A Study On C-E Translation Of Metaphorical Images In Chinese Two-part Allegorical Sayings From The Perspective Of Metaphorical Homogeneity And Heterogeneity

Chinese two-part allegorical sayings are a kind of unique language form, which are created by Chinese people in their daily life. They usually contain metaphorical images, whose literal meanings are not congruous with their intended ones. Through scanning a large number of relevant documents, the author finds that many scholars have conducted researches on the Chinese two-part allegorical sayings. However, most of them are still in the stage of descriptions and analyses. Few studies focus on translation of metaphorical images in the Chinese two-part allegorical sayings. However, it is the metaphorical images that hinder the translation of the Chinese two-part allegorical sayings. Therefore, the study of the metaphorical images in the Chinese two-part allegorical sayings should be strengthened and enhanced.Within the framework of metaphorical homogeneity and metaphorical heterogeneity, the paper studies the metaphorical images in the Chinese two-part allegorical sayings and introduces homogeneity and heterogeneity of the metaphorical images in the Chinese two-part allegorical sayings. The homogeneity of metaphorical images in the Chinese two-part allegorical saying is the uniformity achieved by different cognitive subjects in interpreting same metaphorical images, and in the process of interpretation original readers and target readers construct identical mental spaces. The heterogeneity of metaphorical images in the Chinese two-part allegorical saying is the diversity obtained by different cognitive subjects in interpreting same metaphorical images, and in the process of interpretation original readers and target readers construct disparate mental spaces. Then the dissertation classifies the metaphorical images into homogeneous images and heterogeneous images. In the end the essay sums up translation methods of the two categories of metaphorical images. For the homogeneous images in the Chinese two-part allegorical sayings, the translation method is maintaining original metaphorical images. For the heterogeneous images in the Chinese two-part allegorical sayings, translation methods include substituting original metaphorical images with others, deleting original metaphorical images, maintaining original metaphorical images with notes. The metaphorical homogeneity and metaphorical heterogeneity can not only account for cross-cultural variations when Chinese and westerners interpret a certain metaphorical image in a Chinese two-part allegorical saying, but they are conducive to lay a foundation for translators to express metaphorical meanings of the Chinese two-part allegorical sayings. Therefore the metaphorical homogeneity and the metaphorical heterogeneity are applicable to guide the translation of the metaphorical images in the Chinese two-part allegorical sayings. The paper has opened new vistas for translators to render the metaphorical images in the Chinese two-part allegorical sayings into English.