On the Translation Methods of Biblical Idioms

DU Li-fen

【Abstract】Biblical idioms are widely used in daily communication in English-speaking countries. In order to prevent cross-cultural communication barriers， it is important for non-native English speakers to understand the background information of biblical idioms， such as religious stories. Biblical idioms can be classified into two categories： phrases originated from Christian stories and quotations extracted from the Bible. Different biblical idioms requires different translation methods. Three main translation methods， literal translation， free translation， and corresponding translation， are discussed in this paper with detailed case analysis. The three translation methods have their own advantages and are applied in different circumstances.

【Key words】biblical idioms； literal translation； free translation； corresponding translation

Christianity has profound impact on the western world in many fields， including politics， education， economy and culture. Christians think of the Bible as an authoritative document of the relationship between God and humans. Among the several different versions of the Bible， the King James Bible （KJB） has an enormous influence on the development of the English language. Besides Shakespeares works， the King James Bible is the most common source of expressions in English. Many religious expressions are also known as biblical idioms. Given that the biblical idioms are widely used in English， it is important for the non-native speakers of English to understand the religious background of the idioms. With the thriving tourism and prosperous economy， many businessmen from western countries come to China to strengthen trade relations and foreign tourists to visit scenic spots and historic sites. Meanwhile， there is a growing demand among Chinese to travel abroad. Therefore， a large number of Chinese has a great enthusiasm for English learning. However， many English learners pay great attention to linguistic knowledge and rarely notice the cultural background. During the learning process， they merely focus on grammar and vocabulary， ignoring the cultural factors. As a matter of fact， the cultural context can not only help English learners further understand the meaning of the expressions， but also avoid intercultural communication barriers. In light of the evident distinction between Chinese and English， the appropriate translation methods are necessary for English learners to deliver the deep implication of biblical idioms from English to Chinese.

1. The classification of biblical idioms

In western countries， the knowledge of the Bible is important for people to appreciate history， literature， arts， culture and politics. The Bible is frequently quoted in various kinds of literature works. Many Christian stories have been passed down to generations and eventually become the idioms. There are more than two hundred phrases from the King James Bible in contemporary English idiom. Considering the widespread use of biblical idioms in daily communication， English learners should search for the source of the biblical phrases in the Bible in order to fully understand and properly use these phrases.

According to Ping Hong and Zhang Guoyang， biblical idioms can be classified into two categories： （1） The idioms are involved with Christian figures and stories， such as “at the eleventh hour” and “doubting Thomas”. “At the eleventh hour” means “at the latest possible” and in the Bible it “referred to Jesuss parable of the labourers hired right at the end of the day to work in the vineyard” （Siefring， 93）. “A doubting Thomas” is a skeptic “who refuses to believe something without having incontrovertibe proof” （Siefring， 84）. In the Bible， it originally refers to the apostle Thomas who refused to believe that Jesus had resurrected until he could see and touch his wounds. （2） The sentences and phrases are directly extracted from the Bible， later being accepted as idioms， for instance， “all things to all men” and “cast ones bread upon the waters”. “All things to all men” is originated from “I am made all things to all men” （1st Corinthians 9：22）. This phrase means that someone tries to please everyone， typically by regularly changing his/her behavior or opinions in order to cohere with those of others. “Cast ones bread upon the waters” is derived from “Cast thy bread upon the waters： for thou shalt find it after many days” （Ecclesiastes 11：1）. This expression implies that one does “good without expecting gratitude or immediate reward” （Siefring， 37）.

2. The main translation methods of biblical idioms

The cultural messages embedded in the biblical idioms are essential for target readers to fully understand the source text. In Venutis opinion， the translator status， compared to that of the author of the ST， should be undetectable （6）. In translation practice， translators should adopt different translation methods to minimize the translation trace. There are three main translation methods being discussed as follow， literal translation， free translation and corresponding translation. Each translation method is accompanied with several examples to analysis the translation process.

2.1 Literal translation

In A Textbook of Translation， Literal translation is defined as “the SL grammatical constructions are converted to their nearest target language equivalents but the lexical words are again translated singly， out of context”（Newmark 47）. Literal translation， also known as free translation， intends to preserve the lexical meaning and rhetorical devices of the the source text. For many centuries， translators have tried their best to deliver target texts conforming with the source text in terms of contextual content and text structure. In fact， all languages have the potential to communicate the relevant content of any message because “ all languages are at least 90 per cent structurally similar guarantees the potential for effective interlingual communication” （Baker & Saldanha， 24）. Literal translation possesses two advantages. One of them is able to absorb new elements from source language， the other being faithful to the source text. In biblical translation， the priority work of translation is to retain the Christian factors. Three examples are listed as follow.

“A thorn in the flesh” comes from 2nd Corinthians 12：7 （KJB）： “And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations， there was given to me a thorn in the flesh， the messenger of Satan to buffet me， lest I should be exalted above measure”. This expression is used to describe the source of the continual annoyance or persistent difficulty in ones life. “A thorn in the flesh” can be directly translated into “肉中刺”， which in Chinese also indicates the most hated thing or person and usually collocates with “眼中钉”. In order to be faithful to the source language， it is better to leave out the phrases “眼中钉”.

“A wolf in sheeps clothing” originates from Jesus words in Matthew 7：15 （KJB）： “Beware of false prophets， which come to you in sheep's clothing， but inwardly they are ravening wolves”. This phrase refers to a thing or person that appears harmless and friendly but is quite dangerous and hostile. The literal meaning of “a wolf in sheeps clothing” can be easily accepted by Chinese readers. Therefore， this idiom can be translated into “披着羊皮的狼”. The direct translation of “a wolf in sheeps clothing” has gained wide acceptance in China and a Chinese song even named after it.

The notion of “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” emphasizes the belief that an offense or crime should be compensated by retaliation in an appropriate way. This expression used in the Bible， Matthew 5：38 （KJB）： “Ye have heard that it hath been said， An eye for an eye， and a tooth for a tooth”. “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” is translated into “以眼还眼， 以牙还牙”. Chinese readers can easily understand the literal meaning and extended meaning of “以眼还眼， 以牙还牙”.

2.2 Free translation

In Dictionary of Translation Studies， free translation， also known as liberal translation or sense-for-sense translation， is defined as “a type of translation in which more attention is paid to producing a naturally reading TT than to preserving the source wording intact”. In contrast to literal translation， free translation reproduces the content of the original text， instead of the form. The unit of translation in a liberal translation might be a phrase， a sentence or even more. In other words， free translation aims to convey the content unchanged and the structure of the source text might be reconstructed if necessary. Due to Chinese people are unacquainted with the biblical stories， it is important to deliver the implication of the biblical idioms rather than the syntactic construction. Here are three examples.

The story of “cast the first stone” refers to an incident from St. Johns Gospel. A crowd of men prepared to stone an adulterous woman to death. And then Jesus addressed to them： “He that is without sin among you， let him first cast a stone at her” （John 8：7）. The connotation of Jesus words is that the members of the congregation are qualified to condemn a sinner only if they are without sin themselves. In contemporary English， one who “casts the first stone” is the first to accuse or criticize. The literal meaning of “casts the first stone” （扔第一块石头） will cause misunderstanding among the Chinese readers in daily communication. By contrast， the free translation of “cast the first stone” （首先发难， 首先攻击） is more likely accepted by the target readers.

“Like a lamb to the slaughter” is found in the Bible in Isaiah 53：7 （KJB）： “He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter”. Today， people usually describe a helpless victim who is unaware of the impending catastrophe as “a lamb to the slaughter”. “Like a lamb to the slaughter” literally means “如同待宰的羔羊”. In daily interactions， “like a lamb to the slaughter” usually emphasizes the the state of calmness and the unconcerned manner. Hence， it is better to translated “like a lamb to the slaughter” into “温顺地”.

In the Bible， Gain was exiled to “the land of Nod” on the east of Eden as a punishment by God after the murder of his brother Abel （Genesis 4：16）. “Nod”means “to wonder” in Hebrew. Thus “to dwell in the land of Nod” means “to live a wondering life”. At first， this phrase has nothing to to with the state of sleep. However， “to nod” is to fall asleep in English. Since the eighteenth century， it has been used punningly to relate to fall sleep. Now “the land of Nod” is often considered as a mythical place where people go to when they sleep. Therefore， it is better to adopt free translation to translate “the land of Nod” into “梦乡”.

2.3 Corresponding translation

According to Mark Shuttleworth and Moria Cowie， correspondence is “used to refer to the relationship which exists between elements of SL and target language that are in some way considered to be counterparts of each other”. There are some commonalities among different ethic lines， such as thinking mode， living habits and cognitive ability. The phenomenon of cultural overlap usually exists in idioms. Even though the languages of Chinese and English are different in many aspects， they do have some similarities， for example figures of speech. Some English phrases and Chinese expressions are different in form but similar in meaning. Hence， translators should deliver the meaning of the source text by using corresponded idioms of the target language. The examples are given below.

“A drop in the bucket” derives from “Behold， the nations are as a drop of a bucket， and are counted as the small dust of the balance”（Isaiah 40：15）. As the predecessor of “a drop in the ocean”， “A drop in the bucket” means a very small portion of the whole. In Chinese， the four-character idiom “沧海一粟”，which literally means a small grain in the extensive sea， is equivalent to “a drop in the bucket” in the aspect of figurative sense. Compared with the direct translation “水桶中的一滴水”， “沧海一粟” perfectly meets Chinese aesthetic standard of language.

“A leopard cannot change its spots” comes from Jeremiah 13：23 （KJB）： “Can the Ethiopian change his skin， or the leopard his spots？ then may ye also do good， that are accustomed to do evil”. This idiom implies that people cannot change their basic nature. In Chinese， it literally means “一头豹子改变不了身上的斑点”. Since its figurative meaning is frequently used in literature works and daily conversations， it is inappropriate to adopt literal translation. “A leopard cannot change its spots” has a corresponded phrase in Chinese “本性难移”（Xu， 568）， which is more acceptable by Chinese readers.

3. Conclusion

Derived from the bible， the biblical idioms relate to religious stories and the Saints quotations. Without the knowledge of the whole story， non-native English speakers might only capture a part of the meaning of the biblical idioms. These cultural messages and religious elements are important for English learners to truly comprehend the biblical expressions and phrases. Furthermore， cross-cultural communication obstacles can be prevented by learning the religious stories and quotations. In order to produce good translation， translators should reasonably choose the translation methods based on the source text. Literal translation， free translation and corresponding translation are commonly used to translate culture-loaded expressions， such as idioms. Each translation method has its own advantages and limitations. Even though literal translation is loyal to the source text， it may result in mechanical and obscure effects in translation. Free translation can properly express the spirit of the original text， but it cannot preserve the style of the source text. While corresponding translation can create a resonance between source text and target text， it cannot provide an equivalence between them. Consequently， the three translation methods are far from enough to maximally reproduce the implication and textual style of the source text. More effective and practical methods of translation are expected in the field of translation studies.

References：

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[2]Newmark，Peter.A Textbook of Translation[M].London：Prentice Hall International，1988.

[3]Shuttleworth，Mark.and Moria Cowie.Dictionary of Translation Studies[Z].Shanghai：Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press，2004.

[4]Siefring，Judith.The Oxford Dictionary of Idioms[M].New York：Oxford University Press Inc.，New York，2004.

[5]The Holy Bible（King James Version）[M].Massachusetts： Hendrickson Publishers，2004.

[6]Venuti，Lawrence.The Translators Invisibility[M].London&New York：Routledge，1995.

[7]平洪，张国杨.英语习语与英美文化[M].北京：外语教学与研究出版社.1999.

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作者简介：杜丽芬（1990-），女，河南人，助教，硕士，研究方向：翻译。