1. Differences in language:

Translation of Chinese classical Chinese, idioms, and American slang. (The translation of the Legend of Zhen Huan is an example)

2. Differences in history and culture:

Chinese allusions. Stories from abroad.

3. Differences in thinking patterns and living environments:

Chinese style...American style...leads readers unable to understand deeply...

bla...bla...1. Comparison: Chinese-English translation is just like the interpretation of classical Chinese. Only the ancients knew its own meaning, and later generations have different understandings.

2. Artistic conception: The implantation of different emotions and feelings in different places, just blunt Chinese characters, without emotional foil, are difficult to express their true thoughts.

3. Tone and intonation: The situation cannot be blended, and some words need to be understood by heart.

4. Cultural differences: Each enterprise has its own corporate culture. For language, there is no corresponding language and cultural concept, and it is difficult to express it clearly and directly.

5. Regional differences: Apply dialects from various places and compare the entire language field. It is not the best interoperability, but the original flavor that can shine with the aura.

6. Idiom: Knowing something but not knowing why, some things cannot be understood without knowing them. 1. Comparison and translation of the associative meanings of English and Chinese animal words

Comparison and translation of the associative meanings of English and Chinese animal words There are many kinds of animals in nature. As an objectively existing creature, its essence is important to any nation. It's the same. However, people of different nationalities have very different feelings about animals. That is to say, when people treat animals as an object, they always attach different emotional colors to them, making them have one or another associative meaning. The so-called associative meaning was explained by G. Leech in his famous book "Semantics": it is a semantic world constructed through psychological means such as symbolism and analogy, and is a reflection of people's understanding of the meaning in different cultural backgrounds. When summarizing one's perceptual understanding and emotional experience of the objective world, various connotations are imposed on the words, such as good or bad, good and evil, beauty and ugliness, etc., thus making the words have certain cultural connotations. These "cultural connotations", that is, associative meanings, are extremely complex due to the cultural differences among various ethnic groups in the world, and it is sometimes difficult to accurately grasp the translation between languages. Zhu Guangqian said in his article "On Translation" that foreign literature is the most difficult to understand and translate because of its special emotional range, which is deep, wide and subtle. This article intends to briefly discuss the associative meanings and translations of some animal words in English and Chinese to teach you. The same or similar associative meaning and translation The same or similar associative meaning and translation The same or similar associative meaning and translation The same or similar associative meaning and translation The same goes for culturally diverse types. Because, from the perspective of human structure and mechanism, the brain, the psychological organ for perceiving the objective world, is completely different whether Chinese or Westerners; in addition, from the perspective of living environment, both Eastern and Western people live in the same ** Some homes on the earth face basically the same natural environment. In the process of conquering and transforming nature, we have to form roughly consistent life experiences. These life experiences will inevitably influence and determine the differences between Chinese and Western cultures. There will be many associations, and the same is reflected in animal vocabulary. In Chinese and Western culture, there are many animal words with the same or similar associative meanings. For example, "dove" is associated with "peace"; "swan" is a symbol of "nobility" and "holiness"; "cuckoo" is regarded as "primrose bird"; "bee" ( bee) makes people think of "hard work and busyness" (as busy as a bee).

The fox is the most cunning of animals. In Chinese, there is a saying of "sly fox", and in English there is also a metaphor of "as sly as a fox"; in Chinese there is "stupid donkey", and in English there is "as stupid as an ass"; in English there is "parrot". It is familiar to Chinese people, and it is not difficult to find the corresponding expression in English - "to parrot what others say". These examples reflect the convergence of people's understanding of the objective world in different cultural backgrounds, and are easier to grasp when translating. The associative meanings conveyed by many animal words are easy to confuse and difficult to grasp, especially those with the same connotation expressed by different animal metaphors. Translators can easily be influenced by their own national culture and misunderstand them. Meaning. For animal words that use different animal metaphors to express the same metaphor, when translating between languages, metaphors that are familiar to this national culture and can produce the same association must be used to replace those familiar to another national culture. Metaphor, that is to say, the translated sentence must conform to the expression habits of the language being translated, so that the thought and connotation of the original sentence can be grasped, and the reader can correctly understand the meaning of the original sentence. For example, "goose bumps" is translated into English as "goose". flesh; "kill the goose that lay golden eggs" means "kill the goose that lay golden eggs"; "as stupid as a pig" is often said in Chinese, and English is "as stupid as a donkey" or "as stupid as a goose"; "a black sheep" The appropriate Chinese is "black sheep"; "set a fox to keep one's geese" is translated into Chinese as "lure the wolf into the house", but should not be literally translated as "calling the fox to watch the goose"; the corresponding Chinese version of "slippery as an eel" is "sleek." "Like a loach", Chinese culture is accustomed to using loach instead of eel to describe someone's smoothness. Different animal words have the same associative meaning, and some are caused by different living environments. For example, the Chinese have always The British used horses to plow the fields and had a special affection for them. In the early days, the British used horses to plow the fields and had more contact with horses. Therefore, there are many expressions containing the two animal words "cow" and "horse" in Chinese and English. When translated into each other, "cow" and "horse" can be interchanged. To describe a person who is strong, the Chinese word is "as strong as a cow", but the English word is "as strong as a horse"; to describe a person who works very hard, the Chinese word is "as strong as a horse". It means "work like an old scalper", which is "work like a horse" in English; it is often called "bragging" in Chinese, and it is also "talk horse" in English. Some are caused by different cultural habits. For example, in Chinese culture. , "tiger" is called the "king of beasts". There are many expressions about the bravery and might of tigers in Chinese, such as "tiger general", "tiger majesty", "tiger coming down the mountain", etc. In English culture, "lion" has replaced its position. The associated meaning of "lion" in English is "a brave person" and "a brave person". In history, Charles I was often called "King Richard, the lion hearted", which means that he was brave and extraordinary. In Chinese, it means "brave as a tiger", while in English it means "as brave as a lion". "Tiger in the way" in Chinese means "a lion in the way" in Chinese, "a fox pretends to be a tiger in the way" in English means "an ass in a lion's skin" in Chinese, "beard the lion in his den" in Chinese means "tiger's head scratches". . Differences in association meanings and translation Differences in association meanings and translation Human culture has a sexual side and a personal side.

Due to differences in historical traditions, value orientations, customs, religious beliefs, ways of thinking, etc., animal words in different language environments will have their own unique associative meanings. Even animals of the same species will have different associative meanings. The associative meanings may also be completely opposite, so special attention should be paid when translating. The following animal word associations have extremely different meanings. "Phoenix" (phoenix) is the king of birds in ancient Chinese legends. There is a saying that "a hundred birds pay homage to the phoenix". In ancient times, people believed that the appearance of the phoenix could herald peace in the world, so later generations often compared the dragon to the emperor, and the phoenix to the queen. The marriage of the emperor was called "dragon and phoenix present auspiciousness." But in English, "phoenix" is just a kind of bird in myths and legends. After living in the Arabian desert for five or six hundred years, it burned itself and was reborn. Therefore, the word "phoenix" in English includes "rebirth", "rebirth" and "rebirth". meaning "resurrection". There is such an example sentence in Collins COBUILD English Language Dictionary "Religion, like a phoenix, has been resurrected from the ashes of the revolution" (Religion is like the legendary phoenix, resurrected from the ashes of the revolution). Rabbit has the meaning of "agile" and "quick" in Chinese culture. In Chinese, there is a saying of "moving like a rabbit", but "rabbit" in English means "timid", such as "as timid as a rabbit". In Chinese, "mouse" is used to describe timidity. People often say "as timid as a mouse." However, timid mouse has become a metaphor for quietness in English national culture, such as "as quiet as a mouse." ". In Chinese and Western cultures, the associative meanings of some animal words are even completely opposite. "Dragon" has always been a symbol of "power", "strength" and "auspiciousness" in Chinese culture. The Chinese people have the utmost respect for the legendary "dragon". The "dragon" is regarded as the totem of the Chinese nation, and the Chinese nation calls itself the descendant of the "dragon". In Western countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States, "dragon" is a huge, terrifying and strange beast, breathing fire from its mouth, ferocious and cruel, and is synonymous with "evil". It is deeply disgusted by the English-speaking people and believes that it should be eliminated. Therefore, the complimentary meaning of the Chinese word "dragon" cannot be retained when translated into English. For example, the Chinese word "hope one's son to become a dragon" must not be translated as "to expect one's son to be a dragon", but should be translated as "to expect one's son to be a dragon". become an outstanding personage”. Similarly, what we call the Four Asian Tigers is not "four small dragons of Asia" but "four small tigers of Asia". "Cat" is a docile and well-behaved animal in the eyes of the Chinese. If you translate the English sentence "she is a perfect cat" into "she is very docile and well-behaved" according to Chinese cultural customs, it would be completely wrong. When "cat" is used to describe women in English, it is a derogatory term, specifically referring to those women who love to lie, talk, and be vicious. The original meaning of "she is a perfect cat" is "she is a complete tongue-tied woman". A Chinese would be very unhappy if he heard the words "you are as wise as an owl". In Chinese culture, "owl" (owl) has the associative meaning of "unlucky, bad omen, death", but in English "owl" is often a symbol of "cleverness, wisdom", and this associative meaning is not true in Chinese culture. exist. "Peacock" is a mascot in Chinese culture. A peacock's tail is seen as good luck. However, in English, "peacock" is often used in an extended sense and has a derogatory connotation.

Webster’s Third New Intenational Dictionary of the English Language explains it this way: “One making a proud or arrogant display of himself” (a person who is proud and showing off himself). Collins COBUILD English Language Dictionary explains it this way: "If you describe someone, especially a man, as a peacock, you mean that they are rather proud of themselves and like wearing attractive clothes and looking good, used showing disapproval'(if you say When someone - especially a man - is a peacock, you mean that he is very proud, likes to wear beautiful clothes and dress up fashionably; it has a derogatory meaning) It can be seen that the meaning of "peacock" in English is basically. Negatively, it does not emphasize the beautiful side of the peacock, but only emphasizes its proud side. Therefore, there is the idiom "proud as a peacock" in English and "very proud" in Chinese. As can be seen from the above examples, the same animal. Words have different or even opposite associative meanings in different cultures. If you do not understand this, you will not be able to truly understand or even misunderstand the deep meaning of another language, thereby making mistakes in translation. And the unique associative meanings of translation and the unique associative meanings of translation and translation are affected by national culture. An ordinary animal word often has extremely rich associative meanings in one culture, but may be just a symbol in another culture. There is no association. In Chinese culture, turtle has two associated meanings. One is "longevity", and it is also used to describe a husband whose wife has an affair. In Western culture, it is just a slow-moving and ugly animal. That's all. There is absolutely no such association. The Chinese word "fish" makes people think of "surplus" and "every year more than enough." Semantic value, while English vocabulary has too many syllables and a low probability of homophony. It is almost impossible to obtain cultural connotations through homophony. Therefore, the corresponding "fish" and "hen" in English cannot make British and American people associate with "balance" and "prostitute". Similarly, there are also some animal words that have associative meanings in British and American culture that are lacking in Chinese culture. For example, "beaver" refers to a person who works hard, and "duck" refers to a cute person or thing. , such as "she is a perfect duck" (she is so cute), there is no such associative meaning in Chinese. There are many expressions related to "fish" in English. This is because Britain is a typical maritime country. These expressions fully express the geographical characteristics of Britain, such as "drink like a fish" (booze), "as drunk" as a fish" (drunk as mud), "as mute as a fish" (silent), "cold fish" (referring to a person who does not interact with others), etc. The Chinese word "fish" has no such associative meaning. English uses the word "chicken" to express a coward without courage, such as "You chicken" (you coward). In English, "chicken-livered" or "chicken-hearted" means "timid, cowardly", and "play chicken" means "to test your courage."

"Chicken" reminds native English speakers of "coward", but Chinese has no such association. Try to avoid misunderstandings in cross-cultural communication. Language, as the carrier of culture, carries certain cultural meanings. Without a deep understanding of this meaning, you may make cultural mistakes. The famous translation theorist Nida said in 1993 that associative meanings are sometimes elusive and difficult to grasp. Things that have auspicious connotations in one culture may be taboo in another culture. It is not uncommon in life to violate taboos due to lack of understanding of cultural traditions and customs in language translation. "Cock" in China evokes positive associations, such as "cock crowing", "hearing the cock dancing", etc. However, in English, the word "cock" does not have such positive association meaning. In Western society, the word "cock" may give people a vulgar association with male reproductive organs. The trademark of an alarm clock produced by a Chinese manufacturer is "Golden Rooster", which is an extremely resounding name in the Chinese context. When the product was sold abroad, the trademark was initially translated as "Golden Cock", which obviously did not conform to Western cultural customs. The translation was later corrected to "Golden Rooster". The "White Elephant" brand batteries produced by a Chinese manufacturer are exported due to their excellent quality, but they have been coldly received by Western countries. The reason is that "White Elephant" refers to rare and rare things in Chinese culture. In English, "White Elephant" "In Western culture, it refers to something useless and expensive. No wonder this product is not selling well abroad. Guangzhou is also known as "Yangcheng". Legend has it that in ancient times, five fairies rode five sheep to bring grain to the people of Guangzhou. Therefore, "Five sheep" symbolizes good luck in Chinese culture, and a bicycle produced in Guangzhou was named " Five sheep”. When this kind of bicycle was sold abroad, "Five Rams" was translated as "Five Rams". The associative meaning of the word "ram" in Western culture is completely different from that in Chinese culture. In English, in addition to "ram", it also means "reinstilling", "forcing to pass", "forcing to accept (viewpoints, ideas)" and other meanings. As a result, the "Five Sheep" that is auspicious in China has become something unpleasant in the West, and products named after it will certainly not be favored by Westerners. The associative meanings of animal words can well reflect the differences between Chinese and Western cultures. Being aware of the differences, translators should not only master the basic translation skills, but also further understand the rich connotations of Chinese and Western cultures. As Chinese, we generally have a deep understanding of the culture of our own nation. You need to be more familiar with Chinese and Western culture, so you need to make up for the lessons that are unfamiliar to Western culture, so that you can be accurate and expressive when translating between English and Chinese.

References 1. Collins COBUILD English Language Dictionary Collins 1987 2. Webster's Third New Intenational Dictionary of the English Language (Unabridged)Merriam Company Publishers. 1961. 3. Eugene A Nida Language Culture and Translating Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 1993. 4. Shen Anping, On the Associative Meaning of Social Culture and Language, Gu Jiazu, Language and Culture, Shanghai Foreign Language Teaching Press, 1990: 129-146 5. Hu Wenzhong, editor-in-chief, British and American Cultural Dictionary, Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 1995 6. Editor-in-chief Wu Youfu, English Animal Vocabulary Usage Dictionary, Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 1998 2. Comparison of the symbolic meanings of English and Chinese animal vocabulary About the author Li Yan (1981 - ), female, teaching assistant in the Department of Foreign Languages, Yuncheng University, master's degree student in English Language and Literature at Shandong University Postgraduate article number: 1008 - 8008 (2009) 02 - 0090 - 04 1. Introduction Introduction Introduction Language is the carrier of culture, reflecting the characteristics of different societies, cultures and times in which language is located. As one of the basic elements of language, vocabulary is not limited to expressing superficial meanings, but also contains different cultural traditions, customs, value orientations and other cultural connotations. In the long process of social history, humans and animals have been interdependent and closely related, so there are a large number of animal words in both English and Chinese languages. In the vast ocean of words, these animal words often contain rich emotions. They not only have direct, superficial, and literal meanings, but also connotative, emotional, and migratory meanings. As Liao Guangrong pointed out: "There are three bases for the cultural meaning of animal words: first, the appearance, physiology, psychology, personality, behavior, habits, functions and other characteristics of the animal; second, the cultural content, cultural tradition and cultural psychology of the nation; third, Association refers to connecting an animal with another thing, and the cultural tradition of the nation, especially the cultural psychology, plays a potential but also important stimulating and guiding role in the generation and direction of association.” [ 1 ] 17 Although different. The conceptual meanings of language animal words are the same or similar. However, due to cultural differences, people attach different emotions to the same animal. Therefore, their connotative meanings with their respective national characteristics are sometimes the same or similar, and sometimes Quite different. 2. Similarities and differences in the symbolic meanings of English and Chinese animal words. Similarities and differences in the symbolic meanings of English and Chinese animal words. Similarities and differences in the symbolic meanings of English and Chinese animal words. 2. 1 The same words have the same symbolic meanings. The same words have the same symbolic meanings. The same words have the same symbolic meanings. The same words. Language has the same symbolic meaning and reflects culture, and the ultimate similarity in language is determined by the uniqueness of culture. All nations on earth live on the same planet. They all face challenges from nature such as wind, rain, thunder, and lightning. They all experience the changes of the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Therefore, they have the same or similar understanding of all things in nature. Similar feelings. Since human living environments are roughly similar, English and Chinese animal words have semantic overlap in the two languages, that is, lexical correspondence. Animals have distinctive characteristics. The British and Chinese peoples generally have the same views on these characteristics, and they all use these characteristics to describe or metaphor certain qualities of people or things. Therefore, whether it is Chinese or English, as long as it is based on the basic attributes of animals, When you get to know animals, you will naturally have the same or similar associations, giving animal words the same emotional meaning of praise or blame.