英語隱喻漢譯

前言：本站為你精心整理了英語隱喻漢譯范文，希望能為你的創(chuàng)作提供參考價(jià)值，我們的客服老師可以幫助你提供個(gè)性化的參考范文，歡迎咨詢。

[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】近年來，越來越多的學(xué)者對隱喻進(jìn)行了研究，在現(xiàn)代社會(huì)逐漸形成了一股“隱喻熱”。對隱喻的研究在國外已形成較為完整的體系，其中以GeorgeLakeoff和MarkJohnson的研究最具有代表性。國內(nèi)對隱喻的研究也主要受這兩個(gè)人的影響。而縱觀這些研究成果，我們不難發(fā)現(xiàn)，很少有對英語隱喻漢譯的研究，而且大多數(shù)傳統(tǒng)的理論家認(rèn)為隱喻僅僅是一種修辭格，屬于語言學(xué)的范疇。但是事實(shí)上，隱喻不僅是一種語言現(xiàn)象，也是一種文化現(xiàn)象、認(rèn)知現(xiàn)象。本論文克服了這些局限，試圖從中英文化差異的角度來研究英語隱喻的漢譯。整篇論文分為五個(gè)部分。第一部分是導(dǎo)入。該部分立足于認(rèn)為隱喻是一種文化和認(rèn)知現(xiàn)象這一新觀點(diǎn)，闡明了從文化角度對隱喻進(jìn)行研究的意義。第二部分重點(diǎn)分析了語言、文化與翻譯之間的密切關(guān)系。第三部分介紹了隱喻的一些要素，如隱喻的定義，特征及分類。第四部分根據(jù)不同的英漢對應(yīng)關(guān)系，著重闡述了英語隱喻的漢譯方法。最后一部分總結(jié)了此論文的一些要點(diǎn)。

【關(guān)鍵詞】隱喻；翻譯；文化差異；文化內(nèi)涵；對應(yīng)關(guān)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‘a(chǎn)complexwholewhichincludesknowledge,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“l(fā)ike”,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.

“別害怕，你們這些膽小如鼠的東西！”只聽得她用戲謔的口氣說道。

Inthisexample,“chickens”shouldnotbeliterallytranslatedinto“小雞”inChinese,becauseinwesternculture,“chicken”isoftenusedtorefertoacowardlyandfearfulperson.Thus,“膽小如鼠”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“雨后春筍般地”,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“問君能有幾多愁，恰似一江春水向東流”reflectsChina’sterrainishighinthewestandlowintheeast;andtheEnglishidiom“carrycoalstoNewcastle”(近乎做徒勞無功的事)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“朱門”,“朱衣”,“朱軒”.Inmoderntimes,peopleuse“分紅”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”(愛情是旅程).ThenEnglishsay“wecannotturnbacknow”;inChinese,thereisasimilarexpression:“我們再也回不去了”《十八春》（張愛玲）.However,theconnotationsofthesetwoexpressionsarecompletelyopposite.Intheformer,loveiscomparedtojourneymetaphorically,whichmeansthatloversmustovercomethedifficultiesinthelovejourneytogether,otherwisetheycannotmaintaintheirlove.Whattheexpressionemphasizesisthedeterminationthatloversstriveshoulderbyshoulder.Whileinthelatter,theexpressionimpliesthespeaker’sconfusion.Thoughtheloversregretfortheirdepartinglove,theycannotgobacklikebeforeanymore.[26]

Thirdly,somemetaphorshavehistoricalandculturalbackgrounds.InbothChineseandEnglish,therearemanyexpressionsimplyingrichhistoricalandculturalbackgroundsandproducevariousassociations.Forexample(5),inChinese,wesay“說曹操，曹操就到”,“暗渡陳倉”,“東施效顰”,“臥薪嘗膽”,“負(fù)荊請罪”,“四面楚歌”.Eachoftheseallusionsandidiomscontainsagreatdealofhistoricalandculturalinformation.WhileEnglishsay“meetone’sWaterloo”(慘遭失敗),“That’sallGreektome”(一竅不通).Thestoryof“meetone’sWaterloo”canbetrackedbacktoJune8,1815,whenthealliedforcesofBritainandGermanycrushedNapolean’stroopsinWaterloo,southofBelgium.Later,thisexpressioncanbeusedtodescribeanysituationwhenoneencountersatotaldefeat.

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

Fourthly,metaphorsgiveexpressiontopeople’swayofliving.ResearchesontheconnotativemeaningsofanimalsinChineseandEnglishculturesalsorevealtheimpactofmetaphoronpeople’sliving.Forexample(7),inChinese,weoftenencountersuchexpressionslike“像老黃牛一樣干活”,“氣壯如牛”,“鞭打快牛”etc.Whileifexpressingthesamemeaning,Englishwillsay“worklikeahorse”,“asstrongasahorse”,“flogawillinghorse”.WhyChineseandEnglishusetwodifferentimages?ItisbecausethatusuallyChineseusecattletoplow,whileEnglishhorses.CattleandhorsesrespectivelybecomethegoodhelperofChineseandEnglishinfarming,sothereareusagesaboutthemabove.[28]AndsincehorsesinancientChinaaremainlyusedforridingandwar,theassociativemeaningofhorseinChineseisthatitcanberiddenanditrunsfast,whichgivesrisetotheexpressionlike“馬上”,“馬到成功”and“一馬當(dāng)先”.

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

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

就資產(chǎn)階級(jí)維護(hù)對于工人的政治控制而言，兩黨制是資本家的寶貝。

Inthissentence,themetaphor“theappleoftheeye”(掌上明珠)comesfromTheOldTestamentoftheBible,“Hekepthimastheappleofhiseye.”(保護(hù)他如同保護(hù)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“臨時(shí)抱佛腳”,“道高一尺，魔高一丈”,“放下屠刀，立地成佛”,“做一天和尚，撞一天鐘”,“不看僧面看佛面”and“借花獻(xiàn)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一線希望

(10)Chainreaction連鎖反應(yīng)

(11)thewhiteterror白色恐怖

(12)coldwinds冷言冷語

Whileforthecomplexmetaphorswithahighdegreeofculturaloverlap,thisapproachisalsofeasible.

e.g.(13)togothroughfireandwater赴湯蹈火

(14)toheadawolfintothehouse引狼入室

(15)togivesomebodygreenlight給某人開綠燈

Alsosomesentenceswithmetaphorsaretranslatedbythisapproach.

e.g.(16)Lifeisajourney.人生是一種旅途。

(17)Alltheworld’sastage.(Shakespeare)整個(gè)世界是個(gè)舞臺(tái)。

(18)Thetreeoflibertymustberefreshedfromtimetotimewiththebloodofpatriotsandtyrants.Itisitsnaturalmanure.

自由之樹須常以愛國志士和暴君的血來澆灌，這些鮮血是自由之樹的天然肥料

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

e.g.(19)athunderofapplause雷鳴般的掌聲

(20)alionathome,amouseabroad在家如獅,在外如鼠

(21)Loveandcoughcannotbehid.愛情像咳嗽一樣是掩蓋不了的。

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

好的外科醫(yī)生必須有像鷹般的視力，獅子般的膽量和仕女般的巧手。

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落選的議員

(25)swansong最后的言行；最后的作品

(26)Betterbetheheadofadogthanthetailofalion.寧為雞頭,勿為牛后

(27)Everylifehasitsrosesandthorns.人生有苦有樂

(28)Moneymakesthemarego.有錢能使鬼推磨

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

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

看起來如此有希望的計(jì)劃,結(jié)果卻是一個(gè)帶來不幸的潘多拉盒子。

（30）Thedieiscast.骰子一出,大局已定。

(31)Alittlepotissoonhot.壺小易熱,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致命的弱點(diǎn)

(33)Loveme,lovemydog.愛屋及烏

(34)Homersometimesnods.智者千慮，必有一失

(35)Isupportedhimfromtheeggtotheapplesthoughheoncetoldmeoff.

雖然他曾責(zé)備過我，但是我自始至終支持他。

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

e.g.(36)Theshipisplowingthesea.船在乘風(fēng)破浪。

(37)Bythewinterof1942theirresistancetotheNaziterrorhadbecomeonlyashadow.(WinstonChurchill)

到了1942年冬季，他們對于納粹恐怖統(tǒng)治的抵抗已經(jīng)名存實(shí)亡了。

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

我有一個(gè)夢想，有一天，甚至那倍受屈辱和迫害的凄涼的密西西比州，也將改造成自由與公正的綠洲。

Inexample(38),theMississippiiscomparedtoadesertwhichformsasharpcontrastwithoasis.However,inthetranslation,thedesertisnottranslated,butreplacedby“凄涼的”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.

Bibliography

[1]王佐良.翻譯中的文化比較[M].北京：中國對外翻譯出版公司.2000，1P1

[2]劉國忠.隱喻與跨文化交際[J].安徽大學(xué)學(xué)報(bào)（哲學(xué)社會(huì)科學(xué)版），2003，5P121

[3]ZhangXiuguo.EnglishRhetoric.QinghuaUnversityPressandBeijingTranslationUnversityPress,2005P161

[4]HuShuzhong.EnglishRhetoric.ShanghaiForeignLanguageEducationPress,2001P175

[5]張建新.從文化角度看英語隱喻的漢譯[D].中國期刊網(wǎng).外交學(xué)院，2004P3

[6]毛榮貴.新世紀(jì)大學(xué)英漢翻譯研究[M].上海：上海交通大學(xué)出版社.2004P13

[7]DavidKatan.TranslationCultures:AnIntroductionforTranslators,InterpretersandMediators.ShanghaiForeignLanguageEducationPress,2004P16

[8]王振亞.語言與文化[M].北京：高等教育出版社.2004P10-14

[9]張治英.英語隱喻形成的社會(huì)文化背景及其翻譯[J].湖南商學(xué)院學(xué)報(bào)（雙月刊），1999，5P77

[10]同[9]P77

[11]王寧.文化研究語境下的翻譯研究[M].（載《文化與翻譯》）P24

[12]同[3]P161

[13]李鑫華.英語修辭格詳論[M].上海：上海外語教育出版社，2001P18

[14]同[13]P18

[15]同[4]P176

[16]周軼.英語隱喻及其漢譯[D].中國期刊網(wǎng).上海師范大學(xué),2004P2

[17]同[16]P1

[18]同[16]P1

[19]同[3]P161

[20]朱俊松，秦濤.形象化語言的譯法——論英語隱喻的可譯性和翻譯方法[J].華東船舶工業(yè)學(xué)院學(xué)報(bào)（社會(huì)科學(xué)版），2004，3P65

[21]同[9]P78

[22]李健.英漢語隱喻的跨文化對比及翻譯[J].青海師范大學(xué)出版社（哲學(xué)社會(huì)科學(xué)版），2002，2P131

[23]陳鳳.中英文化差異對漢英語言表達(dá)的影響[J].中國地質(zhì)大學(xué)學(xué)報(bào)（社會(huì)科學(xué)版），2001，1P43

[24]程同春.英語隱喻的思考與翻譯[J].中國科技翻譯，2005，2P39

[25]紀(jì)曉靜.漢英語中“紅”之隱喻對比分析[J].修辭學(xué)習(xí)，2003，4P48

[26]曲紅.中英文化中的愛情隱喻[J].株洲工學(xué)院學(xué)報(bào)，2002，5P51

[27]同[28]P44

[28]同[28]P44

[29]谷彥君.英語的社會(huì)文化背景與英語隱喻的形成[J].佳木斯大學(xué)社會(huì)科學(xué)學(xué)報(bào)，2002，1P51

[30]蔣榮豐.論英漢隱喻互譯中的對應(yīng)問題[J].江蘇教育學(xué)院學(xué)報(bào)，2004，6P114

[31]同[35]P114

[32]同[29]P38

[33]同[29]P38

[34]同[35]P114

[35]同[29]P38

[36]同[29]P38

[37]同[35]P114

[38]同[29]P40