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英语习语所用设喻形象对比趣谈_英语教学论文,英语习语所用设喻形

2023-06-25 来源:易榕旅网

英语习语所用设喻形象对比趣谈_英语教学论文,英语习语所用设喻形

  英语习语所用设喻形象对比趣谈

  汉语中习语大致指人们习惯使用的成语典故,引语,俗语,歇后语谚语等的集合体; 英语中的习语大 致可以包括一些 proverbs,sayings, colloquial phrases, allusions,一些idioms和slangs。

  通过对英汉习语对比学习,我们不仅能了解不同文化中语言的民族性特色,而且能从不同的设喻形象中获 得乐趣,觉得这样的学习不是苦差事,并且还能使记忆深刻,理解到位,使用地道,甚至对英汉互译也有帮助 。

  笔者本着趣味性和使用性的原则,试着从一个hay stack 中找出几根 needle来,算管中窥豹吧,以下从四 个方面举例说明。

  一.英汉习语所用设喻相似而意义相近的

  Great minds think alike.英雄所见略同;

  Courtesy costs nothing.礼多人不怪;

  Lovers' quarrels are soon mended.夫妻无隔夜仇;

  The higher up, the greater the fall. 攀高跌重:

  know something like the palm or back of one's hand 了如指掌;

  constant dropping wears the stone 滴水穿石;

  fish in troubled water 混水摸鱼;

  Great oaks from little acorns grow. 合抱之木,生于毫末;

  pour oil on the flame 火上加油;

  Give somebody an inch and he'll take an mile. 得寸进尺;

  lie down on the job. 磨洋工;

  Strike while the iron is hot. 趁热打铁;

  Walls have ears. 隔墙有耳;

  The tailor makes the man. 人靠衣服马靠鞍;

  a yes man 应声虫(跟屁虫);

  at one's wit's end 才穷智尽;

  hang by a thread 千钧一发;

  plain sailing 一帆风顺;

  follow in sb's footsteps 步人后尘;

  bite off more than one can chew 贪多嚼不烂;

  The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. 心有余而力不足;

  wash one's hands of 洗手不干;

  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. 情人眼里出西施;

  run sb. to earth 钻入地缝也要抓到某人;

  skin deep 肤浅。

  以上此类由于设喻形象相似,因而最容易掌握,我们平时学习中要注意积累。

  二.英汉习语所用设喻形象各异,意义却相近的

  When a man is going downhill, everyone will give him apush. 墙倒众人推;

  silken tongue 巧舌如簧;

  a flash in the pan 昙花一现;

  don't cry over spilt milk 生米已成熟饭;

  put all one's eggs in one basket. 孤注一掷;

  hold a wolf by the ears 骑虎难下;

  between the devil and the deep sea 进退维谷;

  kick the bucket 翘辫子,蹬腿儿(死了);

  The longest day must have an end. 世上没有不散的宴席;

  like a rat in the hole 瓮中捉鳖;

  A good conscience is a soft pillow. 白天不做亏心事;半夜不怕鬼敲门;

  birds of a feather 物以类聚,人以群分(一丘之貉);

  You can't judge a tree by its bark.人不可貌相,海水不可斗量;

  All is fish that comes to one's net. 抓到篮里便是菜;

  cherish a snake in one's bosom 养虎为患;

  diamond cut diamond 棋逢对手,将遇良才,(或针尖对麦芒);

  New brooms sweep clean.新官上任三把火;

  It never rains but it pours. 祸不单行;

  hit the nail on the head 一针见血;

  apple of one's eye 掌上明珠;

  a lion in the way 拦路虎;

  The pot calls the kettle black. 乌鸦笑猪黑(五十步笑一百步);

  bury one's head in the sand 掩耳盗铃;

  out of the frying pan into the fire 刚出虎穴,又入狼窝;

  eat one's cake and have it 又要马儿跑,又要马儿不吃草;

  cast pearls before a swine 对牛弹琴;

  put the cart before the horse 本末倒置;

  a black sheep 害群之马;

  wet behind the ears 乳臭未干;

  rob Peter to pay Paul 挖肉补疮;

  penny wise and pound foolish 捡了芝麻,丢了西瓜;

  have a card up one's sleeve 胸有成竹;

  sit on the fence 脚踩两只船(随风倒);

  cry wolf 烽火戏诸侯;

  entertain an angel unawares 有眼不识泰山;

  teach one's grandmother how to suck eggs 班门弄斧(关公门前耍大刀);

  You can't make an omelet without breaking eggs. 巧妇难为无米之炊;

  as bold as brass 脸如城墙厚;

  use a sledge hammer to crack a nut 杀鸡用牛刀(高射炮打蚊子);

  throw in the towel 拱手认负;

  bury the hatchet 握手言和;

  Don't cross the bridge till you come to it. 车到山前必有路,船到桥头自然直;

  live in a fool's paradise 做黄梁美梦;

  place all one's cards on the table 打开天窗说亮话;

  play second fiddle 唱配角;

  stab sb in the back 放冷箭;

  a blessing in disguise 塞翁失马,安知非福;

  Don't count the chicken before they're hatched. 不要揭锅太早。

  以上此类收集较多是因为趣味性强。在对比学习的同时,我们不禁为不同文化中语言的民族特色而深深打 动。

  三.英汉习语所用设喻形象相似而不可望文生义的

  pull one's leg,指开玩笑而不是拉后腿的意思;

  child's play,指简单容易而不是视同儿戏的意思;

  strange bedfellows,指萍水相逢而不是同床异梦的意思;

  in the same boat,指处于困境而不是同舟共济的意思;

  to be 'touch and go'指危险处境而不是一触即发的意思;

  Once bitten, twice shy, 指一回上当两回乖(有积极含义)而不是一朝被蛇咬十年怕井绳(有消极的 含义)的意思;

  throw a sprat to catch a whale, 指舍小利而求大利而不是抛砖引玉的意思;

  one's hair stands on end,指恐惧而不是怒发冲冠的意思。

  此类属于不可望文生义者,我们学习时要倍加注意。

  四.英汉习语所用设喻形象相似而意义却恰恰相反的

  like a fish out of water,与如鱼得水意义相反;

  Many a good cow hath a bad calf,与虎父无犬子意义相反;

  cry stinking fish,与王婆卖瓜意义相反; Hard words breakno bones,与恶语伤人六月寒意义相反 。

  此类情形不多,不过在使用时我们可以“反其道而行之。”

  结尾我们需要强调两点。 一是上文列举的英汉习语的对应并非“exactly the equivalent of each oth er”,所以我们需要根据上下文仔细揣摩,找出其细微差别,方能理解到位,使用起来才能避免词不达意。二 是本文强调了英汉习语设喻形象对照,目的是让学习者感兴趣和易于记忆,阅读英文原著时,也许我们更经常 见到的是这些英语习语的变体;翻译时我们大都使用它们的比喻义,而不是一见面就直译过来。

  英语习语所用设喻形象对比趣谈

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