A Rhetorical Analysis Of China-specific Metaphor And Its C-E Translation

The study of metaphor can be traced back to the theory of rhetorical metaphor presented by Aristotle more than 2000 years ago.After that,metaphor has been considered as a figure of speech ornamenting texts for a long time both in China and in western countries.Although some scholars advocate that metaphor should be taken as cognitive thinking of human beings instead of as a figure of speech,it is not until the 1980s that the theory of cognitive metaphor is systematically constructed by Lakoff and Johnson.Since then,an increasing number of progress have been achieved in cognitive metaphor and its translation in the world.With the rapid development of globalization,China has been positively participating in international cooperation and communication and playing a significant role on the global stage.On domestic and international occasions,President Xi Jinping puts forward a series of new concepts,ideas and strategies about governing China and foreign affairs which arouse the attention of people at home and abroad.Due to the phenomenon that many metaphors with Chinese characteristics are used in Xi's discourse,it is worthwhile to probe into the functions of China-specific metaphor and its C-E translation strategies for the purposes of spreading Xi's political thoughts and satisfying the reading expectation of international audience who are not familiar with Chinese culture and cognitive experience.Persuasion and effective communication between rhetor and audience are two core issues in rhetoric.Rhetorical discourse is a necessary and efficient way for the communication with others in the era of globalization.In other words,rhetoric provides theoretical and practical strategies for eliminating misunderstandings caused by cognitive and cultural differences and inducing persuasion and cooperation in international communication.Therefore,based on cognitive mapping,persuasion and effective communication,this research attempts to interpret rhetorical functions of China-specific metaphor and its C-E translation strategies with translator's rhetorical awareness from the core theories of rhetoric by taking the book Xi Jinping:The Governance of China ? as a case.The conclusion shows that China-specific metaphor used by President Xi is a rhetorical discourse with persuasiveness and intimacy,and it embodies four rhetorical functions as follows:(1)guiding cognition;(2)constructing argument;(3)arousing emotion;and(4)constructing reality.However,differing from the persuasion of China-specific metaphor for the Chinese people to accept and implement Xi's political thoughts,the English version of this book is aimed at the effective communication for the international audience.Thus,for the purposes of spreading Xi's political thoughts,strategies and initiatives to other countries and also meeting the international audience's reading expectations,translator actively mobilizes rhetorical awareness and adapts to the rhetorical situation in dealing with the translation of China-specific metaphor,which is embodied in the following four strategies:(1)retaining source domain whose cognitive experience is shared in Chinese and English through literal translation;(2)replacing source domain with the(metaphorical)expressions being close to the international audience for achieving identification;(3)omitting source domain while paraphrasing source text for effective communication;(4)retaining source domain plus explaining for spreading Chinese culture in both identification and proper "coercion".