The Disposition of Words in Translation 词语的翻译五

Warming up 通过例子来看直译和意译的度 He is eloquent and elegant.

Revolution is bloody, revolution is hostile, revolution knows no compromise, revolution overturns and destroys everything that gets in its way. 革命要流血，革命势不两立，革命不容妥协，革命摧枯拉朽，清除一切障碍。

I can eat crow, I will be damned if I like it I am thrifty, you are economical, and he is mean. Free translation and literal translation Not as free as possible Not word by word

meaning( context) culture ( Summer’s day, grass is always greener on the other side of the fence) style ( back to find the former item)

主要参考文献 肖立明 新译学论稿 中国对外翻译公司出版社 孙海运 方如玉 英语成语的来龙去脉 商务印书馆香港有限公司 包惠南 文化语境与语言翻译 中国对外翻译出版公司 Culturally Loaded Words in English and Chinese 潘红 英汉国俗语例话 上海外语教育出版社 p43-60

The story of Chinese students in Canada Animal sign Culturally loaded words

In Culture and Translation 文化与翻译 郭建中 中国对外翻译出版公司 Cultural Connotation of Animal Words in English and Chinese 汉英动物词语的文化内涵 In Culture and Translation 文化与翻译 郭建中 中国对外翻译出版公司

The author sent a number of questionnaires to both Chinese( the Han People) and native English speakers( Americans, Australians, Canadians, Englishmen and so on) to ask about their opinions on 1 what 36 animals stand for ; 2 what animals stand for 21 human characters. The findings are not only interesting but also special guidance in cross-cultural communication and translation.

According to its result, Dog – Most English speaking people think the dog’s first quality is friendliness and therefore stands for friendship(88%), while most Chinese think “the dog stands for faithfulness”. Rabbit – many English Speaking people deem the rabbit as attractive( 24%) and more of them think it is insecure(32%), while most Chinese think it stands for timidity and meekness ( quite and gentle 68%)

Rat – many Chinese think the image of the rat is timidity(40%). Tiger – to both English Speaking people and Chinese the tiger stand for ferocity( 62% and 34%), while some Chinese think it also stand for dignity(36%). Pig – to English---------pig’s character is dirtiness(52%), followed by greediness (21%), but to most Chinese, it stands for laziness( 48%), and stupidity( 22%).

Ox- to most Chinese, actually, the Chinese word 牛doesn’t distinguish ox from cow or bull or buffalo ), is known for its devotion and hardworking, (84%). While English -----would rather ascribe such qualities to the horse(74%).

However, for some the images of animals in the two language it is difficult to make a proper comparison . For example, the sheep and the goad are distinguished in English but the 羊 includes both, it is like the sheep or lamb as it also stands for meekness, but in English the goad is often compared to a man with a warm temperament.

词语所承载的意义远不止其概念意义所表述的那样，而是在于其深层次的文化意义，即词语的社会文化色彩和民族情感内涵上面――词语的国俗语义。 上外副校长－吴友富教授在《国俗语义研究》1998上海外语与教育出版社一书中，曾指出“ 国俗词语是指在词汇的概念意义上添加历史文化、民族风情、地理环境等文化色彩的语义，国俗语义是语义民族性的一种表现,它客观地反映了使用该语言国家的历史文化和民族风俗”.

英语中的鼠有mouse/rat/ guinea pig 1 In English, mouse 含有“偷偷摸摸”，“鬼鬼祟祟”的国俗语义： The buglar moused about for valuables. 窃贼鬼鬼祟祟地四处搜寻之前的东西。《英汉大词典》1993 2 mouse 含有“安静”，“宁静”“悄无声息”的喻义。 Have you had quiet guard? Not a mouse stirring. ( W. Shakespeare: Hamlet) 你站岗时候还安静吧？ 静悄悄的

3 In English, mouse 还喻指狡猾，例如： The mouse that has but one hole is quickly taken. （ 鼠无三窟，必被擒获） A smart mouse has more than one hole. (和汉语中的狡兔三窟类似) 4 mouse 或者rat 也指 “ 讨厌、可耻、卑鄙的人”,例如： He’s acting like a prime mouse on this. 在这件事情上，他的行为(做法)叫人恶心。 5 guinea pig 天竺鼠 豚鼠 实际是指一种供试验用的大老鼠似的短耳动物，常喻指“供试验用的人”。 Nearly 500,000 pupils are to be guinea pigs in a trial run of the new exams. 大约有五十万小学生将成为试行的新考试的试考者。

牛： cow/ calf/ ox/buffalo/bull Cow-hearted and cowish The publisher was cowed into withdrawing his book. 出版商吓得不敢出版他得书了。 The child had a cowed look. 孩子看上去很害怕 2 cow 常常被用来指肥胖笨拙得女人如： It’s just that stupid cow of her mother. 就是她那个愚蠢的肥妈。

3 calf 小牛 calf love ＝puppy love 另外在worship the golden calf 指为了物质利益而放弃原则： --------but to worship the golden calf for shillings a week! Oh, pitiful, pitiful . 可是为了每周十八个先令而向铜臭折腰！唔，可怜，可怜！－英语成语词典 1972

4 buffalo 可指北美的野牛，也可以指亚洲的水牛，它意含贬抑，指令人讨厌的人（物）。 She couldn’t risk Mr Merriweather writing another letter to her mother. “ You old buffalo! She thought, her face crimson with suppressed fury.( deep red in color) 她不敢去招惹梅里维瑟太太，弄不好，她又要去向她母亲告状了，这个令人讨厌的家伙，她心里直骂，压着一腔怒火，脸涨得通红。

5 bull （公牛指体壮如牛的人）a bull in a china shop 指笨拙粗鲁，动辄闯祸的人例如; You have strength, he could hear her saying, but it is untutored strength, “like a bull in china shop”, he suggested and won a smile. 你是有力量的，可那是没有经过训练的力量， 就像一头站在瓷器店里的公牛，他这样比喻，博得她一笑。 Bull 一词还具有桀骜不驯、盛气凌人、恃强凌弱等意思，John Bull 一词由英国作家John Arbuthnot 在The History of John Bull 提出，最初是用来贬斥英国当年的专横跋扈，但是随着岁月的流逝，已经成了英国人的代名词。

6 ox （公牛） 含有愚蠢、呆头呆脑、笨拙的意思，dumb ox or as dumb as an ox 指（呆滞、沉默寡言的人） Take for example, Peter Burch, my roommate at the university of Minnesota. Same age, same background, but dumb as an ox.

1 In English, tiger 含有威武，勇猛，强悍的意思。In sports game, our strong opponent can be a tiger. He is a tiger of work。 他工作起来，干劲十足。 There is a mixture of the tiger and the ape in the character of a Frenchman. 法国人的个性中既有强悍的一面也有精明的一面。（Voltaire）

2 与汉语相同，英语中的tiger 也有贬义的用法，比喻残忍、凶猛、危险的人或事。 To arouse the tiger in sb’s nature 激起某人的凶残本性 Ride a tiger 骑虎难下，处境岌岌可危 -----to remember that, in the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside.

兔子 in English, we have rabbit and hare rabbit-like or breed like rabbits 喻指繁殖力强 贬义 2 兔子生性胆怯，因此rabbit 含有胆小，懦弱的意思 a rabbit look 胆怯的目光 例如： How did that little rabbit ever get up spunk enough to stand up to old lady Merriwether? Informal courage

3 hare 野兔 英语中习惯用hare 喻指跑得飞快和匆忙如： I hared up to London, left my book with the published and went to my flat. Hare-brained 粗率，轻率的意思 Hare-brained schemes of economic policies Let’s leave this town for they are hare-brained slaves. 我们离开这个城市吧，因为他们是一群狂徒。 （W.Shakespear: Henry VI ） 含有愚蠢，发疯的含义 make a hare of sb 愚弄某人

In English , dragon 一词多含贬义。 Romeo and Juliet When Julie got Romeo killed her cousin , she said O serpent heart, hid with a flowering face! Did ever dragon keep so fair a cave? Beautiful tyrant! Fiend angelica! Dove-feathered raven! Wolfish-ravening lamb! Despised substance of divinest show!

啊，花一样的面容里藏着蛇一样的心！ 哪一条恶龙曾栖息在这样清雅的洞府里？ 美丽的暴君，天使般的魔鬼！ 披着白鸽羽毛的乌鸦！豺狼一样残忍的羔羊！圣洁的外表包含着丑恶的实质。

serpent 英语文化里的serpent ，含有浓厚的宗教色彩， Bible 里, the Old Serpent 指魔鬼，撒旦 And he laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who’s the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 他捉住那龙，就是古蛇，又叫撒旦，也叫魔鬼，把它捆绑一千年。

Snake 1 snake in the grass 指隐藏的敌人、看不见的危险、背后捣鬼的人 Some snake in the grass told the teacher our plans. “某些人”把我们的打算告诉了老师 Mare(母马) 英语中the grey mare 指“比丈夫厉害的妻子”或“管束着丈夫的女人”。

Horse 在英语中，“马”horse最能反映英语民族特有的文化生活。 a horse of a different color 完全是另一回事 change horses in midstream. 半途换马，中途改变计划 Dark-horse 黑马，意想不到的获胜者 Horse-and-buggy methods保守的方法 Talk horse吹牛 To be on one’s high horse 趾高气扬

英语中的horse 含有“强壮”、“巨大”“强健”等语义 A willing horse As strong as a horse Eat like a horse To work like a horse 埋头苦干的人(老黄牛) 非常强壮 胃口极大 辛苦工作

英语中不少与horse 有关的词语有着十分独特的文化内涵 耶稣基督是降生在一个马槽内的，于是trough(马槽) 在英语里便蒙上了神圣、神秘的色彩，被视为基督的摇篮或精神的源泉。 英语民族对horseshoe （马蹄铁）有着十分特殊的民族感情，在英语国家里，拣到horseshoe是鸿运当头的征兆，因为旧时人们认为“铁”等驱恶避邪，就有了把马蹄掌钉在家门口的习俗，并且要两端朝上，以防好运流失。现在，在英语国家的婚礼上，经常有人把马蹄铁或马蹄铁形的饰物当作吉祥物送给新人，以图吉利

The bride was presented with a horseshoe. 有人给新娘赠送了传统吉祥物马蹄铁。 《英汉大词典》，1993 iron horse & iron pony 和汉语的“铁骑”字面上看似， 但英语中iron horse 指火车头、自行车或坦克 iron pony 则指摩托车

lock the stable (barn)door after the horse is stolen 汉语亡羊补牢相似，但汉语含义，而英语喻义take precautions after the mischief has happened －贼走关门为时已晚。 After Mary failed the examination she said she would study hard after that. She wanted to lock the stable( barn) door after the horse is stolen. 在考试不及格以后，她才说此后一定用功，那已经是为时已晚了。

We’ve had so many full alters and air raid drills and surprise attack exercises and all, nobody can count them, ------the milk is spilled, horse is stolen, but I think it’s pretty clear that the President got too damned interested in the wrong enemy, the wrong ocean and the wrong war. 我们经历过这么多次全面警戒、空袭演习和突然袭击的操练，谁也数不清有多少次，尽管如此，仍然－好了，奶也洒了，马也被人偷了，事情已经无可补救，但我认为这一点是很清除的：总统总是热衷于错误的敌人，错误的海洋和错误的战争。

羊 sheep/lamb/ goat/ ram 1 sheep 绵羊 英国人对绵羊有着特别的感情，sheep 在英语中也多含有褒义。 Sheep 喻指善良的人 a sheep among wolves （ 落在恶人手中的好人）goat则有坏人的喻义 to separate/ tell the sheep from the goat 区分好人和坏人。

sheep 常含有懦弱、胆小 易受人摆布的人或毫无防御能力的人 as a sheep for shearers 仿佛屠刀下的绵羊 like a sheep to the slaughter 似乎未意识到将落入（死亡）的陷进 to follow like a sheep 盲从 EG: Outside his own domain, and protected, he was a very sheep for the shearers. ( David Copperfield ) 一出他自己的领地，失去了保护，他完全成了一只任人宰割的小羊。

古代传说，black sheep 是恶魔的化身，所以英语中指害群之马，恶棍等 There is a black sheep in every flock. Or it is a small flock that has not a black sheep. 树多出杂木，人多出怪物。

Lamb 1 宗教内涵丰富 用来指那些温顺、懦弱、天真幼稚而易上当的人 As gentle/mild as a lamb 温驯如羔羊 The sergeant looked back like a lamb, and seemed to like me better than ever. 警官温和地回头看看，他似乎比以往更喜欢我了。 She makes eyes at every man who comes to the office. 她向来办公室的每个男子暗送秋波。 Cast sheep’s eyes/ make eyes at 暗送秋波 但是cast sheep’s eyes at sb 含义look at sb in a loving but foolish way

lamb 用作昵称，特别是称小孩，含“宝贝乖乖”之意思，如lamb, poor lamb等。如： Poor lamb, I’ve bustled you down here like this, and you probably ought to have bought a lot of clothes in London. 可怜的小宝贝，我那么急地催促你回到这里来，你本该在伦敦多买些衣服的。

Goat 1 英语中goat 具有宗教喻义，goat 从基督教的视角来看象征“有罪的人”。 2 goat 在英语中多含有贬义，常被用来指愚蠢、呆傻的人，或好色淫荡的人。 When a covetous( have a strong desire to have something) man dotes on his bag of gold… the drunk(drunkard) on his wine, the lustful goat on his woman…. They banish( literary stop thinking) all other objects. 当贪婪者醉心金子―――酒鬼垂涎美酒、好色之徒贪恋女色―――他们均无心他物。

Ram 公羊 Ram 在英语中指未阉割的公羊，含有“撞击，压迫”等意义，因此它常常给人以“横冲直撞”的 联想。 Ram 也喻指好色，淫荡的男人 One day, Mary will rise up on the ram she has for a husband and pan him in the chops. 总有一天，玛丽会反抗她那个色鬼丈夫，把他撕成碎片来翻炒。

Monkey 与猴子 1 在英语国家，人们常用monkey 来指“充满活力的孩子”，强调孩子淘气和顽皮的特点，也带有很强的溺爱语气。 What have you done, you young monkey! 你干了什么，你这个小捣蛋！ 英汉大词典 1993 She‘s such a little monkey! 她可真是个小猴精！

2 英语中monkey 含有耍弄、出丑的含义 I suddenly realized that I had been made a monkey out of by my opponents. 我突然意识到我让对手们给耍弄了。 They suspected monkey business at the polls. 他们怀疑选举投票中有鬼。 4 monkey 还喻指行为或举止像小丑一般滑稽可笑的人：

An inferior mind becomes the monkey of an original writer by imitation. 才智低劣的人因模仿有独创性的作家而显得滑稽可笑。 George clearly thinks that Grote was a meddling monkey. 乔治显然认为格鲁特是个多管闲事的小丑。 5 monkey 还用来比喻狡猾和酩酊大醉，这也是英语中所特有的 I came into her room half an hour before the bridal dinner, and found her lying on her bed as lovely as the June night in her flowered dress – as drunk as a monkey. 在婚宴开始前半小时我到她房间去，发现她躺在床上，身着缀着花的衣服，和衣而睡，样子像六月的夜晚一样可爱，喝得烂醉如泥。 ――S. Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby

Chicken/ cock/ rooster/ hen 1 英语中其含有胆小、懦弱的意思 Don’t be scared, chickens! Came her voice with teasing gaiety. “别害怕，胆小鬼”，只听她用戏谑的口吻说道 胆怯、懦弱－ chicken-hearted and chicken-livered

2 chicken or spring chicken 喻指涉世未深的年轻人 Call a lady “a chicken”, and ten to one she is angry. Tell her she is “no chicken”, and twenty to one she is still angrier. （ The Oxford English Dictionary,1989） 把一个女士叫做“小妞”，十有八九她会恼怒；如果说她“不再是妞”，她必定会更加恼怒。 She needs lots of make-up to hide the fact that she’s no spring-chicken. 她必须浓妆艳抹才能掩饰自己已经不轻的年纪（不再年轻的事实）。

Hen( 母鸡) 1 汉语中把浑身湿透的人叫落汤鸡，英语中除了用like a drowned rat这一习惯用法外也用鸡这一形象来表达。Bedraggled hen: The sight of Bao-yu standing there like a bedraggled hen with the water running off him in streamlets was both alarming and ---she could not but feel ---very funny. （ D. Hawks The Story of the Stone ） 只见宝玉淋得落汤鸡一般，袭人见了又是着忙又是好笑。

2 英语里用hen 或者guinea-hen 珍珠鸡来指爱讲闲话，爱管闲事得女人或女人间唧唧喳喳得闲聊 如： see two girls henning away 看到两个姑娘在闲聊，而汉语在用麻雀来形容―――― cock （公鸡） 在英语文化里，公鸡具有浓厚得宗教内涵。根据基督教的传统，人们相信公鸡的叫声能驱走魔鬼。 But even then the morning cock crew loud And at the sound it ( the Ghost) shrunk in haste away And vanish from our sight. W. Shakespear：Hamlet 恰巧晨鸡高叫，它（鬼魂）立刻退缩，眨眼间消逝的无影无踪。

Rooster(公鸡) Rooster 一词在英语中含有“趾高气扬”之意。 值得注意的是，汉语中“鸡皮疙瘩”在英语中却 用 gooseflesh,goosebumps,goosepimples表示。 Eg,The sudden chill raised gooseflesh on the girl’s arm.

狗 ，英语中的狗中性用法很多，常喻指人。Eg,a clever dog 聪明的人； a luck dog a top dog 重要人物； Every dog has its day. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. During the California gold rush,men had a dog-eat-dog life.( dog-eat-dog同类间的无情斗争。)

英语中dog 的贬义用法 a dog in the manger political dogfight to live a dog’s life to treat sb like a dog 占着茅坑不拉屎之人 政治混乱 过着悲惨不堪的生活 虐待某人

另外两种主要的贬义 1 Dog 有蹩脚货的含义 Audiences are in a mess…. They don’t know what they want ….so many movies are dogs. 观众们都陷入了困境…..他们不知道自己想看些什么….那么多的电影都是蹩脚货。 2 dog 用来指卑鄙小人，禽兽般的人 Nobody but a dog would evict his own mother. 只有禽兽般的人才会把亲生母亲赶出家门。

Pig/swine/sow/hog 猪多含有贬义 to pig together in mean huts 像猪一样地挤在简陋的小屋里 2 pig 可暗指愚蠢、愚钝 to teach a pig to play on a flute 做不可能做到的事 pig 含有像猪一样贪食、贪婪的意思 make a pig of oneself 狼吞虎咽，大吃大喝 He’d been a pig about money . 他曾对钱贪得无厌

pig可用来作对讨厌的人或事务的蔑称 What do you expect from a pig but a grunt? 狗嘴里吐不出象牙。 Are we to stay here all night in this draught, with next to nothing on? You selfish pig….. 难道要我们穿着这么单薄的衣服，通宵站在这风口里？你这自私的猪猡….

Sow (母猪) 1 英语中sow 有毫无价值、质量低劣的含义 something of a sow’s ear 指没有价值的东西，蹩脚货 The proposal is viable , but something of a sow’s ear. 这建议是可行的，但并没有什么价值。Sound and workable feasible You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. 劣材难成美器 You cannot make a horn of a pig’s tail. Close to 朽木不可雕

2 sow 还喻指an inelegant female, a dirty wench swine (猪) 1 在英语中的swine含有令人讨厌的人或物 2 英语成语中有cast pearls before swine 意为明珠暗投、对牛弹琴 Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces. ---The New Testament 不要把圣物给狗，也不要把你们的珍珠丢在猪前，恐怕它践踏了珍珠，转过来咬你们。

He explained the beauty of the music to her but casting pearls before swine. 他跟她讲解那音乐之美，可是这无异于对牛弹琴。 Notes: 明珠暗投或对牛弹琴 和cast pearls before swine 从意义到用法与汉语并不是完全对应,英语中的pearls 一般指事务而不指人，但汉语中明珠暗投既指人又指物―――比喻有才能的人怀才不遇或去给昏庸的人服务或珍贵的物品落到不识货的人手里；对牛弹琴则是来讥笑对象的愚蠢

但英语里cast pearls before swine 指对方不能理解、欣赏或感激你的好意或行动并无讥笑说话人的意思： to waste good acts or valuable things on someone who won’t understand or be thankful for them, just as pigs won’t appreciate pearls.

I earnestly hope we can get a little bit from this class see you next