英语隐喻汉译

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[Abstract]Inrecentyears,moreandmorescholarshavemaderesearchesonmetaphorandan“upsurgeofmetaphor”hasbeenformedgraduallyinmodernsociety.Thestudiesonmetaphorinforeigncountrieshavedevelopedacompletesystem,whichistypicallyrepresentedbyGeorgeLakeoffandMarkJohnson.AndthestudiesonmetaphorinChinaarealsoinfluencedbythetwo.However,ifsurveyingtheseresearchachievements,wewilleasilyfindthatfewofthemstudythetranslationofmetaphorfromEnglishintoChinese.Moreover,mosttraditionaltheoristsbelievethatmetaphorisonlyafigureofspeechandbelongstothecategoryoflinguistics.Butinfact,metaphorisnotonlyalinguisticphenomenon,butalsoaculturalandcognitivephenomenon.ThisthesisbreakstheserestrictionsandtrytoresearchintothetranslationofmetaphorfromEnglishintoChinesefromtheperspectiveofculturaldifferencesbetweenChineseandEnglish.Thewholethesisisdividedintofiveparts.Thefirstpartisanintroduction.Basedonthenewbeliefthatmetaphorisaculturalandcognitivephenomenon,thispartstatesthesignificanceofstudyingmetaphorfromtheculturalperspective.Thesecondpartfocusesontheanalysisofthecloseinterrelationsbetweenlanguage,cultureandtranslation.Thethirdpartintroducessomemajorfactorsaboutmetaphor,suchasitsdefinitions,characteristicsandclassification.ThefourthpartemphaticallyillustratestheapproachestothetranslationofmetaphorfromEnglishintoChineseintermsofdifferentcorrespondingrelationsbetweenChineseandEnglish.Thelastpartsummarizesthemainpointsofthisthesis.

[KeyWords]metaphor;translation;culturaldifferences;culturalconnotations;correspondingrelation

【摘要】近年来，越来越多的学者对隐喻进行了研究，在现代社会逐渐形成了一股“隐喻热”。对隐喻的研究在国外已形成较为完整的体系，其中以GeorgeLakeoff和MarkJohnson的研究最具有代表性。国内对隐喻的研究也主要受这两个人的影响。而纵观这些研究成果，我们不难发现，很少有对英语隐喻汉译的研究，而且大多数传统的理论家认为隐喻仅仅是一种修辞格，属于语言学的范畴。但是事实上，隐喻不仅是一种语言现象，也是一种文化现象、认知现象。本论文克服了这些局限，试图从中英文化差异的角度来研究英语隐喻的汉译。整篇论文分为五个部分。第一部分是导入。该部分立足于认为隐喻是一种文化和认知现象这一新观点，阐明了从文化角度对隐喻进行研究的意义。第二部分重点分析了语言、文化与翻译之间的密切关系。第三部分介绍了隐喻的一些要素，如隐喻的定义，特征及分类。第四部分根据不同的英汉对应关系，着重阐述了英语隐喻的汉译方法。最后一部分总结了此论文的一些要点。

【关键词】隐喻；翻译；文化差异；文化内涵；对应关系

1.Introduction

Onseeingthetitleofthisthesis,thereadermayeasilyfindoutthreekeywords:translation,metaphor,andculturaldifferences.Intheviewofmostpeople,metaphorbelongstothecategoryoflanguage,butasweknowthatlanguagehasverycloseconnectionwithtranslationandculture.AsProfessorWangZuoliang,amasteroftranslation,pointedout,translationinvolveslanguageaswellasculture.[1]Translationisnotmerelyataskofreplacingonelanguagewithanother,butalsoneedstohaveagoodcommandofthetwodifferentculturesrepresentedbythetwodifferentlanguages.Whenweconcentrateontranslationstudies,weshouldattachgreatimportancetobothlanguageandculture.

Overthepasttwodecades,translationstudieshaveassumedasoundmomentumofadvancement,andculture,asanindispensablefactorintranslation,becomesincreasinglyimportant.Throughthoroughanalysis,wecanfindthattherearetwotendenciesintoday’sdevelopmentoftranslationstudies:firstly,translationstudieshavebeenmoreandmoreintegratedwithcommunicationtheories;secondly,thefocusoftranslationhasbeenshiftedfromlinguistictransfertoculturaltransfer.Basedonthesetwotendencies,manyscholarsengagedintranslationstudiesagreewiththeideathattranslationisanactofinterculturalcommunication.

Sincetranslationinvolvestwolanguagesandtwocultures,andindifferentculturalbackgrounds,therearedifferentlanguages.BothChineseandEnglisharegreatpeopleswithlonghistoryandrichculturalresources,andnaturallycolorfullanguages.Metaphor,asacategoryoflanguage,isacommonlinguisticphenomenoninbothChineseandEnglish,butmetaphorsinthesetwodifferentculturalbackgroundshavegreatdifferences.

Metaphordoesn’texistonthebirthofhuman.Withtheadvancementofhumancivilization,thelinguisticcompetenceofourancestorshadbeengreatlystrengthened.Theygraduallyacquiredthecapabilitytoexpresstheirideasthroughassociation.Inthisway,metaphor——oneofthemostimportantmeansofexpressioninhumanlanguagecameintobeing.Asthefoundationofmankind’sconceptualsystem,metaphoristhecommonfeatureofhumanlanguage.Ifthereisnometaphorinourlanguage,itwillbeveryhardforustoclearlyandvividlyexpressourideas,letalongsmoothandsuccessfulcommunication.[2]Traditionaltheoristsviewedmetaphorsimplyasanimportantstylisticdeviceofthepoeticimaginationandrhetoricalflourish,moreoveramatterofwordsratherthanthoughtoraction,butinfact,“metaphorispervasiveineverydaylife,notjustinlanguagebutalsointhoughtandaction.”[3]Ourordinaryconceptualsystem,intermsofwhichweboththinkandact,isfundamentallymetaphoricalinnature.JustasI.A.Richardscontends,“alllanguageandthoughtaremetaphorical,andmetaphoristhe‘omnipresentprincipleoflanguage’.”[4]

Fromtheimportanceofmetaphor,wecanseethattranslationofmetaphorhasgreatsignificancetotheculturaltranslation.PeterNewmarkhasstatedinApproachestoTranslationthatmetaphorisatthecenterofallproblemsoftranslationtheory,semanticsandlinguistics.[5]EspeciallyinEnglish,thereareagreatnumberofmetaphors.Ithadbeensaidthatthree-quartersoftheEnglishlanguageconsistsofmetaphors.InordertomasterEnglishandsuccessfullycompletethetaskoftranslationfromEnglishintoChinese,successfultranslationofEnglishmetaphorisessential.Therefore,inthispaper,theauthorattemptstodiscusstheproblemoftranslationofmetaphorfromEnglishintoChinesefromtheculturalperspectiveindetail.

Asfarastranslationtheoryisconcerned,thispaperadoptsEugeneA.Nida’sfunctionaltheory,i.e.“FunctionalEquivalence”:theresponseofthereceptorstothetranslatedmessage=theresponseoftheoriginalreceptorstothemessagewhenitwasgiveninitsoriginalsetting.[6]Fromthispoint,weknowthatfortrulysuccessfultranslation,biculturalismisasimportantasbilingualism,andevenmoreimportantattimes.

2.Cultureandtranslation

2.1Culture

“Whatisculture?”isaverydifficultquestion,becausecultureissuchacomplexconceptionandanenormoussubjectthatitisextremelyhardforpeopletogiveanexactdefinitiontoit.OneoftheoldestandmostquoteddefinitionsofculturewasformulatedbytheEnglishanthropologistSirEdwardBurnettTylorinPrimitiveCultures(1871).“Hedefinedcultureas‘acomplexwholewhichincludesknowledge,belief,art,law,morals,customsandanyothercapabilitiesandhabitsacquiredbymanasamemberofsociety’.”[7]

Althoughcultureisverycomplicated,wecanroughlyclassifyitintothreecategoriesinscope:(a)materialculturewhichreferstoalltheproductsofmanufacture;(b)institutedculturewhichreferstosocialsystem,religioussystem,ritualsystem,educatedsystemandkinshipsystemetc;(c)mentalculturewhichreferstopeople’smentalitiesandbehaviors,theirbeliefs,perceptions,conceptsofvalue,thoughtpatternsetc,

Intheviewofmostanthropologists,culturepossessesthefollowingfeatures:(a)cultureissociallyacquiredinsteadofbiologicallytransmitted;(b)cultureissharedamongthemembersofacommunityinsteadofbeinguniquetoanindividual;(c)cultureissymbolic.Languageisthemosttypicalsymbolicsystemwithinculture;(d)cultureisintegrated.Eachaspectofcultureistiedinwiththeotheraspects.[8]

Sincelanguagesymbolizesandreflectsculture,languagecommunicationisactuallyakindofculturalcommunicationandthecommunicationbetweendifferentlanguagesisindeedcommunicationbetweendifferentcultures.Fromthisperspective,thetranslationoflanguageisessentiallythetranslationofculture,andtranslationstudiesshouldbeconductedinthecontextofculture.Inthenextsection,theauthorisgoingtodiscusstheinterrelationsbetweenlanguage,cultureandtranslation.

2.2Language,cultureandtranslation

Nobodywillsuspectthecloseinterrelationsbetweenlanguageandculture.Alanguagemaybeasmallbutindispensablepartofaculture.Therelationbetweenlanguageandcultureismutuallycauseandeffect.Theypenetrateintoeachotherandcannotexistwithouteachother.Cultureembracesandinfluenceslanguage.Intheprocessofcommunication,themeaningoflanguageisusuallydeterminedbyitsculturalcontext.Ontheotherside,languageistheimportantconstituentofcultureanditisalsoanessentialtoolforthereservation,communicationandreflectionofculture.[9]Inasense,languagecarriesculture,mirrorsculture,spreadscultureandhelpsdevelopculture.Itisnoexaggerationtosaythatlanguageisthelifebloodofcultureandcultureisthetrackalongwhichlanguageformsanddevelops.

Justbecauseofthecloserelationbetweenlanguageandculture,wehavetopayattentiontotheculturalcontextwhenweresearchintolanguage.Accordingtolinguistics,theoriginofhumanlanguageisalwaysconnectedwiththeoriginofhumanandhumansociety.Therefore,ifweneedtounderstandcertainlanguageandthelawsofitsdevelopment,wemustcloselyrelateittothehistoryofsocialdevelopmentofthislanguageandtothepeopleusingitanditshistory.Theexistenceofculturecannotdepartwithitscertainculturalcontext.[10]

Asfortherelationbetweencultureandtranslation,theauthorhasmentionedabove.Translationis,inessence,anactofinterculturalcommunication,andthetranslationoflanguageisthetranslationofculture.Nidaholdsthatbothlanguageandculturearesymbolicsystems,andtranslationistheinteractionbetweenthesetwosystems.Thus,intranslationweshouldnotonlyfocusontheliteralmeaningofwordsorsentences,butalsopayspecialattentiontotheirculturalconnotationsincertainculturalcontext.Therefore,translationstudiesatleastcontaintwotypes:innarrowsenseitisliteraltranslation,whichaimsatturningthecontentinonelanguageintoanother;inbroadsenseitisculturaltranslation,whichexploresinturningtheculturalconnotationinonelanguageintoanotherculturalform.[11]

Sofarasnow,theauthorhasillustratedtheintimateinterrelationsbetweenlanguage,cultureandtranslation.Andamongtherelationsbetweenindividualconstituentoflinguisticsystemandsocialdevelopment,themostdirectoneislexicon.Itisbecausethatlexiconismostsensitivetothedevelopmentofsociety.Andmetaphor,astheminorsystemoflexicon，ismostdeeplyaffectedbysocialculture.AsdiscussedinIntroduction,metaphoristhecommonfeatureofhumanlanguageandthefoundationofmankind’sconceptualsystem.Sowhenwedotranslationstudies,metaphorisnecessarilyenlistedinourconsideration.Althoughmetaphordiffersgreatly,theacceptanceofmetaphorfromanaliencultureispossible,becausehumanbeingsallliveintheEarth,andtheysharemoreorlesssimilarlivingenvironmentandsimilarfeelingsandsentiments.However,theacceptanceofmetaphorisusuallyincomplete,becauseitislimitedbythediversityofculture.Asweknow,differentnationshavedifferentculture,andindifferentculturalcontext,metaphorissurelydifferent.What’smorethinkingitselfismetaphoricalandmetaphoricalconceptsconstitutepeople’svaluesandthoughtpatterns.Therefore,howtodealwithmetaphorintranslationisapragmaticproblemintranslationstudies.Inthefollowingchapter,theauthorisgoingtofirstintroducemetaphorthoroughly.

3.Metaphor

3.1Definitionofmetaphor

“Theword‘metaphor’derivesfromtheGreekword‘metaphora’,whichmeans‘transference,carryingover’.ItisaverycommonfigureofspeechinEnglish.”[12]Metaphor,whosebasicconstituentsaretenor,vehicleandground,useswordstoindicatesomethingdifferentfromtheirliteralmeaning-----onethingisdescribedintermsofanothersoastosuggestalikenessoranalogybetweenthem.

Onthedefinitionofmetaphor,differentscholarsandacademicworksgivetheirdifferentopinions.Nexttheauthorisgoingtolistsomeofthem:

(a)Afigureofspeechcontaininganimpliedcomparison,inwhichawordorphraseordinarilyandprimarilyusedofonethingisappliedtoanother.(Webster’sNewWorldDictionary)[13]

(b)Afigureofspeechinwhichonethingisdescribedintermsofanother.Thebasicfigureinpoetry.Acomparisonisusuallyimplicit;whereasinsimileitisexplicit.(ADictionaryofLiteralTerms)[14]

(c)Theuseofonereferencetoagroupofthingsthatarerelatedinaparticularwayinordertodiscoverasimilarrelationinanothergroup.(I.A.Richards,1936:89-90,ThePhilosophyofRhetoric)[15]

(d)Thefigureofspeechinwhichanameordescriptivetermistransferredtosomeobjectdifferentfrom,butanalogousto,thattowhichitisproperlyapplicable;aninstanceofthis,ametaphoricalexpression.(OxfordEnglishDictionary,SecondEdition,2002)

(e)ATextbookofTranslation(PeterNewmark,1988:104)definesmetaphorasfollows:“Bymetaphor,Imeananyfigurativeexpression:thetransferredsenseofaphysicalword;thepersonificationofanabstraction;theapplicationofawordorcollocationtowhatitdoesnotliterallydenote,i.e.,todescribeonethingintermsofanother.Allpolysemouswords(a‘heavy’heart)andmostEnglishphrasalverbsarepotentiallymetaphorical.Metaphorsmaybe‘single’-viz.one-word——or‘extended’(acollocation,anidiom,asentence,aproverb,anallegory,acompleteimaginativetext)”[16]

(f)Afigureofspeechinwhichawordorphrasethatordinarilydesignatesonethingisusedtodesignateanother,thusmakinganimplicitcomparison,asin“aseaoftroubles”or“Alltheworld’sastage”(Shakespeare)(TheAmericanHeritageoftheEnglishLanguage,FourthEdition,2000)[17]

(g)Afigureofspeechinwhichatermorphraseisappliedtosomethingtowhichitisnotliterallyapplicableinordertosuggestaresemblance,asin“AmightyfortressinourGod”.(RandomHouseCompactUnabridgedDictionary,SpecialSecondEdition,1996)[18]

Eachoftheabove-quoteddefinitionspointsoutmoreorlesstheessenceofmetaphor.Thecommonfeatureofthesedefinitionsisthatallofthemthinkthatmetaphorisafigureofspeech,containinganimplicitcomparison.Amongthesevendefinitionsofmetaphor,thefirstisveryconcise;thesecondmakesacontrastbetweensimileandmetaphortopointoutthefundamentaldifferencebetweenthesetworhetoricaldevices;thethirdpointsoutthatinmetaphor,thetenorandthevehiclearerelatedthroughtheirsimilarityinaparticularway;thefourthisabstractforitprovidesnoconcreteexamplestohelpthereaderbetterunderstandthenotionitintendstoconvey;thefifthseemstobethemostcomprehensiveandthemostspecificoftheabove-quoteddefinitionsasitincludesseveralwaysofmanifestationswhichallbelongtometaphor;thesixthissomewhatclearwithtwoexamplesprovided;thelastoneisquitesimilarwiththefirstone.

ButthisthesisismainlybasedontheviewofGeorgeLakeoffandMarkJohnson.“TheyclaiminMetaphorsWeLiveby,‘……metaphorispervasiveineverydaylife,notjustinlanguagebutinthoughtandaction.’Theypointout,‘Ourordinaryconceptualsystem,intermsofwhichweboththinkandact,isfundamentallymetaphoricalinnature.’”[19]ThispointofviewisveryconsistentwithI.A.Richards’“metaphorisomnipresentprincipleoflanguage”mentionedinIntroduction.

3.2Characteristicsofmetaphor

Fromthesevendefinitionsonmetaphoraboveandaccordingtoourknowledgeofmetaphor,wemayconcludethatmetaphorpossessesatleastthefollowingfourcharacteristics:

(a)Unlikesimile,metaphordoesn’tcontainsuchlinkingwordsas“as”and“like”,sothecomparisonisimplicitratherthanexplicit.

(b)Inametaphor,thetenoriscomparedtothevehiclebecausetheyshareanabstractquality,whichfunctionsasatieconnectingthetwotogether.Inotherwords,thetenorandthevehiclepossessasimilarabstractfeatureorquality,whichservesasthebasisoftheircomparison.

(c)Thetenorandvehiclearebynaturedifferentfromeachother,thoughtheypossesssomethingabstractincommononwhichtheircomparisonisbased.

(d)Thevehicleinametaphorcreatesaspecificimage,whichisusuallyvividandimpressive.Bycomparingthetenortothevehicle,wenotonlygetaconcreteimageofthetenorbutalsomakeitstypicalqualityorfeaturestandout.

Tosumup,theauthorwouldratherbelievethatmetaphorisnotjustamatteroflanguage,afigureofspeech,whichimpliesaresemblancebetweenoneobjectandanother,butacognitivemodefromtheperspectiveofcognitivelinguistics,whichhelpspeopleunderstandtheworld.

Sofarasnow,thisthesishasthoroughlyillustratedsomemajorfactorsofmetaphor.Inthenextpart,theauthorwillpayspecialattentiontodiscussthetranslationofmetaphorfromEnglishtoChinesefromtheperspectiveofculturaldifferencesbetweenChineseandEnglish.

4.TranslationofmetaphorfromEnglishintoChinesefromtheperspectiveofculturaldifferencesbetweenChineseandEnglish

4.1Culturaltranslationofmetaphor

Aswehavediscussedabove,metaphorisnotonlyamatterofwords,butalsoakindofcognitivemode.Thus,itisnotenoughtoexplorethetranslatabilityofmetaphoronlyfromtheperspectiveoflinguistics,butalsofromotherperspectives.“Cultureisthemostimportantoneoftheminthatinmetaphors,thesemanticingredientsrestrictedbycontextcanstimulatereaderstoassociateothers,especiallycertainmajordefinitionalones,whichcanshapeanimageinreaders’mind,thenmaketheimpartedinformationmoreclearandvivid.”[20]Whileimageandculturearecloselylinked.Therefore,itisnecessaryforustodiscussthetranslatabilityofmetaphorfromtheculturalperspective.

Whetherametaphoris“translatable”(i.e.whetherliteraltranslationcouldcreateidenticaldimensions),howdifficultitistotranslate,howitcanbetranslatedandwhetheritshouldbetranslatedatallcannotbedecidedbyasetofabstractrules,butmustdependonthestructureandfunctionoftheparticularmetaphorwithinthetextconcerned.Thetranslatabilityofanygivensourcelanguagemetaphordependsontwofactors:oneisparticularculturalexperiencesandsemanticassociationexploitedbyit;theotheristheextenttowhichthesecan,orcannot,bereproducednon-anomalouslyintargetlanguage,dependingonthedegreeof“overlap”ineachparticularcase.Let’slookatanexample:

(1)“Don’tbescared,chickens!”camehervoicewithteasinggaiety.

“别害怕，你们这些胆小如鼠的东西！”只听得她用戏谑的口气说道。

Inthisexample,“chickens”shouldnotbeliterallytranslatedinto“小鸡”inChinese,becauseinwesternculture,“chicken”isoftenusedtorefertoacowardlyandfearfulperson.Thus,“胆小如鼠”isabettertranslation.

4.1.1ManagementofculturalfactorsintranslatingEnglishmetaphors

EnglishmetaphorscontainabundantandvividculturalconnotationofthenationandstronglyreflecttheculturalcharacteristicsofthenationwithEnglishasitsnativelanguage.ThekeyofsuccessfultranslationofEnglishmetaphorsliesintheextenttowhichthetranslatorunderstandstheculturalcontextandthetranslationoftheculturalfeatures.Thus,thetranslatorshouldtrytomasterthesourceandculturalcontextofEnglishmetaphorsasmuchaspossible,whichisverynecessarytoexactlyunderstandtheirconnotationsandtheculturalcharacteristicstheyreflect.Thenthetranslatorcanusepropermethodstotranslatetheseconnotationsandcharacteristicsinordertoachievethemostfaithfulandperfecttranslation.

Astotranslationstandardandapproach,inforeigncountries,thereareNida’s“formalcorrespondence”and“functionalequivalence”,andC.F.Newmark’s“semantictranslation”and“communicationaltranslation”;inChina,thereexists“directtranslation”and“indirecttranslation”.Althoughtheyaredifferentstandards,allofthemdonotconflictwitheachotherbutcomplementwitheachother.Therefore,therearemanyapproachestotranslatingmetaphors.Whileintheprocessoftranslatingmetaphors,whichapproachisthebestchoice?Itwilldependonthenatureandpositionofmetaphorsintext,ontherelationbetweenmetaphorandcontextandonthetypeofthetextitself.

Aboveall,duringtheprocessoftranslationofmetaphors,thetranslatorshouldtrytoflexiblykeeptheculturalfeatureswhiletranslatingmeaning.Asaresultofculturalsimilaritiesanddifferences,thetargetlanguageandthesourcelanguagehavedifferentcorrespondingrelations:sometimesfull-corresponding,sometimessemi-corresponding,andsometimesnon-corresponding.Suchaphenomenonwillfurtheraffecttheaccuracyoftranslation.Infact,anytranslationmaybringaboutthelossofmeaningand/orimage.Therefore,weshouldadoptdifferentcomplementalmethodsinordertoachievewhatNidacalled“functionalequivalence”.[21]

4.1.2Culturalconnotationofmetaphor

“BothNidaandNewmarkclassifylinguisticcultureintofivecategories:(a)ecology(b)materialculture(c)socialculture(d)religiousculture(e)linguisticculture.”[22]Itclearlytellsusthat:culturalinformationcarriedbyallkindsoflanguagesiscertaintobedifferent,becausetheecology,material,socialandreligiousenvironmentwhichdifferentnationsownareimpossibletobeidentical.Theculturaldifferencesdirectlyinfluencethethinkingmodeandvalueorientationofhumanbeing,thusbecomethemainreasonforthedifferencesofmetaphoricalconceptsofthetwonations.Throughresearchesonmetaphors,wecanfindtheculturaldifferencesbetweenChineseandEnglish.

Firstly,metaphorsreflectgeologicalandnaturalconditionsofanation.Differentnationshavedifferentgeologicalenvironmentandnationalcircumstances,andthisdifferenceoftenfindsexpressioninmetaphors.Forexample(2),whendescribingtheemergenceofalargeamountofnewobjects,Chinesealwayssay“雨后春笋般地”,whileinEnglishpeopleusuallysay“growlikemushrooms”(像蘑菇一般).Fromthisexample,wecanfindthatforthesamephenomenon,ChineseandEnglishusedifferentimagestodescribe.Thereasonjustliesinthedifferentenvironmentofthetwonations：Chinaaboundswithbambooshoots,whiletheEnglishspeakingcountrieswithmushrooms.

Differentclimatesalsoplayaveryimportantroleintheuseofmetaphor.IntheeyeofChinese,summerisanuncomfortableseasonwhentheblazingsunbakestheearthallthetimebutsometimesitsuddenlyrainsheavilywithoutanynotice.Sowhenseeingthemetaphor“ShallIcomparetheetoasummer’sday?Thouaremorelovelyandmoretemperate.”inShakespeare’s18thsonnettopraisehisfriend,mostChinesemayfeelconfused.Itisveryhardforustoconnectthesummerwithagoodfriend.Atthistime,weneedtomakeresearchesontheclimateofBritain.BritainliesintheNortherntemperatezoneandisneartotheAtlanticOcean,soithasanoceanicclimateanditssummeriswarmbutneverhot.InthemindofEnglish,thesummeristhemostpleasantseasontolivein,whichformssharpcontrastwiththecontinentalclimatedecidedbythelocationofChina.[23]Therefore,thereisnodoubtthatthesamewindtriggersdifferentassociationsinChineseandEnglish.

Besidesclimate,terrainandspeciesofanimalsandplants,distributionofmineraldepositsisanimportantfactorforustoconsiderintermsofgeologicalconditions.Theancientpoem“问君能有几多愁，恰似一江春水向东流”reflectsChina’sterrainishighinthewestandlowintheeast;andtheEnglishidiom“carrycoalstoNewcastle”(近乎做徒劳无功的事)arisesfromthebackgroundthatNewcastleisanindustrialcityinEngland’snortheast,famousforcoalexportation.[24]

Secondly,metaphorsreflecttraditionalcultureandvalues.Peopleindifferentnationshavedifferentwaysoflife,thinking,cultureandmentalities.Asshownabove,metaphorandculturehavecloserelations.Throughmetaphor,peoplecanwellunderstandtheobjectiveworld.Andmetaphor,tosomeextent,reflectsanddeterminestheshapingofanation’scultureandvalues.Itisbecausethatwhenpeoplemakemetaphorsoncertainimages,theirviewsofcultureandvaluesmustbemanifestedinthesemetaphorsconsciouslyorunconsciously.Forexample,inChineseculturethepine,thebambooandtheplumarecalledthreegentlemeninwinter.Becausethethreeofthemcansurvivetheextremelycoldwinterandremainvital.ForChinese,theyrepresentanoblespirit.WhileinEnglishculture,theyarejustthreecommonplantsandcannotgivepeopleanyassociation.

PeopleinChineseandEnglishculturehavedifferentunderstandingofcolor.Forexample(3),“red”isthekindofcolorChineseadmireandhasthemeaningofluck,success,faithfulnessandwealth,etc.Thisphenomenoncanbeexplainedfromtheangleofculture.InChineseculture,Chinesespecialadmirationforredoriginatesfrompeople’sworshipanddesireforthesuninancienttimes.Andourforebears’attachmentfortheredsunshineisnative.Thereforethepositivemeaningrepresentedbyrednaturallycomesintobeing.Forexample,inancienttimes,thehouse,theclothes,andthecartstheinfluentialofficialslivedin,woreandsatinwererespectivelycalled“朱门”,“朱衣”,“朱轩”.Inmoderntimes,peopleuse“分红”torefertotheprofitsdistributedtothebusinesscooperators.Onthecontrary,inEnglishculture,redisanegativeword.Becauseredisalsothecolorofblood,andinthemindofEnglish,bloodistheliquidoflife,onceonebleeds,thefloweroflifewillsoonwither.Therefore,theyoftenassociate“red”with“violence”and“danger”.Thenthereare“theredrulesoftoothandclaw”,“redrevenge”,“aredbattle”,“redhand”etc.[25]AlloftheseexpressionsshowthatredisakindofunluckycolorinEnglishculture.

Besides,becauseoftraditionalculturaldifferences,metaphorsonloveinChineseandEnglishareentirelydifferent.Forexample(4),inbothChineseandEnglish,thereisametaphoricalconcept——“Loveisajourney”(爱情是旅程).ThenEnglishsay“wecannotturnbacknow”;inChinese,thereisasimilarexpression:“我们再也回不去了”《十八春》（张爱玲）.However,theconnotationsofthesetwoexpressionsarecompletelyopposite.Intheformer,loveiscomparedtojourneymetaphorically,whichmeansthatloversmustovercomethedifficultiesinthelovejourneytogether,otherwisetheycannotmaintaintheirlove.Whattheexpressionemphasizesisthedeterminationthatloversstriveshoulderbyshoulder.Whileinthelatter,theexpressionimpliesthespeaker’sconfusion.Thoughtheloversregretfortheirdepartinglove,theycannotgobacklikebeforeanymore.[26]

Thirdly,somemetaphorshavehistoricalandculturalbackgrounds.InbothChineseandEnglish,therearemanyexpressionsimplyingrichhistoricalandculturalbackgroundsandproducevariousassociations.Forexample(5),inChinese,wesay“说曹操，曹操就到”,“暗渡陈仓”,“东施效颦”,“卧薪尝胆”,“负荆请罪”,“四面楚歌”.Eachoftheseallusionsandidiomscontainsagreatdealofhistoricalandculturalinformation.WhileEnglishsay“meetone’sWaterloo”(惨遭失败),“That’sallGreektome”(一窍不通).Thestoryof“meetone’sWaterloo”canbetrackedbacktoJune8,1815,whenthealliedforcesofBritainandGermanycrushedNapolean’stroopsinWaterloo,southofBelgium.Later,thisexpressioncanbeusedtodescribeanysituationwhenoneencountersatotaldefeat.

EnglishhistoricalallusionsmostlyoriginatedfromGreekmyth.Forexample(6),aslongaswesay“银河”,“天河”,wewillassociatethefolkstoryaboutthattheAltairandtheVegameetonoverthisgutter.WhileEnglishwillcall“themilkyway”,whichcomesfromtheGreekmyth.ItreferstoboththeroadformedbythedrippingmilkwhenQueenHerafedHercules,awarriorwithgreatstrength,andamilkyroadfromthehumanworldintothepalaceintheuniverse.[27]

Fourthly,metaphorsgiveexpressiontopeople’swayofliving.ResearchesontheconnotativemeaningsofanimalsinChineseandEnglishculturesalsorevealtheimpactofmetaphoronpeople’sliving.Forexample(7),inChinese,weoftenencountersuchexpressionslike“像老黄牛一样干活”,“气壮如牛”,“鞭打快牛”etc.Whileifexpressingthesamemeaning,Englishwillsay“worklikeahorse”,“asstrongasahorse”,“flogawillinghorse”.WhyChineseandEnglishusetwodifferentimages?ItisbecausethatusuallyChineseusecattletoplow,whileEnglishhorses.CattleandhorsesrespectivelybecomethegoodhelperofChineseandEnglishinfarming,sothereareusagesaboutthemabove.[28]AndsincehorsesinancientChinaaremainlyusedforridingandwar,theassociativemeaningofhorseinChineseisthatitcanberiddenanditrunsfast,whichgivesrisetotheexpressionlike“马上”,“马到成功”and“一马当先”.

Fifthly,metaphorsreflectpeople’sreligiousbeliefs.Religionisanimportantsourceofmetaphoricalexpression.AsChristianityisthemainspiritualsupportofwesternersandiscriticalfortheformationofEnglishculture,ithaspenetratedeveryaspectofEnglishsociallife,includingtheEnglishlanguage.AnditismanifestedmostobviouslyinEnglishmetaphors.Infact,“mostEnglishmetaphorscomefromreligiousbeliefsandfairystories.ManycharactersandeventsoftheBiblemakeupalargepartofEnglishwordswithuniqueconnotations,andmanyimagesofthiskindarewidelyusedinmetaphors.”[29]

e.g.(8)Thetwo-partysystemistheappleofthecapitalists’eye,sofarasmaintainingtheirpoliticalcontroloftheworkersisconcerned.

就资产阶级维护对于工人的政治控制而言，两党制是资本家的宝贝。

Inthissentence,themetaphor“theappleoftheeye”(掌上明珠)comesfromTheOldTestamentoftheBible,“Hekepthimastheappleofhiseye.”(保护他如同保护眼中的瞳人).Inancienttimes,peoplenoticedthatpupilineyeswasjustlikeanapple,sotheycalledpupilas“appleoftheeye”.Aspupilisaverypreciouspartinhumanbody,“appleoftheeye”isalsousedtorefertothepersonorthingmostliked.

Besides,expressions,suchasNoah’sArk,olivebranch,Paradise,Forbiddenfruit,Adam’sappleandaJuda,alsohaverichmetaphoricalmeanings.

InsteadofChristianity,mostofChinesepeoplebelieveinConfucianismandTaoism.LikethoseinEnglish,expressionsrelatedtoChinesereligiousbeliefsfindtheirwaytometaphorssuchas“临时抱佛脚”,“道高一尺，魔高一丈”,“放下屠刀，立地成佛”,“做一天和尚，撞一天钟”,“不看僧面看佛面”and“借花献佛”.Afterrepeateduse,themetaphoricalmeaningsoftheseexpressionshavealreadyoversteppedtheirliteralmeaningasreligiouswords.

4.2CorrespondingrelationsandapproachestothetranslationofEnglishmetaphors

Asweknow,everynationhasitsownuniquesocialandculturalbackgrounds.Thereexistsgreatculturaldifferencesbetweennations,especiallyinmoderntimes,thankstothedevelopmentofadvancedandconvenientmeansofcommunicationandtransportation,theinter-culturalcommunicationbecomesmoreandmorefrequent.Meanwhile,becausepeopleindifferentnationsmusthavesomesimilarexperiencetosomeextent,theculturaloverlapcannotbeavoidedunderthiscondition.[30]

Asshownabove,language,especiallymetaphorhascloserelationwithculture.MetaphorwidelyexistsinbothChineseandEnglish,andtypicallyrepresentstherichanduniquecultureofeachnation,whilethefactthatdifferentnationsoftenhavedifferentwaysofmakingmetaphorsposesproblemsfortranslators.Inthelastsection,alsothemostimportantsection,basedonalargenumberofconvincingexamplesandfromtheangleofculturalanalysis,theauthorisgoingtodiscussthecorrespondingrelationsbetweenChineseandEnglishmetaphors,andofferseveralapproachestothetranslationofmetaphorfromEnglishintoChinese.

(i)Full-correspondingrelation

So-calledfull-correspondingis,infact,suchakindofrelationthattheobjectandtheimageofametaphorarefullycorrespondinginChineseandEnglish.Thereasonwhythereisfull-correspondingrelationinChineseandEnglishistheculturaloverlapwehavementionedabove.Althoughdifferentcountrieshavedifferentcultures,traditionsandwaysofthinking,westillhavealotincommoninusingmetaphor,becausewehumanbeingsliveinthesamematerialworld.Asmammals,humanbeings’basiclivingnecessitiesandactivities,regardlessoftheirraces,arefundamentallythesame,ortendtobethesame.Peoplefromdifferentculturesalsosharemuchidenticalunderstandingofthenature.Ourlivingenvironment,suchasecologicalenvironmentandclimatechange,aswellasourownbodiesprovideuswiththepossibilitytohavesameunderstandingoftheoutsideworldandourselves.Atthesametime,thecommoncognitiveexperienceenablespeopletohavebasicallysamementalitytoacceptmetaphorsthatarefreshtothem.[31]

Undertheconditionoffull-correspondingrelation,therearetwoapproachestothetranslationofthiskindofmetaphor:

(a)Literaltranslation-----reproducingthesameimageinthetargetlanguageprovidedthattheimagehascomparablefrequencyandcurrencyintheappropriateregister.That’stosay,throughliteraltranslation,theimageinsourcelanguageisentirelyretainedandtheinformationandeffectbroughtaboutbytheimagealsocanbeachievedintargetlanguage.“Theadvantageofliteraltranslationistoenablethereadersofthetargetlanguagetobeexposedtoandgraduallyaccepttheculturalfeatureofthesourcelanguage.”[32]Forthetranslationofone-wordmetaphors,thisapproachismostuseful.

e.g.(9)arayofhope一线希望

(10)Chainreaction连锁反应

(11)thewhiteterror白色恐怖

(12)coldwinds冷言冷语

Whileforthecomplexmetaphorswithahighdegreeofculturaloverlap,thisapproachisalsofeasible.

e.g.(13)togothroughfireandwater赴汤蹈火

(14)toheadawolfintothehouse引狼入室

(15)togivesomebodygreenlight给某人开绿灯

Alsosomesentenceswithmetaphorsaretranslatedbythisapproach.

e.g.(16)Lifeisajourney.人生是一种旅途。

(17)Alltheworld’sastage.(Shakespeare)整个世界是个舞台。

(18)Thetreeoflibertymustberefreshedfromtimetotimewiththebloodofpatriotsandtyrants.Itisitsnaturalmanure.

自由之树须常以爱国志士和暴君的血来浇灌，这些鲜血是自由之树的天然肥料

（b）Translationofmetaphorbysimile,retainingtheimage.Asamatteroffact,metaphoriscondensedsimile.Aristotlebelievedthatsimilederivesfrommetaphorandpointedoutthatsimileisakindofmetaphor.Theyareidenticalinessence.Thisapproachcanbeusedwhentargetlanguageisnotemotiveincharacter.Underthiscondition,thiswaycanmodifytheshockofametaphor.

e.g.(19)athunderofapplause雷鸣般的掌声

(20)alionathome,amouseabroad在家如狮,在外如鼠

(21)Loveandcoughcannotbehid.爱情像咳嗽一样是掩盖不了的。

(22)Agoodsurgeonmusthaveaneagle’seye,alion’sheartandalady’shand.[33]

好的外科医生必须有像鹰般的视力，狮子般的胆量和仕女般的巧手。

Thecontentsaboveareabouttheapproachtothetranslationofmetaphorundertheconditionoffull-correspondingrelation.However,culturaloverlapdoesn’toftenoccur.Inmostcases,duetothedifferencesinhistory,geologicalconditions,waysoflife,traditionsandhabits,EnglishandChinesepeopledon’talwayshaveidenticalthinking,understanding,viewsandopinionsonthesameobject.Therefore,notmanyfull-correspondingrelationscanbefound,andmoremetaphorsinChineseandEnglishhavesemi-correspondingandnon-correspondingrelations.

(ii)Semi-correspondingrelation[39]

InbothChineseandEnglish,weoftencomeacrossthatdifferentwordsareusedforthesamemetaphoricalmeaningandmanymetaphorshavethesamemetaphoricalmeaningbutdifferentliteralmeaning(imagesaredifferent).“Metaphorsofthiskindonlypartlyconveythecorrespondingculturalfeaturesoftheirequivalents,sotherelationsofthesemetaphoricalequivalentsarecalledsemi-correspondingrelations.”[34]Thereasonwhysemi-correspondingrelationshappenisbecausepeoplefromdifferentcultureshavedifferentassociationsofthesameordifferentimages.Inviewofthis,therearetwoapproachestotranslationofmetaphorofthiskind.

(a)Substitutionoftheimageinsourcelanguagewithastandardtargetlanguageimage.[35]Whentheimageinsourcelanguagecannotconveytherealmeaningintargetlanguage,evenclasheswithtargetlanguageculture,thisapproachisadaptable.Atthistime,weshouldtrytounderstandboththesuperficialstructureandthedeepconnotationofthemetaphorinsourcelanguageatfirst,andthenfullydisplaythembyaproperimageintargetlanguagethathassimilarmetaphoricalmeaning.

e.g.(23)birdsofafeather一丘之貉

(24)lameduck落选的议员

(25)swansong最后的言行；最后的作品

(26)Betterbetheheadofadogthanthetailofalion.宁为鸡头,勿为牛后

(27)Everylifehasitsrosesandthorns.人生有苦有乐

(28)Moneymakesthemarego.有钱能使鬼推磨

(b)Reproducingmetaphorwithsimile(ormetaphor)plussenseornote.[36]Asaresultofsocialandculturalfactors,sometimesintranslationofmetaphorfromEnglishintoChinese,althoughtheimageinsourcelanguageisretained,itisstillhardforChinesereaderstounderstandbecausetheimageisofobviousculturalfeaturesofEnglishnationorimpliescertainhistoricaleventsorcharacterallusions.Meanwhile,intranslatingsomeEnglishmetaphors,whoseconnotationsmaybelostifthroughdirecttranslation,wecannotfindequivalentsinChinese.Formetaphorsofthistype,especiallyforanumberofnamesofpeopleandplaceswithculturalconnotations,weusuallyadoptthisapproachtotranslation.

e.g.(29)Theplan,whichseemssopromising,turnedouttobeaPandora’sbox.

看起来如此有希望的计划,结果却是一个带来不幸的潘多拉盒子。

（30）Thedieiscast.骰子一出,大局已定。

(31)Alittlepotissoonhot.壶小易热,量小易怒。

(iii)Non-correspondingrelation

AsChineseandEnglishhavetheirownuniqueculture,manymetaphoricalconceptsonlyexistineitherChineseorEnglish.Inaddition,therearemetaphorsthatmayhavesimilarliteralmeanings,buttheirmetaphoricalmeaningsaretotallydifferent.[37]Metaphorsofthiskindhavenon-correspondingrelationsandweshouldadoptthefollowingtwoapproachestothetranslationofthesemetaphors:

(a)Conversionofmetaphortosense.Forcertainmetaphors,thedegreeofcorrespondencebetweensourcelanguageandtargetlanguageisverylow.Underthiscondition,weshouldtakeconnotationasthefirstandimageasthesecond.That’stosay,intranslationofmetaphors,sometimeswehavetochangetheimageinsourcelanguageinordertocorrectlyexpresstheconnotations.Underthiscondition,theapproachofconversionofmetaphortosensecanbeapplied.

e.g.(32)theheelofAchilles致命的弱点

(33)Loveme,lovemydog.爱屋及乌

(34)Homersometimesnods.智者千虑，必有一失

(35)Isupportedhimfromtheeggtotheapplesthoughheoncetoldmeoff.

虽然他曾责备过我，但是我自始至终支持他。

(b)Deletion.Justfromtheliteralmeaningof“deletion”,weknowthatthroughthisapproach,themetaphorisdeletedintranslation.IfametaphorcanfindnometaphoricalequivalentinChinese,andafterathoroughanalysisofthetext,wefinditisredundantanditsfunctionhasbeenfulfilledinotherpartsofthetext,wecanchoosetodirectlydeleteit.Throughthisapproach,theoriginalaestheticvaluemaybelostandtheforceofinfectioninsourcelanguagemaybelessened.Ofcourse,sometimesitisinevitable.Butthetranslationcancomplementthelossbroughtaboutbydeletionofimagesthroughothermeans.Thefour-wordidiomsinChineseoftencanplaythisrole.[38]

e.g.(36)Theshipisplowingthesea.船在乘风破浪。

(37)Bythewinterof1942theirresistancetotheNaziterrorhadbecomeonlyashadow.(WinstonChurchill)

到了1942年冬季，他们对于纳粹恐怖统治的抵抗已经名存实亡了。

(38)IhaveadreamthatonedayeventhestateofMississippi,adesertstateswelteringwiththeheatofinjusticeandoppressionwillbetransformedintoanoasisoffreedomandjustice.(MartinLutherKing,Jr.IHaveaDream)

我有一个梦想，有一天，甚至那倍受屈辱和迫害的凄凉的密西西比州，也将改造成自由与公正的绿洲。

Inexample(38),theMississippiiscomparedtoadesertwhichformsasharpcontrastwithoasis.However,inthetranslation,thedesertisnottranslated,butreplacedby“凄凉的”toexpressthespeaker’sintention.Indoingso,thetranslationcanavoidmisunderstandingthatMississippiisarealdesertstate.

5.Conclusion

Basedonthebeliefthatmetaphorisnotonlyalinguisticphenomenon,butalsoacognitivemode,themainideaofthethesisistotalkaboutthetranslationofmetaphorsfromEnglishintoChinesefromtheperspectiveofculturaldifferencesbetweenChineseandEnglish.Forthispurpose,thebodyofthisthesisisdividedintothreeparts.Thefirstpart,theauthormainlyanalyzestheinterrelationbetweenlanguage,cultureandtranslation.Thesecondpartintroducessomemajorfactorsrelatedtometaphor,includingdefinition,characteristicsandclassification.Thethirdpart,alsothemostimportantpartofthisthesis,thoroughlyillustratesthetranslationofmetaphorsfromEnglishintoChinesefromtheperspectiveofculturaldifferences,includingculturalconnotationofmetaphorsandapproachestotranslationofEnglishmetaphorsintermsofthecorrespondingrelations.

Asmetaphorhasrichculturalconnotations,inordertoachievesuccessfultranslationofEnglishmetaphors,atranslatorshouldcultivateandcontinuallyenhancehisownculturalawareness.Thisrequiresatranslatortohavebothbilingualcompetenceandbiculturalorevenmulti-culturalknowledgeinordertoadapttoeffectivecommunicationindifferentculturalcontext.TheauthorhopesthesixapproachestotranslationofEnglishmetaphorswillbehelpful.Theyare:literaltranslation,reproducingthesameimageinthetargetlanguage;translationofmetaphorbysimile,retainingtheimage;substitutionoftheimageinthesourcelanguagewithastandardtargetlanguageimage;reproducingmetaphorwithsimile(ormetaphor)plussenseornote;conversionofmetaphortosense;anddeletion.

Ofcourse,theremustbemanyimproperplacesandimmatureviewsinthisthesis.Theauthorsincerelywishesforindividualreader’scriticismandcorrection.

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