学校编码 10384
学号 9904010
分类号
密级
UDC
学
位
论
文
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A Contrastive Study
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between Chinese Metaphors and English Metaphors
& Their Translating Strategies
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英汉设喻对比及其翻译对策
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林毅静
厦
门
大
学
博
硕
士
指导教师姓名 吴 建 平 副 教 授
厦门大学 外文学院
士
申请学位级别 硕
专业 名称 英语语言文学
论文提交日期 2 0 0 2 年 4 月
论文答辩日期 2 0 0 2 年 6 月
学位授予单位 厦 门 大 学
学位授予日期 2 0 0 2 年 月
答辩委员会主席
评 阅 人
2002 年
月
日
Synopsis
The subject matter of this thesis is metaphor translation, which has been studied for
years by different scholars. This thesis, based on a large number of convincing
examples and from the angle of cultural analysis, explores the differences between the
images used in English metaphors and Chinese metaphors in order to account for
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cultural influences on metaphors and suggest some strategies for metaphor translation.
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The thesis is composed of an introduction, three chapters and a conclusion.
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Introduction
Metaphors are endowed with rich local, national and cultural characteristics. They
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clearly express the features of a culture and are undoubtedly influenced by cultural
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elements. Therefore, metaphor translation is one of the most important and difficult
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parts in translation. It usually mirrors the translating principles a translator follows
and the translating strategies he or she adopted. We will explore some of the
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differences between English metaphors and Chinese metaphors, analyze cultural
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Chapter One
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influences on metaphors and try to find solutions in metaphor translation.
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This chapter, based on the semantic analysis of meaning, illustrates the differences
and similarities between images used in English metaphors and Chinese metaphors.
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And it is concluded that, few of the English images and Chinese images are fully
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corresponding, a few of them are basically corresponding and most of them are partly
corresponding or not corresponding.
Chapter Two
This chapter deals mainly with the influences of cultural elements on metaphor, which
is of great significance since no metaphor can exist out of its cultural context. It is
agreed by most scholars that the cultural influences come from four aspects: (1)
ecological and physical; (2) social; (3) linguistic; (4) ideational. Apparently,
metaphors are culture specific and require correct decisions from the part of the
translators.
Chapter Three
This chapter is mainly devoted to translating strategies. The translating strategies here
are divided into two parts: literal translation and free translation; the latter includes
three categories: (1) converting the metaphor to meaning; (2) replacing the SL image
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with another established TL image; (3) adding or omitting the metaphor. Metaphor
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translation is a combination of the suggested methods. And it is also noted that
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comprehension, senses & style of the source text, and readership are to be concerned
in metaphor translation.
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Conclusion
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The thesis aims at finding suitable translating strategies for metaphor translation. In
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order to achieve this goal, the thesis does some exploration on English images and
Chinese images, and analyzes the cultural influences on metaphors. The study is
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beneficial to our work on metaphor translation.
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Key Words
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Metaphor translation, Images, Corresponding, Cultural influences, Translating
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strategies, Literal translation, Free translation
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Translating strategies
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1. Literal translation
Literal translation
Literal translation plus explanation
2. Free translation
Converting to meanings
Replacing the SL image with an established TL image
Adding or omitting the metaphor
Contents
Introduction…………………………………………………………………………..1
Chapter One The Chinese Image and the English Image……………….………...4
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1.1 Basically Corresponding…………………………………………………………..4
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1.1.1 Semantically Corresponding……………………………………………….5
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1.1.1.1 Metaphors with similar conceptual meanings………………………5
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1.1.1.2 Metaphors with similar connotative meanings……………………...5
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1.1.2 Pragmatically Corresponding………………………………………………6
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1.2 Partly Corresponding………………………………………………………………7
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1.2.1 Metaphors with partly corresponding connotative meanings………………7
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1.2.2 Metaphors with partly corresponding reflected meanings…………………8
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1.2.2.1 The reflected meaning is shaped by particular cultural factors……..9
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1.2.2.2 Some words may arouse negative or impolite association………….9
1.2.2.3 The reflected meaning is variable…………………………………..9
1.2.2.4 Some words carry particular ethical values……………………….9
1.3 Not corresponding…………………………………………………………………9
1.3.1 Metaphors containing idiomatic words and phrases……………………10
1.3.2 Metaphors concerning sensibilities………………………………………...11
1.3.3 Metaphors with different collocations in the two languages……….……..12
1.3.2.1 Collocations between Measure words and Nouns (MN)…………..13
1.3.2.2 Collocations between Modifiers and Modified (MrMd)…………..13
→
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1.3.4 Metaphors with word transformation: Noun Verb……………………….13
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Chapter Two The Influences of Cultural Elements On Metaphors……...16
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2.1 Ecological and physical influences………………………………………………16
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2.2 Social influences…………………………………………………………………18
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2.3. Linguistic Influences…………………………………………………………….20
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2.3.1 Linguistic structures and lexical units…………………………………….20
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2.3.2 Usages…………………………………………………………………….21
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2.3.3 Semantic influences………………………………………………………22
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2.4 Ideational Influences……………………………………………………………..23
2.4.1 Ideology…………………………………………………………………...23
2.4.2 Religious Belief…………………………………………………………...24
2.4.3 Values and attitudes……………………………………………………….26
Chapter Three The Translation of Metaphors………………………………….30
3.1 What has been said about the translation of metaphors………………………….30
3.2 The main principle in metaphor translation……………………………………...31
3.2.1 Enlarging the cultural vision of the TL readers…………………………..32
3.2.2 Furthering the TL readers’ understanding of the SL culture……………...33
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3.2.3 Enriching the target language……………………………………………..33
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3.3 The Sequential Model in Translation…………………………………………….34
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3.4 The translation of metaphor……………………………………………………...36
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3.4.1 Literal translation…………………………………………………………37
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3.4.2 Free translation……………………………………………………………42
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3.4.2.1 Converting the metaphor to meaning……………………………...43
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3.4.2.2 Replacing the SL image with an established TL image…………...46
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3.4.2.3 Adding or omitting the metaphor………………………………….48
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3.5 Notes……………………………………………………………………………...49
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3.5.1 Catching the exact meaning of the source language metaphor…………...49
3.5.2 Choosing proper sense and style………………………………………….50
3.5.3 Taking into account the TL reader’s response…………………………….52
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………...55
References.....……………………………………………………………………...58
Introduction
I. Culture and Language
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“Following the definitions of sociologists and anthropologists, our term culture
refers
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to the total pattern of beliefs, objects and techniques that characterize the life of a
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human community.”(Kramsch, 1998:3) Culture is the entire way of life of a society,
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because different peoples, under different social and geographical circumstances, in
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the process of their own development, have established their beliefs, customs and
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languages.
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Communications between different communities have always been in the way, but it
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is language that makes possible the cross-cultural communications and the spread of a
culture. Language is the principal means whereby we conduct our social lives, when
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aspects.
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being used in cross-cultural communication, it is bound up with culture in many
First, language mirrors culture. Language reflects the facts, beliefs, points of view or
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events that are communicable because they refer to a stock of knowledge and
common experience shared by a group. Second, language embodies culture. Members
of a social group or a community not only express experience, they also create
experience and common knowledge through language. They use every possible
medium to create meanings that are understandable to the group they belong to. The
third, language symbolizes culture. “Language is a system of signs that is seen as
having itself a cultural value.”(Kramsch, 1998:3) It serves as a symbol of social
identity. Members of a social group identify themselves and others through their use
of language.
Languages have recorded the culture and history of a nation, it faithfully expresses
every aspect including life, social customs, beliefs, habits, etc. When we are
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appreciating the glorious history of a nation, actually we find tracks from the literal
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recordings of it. “Language expresses not only the spirits of the nation, but also the
The Studies on Metaphor
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II
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cultural psychology as well as the aesthetic ideas.” (Shao Zhihong, 1997:279)
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In translation, one of the most important particular problems is the translation of
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metaphors. According to Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (Second
Edition), a metaphor is “(the use of) an expression which means or describes one
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thing or idea using words usually used of something else with very similar qualities
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without using the word as or like.” (LDCE, 1987:654)
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In mid-1980s, a new angle was adopted in the study of metaphor. The outstanding
scholars in this field are George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, who consider metaphor “a
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means for representing something as if it were something else.” They believe that
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“ Metaphors are pervasive in everyday life, not just in language, but in thought and
action.” And “a metaphor used to evoke a mental picture may be even more powerful
(than a picture).” (Fan Jiachai, 1992:85)
Later, Peter Newmark defined metaphor as “any figurative expression: the transferred
sense of a physical word; the personification of an abstraction; the application of a
word or collocation to what it does not literally denote, i.e., to describe one thing in
terms of another. […] Metaphors may be ‘single’-viz. one-word-or ‘extended’ (a
collocation, an idiom, a sentence, a proverb, an allegory, a complete imaginative
text)”(Newmark, 1988:104) Following this definition, the metaphor discussed in this
paper includes a single word, a sentence, a proverb, an idiom, an allegory and an
idiom.
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Perhaps the best example comes from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, when Romeo
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says, "But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east and Juliet is
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For him, she is not only like light and sun; she is the sun.
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the sun." Here, Romeo uses a metaphor to compare his love, Juliet, with light and sun.
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Every language with a rather long history may produce lots of metaphors in every
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form, and therefore they are endowed with rich local, national and cultural
characteristics. Most of the metaphors are vivid and thought provoking, clearly
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expressing the features of a certain language and the differences between languages.
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But in terms of translation, metaphors comprise one of the most difficult parts. It is
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part of a language that conveys the characteristics of a culture and will undoubtedly
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be influenced by the linguistic and cultural elements. Therefore, metaphor translation
usually mirrors the translating principles a translator follows and the translating
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strategies he or she adopted.
III. Contents of the Thesis
This thesis, from the angle of cultural analysis, explores some of the differences
between Chinese and English metaphors in order to account for the cultural
connotation and put forward some strategies in the translation of metaphors.
The first chapter, based on the semantic explanation of meaning, mainly discusses the
differences and similarities between Chinese and English images used in metaphors;
the second chapter, focusing on the cultural influences, explores the reasons for the
differences; and the third chapter, helped with a lot of convincing examples, puts
forward some strategies for the translation of metaphors.
In discussing metaphors, the following terms are (Newmark, 1988:105)
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Image: the picture portrayed by the metaphor, which may be universal, cultural, or
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individual;
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Object: what is described or qualified by the metaphor;
Sense: the literal meaning of the metaphor, the resemblance overlapping object and
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image;
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Metaphor: the figurative word used, which may be one-word, or ‘extended’ over any
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stretch of language from a collocation to the whole text;
Symbol: a type of cultural or conventional signs where a material object represents a
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concept.
Chapter One
The Chinese Image and The English Image
In analyzing the similarities and differences between English and Chinese metaphors,
images used in metaphors may be our first concern, and the analysis will base on the
me a n ing
a s
we ll
as
t he
pr ag mat ic
pur po se.
According to M. Black, “There is accordingly a sense of ‘metaphor’ that belongs to
'pragmatics’ rather than to ‘semantics’- and this sense may be the one most deserving
of attention.” (Shao Zhihong, 1997:281) And Peter Newmark also mentions that one
of the most important purposes for a metaphor is its pragmatic purpose. (Newmark,
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There are seven kinds of meanings categorized by G. Leech: (1) conceptual meaning
(sense); (2) connotative meaning; (3) social meaning; (4) affective meaning; (5)
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reflected meaning; (6) collocative meaning; (7) thematic meaning. (Leech,
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1987:14-28). Concerning cultural elements, the conceptual meaning, connotative
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meaning, affective meaning and reflected meaning will be our major concerns here.
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The relations between images used to describe the same object in the two languages
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may be basically corresponding, partly corresponding and not corresponding at all.
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And the senses are not always the same. This chapter, in the analysis of semantic
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meanings as well as the pragmatic purposes, explores the similarities and differences
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between the Chinese image and the English image to the same object.
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Basically Corresponding
Some images are basically corresponding in meanings and usages in both languages
due to the common cognition and affections on the people themselves as well as on
the circumstances under which both peoples live. For example
pour oil on the flame
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a thorn in the flesh
火上浇油
肉中刺
thick-skinned
shadow cabinet
脸皮
影子内
阁
趁热打铁
as light as a feather 轻如鸿毛
笑
one-man show 独角戏
室
肥缺
bitter smile 苦
to strike while the iron is hot
fat office
引狼入
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to head a wolf into the house
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1.1.1 Semantically corresponding
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1.1.1.1 Metaphors with similar conceptual meanings
Conceptual meaning, also called denotative meaning or cognitive meaning, is the
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basic meaning of a word. It is defined in the dictionary as having no associations with
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the outside world. The understanding of the conceptual meaning will not diverge from
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individual to individual. (Wu Qianguang, 1988:134).
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Conceptual meaning is the key point in communication. Therefore, metaphors with
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similar conceptual meanings usually will not cause any misunderstandings and
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difficulties in translation because they are corresponding.
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For example:
He is a giant.
他是个巨人
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“giant” means “a man who is much bigger than is usual”(LDCE, 1987:436). The
巨人", so this metaphor in both Chinese
meaning is almost the same to the Chinese "
and English indicates that “He is big.”
1.1.1.2 Metaphors with similar connotative meanings
According to G. Leech, connotative meaning is the meaning added to the conceptual
meaning by a society, a social group, a class and even an individual. For example, the
word “women” used to carry the meanings of “frail”, “gentle” and “compassionate”
etc., because they are considered to be the features of women.
It is noted that connotative meaning does not exist alone. It is usually attached to
conceptual meaning and varies with different persons, ages, societies, countries and
times, etc. And because of this, new meanings can be gradually endowed in a word.
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Therefore, in understanding the connotative meaning of a word, these factors have to
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be taken into consideration. What’s more, whether positive, negative, or both positive
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and negative, the connotative meaning must be dealt with carefully. The connotative
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meanings of two metaphors should correspond in all the elements mentioned here.
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Connotative meaning can be similar even in different cultures and languages. For
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example, in both western culture and eastern culture, “home” always carries the
meaning of “sweet, comfortable and warm”; and “mother” in both cultures can be a
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symbol of “consideration, tenderness and kindness”.
Sam is a pig.
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萨姆是猪
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Following is a more typical example:
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In either English or Chinese, "pig" is associated with "filthy, sloppy, gluttonous, and
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so on." And this sentence indicates that Sam has the characteristics of a pig, which
will not bring any obstacles to both readers.
Connotative meaning refers to what is added to the conceptual meaning and varies
from culture to culture. But there are still words with same connotative meaning in
different languages, such as the “pig” mentioned above. This is the basis for the
correspondence of metaphors.
1.1.2 Pragmatically corresponding
Every metaphor is to fulfill its pragmatic purpose, “which is simultaneous, is to
appeal to the senses, to interest, to clarify ‘graphically’, to please, to delight, to
surprise.” (Newmark, 1988:104) Pragmatically corresponding Chinese metaphors and
English metaphors are mainly achieved when the conditions of the objects are implied
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For example:
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by nearly the same images in both languages.
You have become an aristocrat.
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你成贵族了
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The metaphor means not that " you personally has become an aristocrat", but that
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"your new status or conditions is like that of being an aristocrat". Here, "aristocrat"
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indicates "high status", which is the condition of the object—“you”, a condition which
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is similar in Chinese. They are pragmatically corresponding.
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Metaphors are accumulated over time in a nation’s store of cultural knowledge; they
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are intimately linked to the society’s experiences, feelings and thoughts. Therefore,
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although basically corresponding metaphors do exist in both languages, such overlaps
are rare between two cultures. The relations between the images in English metaphors
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and Chinese metaphors are, more often, partly corresponding or not corresponding.
1.2 Partly corresponding
Very often, the Chinese metaphors and the English metaphors use different images to
represent the same objects. Since language expresses culture, and metaphor is typical
of language, the images used in metaphors well indicate the characteristics of a certain
culture. The partly corresponding metaphors are associated with their connotative
meanings, and sometimes, reflected meanings.
1.2.1 Metaphors with partly corresponding connotative meanings
According to Ogden and Richards, the connotative meaning is endowed with cultures
and continuously changes as time passes. In metaphors, the connotative meaning
expresses the nature and characteristics of the object. But since different cultures have
diverged; therefore, such metaphors are only partly corresponding.
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different understandings of the same object, the images used in metaphors are
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狐狸" indicates "craftiness"(Wu Qianguang, 1988:137)
摘
For example, both "fox" and "
But the connotative meanings of them are not totally corresponding, besides
狐狸 "
also carries the connotative meaning of "distrustful" and
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"craftiness", "
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"fascinator", which is not part of the meanings of "fox". Thus this metaphor is
害群之马
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a black sheep--
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considered partly corresponding. There are other examples:
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Every privileged class tries at first to whitewash its black sheep; if they prove
incorrigible, they're kicked out.
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每个特权阶级对他内部的害群之马最初都是设法加以掩饰 要是怙恶不悛就踢出
去
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They don't like talking about their brother Dick, as he is the black sheep of the family,
he has been in prison twice.
他们不愿谈他们的兄弟狄克 因为他辱没门庭 蹲过两次监狱
(Chen Wenbo,
1982:173)
In Britain, many shepherds consider black sheep to be of less value than the white
ones, therefore the connotative meaning of "black sheep" is "a disgrace to the family
害群之马"
or community" or "unsatisfactory member", which is not exactly what "
means. And if we make a comparison between the two examples above, we can see
害群之马”, but in the
that, in the first sentence, “a black sheep” is equivalent to “
second one, the connotative meaning of "a black sheep" is not as derogatory as that of
the Chinese metaphor, so it is not translated as “
拦路虎
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lion in the way –
害群之马”.
Every time we try to sell this house there seems to be a lion in the way .
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每次我们想要卖这所房子似乎都有拦路虎似的
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If lions in the way thought they would have an easy job with Harold, they were
mistaken. Once his mind accepted its new orientation it would go on boldly.
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要是从中作梗的人认为他们能轻而易举地对付哈罗德那就错了 一旦他在思想上
接受了新的路子就会勇敢地走下去 (Chen Wenbo, 1982:147)
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This metaphor comes from The Bible, “The slothful man saith, “There is a lion in the
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way; a lion is in the street.” Many dictionaries define it as “imagery difficulties or
拦路虎”, but in the second one, the
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obstacles”, in the first sentence, it is similar to “
two metaphors are obviously in different connotative meanings. Here, “ a lion in the
困难” or
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way” is culture specific, therefore, in most situations, it is translated into “
障碍” rather than “拦路虎”.
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“
1.2.2 Metaphors with partly corresponding reflected meanings
Reflected meaning is the meaning that can arouse the reader’s association with some
ideas or signs. That is, when a word is uttered, the listener will immediately think of
something related.
Reflected meaning is influenced by culture, and must be analyzed through the cultural
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