On Translation Of Chinese Idioms Into English In The Framework Of Relevance Theory

Chinese translation studies have undergone thriving development in the past two decades. The focus of translation studies has shifted from the empirical aphorisms to the multidisciplinary, scientific description of translation activities.Relevance theory is not meant for translation studies. However, as a science that explores general principles covering human communication and cognition, it is a powerful way to account for translation as inter-cultural communication. Its application provides translation studies with a new perspective. Under the framework of relevance theory, translation is primarily an ostensive-inferential verbal (intralingual or interlingual) interpretation. The translator, as the subject of translation, dynamically selects information to . be conveyed and makes compensation for the receptor-language audience according to his skopos of communication and expectations of the receptor-language audience. The translated text is a product of the interaction between the original author, the translator and the receptor-language audience in specific communication situations. In the light of relevance theory, this dissertation proposes possible translation strategies for translating Chinese idioms into English. Following Gutt's understanding of translation methods, this thesis further explains under what circumstances the two main strategies of translation can be best employed in translation practice considering the differences in cognitive environment between the SL and TL receptors.Idiomatic expressions, because of their brevity, beauty in form and sound, and many other merits, enjoy the greatest popularity in almost every language. They are commonly regarded as the essence of a language. People like to use some idiomatic expressions in speech or writing to communicate with one other. Idiomatic expressions in every language are human beings linguistic creation of wisdom and intelligence. Chinese idioms, as one of the most important constituent of the Chinese language, are sure to reflect the long history and brilliant culture of China. They are regarded as crystallization of Chinese culture. Characterized by their conciseness in form and pregnancy in meaning, they are essentially national in character and are endowed with a national flavor of the soil from which they grow, and are frequently used in Chinese language so as to enrich its stylistic dimensions. As Chinese and English belong to two linguistic families whose cultural backgrounds are so different from each other, what is evident and understandable for the Chinese may turn out to be unclear or unintelligible for the English. This is especially in the case of the English translation of Chinese idioms. Chinese idioms are the linguisticsymbols that are most heavily bound up with Chinese culture. This explains why the English translation of Chinese idioms is one of the difficult yet unavoidable problems. Whether their translation of them can be faithfully done directly affects the quality of the English versions of the original works. Having studied hundreds of examples given in the English versions of some Chinese literary works, the author comes to the conclusion that the problem really deserves close examination, and that only after a thorough and systematic study is made can we perhaps translate Chinese idioms into English properly.This thesis, therefore, intends not only to provide an ontological and methodological study of the relevance-theoretic account of translating Chinese idioms into English in specific, but also to demonstrate its utility in crystallizing the phenomena of translation in general.This thesis is divided into five parts. Chapter One begins with the definition and a general survey of the origins, characteristics, and functions of Chinese idioms, then introduces the difficulties involved in translating Chinese idioms into English, and finally states the reason why the author chooses this topic. Chapter Two is a brief literature review of the study in this field. Chapter three introduces the three basic notions of relevance theory of translation as proposed by Gutt. This chapter first treats with the differences between traditional theory and relevance theory concerning the ontological study of translation, then explains two essential terms of relevance theory: context and optimal relevance, and at last elaborates on the significance of translation as interpretive use for the understanding of translation paradoxes.Chapter Four offers a relevance-theoretic account of the possibilities concerning the translation of Chinese idioms into English. First it provides a detailed account of the translatability of Chinese idioms, then proposes two guiding principles and criteria for translating Chinese idioms into English. At the same time, it applies the major methods of translating Chinese idioms into English. Chapter Five brings out the conclusion of this study and some suggestions for further study.