Abstract:Language is a media of culture, and an idiom is like a mirror reflecting culture. Idioms not only contain wealthy of cultural background information but also cultural characters. On the other hand，animals are inseparable from our daily life. There are numerous animal idioms in English and Chinese, which play important roles in cross-cultural communications. However, because of different culture and characters of various nations, the connotations of animal idioms in this country do not always coincide with those in another. As a result，there will be a great obstacle in translation of animal idioms. Since translation is a cultural transmission, the translation of animal idioms not only consists in the translation of the idiom itself, but also in the specific culture embedded in the language. That is to say, the key to the translation of animal idioms lies in whether or not the cultural connotations of original language can be appropriately transferred into the target language.
This dissertation attempts to compare the similarities and differences of animal idioms between English and Chinese，from the perspective of the cultural connotations and metaphorical meanings, finally concludes the approaches of animal idioms translation and the strategies for dealing with the differences between English and Chinese idioms. The study helps us to achieve a thorough understanding and a proper command of culture connotations in the animal idioms, so as to avoid the misunderstandings and communication barriers between two languages.
Key words: animal idioms; comparison of cultural connotations; metaphorical meanings; translation
中文摘要:语言是文化的媒介体。习语，犹如一面镜子折射着文化。习语包含着丰富的文化背景信息和文化特色。另一方面，动物与我们的日常生活息息相关。因此，英汉动物习语数量繁多，并在跨文化交际中扮演着重要的角色。但是，由于不同的民族有着不同的文化和特点，因此动物习语的内涵意义并不一致。这对于动物习语翻译来说将是一个阻碍。翻译工作是文化的传递，动物习语翻译不仅是习语义的翻译，而且是习语特有文化内涵的翻译。也就是说，翻译的关键在于是否能将原语中的文化内涵正确地传递到目标语言中。
本文拟从英汉不同的文化内涵和比喻寓意等方面来比较动物习语的异同。最终总结出动物习语的翻译方法以及翻译上如何处理英汉差异的技巧。这有助于我们对动物习语获得全面的理解以及对其文化内涵的正确掌握，从而避免误解和减少英汉间的交际障碍。
关键字：动物习语；文化内涵比较；比喻寓意；翻译
