A Study of the translation of idioms in Yu Hua’s Novel Brothers from the Perspective of Eugene·Nida’s Funtional Equivalence Theory

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　　Abstract：Eugene A. Nida’s functional equivalence theory is regarded as one of the most useful criteria. In this thesis, the author will make a research on the translation of idioms in Yu Hua’s novel Brothers from the perspective of Functional Equivalence Theory, which examines whether the English version achieves the equivalence of response between the source language readers and the target language readers.
　　Key words：idiom translation; functional equivalence
　　中图分类号： H315.9 文献标识码： A 文章编号：1672-1578（2013)01-0003-02
　　1 Introduction
　　One concern of Nida’s functional equivalence theory is the highlight on culture. Consideration of culture is essential in the process of translating. Only in this way, one can enable the target readers to understand and appreciate the text accurately and adequately and have the similar response as source text readers do. Since China has a splendid civilization of five thousand years, there are a flood of fixed expressions containing colorful culture. It is a great challenge for a translator to deal with the translation of idioms due to cultural differences. Whether to convey the idioms accurately and adequately to the target readers is vital.
　　Application of Functional Equivalence on the level of the translation of idioms
　　Idioms are combinations of words which contain certain cultural connotation. In order to transfer the original meaning of idioms and make it acceptable among the target readers, Cheng-yin Chow and Carlos Rojas apply several methods in the process of translating idioms. In Nida’s work Language, Culture and Translating, he holds that “if a more or less literal correspondence is functionally equivalent in both designative and associative meaning, then obviously no adjustments in form are necessary” (2001:92). If there are cultural similarities between the two cultures, translating the original idioms according to formal correspondence not only can be accepted by the target readers, but also introduces the Chinese culture to the target language readers. First, we will have a look at some examples adopting formal correspondence.
　　EX1: 都是吃着碗里，看着锅里。（余华, 2005:18）
　　They’re always peering into the pot even when they’re eating out of the bowl. (Yu, 2009:17)
　　EX2: 丢了西瓜拣芝麻 （余华, 2005:27）
　　Pick up a sesame seed only to lose a watermelon. (Yu, 2009:17)
　　EX3: 冰冻三尺非一日之寒 （余华, 2006:45）
　　Three feet of ice cannot be produced by a single day’s frost. (Yu, 2009:17) 　　EX4：“生意上的事情，是有心栽花花不开，无心插柳柳成阴。” （余华, 2006:209）
　　“In business, if you deliberately plant a flower, it might not bloom, but sometimes when you accidentally seed a willow, it ends up providing you with shade.” (Yu, 2009: 215)
　　From these examples above, it could be clearly seen that the renditions convey the meanings of original idioms accurately and adequately, hence achieving the closest natural equivalence and making a similar response to the target language readers as the source language readers do. However, under some circumstances, formal translation seems to be awkward and might be unacceptable to the target readers. In this way, adjustments in form are highly demanded. The next part will be contributed to evaluating some examples with adjustments in form.
　　EX1: “有其父必有其子啊。”（余华, 2005:2）
　　“A chip off the old block” (Yu, 2009: 3)
　　“有其父必有其子”is a fixed idiom which expresses that someone behaves as his father. While “a chip off the old block” is also an idiomatic expression in English spoken countries, which comes from carpentry and the idea is that parents are like a block of wood and their child is a small chip of the same material. This expression also conveys the meaning that someone is similar to his father or mother. To some extent, this is an English equivalent with similar meaning. Therefore, Cheng-yin Chow and Carlos Rojas adopt the similar expression to achieve the natural equivalence.
　　EX2：“秀才遇上兵，有理说不清，”赵诗人仰天长叹，然后心疼不已地说，“好吧！”（余华, 2005:24）
　　“How hard it is to reason with a barbarian!” Poet Zhao looked up into the sky and heaved a great sigh. With panged reluctance he gave in. “It’s a deal.” (Yu, 2009: 22)
　　“秀才遇上兵，有理说不清”is a fixed expression in Chinese which means a reasonable person cannot argue with a unreasonable person. In Chinese culture “秀才” refers to one who has passed the imperial examination at the level of Xiucai, which is the representative of well-educated people. On the contrary,“兵” is a representative of unwell-educated people in old Chinese tradition. Therefore, it might be translated as “when Xiucai meets a soldier, it is hard to reason”. This
　　rendition will without doubt arouse misunderstanding, for the reason that Xiucai is a cultural-loaded word and the expression goes far beyond the superficial meaning of Xiucai and soldier.
　　It is very hard to convey the meaning of the original idioms as well as the form at the same time due to cultural differences. In order to make the target language readers fully understand the original idioms, Cheng-yin Chow and Carlos Rojas make adjustments in form. So the original idiom is translated into “how hard it is to reason with a barbarian” which seems to be natural expression in target culture. 　　From all the examples above, it could be clearly seen that in the process of translating idioms when formal correspondence will arouse misunderstanding to the target language readers, adjustments in form is necessary. According to Nida, meaning must be given priority, because the content of the message is vital.
　　3 Conclusion
　　A qualified translator should master different cultures of two countries. The most difficult-to-surmount problem in translation is cultural obstacles. Towards cultural obstacles, Cheng-yin Chow and Carlos Rojas adopt different strategies to deal with problems caused by cultural obstacles. On basis of practical needs and their own understanding, they make applicable adjustments in form. In addition, they also adopt notes to make a further explanation if it is needed.
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