Abstract:Semantic reiteration always exist in animal words in Chinese and English, namely corresponding relationship between vocabulary. However, due to different geographical, historical, customary and religious culture Chinese and English people have, they have different images and cultural connotation toward animal words. Therefore, when translating animal idioms, we cannot catch the meaning of words literally from the context, only by careful consideration and repeated deliberation, we can understand correct meaning of animal idioms. It is of great value that comprehending foreign culture and exploring the cultural information and linguistic function of animal idioms in cross-cultural communication and translation. So far, there is no a specific work which can make a comprehensive, systemic contrastive analysis on the differences of Chinese and English animal words connotation. From the respective of language learning, references about the differences of Chinese and English animal words connotation are still limited, no matter from quantity of it, or from depth of research. This article attempts to make a contrastive analysis on cultural connotation of animal words, and will take a lot of examples to discuss the similarity and difference of semantics of animal words in Chinese and English. In addition, I will analyze dissimilation and naturalization in translation of English animal idioms so as to elaborate the important role of foreignizating and domesticating translation in cultural translation.
Keywords: animal words, cultural connotation, cultural difference, translation
摘要:中英文里，动物词汇常常发生语义重叠现象，即词汇对应关系。但是由于英、汉两民族拥有不同的地理文化、历史文化、习俗文化、宗教文化，对同一动物词汇则会产生不同联想并赋予不同的文化内涵。因此，在翻译动物习语时，不能望文生义，应该根据所给的语境仔细琢磨，反复推敲，才能正确理解动物习语的涵义。领悟异国文化内涵研究和发掘动物习语所承载的文化信息和语言功能，在跨文化交际及翻译中有很大的实用价值。到目前为止，尚无一部专门的论著对英汉动物词汇的内涵差异进行全面系统的对比分析，从语言学习的角度对其进行探讨的文献，无论在数量上，还是在程度上都很有限。本文试图对动物词汇的文化内涵意义进行对比研究, 采用大量的实例，探讨英汉动物类象征词的语义同异现象，指出动物类词语的内涵在不同的文化中不同之处以及不同动物词汇的翻译方法。对包含动物名称的英语习语翻译中的归化和异化现象加以剖析，试图说明归化和异化在文化翻译中的重要作用。
关键词：动物词汇；文化内涵；文化差异；翻译
