英汉习语间的文化差异及翻译(三)
Though the Chinese people keep dogs, not everyone consider them as pets as the English people do. Sometimes the Chinese people even regard dogs as a kind of disgusting animal. Lots of canine idioms have a bad meaning.
狗腿子: Lackey
狗急跳墙: A cornered beast will do something desperate.
痛打落水狗: To flog the cur that has fallen into the water.
狗嘴里吐不出象牙: A filthy mouth can’t utter decent language.
If there is a “6” in an English proverb, the meaning usually is bad, e.g. at six and seven meaning “乱七八糟”，six to one “相差悬殊”，and “six penny” (不值钱). But the Chinese people love the figure “6”, because in Chinese we have “六六大顺”, which means everything goes well. Just as Judah who sold out Christ in the Last Super. The western people who are influenced by Christianity consider 13 sinister because Judah, the person who is the Thirteenth to come. The figure “4” is a taboo in Chinese culture because it sounds the same as the word si for death in Chinese.
3.2.2 Differences in Religious Beliefs and Philosophy
Religious beliefs produce an impact on people's life and mind and on the English and Chinese languages as well.
In the Western countries, especially in England and America, the majority of people are Christians, believing that God is the creator of everything and the master of the world. Jesus, the only son of God, befalls the world to save the sinful men, who, can only go to Heaven by following the teachings of Jesus, sincerely praying and repenting their sins. Otherwise, they will go to Hell. Idioms concerned with God are countless in the English language.
e.g. (1) God helps those who help themselves.自助者天助也。
(2) God sends fortune to fools.傻人有傻福。
(3) God sends meat and the devil sends cook.肉是上帝赐，厨子乃魔鬼派。
(4) God is on the side of the big battalions.天助强者。
(5) Man proposes, God disposes.谋事在人，成事在天。
Buddhism, one of the three great religions in the world, has been practiced in China for nearly 2,000 years. It is a Chinese conviction that Buddha has control of everything in the world. It is believed that life is a bed of bitterness and everything is empty. It is not necessary to feel nostalgic for the good old days. One cannot be free of worries and anxieties unless he is a truthful Buddhist and be void of all desires. So there are many idioms in this regard.
e.g. (1) 佛要金装，人要农装: As Buddha needs gilt statue，man needs fine clothes
(2) 佛靠一炷香，人靠一口气: as Buddha needs incense， so man needs respect
(3) 借花献佛: present Buddha with borrowed flowers
(4) 放下屠刀，立地成佛: to throw away one’s butcher knife and become a Buddha
(5) 万劫不复: beyond redemption
3.2.3 Differences in Historical Allusion
From people’s living experience of one country，different historical allusion have been accumulated and handed down from generation to generation．Allusion is a brief reference to a person，event，or place，or to a work of art．It refers to a famous historical or literary figure or event．We may say，allusion may connect idioms tightly．
In English we have:
(1) Eye for eye, tooth for tooth: 以眼还眼，以牙还牙
(2) Achilles’ heel: 唯一致命弱点
(3) meet one’s waterloo: 一败涂地
(4) a Pandora’s box: 灾难，麻烦，祸害的根源
(5) The Trojan horse: 特洛伊木马
In Chinese we have
(1) 鸿门宴: banquet at Hongmen, a feast or meeting set up as a trap for the invited (originally a banquet held at Hongmen in 206 BC by Xiang Yu in honor of his rival Liu Bang, at which an attempted was to be made on the latter’s life).
(2) 梁上君子: gentleman on the beam refers to the thief who breaks into a house.
(3) 同室操戈，相煎何急: internal struggle between brothers. (This allusion comes from Cao Pi and Cao Zhi, in Three Kingdoms periods).
3.2.4 Differences in Life Experiences
Life experiences of people belong to the social system. In fact, the differences in life experiences between English people and Chinese people are also reflected in their idioms.
Most idioms are the offspring of their different life experiences, so naturally they manifest two different kinds of national characteristics. For example, we Chinese often use the set phrase “雨后春笋” to describe a rapid development and a large production. The English counterpart is “to spring like mushrooms”, since there was no bamboo in England, and even the word “bamboo” is of foreign origin. So it is impossible for English people to use the image of bamboo in their idioms. On the contrary, we Chinese are very familiar with bamboo and create many idioms about it, such as:
e.g. (1) 势如破竹: like splitting a bamboo, with a crushing force. The English counterpart is “like a hot knife cutting through butter”.
(2) 青梅竹马: Innocent childhood friends. The English counterpart is “calf love”.
There are more idioms in which English and Chinese people use different images to express the same ideas.
拦路虎: a lion in the path
露马脚: let the cat out of the bag
害群之马: the black sheep of the family
缘木求鱼: seek a hare in a hen's nest
杀鸡取卵: kill the goose that lays golden eggs
胆小如鼠: as timid as a hare
热锅上的蚂蚁: like a cat on hot bricks
3.2.5 Differences in Literature
Literature is an art to reflect life experiences, convey thoughts and express emotions. It is an important part of spiritual culture. In ancient times, people created myths, legends, and fables. As time goes by, novels, plays, poems, etc, spring like mushrooms. These literature works have not only enriched people's spiritual culture, but also provided a plentiful of resources for idioms.
e.g. (1) Achilles' heel: the one weak spot in a man's circumstances or character. The allusion is to the god Achilles whose heel is his vulnerable spot.阿基里斯的脚踝
(2) Trojan horse: any subversive group or device insinuated with the enemy ranks. This phrase comes from the Trojan War.特洛伊木马
(3) to claim one’s pound of flesh: to insist on one’s rights and ruthlessly exact payment or service, even when that means extreme hardship索要一磅肉
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