A Comparative Study Of Animal Images In English And Chinese Proverbs

Proverbs, being pithy, short and vivid, embody profound truth and wisdom. They have been long favored by people. While animal proverbs rich in animal images, which excite either imagination or wisdom, are of special interest to people. This paper aims at studying the animal images in English and Chinese proverbs, and contributing to the deeper understanding of the two cultures and the translation between the two languages.This paper lists a lot of examples to demonstrate and analyze the animal images in corresponding proverbs in English and Chinese. Firstly, this paper discusses the identical animal images in fully corresponding and semi-corresponding proverbs in English and Chinese. Secondly, it deals with the different animal images in semi-corresponding proverbs in English and Chinese. Thirdly, it discusses the image blanks in semi-corresponding proverbs in English and Chinese.There are mainly four cultural aspects that influence the uses of animal images in proverbs: different geography and living styles; different religions and beliefs; different literature works and allusions; and different psychology and people's different attitudes towards animal images. The animal images are endowed with rich national cultural meanings.While animal images have rich national cultural meanings, the translators must master the information of the two cultures and two societies. This paper illustrates the translation theories of animal images, and two translation principles: cultural equivalence principle and validity principle. Based on the two principles in translating animal images, this paper puts forward some concrete translation methods. In conclusion, the proper translation of animal images in proverbs is based on the comprehension of the two cultures.