On Translating English Figures of Speech—Transferred Epithet & Zeugma into Chinese

【Abstract】This paper is going to use some examples to illustrate how to translate English figures of speech- transferred epithet & zeugma into Chinese.

【Key words】English figures of speech； transferred epithet； zeugma； translate

【作者簡介】朱久堂，江蘇省徐州醫藥高等職業學校。

1. Translation of transferred epithet.

1.1 The definition and characteristics.

A figure of speech in which the epithet is transferred from the appropriate noun to modify another to which it doesnt really belong.

a. The words which is used to modify A， but in fact， it is transferred to describe B（that is， transferred modification.）

b. In terms of its form， it seems that the modifiable words focus on a noun， in fact， another noun which exists in the descriptive phrases is the real modified object when it comes to the meaning.

“A sweet voice” 一副甜嗓子（from the sense of taste to the sense of hearing）

“An icy look”一副冷漠的神色（from the sense of touch to the sense of seeing）

“An angel of a woman： an angel-like woman” 天仙般的女人。

In the phrase “ an icy look”， “icy” collocates with the word of look， but originally it should be used to show the feelings.

1.1.1The relations between the transferred adjective and its headword.

From some examples， we can find some logical relations between the transferred adjectives and its headword（中心語）， such as the reasons， results， time and functions etc. For example：

（1）“People listened with open-mouthed astonishment while the shocking news sank in.” （result）

當這條令人震驚的消息傳來時，人們聽后都驚的張大了嘴巴。

（2）“The sky was overcast， and poured down onto the dirt crossroads a very discouraging light. （function and effect）”

陰沉沉的天空使這片泥土地的十字路口呈現出一片令人沮喪的色調。

1.1.2 The characteristics of the logical headword：

Sometimes， the logical headwords modified by the transferred adjectives are in or out of the context. For example，

（1）“But he just looked at her with his crying face.” （ the logical headword is “he”） 然而，他只是淚流滿面地瞧著她。

（2）“I enjoy the clean voluptuousness of the warm breeze on my skin and the cool support of water. “（ the real headword is water）

和煦的微風吹拂著我的肌膚，涼爽的海水托浮著我的身體。我享受著那種純凈的飄飄欲仙的感覺。

（3）“America has shown us too many desperately worried executives dropping into early graves.“（the real headword is dropping）”

在美國有多少走投無路的經理過早地跌進了墳墓。

1.1.3 Under some circumstances， we cannot find the logical headwords modified by the transferred adjectives， because they are out of the context. Under such conditions， the transferred adjectives are used according to the writers feelings， associations and psychological activities etc. for example.

（1）“The American society saw a gnawing poverty during the years of the Great Depression.“（hearing connection：animals gnawing）

在大蕭條年代，美國社會充斥著噬心嚙肺的貧困。

（2）“All the time the creeping fear that he would never come back to her grew strong within her. ” （touching connection：a worm creeping on the skin）

一直令她揪心的那種毛骨悚然的恐懼與日俱增---她感到他將永離她而去。

1.2 The methods of translating the transferred epithet

Transferred epithets usually can be translated with the method of relative literal translation to express the original meaning. Of course， the most important thing is to re-express its original meaning. If we cannot keep the content and form of the original transferred epithets at the same time， we can overlook the style and just translate its meaning and give some explanation.

（1） “There was an amazed silence. Slowly Alexander turned away. ”

“Silence” in the sentence is an abstract word. Usually， the words like “total”， “dead” are used to modify the word “silence”， and the word “amazed” is often used to express ones astonishment. So we can translate the sentence above into Chinese “人們一陣驚訝，默不做聲。亞歷山大悄然離去。”

（2） “The big man crashed down on a protesting chair.”

After reading the sentence， many people may be surprised. Thinking about it， after all， we know that the chair cannot bear the weight and give out some noise. So we get a good translation “大個子一屁股坐下去，椅子吱吱嘎嘎的響（像是抗議似的）。”.

2. Translation of zeugma

2.1 The characteristics of zeugma：

The figure of speech takes advantage of something common and the interior relations of the substance， changes the meaning of the words to form a new collocation. In order to demonstrate the logical relations and meaning， the writers will create one new collocation to make the readers think deeply and understand the real meaning. This kind of expressions can strike a chord with the readers. In the construction of this figure of speech， one word can be collocated with the two parallel words or phrases， but one is used in its literal meaning and the other is used in its figurative meaning. For example，

“She had to swallow bread and butter and a spasm of emotion.”

她吞食著黃油面包，但抑制不了感情的波瀾。

In this sentence， “to swallow bread and butter” is used in its literal meaning， while “to swallow a spasm of emotion” is used in its figurative meaning.

2.2 The types of zeugma

2.2.1 The same word （usually verbs） collocates with two or more objects. For example，

“Lawsuit consumes time， and money， and rest and friends.”

訴訟使人喪失時間，金錢，安寧和朋友。

The verb “consume” collocates with time， money， rest and friends.

2.2.2 The same word or phrase that has many meanings collocates with two or more objects is used to form some different phrases， for example，

“He picked up his hat and his courage. “（龐人騏：〈英語轉換修辭句法〉）

他撿起了帽子也撿回了勇氣。

“Yesterday he had a blue coat and heart.”

昨天他身著藍上衣，心情憂郁。

In the first example， “pick up” has two meanings. One is “ take hold of and lift something ”， the other is “ restore to normality or make better ”. In the second， “blue” has two meanings， too. One is “ having the color of a clear sky or the sea on a sunny day ” and the other is “sad or depressed ”.

2.3 The methods of translating zeugma

2.3.1 Antithesis translation：

Antithesis translation is a method that expresses the contrast of ideas marked by the choice and arrangement of words. For example，

“When my sorrows and I are dust…”（Dickens： A Tale of Two Cities）

等到我的尸骨變為灰燼之日，我的悲哀化為煙云之時……

“Clean your breath while it cleans your teeth. ” 滿口皓齒，滿口清香。

Of course， the sentences are translated according to the context. From the above translation， we can see that they are very formal.

2.3.2 Literal translation（對等翻譯）

From the name of literal translation， we know that the method just uses the words meaning to translate what the sentences substances， for example：

“Words and feathers are tossed by the wind.”

話語和羽毛，隨風到處飄。

“You devils ought to search our heads not our pockets.” （Gorky： Mother）

你們這些魔鬼！搜的應該是腦袋，而不是我們的錢包！

Besides， it is also effective to translate this figure of speech into Chinese four-character structures：

“They have gone with weeping eyes and hearts.”

他們走了，淚眼汪汪，心情沉痛。

From the above examples， we can see the method of literal translation is very simple， and easily applied in practice.

References：

[1]周方珠.zeugma與拈連的比較翻譯[D].安徽大學外語系.

[2]王家楫.軛式修辭法的欣賞與翻譯[J].中國翻譯，2000，2.