2024年4月30日发(作者：特朗普称账号恢复也不会用推特)

Chapter3TheoreticalFoundation

Chapter 3 Theoretical Foundation

This dissertation follows the definition that culture means

every aspect of a nation's life. Language is the carrier of culture

and idioms are the cream of a language and the concentration

and of a culture. The translation of idiom to some degree is

cultural translation. Thus the features of culture will influence the

translation of idioms, undoubtedly, in which the feature of

universality and peculiarity are the basic ones that decide the

translatability and untranslatability of idiom translation.

"Culture of each nation has universality and peculiarity.

Universality stems from the same objective nature and the same

cognition to the whole world of human beings; while peculiarity

comes from each small distinct environment."(Liu Zhongde, 1992)

Xiao Hui(2004) also holds that the objective law of cultural

information is the Coexistence of culture universality and

peculiarity . Cultural universality turns the possibility of

communication between different people into reality. And the

peculiarity is the reason of the existence of cultural barriers in

communications. When we study the translation of idioms,

cultural communication unavoidably becomes the central point.

This chapter will focus on the universality and peculiarity of

culture and the basic reasons for the translatability and

untranslatability of idioms in cultural framework, which will

provide the theoretical foundation for the studies of this

dissertation.

3.1 Cultural universality in idioms

Cultural universality means the properties common to all

cultures. "If there is not any universality between people from

other cultures, cross-culture communication can not be done and

so does translation."(Ye Zinan, 2001:39) This nature is the premise

and foundation for the possibility of communication between

different people. Human beings share universalities: no matter

what the nationality or race they belong to, they generally

possess similar physiological or psychological structures that

contribute to the similarity of the living habits or ideological

systems. Abundant evidence can be found in the languages. Even

in different regions or nations "all languages consist of four major

structures: sounds, lexemes, syntax, and discourse." (Eugene A.

Nida, 1993: 22) Language fulfills the same functions in all

language communities.

3.1.1 Similar Human Physiological Structures and Cognitive

Ability

"Human beings live in the same material world and the

languages of human reflect the common ideas. Although

languages are different, people can use the same

concepts."(Wang Bingqin, 1994)

Chinese and the English speakers live far from each other, but

they share the sameness’on physiological needs and cognitive

ability. The almost identical physiological structures are always

the determiner of some basic behaviors, including linguistic

performances. Human body is made up of various organs, and

they are always used as linguistic materials to invent fresh

metaphors to describe their cognitive experiences, among which

head enjoys the highest frequency of use in

metaphorical expressions; because of its predominant

position and the power the brains have for thinking. Accordingly,

both Chinese and English endow the word (head，头)with the

meanings of intelligence, authority, leadership and importance.