On Figures of Speech in English News and the Translation Techniques

邵京京

【Abstract】English Rhetoric is the essence of the English language， which often appears in various styles， including English news. Using all kinds of rhetoric has increased the artistic charm of the news language and attracts the attention of readers. This paper appreciates the most commonly used tropes in English news reports and analyses the respective rhetorical features.Based on this ，the author attempts to offer different approaches in translation， such as simile， metaphor， metonymy， synecdoche.

【Key words】 English news publications； rhetorical devices； translation

I. Introduction

News rhetorical phenomenon is an information-disseminating activity in the emergence of a language phenomenon. Generally speaking， English news and Chinese news are approximately the same， each news divides into four parts generally： Topic， Outline， Main text and Ending. Opening the English publication， we can discover that no matter in the title or the main text， the massive rhetoric utilization is always contained. Of speech through the use of language can have a rhyme， beauty of form， content beauty of artistic conception. This paper analyses the tropes in English news reports， and the author tries to show different approaches in translation.

II. Garbled Cases in English News Headlines

2.1 The Use of Word Meaning of Figures of Speech

Several kinds of figures of speech， such as metaphor， metonymy， hyperbole， personification， pun and parody， are often included in the use of word meaning of speech. The proper use of figures of speech in news headline can produce vivid and striking effect and attract more readers， for example：

Microsoft opens a new window——微軟開發了一項新的windows系統。（Shen 29）

Microsoft has opened the “new window”， and here “window” is a pun both intended， it is Microsoft's new windows XP， and translated by the implications of the title.

2.2 The Use of Structure of Figures of Speech

In the use of structure of figure of speech， irony， palindrome and antithesis are often chosen. Here is an example：

Accusers Accused， this title was ever listed in one article of the magazine， The Economist. In this headline， the dislocation of the plaintiff and defendant suggests the prominent humor of the content in the article. Ironically， the authors translation of the corresponding effects of humor and strong language is not the source， but the meaning conveyed in place. That is to say， the translator was not doing such a translation， but also using such proper rhetoric on the exact meaning of communication.

III. Sorts of Figures of Speech and the Use in English News

3.1Metaphor

Metaphor， like a simile， also makes a comparison between two unlike elements， but unlike a simile， this comparison is implied rather than stated.

In a simile， the words like， as， as...so...are used to make the comparison， as in：

Jim was as cunning as a fox.

吉姆狡猾的像狐貍。

In a metaphor， however， the comparison would appear simply as：

Jim was a fox.

吉姆簡直是只狐貍。

A metaphor， then， is in a sense a condensed simile， differing from the latter only in form and artistry. It is a higher form， though， and not all metaphors can be recast as similes. It requires greater ability on the part of the reader to perceive the hidden association， the insight into persons， things or ideas that is implied. But even though where in a simile the particular aspect of the point of resemblance between two unlike elements is given， in a metaphor nothing is stated.

According to the forms of structures， metaphor is divided into two parts： visible metaphor and invisible metaphor.

3.1.1 Visible Metaphor.Visible metaphor's tenor and vehicle appear at the same time in context with its typical comparative word “to be”. e.g.：

“The Chinese market is a bottomless pit.”said the visiting Nike CEO here in Shanghai.

In this sentence， “a bottomless pit ”points at “the bottomless hole ”and means that the potential developing power of Shanghai is quite huge .Here， the author vividly shows the prospect of market development to the readers.

3.1.2Invisible Metaphor.This kind of metaphor can be further divided into two little parts： One is that there is a tenor but without vehicle； the other is the way around. The first expresses the relationship of metaphor not from the directly appearing vehicles but from other words mostly verbs， for instance：

“The domestic environment is soft”， notes Manson of Donaldson，Lufkin&Jennette.

“If it stays that way，Mattels sales will eventually succumb .But it should be able to weather the storm. The firms best ballast against rough seas lies with European consumers.”

In this sentence， “European consumers” is the tenor， and through the words： weather， the storm， ballast， tough seas， the readers are able to feel the European consumers strong power and the steady need of markets. “Weather” and “storm” reflect the predicament of Mattel in the storm of business. However， “ballast”（heavy material which is carried in a ship to keep it steady） and “rough seas” both mirror that the sales' predicament will be steadily overcome with the help of the steady European consumers. Like that， invisible metaphors can leave much more imaginative space for the readers.

The other is that the readers can be aware of the tenor through the context by the vehicle's hint， for example：

Clearly a tug of war over key policies continues between the pragmatic and ideological camps.

Obviously “a tug of war”is a kind of game， but in the sentence it implies the endless quarrel. Through the association of vehicles， the readers can realize that the tenor is “the disputes between the pragmatic and ideological camps”.

3.2 Metonymy

Metonymy is a figure of speech that has to do with the substitution of the name of one thing for that of another. This substituted name may be an attribute of that other thing or be involves a “change of name”. The substituted name suggesting what the thing means.

Metonymy is a very useful and effective rhetorical device， for it compresses much into a single word or short noun phrase. Most of us are probably familiar with the following examples：

1） pen ： what is written by the pen； books， articles， etc.

2） sword ：instrument of force and destruction

The pen is mightier than the sword.

文字比蠻力更具力量。

3） bottle ： liquor， wine， alcohol

He took to the bottle.

他開始酗酒。

Journalists and news reporters （of any medium） use it frequently and are constantly creating new substitutions. Brevity is its chief virtue and next is the ease with which it can be created and popularized.

3.3 Synecdoche

Synecdoche has often been confused with metonymy， and sometimes even treated synonymously. This is not surprising， as both figures of speech involve substitution， only metonymy involves substitution of the name of one thing for that of another closely associated with it， whereas synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a part is substituted for the whole， or the whole is substituted for a part.

Synecdoche can be expressed through：（1）a part stands for a whole or its reverse ；（2）an individual stands for a class or its reverse ；（3）a material stands for a thing or its reverse.

3.3.1The Part for the Whole

1） hand ： member of a ships crew

All hands on deck！

全體船員集合！

2）head ： person

He paid the workers $5 per head.

他付給工作人員人均5美元。

3.3.2The Whole for the Part

1） Name of country for group of people of that country：

Australia beast Canada at cricket.

澳大利亞隊打敗了加拿大的團隊。

2） Vehicle for engine， machine for mechanism of machine itself， etc.

The car conked out.車子拋錨了。

IV. Methods of Translation on Figures of Speech in English News

4.1 To Keep an Equivalent Image

If there is not difficulty for readers in understanding when some English rhetoric nettle is translated to Chinese， can literal or basic translation be used？ This is not only to target language input fresh blood， also can let the reader experience exotic beauty. e.g.：

Children under Parents Wings （Shen 30）.

In the original title， using “wings” to describe the image of the parents of protection， readers can accept this kind of metaphors， and the title can be translated to 父母“翅膀”底下的孩子。

4.2 To Change the Original Image and Translate the Figurative Meaning

When the original image is difficult to remain the original message and to ensure the result， the message must be changed.

e.g.： The 40-plus summiteers are a mixed bag from Europe，Africa，the Middle East，Asia，the America sand the Pacific.

In this case ，if “a mixed bag”was translated literally， it would not be accepted by readers， instead ， similar image meaning not only mirrors the original image but also remains the information and the reappearance of the similar image would occur in the text .

V. Conclusion

News is a kind of fact that extremely requires accurate style. In the translation of English news in the figures of speech， on the one hand， we should correctly handle the original figurative meaning， express the maximum transmission of the original language information， on the other， we can not adhere rigidly to the original raw translation. Therefore， when the form and faithfulness of figures of speech can not take into account at the same time， the only thing we can do is to give up the form but choose the faithfulness.

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