Learning how to use idioms is a difficult but by no means impossible task. An idiom is different from other literal expressions in that you could not guess its meaning just by understanding all the words in it. Because of their characteristics, learning idioms requires both rote-learning and analytical skills. Bearing this in mind, we have designed the following features to help you learn idioms. If you are interested in knowing more about the linguistic characteristics of idioms, read the sections on Characteristics of Idioms and Criteria for Identifying Idioms. There is a also a list of Useful References on idioms for you to explore.
Keyword: idioms ,culture ,translation,method
Language is a social phenomenon, and each language stands for one culture. To some extent, language and culture develop simultaneously as an idea is firmly held that language occupies a very special position in culture when compared with other elements, though language is apart of the parallel of culture in a larger sense. With the development of modern society and the tendency towards globalization, English, as a international language, is gradually becoming a necessity for people of our day. However, when learning English, some native speakers as well as nonnative speakers often express their surprise at the wide use and distribution of English idioms. They are sometimes at a loss to understand what they are reading and hearing because of the use of these idioms. As a result, they may not be able to fully understand the English culture.
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English defines idioms as “ a fixed group of words with a special meaning which is different from the meanings of the individual words.”
“Most phrasal lexemes are idioms, especially a sequence of words which is semantically and often syntactically restricted.” (Hu Zhuanglin etc, 106)
However, my study shows that an idiom consists of at least two words, of which the structure is usually stable and the meaning is unpredictable from its formation, that is, its true meaning is different from its literal meaning. English idioms include phrasal verbs, colloquialisms, sayings, proverbs, etc.
As idioms are part of a particular language and are usually related to the culture of the language, they always pose problems to English learners in their comprehension, application and translation. Approaches to the comprehension and translation of English idioms, with native cultures, are urgently needed.
“A sufficient knowledge of the respective cultures and the subject matter is indispensable requisites for translators.” (Jin Di and Eugene A. Nida, 26)
⑴ help a lame dog over a stile
From this idiom, we can see how much British people love dogs. They will even help a lame dog when it is in trouble. However, “a lame dog” here does not really refers to a dog, instead it has a connotative meaning, that is, a person in trouble or with difficulty in doing something. In time of trouble, any help is necessary and appreciative. It is similar in meaning with the Chinese “雪中送炭”.
E.g.4 He is the sort of man who is always helping lame dogs over stiles.
⑵ You want to know what’s wrong with you? This is what’s wrong with you. You are going to the dogs, you are lying down with dogs, you are waking sleeping dogs---don’t you know enough to leave before the last dog is dead? (Gordon Lish, The Merry Chase)
Here the author uses 4 canine idioms in succession, which impresses us deeply in the mind. Actually he is blaming someone but in an indirect way. Each of them emphasizes the author’s view and gives a vivid description of what he wants to say. Vivid as it is, it is difficult to understand this paragraph without the relevant cultural background. Now let us see meanings of these idioms.
The first one “going to the dogs” in fact means “to degenerate”; “lying down with dogs” is originated from the proverb “He that lies down with dogs must rise up with fleas(与狗同眠者必惹一身跳蚤;与坏人为伍者必惹一身麻烦)”;“waking sleeping dogs” derives from “Let sleeping dogs lie (勿惹睡狗)” which means “not to trouble trouble or not to bother the others”. The last one “to leave before the last dog is dead” is transformed from “stay until the last dog is hung (逗留到最后一刻)” and means “to leave as early as possible”. In this paragraph, the image of dog is vague and if we intend to translate the idioms literally with the Chinese character “狗”, it will be rather awkward and lack in characteristics. So we should make the translation clear and vivid in a way, which takes culture into consideration. Such as follows:
“你知道你错在哪儿吗?你就错在这儿。你在积薪厝火,你在火上浇油,你在引火烧身,你在玩火自焚,——难道你非要等火烧到眉毛才知道走开吗?”
So we must know the connotative meaning behind the words if we want to preserve the figurative image and the unique style of translation while explicating it almost equivalently.
Through the examples mentioned above, we can see that the characteristic of idioms, as W.J.Ball once said, is “the use of familiar words in an unfamiliar sense”. Owing to this reason, we can never take things for granted, particularly the meanings of the English idioms.
Being one of the social phenomena, religion is a chief part of human being’s culture. Christianity, a most well-known religion, played an important role in history and thus influenced English language in a broad sense, especially the classic works of Christianity---the Bible, contributed a lot to the development of English. It had a significant impact on the formation of English idioms. People quoted the Bible almost everywhere during their daily life. An American lexicologist once said that it is hard to imagine one can learn English well without reading the Bible. We are not discussing whether what he said was true or not. However we are on the YES side about the Bible‘s contribution to the language.
As is known, the Bible is made up of two parts---the Old Testament and the New Testament. Being the classic works of Judaism, the Old Testament is the holy book of Jews, the primary content of which is comprised of commandments of the Jewish people. Later, the Christians called the Jewish book The Old Testament, showing that it was established by people and god in the past in order to distinguish it from their own classics. The New Testament came into shape in about 1 or 2 AD after the birth of Jesus Christ when Christianity gained its popularity among people. It consisted of the legends and the speeches in relation to Jesus Christ. The
⑴doubting Thomas
As mentioned in the Bible, God was nail fasted on the cross, but he revived and turned up before his disciples three days later. Thomas, one of God’s disciples, happened not to be there when God showed up. Famous for his suspicion, Thomas did not believe what the others said without seeing God with his own eyes. From then on, people use “doubting Thomas” to refer to those who are skeptical about the truth of something.
E.g.5 Several of the country’s most respected doctors have stated that smoking harms one’s health, but there are still many doubting Thomases who are not yet persuaded.
⑵cast pearls before swine
This idiom is taken from The Sermon on the Mount (St Matthew, 7:6): “Give not that which is holy, unto the dogs, neither cast your pearls before the swine, lest haply they trample them under their feet, and turn and rend you.” Here, God admonished people not to give precious things to those who do not cherish the values. If not, it is similar to play music before the cows that have no idea at all of what music is.
E.g.6 Give them advice if you like. It will only be casting pearls before swine. They are incapable of understanding good taste and manners.
From examples above, a conclusion may be drawn that phrases or sentences in the Bible always have deep, or we can say, connotative meanings and what we read does not always correspond with what it stands for. So we must turn to the book or the dictionary to find out the right answer and should never take anything for granted.
Literature is an art using language as the tool to explicit real life in vivid description thus the root of literature is in life. As for the words used in literature, they are usually from the people and are the essence of language. With the amendment made by the writers, people read the literary works and enrich their spiritual life. What’s more, due to the popularity of literature, some phrases from literary works later become idioms, thus promoting the development of culture.
William Shakespeare is considered the greatest dramatist and poet the world has ever known. No other writer‘s plays have been produced so many times or read so widely in so many countries as his. He not only created those great works, but also invented many of the most-used expressions in the language of English. Once someone gave a comment on the influence of Shakespeare’s works on the idioms as follows:
If you cannot understand my argument, and declare It‘s Greek to me, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you claim to be more sinned against than sinning, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you recall your salad days, you are quoting Shakespeare; …if you have been tongue-tied, …if the truth were known (for surely you have a tongue in your head) you are quoting Shakespeare; even if you bid me good riddance and send me packing, if you wish I were dead as a door-nail, if you think I am an eyesore, a laughing stock, the devil incarnate, a stony-hearted villain, bloody-minded or a blinking idiot, then - by Jove! O Lord! Tut, tut! For goodness‘ sake! What the dickens! But me no buts - it is all one to me, for you are quoting Shakespeare.1
Many idioms of the worldwide English have first been seen in the works of Shakespeare‘s and have found their way to everyday use of English. Therefore, the English language owes a great debt to Shakespeare.
To put it in a nutshell, English idioms are the product of culture. They are restricted by English culture and bear exclusive characteristics of it, carrying abundant cultural purport. It has to be remembered that it is hard to say which idioms are actively used in English and which are dying out or have already died. Idioms are constantly dying and new-ones are born. Some idioms may have gone through radical changes in meaning. The shift in meaning is yet unexplained. All dialects of English have different sets of idioms and situations where a given idiom can be used. Languages develop and change. So is the case with English language and idioms. The future of idiomatic expressions in the English language seems certain. The development will continue through new mediums like the Internet and interactive mediums. We are not sure what this will do to idioms and what kind of new idioms are created but this will be an interesting development to follow, and by no means does it lessen the humor, variety and color of English language. Nevertheless, one thing is sure that, theoretically and practically, learning English idioms has to take culture into full account, as English idioms are the drop in the ocean of English culture.
[1] Levin, Bernard. From The Story of English. Robert McCrum, William Cran and Robert MacNeil. New York: New York Elisabeth Sifton Books, Viking, 1986.
[2]胡文仲[主编].《跨文化交际面面观》[M].北京:外语教学与研究出版社,1999年.
[3]赵艳萍,李洁连[主编].文化与交际[M].北京:中国人民大学出版社,1999年.
[4]平洪,张国扬.英语习语与英美文化[M].北京:外语教学与研究出版社,2000年.
[5]吴雨田. 英谚管见[J].外国语,1987,(5):37-42.
[6]辛献云.形象•联想•意义---习语翻译新探 [J].《解放军外语学报》,1994,(5):86-92.
[7]冀一志. 从跨文化角度看外语翻译[J].外语教学,1993,(1):63-68.
[7]王爵鸾.略谈英语习语的正确理解和表达[J].《外国语》,1985,(3).
[8]许崇信,〈文化交流与翻译〉,见杜承南、文军主编,《中国当代翻译百论》,重庆:重庆大学出版社,1994, 98.
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