2024年3月15日发(作者：)

文学中几种常见的英语修辞手法及其翻译

several common english figures of speech and their

translating in literature

author: liu baijing

abstract: english figures of speech are the artistic

nature of language. as special signs of the language, they

are widely used in literary works; as unique contexts of mind,

they are widely used in different cultural backgrounds. by

briefly analyzing several common english figures of speech,

this paper makes readers understand what figures of speech

are and how to apply them, and suggests some methods of

translating them.

摘要：修辞是语言表达的艺术。作为积极修辞的英语修辞格广

泛运用于文学作品。从语言学的观点看，英语修辞格是一种特殊的

符号。从翻译学的观点看，英语修辞格是一种不同文化背景下独特

的意境。本文通过对几种常见修辞的粗略分析，来体会其中翻译的

韵味，并掌握其翻译技巧。

key words: figures of speech, translation, method

关键词：修辞，翻译，方法

introduction:

different countries and different cultures carry

different histories, but it makes us get together at the same

time. language is a tool for people to convey their feelings

and thoughts. in order to improve the effects of expression

and strengthen the persuasion, people apply many varieties

of methods. m.a.k halliday said: “each language has its own

logic, own figures of speech, and own value of aesthetics.”

so we find, figures of speech are the artistic nature of

language.

as special signs of the language, figures of speech are

widely used in literary works; as unique contexts of mind,

they are widely used in different cultural backgrounds. the

categories of english figures of speech (feng cuihua. english

figures of speech): simile, metaphor, analogy,

personification, hyperbole, understatement, euphemism,

metonymy, synecdoche, antonomasia, pun, zeugma, irony,

innuendo, sarcasm, paradox, oxymoron, antithesis, epigram,

climax, anti-climax, apostrophe, transferred-epithet,

alliteration, onomatopoeia, and repetition.

the charm of figures of speech in literature lies in its

beauty of relation, beauty of change, beauty of harmony, and

beauty of sound and color. now, let us analyze several common

english figures of speech in literature, and try to summarize

the methods of translating them.

1. simile

it is a figure of speech, which makes a comparison between

two unlike elements having at least one quality or

characteristic in common. to make the comparison words like

as ,as…as, as if, and like are used to transfer the quality

we associate with one to the other.

e.g. ①sore-eyed children clouds cluster of everywhere in

unbelievable numbers, like clouds of flies.(“marrakech” ae1)

眼睛红肿的孩子随处可见，多的像一群群的苍蝇,数也数不清。

②it was his voice, jiajie’s voice, so endearing, so gentle,

and so far away, as if, from another world.(《人到中年》)

是他的声音，家杰的声音！那么亲切，那么温柔，那么遥远，

好似从九天之外的另一个世界飘来。(trans. wang meijie)

comparison, one is comparison between objects, this is

called comparison in terms of images; the other is comparison

between logics, this is called comparison in terms of logic.

example① compares “sore-eyed children in unbelievable

numbers” with “clouds of flies”, this is comparison in terms

of images. example② compares “jiajie’s voice” with “one

from another world”, this is comparison in terms of logic.

english famous scholar ivor armstrong richards divided

comparison into two parts: ⑴the tenor, i.e. the idea being

expressed or the subject of the comparison, such as

“sore-eyed children” and “jiajie’s voice”; ⑵the vehicle,

i.e. the image of which this idea is conveyed or the subject

communicated, such as “clouds of flies” and “one from

another world”; ⑶indicator of resemblance, links the tenor

and vehicle, such as “like, as, as if”.

every nation has its own methods in expression, and every

comparison has its own feathers. to the same images, because

of different region, different society and different culture

background, different nation may have different association

that forms some distance and difference in their languages.

for examples, there are distinctly national features in the

simile vehicles. although there are many vehicle equivalences

in english and chinese, the number is limited. in fact, there

are a lot of equivalent methods in which the same meaning of

comparisons has different vehicles. so when we meet the

comparisons that are not translated literally, we must change

their images or vehicles. e.g. (hu wenchong culture and

communication):

① diamond cut diamond. 棋逢对手

② you are putting all your eggs in one basket. 你这是

孤注一掷。

macroscopically, there are many common characters in the

whole human culture; microcosmically, there are also

individualities in each national culture. especially, idioms

and proverbs are the fruits of the national cultures, which

fully reflect the national features. e.g. (xu chaoxi《英谚

译介》):

① a rat in a hole 瓮中捉鳖

② like a drowned rat 像落汤鸡

these translations achieve the likeness in spirit but not

in forms. this also follows american famous translation

scholar eugere a. nida “functional equivalence”. when we

change images and vehicles, we defer to its national features,

national culture and language features, and we also must think

about the degree of readers’ acceptance.

3. metonymy

it is a figure of speech that has to do with the

substitution of the name of one thing for that of another.

e.g. ①let’s have a chat over a bottle. 咱们边喝酒边聊

天吧。

②he chose a gun instead of a cap and gown. 他选择了当

兵，而没有选择上大学。

③on the 14th of march, at a quarter to three in the

afternoon, the greatest living thinker ceased to think.

(frederick engels. speech at the graveside of karl marx) 3

月14日，下午两点三刻，当代最伟大的思想家停止了思考。

the types of metonymy and their functions:

⑴ names of containers instead of things in them.

example①,“bottle” instead of “the wine in the bottle”.

⑵ tools or organs instead of the tenors:

example②,“gun” instead of “soldier”, “cap and gown”

instead of “entering the university”.

⑶ reasons and results instead of each other:

example③,“ceased to think” instead of “died”.

methods of translation:

according to the features of the above types, we can apply

literal translation, liberal translation and addition

translation in metonymy.

e.g. ①lawrence became the mouthpiece for the orsatti

family, and when the timing was right, orsatti had him

elevated to a judgeship. (sidne sheldon. if tomorrow comes.)

劳伦斯成了奥斯蒂家族的喉舌，奥斯蒂则瞅着时机成熟，将他

推上了法官的宝座。

“mouthpiece”: literal translation, this method retains

the original images which makes the translation have more

appeal to readers.

4. personification

one kind of rhetoric is poetic; one kind of rhetoric is

vivid; one kind of rhetoric is clear. this is the daffodil

in the figures of speech―personification: it gives human

form of feelings to animals, or life and personal attribute

to inanimate objects, or to ideas and abstractions.

e.g. the mist, like love, plays upon the heart of the hills

and brings out surprises of beauty. (r. tagore. stray birds)

雾，像爱情一样，在山峰的心上游戏，生出种种美丽的变幻。

personification in english and chinese is different in

approach but equally satisfactory in result. the use of it

is also similar to each other. in the following part, the

author will introduce the usage of personification briefly.

⑴ personification of inanimate objects

e.g. the ancient mansion spoke to me of by gone days. 古

老的宅第对我诉说逝去的岁月年华。

⑵ personification of animate objects (chiefly used in

literature and art, especially used in conversations.)

e.g. the lion laughed scornfully at this, but he lifted

his paw and let his brave prisoner go free.

那狮子哈哈大笑，对此嗤之以鼻，但还是高抬贵手，把自己勇

敢的囚犯放走了。

⑶ personification of flowers, grass and trees

e.g. the flowers smile at every visitor. 鲜花向所有来宾

绽开笑容。

⑷ personification of natural phenomenon

e.g. the gentle breeze caresses my cheeks and soothed my

anger. 和风轻抚我的脸颊，平息了我的怒气。

ole:

it is the deliberate use of overstatement or exaggeration

to achieve emphasis.

the roles of hyperbole:

first, it must be based on the objective cases and life

foundations, which make people, believe.

second, the use of hyperbole must be clear, which makes

people know it is hyperbole not only describing.

third, the use of hyperbole must be novel not vulgar.

fourth, translators must pay attention to the range of

hyperbole.

the translation of hyperbole is relative easier which is

similar to chinese hyperbole. when we translate it, we can

apply literal translation.

e.g. his eloquence would split rocks. 他的雄辩之威力，

能劈磐石。

sometimes, we can also apply liberal translation.

e.g. it’s a crime to stay on such a beautiful day. 今

天阳光明媚，躲在家里实在太遗憾了。

while translating hyperbole, we should notice the language

appeal and inspiration which can give readers pleasure,

imaginations, and deep impressions.

conclusion

we have talked about figures of speech so much. in fact,

the translation of rhetoric is a process of recreation. it

reproduces the original ideas and context of situation. as

mao dun said: “…the literary translation is that translators

convey the original thoughts and context of mind to readers

as if they are reading the original works, which gives them

the inspiration and enjoyment of beauty.” therefore, if we

want to improve the abilities to do the translation, we must

study figures of speech first. however, in our english

teaching, people always pay much attention to the grammar and

vocabulary, and ignore figures of speech. in the fields of

linguistics and foreign language teaching, scholars who study

rhetoric are so few that this subject is still a weak part

in the foreign language studying. in my opinion, nowadays,

some people think it is unnecessary to go deep into it, or

some people think it is unattainable to study it. many people

consider figures of speech are hidden in the famous masters’

works; however, in fact, they are in our daily lives. we should

do a feasibility to change our backward ideas. in the meantime,

we must improve the teaching and studying of rhetoric.

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