On the Translation of Metaphor From the Difference of British and Chinese Culture1

1、从中英文化差异谈英语隐喻的汉译on the translation of metaphor from the difference of british and chinese culture【摘 要】 近年来，越来越多的学者对隐喻进行了研究，在现代社会逐渐形成了一股“隐喻热”。对隐喻的研究在国外已形成较为完整的体系，其中以george lakeoff 和mark johnson的研究最具有代表性。国内对隐喻的研究也主要受这两个人的影响。而纵观这些研究成果，我们不难发现，很少有对英语隐喻汉译的研究，而且大多数传统的理论家认为隐喻仅仅是一种修辞格，属于语言学的范畴。但是事实上，隐喻不仅是一种语言

2、现象，也是一种文化现象、认知现象。本论文克服了这些局限，试图从中英文化差异的角度来研究英语隐喻的汉译。整篇论文分为五个部分。第一部分是导入。该部分立足于认为隐喻是一种文化和认知现象这一新观点，阐明了从文化角度对隐喻进行研究的意义。第二部分重点分析了语言、文化与翻译之间的密切关系。第三部分介绍了隐喻的一些要素，如隐喻的定义，特征及分类。第四部分根据不同的英汉对应关系，简单介绍了英语隐喻的汉译方法。最后一部分总结了此论文的一些要点。【关键词】 隐喻；翻译；文化差异；文化内涵；对应关系abstract: in recent years, more and more scholars have mad

3、e researches on metaphor and an “upsurge of metaphor” has been formed gradually in modern society. the studies on metaphor in foreign countries have developed a complete system, which is typically represented by george lakeoff and mark johnson. and the two also influences the studies on metaphor in

4、china. however, if surveying these research achievements, we will easily find that few of them study the translation of metaphor from english into chinese. moreover, most traditional theorists believe that metaphor is only a figure of speech and belongs to the category of linguistics. but in fact, m

5、etaphor is not only a linguistic phenomenon, but also a cultural and cognitive phenomenon. this thesis breaks these restrictions and tries to research into the translation of metaphor from english into chinese from the perspective of cultural differences between chinese and english. the whole thesis

6、 is divided into five parts. the first part is an introduction. based on the new belief that metaphor is a cultural and cognitive phenomenon, this part states the significance of studying metaphor from the cultural perspective. the second part focuses on the analysis of the close interrelations betw

7、een language, culture and translation. the third part introduces some major factors about metaphor, such as its definitions and characteristics. the fourth part shows some example to the translation of metaphor from english into chinese in terms of different corresponding relations between chinese a

8、nd english. the last part summarizes the main points of this thesis.key words: metaphor; translation; cultural differences; cultural connotations; corresponding relation1. introduction on seeing the title of this thesis, the reader may easily find out three key words: translation, metaphor, and cult

9、ural differences. in the view of most people, metaphor belongs to the category of language, but as we know that language has very close connection with translation and culture. as professor wang zuoliang, a master of translation, pointed out, translation involves language as well as culture. 1 trans

10、lation is not merely a task of replacing one language with another, but also needs to have a good command of the two different cultures represented by the two different languages. when we concentrate on translation studies, we should attach great importance to both language and culture.over the past

11、 two decades, translation studies have assumed a sound momentum of advancement, and culture, as an indispensable factor in translation, becomes increasingly important. through thorough analysis, we can find that there are two tendencies in todays development of translation studies: firstly, translat

12、ion studies have been more and more integrated with communication theories; secondly, the focus of translation has been shifted from linguistic transfer to cultural transfer. based on these two tendencies, many scholars engaged in translation studies agree with the idea that translation is an act of

13、 intercultural communication.since translation involves two languages and two cultures, and in different cultural backgrounds, there are different languages. both chinese and english are great peoples with long history and rich cultural resources, and naturally colorful languages. metaphor, as a cat

14、egory of language, is a common linguistic phenomenon in both chinese and english, but metaphors in these two different cultural backgrounds have great differences. metaphor doesnt exist on the birth of human. with the advancement of human civilization, the linguistic competence of our ancestors had

15、been greatly strengthened. they gradually acquired the capability to express their ideas through association. in this way, metaphorone of the most important means of expression in human language came into being. as the foundation of mankinds conceptual system, metaphor is the common feature of human

16、 language. as far as translation theory is concerned, this paper adopts eugene a.nidas functional theory, i.e. “functional equivalence”: the response of the receptors to the translated message=the response of the original receptors to the message when it was given in its original setting. 2 from thi

17、s point, we know that for truly successful translation, biculturalism is as important as bilingualism, and even more important at times.2. language, culture and translation nobody will suspect the close interrelations between language and culture. a language may be a small but indispensable part of

18、a culture. the relation between language and culture is mutually cause and effect. they penetrate into each other and cannot exist without each other. on the other side, language is the important constituent of culture and it is also an essential tool for the reservation, communication and reflectio

19、n of culture. 3 just because of the close relation between language and culture, we have to pay attention to the cultural context when we research into language. according to linguistics, the origin of human language is always connected with the origin of human and human society. therefore, if we ne

20、ed to understand certain language and the laws of its development, we must closely relate it to the history of social development of this language and to the people using it and its history. the existence of culture cannot depart with its certain cultural context. 14 as for the relation between cult

21、ure and translation, the author has mentioned above. translation is, in essence, an act of intercultural communication, and the translation of language is the translation of culture. nida holds that both language and culture are symbolic systems, and translation is the interaction between these two

22、systems. thus, in translation we should not only focus on the literal meaning of words or sentences, but also pay special attention to their cultural connotations in certain cultural context. therefore, translation studies at least contain two types: in narrow sense it is literal translation, which

23、aims at turning the content in one language into another; in broad sense it is cultural translation, which explores in turning the cultural connotation in one language into another cultural form. 5 however, the acceptance of metaphor is usually incomplete, because it is limited by the diversity of c

24、ulture. as we know, different nations have different culture, and in different cultural context, metaphor is surely different. whats more thinking itself is metaphorical and metaphorical concepts constitute peoples values and thought patterns. therefore, how to deal with metaphor in translation is a

25、 pragmatic problem in translation studies. in the following chapter, the author is going to first introduce metaphor thoroughly.3. metaphora) definition of metaphor “the word metaphor derives from the greek word metaphora, which means transference, carrying over. it is a very common figure of speech

26、 in english.”6 metaphor, whose basic constituents are tenor, vehicle and ground, uses words to indicate something different from their literal meaning-one thing is described in terms of anaphor, different scholars and academic works give their different opinions. next the author is going to list som

27、e of them: (a) a figure of speech containing another so as to suggest a likeness or analogy between them. on the definition of met implied comparison, in which a word or phrase ordinarily and primarily used of one thing is applied to another. (websters new world dictionary)7 (b) a figure of speech i

28、n which one thing is described in terms of another. a comparison is usually implicit， whereas in simile it is explicit. (a dictionary of literal terms)8 (c) the use of one reference to a group of things that are related in a particular way in order to discover a similar relation in another group. (i

29、.a.richards, 1936: 89-90, the philosophy of rhetoric)9 (d) the figure of speech in which a name or descriptive term is transferred to some object different from, but analogous to, that to which it is properly applicable; an instance of this, a metaphorical expression. (oxford english dictionary, sec

30、ond edition, 2002) each of the above-quoted definitions points out more or less the essence of metaphor. the common feature of these definitions is that all of them think that metaphor is a figure of speech, containing an implicit comparison. among the four definitions of metaphor, the first is very

31、 concise; the second makes a contrast between simile and metaphor to point out the fundamental difference between these two rhetorical devices; the third points out that in metaphor, the tenor and the vehicle are related through their similarity in a particular way; the fourth is abstract for it pro

32、vides no concrete examples to help the reader better understand the notion it intends to convey. but this thesis is mainly based on the view of george lakeoff and mark johnson. “they claim in metaphors we live by, metaphor is pervasive in everyday life, not just in language but in thought and action

33、. they point out, our ordinary conceptual system, in terms of which we both think and act, is fundamentally metaphorical in nature.”10 this point of view is very consistent with i.a.richards “metaphor is omnipresent principle of language” mentioned in introduction.b) characteristics of metaphor from

34、 the seven definitions on metaphor above and according to our knowledge of metaphor, we may conclude that metaphor possesses at least the following four characteristics:(a) unlike simile, metaphor doesnt contain such linking words, as “as” and “like”, so the comparison is implicit rather than explic

35、it.(b) in a metaphor, the tenor is compared to the vehicle because they share an abstract quality, which functions as a tie connecting the two together. in other words, the tenor and the vehicle possess a similar abstract feature or quality, which serves as the basis of their comparison.(c) the teno

36、r and vehicle are by nature different from each other, though they possess something abstract in common on which their comparison is based.(d) the vehicle in a metaphor creates a specific image, which is usually vivid and impressive. by comparing the tenor to the vehicle, we not only get a concrete

37、image of the tenor but also make its typical quality or feature stand out.to sum up, the author would rather believe that metaphor is not just a matter of language, a figure of speech, which implies a resemblance between one object and another, but a cognitive mode from the perspective of cognitive

38、linguistics, which helps people understand the world. so far as now, this thesis has thoroughly illustrated some major factors of metaphor. in the next part, the author will pay special attention to discuss the translation of metaphor from english to chinese from the perspective of cultural differen

39、ces between chinese and english.4. cultural translation of metaphor as we have discussed above, metaphor is not only a matter of words, but also a kind of cognitive mode. thus, it is not enough to explore the translatability of metaphor only from the perspective of linguistics, but also from other p

40、erspectives. “culture is the most important one of them in that in metaphors, the semantic ingredients restricted by context can stimulate readers to associate others, especially certain major definitional ones, which can shape an image in readers mind, then make the imparted information more clear

41、and vivid.”11 whether a metaphor is “translatable” (i.e. whether literal translation could create identical dimensions), how difficult it is to translate, how it can be translated and whether it should be translated at all cannot be decided by a set of abstract rules, but must depend on the structur

42、e and function of the particular metaphor within the text concerned. the translatability of any given source language metaphor depends on two factors: one is particular cultural experiences and semantic association exploited by it; the other is the extent to which these can, or cannot, be reproduced

43、 non-anomalously in target language, depending on the degree of “overlap” in each particular case. lets look at an example:(1) “dont be scared, chickens!” came her voice with teasing gaiety.“别害怕，你们这些胆小如鼠的东西！”只听得她用戏谑的口气说道。in this example, “chickens” should not be literally translated into “小鸡” in chi

44、nese, because in western culture, “chicken” is often used to refer to a cowardly and fearful person. thus, “胆小如鼠” is a better translation. different climates also play a very important role in the use of metaphor. in the eye of chinese, summer is an uncomfortable season when the blazing sun bakes th

45、e earth all the time but sometimes it suddenly rains heavily without any notice. so when seeing the metaphor “shall i compare thee to a summers day? thou are more lovely and more temperate.” in shakespeares 18th sonnet to praise his friend, most chinese may feel confused. it is very hard for us to c

46、onnect the summer with a good friend. at this time, we need to make researches on the climate of britain. britain lies in the northern temperate zone and is near to the atlantic ocean, so it has an oceanic climate and its summer is warm but never hot. in the mind of english, the summer is the most p

47、leasant season to live in, which forms sharp contrast with the continental climate decided by the location of china. 12 therefore, there is no doubt that the same wind triggers different associations in chinese and english. besides climate, terrain and species of animals and plants, distribution of

48、mineral deposits is an important factor for us to consider in terms of geological conditions. the ancient poem “问君能有几多愁，恰似一江春水向东流” reflects chinese terrain is high in the west and low in the east; and the english idiom “carry coals to newcastle” (近乎做徒劳无功的事) arises from the background that newcastle

49、is an industrial city in england northeast, famous for coal exportation.13secondly, metaphors reflect traditional culture and values. people in different nations have different ways of life, thinking, culture and mentalities. as shown above, metaphor and culture have close relations. through metapho

50、r, people can well understand the objective world. and metaphor, to some extent, reflects and determines the shaping of a nations culture and values. it is because that when people make metaphors on certain images, their views of culture and values must be manifested in these metaphors consciously o

51、r unconsciously. for example, in chinese culture the pine, the bamboo and the plum are called three gentlemen in winter. thats because the three of them can survive the extremely cold winter and remain vital. for chinese, they represent a noble spirit. while in english culture, they are just three c

52、ommon plants and cannot give people any association.besides, because of traditional cultural differences, metaphors on love in chinese and english are entirely different. for example：(2) in both chinese and english, there is a metaphorical concept“love is a journey”(爱情是旅程). then english say “we cann

53、ot turn back now”; in chinese, there is a similar expression: “我们再也回不去了”十八春（张爱玲）. however, the connotations of these two expressions are completely opposite. in the former, love is compared to journey metaphorically, which means that lovers must overcome the difficulties in the love journey together

54、, otherwise they cannot maintain their love. what the expression emphasizes is the determination that lovers strive shoulder by shoulder. while in the latter, the expression implies the speakers confusion. though the lovers regret for their departing love, they cannot go back like before any more.th

55、irdly, some metaphors have historical and cultural backgrounds. in both chinese and english, there are many expressions implying rich historical and cultural backgrounds and produce various associations. for example：(3) in chinese, we say “说曹操，曹操就到”, “暗渡陈仓”, “东施效颦”, “卧薪尝胆”, “负荆请罪”, “四面楚歌”. each of t

56、hese allusions and idioms contains a great deal of historical and cultural information. while english say “meet ones waterloo” (惨遭失败), “ thats all greek to me” (一窍不通). the story of “meet ones waterloo” can be tracked back to june8, 1815, when the allied forces of britain and germany crushed napoleon

57、s troops in waterloo, south of belgium. later, this expression can be used to describe any situation when one encounters a total defeat. english historical allusions mostly originated from greek myth. for example： (4) as long as we say “银河”, “天河”, we will associate the folk story about that the alta

58、r and the vega meet on over this gutter. while english will call “the milky way”, which comes from the greek myth. it refers to both the road formed by the dripping milk when queen hera fed hercules, a warrior with great strength, and a milky road from the human world into the palace in the universe

59、.5. conclusion based on the belief that metaphor is not only a linguistic phenomenon, but also a cognitive mode, the main idea of the thesis is to talk about the translation of metaphors from english into chinese from the perspective of cultural differences between chinese and english. for this purpose, the body of this thesis i