Image-Rendering In Translation Of Idiomatic Expressions

Idioms constitute the kernel and cream of a language. Chinese and English have developed the abundance and variety of idioms, which make themselves more vivid, more succinct and more expressive. Idiomatic expressions are such an important aspect of language that a translator simply cannot avoid dealing with them in his translation although they are a constant headache for him.My paper elaborates the translation of idiomatic expressions in six chapters. The first part gives a brief introduction to my thesis.The second part gives an exact definition to both English and Chinese idiomatic expressions and then gives an analysis to the significant role of idioms in a language. Finally I mention some difficulties in understanding idioms.The third part is aimed at demonstrating characteristics of idiomatic expressions. National coloring is the basic characteristic of idioms. And then I discuss the cultural factors in determining the meanings of idioms. Finally the linguistic feature of idioms is dealt with.The fourth part stresses images in idiomatic expressions. Images are typical of many idioms. How to render images in translation of idioms is the main point of my thesis. Firstly, figures of speech in idioms have been discussed. Secondly, some idioms that contain no images have been analyzed in detail; in addition, some idioms with images have been greatly emphasized.The fifth part introduces translation methods of idiomatic expressions: literal translation, liberal translation, literal translation plus annotation, the approach ofborrowing, literal-cum-free translation. Finally, I mention some problems in translating English and Chinese idioms.The sixth part deals with the rendering of images in translation of idiomatic expressions.