1、Allusion,Allusion,Definition: an indirect reference; casual mention An indirect or passing reference to some event, person, place, or artistic work, the nature and relevance of which is not explained by the writer but relies on the readers familiarity with what is thus mentioned.,现代汉语词典将典故定义为“诗文里引用的
2、古书中的故事或词句”。辞海将典故定义为“诗文中引用的古代故事和有来历出处的词语”。,典故多涉及古代故事或古人的诗词歌赋与其他作品中的词句，但也不尽然。例如，人们常用的华威先生、国外常用的某某门涉及的都是现代与当代事件。因此，我们可以概而言之，典故多源于历史、寓言、神话、传说和事件，多见于历史记载、文学作品和报刊杂志。例如，焚书坑儒源于历史事件，买椟还珠源于寓言，精卫填海源于神话，伊朗门源于当代事件等。这些典故，有的见于历史记载，有的见于诸子百家，有的见于现代报刊。,意义赋值,典故的使用过程就是主体的人对理解对象的客体进行意义赋值的过程 Eg. For want might be a tempt
3、ation to them to disagree, or not to think themselves delivered, otherwise than out of one difficulty into another. “You know,” says he, “the children of Israel, though they rejoiced at first for being delivered out of Egypt, yet rebelled even against God Himself that delivered them, when they came
4、to want bread in the wilderness,听话者的认知能力,E.g. Disconsolate, Soapy ceased his unavailing racket. Would never a policeman lay hands on him? In his fancy the Island seemed an unattainable Arcadia. (O. Henry, “The Cop and the Anthem),Unaware of the sword of Damocles hanging over her, she pursued her own
5、 way (Oliver O. Prouly),The Sword of Damocles,达摩克里斯之剑喻临头的危险，源于希腊传说，古Syracuse国王命其廷丞达摩克里斯坐在以一根头发悬挂的剑下，以示君王多危。此典出于古希腊的一个历史故事：公元前四世纪西西里东部的叙拉古王迪奥尼修斯（公元前430367）打击了贵族势力，建立了雅典式的民主政权，但遭到了贵族的不满和反对，这使他感到虽然权力很大，但地位却不可靠。有一次他向宠臣达摩克利斯谈了这个问题，并且用形象的办法向他表明自己的看法。他为了满足一下宠臣达摩克利斯的贪欲，把宫殿交托给他，并赋予他有完全的权力来实现自己的任何欲望。这个追求虚荣、热中
6、势利的达摩克利斯在大庆宴会时，抬头看到在自己的坐位上方天花板下，沉甸甸地倒悬着一把锋利的长剑，剑柄只有一根马鬃系着，眼看就要掉在头上，吓得他离席而逃。这时迪奥尼修斯王便走出来说道：“（达摩克利斯头上）这把利剑就是每分钟都在威胁王上的危险象征，至于王上的幸福和安乐，只不过是外表的现象而已。“ 后引申为做坏事的人随时都有可能受到惩罚.,A little learning is a dangerous thing; Drink deep, or taste not Pierian springTranslation: 学识一星半点真是危险； 要么畅饮，否则别尝文艺神泉。 2）学识浅薄是件危险的事，要
7、深透吮饮，不然就尝不到知识源泉的甘霖。,特色与功能,丰富的文化内涵 经济的表达手段,The rules were based on Latin syntax, and it was into the Procrustean bed that the grammarians tried to fit the English language, largely disregarding the fact that English was not longer, as it once had been, a highly inflected language. (the bed of Procrus
8、tus),来源,1. from the Bible 1).The dog returns to the vomit. But it is happened into them according to the time proverbs, the dog is turned to his own vomit against; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.,2). Bull of Bashan Many bulls surround me; Strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
9、 Roaring lions tearing their prey Open their mouths wide against me.,How came it that all of a sudden Mrs. Bingley began to raise her voice and bellow like a bull of Bashan. (The History of Pendennis),3）Wind blows wherever it wishes E.g. Wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you ca
10、nnot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the spirit.,From ancient mythology and legends,1) (the) wheel of fortune Nay, then I see that Edward needs must down Yet, Warwick in despite of all mischance Of thee thyself, and all the complices, Though fortunes mal
11、ice overthrow my state My mind exceeds the compass of her wheel.,2) Greek gifts I fear the Greeks, even when bringing gifts.,From folk slang,1. weasel words Why, weasel words are words that sack the life out of the words next to them, just as a weasel sucks the egg and leaves the shell.,2. Wet blank
12、et,I have never felt such a wet blanket before or since.,From custom,Take somebody down a peg Youve put on considerable many frills since Ive been away. Ill take you down a peg before I get down with you.,From literary works,1) take the wall of in that narrow path, to use their pikes. The English ha
13、d the wall of them; and to have the wall there, was to have the foes life at their mercy.,2) prick up the (ones) ears Like unbackd colts, they prickd up their ears.,3) pound of flesh The pound of flesh, which I demand of him dearly bought, it is mine, and I will have it.,New allusion,1. From Politic
14、s 2. From literary works E.g.A.) Catch-22: a paradox in a law, regulation or practice that makes one a victim of its provisions no matter what one does.It was another one of those Catch-22 situations, youve damned if you do and you are damned if you dont,B) If Lucent is the top dog in telephone netw
15、ork equipment in the U.S., handily beating its nearest rival, Northern Telecom, Cisco is the Godzilla of datacom, towering over rivals like Bay Network and 3Com.,3. From scientific technology and business This is the Cadillac of Chinese tea. The bond price will Yo-Yo. “Fords an Edsel”, read the camp
16、aign button of one young Reagan hopeful.,Overlapping of allusion and antonomasia,【语言学、修辞学】 代称，换称，代名(用表述词语、头衔等代替专名，如用 his honour 指称法官，用his lordship 指称主教、法官、有爵位男子) 代类名(用专名表达普通名词，用具有某种特征的人的名字作为有类似特征的人的名称，如用Don Juan (唐璜)表示勾引女性的人，风流浪荡子，把一位自作聪明的人称为 a Solomon),Biblical or mythological figures,Solomon - a w
17、ise man Judas - a traitor,Historical figures,Nero - a tyrant John Wayne - a model figure of a tough guy,Literary figures,Uncle Tom - a Negro who compromises and conforms with the Whites,Translation,典故既有本义也有转义，如果希望读者真正理解它的本义和转义，还得介绍典故的出处。进行汉译英时，可以采用这样的做法，紧接在将要翻译的典故之后用汉语简要说明该典故的出处，翻译时，先翻译本义，再翻译现行的使用义，
18、最后用增加注释的方法用英语简要地译介该典故的出处，但不是严格地将该典故的汉语部分译成英语，而是用比相应的汉语介绍更为简略的英语来介绍。,百步穿杨 典出战国策.西周策，有关情节可大致简述如下。楚国有个叫养由基的，十分善射，在百步之外能射中杨柳的叶子，百发百中。后来用百步穿杨来形容人们善射。,To shoot an arrow through a willow leaf at the distance of 100 steps; extremely good at shooting Note: The allusion goes back to Yang Youji, an excellent s
19、hooter in the Zhou Dynasty, who could shoot an arrow at a willow leaf one hundred steps away and never missed the target.,英语典故汉译方法,1. 直译法 An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth Ugly duckling Pandoras box,2.意译法 I guessed when he asked for an interview that Smith had an axe to grind,3.直译加注法（literal
20、 translation with annotation）,In the arms of Morpheus 在梦乡中（注： 摩耳甫斯是希腊神话的睡梦之神) ） (Note: Morpheus is god of sleep in the Greek mythology),套用或借用（borrowing）,Kill the goose that lays the golden egg Burn ones boat Walls have ears Pour oil on fire,抽象译法,He is very cruel and considered as a dragon Man Friday Open sesame,音译法（transliteration）,Marathon Utopia,
