数字的文化内涵与中西翻译之比较

A Comparison of the Images of Numbers in Chinese and Western Culture

汉语中有大量的以数字为词素的词语,它们形象、生动、传神,具有突出的意象性表意功能,但是译成英语就得变成虚幻、抽象的概念性词语。这说明数字在英汉文化中具有不同的性质、意义和作用。为此,本文对数字做了深入研究,总结、归纳了数字在中西文化中的丰富涵义,并探讨了它们的深层文化根源,希望对了解中英语言文化有所助益。

In Chinese there are lots of words and idioms with numerical components, which are very vivid in expressing ideas. But in Chinese - English translation we have to turn them into abstract concepts. This means that numbers have different natures, connotations and functions in both languages. In order to track down the root of the case, this paper, on the ground of reliable reference materials, induces the major connotations of some numbers in Western and Eastern cultures, and attempts to pinpoint the root causes of the linguistic phenomenon so as to help to the study of Chinese language and culture.