Abstract

Due to their vividness, brevity and beautifulness, idioms are widely used in many languages. As a large part of idioms, body-related idioms attract more and more attention embodied with abundant culture and national flavors. Owing to the difference of background in geography, history as well as religion between languages, difficulties in body-related idiom translation exists in practice. So it’s a hard job for translators to accurately transform the body image and convey the exact intention of speaker to achieve the efficient communication.

Relevance theory opens a new perspective for idiom translation, considering the communication as an ostensive-inferential process. Regarded as an inter-cultural communication, it has a powerful explanation on translation. This thesis will offer an exploration of relevance theory and clarify the characteristics of English and Chinese body-related idioms. After exploring the translatability of body-related idioms on the basis of Relevance Theory, some strategies and methods are offered to achieve the optimal relevance on translation.

Key Words: body-related idiom; Relevance Theory; translation strategies

Contents

Abstract

摘  要

1. Introduction-1

1.1 Research Background-1

1.2 Significance of the Research-2

1.3 Structure of the Study-2

2. Literature Review-2

2.1 An Overview of Relevance Theory-2

2.2 Related Studies on the Application of Relevance Theory into Translation-3

2.2.1 Application of Relevance Theory in Translation Abroad-3

2.2.2 Application of Relevance Theory in Translation in China-3

2.3 Related Studies on the Translation of Idioms-4

3. A Study of Body-related Idioms Translation from the Perspective of Relevance Theory-5

3.1 Definitions of Idioms-5

3.1.1 Definitions of Idioms in English-5

3.1.2 Definitions of Idioms in Chinese-6

3.2 Characteristics of English and Chinese Body-related Idioms-6

3.2.1 Common Characteristics of English and Chinese Body-related Idioms-6

3.2.2 Different Characteristics of English and Chinese Body-related Idioms-7

3.3 Body-related Idioms Translation from the Perspective of Relevance Theory-8

3.3.1 Translation as an Ostensive-Inferential Process-9

3.3.2 Translation as a Process of Transferring Optimal Relevance-10

3.4 Translation Strategies and Suggestions-10

3.4.1 Direct Translation-10

3.4.2 Indirect Transltion-12

3.4.3 Substitution-13

4. Conclusion-13

References-14