Acknowledgements I’m very much indebted to Associate Professor for his advice and patient amendment. He sets me a living example of a surefooted scholar with his own practice. My thanks also to all the teachers for opening my eyes to the wonderland of English learning and my classmates for their warmhearted help I would like to express my appreciation to a number of people for their invaluable assistance in preparation and development of this thesis.44290

  A Study on the Animal Idioms Translation from the Perspective of Relevance Theory

Abstract Idiom is the cream of the language and there are many idioms with the animal images in Chinese and English. Due to different cultural backgrounds between China and English-speaking countries, some misunderstandings on translation still exist in practice. So it is difficult to translate them as the translator should not only convey the animal image accurately but also make the rendition well accepted by TL readers. The application of Relevance Theory associated with cognitive science and psychology is more persuasive on the translation. Thus, this thesis probes into translatability of animal idioms from the perspective of Relevance Theory after making the comparison between Chinese and English animal idioms. In this thesis, with the consideration of the SL speaker’s intention and the TL reader’s expectation, strategies and suggestion including word for word translation, free translation, substitution and amplification on animal idioms translation are provided to accomplish the optimal relevance.

Keywords: animal idiom; Relevance Theory; translation

从关联理论角度看英汉动物习语的翻译摘要习语是语言的精华，而在英汉语言中有大量的动物习语`吹冰|文\论*文-网www.chuibin.com。由于不同的中英文化背景，在实际的中英动物习语翻译中，仍然存在着不少误解。因此，翻译英汉动物习语绝非易事。译者不仅需要译出动物的形象喻意，又要使这些形象能容易地被译语读者所接受。关联理论讨论了认知科学与心理学方面的知识，其应用对于翻译实践有说服力。因此，本文将对中英动物习语进行比较，探讨关联理论角度指导下的中英动物习语翻译。基于对源语说话者意图和译语读者的认知语境的考虑，本文将提出包括直译、意译、替代和详述的翻译方法和建议，在翻译中实现最佳关联。

毕业论文关键词：动物习语；关联理论；翻译

Contents

1. Introduction 1

1.1 Research Background 1

1.2 Purpose for the Research 1

1.3 Structure of the Study 1

2. Literature Review 1

2.1 An Overview of Relevance Theory 1

2.2 Related Studies on the Application of Relevance Theory into Translation 2

2.3 Related Studies on the Translation of Idioms 3

3. A Study of Animal Idioms Translation from the Perspective of Relevance Theory.3

3.1 Definitions of Idioms both in Chinese and English3

3.2 Comparison between Chinese and English Animal Idioms 4

3.2.1 Same animal with different meanings 4

3.2.2 Different animals with same or similar meaning..4

3.2.3 Non-equivalence in two cultures 4

3.3 Animal Idioms Translation from the Perspective of Relevance Theory.5

    3.3.1 Different connotations of animals in Chinese and English idioms..5

    3.3.2 Animal idioms translation from the perspective of Relevance Theory....6