Metaphor And Its Translation

Metaphor has been studied for over two thousand years. However, traditionally it was confined to rhetoric and regarded as a kind of linguistic decoration, the frosting on the cake merely, sweet and pleasant tasting, but not really necessary.Modern science has broadened the field of metaphorical study. Now metaphor has become the common concern of psychologists, logicians, sociologists, anthropologists, as well as praetorians and linguists, etc. Lakoff's study from the angle of cognition has opened up a new world for the study of metaphor.Interdisciplinary research allows people to have a more profound and full understanding of metaphor.The study of metaphor has revealed that metaphor is not merely a linguistic phenomenon, but basically a cognitive phenomenon, a thinking mode; its production is thought to be the result of the limitations of human thinking ability at primeval stage and later the result of people's active use for better communicative effect or for the sake of cognition. The great functions of metaphor are chiefly shown in four aspects: rhetoric, linguistic, cognitive and social.Metaphor reflects culture. So to avoid literal translation or mistranslation one should keep cultural difference in mind, for the knowledge of culture can greatly minimize intercultural misunderstanding and cross-cultural awareness determines the quality of intercultural communication. As to the metaphor translation into Chinese, its various aspects are covered, including translation methods. It is also pointed out in the thesis that the translation procedures introduced by Peter Newmark may find their places in the translation methods discussed here.It is hoped that the thesis will be helpful to English learners in China, contributing to their appreciation, application and translation of English metaphors.