A facial makeup in Peking Opera

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A facial makeup in Peking Opera
But dont worry, he is not going to give you this
presentation.
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A Metaphor-awareness Approach to the Teaching of
Translation
Zinan Ye
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• 1.Language is fundamentally metaphorical
• 2.Why do people use metaphor?
• 3.Universality of conceptual metaphor
• 4. Universal aspect of metaphor and
  translation
• 5. Weighing the significance of metaphor
• 6.Core meaning and mental picture
  formation
• 7. Conclusion

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• 1.Language is fundamentally metaphorical

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• The traditional view
• 1. Metaphor is for most people a device of
  poetic imagination and the rhetorical flourish -
  a matter of extraordinary rather than ordinary
  language.
• 2. Metaphor is typically viewed characteristic
  of language alone, a matter of words rather than
  thought.

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• A new cognitive view
• 1. Metaphor is a tool so ordinary that everyone
  uses it everyday.
• 2. Far from being merely a matter of words,
  metaphor is a matter of thought.
• A few important scholars holding this view
  George lakoff, Mark Turner, Mark Johnson,
  Raymond Gibbs and Zoltan Kövecses.

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• If we agree with the above theory, then
• Metaphor is everywhere. It exists extensively in
  our language, in everyday talks, in economic,
  commercial, technical, legal, political or many
  other types of texts.
• We can thoroughly discuss translation by way of
  discussing metaphor.

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• Can we think without metaphor?
• Can we think about subjective experience and
  judgment without metaphor? Hardly. If we
  consciously make enormous effort to separate out
  metaphorical from nonmetaphorical thought, we
  probably can do some very minimal and
  unsophisticated nonmetaphorical reasoning. But
  almost no one ever does this, and such reasoning
  would never capture the full inferential capacity
  of complex metaphorical thought.
• These colors are similar.
• These colors are close.
• Professor Wang and I are close.

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• 2.Why do people use metaphor?

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• 1. conceptual metaphor (????)
• 2. linguistic metaphor (or metaphorical
  expression)
• 3. target domain (???)
• 4. source domain (??)
• The essence of metaphor is understanding and
  experiencing one kind of thing in terms of
  another.
• Target is harder to understand
  Source is easier to understand.
• We try to understand target through source.

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• Conceptual metaphor and linguistic metaphor

I am up in mind. I am conceptual. Linguistic
metaphors, you are under my control. I am your
leader!!!
Conceptual metaphor
LIFE IS A JOURNEY.
I am source domain
I am target domain
We are down in language. We are linguistic
metaphors. Conceptual metaphors, please give us
orders. We will follow them.
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• 1.They will have a good start in life.
• 2. They will go far in life.
• 3. They will have a long life span.
• 4. They will reach the end of the road.
• 5. He is without any direction in life.
• 6. Im where I want to be in life.
• 7. Im at a crossroads in my life.
• 8. Shell go places in life.
• 9. Hes never let anyone get in his way.
• 10. Shes gone through a lot in life.
• LIFE IS A JOURNEY

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• Life is a journey.

I AM A CONCEPTUAL METAPHOR
LIFE IS A JOURNEY
We are linguistic metaphors A good start, Go
far, A long life span, End of the road, Without
direction, At a crossroads.. We can go on and
on
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• 3.Universality of conceptual metaphor

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• Experiential basis of metaphor
• Bodily motivation ?? or Embodied mind.
• Conceptual metaphors are grounded in or
  motivated by human experience (sometimes physical
  expereince).

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• CONTROL IS UP. (I am on top of the situation.)
• HAPPY IS UP SAD IS DOWN. (feeling up or down.)
• TIME IS A MOVING OBJECT.(The new semester
  is approaching.)
• Embodied nature of metaphors

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• AFFECTION IS WARMTH.
• ExperienceWhen someone hugs you, you feel the
  warmth.
• Universal experience This warmth has no cultural
  difference.
• Shared conceptual metaphorAFFECTION IS WARMTH
• English linguistic metaphor warmly welcome, cold
  reception
• Chinese comprehension Easy to understand.
• Chinese translation Literal translation is fine
  ????, ???

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• LOVE IS A JOURNEY
• ExperienceWe all have the experience of taking a
  trip.
• Universal experience This experience is not
  culture-bound.
• Shared conceptual metaphor LOVE IS A JOURNEY.
• English linguistic metaphor We have to go our
  separate ways.
• Chinese comprehension Easy to understand.
• Chinese translation Literal translation is fine
  ??????????
• More linguistic realizations of LOVE IS A
  JOURNEY
• We cant turn back now.
• The relationship is not going anywhere.
• It has been a long and bumpy road.
• We are just spinning our wheels.
• The relationship is a dead-end street.

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• LOVE IS AN ECONOMIC EXCHANGE
• Experience We all have experiences of trading in
  market with money.
• Universal experience This experience has no
  cultural difference.
• Shared conceptual metaphorLOVE IS AN ECONOMIC
  EXCHANGE.
• English linguistic metaphor The love is such I
  can no way repay?
• Chinese comprehension Easy to understand.
• Chinese translation Literal translation is
  fine????,?????

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• 4. Universality of conceptual metaphor
• and translation

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• Types of metaphor and translation
• Types of linguistic metaphor Classified by
  translation scholars (Newmarks classification,
  such as dead metaphor, stock metaphor, original
  metaphor, etc.)
• Types of conceptual metaphors can be seen from
  the following perspectives
• 1. Conventionality (????)
• 2. Generality (????)
• 3. Cognitive function (????)
• 4. Nature (??)

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• Conventionality
• The degree of conventionality how well worn or
  how deeply entrenched a metaphor is in everyday
  use by ordinary people.
• 1. I defended my argument .
• (ARGUMENT IS WAR)
• 2. Two roads diverged in a wood, and I
• I took the one less traveled by,
• And that has made all the difference.
• (LIFE IS A JOURNEY)
• 3. Life is a mirror. If you smile, it smiles
  back at you.
• (LIFE IS A MIRROR, image metaphor)
• 4. The State of New Jersey is a valley of
  humility between two peaks of conceit. (IMAGE
  METAPHOR)
• Rule of thumb The more conventional or more
  deeply entrenched a metaphor is, the more freedom
  the translator has in dealing with the metaphor.
  The more unique a metaphor is, the more
  responsibility the translator has in reproducing
  the metaphor in the target text. To Know the
  degree of conventionality of a metaphor gives us
  guidance in translating a metaphor.

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• Generality
• Generic-level metaphor (????)
• Specific-level metaphor (????)
• Upper or generic level EVENTS ARE ACTIONS
• Lower or specific level LIFE IS A JOURNEY
• The implication for translation is that
  translators can move up and down or left and
  right to find the best translation.

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Generic level metaphor
Specific level
Specific level
Linguistic
Linguistic
Linguistic
Linguistic
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• 1. EMOTIONS ARE FORCES (generic level metaphor
  ????)
• ANGER IS A HOT FLUID IN A CONTAINER (specific
  level metaphor )
• His pent-up anger welled up inside him.
  (linguistic metaphor)
• 2. EMOTIONS ARE FORCES
• INTENSE ANGER PRODUCES PRESSURE ON THE
  CONTAINER
• He could barely contain his rage.
• 1. His pent-up anger welled up inside him.
• 2. He could barely contain his rage.
• (The above two sentences are grounded in or
  motivated by, different specific level metaphors,
  but they share the same generic level metaphor. )
• In some contexts, are they interchangeable in
  translation? We often paraphrase in translation,
  so can we paraphrase 1 by using 2? After all, the
  two sentences say the same thing He is angry.
  When can we do that? When cant we do that?
  UP/Down vs. LEFT/RIGHT

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• Moving between left and right
• or Horizontal move
• When you change from one specific metaphor to
  another specific metaphor, you are not moving
  from lower to higher, you are moving from left to
  right at the same level, or horizontal move. To
  find out the situations in which the horizontal
  move is allowed has a lot to do with translation
  practice. More examples of horizontal move

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Generic level metaphor
Vertical move
Specific level
Specific level
Horizontal move
Linguistic
Linguistic
Linguistic
Linguistic
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• We have a mountain to climb in the House to
  achieve an override. ?????????,???????,(The
  specific-level conceptual metaphor behind this
  sentence is MOUNTAINS ARE OBSTACLES,)
• ?????????,????????(go through a pass) ( The
  specific-level conceptual metaphor behind this
  sentence is PASSES ARE OBSTACLES,)
• But these two specific-level metaphors are from
  the more abstract generic-level metaphor
  BARRIERS ARE DIFFICULTIES, as mountain and
  pass are specific examples of a barrier.
• Rule of thumb In general, horizontal movement
  changes language styles without changing basic
  meaning, so in texts where language or style is
  less important, the horizontal move can be
  allowed. The devil is in the details, but I dont
  care too much about the details.
• So to know when this type of horizontal
  moving is allowed should be part of translation
  instructions.

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• Moving between higher and lower levels
• or vertical move
• When you are moving from specific metaphor to
  generic one or the other way round, you are
  moving from higher to lower or vise versa, so
  this type of moving can be viewed as vertical
  move. To find out the rules about vertical move
  should also be part of translation instructions.
  Here are some examples of vertical move

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• They are money-starved
• Can I use dollar to translate money here?
• Dollar is more specific than money, so if we use
  dollar to translate money, we move from generic
  to specific, or move vertically from higher level
  to lower level.

Money-starved
Renminbi-starved
Dollar-starved
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• Her way was strewn with invisible rocks and
  lions.
• Way is metaphoric (LIFE IS A JOURNEY).
  Rock and lions are
  metaphoric. (image metaphor)
• 1. ?????????????????? (literally
  with rocks and lions)
• 2. ???????????????????? (with things that
  block her and things that are dangerous)
• 3. ?????????????????? (with obstacle
  and danger)
• Moving from rocks and lions to things/things
  to obstacle/danger is moving from specific to
  generic, or vertical move from lower to higher.

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• Interpretation of many proverbs needs the GENERIC
  IS SPECIFIC conceptual metaphor to make sense,
  such as The early bird catches the worm.
• Bird, catch and worm are all used in a metaphoric
  sense. But the interpretation has to go up from
  specific to generic to make sense (If you do
  something first, you will get what you want
  before others).
• Rule of thumb
• To move vertically from generic to specific (as
  in money-starved to dollar-starved) adds details,
  so if the text is serious stuff, this moving
  direction is not recommended.
• To move vertically from specific to generic (as
  in rocks and lions) loses the details, so when
  the details are important, this direction of
  moving is not recommended.
• In other words,
• To move from specific to generic loses culture,
  but is a way to overcome cultural barriers
• to move from generic to specific adds cultural
  elements, but is a way to impose target culture
  to the source culture.
  
• To summarize the rules for vertical move is
  also beneficial to translation instructions.

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• Cognitive function
• Structural metaphor (????) understand the target
  domain in terms of the structure of the source
  domain.
• 2. Ontological metaphor (????) Conceive of
  experiences in terms of objects, substances or
  containers in general.
• Orientational metaphor (????) Conceive of
• the target by means of some basic human spatial
  orientations.

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• 1. Structural metaphor understand the target
  domain in terms of the structure of the source
  domain. Structural metaphors are based on things
  or concepts that are very familiar to us.
• TIME IS MONEY
• Youre wasting my time. (?????????)
• This gadget will save you hours. (??????????)
• I dont have time to give you. (?????????)
• That flat tire cost me an hour. (...?????????)
• Put aside some time for Ping Pong. (????????)
• Rule of thumb Structural metaphors are based on
  things or concepts that are very familiar to us.
  The cultural barrier is minimal. The direct
  translation is highly possible.

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• Ontological metaphor Conceive of experiences in
  terms of objects, substances or containers in
  general.
• THE MIND IS A MACHINE
• My mind is not working today.
• We are running out of steam.
• CONTAINER CONCEPTUAL METAPHOR
• The ship is coming into view.
• I get a lot of satisfaction out of reading
  books.
• He fell into depression.
• Rule of thumb Ontological metaphors uses
  objects, substances or containers. Most, if not
  all, of these things are very basic, having no
  big cultural differences. Direct or near
  direct translation is possible.

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• Orientational metaphor Conceive of the target by
  means of some basic human spatial orientations,
  such as up and down. Those orientations are
  even more basic and shared by different cultures.
  
• Happy is up sad is down.
  
  I am feeling up (or down), I am
  soaring with happiness, he is down .)
• Conscious is up unconscious is down.
  
  wake up, fall asleep (??,???)
• More is up less is down.
  
  My salary goes
  up the number of students goes down. (??? ?)
• Good is up bad is down.
  
  We hit a peak last year, but its been
  downhill ever since. (?? ??)
• Rule of thumb Since these metaphors are based
  on human spatial orientations, which are not
  culture bound, to keep the original orientation
  is possible, even though it is not required to do
  so in most cases.

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• The nature of metaphor
• From the perspective of nature of metaphor, we
  can divide metaphors into
• image schema metaphor
• image or one shot metaphor
• Those image schema metaphors, such as we
  previously discussed (namely structural,
  ontological and orientational), are all very
  abstract concepts, for example, container is very
  abstract, such as only having interior or
  exterior, which are the most basic features of a
  container.
• Rule of thumb Most linguistic metaphoric
  expressions derived from image schema conceptual
  metaphors pose no difficulty in understanding and
  can be directly translated, because the source
  domains of the metaphors reply on basic human
  schemas.

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• But there are metaphors relying on images with
  rich details (strong image) .
• image metaphor
• My wifes waist is an hourglass.
• Supermodel is just a twig.
• Rule of thumb Most those are metaphors
  intentionally created, and can be more
  significant. Direct translation is encouraged
  whenever it is possible.

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• 5. Weighing the significance of a metaphor

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• Two ways to weigh
• 1. Foregrounding
• Foregrounding is caused when the language device
  used deviates from the norm to attract attention
  and is perceived as uncommon, such as poetic
  metaphor. The opposite is automatization.
• (Definition by Prague School of Linguistics)

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• 1. Translationese can be discussed by way of
  foregrounding.
• 2. In translation, a distinction needs to be made
  between intentional foregrounding and
  unintentional foregrounding. Many foregrounded
  expressions that are not foregrounded in the
  source text are foregrounded in the target text.
  Foregrounding of this type carries little or no
  weight.
• 3. Foregrounding caused by the difference of the
  language systems or intentionally created by the
  author? Foregrounding purposely created by the
  author carries more weight.
• This applies to metaphor.

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• A. Generic level metaphors are culturally shared,
  and are not the source of foregrounding.
• Give me a call. (ACTIONS ARE OBJECTS)
• B. Specific level metaphors are culturally
  shared to a great extent and are not major source
  either.
• Dont set me on fire. ?????
• You are pouring oil on fire. ??????
• (ANGER IS FIRE)
• Exceptions ??? (foregrounded)
• C. The image metaphors that are not culturally
  shared , but created by the author for artistic
  purpose, are often the source of foregrounding.
• Her waist is an hourglass. (foregrounded)
• Rule of thumb A foregrounded metaphor
  intentionally created by the author carries more
  weight than one caused by the difference in
  language systems, and needs to be more carefully
  handled in translation.

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• 2. Text types
• Another way to weigh a metaphor is to look at the
  text type. Metaphors are weighed in different
  texts.
• Newmarks Practical classification
• expressive
• informative
• vocative
• Informative texts less weight
• Vocative texts hard to say without context
• Expressive texts often foregrounded, more
  weight.

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• 6.Core meaning
• and mental picture formation

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• 7.1 Importance of core meaning
• Polysemy (words with several senses) in many
  cases in translation, we produce translations
  that are ambiguous because we are not quite sure
  about the meaning. To find core meaning of a word
  can make the meaning crystal clear, because it
  creates a mental picture of a word instead of
  description by words.
• Core meaning is often the basic meaning from
  which metaphoric meanings are derived. Core
  meaning is often image-based.

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• For example
• The metaphoric basis of UP in
• Think up an idea
• is
• UP IS BRINGING LOST SUBJECTS TO THE SURFACE.
• This suggests that ideas are buried in the mind.

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• More examples
• Brzezinskidiscusses the inevitable
  contradictions and tensions that enmesh a
  democratic society that is also a global hegemon.
  
• ROOT ANALOGY CONFLICTING PURPOSE IS OPPOSITE
  DIRECTION
• LITERAL MEANING force which stretches a rope,
  cable, string apart (You can see an image)
• METAPHORICAL MEANING differences between forces,
  arguments, or influences
• EXAMPLE the movie explored the tension between
  public duty and personal loyalty.

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• Brzezinskidiscusses the inevitable
  contradictions and tensions that enmesh a
  democratic society that is also a global hegemon.
  

I am the USA. I am experiencing TENSIONS, as I am
being pulled in two opposite directions.
Tensions created here
CONFLICTING PURPOSE IS OPPOSITE DIRECTION
I am a democratic society. I want to go left.
I am a global hegemon. I need to go right.
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• He was warning of a collision to come between
  an insurgent Islam and a gently declining West.
• ROOT ANALOGY EMOTION IS CURRENT/WAVE
• LITERAL MEANING rise in the level of the sea
  (picture)
• METAPHORICAL MEANING sudden increase of
  EXAMPLE I felt a surge of sympathy for him

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• 2. broader policies intended to move China toward
  internationally accepted standards of conduct.
• ????????????????????
• ROOT ANALOGY ACTIVITY/PROCESS IS MOVEMENT
  (FORWARD)
• LITERAL MEANING cause someone to move forward
  (picture)
• METAPHORICAL MEANING cause somebody to change
  behavior, or opinion
• EXAMPLE now we have a new boss things are
  beginning to move faster.

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I am China. I am being guided.
I am China. I am being moved.
Move China
Guide China
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• A poem compresses much in a small space and adds
  music, thus heightening its meaning.
• ???????,?????????????
• (Paraphrasing A poem is meaningful, concise and
  musical )
• ROOT ANALOGY A POEM IS A CONTAINER,
• LITERAL MEANING Substance is compressed in a
  container (an image)
• METAPHORICAL MEANING A meaningful (poem)
• EXAMPLE compressed work schedules
• Improved translation ???????????,?????,??????

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• A poem compresses much in a small space.

I am a poem. A lot of things are compressed in my
small space. A novelist has to write a book
about what I described, but I did it in a few
lines.
I am a container.
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• 7. Conclusion
• More should be done to create a comprehensive
  metaphor
• awareness approach to translation
• The basic theory for metaphor-awareness approach
  
• Connection of the basic theory to practice
• Details of classroom activities in such a
  course
• Selection of texts for a metaphor-awareness
  course
• Evaluation of homework and exams in such a
  course..
• In other words, a comprehensive teaching strategy
  is needed.