On Chinese and English Metaphors of Taste Based on Conceptual Metaphor Theory: A Case Study of Taste Word Translation in <i>Fortress Besieged</i>

Lingli Li

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijalt.20210702.16

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On Chinese and English Metaphors of Taste Based on Conceptual Metaphor Theory: A Case Study of Taste Word Translation in Fortress Besieged

Lingli Li

Published in International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation (Volume 7, Issue 2)

Received: 9 May 2021 Accepted: 25 May 2021 Published: 21 June 2021

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Abstract

Metaphor is very common in literature. Conceptual metaphor theory (CMT) provides a brand-new way to study metaphor from cognitive perspective. This paper applies corpus analysis toolkit Antconc to analyze Chinese and English metaphors of taste based on the corpus of Fortress Besieged written by Ch’ien Chung-shu and its translation by Jeanne Kelly and Nathan K. Mao. It adopts quantitative and qualitative methods to analyze the taste words in Fortress Besieged and their translation methods, discusses the similarities and differences between the metaphorical meaning of Chinese and English taste words, hoping to help with future translation practice. Through data collection and analysis, “酸’’(sour), “甘/甜’’(sweet), “苦’’(bitter) and “辣”(spicy/hot) turn out to be the most commonly used metaphors of taste to elucidate the characters’ personalities and experiences in the novel. However, the metaphors of taste in the original text of Fortress Besieged are more commonly used than that in its translation and the metaphorical meaning of taste words is richer in Chinese. Although, there are some similarities between Chinese and English metaphors of taste, there are much more differences. From the perspective of CMT, the metaphors of “酸”, “甜/甘”, “苦” and “辣” belong to the structural metaphors and are mapped from taste domain to the domains of physiology, emotion, life, sleep, visual sense, degree, personality and conduct, while the metaphors of “sour”，“sweet”，“bitter” and “spicy/hot” are hardly mapped to physiology, degree and conduct domain. To deal with this, translators can use free translation and amplification translation methods, omitting, substituting the original vehicles in source text or adding explanations to achieve functional equivalence during translation.

Published in	International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation (Volume 7, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijalt.20210702.16
Page(s)	69-75
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Conceptual Metaphor Theory, Metaphor Translation, Taste Words, Fortress Besieged

References

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[2]	Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors We Live By. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
[3]	Sun Y. (2020). A Rediscussion on Contemporary Metaphorology in China (2014-2018): A Bibliometric Survey Based on Journals of Foreign Language Studies Indexed by CSSCI. Foreign Language Research, (03), 50-55.
[4]	Newmark, P. (1988). A Textbook of Translation. London: Prentice Hall.
[5]	Van den Broeck, R. (1981). The Limits of Translatability Exemplified by Metaphor Translation. Poetics Today, 2, 73-87.
[6]	Guo X H. (2016). On the Translation of Metaphor from the Perspective of Eco-translatology---a Case Study on Fortress Besieged. Journal of Shaanxi Xueqian Normal University, (03), 67-69.
[7]	Zhang Y Y. (2017). Analyses of translations of metaphor in Fortress Besieged from the aspect of Newmark’s translation method. Journal of Yuzhang Normal University, (05), 30-32.
[8]	Chen T T, & Wang J A. (2019). Study on the Ethic Models in Metaphor Translation of Fortress Besieged. Overseas English, (21), 132-133.
[9]	Cai X Y. (2015). Metaphor Translation in Fortress Besieged from the Perspective of Pragmatics. Journal of Hubei University of Science and Technology, (01), 88-90.
[10]	Xu Y T. (2016). Validity of Metaphor Translation in Fortress Besieged in light of Relevance Theory. Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, 85, 327-331.
[11]	Yu X C, & Wang Q S. (2017). On the Translation Methodology of Fortress Besieged from the Perspective of Functional Equivalence. Journal of Jiangsu Ocean University (Humanities & Social Sciences Edition), (03), 69-73.
[12]	Hu X K. (2017). Study on Metaphor Translation Strategies---Taking Fortress Besieged as an Example. Language Planning, (17), 69-70.
[13]	Wang Y P. (2016). Study on Characteristics and Translation of Metaphors in Fortress Besieged. Language Planning, (03), 51-52.
[14]	Tian D, & Fan J J. (2020). Study on Translation Strategies of Conceptual Metaphors Related to Human. Overseas English, (10), 40-41+56.
[15]	Nida, E. A. (1964). Toward A Science of Translating. Leiden: E. J. Brill.
[16]	Nida, E. A., & Taber, C. R. (2004). The Theory and Practice of Translation. Shanghai: Foreign Language Education Press.
[17]	Ch’ien Chung-shu. (2012). Fortress Besieged. Beijing: People’s Literature Publishing House.
[18]	Ch’ien, Chung-shu. (2003). Fortress Besieged. Trans. Kelly, J, & Mao, N K, trans. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.
[19]	Lian S N. (2002). On Chinese and Western Thought Patterns. Foreign Languages and Their Thinking, (02), 40-46+63-64.
[20]	Yang L W. (2017). On the Origin of Several Basic Buddhist Words in Māgadhābhāsā and Related Thinking. Religious Studies, (03), 104-109.

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Lingli Li. (2021). On Chinese and English Metaphors of Taste Based on Conceptual Metaphor Theory: A Case Study of Taste Word Translation in Fortress Besieged. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation, 7(2), 69-75. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20210702.16

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Lingli Li. On Chinese and English Metaphors of Taste Based on Conceptual Metaphor Theory: A Case Study of Taste Word Translation in Fortress Besieged. Int. J. Appl. Linguist. Transl. 2021, 7(2), 69-75. doi: 10.11648/j.ijalt.20210702.16

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AMA Style

Lingli Li. On Chinese and English Metaphors of Taste Based on Conceptual Metaphor Theory: A Case Study of Taste Word Translation in Fortress Besieged. Int J Appl Linguist Transl. 2021;7(2):69-75. doi: 10.11648/j.ijalt.20210702.16

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@article{10.11648/j.ijalt.20210702.16,
  author = {Lingli Li},
  title = {On Chinese and English Metaphors of Taste Based on Conceptual Metaphor Theory: A Case Study of Taste Word Translation in Fortress Besieged},
  journal = {International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation},
  volume = {7},
  number = {2},
  pages = {69-75},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijalt.20210702.16},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20210702.16},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijalt.20210702.16},
  abstract = {Metaphor is very common in literature. Conceptual metaphor theory (CMT) provides a brand-new way to study metaphor from cognitive perspective. This paper applies corpus analysis toolkit Antconc to analyze Chinese and English metaphors of taste based on the corpus of Fortress Besieged written by Ch’ien Chung-shu and its translation by Jeanne Kelly and Nathan K. Mao. It adopts quantitative and qualitative methods to analyze the taste words in Fortress Besieged and their translation methods, discusses the similarities and differences between the metaphorical meaning of Chinese and English taste words, hoping to help with future translation practice. Through data collection and analysis, “酸’’(sour), “甘/甜’’(sweet), “苦’’(bitter) and “辣”(spicy/hot) turn out to be the most commonly used metaphors of taste to elucidate the characters’ personalities and experiences in the novel. However, the metaphors of taste in the original text of Fortress Besieged are more commonly used than that in its translation and the metaphorical meaning of taste words is richer in Chinese. Although, there are some similarities between Chinese and English metaphors of taste, there are much more differences. From the perspective of CMT, the metaphors of “酸”, “甜/甘”, “苦” and “辣” belong to the structural metaphors and are mapped from taste domain to the domains of physiology, emotion, life, sleep, visual sense, degree, personality and conduct, while the metaphors of “sour”，“sweet”，“bitter” and “spicy/hot” are hardly mapped to physiology, degree and conduct domain. To deal with this, translators can use free translation and amplification translation methods, omitting, substituting the original vehicles in source text or adding explanations to achieve functional equivalence during translation.},
 year = {2021}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - On Chinese and English Metaphors of Taste Based on Conceptual Metaphor Theory: A Case Study of Taste Word Translation in Fortress Besieged
AU  - Lingli Li
Y1  - 2021/06/21
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20210702.16
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijalt.20210702.16
T2  - International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation
JF  - International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation
JO  - International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation
SP  - 69
EP  - 75
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2472-1271
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20210702.16
AB  - Metaphor is very common in literature. Conceptual metaphor theory (CMT) provides a brand-new way to study metaphor from cognitive perspective. This paper applies corpus analysis toolkit Antconc to analyze Chinese and English metaphors of taste based on the corpus of Fortress Besieged written by Ch’ien Chung-shu and its translation by Jeanne Kelly and Nathan K. Mao. It adopts quantitative and qualitative methods to analyze the taste words in Fortress Besieged and their translation methods, discusses the similarities and differences between the metaphorical meaning of Chinese and English taste words, hoping to help with future translation practice. Through data collection and analysis, “酸’’(sour), “甘/甜’’(sweet), “苦’’(bitter) and “辣”(spicy/hot) turn out to be the most commonly used metaphors of taste to elucidate the characters’ personalities and experiences in the novel. However, the metaphors of taste in the original text of Fortress Besieged are more commonly used than that in its translation and the metaphorical meaning of taste words is richer in Chinese. Although, there are some similarities between Chinese and English metaphors of taste, there are much more differences. From the perspective of CMT, the metaphors of “酸”, “甜/甘”, “苦” and “辣” belong to the structural metaphors and are mapped from taste domain to the domains of physiology, emotion, life, sleep, visual sense, degree, personality and conduct, while the metaphors of “sour”，“sweet”，“bitter” and “spicy/hot” are hardly mapped to physiology, degree and conduct domain. To deal with this, translators can use free translation and amplification translation methods, omitting, substituting the original vehicles in source text or adding explanations to achieve functional equivalence during translation.
VL  - 7
IS  - 2
ER  -

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Author Information

Lingli Li

School of Foreign Language and Literature, Shandong University, Ji’nan, China

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Lingli Li. (2021). On Chinese and English Metaphors of Taste Based on Conceptual Metaphor Theory: A Case Study of Taste Word Translation in Fortress Besieged. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation, 7(2), 69-75. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20210702.16

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ACS Style

Lingli Li. On Chinese and English Metaphors of Taste Based on Conceptual Metaphor Theory: A Case Study of Taste Word Translation in Fortress Besieged. Int. J. Appl. Linguist. Transl. 2021, 7(2), 69-75. doi: 10.11648/j.ijalt.20210702.16

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AMA Style

Lingli Li. On Chinese and English Metaphors of Taste Based on Conceptual Metaphor Theory: A Case Study of Taste Word Translation in Fortress Besieged. Int J Appl Linguist Transl. 2021;7(2):69-75. doi: 10.11648/j.ijalt.20210702.16

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@article{10.11648/j.ijalt.20210702.16,
  author = {Lingli Li},
  title = {On Chinese and English Metaphors of Taste Based on Conceptual Metaphor Theory: A Case Study of Taste Word Translation in Fortress Besieged},
  journal = {International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation},
  volume = {7},
  number = {2},
  pages = {69-75},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijalt.20210702.16},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20210702.16},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijalt.20210702.16},
  abstract = {Metaphor is very common in literature. Conceptual metaphor theory (CMT) provides a brand-new way to study metaphor from cognitive perspective. This paper applies corpus analysis toolkit Antconc to analyze Chinese and English metaphors of taste based on the corpus of Fortress Besieged written by Ch’ien Chung-shu and its translation by Jeanne Kelly and Nathan K. Mao. It adopts quantitative and qualitative methods to analyze the taste words in Fortress Besieged and their translation methods, discusses the similarities and differences between the metaphorical meaning of Chinese and English taste words, hoping to help with future translation practice. Through data collection and analysis, “酸’’(sour), “甘/甜’’(sweet), “苦’’(bitter) and “辣”(spicy/hot) turn out to be the most commonly used metaphors of taste to elucidate the characters’ personalities and experiences in the novel. However, the metaphors of taste in the original text of Fortress Besieged are more commonly used than that in its translation and the metaphorical meaning of taste words is richer in Chinese. Although, there are some similarities between Chinese and English metaphors of taste, there are much more differences. From the perspective of CMT, the metaphors of “酸”, “甜/甘”, “苦” and “辣” belong to the structural metaphors and are mapped from taste domain to the domains of physiology, emotion, life, sleep, visual sense, degree, personality and conduct, while the metaphors of “sour”，“sweet”，“bitter” and “spicy/hot” are hardly mapped to physiology, degree and conduct domain. To deal with this, translators can use free translation and amplification translation methods, omitting, substituting the original vehicles in source text or adding explanations to achieve functional equivalence during translation.},
 year = {2021}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - On Chinese and English Metaphors of Taste Based on Conceptual Metaphor Theory: A Case Study of Taste Word Translation in Fortress Besieged
AU  - Lingli Li
Y1  - 2021/06/21
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20210702.16
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijalt.20210702.16
T2  - International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation
JF  - International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation
JO  - International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation
SP  - 69
EP  - 75
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2472-1271
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20210702.16
AB  - Metaphor is very common in literature. Conceptual metaphor theory (CMT) provides a brand-new way to study metaphor from cognitive perspective. This paper applies corpus analysis toolkit Antconc to analyze Chinese and English metaphors of taste based on the corpus of Fortress Besieged written by Ch’ien Chung-shu and its translation by Jeanne Kelly and Nathan K. Mao. It adopts quantitative and qualitative methods to analyze the taste words in Fortress Besieged and their translation methods, discusses the similarities and differences between the metaphorical meaning of Chinese and English taste words, hoping to help with future translation practice. Through data collection and analysis, “酸’’(sour), “甘/甜’’(sweet), “苦’’(bitter) and “辣”(spicy/hot) turn out to be the most commonly used metaphors of taste to elucidate the characters’ personalities and experiences in the novel. However, the metaphors of taste in the original text of Fortress Besieged are more commonly used than that in its translation and the metaphorical meaning of taste words is richer in Chinese. Although, there are some similarities between Chinese and English metaphors of taste, there are much more differences. From the perspective of CMT, the metaphors of “酸”, “甜/甘”, “苦” and “辣” belong to the structural metaphors and are mapped from taste domain to the domains of physiology, emotion, life, sleep, visual sense, degree, personality and conduct, while the metaphors of “sour”，“sweet”，“bitter” and “spicy/hot” are hardly mapped to physiology, degree and conduct domain. To deal with this, translators can use free translation and amplification translation methods, omitting, substituting the original vehicles in source text or adding explanations to achieve functional equivalence during translation.
VL  - 7
IS  - 2
ER  -

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