A Study On The English Translation Of Chinese Idioms From The Perspective Of Conceptual Metaphor

Conceptual Metaphor Theory holds that human thought processes and their external manifestation,language,are metaphorical.How to deal with conceptual metaphors in translation is an important issue for translators to consider.In recent years,in the context of “Chinese culture going global”,it has become increasingly important to accurately convey the language with Chinese cultural characteristics to foreign readers.Among the languages with Chinese cultural characteristics,Chinese idioms are representative of the Chinese language culture and way of thinking.Since Conceptual Metaphor Theory refers to the core issue of language comprehension—human mind,studying the translation of Chinese idioms that carry Chinese language and culture from the perspective of conceptual metaphor will help promote “Chinese culture going global”.This study takes conceptual metaphors as the theoretical perspective,combining the MIP metaphor identification method with a qualitative approach to study the English translation of idioms in the bilingual edition of Beijing Review(2020-2022).In order to offer a practical methodology for translators,which adds to the practical significance of this study,this study classifies Chinese idioms into “nominal Chinese idioms” and “predicative Chinese idioms”,according to the classification of Chinese idioms in Chinese Idiomatics.Based on what has mentioned above,this study investigates four questions:(1)What kind of conceptual metaphors are embedded in Chinese idioms in the source text of Beijing Review? Which category of conceptual metaphor accounts for the largest proportion?(2)What features are presented from the translation method of Chinese idioms in Beijing Review(bilingual version)? And what is the difference between the translation method of nominal Chinese idioms and predicative Chinese idioms?(3)Were the conceptual metaphors embedded in the source text of Beijing Review presented in the translation? And what is the difference between the way the translator presents the conceptual metaphors embedded in nominal Chinese idioms and predicative Chinese idioms?(4)In terms of Beijing Review,what is the connection between the translation method of Chinese idioms and the conceptual metaphor embedded in Chinese idioms? How does the connection guide the translation of Chinese idioms in texts for international communication?Results show that:(1)Chinese idioms in Beijing Review contain all the three categories of conceptual metaphors,including structural metaphor,orientational metaphor,and ontological metaphor.And ontological metaphor accounts for the largest proportion.About 67% of the Chinese idioms in the material are metaphorically used,which proves that conceptual metaphors are also omnipresent in Chinese idioms;(2)Most Chinese idioms in Beijing Review were translated by the method of free translation,and a small proportion of them were translated by the method of literal translation.Most nominal Chinese idioms were translated by their implied meaning,under which circumstances their basic meaning was completely or partly omitted.Translators of Beijing Review tend to remove the repetitive or redundant content in nominal Chinese idioms,such as modifiers and characters with the same meaning;While translating predicative Chinese idioms,translators tend to directly explain the implied meaning of Chinese idioms,moreover,a small proportion of predicative Chinese idioms related to body movement were translated word-for-word,because some cultural experience does not apply to foreign cultures;(3)In the vast majority of cases,the conceptual metaphors embedded in the Chinese idioms in Beijing Review were presented in the translation.As for nominal Chinese idioms,all the conceptual metaphors embedded in them were reconstructed in the translation.While for predicative Chinese idioms,some conceptual metaphors embedded in them were removed in the translation;(4)Translators of Beijing Review basically follow the principle of “metaphor comes first”,which means translators first consider the reconstruction of conceptual metaphor in the translation,then the reconstruction of the basic meaning.While translating genre that lay emphasis on information delivery like texts for international communication,translators may start with conceptual metaphor in the source text and retain the key information to ensure the effect of communication.In the context of “Chinese culture going global”,this study helps to promote the pace of Chinese culture going abroad,and provides translators for international communication with new ideas of idiom translation from the cognitive perspective,which to a certain extent promotes the development of the research of translation for international communication.