双关语及其翻译

1、双关语及其翻译双关语及其翻译 双关语及其翻译 双关语及其翻译Abstract English pun is one of the important figures of speech, and it is widely used in various literary works, such as poems, novels, stories, advertisements and riddles, etc. Based on the definitions of English pun, this paper points out that homonyms, homophones, an

2、d homographs are available to construct puns. According to the characteristics and functions of their formation, Lv Xu divided English pun into three types, they are homophonic puns, homographic puns, puns on both pronunciation and meaning. English pun takes advantage of its distinctive features in

3、nature and tries to produce ambiguity on purpose in order to get the effect of aiming at a pigeon and shooting at a crow. English puns can achieve many effects: humor, satire, vivid expression of the characters feelings, which can increase the beauty of language and improve readability in order to a

4、ttract the readers interest. However, the translation of English pun is always considered to be extremely difficult. Many people even consider puns as “untranslatable. Since there is much difference between Chinese and English in phonology and morphology, it is difficult to find equivalence both in

5、sound and in meaning in the target language for a translator. But there is no source text that is absolutely untranslatable; the translation of puns is possible to a certain extent. This paper introduces 3 main types to translate English puns. They are literal translation, free translation, and anno

6、tated translation.Key Words English pun; classification; characteristics; function; translation【摘 要】 英语双关语是重要的修辞格之一,这种修辞格广泛运用于各种文学作品,如诗歌、小说、故事、广告及谜语中。本文在英语双关的定义根底上提出了同形同音异义词、同音异义词、同形异义词,这3种词可构成双关。并根据其构造成分所起的作用,再仔细地讨论了吕煦把英语双关主要分为三类:同音双关、同词双关、音义双关。英语双关利用其特有的本质特点,成心造成歧义,来到达言在此而意在彼的特殊效果。英语双关语的应用能起到一种诙谐幽

7、默,冷嘲热讽,形象生动的作用并能充分表达人物的性格特征,加强语言的美感,进步该作品的可读性来引起读者的兴趣。然而,英语双关语的翻译又是极其困难的,很多人甚至认为是不可译的,因为英汉两种语言的语音不同,两种语言的多义词并不能一一对应,但英语双关语还是存在一定的可译性。本文主要介绍3种主要翻译方法:直译法,意译法,注释法。【关键词】 英语双关语;分类;本质特点;作用;翻译1. IntroductionIn a certain context, a word or phrase that is relevant to two or more conceptions, ideas or feeling

8、s is often employed to make an expression more effective or humorous. This is achieved when there exists identity or similarity between certain words in such aspects as pronunciation, formation or meaning. This identity or similarity produces double meanings, which enables people to connect naturall

9、y the literal meaning with the implied meaning. Of these two meanings, the implied meaning is the principal part.This is what we call the use of pun. “The use of pun dates back to ancient days. Shakespeare favored pun particularly. It is estimated that there are about 3000 puns employed in Shakespea

10、res works 1. The employment of pun in English novels, poems, speeches, advertisements and riddles makes them highly readable and prompts people to appreciate the beauty of language. And the translation of English puns into Chinese enhances the charm of the original works and the understanding of the

11、 version.2. Definition and classification of puns2.1 Definition of punsLooking at the same issue from different perspectives, we may often come up with different definitions of the thing under discussion. And, not surprisingly, pun can be thus defined in many ways. There is such a humorous explanati

12、on about pun: “punning _x0013_ to torture one poor word ten thousand ways (John Dryden)2.In Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, pun is defined as “An amusing use of a word or phrase that has two meanings, or words with the same sound but different meanings3 . According to The Oxford English

13、Dictionary, pun is defined as “the use of word in such a way as to suggest two or more meanings or different associations, or the use of two or more words of the same or nearly the same sound with different meanings, so as to produce a humorous effect4. In Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetic

14、s, pun is defined as “A figure of speech depending upon a similarity of sound and a disparity of meaning5.From the above definitions, we can see that homonyms, homophones, and homographs all are available to construct puns with.2.1.1 HomonymsA homonym is a word that is identical to another word in p

15、ronunciation and spelling but not in meaning 6.For example:(1) Can: n. v. Put something in a containerCan: modal verbnb 双关语及其翻译 双关语及其翻译 双关语及其翻译sp; Be able to(2) Change: v. To become differentChange: n. Money in the form of coins(3) Bear: v. Sustain responsibility; endure difficulty, etcBear: n. A ki

16、nd of animal, having thick fur and walking on its soles(4) Book: n. A written or printed workBook: v. Engage (a seat etc.) in advance; make a reservation of A homophone is a word that is identical to another word in pronunciation but not in spelling and meaning.For example:(5) Bale: n. A large bundl

17、eBail: v. To remove water from a boat(6) Knew: v. Past of knowNew: adj. Of recent origin or arrival(7) Soul: n. Spiritual or immaterial part of man, held to survive deathSole: n. Lower surface of human or other foot(8) Pair: n. A set of two persons or things used together or regarded as a unitPear:

18、n. A yellowish or brownish-green fleshy fruit, tapering towards the stalk2.1.3 HomographsA homograph is a word that is identical to another word in spelling but not in pronunciation and meaning.For example:(9) Minute: n. Sixtieth part of an hourMinute: adj. Very small; trifling(10) Digest: v. To cha

19、nge food in the stomach into a form your body can useDigest: n. A short piece of writing that gives the most important facts from a book, report etc(11) Lead: v. Guide by the hand, direct movements ofLead: n. A kind of metal(12) Wind: n. Air in more or less rapid natural motionWind: v. Go in circula

20、r, spiral course2.2 Classification of English punsConcerning the classification of puns, different linguists have different standpoints. As He Shanfen states in “Contrastive Studies of English and Chinese-Languages, puns can be roughly divided into three kinds. They are named antalaclasis, paronomas

21、ia and syllepsis 7. Here the author uses two examples to explain the first two parts.Antalaclasis refers to a word used twice or more, but each time with a different meaning. For example:(13) To England will I steal and there Ill steal.The first “steal means “to go to England secretly without being

22、noticed, while the second “steal is used in its most commonly used meaning.Paronomasia is the use of two words, which are similar in pronunciation but different in meaning. For example:(14) Catch the Raincheetahs and cheat the rain.Here “raincheetahs is the brand name of the product. It is pronounce

23、d similarly to “raincheater which echoes to “cheat the rain.In “English Writing and Rhetoric written by Prof. WenJun, a more specific means of classification brings about five categories of puns 8 : homophonic pun,paronomasia, antalaclasis, Sylletic pun and asteimus.However, according to Li Xinhua,

24、in his work, “A Detailed Study of Figures of 2.2.1 Homophonic punsIt is the use of words with the same or similar pronunciation but different spellings and meanings. It also called phonetic puns, and phonetic pun is the basic form of English pun. In our daily communication, phonetic is the carrier o

25、f transferring information. According to psycholinguistics, speech communication is a process of psychological activities from encoding to decoding. When speakers employ the order of thinking-meaning-voice to transmit outside, it is called encoding; when listeners employ the order of voice-meaning-t

26、hinking to process and try to understand, it is called decoding. The inter-processing only relies on hearing, lacking visual sense, and it will cause ambiguity in understanding.For example:(15) “How is bread made?“I know that! Alice cried eagerly. “You take some flour“Where do you pick the flower? T

27、he white Queen asked. “In a garden or in the hedges?“Well, it isnt picked at all. Alice explained. “Its ground“How many acres of ground? said the white Queen.10(Lewis Carrol: Alices Adventures in Wonderland)In this example, “flower and “flour have the same pronunciation but quite different in meanin

28、g. The adoption of the homophonic pun makes the dialogue more vivid, humorous. Moreover, “ground can be understood as “solid surface of the earth, and also can be understood as “the past of grind.(16) Drunk drivers often put the quart before the hearse.Here, “quart is similar to “cart in sound, whil

29、e “hearse is similar to “horse. This sentence can construct homophonic pun by borrowing from the idiom “put the cart before the horse, which means “put or say things in the wrong order. This pun is driving at warning the addicting drivers that driving after drink is a kind of suicide.(17) “Waiter, t

30、heres a hair in my soup.“So sorry, sir. Did you order it without?“Hair here means “one of the fine thread-like strands that grow from the skin of people and animals, while the waiter understand it on purpose as “hare. “Hare means “an animal cooked as ordered food. The customer is complaining about t

31、he bad condition of the restaurant, but by using the homophonic pun, the waiter is being humorous to ease away the complaint.2.2.2 Homographic punsIt is the crafty use of the features of homonyms or polysemy to express the double meanings. Take the following as an example,(18) _x0013_ Some boys thin

32、k Im pretty and some boys think Im ugly. What do you think, Tom?- A bit of both.- What do you mean?- Pretty uglyAs an adjective, “pretty means “pleasing and attractive, therefore, the last sentence can be understood as “she is both attractive and ugly, while as an adverb, “pretty means “rather, fair

33、ly, so the sentence also means “she is very ugly. Tom employs the “pretty beautifully, it is a polysemy. And we can learn about the humor in the dialogue.(19) The clerk: Are you engaged?Augustus: What business is that of yours? However, if you will take the trouble to read the society papers for thi

34、s week, you will see that I am engaged to Honorable Lucy Popham, youngest daughter of _x0013_The clerk: That isnt what I mean. Can you see a female?Augustus: Of course. I can see a female as easily as a male. Do you suppose I am blind?The clerk: You dont seem to follow me; somehow, there is a female

35、 downstairs, what you might call a lady. She wants to know, can you see her if I let her up.11- G. B. Shaw Augustus Does His BitIn the play, two puns are employed. First, the phrase “be engaged in sth means “be occupied or busy; “be engaged to sb means “agreed to marry sb. Second, the verb “see is u

36、nderstood as “have an interview with sb; meet sb in the clerk, while Augustus interpret it as “whether he has the power of sight. “Are you engaged? here according to the clerk, he wants to ask Augustus whether he is busy or not? But Augustus understands it as “agreed to marry sb. We can learn from t

37、his dialogue sparkling with humorous and wit that Augustus is thinking about wome 双关语及其翻译 双关语及其翻译 双关语及其翻译n all day long.(20) The number of attorneys who die without a will is amazing.Even where there is no will, there is a way. 12The first “will means “statement, document; the second means “a person

38、s power can direct his thoughts or influence others.Michael Demarest uses this homographic pun to tell us the difference between chronic procrastination and purposeful postponement and make a great satire.2.2.3 Puns on both pronunciation and meaningThis kind of pun often embodies the special names o

39、f figures in the literary work. When the authors want to portray a person, they often employ this kind of pun to give the person a special name in order to reveal the figures character, behavior and fate. Lv Xu expounds this kind of pun with originality; he thinks that the use of this kind of pun ca

40、n be vivid in stressing the figure and portraying the character of the figure. Take the following as an example,(21) In Shakespeares “King Henry IV, Sir John Falstatff is not a character who thinks and acts in one or the same way. “In appearance, he is kind, noble, wit and brave, however, in fact, h

41、e is a selfish, coward, licentious and wicked man _x0013_ a truly false stuff 13. And the word “Falstatff is similar to “false stuff in pronunciation. Another example goes like this: In Gilbert Highets “The Philosopher and the Conqueror, this sentence “A titter broke out from the elegant Greeks, who

42、 were already beginning to make jokes about the cur that looked at the king.14 Here “the cur refers to Diogenes _x0013_the philosopher on one hand, Diogenes acted very rudely toward the great conqueror that everyone else respected and admired, and on the other hand, Diogenes is a cynic philosopher.

43、And the origin of the word “cur is the Greek word kunikos, meaning “a dog. So “cur is a typical feature of Diogene, and the image of Diogene is vivid to us. In R.B.Sheridans “The School for Scandal, Lady Sneerwell, Sir Benjamin Backbite and Captain Boastall are famous for their respective features:

44、Sneerwell does well in sneering, Benjamin Backbite usually spreads calumnious rumors behind ones back; and Captain Boastall likes to talk big.From the above examples, we can see the feature of this kind of pun is to use an objects traits to express the object itself. And this feature also can be fou

45、nd in another figure of speech _x0013_ metonymy. For example,(22) The boiled lobster walked into the office.Here “boiled lobster refers to Britain soldier, because Britain soldiers often wear red uniform.(23) Soapy stood still with his hands in his pockets and smiled at the sight of brass buttons.“B

46、rass buttons is one of the features of American cop uniform, so here it refers to police.The above analysis indicates that pun is in a certain extent connected with metonymy, about this point; Li Xinhuas point is good for understanding the interrelation. He thinks, “English pun belongs to the catego

47、ry of metonymy 15. Metonymy is a figure of speech that has to do with the substitution of the name of one thing for that of another, in essence, so does pun. Pun is the use of a word with same or similar pronunciation to express the different meanings, or the use of the same word to suggest differen

48、t meanings. In a word, no matter it is pronunciation or spelling, it always does with the substitution of the name of one thing for that of another. Therefore, “the substitution of the name of A for B is the common feature of pun and metonymy. However, we cant mix them up, because the formation of p

49、uns possesses the following two characteristics.3. Characteristics of English punThe formation of English pun needs two fundamental conditions: ambiguity anddouble context.3.1 AmbiguityThe first characteristic of a pun is that the focus of its meaning lies in its ambiguity. No matter whether they ar

50、e homophones or homographs, the speaker aims to achieve an ambiguity. Ambiguity can be divided into positive and passive ambiguity. Putting the word in the wrong place to cause ambiguity and impairing the effectiveness is called passive ambiguity, while using the polyseme on purpose to enhance the e

51、ffectiveness is called positive ambiguity. In our daily communication, we try to avoid the presence of ambiguity, but as for puns we deliberately create ambiguity. That is because the essence of a pun lies in its ambiguity. For example,(24) - What kind of money do girls like the most?- Matrimonywe m

52、ust admit that it is very difficult to translate the pun in this example into Chinese without 双关语及其翻译 双关语及其翻译 双关语及其翻译 losing its original flavor. However, it is a perfect example of puns in English. The ending element “mony of the word “Matrimony has the similar sound with that of the word “money, w

53、hich is considered as a homophonic pun. It is implied to us that girls expect to change their social and economic statuses through marriage. This pun is very humorous and ironic. Lets look at another example,(25) King: my cousin Hamlet, and my son How is it that the clouds still hang on you?Hamlet:

54、Not so, my lord, I am too much in the sun.16- Shakespeare, HamletHere “sun and “son have the same sound but ambiguity, Hamlet used this ambiguity skillfully to hint his complaining emotion in the indirect way. The king pretended to be intimate with Hamlet and call him “son, however, Hamlet responded

55、 that “I am too much in the sun. The surface meaning is that he dries in the sun for a long time, but actually, it suggests that Hamlet couldnt bear to be his uncles son any longer.Keep in mind that the central and basic phenomenon on which puns operates is ambiguity. A pun intentionally employs pho

56、nemic or semantic conditions to suggest one meaning on the surface while hiding another. We can find theoretical support for the ambiguity of puns. Li Xinhua maintains that language unit has both form and content, while there is not a one-to-one relationship between form and content, that is to say, one phonemic form does not signify one meaning,