Idiom Interpretation
Interpreting Idioms
Both English and Chinese are particularly rich in idioms. Idioms are so vivid, terse, colloquial, and forcible in conveying a particular meaning that they are frequently used by speakers of both languages. Chinese and English idioms came into being under different historical, geographical, cultural and social backgrounds, so they contain different stories reflecting different environment, life, history, culture and values of the native speakers. It is surely no easy thing to understand idioms, let alone interpret them off-handed. One can hardly expect to provide a satisfactory rendition of an idiom unless he is guided by the correct method and, at the same time, manages to get an accurate understanding of its implied meaning through its surface structure according to the context. 1. Definition of Idioms
Idioms can be understood both in a broad sense an din a narrow one. In the narrow sense, they simply refer to the set phrases or clauses used in a language. Broadly speaking, they comprise all the idiomatic and special expressions in that language, including, in this context, all the set phrases, colloquialisms, proverbs, slang and clichés in English, and all the four-character set phrases（成语）, common sayings（俗
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Idiom Interpretation
语）, proverbs and two-part allegorical sayings(歇后语) （of which the first part is descriptive and the second part carries the message） in Chinese. It is their broad sense that we are discussing in this unit. Hence, an idiom can be defined as a group of words with meaning different from the combined meanings of its component words. It is a combination of two or more words which are usually structurally fixed and semantically hard to understand, and function as a single unit of meaning. For example, “red tape” is an English idiom which means “official rules and procedures that seem unnecessary and cause delay.” But one can hardly guess its meaning from the individual words that form it, for these words have already lost their original meaning.
An idiomatic expression is an established form that has been accepted by traditional usage. The words in it cannot, as a rule, be depleted or replaced by synonymous words, or put in a different order, without affecting or destroying the meaning. Therefore, the component words, the word order and the meaning of each idiom must be remembered as a whole. 2. Methods of Interpreting Idioms
2.1. Borrowing (借用法) or Idiom for Idiom (以习语译习语)
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Idiom Interpretation
As we mentioned previously, both Chinese and English abound in idioms. Some idioms in one language contain images, descriptions and meanings identical to idioms in the other language. This is because certain natural and human experiences are shared by the whole mankind wherever they live. There are also idioms that express the same meanings though they don’t have identical metaphors or images. In both cases, we might as well borrow them directly from the target language so as to retain their vividness and achieve equivalence in effect. For example:
一箭双雕（一举两得） 混水摸鱼fish in troubled water 三思而后行 Look before you leap. 有志者，事竟成。
无风不起浪。There is no smoke without fire. 饥不择食 Hungry dogs will eat dirty puddings.
一朝被蛇咬，十年怕井绳。A burnt child dreads fire. / Once bitten, twice shy.
滴水穿石Constant dripping wears the stone. 破釜沉舟 to burn one’s boat 隔墙有耳 Walls have ears.
积少成多 Many a little makes a mickle.
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Idiom Interpretation
一言既出，驷马难追 What is said cannot be unsaid. 谋事在人， 成事在天。 Man proposes, god disposes. 既往不咎 Let bygones be bygones.
有钱能使鬼推磨。Money makes mare go; money talks. 一寸光阴一寸金。
The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. Birds of a feather flock together. Two heads are better than one.
Give him an inch and he will take an ell. Justice has long arms. Once bitten, twice shy.
Better be the head of a dog than the tail of a lion. to kill the goose that lays golden eggs Strike while the iron is hot. to fish in the air
Don’t wash your dirty linen in public. All good things must come to an end. A fall into the pit, a gain in your wit.
2.2 直译(literal translation)。Literal translation means word-for-word rendition, bringing the whole image into the target language. This approach is used when the image contained in an idiom can be easily understood by the speakers
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Idiom Interpretation
of the target language.(但是要特别注意译出来必须是不会产生歧义的，否则会适得其反，就不如意译了。) For example： 良药苦口利于病，忠言逆耳利于行。
Good medicine is bitter in the mouth, but good for the disease; good-intended words offend the ear, but good for the conduct.
远水救不了近火。
Distant water cannot put out nearby fire. 易如反掌
鼠目寸光 see no farther than one’s nose 君子动口不动手 武装到牙齿
引狼入室 head wolf to the house 以牙还牙
千里之行，始于足下 A thousand-li journey is started by taking the first step.
削足适履 to cut the feet to fit the shoes 血浓于水Blood is thicker than water. 玩火 play with fire 摊牌 to show one’s cards
2.3 意译（释义）(Paraphrasing or free translation)
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