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64   In other words

As then name suggests, fixed expressions sach as having said that, as a mailer of fact, Ladies and Gentlemen, and all the best, as well as proverbs such as practise what you preach and waste not want not, allow little or no variation in form. In this respect, they behave very much like idioms Unlike idioms, however, fixed expressions and proverbs often have fairly transparent meanings The meaning of as a matter of fact can easily be deduced from the meanings of the words which constitute it, unlike the meaning of an idiom such as pull a fast one or fill the bill But in spite of its transparency, the meaning of a fixed expression or proverb is somewhat more than the sum meanings of its words; the expression has to be taken as one unit to establish meaning. This is true of any fixed, recurring pattern of the language Encountering any fixed expression conjures up in the mind of the reader or hearer all the aspects of experience which are associated with the typical contexts in which the expression is used It is precisely this feature which lies behind the widespread use of fixed and semi-fixed expressions in any language. They encapsulate ail the stereotyped aspects of experience and therefore perform a stabilizing function in communication. Situation- or register-specific formulae such as Many happy returns. Merry  Christmas. Further to vow letter of . . ., and Yours sincerely are particularly good examples of the stabilizing role and the special status that a fixed expression can assume in communication

3.2.1 Idioms, fixed expressions, and the direction of translation

Although most idioms resist variation in form, some are more flexible than others. For example a BBC radio reporter once quoted a conference speaker as saying 'There was too much buck passing' (Baker and McCarthy, 1988). The common form of the idiom :s puss the buck ('refuse to accept responsibility for something. And yet we would not expect lo hear There was too much way giving for give way ('allow someone to do something von disapprove of ).

A person's competence in actively using the idioms and fixed expressions of a foreign language hardly ever matches that of a native speaker. The majority of translators working into a foreign language cannot hope to achieve the same sensitivity that native speakers seem lo have for judging when and how an idiom can be manipulated This lends support lo the argument that translators should only work into their language of habitual use or mother tongue The Code of Professional Ethics of the Translators' Guild of (neat Britain states:

Equivalence above word level   65

A translator shall work only into the language (in exceptional cases this may include a second language) of which he has native knowledge. Native knowledge' is defined as the ability to speak and write a language so fluently that the expression of thought is structurally, grammatically and idiomatically correct.

(quoted in Meuss, 1981:278; my emphasis)

Assuming that a professional translator would, under normal circum­stances, work only into his/her language of habitual use, the difficulties associated with being able to use idioms and fixed expressions correctly in a foreign language need not be addressed here The main problems that idiomatic and fixed expressions pose in translation relate to two main areas: the ability to; recognize and interpret an idiom correctly; and the difficulties involved in rendering the various aspects of meaning that an idiom or a fixed expression conveys into the target language. These difficulties arc much more pronounced in the ease of idioms than they are in the case of fixed expressions

3.2.2 The interpretation of idioms

As far аs idioms arc concerned, the first difficulty that a translator comes across is being able to recognize that s/he is dealing with an idiomatic expression. This is not always so obvious. There are various types of idioms some more easily recognizable than others. Those which arc easily) recognizable include expressions which violate truth conditions, such as It's raining cuts and dogs, throw caution to the winds, storm in a tea cup, jump down someone's throat, and food lot though: They also include expressions which seem ill-formed because they do not follow the grammatical rules of; the language, for example trip the light fantastic, blow someone to kingdom come, put paid to, the powers that be, by and large, and the, world and his friend. Expressions which start with like (simile-like structures) also tend to suggest that his\ should not be interpreted literally. These include idioms such as like a bat out of hell and like water off a duck's back. Generally speaking, the more difficult an expression is to understand and the less sense it makes in a given context, the more likely a translator will recognize u as an idiom Because they do not make sense if interpreted literally, the highlighted expressions in the following text are easy to recognize as idioms (assuming one is not already familiar with them):