英汉谚语指示意义对比研究 33页

西南交通大学毕业设计（论文）英汉谚语指示意义对比研究年级：2003级学号：20033492姓名：袁凌燕专业：英语指导老师：杨安文2007年6月 AContrastiveStudyontheReferentofChineseandEnglishProverbsStudent:YuanLingyanSupervisor:YangAnwenAThesisSubmittedtoCollegeofForeignLanguagesInPartialFulfillmentoftheRequirementsFortheDegreeofBachelorofArtsCollegeofForeignLanguagesSouthwestJiaotongUniversityJune2007 西南交通大学本科毕业设计（论文）第23页院系外国语学院专业英语年级2003级姓名袁凌燕题目英汉谚语指示意义对比研究AContrastiveStudyontheReferentofChineseandEnglishProverbs指导老师评语指导老师（签章）评阅人评语评阅人（签章）成绩答辩委员会主任（签章）年月日 西南交通大学本科毕业设计（论文）第23页毕业设计（论文）任务书班级2003级英语（3）班姓名袁凌燕学号20033492发题日期2007年03月01日完成日期2007年05月31日题目英汉谚语指示意义对比研究AContrastiveStudyontheReferentofChineseandEnglishProverbs1.本论文的目的、意义本文在对所要研究的英汉谚语进行界定的基础上，对比分析了英汉谚语指示意义的相似性和差异性及其对谚语翻译的现实指导意义。谚语不仅是在民间广为流传的口语形式，而且还频繁地出现于各种形式的书面作品当中，其指示意义对于日常交流具有关键性作用。本文通过对比研究英汉谚语的指示意义，不仅阐释了两者指示意义的相同和相异之处，并以此为依据，归纳、总结出在英汉谚语翻译中应该注意的几个问题。这对于外语教学、对外汉语教学和翻译等实践活动无疑具有重要的借鉴意义。2.学生应完成的任务1）确定论文的方向；2）广泛地查阅资料，做好卡片；3）确定文章题目，再查阅资料；4）构思并撰写文章；5）完成初稿、二稿、三稿；6）定稿；7）打印装订；8）准备答辩。 西南交通大学本科毕业设计（论文）第23页3.论文各部分内容及时间分配：（共13周）第一部分Introduction(2周)第二部分CriteriaofChineseandEnglishProverbsinthisthesis(2周)第三部分CorrespondingandNon-correspondingPhenomenabetweenChineseandEnglishProverbs(4周)第四部分ProposalsfortheTranslationofProverbs（3周）第五部分Conclusion(1周)评阅及答辩（1周）备注指导老师：年月日审批人：年月日 西南交通大学本科毕业设计（论文）第23页摘　　　要语言是思想的外衣，谚语则是人类智慧的结晶，是各国语言中都有的一种广泛流传的定型造句。从整体上讲，谚语基本上是一个民族千百年来全体人民在生产和生活当中所产生的智慧的积淀与结晶，因而具有较强的群众基础和旺盛的生命力。因此，谚语的重要性不容忽视。正是基于对谚语指示意义重要性的充分认识，本文选择了对英汉谚语的指示意义做对比研究。论文作者首先为所要讨论的英汉谚语提出了界定，在给出英语谚语定义的同时，指出本文所要探讨的汉语谚语包括“谚语”和“俗语”两种语言形式，并不包括“歇后语”在内。英汉谚语在指示意义方面不仅存在着差异，也存在着一定程度上的相似，即其指示意义存在对应、半对应与不对应现象。通过对这些现象进行实例分析，作者归纳、总结出了对英汉谚语翻译的四点建议，并举例加以阐释：　　⑴忠于译出语言中谚语的内容，包括对原谚语的理解和其在译入语言中的再创造。　　⑵尽量保留译出语言中谚语的韵味，适当丰富译入语言的表达方式。　　⑶忠实于原谚语的文体风格，诸如口语体风格之类。　　⑷把其他因素诸如表达中的实物形象考虑在内，使原谚语的译文形似谚语。关键字:英汉谚语；指示意义；对比研究；翻译 西南交通大学本科毕业设计（论文）第23页AbstractLanguageistheclothesofthoughts,andproverbs,whichareawidely-receivedspeechform,arethewisdomofmankind.Coveringthewidestpossiblerangeofareasfromthedeepestphilosophiccontemplationofuniversalsignificancetothecommonestdailyactivitiesofeveryhousehold,proverbshavelongbeenjustifiablyentitledahighlycondensedencyclopediaofanationanditsculture.Asaresult,theimportanceofproverbscannotbeignored.Basedontheawarenessoftheimportanceofproverbs,especiallythereferentofproverbs,thethesischosetomakeacontrastivestudyonthereferentofChineseandEnglishproverbs.Theauthormadeanattempttoanswerthefollowingquestions:WhatareEnglishproverbsandChineseones?WhiledefiningandcharacterizingEnglishproverbs,theauthorpointsoutthatChineseproverbsinthisthesisshouldincludeboth“yan-yu”and“su-yu”butnot“xie-hou-yu”.ChineseandEnglishproverbsnotonlyhavedifferencesintheirreferentsowingtotheirdifferentcultures,butalsohavemuchincommonnamelythecorresponding,semi-correspondingandnon-correspondingphenomenaofreferents.Byillustratingthosephenomenaabove,theauthorofthethesisputsforwardfourproposalsforproverbtranslationwithexamples:ⅰ.Befaithfultothecontentoftheproverbsinthesourcelanguage(SL),whichincludes,firstofall,athoroughunderstandingoftheoriginalproverbs,andsecondlytoreproduceinthereceptorlanguage(RL).ⅱ.Preservethenationalflavorwheneverpossibleinthesourcelanguage(SL)andenrichthewaysofexpressioninthereceptorlanguage(RL). 西南交通大学本科毕业设计（论文）第23页ⅲ.Befaithfultotheoriginalstylesuchascolloquialism.ⅳ.Takeintoaccountotherfactors,forexampleimagesinexpression,inthereceptorlanguage(RL)toensurethetranslatedversionsoundandlooklikeproverbs.Keywords:ChineseandEnglishProverbs;Referent;Contrastivestudy;Translation 西南交通大学本科毕业设计（论文）第23页ContentsIntroduction………………….………………………….………....1PartOneCriteriaofChineseandEnglishProverbsinthisThesis…….....31.1DefinitionsofEnglishProverbs……….….….………...................31.2ChineseProverbsinThisThesis..……….....…………...………..61.2.1Yan-yuandSu-yuinChinese………..………….……61.2.2Yan-yuandSu-yuinThisThesis………………………...….7PartTwoCorrespondingandNon-correspondingPhenomenabetweenChineseandEnglishProverbs...............................................92.1CorrespondingChineseandEnglishProverbs…………………..102.2Semi-CorrespondingChineseandEnglishProverbs…….………112.2.1CloseinMeaningbutDivergentinExpression…………....112.2.2SimilarorCloseinExpressionbutDivergentinMeaning……………………………………….…………122.3Non-correspondingChineseandEnglishProverbs…………...…14PartThreeProposalsfortheTranslationofProverbs............................15Conclusion…………………………………………………..……..….19 西南交通大学本科毕业设计（论文）第23页Acknowledgements……………………………………….……..……....20Notes…………………………………………………….………………..21Bibliography…………………………………………….……………….22 西南交通大学本科毕业设计（论文）第23页AContrastiveStudyontheReferentofChineseandEnglishProverbsIntroductionFrancisBacononcecommentedthat"thegenius,witandspiritofanationarediscoveredinitsproverbs”Asaspecialplaneoflanguageandculture,proverbsreflectalmosteveryaspectofthefeaturesofanation:itshistoricalprocess,geographiccondition,folkcustoms,socialsystem,culturalheritage,nationalpsycho-traits,philosophictrends,religioustraditionandsoon.Thereforetheimportanceofproverbsisquiteobvious.Thetendencytospeakinproverbiallanguageisfoundinallcountries,andrightlyso.Itisamethodofexpressingoneselfmorequicklyandconciselythaninanyotherway.Inaddition,thefrequentappearanceofproverbsinnewspapers,magazines,literaryworks,TVandradioprograms,andevenindailyspeechessuggeststhatproverbsindeedhaveaninexhaustiblelife.Afteralltheyarecrystallizationoffolkwisdomofanationovertheages.Inalmosteveryaspectofthedailyuseofone"smothertongueortheforeignlanguageoneisearning,namelyinsuchactivitiesasListening,speaking,reading,writingandtranslating,proverbsarenowandtheninvolvedandoftentimesplayasignificantrole.Inthissense,agoodcommandofsomefundamentalproverbsofone"smothertongueandespeciallythoseoftheforeignlanguageoneislearningappearstobebothessentialandimportant.Onlybycomparisonandcontrastcanwefindoutthesimilaritiesanddifferencesbetweentheproverbsofdifferentlanguages.Wecangainabetterunderstanding,orrathertohaveabettercommandofEnglishproverbsbycomparingandcontrastingthemwithour 西南交通大学本科毕业设计（论文）第23页nativeproverbs.Theoretically,acontrastivestudyonthereferentofEnglishandChineseproverbswillbroadenthehorizonsofcontrastivelinguisticsandcultural-linguistics;meanwhile,itwillalsocontributetoforeignlanguageteachingandtranslation.Therearethreepartsinthisthesis.Inpartone,theauthormadeanattempttodefinewhatEnglishChineseproverbsare.BydefiningandcharacterizingChineseandEnglishproverbs,criteriaofChineseandEnglishproverbsinthisthesisaremade.BasedonthedefinitionsofChineseandEnglishproverbsinthefirstpart,acontrastivestudyonthereferentofChineseandEnglishproverbsarecarriedoutinparttwo,wherethecorrespondingandnon-correspondingphenomenaofreferentsbetweenChineseandEnglishproverbsareexamined.AlthoughChineseandEnglishproverbshavemuchincommon,differencesstillexistintheirreferentsowingtotheirdifferentcultures.Partthreeproposesthepracticalvalueofthisstudy.Thethesisputsforwardfourproposalsforproverbtranslationinthispart,whichalsoshowsoneaspectofthepracticalsignificancesofthiscontrastivestudy,namelyitsapplicationintranslation.However,thisbriefdiscussionisjustanattempttoprobeintothecontrastivestudyofChineseandEnglishproverbsowingtothelimitationsofpersonalcapacitiesandthesizeofthisthesis.Instead,onlycertainaspectsofthereferentbetweenChineseandEnglishproverbsarefocused. 西南交通大学本科毕业设计（论文）第23页PartOneCriteriaofChineseandEnglishProverbsinThisThesisAlthoughweareveryfamiliarwithEnglishproverbs,itisveryhardtogiveacleardefinitiontothem.Scholars"viewsarediversified,andsometimescontradictory.Therefore,atthebeginningofthisthesiswewillpresentdifferentdefinitionswithanaimtoprovideabalancedpictureoftheage-longdebateordisputeoverEnglishproverbs.BasedonthesedefinitionsandacloseobservationtotheChineseproverbsinthisthesis,somefundamentalconceptswillbeputforward.1.1DefinitionsofEnglishProverbsVariousdefinitionsareprovidedinquiteanumberofauthoritativedictionariesofEnglish.AccordingtoWebster"sThirdInternationalDictionary,aproverb①is“abriefepigrammaticsayingthatisapopularbyword;anoften-repeatedpithyandingeniouslyturnedmaxim”.AproverbisdefinedbyWebster’sRevisedUnabridgedDictionary(1913)as“anoldorcommonsaying...especially,asentencewhichbrieflyandforciblyexpressessomepracticaltruth,ortheresultofexperienceandobservation”.LongmanModernEnglishDictionary(2002)definesaproverbfromadifferentperspectiveas“abrieffamiliarmaximoffolkwisdom,usuallycompressedinform,ofteninvolvingaboldimageandfrequentlyajinglethatcatchesthememory”.Aproverbisdefinedas“ashortwell-knownsayingthatstatesageneraltruthorgivesadvice”inOxfordAdvancedLearners’DictionaryofCurrentEnglish(2000).Also,aproverbisdefinedas“apoplarsaying,awisesayingoradidacticsentence,whichisdifferentfromanidiominthatthelatterisaformofexpressionpeculiartoalanguage,aphrasewithawell-knownmeaning”(高维正1983年:6). 西南交通大学本科毕业设计（论文）第23页SomeexpertsintherelevantfieldalsoputforwardtheirowndefinitionsofEnglishproverbs.Forinstance,ZhangYunfeiinherbookAnIntroductiontoModernEnglishLexicologygavethefollowingdefinition.“TheEnglishpeopleowemanyproverbialsayingstotheBible,toShakespeareandtoothergreatwritersofthepast.Thesesayingshavebeenacceptedbythepeopleandhandeddowntothepresentdaybecausetheyexpresssomeobvioustruthorfamiliarexperienceinaconciseandwittystyle.”Infactmanyscholarssimplygiveupthehopeofgivingaclear-drawndefinition,beingfullyawareofthetremendoustroubleanddifficultyindefiningthemostordinaryandeverydayphenomenaandmatters.AsquotedbyZhaoAiliinhisthesisEnglishChineseProverbTranslation:ACross-culturalPerspective“Weallknowwhataproverbis,yettherearefewthingsmoredifficulttodefine.Thebestthingwecandoistopointtocertainqualitieswhichaproverbmustpossessinordertobeconsideredgoodofitsclass.”Despitethefactthatdefinitionsofproverbsarerenderedindivergentwaysbydifferentscholarsindifferentdictionariesorbooks,theyrefertomoreorlessthesamelinguisticandculturalphenomenon.AlthoughmanyexpertsgiveupthehopeofmakingasatisfactorydefinitionofanEnglishproverb,wecanstilldistinguishitfromothercategoriesofEnglishidiomsbypointingoutsomeofitsessentialfeatures②:ⅰ.Englishproverbsareidiomaticexpressionsonthesentencelevel;ⅱ.Englishproverbsoftencontaintruths,wisdom,counselorwarning;ⅲ.Englishproverbsareoftencompressedinform,figurativeinlanguage,andpleasantinsoundeffect;ⅳ.Englishproverbsenjoywidepopularity;frequentlyappearindailyspeech 西南交通大学本科毕业设计（论文）第23页orotherformsofmassmedia.”Inaddition,thedifferencesbetweenproverbsandidiomsshouldbementionedinordertoclarifythelinguisticunitof“proverb”.Anidiommaybedefinedas“combinationoftwoormorewordswhichareusuallystructurallyfixedandsemanticallyopaque,andfunctionasasingleunitofmeaning”③Idiomsmaybeclassifiedintothreemaingroups:“phraseidiom---abedofroses,easyontheeye,inonepiece---;clauseidioms---eatone’words,catchsomebodyred-handed,dealsomebodyablow---,andsentenceidioms---theproofofthepuddingisintheeating,givesomebodyaninchandhewilltakeamile.”(张韵斐2002年：193)sentenceidiomscanbefurtherdividedintotwotypes:proverbsorsayingsandtypicalconversationalexpressions.Examplesofproverbsarelistedasfollows:“Cowardsdiemanytimesbeforetheirdeath.(Ifamanisacoward,hewillbeafraidofeverybadexperienceandwillfeelfearwhenitisnotnecessary.)Wherethere’sawill,there’saway.(Whenapersonisdeterminedtodosomething,howeverdifficultitmaybe,hewillfindawayofdoingitsuccessfully.)”Thespiritiswillingbutthefleshisweak.(Manhasmanyfineattentionsthattheweaknessofhishumannaturedoesnotallowhimtofulfill.)④Fromtheaboveexamples,wecanseehowproverbsembodyuniversaltruthsinafewsimplebutwittywords,andwhytheyareuniversallyapplicable.Alsonoticetheaboveproverbsarepleasantsoundeffect,whichisoneoftheessentialfeaturesofproverbs.Conversationalexpressionistheothertypeofsentenceidioms(张韵斐 西南交通大学本科毕业设计（论文）第23页2002年：200):“Typicalconversationalexpressions:Englishspeechisfullofhabitualexpressionssuchas‘Howdoyoudo?’,and‘Howareyou?’(for‘whatisthestateofyourhealthorfeelings?’);‘Fridayweek’(forthe‘FridayaweekafternextFriday.’).”Tosumup,idiomsshouldincludeproverbsasoneofitsbranches.Englishidiomsformtheirindependentsub-groupswhichincludeidiomaticphrases,proverbsandslangs.Asaresult,Englishproverbdiscussedinthisthesisisonecertaintypeofsentenceidiom,andisanothernameforEnglishsaying.1.2ChineseProverbsinThisThesis1.2.1Yan-yuandSu-yuinChineseThesceneofChineseproverbsisevenmorecomplicatedthanthatoftheirEnglishcounterpartspartlyduetothefactthatChineseidiomsareclassifiedintomoresophisticatedcategories.Forinstance,Chineseidiomsonthesentencelevelcompriseatleastthreemajortypes:yan-yu,su-yu(orsu-hua),xie-hou-yu⑤.Ofthesethree,xie-hou-yu,withitstwo-partconstitution,probablyauniquelinguisticphenomenoninChinese,canbeeasilydistinguishedfromothertwocategoriesofChinesesentenceidioms.Herearisesacontroversycenteringononemajorissue,thatis,whetheryan-yuandsu-yu(orsu-hua)shouldberegardedasoneortwocategoriesofChineseidioms.Iftheybelongtothesamecategory,whatfeaturesdotheyshare?Ifnot,whatisthedistinctionbetweenthem?Thesequestionshavealwaysbeenthefocusofattentionofscholarsandexpertsintherelevantfield.Infact,manyscholarshavetriedtofindouttherelationshipbetweenyan-yuand 西南交通大学本科毕业设计（论文）第23页su-yuortodistinguishthemfromdifferentperspectivesrangingfromlinguisticform,stylisticfeature,grammaticalfunction,torhetoricdevices,andsoon,thoughtheyseldomagreewitheachother.Althoughscholars"viewsarediversified,itisgenerallyacknowledgedthatinthebroadsense,yan-yuandsu-yubelongtothesamecategoryofChineseidioms,whicharepopularsayings,originatedfromandcirculatedamongtheordinarypeopleandoftentimescontainsometruth,counselorwarning.Forexample,LvShuxiang⑥statedthattheso-calledyan-yuaretypicalsu-yu.Bothofthemreflecttheprofoundwisdomandknowledgeofthecommonpeopleinhighlycondensedform.Theyactuallyrepresentthesamelinguisticphenomenon.Inaddition,theyarevivid,forcefulandpleasanttoears.Asbothyan-yuandsu-yuarenotsoeasilyexplainedbydescriptions,followingexamplesaregivenforthemasteryofaclearconceptofthem:⑴三天打鱼，两天晒网。(Gofishingforthreedaysanddrythenetsfortwo.Thisexpressionisusuallyusedtodescribeapersonlackinginperseverance.)⑵公说公有理，婆说婆有理。(Bothpartiesclaimtobeintheright.)⑶前怕狼，后怕虎。(Fearwolvesaheadandtigersbehind.Itisusedtodescribeapersonovercomebyscrupulosity.)⑷人无远虑，必有近忧。(Ifonehasnolong-termconsiderations,hecanhardlyavoidtroubleeverynowandthen.)1.2.2Yan-yuandSu-yuinThisThesisBasedontheintroductionofyan-yuandsu-yu,togetherwiththeessentialcharacteristicsofEnglishproverbs,wecanjustifiablyassumethatChineseproverbsincludeyan-yuandsu-yu.Insection1.1,fouressentialfeaturesofEnglishproverbshavebeenraised.Proverbs 西南交通大学本科毕业设计（论文）第23页arepopularsentenceidiomscarryingtruth,counselorwarning,andtheyareoftencolorfulorfigurativeinlanguagewithpleasantsoundeffect.Bothyan-yuandsu-yucanmeettheserequirements.ThereforeitisjustifiabletoassumeChineseproverbsconsistofyan-yuandsu-yu.Infact,somescholarsholdtheaboveviewbothathomeandabroad⑦:“Forinstance,ChenWenbobelievedthatitisacceptabletoregardyan-yuandsu-yuascounterpartorequivalentofEnglishproverbsinChinese.Su-yuandyan-yuaregenerallytranslatedintoproverbs.SelwynChampionarguedthat‘Chineseconsistsoftwoalmostdistinctlanguages,theliteraryandthecolloquial.TheliterarytermforproverbsinChineseis`yan"or`yanyu",elegantoraccomplishedwords.Incolloquialspeech,`su-hua"(commontalk)or`su-yu"(commonsayings)’”（周玉亮2001年：16）SinceChineseproverbs,ashavealreadybeenexplained,includeyan-yuandsu-yuintothisthesis,theessentialfeaturessharedbyyan-yuandsu-yucanbetakenasthemajorcharacteristicsofChineseproverbs.Firstly,theyareidiomsonthesentencelevel.Secondly,mostofthemareoffolkorigin,thoughthereareothersourcesaswell.Inotherwords,mostarecreated,polishedbytheordinarylaboringpeople,notbytheelitesofthesociety,andtheyarespreadacrossacountryorevenbeyondthenationalboundarymainlybywordofmouthfromthetimeimmemorialtothepresentday.Thirdly,theyusuallycontaintruth,wisdom,counselorwarning.Inaddition,theyarepopularsayings,widelyusedeitherinpeople"sdailyspeechorinthewrittenform. 西南交通大学本科毕业设计（论文）第23页PartTwoCorrespondingandNon-correspondingPhenomenabetweenChineseandEnglishProverbsWhilemakingacontrastivestudyofEnglishandChineseproverbs,wecanhardlyneglectthefactthatacertainnumberofEnglishandChineseproverbsarecorrespondinginbothformandconnotation.⑴Chineseproverb:玉不琢，不成器。Englishproverbequivalent:ANUNCUTGEMDOESNOTSPARKLE.⑵Chineseproverb:日月如梭。Englishproverbequivalent:TIMEPASSESFASTERTHANAWEAVER’SSHUTTLE.(CuiMingqiu＆WangShizhi1997:70)Therearestillalargernumberwhicharesemi-correspondingtoeachother:eithersharingthesimilarrootidea,differentonlyinfigurativeexpression;orusingthesimilarfigurativeexpressionbutdivergentinconnotation.Forexample,Chinesehasaproverbof“无风不起浪”,anditsEnglishequivalentsis“Thereisnosmokewithoutfire”,whichadopttheimageof“smoke”and“fire”toreplace“风”and“浪”respectively.Infactmanyexpertshaveexploredthisspecificcornerofstudy:thecorrespondingandnon-correspondingphenomenabetweenEnglishandChineseproverbs.Asthethesisisentitled“AContrastiveStudyontheReferentofChineseandEnglishProverbs”,onlythereferentsorrathertheconnotativemeaningsofChineseandEnglishproverbsarefocusedhere.Inthissense,threetypesofcorrespondingphenomenabetween 西南交通大学本科毕业设计（论文）第23页ChineseandEnglishproverbsareputforwardhere,“namelycorresponding,semi-corresponding,andnon-corresponding”⑧.Inthefollowingpart,thethreetypesofreferentcorrespondingphenomenabetweenChineseandEnglishproverbsarediscussedrespectivelyindetail.2.1CorrespondingEnglishandChineseProverbsSome,thoughnotmany,proverbsinEnglishandChinesesharenotonlythesamerootideabutalsothesameimageorthesamewayoffigurativeexpression.Theseproverbsarenothinderedbynationalboundariesorculturalbarriers;insteadtheyhavetakenonsomeuniversalsignificance.Letusfirsttakealookatsomeofproverbsinthiscategory:⑴Womenhavelonghairandshortwisdom.(女人家头发长见识短)⑵Outofblowsfriendshipgrows.(不打不相识)⑶Asingleslipmaycauselastingsorrow.(一失足成千古恨)⑷Lazinessinyouthspellsregretinage.(少壮不努力，老大徒伤悲)⑸Asingleslipmaycauselastingsorrow.(一失足成千古恨)⑹Lazinessinyouthspellsregretinage.(少壮不努力，老大徒伤悲)⑺Fromdisasterfortunecomes,infortunelurksdisaster.(祸兮福之所倚，福兮祸之所伏)⑻Amplereadingproducesfluentwriting.(读书破万卷，下笔如有神)ManyfactorshavecontributedtotheemergenceofcorrespondingorequivalentpairsinEnglishandChineseproverbs.Firstly,thesharedpointsofhumanculturesarelargerthantheindividualfeaturesofeachculture.Although,people"sconcretewaysoflifearevariedindifferentplaces,thefundamentalwaysoflivingandthinkingarethesameforthewholehumanrace.Forinstance,peopleineverycountryhavetofacesucheverydayproblemsrelevanttoclothing, 西南交通大学本科毕业设计（论文）第23页food,shelter,transportationandcommunication.Everypersonisboundtoexperiencetheinevitablestageorperiodoflife:birth,growth,declining,anddeath.Illnessandaccidentpaytheirvisittoeveryindividual.Thereevenemergesstrikingsimilarityastotheessentialvaluesandmoraljudgmentsheldbypeopleindifferentcultures.Secondly,althoughdifferentnationsliveinvariednaturalenvironmentsanddiversifiedgeographicconditions,theystillsharequitealotincommonintermsoftheirnaturalsurroundings.Forinstance,thesun,themoonandthestarsarethesame;theyhavemoreorlessthesamespeciesofanimalsandplants.Peoplesharemorethelessthesamecategoriesoflandformsandtheyallhaverivers,lakes,mountainsandhills.Thesimilarityinnaturalsurroundingsissuretofinditswayintoproverbs,formostofwhichareoffolkorigin.Inaword,asthecommongroundintermsofsocialactivitiesandnaturalsurroundingsismoresignificantthantheindividualfeaturesofdifferentnations,identicalorequivalentproverbsappearindifferentlanguages.Inaddition,owingtoculturalexchange,translationloansareborrowedfromeachother.Asaresult,someproverbswithidenticalformandmeaningcomeintoexistenceindifferentlanguages,forinstanceEnglishandChinese.2.2Semi-CorrespondingChineseandEnglishProverbs2.2.1CloseinMeaningbutDivergentinExpressionEverynationandculturehasitsparticularities,whicharedecidedbytheirspecialnaturalenvironments,histories,geographicallocations,lifestylesanddifferentwaysofthinking.Andasthelanguagesoulofanationorculture,proverbsdefinitelyvaryfromculturetocultureintermsofdifferentadoptedimagesandmeanings.Forexample,Chinesehasaproverbof“宁做鸡头,不做凤尾”,anditsEnglishequivalentsis“Betterbetheheadofadogthanthetailofalion.”,whichadopttheorimageof“dog”and“lion”toreplace“鸡” 西南交通大学本科毕业设计（论文）第23页and“凤”respectively.TherearequiteanumberofEnglishandChineseproverbswhichcanbegroupedunderthiscategory.Theycontainthesameadvice,counsel,wisdomorwarning,andtheycanperformthesamefunctionsinlife.ComparedwithcorrespondingproverbsinEnglishandChinese,thenumberofsemi-correspondingproverbsinthiscategoryismuchlarger.Theyconveyalmostthesameconnotativemeaningalthoughtheirwaysofexpressionseemtobeunrelated.Somemoreexampleswillbelistedbelow.⑴Threefoolsmakeonewiseman.(三个臭皮匠抵个诸葛亮)⑵Romewasnotbuiltinoneday.(冰冻三尺，非一日之寒)⑶Oneboyisaboy,twoboyshalfaboyandthreeboysnoboy.(一个和尚挑水吃，两个和尚抬水吃，三个和尚没水吃)⑷Ittakestwotomakeaquarrel.(一个巴掌拍不响)⑸Whenthecat"saway,themicewillplay.（山中无老虎,猴子称大王）⑹Foodisthefirstnecessityofthepeople.(民以食为天)⑺Intheeyesofthelove,pock-marksaredimples.(情人眼里出西施)⑻Itisbetterforthedoertoundowhathehasdone(解铃还须系铃人)2.2.2SimilarorCloseinExpressionbutDivergentinMeaningFortheproverbsofthiscategory,itisthemosttroublesometodealwith.Becausetheyarecorrespondingorverymuchsimilarinform,yettheyaredifferentandsometimesevenoppositeinconnotations.Withoutacarefulandcloseexamination,wemaybemistakenlyledtoputthemunderthecategoryofidenticalproverbsinEnglishandChinese.Thefollowingexampleswillfurtherillustratethispoint.Thereisaminorgroupofproverbsthataresimilarinimagesorsymbolsbutverydifferent 西南交通大学本科毕业设计（论文）第23页inmeaningsandstylestowhichspecialattentionsshouldbepaid.Takethisproverb:“Lockthestabledoorafterthehorseisstolen”forexample.Whilehearingthisexpression,mostnativeChinesewouldtakeitastheequivalentoftheChineseproverb“亡羊补牢”,whichmeansthat“itisstillnotlatetomakesomeimprovementsafteryouhavelostsomething”.Thisexplanation,however,isnotthesamewiththemeaningof“Lockthestabledoorafterthehorseisstolen”,whichmeansthat“itisuselesstotakeprecautionsaftersomethinghashappenedthatcouldhavebeenforeseenandguardedagainst;trytoavoidorpreventloss,damage,etc”.Thishassuggestedusnevertakethemeaningsofsomeproverbsorsayingsforgranted.Anotherexampleis“Onecannotmakeasilkpurseoutofasow’sear”suggestingthat“youcannotmakesomethinggoodoutofwhatisbynaturebadorinferiorquality”.ItiseasilytakenastheEnglishequivalentoftheChineseproverb“巧妇难为无米之炊”,whichhasaquitedifferentmeaningof“youcannotmakesomethingoutofnothing”.Anothertwoexamplesarelistedasfollow:⑴Amissisasgoodasamile.失之毫厘，谬以千里。{Asmalldiscrepancyleadstoagreaterror.)⑵Ignoranceofthelawisnoexcuseofbreakingit.不知者不为罪。(Noblameattachestotheunconsciousdoerofwrong.Thosewrong-doersareforgivenwhoareunawareorignorantoftheirmistakesorwrong-doings.)Thepointaboveisonethatshouldbeextremelyconcernedabout.Definitely,theexactunderstandingandmasteryofthisminorgrouprequiresdiligentlearningandaccumulation,meanwhile,pointsmentionedaboveshouldalsobetakenintoaccountwhenwetrytoconveyourintentionsintheformofproverbs. 西南交通大学本科毕业设计（论文）第23页2.3Non-correspondingChineseandEnglishProverbsFinally,wehavecometothosenon-correspondingproverbsinEnglishandChinese.Aswehavementionedbefore,Cultureisthematrixofproverbs.TheCulturaldifferencesbetweenChinaandBritainwillcertainlybemanifestedintheirrespectiveproverbs.NotonlyisBritainwidelyapartfromChinaintermsofgeographicallocationandnaturalenvironment,thesetwocountriesalsodiffergreatlyintheirrespectivehistoricalprocess,nationalpsyche-traits,religiousbeliefs,folkloreandcustom,politicalideologyandinstitutions,andsoon.Forinstance,Chinaisavastcontinentalcountrywithalargepopulation,amongwhich,eightypercentarestillpeasants.Britain,ontheotherhand,isacomparativesmall-sizedislandnation,whichishighlyindustrialized.Thisdifferenceismanifestedcrystalclear:wecanfindanoverwhelmingnumberofChineseproverbsrelevanttofarming,whileinEnglish,proverbsrelatedtofarmingarerelativelyinsignificant.Ontheotherhand,proverbsrelatedtosailinginEnglishoutnumberthoseinChinese. 西南交通大学本科毕业设计（论文）第23页PartThreeProposalsfortheTranslationofProverbsProverbs,asspecialidiomaticexpressionsonthesentencelevel,notonlyrepresentsomeaspectsofthelinguisticfeaturesofalanguage,butmoreimportantly,carrythewisdomandintelligenceofonenationinthecondensedandquiteoftenmetaphoricalway.Someproverbscontainsomeuniversaltruth,whileothersreflectsomedistinctlynationalflavors.Inproverbs,someprofoundthoughtsareconveyedbymeansofsimple,terselanguagewhichisbothpleasanttoearsandeasytomemorize.Theseaswellasotherspecialqualitiesofproverbsrequirethatthetranslationofproverbsshouldbehandledmorecarefullythanotherformsofsentencesandutterances.CombinedwiththedistinctfeaturesofEnglishproverbsandtheirChineseequivalents,somemajorproposalsforthetranslationofproverbsshouldbeputforward:ⅰ.Befaithfultothecontentoftheproverbsinthesourcelanguage(SL),whichincludes,firstofall,athoroughunderstandingoftheoriginalproverbs,andsecondlytoreproduceinthereceptorlanguage(RL)theclosestnaturalequivalentinmeanings.Therefore,whenwearetranslatingproverbs,wemusttrytopreservetheoriginalstyle.Ifwefailedtodothat,ourtranslatedversionoftheoriginalproverbswouldbeunabletoproducethesameatmosphere.Consequently,thetranslatedproverbsmayappearawkwardorridiculousinitscontext.Forinstance,thefollowing⑨ChineseproverbsareinthestyleofclassicChinese.SothetranslatoremployedsomelexicalandgrammaticaldevicesinoldEnglishtohelppreserveinthetranslatedversionthestylisticfeatureofthesourceproverbs:⑴以其人之道，还治其人之身。(Dountohimashedoesuntoothers.) 西南交通大学本科毕业设计（论文）第23页⑵祸兮福之所倚，福兮祸之所藏。(Goodfortuneliethwithbad,badfortunelurkethwithingood.)⑶己所不欲，勿施于人。(Donestontoothersyouwouldnotbedoneby.)ⅱ.Preservethenationalflavorwheneverpossibleinordertopreservethenovelimagesinthesourcelanguage(SL)andtoenrichthewaysofexpressioninthereceptorlanguage(RL).Thefollowingexamplesshowhowthispointiscarriedout.⑴Hethatwillthrivemustriseatfive.(五点起床，家业兴旺)⑵Accidentswillhappeninthebestregulatedfamilies.(家规再严，丑事难免)⑶Thepleasuresofthemightyarethetearsofthepoor.(富人尽情乐，穷人泪成河)⑷Oldfriendsandoldwinearebest.(陈酒味醇，老友情深)ⅲ.Befaithfultotheoriginalstylesuchascolloquialism.Sincemostproverbsareinthestyleofcolloquialism,themajorityofthemshouldbetranslatedaccordingly.EachEnglishproverbinthefollowing⑩listisprovidedwithtwoChinesetranslations:thefirstonequiteformalorevenarchaisticandthesecondonecolloquial.Bycomparingwecanfindthatthesecondtranslationineachlineisfarbetter,becauseitismorecolloquialandlifelike.⑴Wellbeganishalfdone.(能善其始，事己成半/良好的开端，成功的一半)⑵Wastenot,wantnot.(俭以防匾/不浪费，不愁缺)⑶Alittleisbetterthannone.(聊胜于无/有点总比没有强)⑷Fool"shasteisnospeed.(欲速则不达/愚人的匆忙等于瞎忙) 西南交通大学本科毕业设计（论文）第23页ⅳ.Takeintoaccountotherfactors,forexampleimagesinexpression,inthereceptorlanguage(RL)toensurethetranslatedversionsoundandlooklikeproverbs.IftherearenocorrespondingsayingsintheRL,thetranslationbecamemorenecessarynotonlytopreservethenationalcoloringsofthesourceproverbsbutmoreimportantlytoenrichthetreasurehouseofproverbsintheRL.ThefollowingproverbsareoriginatedfromChinese,anddonothavecorrespondingEnglishproverbs;thusthetranslationofthemshouldnotonlyconcentrateonthecontents,butalsotheexpressionpatternsinordertoensuretheversionssoundandlooklikeproverbs.⑴画虎画皮难画骨，知人知面不知心。(Indrawingatiger,youshowitsskin,butnottheirbones;inknowingman,youmayknowhisface,butnothisheart.)⑵十年树木，百年树人.(Ittakestenyearstogrowtreesbutahundredyearstorearpeople.)⑶人无远虑，必有近忧。(Hewhohasnoanxiousthoughtsforthefuturewillfindtroublerightathand.)⑷乐极生悲，否极泰来。(Whenjoyreachesitsheight,it"ssorrow"sturn;whenillluckreachesitssummit,goodluckcomesin.)⑸留得青山在，不怕没柴烧。(Aslongasgreenhillsremainthere"llbeneverbeashortageoffirewood.)⑹跑得了和尚跑不了庙。(Amonkmayrunaway,butthetempleremains.)Sometimes,aproverbcanbefoundintheRL,whichiscorrespondinginmeaningwiththesourceproverbbeingtranslated.However,ifoneofthemisinvolvedwithsomethinguniqueinonelanguageandculturesuchashistoricalfigure,allusiveevent,specialcustomorwayoflifeandsoon,wehavetoreproduceanotheronetoensurethe 西南交通大学本科毕业设计（论文）第23页nationalcoloringismaintainedandthefreshimageandnovelwayofexpressioninfluxintotheRL.Tosumup,thoughguidedbythemajorpointsforproverbtranslation,supportedwiththefindingsofthecontrastivestudyofEnglishandChineseproverbsinthebodyofthisthesis,theyarefarfromcomplete,stilltheycanprovidesortofframeworkofguidance.Consequently,thesefourproposalsarenottobefollowedrigidly.Instead,theyshouldbetreatedandemployedflexibly,fortherearenotonlyrulesbutalsoexceptionstotherulesandprinciples. 西南交通大学本科毕业设计（论文）第23页ConclusionThewordsofthewiseandexperiencesofourancestorshavebecomeincorporatedintoproverbs.Fromthiswealth,allcanlearn.Thetrendtospeakinproverbiallanguageisfoundinallcountries;andrightlyso.Itisamethodofexpressingoneselfmorequicklyandconciselythaninanyotherway.Thethesisfocusesmainlyonthereferentsofproverbs.InordertodeliveracontrastivestudyonthereferentsofChineseandEnglishproverbs,thecriteriaofChineseandEnglishproverbsinthisthesisareexplainedfirstly,includingthedefinitionsofEnglishproverbs;asforChineseproverbs,yan-yuandsu-yushouldbefocusedinthisthesisafteradetaileddiscussion.BycontrastingthereferentsofEnglishproverbsandChineseones,thecorresponding,semi-correspondingandnon-correspondingphenomenaofreferentsofChineseandEnglishproverbsarediscussedseparately.Consequently,thosedifferentiationshavemadetranslationofproverbscomplicatedtosucceed.Asaresult,fourproposalsaremadeforproverbtranslation:Firstly,befaithfultothecontentoftheoriginalproverb.Secondly,preservetheoriginalnationalorhistorical-culturalflavor.Thirdly,maintaintheoriginalstylisticfeature.Fourthly,otherfactorsshouldalsobetakenintoconsideration.However,thisframeworkofguidanceisnottobefollowedrigidlywithoutlimitations.Instead,theyshouldbetreatedandemployedflexiblywithexceptions. 西南交通大学本科毕业设计（论文）第23页AcknowledgementsFirstandforemostIexpressmycordialthankstoalltheteachersfortheirpreciousguidanceinthepastfouryears.Especially,IwouldsendmydeepgratitudetoMr.YangAnwenwhogavemethehelpfulsuggestionsandadvicetomypaperwritingandmanyappreciationsforhispatientguidance.IamalsoindebtedtothelibraryofSouthwestJiaotongUniversityandthereferenceroomofSchoolofForeignLanguageforthecollectionofinformation.Lastbutnotleast,Iwouldliketoexpressmyspecialthankstomyclassmatesfortheirconstructivesuggestionsandtomyparentsfortheirencouragementandsupportduringmyfour-yearcollegelife.Thousandsofthankshavetobegiventomyparents.Theygavemethechancetoenjoythecolorfullifeincollege. 西南交通大学本科毕业设计（论文）第23页Notes①赵爱丽：《英汉谚语互译的跨文化研究》，西南师范大学学报，2002年。②Ibid.③张韵斐：《现代英语词汇学概论》，北京师范大学出版社，2002年，第191页。④Ibid.,p.200⑤Axie-hou-yuinChineseisatwopartallegoricalsaying,ofwhichthefirstpart,alwaysstated,isdescriptive,whilethesecondpart,sometimesunstated,carriedtheimpliedmessage.⑥吕叔湘：《中国俗语大辞典》序，上海辞书出版社，1989年6月第一版。⑦周玉亮：《英汉谚语对比研究》，四川师范大学学报，2001年5月。⑧Ibid.⑨赵爱丽：《英汉谚语互译的跨文化研究》，西南师范大学学报，2002年。⑩何婵，刘洪泉：英汉谚语的文化对比，《文鳌论坛》，2007年第7期。 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