Abstract:Chinese idioms are the crystallization of Chinese culture and language. They often express rich meaning with vivid imagery and simple structure. Because of these cultural differences on history, religion and custom, most Chinese idioms cannot find English idioms corresponded with them. So how to be faithful to the idioms and show the unique culture is a big problem in idiom translation. However the publishment of Relevance Theory provides a new perspective for the translation of idiom. In terms of Relevance Theory, this paper will take idioms of Hong Lou Meng for example to explain how can translator infer the communicative intention of the original writer from the source text and convey it correctly to the target language readers and achieve optimal relevance to make communication successful.
Key words: relevance theory optimal relevance translation of Chinese idioms context
摘要:汉语习语大多形式简单,用词生动形象,并且含义丰富,是语言凝结的精华,具有浓厚的文化底蕴。然而由于历史、宗教、习俗上的文化差异，使得大部分习语基本都不能找到与之完全对应的英语习语，因此如何既忠实于习语特点又能将其中所蕴含的独特的文化展现出来是习语翻译的一大难题。但是关联理论的问世，为汉语习语的翻译开辟了一个新的方向。在关联理论中，翻译被看作是一种借助语言在不同的认知系统中进行的交际活动。在关联理论的基础下，本文将以《红楼梦》中的习语翻译为例，详细阐述译者如何根据原语的文化语境推断出原文作者的交际目的和意图，并将其尽可能准确地传达给目的语读者，从而实现原作者与目的语读者之间的最佳关联，使两者间的交际得以成功。
关键词：关联理论 最佳关联 习语翻译 语境
As indicated by the comparison and analysis above, concerning the translation of Chinese specific cultural phenomena and the principle of relevance, the conclusion can be drawn that translator should first infer the communicative intention from the original text, and then has some basic knowledge about the cognition environment of the target language readers. Finally based on the theory, the translator can translate the unique cultural element and meaning of idioms to achieve optimal relevance between original writer and target language readers.
In the paper, I analyze the translation of Chinese idioms in Hong Lou Meng from religion, history and custom. Due to the differences among these cultural aspects, they may produce great effects on the translation versions. So in order to make sure the success of the communication, it is very important for the translator to interpret the communicative intention of the original writer correctly and convey it to the target language reader with clear expressions. So the translators should try their best to find the relevance between the original text and the cognition environment of the target language readers. Finally the relevance theory provides a new perspective for the translation and with the principle of relevance as the prime priority of translation, with the optimal relevance as the permanent pursuit of every line we render, the natural strengths and limitations of each translational approach can be understand better.
