Abstract

With the development of economic globalization, Chinese and western cultural exchange gradually increase, Idioms, as the essence of Chinese and western culture, has attracted more and more attention. In order to further promote the progress of cross-cultural communication, the study on the translation of idioms is of great significance. This paper aims to analyze the translation of idioms from the prospective of culture. It attempts to introduce some methods in idiom translation. This paper is divided into five parts. The first part is the introduction. The second part is about the definition and origins of the idioms. The third part introduces the cultural differences reflected in the Chinese and English idioms, including the natural environments, historical backgrounds, customs and religious beliefs. The fourth part discusses the solution to the problems in idiom translation: domestication and foreignization. At last, the fifth part is the conclusion.

Key words: cultural difference; idiom; idiom translation

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1.Introduction-1

2. Literature Review-1

3.About Idioms-3

3.1 Definition of idioms-3

3.2 Origins of idioms-3

4.Cultural Differences Reflected in Chinese and English Idioms-4

4.1 Differences in natural environments-4

4.2 Differences in historical backgrounds-5

4.3 Differences in customs-6

4.4 Differences in religious beliefs-7

5.Cultural Adaptation to Idiom Translation-8

5.1 Domestication-8

5.2 Foreignization-10

6.Conclusion-11

Works Cited-13