柯强论文初稿范文.doc

柯强论文初稿范文 Cultural MetaphorIn Translation-On Cultural Metaphor inTwo English Versions ofTwelve songsin A Dream of Red MansionsBW0802柯强I.Introduction:In the translation of poetry,you willfind its difficultto do the translation of metaphorcause metaphor is alwaysassociated withculture,while differentcountries havetotally different cultures which are an obstacle forthe understanding of thepoetry,whats morethe culture and themain ideaare usually implied in the metaphor,so it is noeasy to do the translation of the metaphor.As weall knowthat the Chinese classiovel A Dream InRed Mansions which is the topof Chineseclassical fictionshas extremelyrich implications,during that the twelvesons arealways thefocus of the research.With boundlessmetaphors,the twelve songs can be regardas thetreasure chestof cultures.So it is difficultto express the cultural connotations impliedin the metaphor of these songs.This paperchoose twodiversions which are Yanghsien-yi andDavid Hawkstranslation of the twelvesongs todo theparation in aspect of cultural metaphor and todo theanalyse tojudge whichone canempress theimplicit meaningbetter.Before wedo theanalyse,we musthave afull knowledgeof the metaphor,such aswhat ismetaphor andwhatstherelationship between culture and metaphor and so on.II.Metaphor andculture:2.1What ismetaphor Priorto answeringthe question，I mustmention someof itshistoryThe Englishwordmetaphorderives fromGreek wordmetaphorait isposed by“metaand“pherein”which hasrespective meaningas“overand“to carry”Hence the original meaning of“metaphorawasto caryover”Aristotle，perhaps thefirst scholarto definemetaphor,argues“Metaphor is the applicationto ohing of a namebelonging to another thing”However,this version of definitionis onlyconfined to the subjectof rhetoricwhile metaphornowadays isno longerconsidered asonly connectedto literatureclasses，rather,it isomnipresentBrown (1976)，a specialistin thesociology of art，notes thatmetaphors provide a perspective on knowledgejust asscientific paradigmsprovideaperspectiveon theoretical knowledgeSome otherfamous sentencesare asfollows“To knowis to use metaphor”-Friquegnon“The wholeof natureis ametaphor of the humanmind-Emerson“Metaphor was the beginningof wisdomthe earliestscientific method一CDay-Lewis Amongthe innumerabledefinitions of metaphor inrecent years，the onepresented byLakof(in Ortony,1993203)is quitenotableHe holdsthe senseof metaphoras across-domain mapping(跨域映射)，a way of thinkingFor instance，“loveand“warare twopletely different“domains”，but we can usewords usedtodepict warto describeloveHence，we have the metaphor“He winsher overin thegame oflove”1Metaphor is a kind of language behaviour.In termsof rhetoric,metaphor isa kind of figureof speechand also a kind of languagewhich talk about onecertain thing implied by another thing.The phrasetalk aboutrefers that the metaphor isa kind of languagebehaviour,thethingcan referany objector stateof affairs.Imply meansthatthe metaphor is not onlyobjective but also subjective.Furthermore metaphor is also a kind of psychological behaviour whichpeople canhave ageneral ideaof a kind ofcertain objectby have a knowledgeof another kind ofobject.Take marriagefor example,marriage isa magicianwho canchange thecold houseinto anice andwarm home,marriage isa Satan Clause,he isalways giveus anunexpected gift,such as a child,marriage isa judgewho sentencea partyto lifeimprisonment while the otherparty withno doubtbecame thecaretaker.By meansof andthrough adifferent kind of thing-such asmagician,SatanClauseand judgewhich have been mentionedabove,people try to perceive,experience,imagine,understand andtalk about anther kindof thing,the marriage.This is not onlya languagebehaviour but also apsychological behaviour.2And ineyes ofwordsworth,shelley andColeridge,metaphor,as thekey ponentof language,isnotthe ornamentsoflanguagebut an important formfor humanbeing toexperience the world,even away ofthinking.From thenon,people do not thinkthe metaphora kindof figureof speech,butapsychological orspiritual behaviour.Metaphor isa kindof mentalactivity orakindof spiritualactivity whichone feels,experiences,imagines,talks aboutone kindof thingbyanotherkindof things as the basis.In G.Lakoff andM.Johnsons bookMetaphor WeLive Bythe metaphorexists hereand thereeither inlanguage ormind.Indeed wehuman beingsconceptual systemis basedon the metaphor.Susan.Sontag evensaid that“without metaphor,one byno meanscan do the thinking.”Also,Nietzsche saidthat“No metaphor,no realexpression andknowing”.3Ji Guangmaothink thatmetaphor isa culture behaviour whichtrytograsp thiskindof thingimplied by thatkindofthing.Heregraspmeans feel,experience,imagine,talkabout and so on.While theculturebehaviourmeans the metaphorisnot onlythe languagebehaviour but also thepsychologicalbehaviour.In fact,metaphorisfirstly expressedas alanguage phenomenon,but itimplies amore profoundpsychological phenomenon,while anypsychological phenomenaare indeeda culturalphenomenon.In termsof theprocess,metaphor performthe linkbetween two types ofthings,and generatea newmeaning in the linkof these twotypes ofthings,whether thelink isovertly orcovertly.It isworth notingthatthereason whysuch thingscan befelt,experienced,imagined,understood andtalked abouton the basis thatimpliedbyanotherkindofthingis thatsuch thingsand anotherkindofthing linkwith each other in different ways,whether theway istraditional ormodern,customary orcreative,social orpersonal,realistic orimaginary.The natureof thelinks betweenthe twotypesofthings determihe natureand the formation of metaphor.42.2The cultureandmetaphorCulture isdefined suinctlyas thetotality ofbeliefs andpractices ofa society;nothing isof greaterstrategic importancethan the language throughwhich itsbeliefs areexpressed andtransmitted andby whichmost interactionof itsmembers takesplace.Sinceno languagecan existunless it is steppedin thecontext of culture whichdoes nothave atits center,the structureof thenatural language,the metaphoricalaount must be inconjunction withother socio-cultural factors.5British linguistLyons Johnonce said:The languageof oneparticular societyis anintegral part of socialculture.The differences of usingwords of thelanguagewill reflectthe importantfeatures ofsocial things,customs andvarious activitiesonthe cultural aspect.(Lyons,John,Sem antics,1968).Language andculture aremutual interdependentand inseparable.There isno languagein the world canlive withoutspecific culture,any language is filledof tracesof humancultural activities,which notonly reflectsthe nations natural environment,history,customs,traditions andcustoms,butalso the nations religiousbeliefs,culture,mentality,wayofthinking,values and soon.Metaphor,as atypical linguisticphenomenon,which existswidely in various languagesdefinitely hasthe cultural imprint of the certainsociety andpossess richand vividnational cultureconnotation,and is the closesttied part of thelanguage and cultural.Cultural differencesrefers theformation ofdifferencesofpeople onlanguage,knowledge,outlook of life,values,ways ofthinking,customs andother aspectswho live indifferentecological andnaturalenvironment.Different ethnicgroups whichlivein their ownliving environmentwill createtheir ownunique culturalsystem,and atthe sametime thesegroups are also shapedby theirculture.?People ofall nationalitieslive togetherin thisworld,so something such as factorsof physical,cognitive andothers has isomorphism witha certaindegree,So withlong timedevelopment,themetaphorin everynational languagehave beenblending witheachother.But themetaphor ofa certainculture isalso restricted by collectiveexperience orculture of the ethicwhile hasthe characteristicof thisethic.As forEnglish and Chinese,because the two greatnations have great differencein historicaland culturaltraditions,economic andsocial life,customs,and alsobecause of the people of twonations havedifferent waysto generalizeobjective things,so Metaphor in EnglishandChineseshows manydifferences.62.3CulturalMetaphorThe cultural metaphor refersthe activities,customs,phenomenons ofwhich the whole peopleofacountry,a nationmaybe the cultural populationsinliving in a sameregion(such asScandinaviaand people)do agreeand recognizeboth emotionallyand psychologicallyto makeactive response.Very responseto anyactivity,phenomenon ortraditional practices,such asthe olivesball gameof UnitedStates,the GreatWall of China,French wine,Spanish bullfighting,Italy Leeopera(Gannons,xx).Cultural metaphorcan beroughly divided into fourstages:first,Analysis of the nationalcontext.Immersed in the history,society,customs ofa particularcountry aslong aspossible,second,to identify the culturalmetaphors.Find andidentifythecustoms,phenomena oractivities whichthe wholepeopleof this countrydo agree.Third,dotheresearch onmetaphor.Analysis andidentify theirmain features,in order to depictand reflectthe national cultural identitywhich includingvalues,attitudes andbehaviours.This stageof thestudy shouldbe basedon Halland Hall (1990),Hofstede (1980),Hluckhohn andStrodtbecks (1961)cultural dimensionsframework.Metaphors functionis toexpand thevision ofresearchers toinclude othersocial basiharacteristics.The analysisshould includepolitical,economic,social processwhich aretheculturaldeterminants,in order to reflectthe thinkingof thenationalculturaltendencies.Last and the mostimportant stepis toverify thevalidity ofeach culturalmetaphors and their characteristics.72.4The metaphor translation Translation is anactivity whichinvolves multi-culture.Translationisalsoacross-cultural municationactivity whichinvolves linguisticrules ofmulti-disciplinary knowledgesuch ascultural sense,aesthetic tasteandsoon.The translation of metaphorcontains the understanding process of differentactors towarddifferent socialculture So the understandingand expressionofmetaphor translation isrestrictedby the translatorsand readers socialculture tIn theprocessofmetaphor translation,the purposeof understandingis to get theprimitive meaningand thecultural informationcontained in themetaphor,so the translation can not beseparated from theoriginalculture.The expressprocess mustfollow theusing rulesof targetlanguage andexpress the meaning oforiginal languageappropriately andaurately,therefore theprocess canno beavoid tohave connectionwith therelated cultures.So metaphortranslation is the dialoguebetweencultureand culturaland isalso thecross-cultural munication.As ametaphortranslationintermediary,the translatorsmustbefamiliar withtwo cultures:their owncultureand the Chineseculture.Only in this waycan thetranslation befluent andfaithful.The translation is anintegration ofdifferentcultures,if leavingthe socialandculturalbackground,translation cannot begood.And ignoretheculturalmeaning of themetaphormay leadto thelose anddistort of cultural image.Chinese andwestern socialcultures playsanimportantrole in the auratetranslationofmetaphor.8.Interpretation of the twelvesongs3.1Shi Shi(traditional Chinese:詩;simplified Chinese:诗;pinyin:sh;Wade-Giles:shih)is theChinese wordforpoetryorpoem,anciently associatedwith Chinese poetry.In moderntimes,shi canand has been used as anumbrella termto mean poetry in any formor language,whether ornot Chinese;but,it mayimply orbe usedto refercertain classicalforms ofpoetry,for examplethe folksong derivedpoetry of the Classicof Shi(Shijing,詩經/诗经),the classicreference ofshi.The poetry ofChina has tendedto beespecially associatedin theEurope andAmerica with the writtenword,the exposureto Europeansand Americansof whatto themwere andoften arethe novelimplications expressedor latentin Chinese characters and the exquisitebeauty displayedby someexamples of Chinese calligraphy,including oftenthe writingofpoetry(shi).Often,the transmissionof theseaspects of Chinese wasindirectly throughJapanese adaptationsofChinesepoetry forms,such askanshi,or writing,particularly kanji:one exampleof this is ErnestFenollosa.The unfoldingof thishistorical processhas resultedinanundue associationin thewest ofChinesepoetry and writtenliterature,especially theChinesecharacter.This hasnot beenthe casein China.Although historicallyand culturally,in Chinaliterature andliteracy hasa closeassociation withpoetryand the abilityto writeand tochant poemswas forlong consideredan essentialpartofbeing scholar,poetry inChinahasalways hada closeassociation with the spoken,or sung,or chantedword(詩歌/诗歌).Thus whileshi canmeanpoetry,it canalso meansong orode.In fact,the folkpoetryof the illiteratemasses,often in theform of songsor ballads,havebeenan abidinginfluence uponthe shiof theliterati,who oftenreworked thesepoems oradapted theirstyles,asis the case,for examplewith theShijing,the Songsof Chu(Chuci)andthewhole Cigenre.Indeed,shican bedividedintomany categories,suchasBiblical Psalms(聖經),Classical Chinesepoetry(中國古典詩歌/中国古典诗歌),knight-errant poetry(詩俠);andso,in short,shi todaybasically overlaps withthetermpoetry.93.2Interpretation of A Dream of Red Mansions AmongtheChineseclassics,ADream of Red Mansions hasbeen mostwidely read and studiedbythegeneral publicand scholarssince the later partof the18th century.This workvividly andrealistically unveilsa pureworld ofthat dynasty.Besides itsmythical beginning,more than400human characterse tolife in the Jiapalace throughoutthe one hundred andtwenty chaptersofthisbook.The authorCao Xue-qin was born in the earlypartof the18th centuryduring theperiod ofEmperor KongXi and died in the Chingdynasty.Historical researchreveals thatthe personalexperiences of the authorwere strikingsimilar to the eventssetting ofthis novel.As thetime goesby,this novelhasbeentranslated intomore thantwenty languageswith overonehundredtranslation versions,and beenreadandloved bymillions ofpeople fromall walksof lifeall aroundtheworld.It especiallyappealsto youngpeople because the entireantagonist inthe storyis youngas well.There aresix Englishtranslation versions.Four of them aretranslations ofselected chaptersand onlytwo areplete versions.In thisbook eventhose chambermaidswith ratherlow socialstatus aregiven distinctiveand unforgettablepersonalities,besides them,the poemsof thesecharacters areworth mentioning.The authors literaryfeats enablehim toweave poetryby presentingtheir innerwoes andshadowing the future developmentsoftheplot aswell asthe fate ofthebooks characters.This bookcould alsoenable theEnglish readerstogeta deepunderstandingofthe riseand declineofaprominentfamily witha freshimpression ofold Chineseculture ofthat time.103.3Interpretation ofthe fortunesofthe twelve beauties（收尾飞鸟各投林）为官的，家业凋零；富贵的，金银散尽；有恩的，死里逃生；无情的，分明报应；欠命的，命已还；欠泪的，泪已尽。 冤冤相报实非轻，分离聚合皆前定。 欲知命短问前生，老来富贵也真侥幸。 看破的，遁入空门；痴迷的，枉送了性命。 好一似食尽鸟投林，落了片白茫茫大地真干净！This is the lastsong ofthe twelve,it isalso can be regardasthepicture oflife anddestiny ofthe twelve beauties in JinLin.From the song,we canhave afull knowledgeofthefortunes,characters,experiences of these beauties.为官的，家业凋零;富贵的，金银散尽,we cansee itdescribe thedeclining fateof Jiaand Xue,these twobig familieswhich wereindeed everywherefamilies andhad wealth.When familiesbegan todecline,the peopleofthefamilies areno doubtwill sufferfrom it.有恩的，死里逃生,implicates thefateofQiaoJie whois thedaughter ofWangxifeng andget helpfortunately fromthe villagewoman GrannyLiu afterbeing abductedby hisuncle.无情的，分明报应tell usthat Miaoyuwho bee a Taoistpriest finallycant holdher chastityfor savingBaoyu.欠命的，命已还:欠泪的，泪已尽。 whicharethe portraitof Yinchunand Daiyu,one isbeen marriedtoaimperious manas payinga debtand istortured todeath,the otherswept hersad tearstill todeath forwaiting hersweetheart Baoyu.老来富贵真侥幸actually saysthat Liwans sonJialan beea Jurenand revivethe possessionsas anofffical.看破的，遁入空门；痴迷的，枉送了好性命,tell usYinchun seethrough thevanity ofthis lifeand turnto bea buddhistnun inthe end,and Wangxifengrefuse toe toher senses,like afox knowto muchthat howhe losthis tailsanddiedinthejail.All inall,no matterthe wealth,the fame,the grudge,are allturn intoempty.We cansee thegreat tragedyofthe twelvebeauties.On CulturalMetaphorinthe TwoEnglish Versionsof ADream of Red Mansions4.1The twoplete Englishversions ofADream ofRed Mansions ADream ofRed Mansionsis oneplete Englishversion translated by Yang HsienYi andGladys Yang.They werepublished byForeign LanguagePress,Beijing,China in1978in threevolumes.The otherplete Englishversion isThe StoryoftheStone,because thehero ofthis novelwasbornholding aprecious stonein hismouth asthe humanformofthe discardethereal stone.The wholebook ofthis versionconcludes fivevolumes,andthefirst threevolumes were translatedbyDavid Hawkes,published in1973,1977and1980respectively.The lasttwo volumes,which containedthe lastforty chapters,weretranslatedby JohnMinford,the son-in-law ofDavid Hawkes,and werepublished in1982and1986separately.These twoversions arepreferred asthe mostpopular Englishversions,and atthe sametime remainastheonly twopletetranslations aswell.4.2Comparison of these twoversions onculturalmetaphor4.2.1On rhetoricsidePun Pun,this traditionalfi gureo fsp eechinrh etoricisc onsideerdtob ethes uperiorand artisticuse oflanguage.It letsone languageunit beardouble meanings-the surfaceone andthe connotationone.Its distinctiveform andfeature letthis figureof speechcould getspecial expressiveeffects.11There arealso manypuns inthe songs,like三春争及初春景,将那三春勘破,the三春means the different periodof springliterally,but italso refersthe threeyoung ladiesinthebook,who areTanchun,Yuanchun andXichun.Others like湘江水逝楚云飞,the character湘and云are onfact the name ofXiangyun.偶因济刘氏，巧得遇恩人,in thissong,the word巧has double meaning,one isto describe the luckof Qiaojiewho gethelp froma oldwoman,the othermeaning isthat isalso the name ofQiaojie.Another exampleisthe song of桃李春风结子完,到头谁似一盆兰,the word李and桃do notonly indicatetwo kinds of fruits,butalso the nameof Liwan,andtheword子also havedouble meaning,one isthesonof Liwan,the otheristhegains ofthetwo kinds offru