To Foreignize or To Domesticate
bsp;a blanket which is soaked with water, and "a silver spoon" is
just a spoon different from a china spoon. They may not be able to understand
the referential meanings these images carry in the metaphors. Most probably
for this reason the metaphors are all converted to sense, to more general
expressions, "family scandal" (家丑) , "a disappointment" (令人扫兴的人)
and "a wealthy family"(富贵之家) which are abstract concepts rather than
concrete images. Snell Hornby is right in saying that "as an abstract concept,
metaphor might be universal; in its concrete realization however, being
closely linked with sensuous perception and culture-bound value judgments,
it is undoubtedly complicated by language-specific idiosyncrasies" (1988:
62-3).
The metaphor in Example 9 is the same as that in Example 8, but is treated
differently. Actually, there has been some arguments about the translation
of this metaphorical phrase. In an article written in 1981, Feng Shize
says that if the English idiom "skeleton in the cupboard" is translated
literally into "衣柜里的骷髅", the Chinese reader might not understand
what it means, so he suggested to render it to sense. In another article
written later in the same year, Xu Shigu (徐世谷) does not subscribe to
Feng’s opinion. He argues that if the first translator of the metaphor
"the crocodile’s tears" thought in the same way as Feng, the Chinese reader
would not have been able to understand the image, neither could the expression
be able to get into the Chinese vocabulary. Xu proposed translating it
literally plus meaning or explanation. But it took a long time for people
to accept the "skeleton" image:. In the English-Chinese Dictionary (unabridged)
, the standard dictionary of this kind in China, the translation of the
metaphor is nearly the same as Feng’s. It was not until 1992 had the "the
skeleton" image been directly brought into the Chinese culture, although
with a brief interpretation to reveal its implied meaning (see Example
9).
The translation of "To carry coals to Newcastle" indicates another common
problem. Zhang and his colleagues translate this metaphor literally into
"运煤到 《To Foreignize or To Domesticate(第8页)》
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just a spoon different from a china spoon. They may not be able to understand
the referential meanings these images carry in the metaphors. Most probably
for this reason the metaphors are all converted to sense, to more general
expressions, "family scandal" (家丑) , "a disappointment" (令人扫兴的人)
and "a wealthy family"(富贵之家) which are abstract concepts rather than
concrete images. Snell Hornby is right in saying that "as an abstract concept,
metaphor might be universal; in its concrete realization however, being
closely linked with sensuous perception and culture-bound value judgments,
it is undoubtedly complicated by language-specific idiosyncrasies" (1988:
62-3).
The metaphor in Example 9 is the same as that in Example 8, but is treated
differently. Actually, there has been some arguments about the translation
of this metaphorical phrase. In an article written in 1981, Feng Shize
says that if the English idiom "skeleton in the cupboard" is translated
literally into "衣柜里的骷髅", the Chinese reader might not understand
what it means, so he suggested to render it to sense. In another article
written later in the same year, Xu Shigu (徐世谷) does not subscribe to
Feng’s opinion. He argues that if the first translator of the metaphor
"the crocodile’s tears" thought in the same way as Feng, the Chinese reader
would not have been able to understand the image, neither could the expression
be able to get into the Chinese vocabulary. Xu proposed translating it
literally plus meaning or explanation. But it took a long time for people
to accept the "skeleton" image:. In the English-Chinese Dictionary (unabridged)
, the standard dictionary of this kind in China, the translation of the
metaphor is nearly the same as Feng’s. It was not until 1992 had the "the
skeleton" image been directly brought into the Chinese culture, although
with a brief interpretation to reveal its implied meaning (see Example
9).
The translation of "To carry coals to Newcastle" indicates another common
problem. Zhang and his colleagues translate this metaphor literally into
"运煤到 《To Foreignize or To Domesticate(第8页)》