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An idiom is a phrase or a fixed expression that has a figurative, or sometimes literal meaning. An idiom's figurative meaning is different from the literal meaning. It always takes many years A phrase always takes many years before it can be deemed as an idiom. An idiom always connects with some people or events in history.

1.1 Idiom Research  in English

Idiom study is much later than vocabulary study. But the development of idiom study is quite similar to that of linguistics. 

Idioms as an topic initiated in 1925. Through 1930 to 1950, C.F. Hackett was the leader of idiom theory. From 1980s the theory has been developed and got more attention. 

1.2 Idiom Research in China

There are only about 30 years history in study of idioms in China. The first stage focus of the study were idioms and the techniques of idiom translation. While in the second period, the study of idiom is widened and deepened. A representative work of this period is Research of English Idiom written by\ Luo Shiping. 

Although idioms study as a subject started rather late in China, but from early 20th century, some famous translation scholars have pointed out the importance of translating about idioms. 

2. Outline of the Paper

2.1. Characteristic of Idioms

There are 4 sources for Idioms: 1) History stories; 2) Fables; 3)Fairy tales and other folk tales; 4) Classical literature. 

Observing its formation of idioms, we may understand characteristics of idioms: 

2.1.1 Stable in structure; 

New phrases emerges, understood and accepted by many people, Year after year, generation after generation, it was accepted as an idiom. Widely used for years generations, but their linguistic structure are rather stable, that is, if someone changed its structure, it will become something else. 

2.1.2 Wholeness of its meaning;

The idioms implies a lot, especially those linked to some important historical events, or famous literature. 

2.1.3 Time and space utility feature;

Idioms have been abundantly used, and presumed everyone in the culture knows its meaning, and can use the idiom to express a specific meaning. 

2.1.4 Historical in its formation;

All idioms are accepted by people in one culture for long times some o them may have been using even have been used for thousands of years. In the internet era, some phrases become popular very soon, but obviously they are not “idioms”. 

2.1.5 Feature of nationality;

During the process of its formation, the fact they have been used for generations, idioms carry profound national characteristic. 

2.2. Translating of Idioms

2.2.1 Basic requirements

Translation of the idioms is not to just change the words of one language into another language, but to make it correct, and easily understood.  

2.2.2 Translation Standard to Idioms

Standard of translation, idioms or not, Chinese translators and scholars have different opinions. 

Yan Fu put forward the standard of “faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance”; Zhang Peiji proposed “faithful and fluent.” Nida, a well known American translation researcher, raised the concept of functional equivalence or dynamic equivalence. 

Fun Cunzhong pointed out in Translation Theory and Techniques that there are equivalent expressions in two languages but very few. Most are not correspondent. 

The US translation theoretician Lawrence Venuti put forward the concept of domestication and foreignization.

2.2.3 Limits of Translation of Idioms

There are also some limits of idiom and idiom translation. Reviewing the literatures of idiom study, it is easy to find that the research range and methods are similar. And most of idiom study is based on the traditional linguistics thus the research lacks innovation.

3. References

1. W. McMordie, 1962，English Idioms and How to Use Them. Britain: Oxford University Press 

2.  北京外国语学院词典编写组, 1982，A Chinese-English Dictionary of Idioms[M]. 北京:商务印书馆  

3. 陈定安, 1991, English and Chinese-A Comparative Study. 北京:中国对外翻译出版公司商务印书馆(香港)有限公司 

4. 陈文伯, 1982, English and Chinese(A Comparative Study). 北京:外语教学与研究出版社 

5. 张培基, 1979, How to Translate Chinese Idioms into English. 北京:商务印书馆 

6. 雷航, 1991, 译《朗曼英语语法》。上海:外语教育出版社

7.  罗文振,1987, «翻译与语言环境»。成都:四川大学出版社 

8. 沈维贤﹑庄智象,2000, 《汉英中华文化图解词典》。上海:外语教育出版社 

9. 《现代中学生》编写组, 1994.1,《现代中学生》(初中学习版) 。杭州:浙江教育出版社

10.  喻家楼, 1991, «汉语成语英译词典»。北京:中国科学技术大学出版社