseproverbs,WenRizheng,ShanghaiCishuPress,2004.7YiYanbang,ADictionaryofChineseProverbswithEnglishTranslations,2006.2《现代汉语辞海》，延边人民出版社，2002《英语谚语辞典》，陕西人民出版社，1998AcknowledgementsOntheoccasionofpresentation,Iwouldliketoavailmyselfofthispreciousopportunitytoexpressmysinceregratitudetothosewhoofferedtheirgenerousassistance.Withouttheirideas,insightsandcriticismsduringthediscussions,itwouldbedifficulttocompletethepaper. Firstandforemost,Iowemuchindebtednesstomysupervisorwhohasencouragedmenotonlytostudyhardthelanguagebutalsotoconductresearchworkunderherpatientguidanceandcarefulinstruction.Inthecompositionofthisthesis,shesacrificedhersparetimetocorrecttheerrorsandthengiveadvice,whichengravesinmymindherseriousattitudeandamicablepersonality.ThenmygenuinethanksmustgotoalltheteachersinEnglishdepartment,whounselfishlyimpartedtheirknowledgeinclassesandthusequippedmethetoolsforfuturesuccess.Lastbutnotleast,specialgratitudeshouldbesavedformydearparents,whoseaffectionateloveandcareasmoralsupportmotivatedmetoovercomeavarietyofdifficultiesinmystudyandlife.