A Comparative Study of English and Chinese Onomatopoetic Words and Their Translation

【Abstract】Onomatopoeia imitates the voice of people and other things， it has many species and it is a very important kind of vocabulary and linguistic phenomenon. The particularity of its origin and development makes it closely linked to each national culture， thus many people regard the onomatopoeia as a rhetorical means in their literary works. This paper introduces the definition， function and classification of onomatopoeia， then researches the similarities and differences of English and Chinese onomatopoeia， and finally discusses the translation methods by analyzing some examples， hoping it will be helpful for its translation practice in the future.

【Key words】Onomatopoeia； comparison； translation methods

Foreword

Onomatopoetic word is a means of word-building and also a rhetorical method that people use the pronunciation of the word to imitate the voice characteristics of people， animals， or other objects. English and Chinese have a lot of onomatopoetic words， so the study of onomatopoeia is very significant.

Part one：Comparative Study of Onomatopoetic Words in English and Chinese

Firstly， the function or effect of onomatopoetic words in English and Chinese are almost the same. Firstly， through imitating sounds， they can vividly make words with sense of dynamic and stereo. Secondly， as it imitates sounds， it will help people imagine the colors， actions and images related to the sounds， making them feel as if they are in the present of the sound. Thirdly， as rhetorical method， if the onomatopoeia can be used properly， they may show foil atmosphere through an ideal way， and make the character more vivid.

Secondly， the sources of English and Chinese onomatopoetic words are exactly the same， are derived from the following four aspects， including human voice， animal sounds， natural sounds and the sound of other objects in our daily life. For example， “giggle” of laughter， “bark” （汪汪） of the dogs voice， “tick” is the sound of clock， “honk” is the sound of klaxon， etc.

Thirdly， generally speaking， there are 13 types of onomatopoetic words in total， namely A， AA， AB， ABB， AAB， AAA， AXB， ABCB， ABBB， AABB， ABCD， AXBC， AXAC. Some of these types exist in both English and Chinese onomatopoetic word， some of which just only belong to one of them.

Fourthly， in terms of syntactic function， English Onomatopoetic word is more often used as the predicate than Chinese， while Chinese onomatopoetic word is more often used as attribute and adverbial than that in English.

Chapter Two：The Translation Methods of Onomatopoetic word

As a useful rhetorical means to imitate natural voice and to make deep impression on readers mind， English and Chinese onomatopoetic words have been widely used. They have many similarities， a lot of English onomatopoetic words can find corresponding Chinese words in translation practice， but English and Chinese onomatopoetic words have their own characteristics due to different nations language features.

Besides， some English onomatopoetic words are homomorphism， whose sound and meaning is as a whole. Therefore， in translation， we need to keep the language features of the original text， as well as pay attention to the difference so that the translation can create a lifelike image.

In a word， when translating English-Chinese onomatopoetic words， we need to take peoples way of thinking， language features， specific context， sentence structure and part of speech into careful consideration， combing literal translation， free translation， conversion， addition and omission methods together.

For example， in literal translation， we can translate “唧唧復(fù)唧唧， 木蘭當戶織《木蘭辭》” into “Click， click， forever click. Mulan sit at the door and weaves.” in free translation， we can translate “撲通一聲落在地上”， into “a thump on the ground”， in conversion， we can translate “Nick-knock， nick-knock， went the cradle；the candle-flame stretched itself tall， and began jigging up and down” into “搖籃在咯噠咯噠地響， 蠟燭的火苗越著越長， 開始上下顫動起來”， in adding onomatopoeia， we can translate “There came a murmur of conversation from the next room.” into“隔壁傳來了一陣陣嘁嘁喳喳的談話聲”， and in omitting onomatopoeia， we can translate “They splashed through the mire to the village” into “他們踏著泥濘， 走到村子里”.

Conclusion

From the study of onomatopoetic words， we can concluded that there are many differences in English and Chinese culture. For example， people in these two countries think differently， and the specific context， sentence structure and part of speech of their language are also completely different. So in translation practice， people should adopt flexible translation methods， and the choice of words in translation should be taken seriously， thought repeatedly， and strive for making the translation accurate and concise.

Researching onomatopoetic words will be helpful for cultural exchange and communication， which can not only increase our knowledge， but also makes us have the chance to enjoy the beauty of language of onomatopoeia， and obtain more pleasure.

作者簡介：翟子儒（1996，02.24-），男，漢族，遼寧東港人，沈陽師范大學(xué)學(xué)生。