中文俗語諺語英譯技巧

　　常見中文俗語諺語英譯技巧,大家知道時什么嗎?接下來，小編給大家準備了中文俗語諺語英譯技巧,歡迎大家參考與借鑒。

　　中文俗語諺語英譯技巧

　　1. 人山人海：在詩詞用語(poetic1 expression)里，英美人也有使用：“a (the) sea of faces”，頗有咱的“人山人?！钡奈兜?。例如：Looking out upon the sea of faces, Mr. A delivered a touching2 speech.(望著一片人山人海的聽眾，A先生發(fā)表一篇動人的演說。)Standing3 at his podium, President Clinton saw a sea of faces waving at him.(克林頓總統(tǒng)站在講臺上看到人山人海的人群揮手向他致意。)。可見，說話者通常要在臺上或高處，才有“人海”的感覺。因此，可以說：“I saw a sea of faces from the top of the building. ”但在平地的人群中，就不說：“I saw the sea of faces.” 也不說：“There is a sea of faces.”只說：“I saw a large crowd of people.”

　　2、家家有本難念的經(jīng)：有人譯成：“Every family cooking-pot has a black spot.”(意思是：每個家庭的鍋子都有黑色的污點。)這樣說法，英美人恐怕不能充分了解。不過英美人最常見的說法是：“Many families have skeletons in the closet.(許多家庭的衣柜里都有骨骸，骨骸就是指家丑。)”;或者說：“Every family has its own source of shame.(每個家庭都有自己的丑事)”;說白些，就是：“Every family has its own problem.”

　　3、天下無不散的宴席：有人直譯為：“There are no feasts in the world which do not break up at last.” 英美人聽后，也許很難體會其中意義。如果按照美語說法，也許更易理解：“All good things come to an end.(意思是：所有好的事情，總有結(jié)束的一天。)”;假如是指好友最后也有分別的一天，那么可以說：“Eventually, all bosom4 friends will drift apart.(bosom friend是指知心的好友)”

　　4、平時不燒香，臨時抱佛腳：有人照字面意思直譯為：“When times are easy, we do not burn the incense5, but when the trouble comes, we embrace the feet of the Buddha6.”這種說法，英美人也會一知半解。美語里一般說法是：“Worship God every day; not just in times of adversity.(要每天敬拜神，不是只在困難時。)”;對學生也可以說：“If you study hard every day, exams will not seem overwhelming.(如果你每天用功，考試就不會形成壓力。)”

　　5、掛羊頭，賣狗肉：有人照字直譯為：“He advertises mutton, but sells dog’s flesh.”或“He hangs up a sheep’s head at the shop front and sells dog meat.”這兩種譯法，恐怕英美人都難理解，尤其談到“狗肉”，他們更會反感，因為狗是他們最愛的寵物，不過英美人倒有相近的說法：“He applied7 bait-and-switch tactics in business.(他經(jīng)商的策略是先引誘顧客來，再改變貨物的品質(zhì)。

　　)”，“Bait-and-switch”當名詞用，也可不用連字號“This store uses bait and switch policy.” 或者簡單的說：“Let the buyer be aware!(讓消費者提高警覺)”或“Say one thing and do another.”

　　6、一言既出，駟馬難追：有人譯成：“One word lets slip and four horses will fail to catch it. 或 A statement that once let loose cannot be caught by four galloping8 horses.”這兩種說法，中文味道嫌重，英美人未必理解。不過他們倒有類似的說法：“A word once let go cannot be recalled.”或者說：“You cannot take back what you have said.(你說出的話，就不能再收回來。)”

　　7、禍從口出，言多必失：有人譯為：“The mouth is the gate of misfortune and evil.”英美人聽了，恐怕不能完全理解。最好說成：“Careless talk leads to trouble.(不小心說話，會帶來麻煩)或“The less said the better.(說的愈少愈好)”甚至也可以說：“Shut the mouth and open the eyes.(閉嘴少說，張眼多看。)”

　　擴展：商業(yè)提議Business Proposal

　　TIFFANY： We have the capital ready.

　　Right now I am looking at three different companies to produce our products.

　　And your company， Mr. Chen， seems to me to be the best for what we want.

　　TOM： I appreciate your remarks. And we are always happy to do more business.

　　But， you know， if we take on a contract to produce new products，

　　we want to be confident the product is marketable.

　　Because， to start producing new things requires a lot of preparation.

　　It requires a lot of investment for us.

　　TIFFANY： You have some doubts about our products， I understand.

　　TOM： I would like to offer you a good price.

　　But I won't be able to do that if I think this is a one-shot deal.

　　So I would like to have some confidence in your idea.

　　TIFFANY： Of course. Let me tell you in some detail about our idea.

　　You know the popular “Hello Kitty” products.

　　TOM： Yes， of course.

　　TIFFANY： Well， the products in themselves are very simple.

　　It is the logo that is successful.

　　So， “Hello Kitty” is successful because of the logo， but the products are very simple.

　　TOM： And I would say the logo is successful mainly because it comes from Japan.

　　It is the Japanese that have made it a fad1.

　　TIFFANY： That might be true.

　　But we have a logo concept that is great. It is really great.

　　I think it will catch on in Taiwan at least. Young people will love it.

　　It is because of our logo that our products will sell.

　　We just need someone to produce the products for us.

　　We have the backup and people to do the marketing2.

　　TOM： So what you are really trying to sell is a fad.

　　TIFFANY： Yes， we would like to make things like key chains，

　　plastic pencil sharpeners， plastic rulers， watches， wallets， things like that.

　　Little accessories for young people. But the reason these will sell is the logo.

　　Just like “Hello Kitty.”

　　TOM： I understand. But why won't you show me the logo?

　　TIFFANY： Because it hasn't been copyrighted. We want to get some protection for it.

　　But while we wait for copyright， we are investigating companies to produce the products.

　　TOM： I see. The problem， however，

　　is that I can't be confident in giving you a good price

　　unless I am confident your product will last.

　　TIFFANY： I understand. For now， though， you could just give us an estimated price.

　　We aren't going to sign a contract yet. We are just investigating.

　　I only need to know that your company is capable of producing the products.

　　And then， I only need a very rough idea of how much it might cost.

　　TOM： Alright. I understand. Right now you just want estimates.

　　TIFFANY： Yes.