《围城》中隐喻的翻译研究

论文总字数：27063字

摘 要

隐喻是文化与思维的混合物。钱钟书先生在其著作《围城》运用大量生动而幽默的隐喻，而其英译本也是尽可能保持了这些隐喻的原汁原味。本文旨在探究《围城》英译本中的隐喻翻译问题，隐喻不仅仅常见于各种文学作品，在日常生活中也频繁出现。而本文将隐喻定义为一种修辞手段而进行研究。

关键词：围城；隐喻；翻译；研究

Contents

1. Introduction 1

2. Literature Review 2

2.1Studies on metaphor in the West 2

2.2 Studies on metaphor in China 4

3. The Translation of Metaphor 5

3.1 Concepts of metaphor 5

3.2 Western studies of metaphor translation 6

3.3 Studies of metaphor translation in China 7

4.A Case Study-Metaphor Translation in Fortress Besieged 8

4.1Metaphor in names 8

4.2Metaphor in food 9

4.3Metaphor in emotion 10

4.4 Findings 11

5. Conclusion 11

Works Cited 13

1. Introduction

The Fortress Besieged, written by Qian Zhongshu in 1947, is a fantastic satiric novel in the history of Chinese modern and contemporary literature. This novel is popular of its story of love and for its vivid and interesting language. It has enthralled generations of readers with its humor, satire, profound and unique insights into human nature, A great number of metaphors used in this novel are another important feature，which these metaphors that make the novel so unique.

This novel is translated into a large amount of languages. The most well-known English version is translated by Jeanne Kelly, was published in 1979 by Indiana University Press. It achieved a great success immediately after the publication and was award “one of the most outstanding academic works.” by The American Books Association from 1980 to 1981. As translators, Nathan K.Mao and Jeanne Kelly are qualified. (Jeanne Kelly and Nathan K.Mao 8-9) They have enough knowledge of both English and Chinese. Many scholars regard it as a model to research metaphors and they apply different theories to the study on it. The translation of metaphors often faces the dilemma: to keep the original taste or to give a new but similar translation. Different scholars have different standpoints on the problem. This thesis will explore the translation of metaphor in name, food and emotion. Through such analysis, it can be said that the aim of this to look for an effective method for the translation of metaphor in The Fortress Besieged.

2. Literature Review

Metaphor has its origin in the Greek word ‘Metaphor’ meaning a transfer of meaning”a transfer of meaning. (Richard 64) It is a figure of speech containing an implied comparison, in which a word or phrase ordinarily and primarily used of one thing is utilized to the other and it is the most important role of speech. Aristotle’s metaphorical rhetoric has played profound and lasting influence on the western traditional metaphor theory. The core is: Metaphor is a kind of language phenomenon which has the function of modification. Aristotle’s famous thinks that metaphor is something that happens to be a noun or a name for something ,which conversion by meaning. Transformation relations occur in three aspects. They are from genus to species,from species to genus, from species to species. Aristotle’s interpretation of metaphor as the mechanism of rename and transfer is later developed into “comparison theory” which dominates the traditional study of metaphor.(Keysar,B 57)

2.1 Studies on metaphor in the West

Shu Dingfang has divided the studies on metaphor in the west into three periods. the period of rhetorical study on metaphor, the period of semantic study on metaphor and the period of interdisciplinary study on metaphor. (Shu 7-8）

The period of rhetorical study on metaphor lasts more than 2000 years from Aristotle in 300B.C. to Richards in 1930. In this period, metaphor is researcher mainly as a rhetorical phenomenon and is often treated as an “ostentatious ornament”(M 47)of languages. Aristotle was the first person who studied metaphor systematically, who made a lot of efforts in his classical works Poetic and Rhetoric talking about metaphor. Aristotle’s interpretation of the mechanism of transference is later developed into “comparison theory”. Which dominates the traditional study of metaphor. In terms of him , every metaphor compares two aspects, one of which is designated by a word or phrase used metaphorically and the other of which is designated by a word or phrase used literally. Moreover, a metaphor is an abbreviation of a simile. In this sense, metaphors and similes are the same in essence.For a metaphor “A is B”. it is to be seemed as A is like B as regards C.(Sun 11)

In the first century, the famous Roman rhetorician Quintillian proposed his “substitution theory”. Quintillian considers that metaphor in fact is a rhetorical phenomenon of using a word or an expression to replace another word or the other communicate. The substitution view makes some mildly modification of the comparison perspective. It interprets metaphor on the basis of the following formula: For the subject A, there can be both literal and metaphorical descriptions B and C, so that a metaphorical sentence “A is B” can be decreased to “A is C” in which C has replaced B.

The book The Philosophy of Rhetoric published by Richards in 1930. He puts forth two terms, tenor and vehicle, to make a distinction between the two elements of metaphor. The earlier term refers to the real meaning, and the latter is the way of saying it. The similarity between the tenor and the vehicles is called grounding. In the view of Richards, the meaning of metaphor is produced through the interaction between the tenor and the vehicle.

Later, Black developed and perfected the “interaction theory”(Richards 124)on the basic of Richard’s theory. Black introduces the two terms frame and focus, or the primary subject and the secondary of a metaphorical expression. The former is the literal remainder of the sentence and the latter refers to the metaphorical elements, the word or words used non-literally.

Thus, in the view of Richards and Black, metaphor is actually a meaning generating process in which the two subjects interact with each other. In addition, they also identify metaphor as a cognitive actually, whose understanding requires the creative response from a competent reader.

Since the 1970s, with the interest of philosophical explorations quickly turned to linguists, and also with the latest development of studies on semiotics and cognitive psychology beginning to bear fruit,philosophers alike began to shift their attention from the study of metaphor in the confinement of philosophy and rhetoric to a wider context of interdisciplinary study. In this period, there are some outstanding scholars, such as: George Lakoff and Mark Johnson who studied metaphor from the view of cognitive semantics.(Lakoff and Johnson 19)

From the above mentioned, we can say that metaphor is often seemed as including all types of trope except simile in the west.It could be understood as being a rhetorical device or a linguistic transference in the narrowest sense, and as a psychological activity of association in the broadest sense. A metaphorical unit can be as short as a word or phrase, and as a rhetorical device in this thesis because it is of vital importance in constructing the features in the literary work of Wei Cheng.

2.2 Studies on metaphor in China

In China, metaphor is often seemed as one of the two forms of biyu,with the other one being simile. Simile is an explicit comparison signaled by the words “like”or “as” while metaphor is an implicit comparison without being signaled by such words. (Hu 27-28) Moreover, according to Aristotle’s definition, metaphor and simile are essentially the same. So, directly speaking, the concept of metaphor in the west is more similar to that of biyu in China instead of those on metaphor. (Gu 16-17)

It should be noted that the history of the studies on biyu is very long in China, and it is even longer than that of the studies on metaphor in the west. The studies can be retrospected to the early Qin Dynasty, or even to the early days of the Spring and Autumn Period and the period of the Warring States. For instance, the Confusion classic Zhou Li first mentioned the techniques of “bi” ang “xing” (metaphor , analogy or trope) used in The Book of Songs.

During the Song Dynasty, the study on biyu got a big stride with the publication of Chen Kui’s Literary Norms. This was the first book on rhetoric in Chinese history. It marked the maturity of the study of classic Chinese rhetoric. (Hu 32-33）In the book, Chen Kui classified ten types of biyu and explained in details the characteristics of each type with abundant examples.

In the early 20^th century, especially after the May Fourth Movement, advanced intellectuals began to actively introduce new ideals and the latest development of science in the west to China.With this trend, the study on biyu began to incorporate the fruits of researches in the west and got further development. In 1932,Chen Wangdao’s A Genera Guide to Rhetoric was published. The event marked a breakthrough in the study of biyu and laid an initial ground for the research of modern rhetoric. Another important person who should be mentioned here for special contributions to the study of biyu in China is Yuan Hui.His book Trope, which was published in 1982, is an excellent work on biyu in China. Another important work on biyu around this time is The Analysis of Trope by Li Jizhong. This book spares no effect in trying to make a multi-layer description on biyu by using the principles of aesthetics, psycho linguistics,linguistic philology etc, that are borrowed from western scholars. In 2000, Shu Dingfang published Studies in Metaphor, in which thorough analysis and discussion are given on feature and working mechanism of metaphor.

Next, the author will make a further study on the translation of metaphor.

3. The Translation of Metaphor

In this section, the author will elaborate on studies of metaphor translation in the west and China.

3.1 Concepts of metaphor

Metaphor can be regarded as speaking of one thing in terms of another which it resembles. Both this “one thing” that is metaphorically described and that describing “another” thing have many names. For example, “tenor” and “vehicle” (Richards 64), “focus” and “frame”, “primary subject” and “secondary subject”, “object” and “image”, and “target domain” and “source domain” (Lakoff amp; Johnson) are used in connection with metaphors. Two components of metaphor come together to reach a point of similarity or resemblance (simile and metaphor), a point of representation (metonymy and synecdoche), a point of deduction (models), or a point of allusion, which illustrates the deep structure of human thinking—linking one thing with another. This thesis applies Lakoff’s “target domain”, “source domain” and “mapping”, with “target domain” referring to the conception which is described metaphorically, “source domain” referring to the experience the “target domain” is trying to cover, and “mapping” referring to the particular aspects of the “target domain” and the “source domain” which are overlapping.

To illustrate the mechanism of metaphor, this thesis introduces another concept: “montage.” A montage involves: (1) the juxtaposition of seemingly unrelated shots or scenes which, when combined, achieve meaning (as in, shot A and shot B together give rise to an third idea, which is then supported by shot C, and so on); or (2) a series of related shots which lead the viewer to a desired conclusion (as in, shot A leads to shot B leads to shot C... leads to shot X; shot X being the outcome of the sequence) 2. It is pointed out that metaphor is not just a rhetoric device, but rather a way of thinking. It functions in much the same way as “montage” functions in our mental world—linking different images together by both agreement and conflict to construct new images dynamically.

3.2 Western studies of metaphor translation

The plentiful definitions of metaphor give rise to the difficulty of the discussion and research on metaphor translation.The fields between literary criticism and rhetoric did translation theorists concentrate on metaphor. Besides, there was plentiful literature on metaphor concerning these fields. On the other hand, the translation of metaphor ,the Practice in particular ,was severely ignored by them.This topic was seldom discussed or even never mentioned by linguists and translation theorists in their published works.

It was not until 1976 that the topic was picked by Menachim Dagut named Can Metaphor be Translated. In terms of Dagut ,each metaphor used by us could be regarded as a personal temporary flash of creative insight or imagination. It can motivate a communicator’s sentimental and intellectual consciousness because it can negotiate the restricts of one language.

Compared with Raymond van de Broeck’s theoretical handing of the translation of metaphor, Peter Newmerk has a complete change which is more pragmatic.

Peter Newmark’s comment on the subject was initially used in Babel in 1980 as a short essay. It was expanded into a chapter by him in his book named Approaches to Translation(1981). In a Textbook of Translation Peter Newmark also gave a clear definition of metaphor. According to him, metaphor could be any forms of a figurative expression. For example, it can be the personification of an abstraction; the adaption of a word or implicature; the transferred meaning of an ordinary. Though his study of metaphor, Peter Newmark propose eight valuable procedures for the translation of metaphor , which are listed as follows: firstly, to reproduce the original image with the target language; secondly, to substitute the original image with a standard target language image; thirdly,to render a metaphor by means of a simile; fourthly, to translate a metaphor in terms of simile plus explanation; fifthly, to convert a metaphor into specific meanings; the sixth, to use the modification of a metaphor; the seventh, to delete the irrelevant parts; finally, to combine metaphor and sense together in order to reproduce the metaphor’s clear meanings.

3.3 Studies of metaphor translation in China

In China, the research about metaphor has never been independent. The Chinese term analogy covers not only metaphor, but also simile and loan metaphor as well. As both simile, loan metaphor operate in essentially the same way as metaphor in organizing our thinking, they are treated together in this thesis. (Liu 14-15)

Qian Zhongshu viewed metaphor as an essential feature of literary languages and made a special achievement for metaphor studies. His originalities lie in his view about metaphor’s “two handles and several sides”. As one of the Stoic philosophers observed, “Everything has two handles,” and people take hold of whichever suits their needs. Qian Zhongshu suggested that, when employed as a metaphor ,may be used positively as praise or negatively as censure a particular object or image, or it may be expressive of revulsion. “Several sides”can be seen by the metaphor’s qualities and capabilities are likely to be many. One thing is not restricted to one use or one effect. This is why a single image may fulfill several different purpose or meanings. He also invented conceits to define a indirect metaphor.

Next, the author will cite a case about the metaphor translation in Fortress Besieged.

4. A Case Study-Metaphor Translation in Fortress Besieged

In this chapter, a brief introduction about Wei Cheng and its English version Fortress Besieged will be presented. In addition, the author of the thesis will classify some examples to analyses metaphor’s translation.

4.1 Metaphor in names

The name in this novel are good examples of novel metaphors.Actually, the title of this novel is a metaphor. It comes from two foreign sayings; one is an English saying- “Marriage is just like a bird cage. The birds outside to break in while the birds inside hope to fly out”. The other one is French.Instead of a bird cage, it uses a Fortress Besieged as the vehicle.People who are outside the city plan to get in and those who are inside intend to escape.

According to the author, the besieged fortress is not merely a castle that has been encircled, but also a metaphor with profound meaning, which uncovers the nature of human beings as well as the philosophy of this book. Moreover, it reflects the morbid intellectuals’ attitude towards life. The fortress here stands for a marriage, which implies the moment one gets married, the moment one is trapped into this fortress. It also stands for the whole morbid society. In this society, the so-called intellectuals, such as Fang Hung-chien returning home from abroad hope to find a job and their true love. However, the result turns out to be nothing but continuous failures in job-hunting process as well as in their life experiences. All those beautiful and ambitious dreams come into nothing but foam. It also means the whole life. Life is a journey which is full of success and failure. During this journey, some people’s dreams are realized but they still feel lost, while others find it extremely difficult to accomplish their life goals. Their life is locked into a cage where they feel hard to breathe thus they endeavor to escape.

Instead of rendering it into “a surrounded city” or “an encircled city”,the translators use “Fortress Besieged”, which precisely reflects the author’s thought and feeling. This is a solid demonstration that the writer’s communicative intention is recognized in an all-round way. After the evaluation of the target readers’ cognitive ability, common sense, cognitive environment and their language features, they are quite clear that with some processing effort , target readers could figure out the metaphorical meaning implied there. In this instance,the optimal relevance is achieved.

4.2 Metaphor in food

A large various of novel metaphors are used in this novel by Qian, which is regarded as a remarkable feature of Qian’s writing style of these metaphors, food metaphors are extremely appealing to reader’s attention, because these foods used in metaphors are seen everywhere in China.Furthermore, the food metaphors add great vividness to the novel and leave a profound impression upon its readers. Now, the author of the thesis show you some examples selected from the novel.

E.g.鸿渐正待细看，辛楣出来了，急忙中穿的衣服，纽子还没有扣好，天气热，内心也许有点羞愧，脸涨红的有似番茄。

Hung-chien was just about to take a closer look when Hsien-mei came out, his clothes, thrown on in haste,remained unbuttoned. It was hot, and perhaps he may have feeling a little embarrassed, for his face was as red as a tomato.

It is not unusual for readers to see that young and beautiful girl’s faces are compared to a red rose, and a lovely baby’s face is always compared to a red apple. But we can see that in this sentence, Qian compares Hung-chein’s face to a red tomato. Although it seems awkward, the similarity should by the two things are apparent-the color is red and the shape is round. The novel metaphor is creative in that red rose and apples are broadly used as mentioned earlier. So, Qian creates the other thing to describe a man who is embarrassed as well as lovely and shy. Since tomatoes are commonly seen in both Chinese and foreign supermarkets, readers have no difficulty in figuring out the image Qian wants to transmit by this novel metaphor. Therefore, the best relevance is successfully achieved.

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