“驴”在英汉语中的文化内涵及某些习惯表达与翻译

Discussion on Cultural Connotations and Translation of “驴” and “Donkey” and Their Idiomatic Expressions in Chinese and English

汉字"驴"最初用来指代英语中的动物"donkey"。随着其在语用环境中的使用与变化,"驴"的含义变得越来越丰富。它不再局限于字面意义,而是有了更为深刻的引申义,由此也衍生出了大量与"驴"相关的意在言外的习语。这些习语及其引申义的出现使"驴"文化更具生命力。中西方由于历史、地理、文化等因素的不同,"驴"文化也不同,因此在翻译与"驴"相关的习语时,了解其文化内涵尤为重要。本文通过分析"驴"文化在汉英两种语言中的异同,对其相关习语的翻译提出了三种方法:直译法、意译法和套译法。

The Chinese character"驴"is originally used to refer to the animal "donkey" in English, and with the use and change of it in pragmatic environment, the connotations of donkey become richer and richer. No longer confined to the literal meaning, it has got its profound extended meanings, from which quite a lot of idiomatic expressions with "驴" and "donkey" that have implications have come into being. And these idioms and their implications have made the culture of "驴" and "donkey"more vital. Because of the cultural differences between China and the West, the culture of "驴"and "donkey"is different. When translating idioms with "驴" and "donkey", it is of vital importance for the translator to understand their cultural connotations. Through the analysis of the cultural similarity and difference of "驴" and "donkey" in Chinese and English, this paper has proposed three translating methods: literal translation, free translation and loan translation.