同一句话,不同的文化背景的人反应有时是不同的,甚至会截然相反。究其原因是说话双方没有真正了解对方的文化。因此,完全有必要对中西文化异同进行探讨。习语是各国文化的精髓,反映各国的风俗习惯。它作为语言的精华承载着丰富的文化信息,充分反映出法汉两种语言的文化异同。因此,本文从最能体现中西文化异同的习语着手,论述习语在文化上六个方面中所反映的中西文化异同,即生存环境、生活习俗、宗教信仰、历史典故、对客观事物的认识、数字习语的异同。从总体上看,法汉习语在表现语义和文化特征方面,主要有三种类型,即对应关系、半对应关系和不对应关系。在翻译时,对应关系的习语可采用直译的措施。半对应关系和不对应关系的习语应该首先弄清它们的文化内涵和实际意义,再根据上下文的意思灵活处理。因此,法汉习语的翻译不应只是两种语言的简单转换,更应是文化的交流。掌握习语的翻译,关于培养语言的领悟力和跨文化的交际能力是十分必要的。 关键词:习语;文化异同;翻译 Different people from different cultures may have different understandings of the same sentence because they are ignorant of target cultures. It is necessary for us to study the cultural differences in some fields between China and Western countries. Idioms, which reflect customs, are the essence of culture in every country. Idiomatic phrases, the essence of languages, are loaded with rich cultural information and serve as a mirror of cultural differences between Chinese and English. Therefore, in this paper, the author will discuss the idioms reflecting the differences of Chinese and English in six levels: living environment, custom, religion, allusion, the acknowledge of objective thing. When expressing linguistic meanings and cultural features, there are mainly three types of idioms: correspondent, semi-correspondent and non-correspondent. For the correspondent idioms, we can translate them word for word into the target language .But for the semi-correspondent and non-correspondent idioms, it’s better to make sure first of their cultural connotations and practical meanings, and then translate them appropriately according to the context. Therefore, translation of idiomatic phrases is more cultural communication than simple translation of these two languages. The mastery of the technique for translating idiomatic phrases is a must to the cultivation of linguistic comprehension and intercultural competence. Key words: idioms; cultural differences; translation 语言承载着丰富的文化内涵,而作为语言精华的习语更是如此。法汉两国人民在其长期的历史发展过程中,形成了许多形式固定、简洁明快、寓意深刻、颇具民族特色的习语。这些习语具有强烈的文化特征,是语言的核心与精华,是语言反映社会和文化的重要组成部分,与本民族的风土人情、历史文化有着千丝万缕的联系。“文化是复杂体,包括实物、知识、知识、信仰、艺术、道德、法学、风俗以及其余社会上习得的能力和习惯。”[1](p308)一个民族的价值观念、社会风俗、思维方式无不在习语中得到淋漓尽致的体现。 一、法汉习语的文化异同 对于习语,“牛津的解释是把idiom分为两义:(1)language of a people or country ;specific character of this (一个民族或国家的语言,这种语言的特殊之点);(2)(gram)succession of words whose meaning is not obvious through knowledge of the individual meanings of the constituent words but must be leant as a whole([语法]连串之词表示整体意义而不表各词单个的意义)。”(P1)因此,习语包括成语、谚语、俗语、惯用语、俚语和典故。 (一)生存环境的异同 由于法国地处岛国,法国人历来善于航海,航海业曾一直占据重要位置,因而法语中产生了大量的来自航海用语的习语,这些习语原来是水手用的术语,后来陆地上的人也渐渐使用起来。如:all at sea(全在海上,比喻不知所措),hang in the wind(在风中摇摆不定,比喻做事犹豫不决),three sheets in the wind(三条帆脚都摇晃,比喻酩酊大醉),all hands to the pumps(所有人都去抽水,比喻事情危急,要全力以赴),in the same boat(本是水手说的“与....同舟”,后来是人们用来表达“与....境遇相同”)等等。我国地域辽阔,虽然也临海,且海岸线也很长,但是航海业一直处于落后状态,因此与航海有关的习语虽然有一些,但数量不多,如“同舟共济”、“风雨同舟”、“灭顶之灾”等。而汉民族主要生活繁衍在亚洲大陆,是个内陆国家,土地对人们来说是至关重要的,人们的生活离不开陆地,所以汉语中有许多与土地、农业有关的习语,如:“土洋结合”、“土嘣瓦解”、“斩草除根”、“土生土长”、“卷土重来”等。 |