漢英方位詞翻譯的相通之處

肖瑤瑤 肖庚生

Abstract：Language is a kind of social phenomenon and cultural carrier，and an integral part of culture as well.Vocabulary is a fundamental part element in all the elements of a language.Since cultural diversities exert an effect on the use of a word，the interpretation of the word inevitably reflects rational or cultural differences.However，similarities between Chinese and English in translation of“East，West，South，and North” cannot easily be defined.This paper aims at the analysis of the similarities between Chinese and Western countries in translation of location words —— with Special Reference to “East，West，South，and North”.

Key words：culture；metaphor；east，west，south，and north；similarities

摘 要：語言是一種社會現象和文化載體，同時又是文化的一個重要組成部分。在語言的各要素中詞匯是基本要素。因文化差異在詞匯層面上有所體現，對詞匯的解釋也必然能夠體現各民族文化間的差異。而漢英方位詞“東西南北”翻譯的相通之處卻很難被人們發現。本研究就漢英方位詞翻譯的相通之處進行詳細的分析。

關鍵詞：文化；隱喻；東西南北；相似

1 Introduction

Since space enjoys a privileged position as a fundamental ontological category in language，human conception of space seems to structure other parts of the conceptual system through metaphorical mappings，and the study of metaphorical meaning of spatial locality has recently appealed to an increasing number of scholars in linguistic area with the boom of cognitive linguistics since 1980s.

For the experiences of physical space are basically the same all over the world，people in different countries have much in common in cognizing the spatial structures.With respect to the concept of spatial locality，which includes up-down，front-back，in-out，deep-shallow，central-peripheral and so on，it has become a closed class.The experience of spatial exploration and the linguistic spatial expressions are closely related，and different cultures adopt different linguistic forms to convey certain spatial locality.For instance，for Chinese，the locality words，verbs and adjectives are employed to express spatial locality，while for English，the prepositions and adverbs are widely used to indicate spatial relations.

The nouns of locality such as east，west，south and north，not only express the concept of space，but also bear profound cultural connotations.When it comes to space，as one of the most basic cognitive categories，“east，west，south，and north” play an essential role in peoples life and the way of cognizing the world.It is widely renowned to us that the Lecture Room is anchored by famous and the very capable speakers.What greatly impressed me is the chapter of White Vengeance，a struggling psywar between Xiang Yu and Liu Bang，where the locality of words are introduced.For instance，one sentence “項王、項伯東向坐，亞父南向坐，沛公北向坐，張良西向坐。” indicates the superiority and inferiority of the social status at that time.Specifically speaking，he who sits on the southern part stands for the respected while the northern part signifies the inferiority.More specifically，when the person on the seat of honor compares with the inferior one，the most respected one is on the southern part seat.However，two persons who both equally on the seat of honor.As a result，this topic is also involved in the present paper.

2 Similarities between Chinese and English in Translation of “East，West，South，and North”

2.1 Similarities in Basic Meaning

Differences as there be，similarities cannot be denied，anyway.There are several similarities in expression as follows.

In modern times，when it comes to the basic meaning between Chinese and English in translation of “East，West，South，and North”，they both refer to location with reference to the locality of the sun.That is，“東” and east both imply the direction of the sun rising； while “西” and west both indicate the direction of the sun setting； also，respectively，both “南” and south suggest facing the sun，while“北” and north mean the contrary.

2.2 Similarities in Order

The way of expressing the order of “東西”in China will be corresponding to western countries in collocation of their order.That is to say，the way of expression between them in the aspect of order is accordant.For instance，when translating “從東到西”，we can apply the literal translation method in this respect，“from east to west”.In other words，“東（east）” stands in front of “西（west）”，and “東（east）”and “西（west）” present at the same time.However，no derivations as there be，we could make the most of the conjunction，“and ”.For example，there is the proverb that is renown to us all，east and west，home is best.For Chinese，it reads “東邊西邊，家里最好（in literal translation）”.A famous Ireland poet Seamus Heaney wrote in his poem The Railway，i.e.“Like lovely freehand they curved for miles east and west beyond us，sagging under their burden of swallow”，translated into Chinese is “像漂亮的自由體書寫，它們彎向東，彎向西，綿延幾英里，燕子們的重量壓得電線微微下垂。” From what the specific examples I have stated above，we can actually come to conclusion that，in certain aspect，the order of English in translation of “east，west，south，and north” is identical with China.

2.3 Similarities in Habitual Usage

When it comes to the similarities in habitual usage between Chinese and English，in effect，we actually take the implicational meaning or expression into account.In some usages，such as both “西” and west show the figurative sense，which compare to go to a better place or be in heaven，anyway，in a euphemistic way.Relatively，in Chinese，we often say，“榮登極樂”，“乘鶴西去”，“與世長辭”，“含笑九泉”，etc.The reasons why people often associate “西/west” with the negative meaning linked with death derive from the direction of sun setting and the background of the custom of the nations probably.

3 Conclusion

In this paper，the author has analyzed and probed into the similarities between Chinese and English in translation of location words“ east，west，south and north” and both similarities and differences are included in this aspect.The author has discussed several fields，drawing great attention to the respect of similarities in basic meaning，order and habitual usage.Hence，a good awareness of those similarities is of great help in achieving successful cross-cultural communication，effective language teaching and better in translation.

Bibliography

[1]Lakoff，George&Turner;，Mark.More Than Cool Reason[M].London：Cambridge University，1989.

[2]Lakoff，George&Johnson;，Mark.Metaphors We Live By[M].Shanghai：Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press，1980.

[3]Langacker，R W.Foundations of Cognitive Grammar：Theoretical Prerequisites[M].Beijing：Tsinghua University Press，1987.

[4]Mark，Johnson，ed.The Body in the mind[M].Chicago：University of Press，1987.

[5]方經民.漢語“左”“右”方位參照中的主視和客視——兼與游順釗先生討論[M].上海語言教學與研究，1987.

[6]付寧.語法化視角下的漢語方位詞研究綜述[M].山東泰山學院學報，2011.

[7]李晉霞，劉云.從概念域看單音方位詞語法化的非勻質性[M].北京語言科學，2006.

作者簡介

肖瑤瑤（1993.09.06—），女，湖南邵陽人，研究方向：語言文學。

肖庚生，男，漢族，衡陽人，博士，副教授，碩士生導師，主要研究方向為第二語言習得、外語自主學習、應用語言學研究方法。