The Translation of English Animal Idioms from the Perspective of Intercultural Communication

Abstract

Idioms, the essence of language, embody rich cultural connotation. Animal idioms occupy an important position among idioms. This thesis studies the translation of English animal idioms from the perspective of intercultural communication. First, this thesis makes a comparison of cultural connotations between Chinese and English animal idioms, which can be concluded into the following four aspects: the same animal sharing similar cultural connotations, different animals sharing similar cultural connotations, the same animal baring different cultural connotations, and vacancy of cultural connotations in different cultures. Based on the comparisons and under the guidance of Newmark’s communicative translation theory, three translation methods including literal translation, substitution, and free translation, are concluded in order to promote the intercultural communication between Chinese and English cultures.