Metaphor and Translation
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[Abstract]Translation,asatoolforthecommunicationofcultures,transfersthecognitionofthesourcelanguageintothetargetlanguage,andtranslationofmetaphorhasbecameacontroversyreceivingmoreandmoreattentions.ThispaperintroducestheEnglishandtheChinesemetaphorindetails.Inthebeginning,differentdefinitionsofEnglishmetaphorarequotedfromauthorities.ThentheconstructionofEnglishmetaphorandthreebasiccomponents,thetenor,thevehicleandtheground,areintroduced,followedbythefourbasicstructurepatterns.Differentclassificationsofmetaphorareappreciatedandstudiedatthedifferentlevels.Fromtheangleofrhetoriceffect,thelivemetaphorandthedeadmetaphorareclassifiedinthefirsttype,andfromNewmark’sview,fourcategoriesareclassified,andfinallyfourcategoriescanbesortedoutaccordingtotheemergenceofmetaphor’sthreecomponents.AtthelevelofcognitionthreecategoriesareintroducedformLakoff’sclassification.ThenChinesemetaphorisanalyzedinthesameway,sothecontrastandcomparisonareapparentlymade.Basedonthat,theobstacleswhichmayexistinthetranslationofmetaphorareprobedinto,thatis,thestudyoftheoriginoftheobstacles----cultureclash,includingthedifferencesofthelivingenvironmentandhistory,traditionandcustom,classicaltalesandliteraryworks,religionandsoon.Atlast,thestandardandtheskillsofthetranslationofmetaphorarediscussed.
[Keywords]:metaphor;translation;thesourcelanguage;thetargetlanguage;cultureclash
【摘要】：翻译是将一种文化中的语言所表现的认知方式用目的语传递到目的语的文化中去，而隐喻的翻译已经开始成为研究翻译方向里的重点和难点之一。本文详细介绍英语隐喻和汉语隐喻，首先在概念上引用权威的定义和诠释，接着从结构特征上下手分析英语隐喻的基本构成成分，即：本体、喻体、喻底。由此引出英语隐喻的三大基本句型。在分类上,首先从修辞效果的角度进行论证，①将其分成活隐喻和死隐喻两大类；②引用Mark的观点分成四类进行分析特点；③根据隐喻的三大成分之间的关系，隐喻又可分成四种情况。接着，从认知层面上，总结分析Lakoff的观点中有利于理解隐喻特点的结构隐喻，实体隐喻，方位隐喻。接着本文对汉语隐喻和英语隐喻形作一比较，指出在语言上的目标和功能作用成为英语隐喻和汉语隐喻最大的共同点。在此基础之上，分析了在隐喻翻译过程中会遇上的‘拦路虎’，并深入到产生翻译障碍的根本原因----文化差异，包括地理和历史，传统习俗因，宗教信仰，经典传说和文学作品等其它因素。最后，探述了隐喻翻译的标准和基本原则，综合英、汉隐喻的特点和文化因素，讨论了几种隐喻翻译的技巧和方法。
【关键词】隐喻；翻译；原语；目的语；文化冲突
1.Introduction
Metaphor,mentionedbyLakoffG&JohnsoninMetaphorsWeLiveBy,ispervasiveinourdailylife,happensnotonlyinhuman’slanguagebutalsoinhuman’sthinkingandbehavior.[1]P1Theutilizationofmetaphorsisveryfrequent,andpracticallyitishighlyvaluabletostudylinguisticmetaphor.Inresentyears,metaphorsintranslationarestudiedmostlyinthefieldofpoetry,literatureandrhetoric.ForthedifferencesbetweenChinese,whichisregardedasacontextuallanguage,andEnglishthathasitsadvantages,itisveryimportanttofindwaystoachievetheequivalenteffectofsourcelanguagewhentheyaretranslatedintothetargetlanguage.Therearesomeexamples.
(1)WereIinherplace,itseemstomeIshouldwishtheearthtoopenandswallowmeup.(JaneEyreChapter5)
我若是她，会恨不得立刻在地上挖个洞，钻进去
(2)Hedidnotwinthefirstprize;heisjustpullingyourleg.
他并没有获得第一名，只不过和你开个玩笑罢了.
(3)孩子是张大妈从小一把屎一把尿待弄出来的,像亲生儿子一样,孩子也把张大妈当作亲妈,冷丁一下子把娘俩拆开,孩子能受得了吗?
Shehadnursedhimeversincehewasasmallbabyandlovedhimasherown;andthechild,too,regardedherashisownmother.Whatwouldhappentohimifhewastakenawayfromher.[2]P19
(4)每个人生活都有苦有甜.
Everylifehasitsrosesandthorns.
parisonbetweenEnglishmetaphorandChinesemetaphorwillhelptostrengthenourunderstandingoftheessenceoflanguage,andtheculturedifferenceswhichcouldbetracedbackbehindthephenomenonoflanguage,bothofwhichservetoprobeintotheartoftranslation;Therefore,inonesense,itishighlyvaluabletocombinethestudyofcomparisonandcontrastbetweenEnglishmetaphorandChinesemetaphor,theculturedifferencesandtranslationskillsintoawhole
2.Englishmetaphor
Metaphorisafigurativephenomenon,animportanttoolinlanguagecommunication;what’smore,ithasaclosedrelationshipwithmanysubjects,[3]P1suchasLiterature,Aesthetics,Sociology,Philosophy,Logicandsoon,formetaphorcanpermeateintoone’ssubjectivethinkingandconceptofaesthetic.One’spersonality,includingphilosophy,culture,standardofaestheticsandsoon,willbereflectedthroughthemetaphoroneuses.Therefore,metaphorshouldbestudiedfromamoreprofoundandhigherlevel.
2.1AuthoritativeDefinition
Variousdefinitionofmetaphorhavebeenproposedandsomeofthemarequotedbelow.
i)metaphor:(exampleofthe)useofawordorphrasetoindicatesomethingdifferentfrom(thoughtrelatedinsomewayto)theliteralmeaning,asin‘I’llmakehimeathiswords’or‘shehasaheartofstone’.(OxfordAdvancedLearner’sEnglish-ChineseDictionthefourthedition)
ii)metaphor:awayofdescribingsomethingbycomparingittosomethingelsethathassimilarqualities,withoutusingthewords‘like’or‘as’,‘thesunshineofhersimile’isametaphor.(LongmanDictionaryofContemporary1995)
iii)metaphor:隐喻(一种修辞手段如drowninginmoney,foodforthought之类).(TheEnglish-ChineseDictionary1993)
iv)“Bymetaphor.Imeananyfigurativeexpression:thetransferredsenseofaphysicalword;thepersonificationofanabstraction;theapplicationofawordorcollocationtowhatdoesnotliterallydenote,i.e,todescribeonethingintermsofanother”.PeterNewMark[4]P123
v)metaphor:afigureofspeechcontaininganimpliedcomparison,inwhichawordorphraseordinarilyandprimarilyusedofonethingisappliedtoanother.(Web’sNowWorldDictionary)
2.2StructureinEnglishmetaphor
MetaphorcomesfromtheancientGreecewords‘meta’and‘pherein’‘meta’means‘across’,‘pherein’means‘change’;Thereforethebasicfunctionofmetaphoristotransformsomethingfromoneplacetoanother.[5]P1Fromsemanticview,therearethreebasicfactorscomposingametaphors:thetenor,thevehicle,theground,notallofwhichneedtobepresentedinametaphor,thatis,someofthemmaybehidden.Therefore,itisveryimportanttodistinguishthreefactorsfromeachotherwhenfacingametaphor.
(5)Alltheworldisastage,andallthemenandwomenaremerelyplayers.(Shakespere)
(6)Ihaveseenthemermaidsridingseawardsonthewave.(T.S.Eliot)
Inexample(1)‘stage’isthevehicle,itsliteralmeaningistheraisedflooronwhichplaysareperformedinatheatrewhichexitinourreallife,while‘world’isthetenor,andthegroundofthismetaphoristhatbotharefullofillusionandabsurdity.In(6)‘riding’isthevehicle,whichliterallymeansanactiontotravellongcontrollingandsittingonahorse,andthegroundisthesituationthatthemermaidsfloatingonthewaveslightly.However,notallvehiclesandtenorsinmetaphorsrefertotherealityinourlifejustasexample(5)and(6)do,theymayrefertotheabstractconceptimpliedinthecontext,andalsotheymayrefertosomekindsofqualityorconditionqualities.Therearesomeexamples.
(7)Thetreeoflibertymustberefreshedfromtimetotimewiththebloodofpatriotsandtyrants.Itisitsnaturalmanure.(TomasJefferson)
(8)Somebooksaretobetasted,othersswallowed,andsomefewtobechewedanddigested.
(9)Hisreplywassmooth.
In(7)thevehicle,‘liberty’,referstoanabstractiveconcept,whichthetenor,‘tree’isamaterialobject,andthegroundimpliesthatlibertycannotbeachievedordefeatedwithouttheshadingofthebloodofboththedefendersandoppressorsofthelibertyinaviolentstruggle.Ontheotherhand,blood(manure)nurturesliberty.Wordsinexample(8)as‘tasted’,‘swallowed’,‘chewed’,‘digested’literallymeansdifferentwaysofeatingfoods,whicharethevehicle,andthetenoris‘readingbooks’,soobviouslythegroundistheconditionthatbookscouldbereadinvariouswaysasfoodscouldbeeatenindifferentmethod.‘smooth’inexample(9)meanshaveanevensurfacewithoutpoints,lumps,pump;notrough;whichisthevehicle,andthetenoris‘reply’.Sothegroundisthatherreplyistactfulandshrewdjustasthesamesatisfactorycharacterorconditionofsmooth.
Fromsyntacticview,theapplicationofmetaphorisalwaysflexibleandmultiple,forinthesentencestructure,thevehiclemaybeimpliedinthesubject,thepredicate,theobject,thepredicative,theattributeortheadverbialmodifier;What’smore,thevehiclecanbeasingleword,aphrase,asentence,orevenaparagraph.However,threebasicstructurepatternsarecommonlyusedinEnglishmetaphor.
PatternI:thetenorandthevehicleareconnectedbythewordssuchas:be,become,turninto,ect.,andthevehiclemostlyactsasthepredicative.
(10)Jane’sUncleisanoldfox,uptoallkindsofevils.
(11)Hollywood,California,wasthefilmcapital,amagnetforthetalented,thegreedy,thebeautiful,thehopefulandtheweird.
(12)Afterthatlongtalk,Jimbecamethesuninherheart.
Inexample(10)(11)(12),thetenorsarerespectively‘Jane’sUncle’,‘Hollywood’,‘Jim’,thevehicle,‘anoldfox’,‘amagnet’,‘thesun’,whicharethepredicativeinthesentences.Thispatternisthemostbasictype.
PatternII:thepreposition‘of’isusedtoconnectthetenorandthevehicle,indicatingtheappositiverelationship,suchas,
(13)Mirageisthebloomorblightofallmen’shappiness.
(14)Butinacountrywherericefarmershavespentnearly50yearsinacomfortablecocoonofgovernmentprotection.
Intheexample(14)(15)themetaphorisinaphraseconsistingofthetenorsandthevehicleandthepreposition‘of’.Ontheotherhand,thevehicleandthetenoraretheappositive,thatis,‘happinessisthebloomorblight;governmentprotectionisacomfortablecocoon’.
PattenIII:verbsandadjectivesareappliedtotransferthemetaphor,thatis,wordsusedtodescribethespecialqualityofonethingareadoptedtodescribetheotherthingtowhichthespecialqualityaretransferred.Therearestillmanycasesinthispattern.
(15)Fromtheburninglookinhiseye,Iknewhewasangrywithme.
(16)Toby’sfearshadevaporated.
Theword‘burning’actuallyisusedtodescribethestateofthefire,whileinexample(15)itistransfertodescribe‘look’.Readercouldimmediatelyexperiencesuchsituation.‘evaporate’isaVerbwhichexpressestheparticularqualityofthegas,whileitisusedinthecase(16),theabstractiveconcept‘fear’aretransferredtoaconcreteimagelikesthegas.Thispatternisgreatlyusedinthepressandtheliteratureasrhetoricdevicestostrengthentheauthor’sopinionandtoimpressreadersdeeply.
2.3ThecategoriesofEnglishmetaphor
SincethestudyonmetaphorcanbetracedbacktoAristotle,thefirstonewhostudiedmetaphorssystematically.Therehasbeenahistoryofmorethantwothousandyearsstudyonmetaphor,uptillnownumerouspeoplemaketheirgreateffortstoresearchonmetaphorfromvariousangles;therefore,metaphorcanbeclassifiedinmanywaysaccordingtotheanglesitwasstudiedfrom.
2.3.1Classificationsattherhetoriclevel
I)Thedeadmetaphorandthelivemetaphor
Fromitsrhetoriceffect,metaphorcanbesortedintotwocategories:oneisthegenuinemetaphororthelivemetaphor,andtheotheristhetritemetaphorordeadmetaphor.Asweknow,thebasicfunctionofmetaphormentionedbeforeistotransferaspecialqualityfromonethingtotheothertomakemuchmoreconcrete,impressive,profoundimages.Howeverthosewhichwereusedfromtimetotimewithitsrhetoriceffectdeclininggraduallytozerowouldberegardedasthecommonexpression,meltingintothelanguage,andthentheywouldbecomeout-of-dateexpressions,whichiswhatwecalledthedeadmetaphor,suchas‘thebonnetofacar’,‘acoatofpain’,‘theteethofasaw’,‘theappleofone’seyes’,‘raincatsanddogs’.Ontheotherhand,thelivemetaphorreferstothosewithfreshnessandoriginalityandeffect.However,thedisadvantageofthiskindofclassificationisthatitistoovagueanddifficulttodefinetheboundarybetweenthelivemetaphorandthedeadmetaphor.Forexampleitishardtodecidetosort‘theheartofChina,Beijing’intothedeadmetaphororthelivemetaphor.
II)PeterNewmark’sclassification
FromPeterNewmark’sviewATextbookofTranslation,‘Ihavesuggestedelsewherethattherearefourtypesofmetaphor:fossilized,stock,recentlycreatedandoriginal’.[6]P46
Fromthebeginning,thefossilized,thenameitselfisametaphor.Itliterallymeanstobecomeafossil;actuallyitmeansthetrite,our-of-date,merelyused.Inasense,itisjustthesameasthedeadmetaphorinthefirstclassification.Take‘raincastsanddogs’asanexample.Nowadaysthosewhousedthismetaphorareregardedasthepeoplewholiveinthegenerationbeforethegrandfather.Thestockreferstothemetaphorsthathavebeentakeninthedictionariesfortheusageofmetaphoricalmeaningsandarestillfrequentlyusedindailylife.Herearesomeexamplesofthestockaboutthemetaphoricalusageoftheword‘flood’.
(17)Shewasinafloodoftears.
(18)Thecorridorswerefloodedwithgirls.
(19)Strawberriesfloodedthemarketandpricesdroppeddown
(20)Beerfloodedfromtheglass
Therearetherecentlycreatedmetaphorswhichhavenotyetbeenadoptedinthedictionarybutcanbeacceptedthecommonpeoplewithafeelingofrefreshness.InHamiton’sRescueofANewborntherearesentences[7]P47asfollows.
(21)Ifocusedonasmallblobinthemudamidthecolumnsoflegsandtrunks.
(22)Isuddenlycameuponawalloffeelingelephants.
(23)…grabbedtheirlostbabyandtuggedhergentlyintoastockadeoflegs
Intheabovethreesentences,‘columns’and‘wall’,‘stockade’,havedoublefunctions.Theyfunctionasthemeasurewordswiththemetaphoricalmeanings,whichhasnotyetbeenadoptedinanydictionary.However,threemetaphorshaveacommoncharacteristic--theybelongtothestructurePatternII(thepreposition‘of’linksbetweenthetenorandthevehiclewhichhasbeenrecordedinthedictionary,suchas‘ahandofbananas’).
Thelastone,theoriginalareregardedastheproductfromtheinspiredthoughtofthemenfullofwitsandknowledge,andcanhardlybeseenbefore,letalonghavebeenrecordedindictionary.APromiseofSpringbyAmericanmodernwriterJeff.Rennikebeginsinthisway:
(24)Nothing,notracksbutmyownarestitchedintothedustingoffreshsnow,whiteasbirchbark,thatfellduringthenight,noflitteringshadowsinthetrees,notasilverofbirdsongintheair.[8]P47
Theword‘stitch’belongstothosethatarerarelyusedinEnglish,anditsmostimpressiveusageisintheidiom‘Astitchintimesavenight’.WhilefloatedoutofthepenofJeffRennike,itwasshiningwiththebeautyoftheoriginalmetaphor.
Insomesenses,PeterNewmark’sclassification,thefossilized,thestock,therecentlycreated,theoriginalcanbeseentobethesmallbranchesderivingfromthecategoriesofthedeadmetaphorandthelivemetaphor.
III)Classificationaccordingtotheemergenceofthetenor,thevehicle,andtheground
Accordingtothethreebasiccomponentsinmetaphorstructure,fourcategoriescouldbesortedout.
Thefirsttypeisboththetenorandthevehicleemergeinthemetaphor,suchas,
(25)Ifthefatherlardissound,mypersonaltroublesareonlyafleabite.
Thistypeisthemostcommonone,forthegroundofmetaphoriseasytounderstand.FactuallyPattenImentionedabovebelongstothistype.
Secondtypeisthemetaphorinwhichthetenorisimplied,suchas,
(26)Investmentsinrestructuringcompaniesinvolvesubstantialrisks,anddecipheringthedetailsofacompany’sfinancesandplansforre-emergenceisakintopenetratingalegaljungle.
Thethirdtypeisthemetaphorsinwhichthevehicleisimplied,andsometimesthegroundisalsoimplied,leavingthetenoralone.ThiscategorytogetherwiththesecondtypeconstructthePattenⅢinmetaphorstructure.Therearelotsoftypicalexamplessuchas,
(27)Shewishedshecouldstoptimeandfreezethisdaysothatitwouldneverend.
Moreover,example(8)and(9)belongtothiscategories.
Thelasttypeisthatthetenor,thevehicleandthegroundallemergeinthemetaphor,whicharecommontosee.Thereisatypicalexample.
(28)Mylifeisonelongcurve,fullofturningpoints.
Obviously‘mylife’isthetenor,‘curve’isthevehicle,andthesharedcommonis‘fullofturningpoints’,whichistheground.
2.3.2Classificationatthecognitivelevel
FromLakoff’sviewinMetaphorsWeLiveBy,metaphorsareclassifiedaccordingtodifferentconceptsaboutmetaphors.Onlythreeofthemwillbementionedfortheyhelpsthecognitionofmetaphor:structuralmetaphor,ontologicalmetaphorandorientationalmetaphor.[9]P96
Thestructuralmetaphorreferstometaphorsinwhichoneconceptwasadoptedtoillustrateorcomposetheotherconcept.What’smore,therearetwocomponentsandtwoconditionsthatareessentialtocomposeastructuremetaphor.Thetenorandthevehiclearethetwocomponentsthatmustbetwodifferentconcepts,whichsatisfiesthefirstcondition.Thesecondconditionrequiresthatthetwounlikeconceptsshouldhavesomethingincommonwhichthestructuralmetaphoradoptsfromthevehicletoillustrateandcomprehendtheconceptofthetenor.Forexample,
(29)Angerisheat→a)Trytosimmerdown
b)Sheisstewing
c)Tomwasreadingtheboilingpoint
(30)Angerisfree→a)Shewasburningwithwrath
b)Thatcausedmetobreathefire
Actually,inexample(29)a)b)c)arebasingon‘Angerisheat’andinexample(30)a)b)on‘Angerisfree’.Wordslike‘simmer’’stew’donothaveanythingincommonwith‘Anger’fromsemanticview.However,themetaphoricalthinkingandthelanguageabilitylinkthemtogether.Experienceteachesusthatwhenonewasinanger,thebodytemperatureandthebloodpressureturnup,themodeoffidgetandanxiousandotherphysiologicalreactionswillbeshown,whichwereassociatedwiththephenomenonandthestatewhenthefluidwasheatedtoboiling.Asaresult,manymetaphoricalexpressionscomeintothepresent,suchas‘Heblewup’,‘Thatreallysetmeoff’.
Theontologicalmetaphorisanotherevidencetoshowthatmetaphorisnotonlyaphenomenonoflanguagebutalsoameansofthinkingandbehavior,whichispervasiveinourdailylife.Thevehicleinontologicalmetaphoralwaysreferstothosefamiliarthingsorobjectsinourworld,whichcanbeseenandtouchedeasily,sowecanknowitsfunctionandqualitiesatthefirstsight,thenitcontributestothecomprehensionandcognitionofthetenorwhichareregardedasnon-materialorsupernaturalexperience.Takethefollowingsentenceasanexample.
(31)Argumentsarebuildings
Obviously,buildingsarethemostfamiliarthingthatweseeandhavedirectcontactwitheveryday,sothattheirspecialqualitiesareknowntoeveryone,suchastheappearance,thefoundation,thethicknessthepossibilityofconstruction,repairment,destroy,collapseandsoon.Therefore,Argumentsiscomparedtobuildings,implyingthatthenecessityofthefirmfoundationofthesisandtheperfectwayforargument.Anditwill,otherwise,bedefeated.Basedonthisontologicalmetaphor,therearemanyexpressionsasfollows.
(32)a)Weneedsomefactsortheargumentwillfailapart
b)Weneedtoconstructastrongargumentforthat.
c)Thisisanargument,anditneedsmorefoundation.
d)Ifyoudon’tsupportyourargumentwithsolidfactsthewholethingwillcollapse.
Theorientationalmetaphors,alsocalledthespatializationmetaphor,meansmetaphorsrelatedtothespatializationororientation(suchasup-down,in-out,front-back,left-rightect.)whichareusedtoillustrateordescribetheobjectofthetenor,suchas,
(33)Happyisup,sadisdown
(34)I’mfeelingup/down
(35)Myspiritsrose
(36)Youareinhighspirits
(37)Heisreallylowthesedays
Thespecialtyoftheontologicalmetaphorsisthattheyarenotusedinarbitrarywaybutinafixedwayaccordingtopeople’sexperience.
Differentwaysofclassificationhelptoanalyzingametaphorfromvariousangles,sothatourcomprehensionwouldbedeepandimpressivewhenwefaciewithit,whichservesalotduringthetranslation
parisonandcontrastbetweenEnglishmetaphorandChinesemetaphor
Metaphor,inChineseisalwaysnamed‘隐喻’or‘暗喻’.It’sbettertodistinguishmetaphorand‘隐喻’fromeachother.
3.1AuthoritativeDefinitionAboutChineseMetaphor
i)隐喻：比喻的一种不用“如”、“像”、“似”、“好像”等比喻词，而用“是”、“成”、“就成为”、“变为”等词，把某事物比拟成和它有相似关系的另一种事物，如：“少年儿童是祖国的花朵”,“荷叶成了一把把撑开的小伞”也叫“暗喻”。（《现代汉语词典》1997修订本）
ii)隐喻：比喻的一种，本体和喻体的关系，比之隐喻更为密切，明喻在形式上只是相类的关系，隐喻在形式上却是相和的关系，本体和喻体两个成分之间一般要用“是”、“也”等比喻词，如“儿童是祖国的花朵”。（《辞海》(1980)）
FromtheillustrationfromChinesedictionary,obviouslyisonlyakindoffiguresofspeechinChineserhetoric.
However,EnglishmetaphorcoversmuchmorefieldsthanChinesemetaphor.Thefollowingshowsthecomparisonbetweenthem.
Metaphor暗喻
1.acharacteristicofhumanthinkingandlanguage1.***
2.deadmetaphor:表面不是,实际是2.***
3.activemetaphor:一种修辞格3.一种修辞格
[10]P124
3.2ThestructureandclassificationofChinesemetaphor
Thestructureof‘隐喻’issaidtobeamode“X”是“Y”.Moreover,ithasnotyetbeenclassifiedintocategoriesinitsnarrowsenseinChinese,whichsupporttheviewofunequalrelationshipbetweenEnglishmetaphorand隐喻.However,itdoesn’tmeanthatChineseisnotametaphoricallanguage.Eventually,ChinesepeopleusemetaphorsexcellentlyasEnglishpeopledo,forexamples‘闲时不烧香，临时抱佛脚’,‘狗嘴里吐不出象牙’.
ThedifferenceisthatvariouskindsoffiguresofspeechinChineseareabsorbedtoachievethemetaphoricaleffect,suchas借喻,缩喻ect..ThereareexamplesinChinesemetaphor,
(38)敌人夹着自己的尾巴逃跑了。（拟喻）
(39)我骑着思想的野马奔驰到很远很远的地方，然后，才收住了缰绳，缓步回到眼前灿烂的现实中。（缩喻）
(40)天下乌鸦一般黑。（借喻）
3.3SimilaritiesbetweenEnglishandChinesemetaphor
ThemostimportantsimilaritythatEnglishmetaphorandChinesemetaphorbarewitheachotheristoachievetheeffectivefunctionofmetaphororauthor’sintention.Fromrhetoricangle,bothEnglishandChinesemetaphorshavethreemainfeatures:descriptive,illuminativeandillustrative,[11]P168ascanbeseenfromthefollowingexamples.
3.3.1Descriptive
(41)Thehallwaywaszebra—stripedwithdarknessandmoonlight.(Adescriptionofthealternatedbandsoflightandshadeinthehall,likeazebra’sstripes)
(42)荷叶成了一把把撑开的小伞。
3.3.2Illuminative
Example(7)—Englishand(4)—Chinesearethetypicalexamplesandhereareanothertwo
(43)
Theasolider,
Fullofstrangeoaths,andbeardedlikethepard,
Jealousinhonour,suddenandquickinquarrel
Seekingthebubblereputation
Eveninthecannon’smouth.(Shakespear:Asyoulikeit)
(Bubblehereimpliesthatthepursuitofreputationisvisionaryandasingofvanity)
(44)人生必需的知识就是引人向光明方向的明灯.()
3.3.3Illustrative
(45)Learningisclimbingupamountain.
Thequestion‘Howtoconstructaneffectivemetaphor’leadstosomepropertiesrequiredinbothEnglishandChinesemetaphors.Firstly,refressnessandoriginality.metaphorslike‘hewasalioninthebattle’,‘儿童是祖国的花朵’aretriteandstale.Thoseout-of-dateexpressionssometimeswouldspoilthespeechorwriting.Secondly,aptness.Ametaphorisaptandappropriateifthecomparisonimpliedheightenseffectorenhancesthesubject.Inthesentence‘herbeautifullonghairwaspitch-black’,theassociationoftheblacknessofthebeautifulhairwithpitchisinappropriate.Thirdly,consistencybecomesrelevantandimportantwhenweareusingtwoormoremetaphorstoillustratethesamesubject.Themetaphorsareconsistentiftheyproduceimagesrelatedtoandsupportingeachotherandarenotmixedanddiscordant.Mixedmetaphors,whichcanproduceveryamusingandillogicalimagery,shouldbestrictlyavoided,suchas‘Iskinoverthebooktotastethetoneofit’(tonecannotbetasted).Ontheotherhand,ametaphorbothinEnglishandChinese,tobeeffective,shouldbeterseinwordsandprofoundinimplication,abundantinrefreshnessandhumor,vividinassociationandimaginary.
4.Translationofmetaphors
4.1Onthestandardoftranslation
Inthefieldoftranslation,thestandardoftranslationhasbeenafiercecontroversy,includingNida’sformalcorrespondencevs.FunctionalEquivalence,Newmark’municationtranslation,literaltranslationvs.freetranslation,formvs.content,source-orientedvs.target-oriented,author-centeredvs.reader-centered,thepurposeoftheauthorvs.thepurposeofthetranslationandsoon;[12]P5Therefore,itisimpossibletodefineastandardforthetranslationofallmetaphors.Metaphorrevealstheaestheticsoflanguage;what’smore,itreflectsthespeakerorwriter’seducation,experiences,observation,conceptiontowardstheworldect.,soitisveryimportanttokeepthemetaphoricalmeaningandtheimagesbyusinganyskillsoftranslation,thatis,metaphorscanbetranslatedinflexiblewaystoconveytheinformationandtheeffectofthesourcelanguage.
4.2Obstaclesinthetranslationofmetaphor
Forthedifferencesbetweenlanguages,theobstaclesintranslationsometimesmakeitverydifficultevenimpossibletoconveytheeffectofthesourcemetaphor.AsChineseisregardedcontextuallanguage,whichalwaysturnstobeobstaclesontranslationintoEnglish.Thefollowingcasesareamongthemostcommon.
(46)她就是这样风里来雨里去。成年累月地工作着.
Thishowshecarriesonherwork,rainorshine,alltheyearround.
A‘Scene’comesintoreaders’mind,thatisanimageofhumanbeingwalkingintherainandwind,whenreading‘风里来,雨里去’sixcharacters;However,thereisonlythefactof‘rainandshine’leftintheEnglishexpression.
(47)人言鼎沸
Manypeopletalktogetherandthenoisetheymakeislikethebubblingwaterboilinginacauldron.
Infact,mostobstaclescanbetracedbacktothecultureclash.Therefore,metaphorsarestampedwiththecultureofsociety,whichhavegreatimpactsoneveryaspectofpeople’slife.Therearefiveaspectswhichinfluencetheexpressionofmetaphorgreatlyinculture.
4.2.1Livingenvironmentandhistory
Englandisanislandnation,anditsnavigationhasbeenthemostadvancedintheworldhistory,whileChineseisacontinentalnationwithitspeoplelivingontheland.Therefore,thereismetaphor‘spendingmoneylikewater’,sharingthesamemetaphoricalmeaningwithChinesemetaphor‘挥金如土’.Asaresultofthedifferentclimates,Chinesehasasaying‘万事具备只欠东风’,incontrastwith‘westwarmwind’inEnglish.Moreover,therearealotofuniquemetaphoricalexpressionsthatcomeoutastheproductofanation’sdevelopedhistory.Take‘zippergate’asanexample.Itbecameametaphoricalwordfrequentlyusedbythepress(referringtothesexualscandals)sincethenewsofthesexualrelationshipbetweenPresidentClintonandWensgi.InChinesetherearesomanytypicalexamplessuchas‘守株待兔’.
4.2.2Traditionandcustom
Traditionandcustomhavegreatinfluencesonthewayofpeople’thinking;therefore,metaphor,asaproportionoflanguage,comesoutofpeople’smind,whichhasbeenlaidwiththebrandofthecustomandtraditionoftheircountry.Differentmetaphorsaboutanimalsarethemostobviousevidence.Take‘bear’asanexample.InEnglish,bearisassociatedwiththepersonwithspecialtalents,suchas‘heisabearatmaths’.Incontrast,bearinChinesereferstothefoolmanortheignorant,suchas“瞧他那个熊样”“笨熊”.
4.2.3Religion
Buddhismhasahistoryofmorethanonethousandyears.Asaresult,people’sconceptandattitudetowardsworldareinfluencedgreatly,andtherearenumerousmetaphorsrelatedtoBuddhism,suchas‘借花献佛’,‘闲时不烧香,临时抱佛脚’ect.However,inwesterncounties,mostpeopletaketheChristianityastheirreligion,sotherearesayingssuchas‘norespectofpersons(一视同仁)’,‘Godcomeswithleadenfeetbutstrikeswithironhands(天网恢恢，输而不漏)’ect.Religionasapartofculturepenetratesintoeveryaspectofpeople’slifeincludinglanguage.
4.2.4Classicaltalesandliteraryworks
Alargesumofmetaphorsisquotedfromclassicaltalesandworks,whicharethecomponentsofthenationalspirits.Ontheotherhand,metaphor,inasense,isthereflectionoftheliterature,fairyandfolktalesect.,forexample‘Faustianspirit’comesfromtheclassicalworkFaust,inwhichtheprotagonistsoldouthissoultothedevilinordertoobtaintheknowledgeandthepower,andnow‘Faustianspirit’referstoaspirittoobtainknowledgeatanyprice.
4.3Skillsintranslationofmetaphor
FromNewmark’sview,“therearefivemethodsoftranslatingmetaphor:transferringtheimage,findinganequivalentimage,convertingthemetaphortoasimileorsenseplussimile,mostfrequentlyconvertingtheimagetosense,whichmayinvolveanalysisintoseveralcomponents,includingfigurativeandconcreteelements.”[13]P42However,inaboardsense,therewouldbeonly3waysinthetranslationofmetaphor.
4.3.1Literaltranslation
Assharingthelivingenvironment----theearth,allhumanbeingswouldhavesomethingincommon.Therefore,therewouldbesimilaritiesamongthecultureofdifferentcountries,thatis,equivalentexpressionswouldexistamongthelanguages.Onconditionthatthetenorandthevehicle,theconstructionofmetaphorinsourcelanguagehavethesameusageinthetargetlanguage,literaltranslationisthebestwaytokeepthevividimageandtheeffectofsourcemetaphor,ascanbeseeninthefollowingexamples.
(48)Duringthe1980s,anewdrugcalledcrackbegantofloodthestreet.
80年代有一种叫强效可卡因的在大街小巷大肆泛滥.
(49)ironhand----铁腕
(50)丢脸----loseface；
(51)中国当前的改革的春风
Thespringbreezeofpresentreforminchina
Literaltranslationasexample(67)canconveythevividimagewiththespecialcultureofsourcelanguage,andatthesametime,vocabularyandnewexpressionofthetargetlanguagewouldbeexplored.
4.3.2Freetranslation
Thecultureclashresultsintheclashoflanguage.Ontheotherhand,amongthetenorandthevehicleandtheconstructionofmetaphorofsourcelanguage,notallcouldfindthesameusageintargetlanguage;therefore,equivalentimagesorconstructionsintargetlanguageshouldbefoundtoreplacethatofsourcelanguage,orthemetaphoricaleffectofsourcelanguagewouldbedecreased.Bytheway,iftheequivalentimageorconstructioncouldnotbefoundintargetlanguage,whichisverycommon,therewouldbenowaybutcompletelyfreetranslationsuchas‘人言鼎沸’inexample(63).Thereareotherexamples,
(52)热锅上的蚂蚁
Acatonhotbricks
(53)Itwasdiamondcutdiamondwhenthetwomenmetbecausetheymorebothsosuretheirownwearswereright.
这两个人都坚持自己的主张正确因此他们相遇是一场棋逢对手的酣战。
(54)Thepolicemenwhopatrolledthebigcityslumareathatsummerweresittingonavolcano.
那年夏天，在城市大贫民区巡逻的警察如同在火山口上(construction:metaphorinsourcelanguagetosimileintargetlanguage)
(55)It’sregrettablethatourappealremainedadeadletter
遗憾的是，我们当时的呼吁石沉大海。
4.3.3Combinationofliteralandfreetranslation
Asmetaphorreflectsthecustoms,livingcondition,folktalesect.ofitsnation,compensationsareneededinthetranslationtohelptounderstandthemetaphoricalmeaningofsourceslanguage.Ontheotherhand,althoughimagesofsourcelanguagemaybefoundinthetargetlanguage,theyhavenotthemetaphoricalmeaningsofsourcelanguage.Inthatcase,combinationofliteralandfreetranslationcouldhelptoconveythemetaphoricalmeanings.Therearesomeexamples.
(56)PeopleconsiderthatwhathehadplayedonthatoccasionwasnomorethanaJudasKiss.
人们认为他在哪种场合的表演不过是犹太人之吻,居心险恶.
(57)挂羊头卖狗肉.
Crywinebutonlyvinegarforsale
5.Conclusion
Translation,asatoolforthecommunicationbetweendifferentcountries,inagreatsense,dependsonnotonlytheskillsoftranslationbutalsotheunderstandingofboththelanguageandtheculture.Therefore,comparisonbetweenEnglishmetaphorandChinesemetaphortogetherwiththeculturetheyreflectserversthetranslationgreatly.
Accordingtothedefinitionsfromtheauthorities,EnglishmetaphorcoversmuchmorefieldsthanChinesemetaphor.Inthefieldoflanguage,therearethreecomponentsinEnglishmetaphor,thetenor,thevehicleandtheground,basedonwhichtherearefourbasicpatternsinEnglishmetaphorstructure.Fromtheangleofrhetoriceffect,metaphorscanbesortedintothelivemetaphorandthedeadmetaphor.AndfromtheNewmark’sview,Englishmetaphorcouldbeclassifiedintofourcategories,thefossilized,thestock,therecentlycreatedandtheoriginal.Thelastclassificationisbasedontheemergenceofthreecomponentsofmetaphor.Atthelevelofthecognitionofmetaphor,structuremetaphorandontologicalmetaphorandorientational,whicharefromLakeoff’sclassification,arehelpfulintheunderstandingofmetaphor.Incontrast,Chinesemetaphorcalled隐喻differsgreatlyinthedefinitionandstructureandclassification.However,bothEnglishandChinesemetaphorhasthesamefunctions,descriptive,illuminative,illustrative.ThecomparisonandcontrastbetweenEnglishandChinesemetaphorcanbetracedbacktothecultureclash,whichistheoriginoftheobstaclesinthetranslationofmetaphor.Literaltranslation,Freetranslation,andthecombinationofbotharethebasicmethodsintranslationofmetaphor,whichshouldbechosenproperlytosolvetheobstaclesafterthemetaphorisanalyzedexactly.
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