汉语成语英译策略与方法

12.3　汉语成语英译策略与方法

美国著名翻译理论家尤金·奈达（Eugene A. Nida）指出：“所谓翻译，就是从语义到文体在译语中用最切近而又最自然的对等语再现原文的信息。”换句话说，翻译就是用目标语从内容到形式最准确通畅地复制源语的信息。好的译文能够让目标语读者获得与源语读者相同的信息和感受，在目标语读者中产生与源语读者中等同的效果。

为了达到等效传递成语信息的目的，对于不同成语，就须采用不同的翻译策略与方法。翻译汉语成语时，为了保留原文形象和味道，能直译则尽量直译，即按字面翻译。不能直译时，我们不能因词害义，应该翻译其实际意义。如能在英文中找到意义完全或基本对等的成语，我们也可采用套译法。一般情况下，正规文体中，汉语成语多采用形象的逐字翻译，非正规文体中，多采用简洁的大意翻译。

下文将逐个介绍套译、直译、意译、直译或意译加注、综合编译等成语翻译方法。

12.3.1　套译法

汉语和英语中存在意义基本对应的成语，还存在一部分从意义和到结构都基本对应的成语。对该类成语的翻译可直接选用目标语对应成语，即采用套译法。成语套译属归化翻译，为目标语读者的顺畅理解提供便利。下文中我们整理出一组比较典型的可以套译的成语。

趁热打铁　Strike while the iron is hot.

点铁成金　the touch of Midas

多此一举/画蛇添足　to paint the lily/to gild the lily

烽火戏诸侯　cry wolf

否极泰来　After black clouds, clear weather.

赴汤蹈火　to go through fire and water

隔墙有耳　Walls have ears./Even the walls have ears.

孤注一掷　to put all one’s eggs in one basket/to have all one’s eggs in one basket; to stake everything on a single cast of the dice/to put everything on one throw

浑水摸鱼/趁火打劫　to fish in troubled water

捡了芝麻，丢了西瓜。/小事精明，大事糊涂。　Penny wise, pound foolish.

见树不见林　can’t see the wood for the trees

空中楼阁　castles in the air

了如指掌　to have something at one’s fingers’ ends/to have something at one’s finger ends/have (or get) something at one’s fingertips (or finger tips)/to know something like the palm of one’s hand/to know something or someone like a book/as a person knows his ten fingers

没做亏心事，不怕鬼叫门。A quiet conscience sleeps in thunder./A clean conscience is a good pillow./A good conscience makes an easy couch./A safe conscience makes a sound sleep.

木已成舟/生米已成熟饭。What’s done is done./What’s done can’t be undone; What’s done is done and can’t be undone./What’s been done can’t be undone./The die is cast.

能说会道　to have the gift of the gab/to have a glib tongue

怒发冲冠　One’s hair stands on end.

旁观者清　The onlooker sees most of the game./The onlooker sees the game best./ Lookers- on see more than players.

破釜沉舟　to burn one’s boat

巧妇难为无米之炊。Even the cleverest housewife cannot make bread without flour./You cannot make an omelette without breaking eggs./You cannot make bricks without straw.（语出《旧约·出埃及记》第五章）

翘辫子　to kick the bucket; to turn up one’s toes

热锅上的蚂蚁　like a cat on hot bricks（也可直译为like an ant on a hot pan）

入乡随俗Do in Rome as the Romans do./Do as the locals do.

杀鸡取卵　to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs

身体力行/躬行己言　To practice what you preach./To put your preaching into practice.

失之东隅，收之桑榆。What one loses on the swings one gets back on the roundabouts./ What one loses on the swings one gains (or wins) on the roundabouts.

时作时辍/断断续续　by fits and starts/by fits

事实胜于雄辩。Actions speak louder than words.

死里逃生/幸免于难　to escape by (or with) the skin of one’s teeth

偷偷摸摸/鬼鬼祟祟　hole-and-corner

未雨绸缪　to provide for a rainy day

问心无愧　a clear conscience

无风不起浪。No smoke without fire./There’s no smoke without fire./Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.

洗心革面/改过自新　to turn over a new leaf

小题大做　to make a mountain out of a molehill

眼见为实　Seeing is believing.

一箭双雕/一举两得　to kill two birds with one stone

以眼还眼，以牙还牙　an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth

鹬蚌相争，渔翁得利。Two dogs strive for a bone, and a third run away with it.

远亲不如近邻。Anearby neighbor is better than a far-off relative.

朝三暮四　to blow hot and cold

直言不讳　to call a spade a spade

自吹自擂/王婆卖瓜，自卖自夸。All one’s geese are swans.

12.3.2　直译法

直译（literal translation）就是在译文语言条件许可时，在译文中既保持原文的内容，又保持原文的形式——特别指保持原文的比喻、形象和民族、地方色彩等。

如果汉语成语的字面形式和比喻形象能为译文读者所接受，就可以根据其字面意义翻译。（冯庆华2002：108）直译法属异化翻译，可以更多地保留源语中的形象等特色，更好地使目标语读者了解源语文化。

例如下文中成语“剖腹藏珠”的翻译：

黛玉道：“跌了灯值钱呢，还是跌了人值钱？你又穿不惯木屐子。那灯笼叫他们前头点着；这个又轻巧有亮，原是雨里自己拿着的。你自己手里拿着这个，岂不好？明儿再送来。——就失了手也有限的，怎么忽然又变出这‘剖腹藏珠’的脾气来！”（曹雪芹： 《红楼梦》，第四十五回）“Which is more valuable, lamp or man? You’re not used to wearing pattens, so get them to carry the horn lantern in front and take this one yourself, since it’s handy and bright and meant to be used in the rain. Wouldn’t that be better? You can send it back later. And even if you drop it, it won’t matter. What’s come over you suddenly that you want to‘cut open your stomach to hide a pearl’?”(translated by Yang Xianyi and Gladys Yang)

成语“剖腹藏珠”直接按字面直译成cut open your stomach to hide a pearl，原文中“为了一点小利益而牺牲大利益”的形象比喻，在译文中也一样生动，完全能被译文读者所接受，使他们获得与英语对等成语“penny wise and pound foolish”近乎相同的效果。

由上例可见，如果英文读者能够像中文读者一样，从汉语成语的比喻中获得正确而又生动的形象效果，我们便可采用像上例“剖腹藏珠”那样的直译方法。

下面几例成语英译是按原文的字面翻译，其比喻效果同原文一样生动传神，译文能使英语读者很快联想起英文中对等的成语。如：

趁热打铁　Strike the iron while it is hot.

打草惊蛇　to stir up the grass and alert the snake（近似于to wake a sleeping dog）

对牛弹琴　to play the lute to a cow（近似于to cast pearls before a swine）

画蛇添足　to draw a snake and add feet to it（近似于to paint the lily）

挥金如土　to spend money like dirt（近似于to spend money like water）

火上浇油　to pour oil on the flame/to pour oil on (a, the) fire/to add fuel to the flame

竭泽而渔　to drain a pond to catch all the fish（近似于to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs）

巧妇难为无米之炊。Even the cleverest housewife can’t cook a meal without rice.

守口如瓶　to keep one’s mouth closed like a bottle（近似于to keep a still tongue in one’s head）

玩火自焚　to get burnt by the fire kindled by oneself（近似于fry in one’s own grease）

雪中送炭　to send charcoal in snowy weather（近似于help a lame dog over a stile或to be a friend in need）

易如反掌　to be as easy as turning over one’s hand（近似于as easy as falling off a log）

掌上明珠　a pearl in the palm（近似于the apple in one’s eye）

天下无不散的宴席　There is no party in the world which does not have an end./Even the finest feast must break up at last.（近似于All good things must come to an end.）

此外，许多汉语成语不一定有完全对等的英语成语，但由于人类思维的某些共性，它们的字面翻译也能使译文读者获得正确无误的形象意义。例如：

八仙过海各显神通　The eight fairies cross the sea, each displaying his own talent.

不到长城非好汉。 You won’t consider yourself a great man until you’ve been to the Great Wall.

春华秋实　Blossom in spring will bring fruit in autumn.

戴着斗笠亲嘴，差着一帽子　It’s like kissing in straw helmets—the lips are far apart!

风餐露宿　to brave the wind and dew

否极泰来　Out of the depth of misfortune comes bliss./When misfortune reaches the limit, good fortune is at hand./After extreme bad luck, comes good luck.

祸福相依　Fortune and misfortune are closely related.

刻骨铭心　to be engraved on one’s heart and bones

口蜜腹剑　to be honey-mouthed and dagger-hearted

临时抱佛脚　to embrace Buddha’s feet in one’s hour of need—to seek help at the last moment

没做亏心事，不怕鬼叫门。If one has not done anything to be ashamed of, one need not fear devils calling at the door.

目不识丁　One does not recognize丁, one of the simplest character in Chinese.

泥菩萨过河——自身难保。 The clay idol fording the river—it is more than one can do to save himself from disaster.

破镜重圆　a broken mirror made whole again

声东击西　to shout in the east and strike in the west

天道酬勤　Heaven rewards the diligent.

嘴上没毛，办事不牢。Downy lips make thoughtless slips.（注：该例译出了押韵的修辞韵味，取得了文化复制效果。 ）

例8.行百里者半九十。

“行百里者半九十”是中国古典名著《战国策》中的一句名言。其原意如下：走了90%的路程也不过是走到一半——最后一段路总是最艰难的。吴光华编撰的《汉英大辞典》中将其英译如下：to cover 90 percent of one’s destined distance brings the traveler no farther than the midway point—the last part of an endeavor is the hardest to finish; A thing is not done until it is done; One must sustain one’s effort when a task is nearing completion; The ninety miles is only half of a hundred miles journey—the going is toughest towards the end of a journey.

温家宝记者招待会上曾有译员将其译为：If the journey is one hundred miles, traveling ninety is only half of it.简洁的直译达到了信息传递的效果。

12.3.3　意译法

意译（free translation）是指表达原文内容，但不拘泥于原文形式的一种翻译方法。每一种喻义都有独特的词汇、句法结构和表达方法。当内容和形式出现矛盾时，则取内容而舍形式。

许多汉语成语附着特定的文化背景，有的来自古典经籍、寓言或传说等。此类成语直译不能达意，而英语中又找不到与之对应的同义习语。翻译时则不得不绕过其文化背景，曲达原意，表现其语义内涵，此为成语意译。如：

粗枝大叶　to be crude and careless

毛遂自荐　to volunteer one’s service

罄竹难书　（of crimes）too numerous to record

塞翁失马，安知非福。It might be a blessing in disguise.

桃李满天下　to have students all over the world/with pupils everywhere

无孔不入　to take advantage of every weakness

星罗棋布　to spread all over the place

兴妖作怪　to stir up trouble

纸醉金迷　a life of luxury and dissipation

12.3.4　直译加解释或加注

有些汉语成语是在一定的中国文化背景下形成，有些含有中国古代人名、地名，有些使用了汉语的谐音等，对这部分成语（以典故为例），如果字面翻译，外国读者势必难以接受。为了使英文读者能够获得与汉语读者一样的效果,我们可以加上些解释性的文字。例如：

例9.班门弄斧

to show off one’s proficiency with the axe before Lu Ban, the master carpenter.

如果在译文中不加上解释语：the master carpenter，只译Lu Ban，恐怕大部分英语读者不知道Lu Ban为何许人也。

例10.三个臭皮匠，抵得上一个诸葛亮

Three cobblers with their wit combined could equal Zhuge Liang, the mastermind.

诸葛亮是个历史人物，在中国家喻户晓，但英美读者却并不见得了解。如果不加上注释，他们或许能推测诸葛亮是一个人，但却难以产生与原文读者一样丰富的联想。

例11.“叶公好龙”含有特定典故，如直译为Lord Ye’s love of dragons，会让缺乏汉民族文化背景的英美读者感到有些莫名其妙，无法产生理解上的共鸣，也无法产生与原文读者同样的感受。因此，最好加上一些背景知识的注释，以期达到等效的目的： Lord Ye was so fond of dragons that he adorned his whole palace with drawings and carvings of them. But when a real dragon heard of his infatuation and paid him a visit, he was frightened out of his wit.而在具体行文中可采取简洁的意译：professed love of what one really fears.

例12.和尚打伞，无法无天。

毛主席一九七零年和斯诺谈话时用的一个歇后语“和尚打伞，无法无天”，是谐音双关，翻译起来比较困难。可勉强分为三节来意译： Amonk under an umbrella—wu fa wu tian (without hair, without heaven)—defying laws human and divine.

但该译文意思表达却仍不是很清楚，需要加注释为好。

美国朋友William Hinton曾为该歇后语做过如下注解：It is a double pun. Amonk has a shaven head, hence no hair. A monk under an umbrella is cut off from the sky, hence no heaven. But fa also means“law”, and tian also means“heaven”in the sense of supreme ruling power. Thus a monk under an umbrella is a man without law or limit—a rebel like Monkey (who accompanied the monk Tripitaka on his legendary journey to India),unbound by established rules, institutions or conventions, whether earthly or divine. (New China Vol 1 No.2, 1975)

这个注解基本解释了该歇后语的意义，但汉语中“发”和“法”这两个不同的汉字却被这名外国朋友混为一谈（这俩字虽发音相似但声调不同）。若要解释清楚这一点，还得再中间添上一句：In Chinese, the pronunciation of the character for“hair”is similar to that of the character for“law”, differing only in tones. So here fā (hair) is punned as fă (law).

需要这样长的注解才能向英语读者把这个歇后语解释清楚，说明这种歇后语确实是翻译中的难题，具体行文中常常只能译其喻义，酌情添加脚注或尾注。

12.3.5　综合编译法

在某些特定的语境中，成语的翻译需进行综合加工，即采用编译法，以符合特殊语用需要。以校训翻译为例。校训一般力求简洁明了，朗朗上口，便于记忆，那么校训中成语的翻译就不能太拘泥于原文，而需进行编译。例如：

例13.清华大学校训：自强不息厚德载物

Self-discipline and Social Commitment

“自强不息”可按字面直译则为to practice self-improvement unremittingly；“厚德载物”直译为Virtuous people could assume great task.但校训中若采用这种译法则嫌太长，不够简洁，所以采用编译法，使用能代表该校训精髓意义的关键词Self-discipline and Social Commitment来概括。以下校训同理。

南京大学校训：诚朴雄伟励学敦行Be Honest and Intelligent, Study Hard and Act Sincerely

天津大学校训：实事求是Seek Truth from Facts

厦门大学校训：自强不息止于至善Pursue Excellence, Strive for Perfection

复旦大学校训：博学而笃志切问而近思Rich in Knowledge and Tenacious of Purpose; Inquiring with Earnestness and Reflecting with Self-practice

南开大学校训：允公允能日新月异Dedication to Public Interests, Acquisition of All-round Capability, andAspiration for Progress with Each Day（编者将最后一部分改译为Aspiration for Daily Progress，以求结构工整）。