The Influence of Cultural Differences on Translation of Metaphor in Idioms

Yang Jing

【Abstract】Idioms are culturally loaded expressions with distinctive cultural features and connotations， and they have different metaphoric meanings in different languages because of cultural differences. The essay attempts to study the influence of cultural differences on translation of metaphor in idioms to help people understand idioms better.

【Key words】Idioms； Cultural Differences； Influence

Although there are possibilities of translating metaphoric idioms of the two cultures， the difficulties in translation of metaphors in idioms also exist， since idioms are closely related to the cultural differences which include the historical， economic conditions， geographical surroundings， social conventions and beliefs.

1. The Influence of Regional Difference

As the far distance between east and west， Chinese and English people live in very different natural environments. Chinese people have lived on the Asian Continent one generation after another and they cannot live without their land， which lays the foundation of typical agricultural culture in ancient China. In that time， cattle helped people plow in the field for agricultural production. That is the reason why Chinese people often use “牛” as the vehicle in some metaphoric idioms， such as “牛氣沖天”， “氣吞牛斗”， “執牛耳”， and “牛不喝水強按頭”. As the most important farm tools in ancient China， cattle enjoy a great and special place in Chinese peoples mind. On the contrary， in ancient time， in England， the living condition was completely opposite. Britain is an island country and a classical maritime state. It was once the global leader in the area of fisheries and navigation. So， it seems that the position of cattle in Britain was not so important. They just raised cows for meat and milk. Nevertheless， the importance of horses in England is like that of cattle in China. For the requirement of transportation and travel， British people use horses to pull carts and plow， so horses were the basic means of transportation in Britishs daily life. For this reason， when we translate a Chinese metaphoric idiom which has a vehicle like “牛” into English， we usually use “horse” as a substitute. In China we say “強壯如牛”， but the English people say “as strong as a horse” to describe strong people， and when we translate “牛不喝水強按頭” into English， we say “you may take a horse to the water， but you cant make him drink”. Besides， the Chinese people compare the industrious and hard-working people to “老黃牛” and their spirit to “黃牛精神”， but we use the idioms “a willing horse” or “work like a horse” in English， which further justifies the above explanation.

2. The Influence of Historical Difference

Different countries possess different history culture， which mainly comprises allusions， myths， poems and ancient stories. Among these， the most important is allusions. There are lots of idioms coming from the historical allusions which are often very simple in their structure but have a profound metaphoric meaning， so we cannot translate these idioms by the literal meaning. It is necessary for us to learn the historical allusions in both cultures and analyze what the vehicles represent.

For example， to signify different social classes， the rich and the poor， Chinese has the idiom “朱門酒肉臭， 路有凍死骨”， in which “朱門” （the vermilion gates） symbolizes the rich， because in ancient China， only the noble families and the families with great wealth were allowed to paint the doors red. However， English people use the idiom “be born in purple” to refer to the rich and noble. The vehicle “purple” comes from “Tyrian purple”， which was first produced by the ancient Phoenicians and because of its high price， it became the symbol of the rich and noble in western countries. So， the two different vehicles which have the same metaphoric meaning and show us the great influence of history in idioms translation.

3. The Influence of Cultural Difference from Traditions and Customs

Traditions and customs are an important part of culture which comes from the daily life of the local people. The differences between traditions and customs of two cultures are multifarious and contain many aspects， and there is no more typical aspect than that of the attitudes toward animals. Animals always become a kind of symbolism in the idioms. In both Chinese and English cultures， many images of animals appear in idioms. However， because of different traditions and customs， the same animals are usually used to vividly represent the different metaphoric meanings.

For example， although many families in China raise dogs and or treat dogs as pets， the word “dog” is generally used as a derogatory term in Chinese idioms. In some circumstances， it is even used as vulgar words. A good-for-nothing adviser is a “狗頭軍師”； quack medicine is called “狗皮膏藥”； a person who meddles in someone elses business will be considered as “狗拿耗子” and there are many more such expressions like “狗腿子”， “狗仗人勢”， “打落水狗”， and “狗嘴里吐不出象牙”. Conversely， people in the English-speaking countries hold another attitude towards the dog. We can easily find the evidence in the following idioms： “lucky dog”， “as faithful as a dog”， “Every dog has its day”， “love me， love my dog”， etc.

It can be seen from above that people have very different metaphoric meanings of animals in the two cultures， which is a reflection of the influence of traditions and customs.

4. The Influence of Religious Difference

Religion as the main component of human culture reflects different faiths and beliefs of human beings.

Chinese culture is deeply influenced by Taoism and Buddhism， which were brought to China since the West Han Dynasty. As Buddhism is popular in ancient China， it is easy for us to find that there are many idioms connected with it， such as “閑時不燒香， 臨時抱佛腳”， “指點迷津”， “三生有幸”， “半路出家”， and “借花獻佛”. As Taoism also plays an important role in Chinese language， many Chinese idioms like “別有洞天”， “胡說八道”， “爐火純青”， “不食人間煙火”， and “八仙過海， 各顯神通” are all from Taoism. While， English culture is greatly influenced by Christianity. As the sacred writings of the works of Jews and the Christian church， the Bible enjoys the greatest circulation in the world. Generally some specific phrases or words in such works are widely used by people and eventually develop as idioms. English idioms like “an eye for an eye”， “God bless you”， “God helps those who help themselves”， “Adams apple”， “old Adam”， “as bird do”， and “as poor as a church mouse” are from Christianity.

Consequently， some idioms which are created under the influence of religion of two cultures always have the different vehicles. So， we should attach importance to such idioms during the translation.

5. Conclusion

Idioms translation， especially metaphoric idioms translation is by no means an easy job. People with different historical and cultural backgrounds will have different interpretations of the same words， or even the opposite meanings. Different religions reflect different cultural characteristics and backgrounds. Countries or nations have different geographical circumstances and climates and also different national customs. Thus， translation is an important part in inter-cultural connect， which is not only the communication of different language， but also different thoughts and cultures of different nations， and it is closely connected with culture， such as historical background， religion and beliefs， cultural custom and so on. Only if the translators master the social culture in language and have a strong sense of culture awareness can they choose the right and appropriate translating methods to convey the true meanings.

References：

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作者簡介：楊靜（1984-），女，湖北荊州人，碩士，講師，研究方向為英語教學法，語言學，翻譯理論與實踐。