Selective Translation Of Idioms Translation In Journey To The West
International Conference on Education, Language, Art and Intercultural Communication (ICELAIC 2014)Selective Translation of Idioms Translation in Journeyto the WestYin LuCollege of Information & BusinessZhongyuan University of TechnologyZhenghzou, Henan, Chinawith the name Journey to the West [2]. This version is the firstfully English version by an English native speaker.Abstract—Xi You Ji, the classical masterpiece of China, iswell-known by its plentiful language and unique artistic style. Itstheme, which is different to other classical fictions in China,relates to interflow of the worldwide cultural. There are plentyvivid idioms in Xi You Ji This makes Xi You Ji a treasure-house ofidioms. Xi You Ji has become a window for the western academiato research Chinese cultural. The transmission of Xi You Ji inWest is a very important case in literature compare between theEast and the West and in cultural exchange. So far, there areonly 2 fully English versions of Xi You Ji. One of them, Jenner’sJourney to the West, is an achievement by an English speaker andscholar to translate and introduce Chinese ancient book intowestern culture. It means particularly in cultural exchangebetween China and the West.Expressions of Chinese idioms are much briefer than thoseof English. Some words and phrases are useless in Chinesesource text but necessary in English target text. Selectivetranslation is designed on the basis of faithfulness to thesource text, making it more fluent, smooth, and concise, thusconforming to idiomatic Chinese. In this case, translatorsapply it in order to make the target text more coherent andbetter understood by readers. “In selective translation onlydetails relating to one specific aspect of source text aretranslated, thus eliminating all irrelevant information.Additional information not in the original document may beadded in the form of explanatory notes, tables, graphs and soon, and the target language reader will thus have rapid accessto the most important information contained in source text.”[6]Keywords—selective translation; idioms translation; Jenner’sJourney to the WestI. INTRODUCTIONC-E translation of idioms is always a popular study objectin translation study. The scholars have made many efforts toresearch idioms translation from various perspectives. To findan ideal translation method of idioms, many scholars haveproposed different approaches. Research on vocabulary in XiYou Ji started from 1980s. But the related study on idiomstranslation in Xi You Ji could be hardly found.II. FEATURES OF IDIOMS IN XI YOU JIChinese idiom belongs to idiomatic phrase and is fixedword-combination in habitually use. Idiom is alwayscomposed with 4 words. The constitution of the words isvarious. Idioms have differed sources and are product ofmentality, language and culture. There are abundant contentabout literature, historiography and philosophy in idiomswhich can correctly express complicated phenomenon withfew words. The common vocabulary can not achieve theexpression effect of idioms.It is acknowledged in academia that Xi You Ji [1] (with100 chapters) was finished in medium and later stage of 16thcentury, Ming dynasty. Different with early novels in thevernacular Chinese, the language of Xi You Ji is vivid,fluency and sprightly. Ming dynasty is one of the rush hoursthat plenty of new idioms come into being. The novels at thattime absorbed a mass of idioms which were verbally spreadamong the people. Many such idioms from various sourcesappeared also in Xi You Ji. Among plentiful idiomatic phrases,there are 480 idioms in Xi You Ji. [4]These idioms content alarge amount of wisdom and cultural value of Chinese people.They are so charm because of “their graceful forms, largequantities, deep meanings and actual effect”. [5] As linguisticdata, they are extremely valuable.Generally, features of idioms are relative fixed form, intactand clear definite meaning, convention, historic of form,national characters in form and content. Except the generalfeatures as common idioms, the idioms in Xi You Ji possesstheir distinguishing features.Firstly, most of Chinese idioms, as well the idioms in XiYou Ji, are formed with 4 words and they sound nice andsmooth with obvious rhyme when they are read. “Four” isrelated to the Chinese temperament and interest onappreciation of the beauty. “Four” means square, the fourseasons and also means integrity and perfect Feng Shuey.From ancient times to the present, four words corresponds theaesthetic habits of the Chinese. Examples of this case are veryplentiful to be found in Xi You Ji.British Sinologist Prof. W. J. F. Jenner (1940--) graduatedfrom the Oxford and is engaged in sinology. He works atDepartment of East Asia, Leeds University, Britain. He alsoworked in Foreign Language Bureau of China before theCultural Revolution. When he was in China, he translated XiYou Ji, which was pressed and published during 1980-1982 2014. The authors - Published by Atlantis PressSecondly, forms of Chinese idioms are always terse.Meanings of them are holistic meaning. Meaning of an idiom381
Because of their character, cultural information that theycontain, the differences of cultural background and mode ofthinking between both sides of interflow, it is always difficultin translating activity to understand the exact meaning ofidioms in source text and to translate idioms correctly.refers to not simply addition of the meaning of each word inan idiom, but the particular meaning of the words as a whole.In other words, meaning of an idiom is not its literal meaningbut its implied and implicit meaning. For example:“金蝉脱壳” describes a cicada leaving behind its cast-off part inmolting. But this idiom means an escape by crafty schemefrom an entangled situation or stratagem for slinking off.III. SELECTIVE TRANSLATION OF IDIOMS IN JOURNEY TO THEWESTThe imitation relations between translation and culture aredecided by the interrelations between language and culture.Idioms are one kind of carrier of culture, which record humancivilization and social progress. The translator has to find outthe cultural elements which the idioms contain and the deepunderstanding and analyses of both cultures that idiomsrepresent.Thirdly, idioms have a long history and definitely havecharacters of the nation which they belong to. Chinese idioms,as well the idioms in Xi You Ji, come into being from abroadand various sources. Many idioms derive from allusions,ancient books and records or continue to use spoken languageand folk adage of front eras. “打草惊蛇”,which has very closemeaning with the English idiom” to wake a sleeping dog” ,means “to beat the grass and frighten away the snake” or “actrashly and alert the enemy”. “三阳交泰”comes from TheBook of Changes (I Ching) . It is an auspicious sign andpeople use it to express good wished at the beginning of anew year.Chinese idioms are phrases with ample cultural andlanguage connotative. They possess distinct national features.Because of compact structures and incisive meanings ofidioms, translation of idioms reflects obvious shock betweendiffered culture on the aspects of language and culture intranslation activities. Notable diversity historical and culturalbackground, traditional customs and way of thinking betweentwo nations cause great diverse on image, sense, and usage ofidioms.Fourthly, the employment of idioms is established by thepeople through long social practice and always unvarying.Both their structural constitution and structural relationshipare fixed in the long term of usage. We may not change anypart of an idiom optionally. For instance:Idioms, to a large degree, rely on specific social andcultural background. They are concise and comprehensive,vivid and ample. Idioms are a pithy language stuff which hasobviously better expression force and more cultural intention.Linguist Hudson once said in his Sociolinguistics clearly, thatmany language features are as well as cultural features.Idioms, with rich national features, are also the part withgreatest difference between two languages. [9] Differentculture possesses different custom and value. So, translationof Chinese idioms can not be regarded as simple activity oflanguage transition. Some idioms with profound and lastingcultural deposits could hardly be understood in other culture.Some idioms have no opposite terms in target language. Itcourses in translating untranslatable factors and brings a lot �”and “七损八伤” can not bechanged into“欢天笑地”, “狗马之劳”or “五损六伤”Structures of idioms in Xi You Ji are complicated and havefull-scale progress. Some of the idioms which are from fronteras were not settled until around the period in which Xi YouJi appeared. Such as: “火上弄冰”（445）was “火上弄冰凌”inYuan dynasty.Besides, structures of idioms in Xi You Ji are not verystability. It is very usual that one idiom has differed form.Some words in one idiom could be changed into a synonym,but their meanings will not change.These phenomena declare that structures of idioms inliterary output are relative stationary. Idioms develop and varywhen they inherit from past. The features of idioms in Xi YouJi are the very reflect of development and variation oflanguage at that period.Xi You Ji is an encyclopedia with extreme extensive andprofound Chinese cultural features. To translate such aliterature masterpiece, which contains abundant contents andfuses Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, the translatorsshould have attainments of the following aspects: profoundbasis knowledge of Chinese culture, accomplishment ofEnglish literature and history of religions.In the language system, idiom is the kinds of vocabularywhich can vivid reflect cultural information and social life ofhuman. These vocabularies with regular meanings and formsare unavoidable applied in cultural interchange. They are themost direct and terse expression of their own culture andtradition. Because of their character, cultural information thatthey contain, the differences of cultural background and modeof thinking between both sides of interflow, it is always adifficulty in translating activity that how to understand theexact meaning of idioms in source text and how to translateidioms correctly. And that is also one of the concerns inacademia.W. J. F. Jenner has both his own advantages to treatcultural factors in translation and a thorough knowledge ofboth western and traditional Chinese. But he has his ownintention when he translated Xi You Ji into English. Fierceinterest and attention to Xi You Ji gave Jenner great impetus.He wanted to introduce it perfectly to his fellow countrypeople. Jenner had a fervent wish to share the pleasure of XiYou Ji with the target language readers. Jenner consideredabout how to make the text convenient for the readers to readand enjoy. He paid attention to character and expression effectof target language to serve the readers. Considering about theacceptance mentality of English readers, Jenner also madeIdiom is provided with the comparability that the otherordinary vocabulary do not posses. They are the most directand terse expression of their own culture and tradition.382
understood. The best method for translating these idioms is totranslate their actual meaning. Such asgreat efforts to reduce barrier of reading and understandingfor them. He tried to make all the strange into familiar evensome cultural factors of source text were lost.山恶人善：one’s hearts are in the right place.In his postscript in Journey to the West, Jennerwrote：”Whatever the message may be, the best thing is not toworry about it, but simply to enjoy the book’s wisdom, humorand endlessly rich observation and invention. If the reader canget some of the pleasure from Journey to the West that I havehad in translating it the effort will not have been wasted. ”(1984)五黄六月： it’s July and all crops are ripening,Most idioms can not find an opposite English phrase tomatch up. For those idioms which contain allusions andnational characters, it is hard to find close expression toreflect their meaning and background information. The mostcommon way is literal translation in unavoidable conditions.Literal translation can convey the basic meaning of idioms,but the cultural information and analogy images of sourcelanguage will be lost. However, this method keeps meaningand background of idioms, but it causes the text lengthy andthe concise form of idioms is missing. In translating thesentences to pile up the aural, Jenner left out this part in orderto make the text not so heavy and complicated.There are over 800 thousands words in Xi You Ji. Thelanguage in it was common language at that time and alsoobvious dialect. Among plentiful idiomatic phrases, there are480 idioms. These idioms content a large amount of wisdomand cultural value of Chinese people. Structures of idioms inXi You Ji are complicated and have full-scale progress. Someof the idioms which are from front eras were not settled untilaround the period in which Xi You Ji appeared. Besides,structures of idioms in Xi You Ji are not very stability. It isvery usual that one idiom has differed form. But theirmeanings will not change. Jenner ignored the disturbance andtreated these idioms with two or more forms as one. Forexample:Some idioms were translated in different ways in differentsentences and context in order to carter to the thinking habitof English readers. Such as:虚情假意:lied the demon, put together a pack of lies as she replied,翻江搅海-搅海翻江: pretended to I can turn rivers upside down, stir up the sea,背义忘恩: he had forgotten all feelings of decency andgratitude; stirring up the sea, turning rivers upside down,点石成金-点石为金:Ungrateful little beast!and turn stones to gold with a touch.欢天喜地: They were all very pleased,: and turn stones to gold. in high ��山崩: as the mountain split open.Mountains collapse and the earthI had to turn heaven and earth upside down yawns open, heaven and earth might be turned upside down. an earthquake or a landslide,Many idioms in English and in Chinese have oppositepresentations in connotation and in extension. There aredifferent conditions in these correspondences.情投意合: was finding him so congenial is fond of him.Literal correspondence. Some Chinese idioms could betranslated according to literal meaning or use the similarEnglish idioms with same analogy effect. Such as we got on very well 龇牙咧嘴: the Great Sage grimaced ,变作三头六臂： and grew three heads and six arms. sawMonkey’sproducingteeth,pinched face,一客不烦二主：A guest should not have to trouble two乐以忘忧: This cheered up Sanzang,hostsContent correspondence. Some Chinese idioms have noopposite English idioms. But they could also be translatedaccording to literal meaning and do not causemisunderstanding. Such as:He forgot his worries 密密层层: the layer upon layer of the many layers of将计就计： beat him at his own game.万籁无声: It’s quiet now.门当户对： a very fitting son-in-law , all was now silence.Correspondence on actual meaning. The literal meaning ofsome Chinese idioms could hardly be accepted andSame idiom in different places can be translated indifferent ways. Some translation possesses a few same key383
and language. [8] According to these rules, the standard oftranslation criticism is not equivalence, but how sufficient isthe purpose which is realized by target text. The translatorshould choose translation strategies flexibly according totranslation purpose and function of target text.words. For instance:“ 天 罗 地 网 ”--The key word in its translation is“nets”: heaven and earth nets the net that held herThe way to deal with these idioms can deliver the meaningdirectly and never disturbs the readers. Translation purpose ismainly reflected in depose of every sentence and word oftarget text. The selection of translator can reflex theirtranslation purpose. Through the analyses on translation ofidioms in Journey to the West, this version is acceptable andowns fine effect.“剪草除根/斩草除根”-- there are 4 different translations:I’ll wipe him out for you. eradicate this evil weed cutting down weeds and digging them out by the roots. , to destroy them completely, root and branch,IV. CONCLUSIONThe difference of culture reflected in difference ofexpression. Translation is a preceding offer of information. Itis expected to bear some relationship with the correspondingsource text. The source text is regarded as an “offer ofinformation” from which a translator selects what is mostuseful and important to his translation purpose. Because of thefeatures of Chinese idioms, Jenner had tried to keep and showChinese culture to target receivers. He adopted more than onemethod to translate and introduce Chinese national cultureand value. Jenner’s translation of Chinese idioms kept foreigncharacters to some extent. He broke convention of targetlanguage and employed not fluency or transparent style toyield to the language features, absorb means of expressionand retain culture of source text.“心惊胆战/胆战心惊”—Jenner translated “惊”into“fear/terror/fright/shock” and “战” into “ tremble/shake”: he trembled with fear. shook with terror,The news made all the spirits shake with fright. , trembling with shock. he trembled with fear,Translation of Chinese idioms can not be regarded assimple activity of language transition. Some idioms withprofound and lasting cultural deposits could hardly beunderstood in other culture. Some idioms have no oppositeterms in target language. It courses in translatinguntranslatable factors and brings a lot of difficulties.The key points in idiom translation are the literal meaning,content of images and extension or figurative meaning. Butnot all the idioms contain the 3 meanings at the same time. Itis almost impossible to express all the 3 meanings in English.If there are contradictions between the 3 meanings intranslating, extension or figurative meaning should be firstlykept. Sometimes the image in idiom should be changed. Whenthere is no cultural conflicting, the literal meaning and contentof images should be both considered. [10] Because of thespecial national characteristics in Chinese literature, it is hardto understand and even to translate idioms correctly. That’sobvious cultural barrier in translation. C-E translation ofidioms is actually how to deal with various cultural features ofidioms in English. According to different translation purposes,translators from specific cultural background adoptundoubtedly specific strategies and methods in disposingmicrocosmic cultural information of idioms in source text.Jenner tried to make the target text easy to understand forthe reader of target language. He employed fluency andtransparent style to desalt the strangeness of source text withmaximum efforts. His way of expression abided the traditionof target culture and language. Jenner tried to reduce thestrange and unusual sense for English readers. And in order toexplain the involved cultural phenomenon and history phrases,Jenner adopted notes, quotes and similar phenomenon inwestern culture to show the similarity between eastern andwestern culture.Translation methods of idioms are flexible. One idiomcould be translated in different methods. Proper translation isbased on cultural background and acceptance of readers.Corresponding language between two languages and culturescould realize communication through recombination. Intranslating Chinese idioms, not only extension but culturalintensions are translated. Even semantic structures should beadjusted if necessary. However, untranslatable factors do notmean that idioms cannot be translated. Otherwise, thefascinating and splendid fragments in source texts will beboring in target texts. Even, the coherence of the text will bedamaged and the text will be hard to read and understand.Various translation methods can appear in one version.Jenner’s selections in idioms translation are based on histranslation purpose. The methods for each detail are in orderto achieve a specific purpose. Translation purposes of eachdetail may be different. But the translation purpose is reachedthrough the difference and materialization. The functions andexpectant aim of translation purposes for details andtranslation purposes for whole text are consistent.There are 2 aims of idioms translation: to complete thecross-cultural communication activity and to visualize theabundant cultural information in idioms and deliver them.[7]The target text is an offer of information formulated by atranslator in a target culture and language about an offer ofinformation formulated by someone else in the source cultureXi You Ji and its English versions are always studied bymany scholars in the field of translation from different angleswith various translation theories. Among these Englishversions, Jenner’s Journey to the West is the only fullyEnglish version by an English native speaker. There are very384
few related studies on Journey to the West in China. It isregretful for the study on overseas spread of Xi You Ji.Translation of idioms could promote cultural exchangebetween China and the west. Translation of Chinese classicalliterature is an important way in spread of Chinese traditionalculture to the west. Literature translation is firstly anexchange of two languages, but also deeply bases on a jointbetween two cultures. Through Journey to the West, it is foundthat there are still deficiency, misrepresentation andmisunderstanding in the spread of Chinese culture in the west.At present, C-E translation of Chinese ancient books is still inits primary stage. Although some scholars have already turnedtheir attention or are engaging in it, scientific theory systemsand principle are still scarce. And not all the optimal elementsare appropriate spread in the west. The spread is not originalor constant. All of these should be improved in subsequentpractice and studies.REFERENCES[1]Xi You Ji. Wu ChengenPeople’s Literature Publishing House.1980[2] Journey to the West. W. J. F. JennerForeign Languages Press,Beijing, 1993[3] Chinese Iidioms Dictionary. Sichuan Lexicon Publishing House.1994.9[4] Lexicological Research of Xi You Ji. Huang Jian. 2008[5] Study of Structure and Culture in Translating Chinese Idioms intoEnglish. Yu Lianshun, etc.Heilongjiang University PublishingHouse. 2010.12[6] Dctionary of Translation Studies. Mark Shuttleworth & Moira Cowie.Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press. 2004[7] Translation of Chinese Idioms in the Perspective of Skopos Theory.Zhu Yiqun. Journal of Mudanjiang University. 2010.3[8] Selected Readings of Contemporary Western Translation Theories. MaHuijuan, Miao Ju. Foreign Language Teaching & Research Press.2009.4[9] Study of English Idioms. Luo Shiping. Shanghai Foreign LanguageEducation Press. 2006.1[10] Cultural Diversity and Translation of Idioms in English and Chinese.Zhang Ning. Chinese Translators Journal. 1999.3385
Idioms are one kind of carrier of culture, which record human civilization and social progress. The translator has to find out the cultural elements which the idioms contain and the deep understanding and analyses of both cultures that idioms represent. Chinese idioms are phrases with ample cultural and language connotative.
2. Illustrating Idioms Two 3. Illustrating Idioms Three 4. Illustrating Idioms Four 5. Illustrating Idioms Five 6. Illustrating Idioms Six 7. Illustrating Idioms Seven 8. Illustrating Idioms Eight 9. Illustrating Idioms Nine 10. Illustrating Idioms Ten These pages are great for big kids to practice using and understanding idioms during reading .
1 Few idioms stay in frequent usage for a long time. 2 Your English may sound unnatural if you use certain idioms. 3 Idioms can be used for dramatic effect. 4 Idioms are frequently used to comment on people and situations. 5 Headline writers always use idioms in their correct form. 6 Idioms
3.2 Idioms with Different Literal or Figurative Meanings When literal meanings or figurative meanings of English and Chinese idioms are a bit different, but their implicated meanings are the same, a translator can also borrow idioms from Chinese in translating English idioms. Such idioms as Among the blind the one" -eyed man is kingis "
learners of English: Cambridge Idioms Dictionary. and . Oxford Idioms Dictionary . in focus _ by Anna Stachurska studies English idioms and focuses on the question of how usage of English idioms is marked within two most representative idioms dictionaries, namely . Oxford Idioms Dictionary
(2) bodily only idioms; (3) random non-bodily idioms. Our results pointed to a clear difference between the understanding of the three groups of idioms: those with the visuo-spatial component were understood best, followed by idioms referring to the body only and random idioms respectively, with strong statistical significances for the differences.
to 7000 idioms in McCarthy and Walter's Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms [ McCarthy and Walter 1998] while it goes up to 10000 in Oxford Idioms Dictionary for Learners of English. The lack of a uniform definition and the inclusion of massive words under the category of idioms
idioms stated by the other Linguistic expert and present them in a simple way of classification. The reason of limiting the data to Pure idioms is because many of idioms presented in the novel, but the Pure idioms is considered to be more complex unit to translate. It is shown in the following example: the idiom "Plus Edward and Myra are .
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