-
济南大学泉城学院毕业论文
A
Comparative Study on Appraisal Meaning in Chinese
and English Metaphors
1.0 Introduction
As a kind
of rhetoric, metaphor plays a significant part in
daily
communication and
literature
works.
English
and
Chinese
metaphors
are
affected
by
different
geographical,
cultural and social backgrounds, thus a
lot of discrepancies exist between them. However,
since different human languages share
some certain common characteristics,
English and
Chinese
metaphors also have similarities. Therefore, a
comparative study on English and
Chinese metaphors is necessary and
instructive.
The appraisal system was established in
the twentieth century and it focuses mainly
on how human beings use language to
make assessments, take a position on matters and
show
their
attitudes.
Because
metaphor
is
an
effective
way
of
expressing
emotions,
conducting a comparative study on
English and Chinese metaphors based on the
appraisal
system, especially from the
level of attitude, is practical and significant.
The first part of this
thesis gives a brief introduction to the appraisal
system, including
the definition of
every branch system
and a detailed
statement of
attitude.
In
the second
part, a brief introduction
is given to metaphor and then this thesis conducts
a comparative
analysis
on
English
and
Chinese
metaphors
on
the
level
of
attitude
(affect,
judgment,
appreciation)
by
enumerating
typical
English
and
Chinese
examples.
This
thesis
summarizes the discrepancies and
similarities between English and Chinese metaphors
on
appraisal meaning. In the linguistic
circle, there have been a lot of comparative
researches
done into Chinese and
English metaphors, but a comparative study on
appraisal meaning in
Chinese
and
English
metaphors
is
relatively
rare.
This
thesis
tries
to
indicate
the
discrepancies
and
similarities
between
Chinese
and
English
metaphors
based
on
the
appraisal
system,
hoping
that
such
an
analysis
would
help
people
to
have
a
better
understanding
of
English
and
Chinese
metaphors,
along
with
the
basic
framework
of
appraisal system.
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济南大学泉城学院毕业论文
2.0
An Overview of the Appraisal Theory
In
2000,
Martin
’
s
work,
Beyond
Exchange:
APPRAISAL
Systems
in
English
which
marked the establishing of the
appraisal system was published. Martin defined
“
appraisal
”
as
one
of
three
major
discourse
semantic
resources
construing
interpersonal
meaning
(along
involvement
and
negotiation).
Appraisal
itself
regionalized
as
three
interacting
domains,
“
attitud
e
”
,
“engagement”
and
“
graduation
”
(
Martin,
2008:
46).
According
to
Wang Zhenhua (2001: 14), the appraisal
system is a kind of new development of systemic
functional linguistics and it belongs
to interpretive research.
In short, the appraisal system is a set
of resources which can express the speaker or
writer
’
s
attitude.
Unlike
previous
research,
it
focuses
mainly
on
semantics
of
evaluation
between
speakers
and
thus
reveals
various
attitudes,
graduations
of
emotions
and
the
means to identify value.
2.1
Components of the Appraisal System
Monogloss
Engagement
Heterogloss
Affect
The Appraisal System
Attitude
Judgment
Appreciation
Force
Graduation
Focus
As the chart shows above, the appraisal
system is composed of three subsystems. They
are
engagement, attitude and
graduation. As Martin
(2008:
47) says,
“
Engagement deals
with
sourcing
attitudes
and
the
play
of
voices
around
opinions
in
discourse.
Attitude
is
concerned
with
our
feelings,
including
emotional
reactions,
judgments
of
behavior
and
evaluation
of
things.
Graduation
attends
to
grading
phenomena
whereby
feelings
are
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济南大学泉城学院毕业论文
amplified and categories
blurred.
”
2.2 Attitude
This
thesis
mainly
focuses
on
similarities
and
differences
of
English
and
Chinese
metaphors
on
the
level
of
attitude.
Therefore,
it
is
necessary
to
present
a
further
introduction to attitude. Attitude is
the core part of this theory. It means a kind of
affect,
judgments
or
appreciations
to
behaviors,
text/process,
and
phenomena.
Therefore,
the
system
of
attitude
is
composed
of
three
subsystems:
judgment,
affect
and
appreciation.
Affect is the
center of attitude. It deals with resources for
construing emotional reactions
(Martin,
2008: 47).
There are three components in system of
affect: affect as
“
quality
”
, affect as
“
process
”
and
affect
as
“
comment
”
.
Affect
as
“
quality
”
is
a
kind
of
affect
expressed
by
words
or
phrases
that concerns with quality. By affect as
“
process
”
we
mean language users show
their
emotions
by
the
process
of
applying
clauses,
which
mainly
includes
two
aspects:
mental
process
and
behavior
process.
The
former
reveals
the
process
of
psychological
states and the
latter reveals emotions reflected by behaviors.
Affect as
“
comment
”
refers to
the
emotion
that
is
expressed
by
Modal
Adjunct
and
it
is
the
Interpersonal
Theme
of
clauses. For example,
“
Happily, he had a long
nap.
”
The speaker makes a
comment on the
clause
“
he had a long
nap
”
with the adverb
“
happily
”
(Wang Zhenhua, 2001: 16).
According
to
Martin
and
White
(2008:
52),
judgment
is
the
region
of
meaning
construing human
beings
’
attitudes of people
and the way they behave
–
people
’
s character
(how
someone
measure
up).
In
general
terms
judgments
can
be
divided
into
“
social
esteem
”
and
“
social
sanction
”
.
Appreciation
is
a
kind
of
meaning
construing
the
evaluations
of
things
and
performances
and
it
is
composed
of
three
parts: <
/p>
“
Reactions
”
,
“Composition”
and
“
Value
”
.
3.0 Appraisal Meaning in
Chinese and English Metaphor
3.1 An
Introduction to Metaphor
As
a
kind
of
important
rhetorical
devices,
metaphor
study
has
a
long
history.
From
ancient Greek to
now,
metaphor has been studied for more than
2400
years.
In different
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济南大学泉城学院毕业论文
stages, the definition of metaphor is
different. Burke (1945: 503) defines metaphor as
“
a
device for
seeing something in terms of something
else
”.
Although this
definition is clear
and concise, it
does not give much information. Lakoff and Johnson
consider metaphor at
the level of
perception. In their master work
Metaphors We Live by
, Lakoff
and Johnson
(1996:
8)
tells
us
that
“We
have
found,
on
the
contrary,
that
metaphor
is
pervasive
in
everyday
life,
not
just
in
language
but
in
thought
and
action.
Our
ordinary
conceptual
system, in terms of which we both think
and act, is fundamentally metaphorical in
nature.
”
According to Cameron and Low (2001:
10),
“Metaphor,
or the means
by which one thing
is
described
in
terms
of
something
else,
has
been
described
as
a
central
tool
of
our
cognitive
apparatus.
”
Chinese
scholars
also
conducted
comprehensive
research
on
Metaphors.
Wang
Shouyuan
(2000:
66)
notes
that
“the
most
important
type
of
meaning
transference
in
literature is metaphor.” S
hu
Dingfang (2001: 28) lists four definitions on
metaphors in her
book
Studies in Metaphor
.
(1) Metaphor is not just a
rhetoric device but also a cognitive apparatus. In
essence, it is
a kind of perceptual and
conceptualized method for human to understand the
world.
(2)
Metaphor
is
pragmatic
phenomenon
and
interpretations
on
them
are
inseparable
from context,
especially social or culture context.
(3)
Metaphor
is
the
semantic
interaction
of
two
different
semantic
fields.
Metaphor
reaches two fields
and each field has different semantic structure
features.
(4) Metaphor is a kind of
predication.
3.2
Classification of Metaphor
Metaphor
can
be
conceptual
and
linguistic.
Conceptual
metaphors
involve
two
concepts and have the form of A is B,
where concept A is understood in terms of concept
B.
Linguistic metaphors, or
metaphorical linguistic expressions, are
linguistic manifestations
of conceptual
metaphors.
According to
cognitive functions, Koveceses (2010: 46) divides
conceptual metaphors
into three kinds:
(1)
Structural
metaphors.
This
kind
of
metaphor
maps
the
structure
of
the
source
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济南大学泉城学院毕业论文
domain
onto
the
structure
of
the
target
and
in
this
way
allows
speakers
to
understand one domain in terms of
another.
(2)
Orientational
metaphors.
Orientational
metaphors
have
primarily
an
evaluative
function. They
make large groups of metaphors coherent with each
other.
(3) Ontological
metaphors. This kind of metaphor provides
extremely fundamental but
very crude
understanding for target concepts.
Kveceses (2010: 46) notes that
“
Conceptual metaphors can
also be specific-level and
generic-
level. Most conceptual metaphors employ concepts
that are at a specific level of
generality. Generic-level metaphors
have special jobs designed for them in the working
of
our metaphorical conceptual
system
”
.
3.3 Discrepancies and Similarities on
Affect
Affect
is
the
most
important
component
of
the
system
of
attitude.
It
is
a
kind
of
resources
that
can
construe
emotional
reactions.
As
mentioned
in
the
previous
part,
the
system
of
affect
is
composed
of
three
parts.
They
are
affect
as
“
quality
”
,
affect
as
“
process
”
and affect as
“
comment
”
< br>. Therefore, this part is going to discuss discrepancies
and similarities of
Chinese and English metaphors from these three
aspects.
3.3.1 Affect as
“
Quality
”
Affect as
“
qualit
y
”
mainly focuses
on qualities. It
can be used by
speakers to show
whether one thing or
action is good or bad, or whether the quality of
one thing is high or
low. Metaphors, as
a rhetorical device, are always used to describe
the quality.
Although
Chinese
and
English
are
two
widely
dissimilar
languages,
there
are
some
similar
metaphors that indicate qualities. For instances:
(1)
I’
m really
down
today.
(2)
他正处于人生
的
低谷
。
These two sentences both try to reveal
the low quality of a
person
’
s life so they take
the adjective
“
down
”
as the target.
“
Down
”
here symbolizes disappointing and depressing
living conditions. Obviously, a kind of
disliked emotion is shown by the metaphors.
On the other hand, as two
different languages, discrepancies still exist in
metaphors
concerning qualities in
Chinese and English. For examples:
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济南大学泉城学院毕业论文
(3) When I am in a
blue
mood, I will do my
hobbies to cheer myself up.
(4)
从那以后，他的心情一直都是
灰色
的。
Sentences above describe a kind of sad
mood. In other words, the metaphors
“
blue
”
and
“
灰色
”
indicate the low quality of emotions and dislike
of the sad mood. But it is easy
to
realize
the
differences
between
the
Chinese
and
English
sentences.
In
the
English
metaphor, the word
“
blue
”
is used to describe a sad mood but in the Chinese
metaphor, the
color
“gray”
symbolizes the bad
mood.
3.3.2 Affect as
“
Process
”
Affect
as
“
process
”
focuses
on
the
processes
of
emotions.
The
process
of
affect
is
divided
into
two
parts:
mental
process
and
behavioral
process.
The
former
reveals
the
process of psychological states and the
latter reveals emotions reflected
by
behaviors.
In
this
section,
discrepancies
and
similarities
of
English
and
Chinese
metaphors
will
be
discussed
from the aspects aforementioned.
Mental
process
mainly
focuses
on
mental
activities.
Both
in
Chinese
and
English,
there are a lot of similar metaphors
that reflect mental behaviors. For examples:
(5) He
radiates
joy. / He was
gleaming
(Zhou
Hong, 2001: 91).
(6)
他的脸变得
容光焕发
。
/
他满面
红光
。
The metaphorical sentences
above all express a kind of happy mood and they
all use
the image
“
light
”
as the tenor.
“
Light
”
here reveals the mental process of the subjects.
As
another two metaphorical sentences
show:
(7) We are all
smiles
. / She was all
teeth
.
(8)
老师
满脸笑容
的走进了教室。
“
Smile
”
is generally
used as a verb, but in these two examples,
“
smile
”
is
used as a
noun to describe the state of
the moods. Metaphors here act as a way that shows
the inner
happiness.
However,
discrepancies
exist
in
this
kind
of
Chinese
and
English
metaphors,
for
instances
：
(9) I have my
heart in my boots
when I got
the news that there was an earthquake in
my hometown.
(10)
当她走上演讲台时，她感
觉心里
有头小鹿在跳
。
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济南大学泉城学院毕业论文
The
two instances above are about nervous and fearful
affect. In the English sentence,
“
boots
”
is
used
to
describe
the
worried
feeling;
in
the
Chinese
sentence,
a
jumping
“
deerlet
”
represents
“
her
”
nervousness.
Another
aspect
of
affect
as
“
process
”
is
behavioral
process.
It
is
mainly
about
emotions
reflected
by
behaviors.
Both
in
Chinese
and
English,
certain
specified
acts
always
reflect
certain
emotions.
The
examples
following
will
discuss
the
similarities
of
Chinese and English metaphors on the
level of behavioral process.
(11) I was so
mad I could not
see straight
(Jiang Yongmei, 2011: 70).
(12)
他被自己的孩子气的
两眼发
黑
。
The metaphors above reveal the angry
mood by the behavior
“
see
”
.
“
could not see
straight
”
and
“
两眼发黑
”
reflect the level of anger. There are another two
such instances
about eyes and light:
(13) Her eyes
glinted
when she saw the
beautiful diamond ring.
(14)
这么多钱看的他
两眼直放光
。
In these two
metaphorical sentences,
“
gli
nted
”
and
“
两眼放光
”
show a greedy and
keen heart toward the
money and the ring.
But
the
flowing
examples
illustrate
the
differences
between
Chinese
and
English
metaphors on the level of process:
(15) Her eyes
glinted
when she heard the
good news.
(16)
听到这个好消息，他不禁
喜
上眉梢
。
In English, people like to
use the metaphors about
“
eyes
”
to
show their cheerful
emotions, but in Chinese, people prefer
to use eyebrows to represent their great joy, such
as
“
喜上眉梢
”
and
“
眉开眼笑
”
.
3.3.3
Affect as
“
Comment
”
Affect as
“
commen
t
”
is used as the
interpersonal theme in the clauses. It is a kind
of
affection
expressed
by
the
adverbs
which
can
reveal
the
quality
of
something.
Affect
as
“comment”
is
similar to affect as
“
proces
s
”
, but the former
emphasizes the use of modal
adjuncts.
Such as,
“
Happily, he had a
long nap.
”
The speaker uses
the word
“
happily
”
to
make a comment about
the quality of
“a
long
nap
”
.
In English, metaphors about
affect as
“
comment
”
are infrequent and not frequently
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济南大学泉城学院毕业论文
used.
But
in
Chinese,
a
lot
of
such
examples
can
be
found.
The
following
are
some
Chinese examples:
(17)
火急火燎
地，他总算赶到了火车站。
(18)
老板
两眼放光
地数着钱。
(19)
他
满面红光
地，激动地，走向了领奖台
。
(20)
参加会议的人
面红耳赤
地争论着。
From the examples above we can see that
in Chinese, the metaphors which are used
to describe the actions can be
classified as the metaphors about affect as
“
comment
”
.
Such
as the second sentence, the phrase
“
两眼放光
”
describes the action of counting money and
the greedy of human nature.
Some instances of affect as
“
Comment
”
in
English can be found:
(21) With his
gleaming
eyes, he opened the
cashbox.
(22) With
a strong arm
, the government
calmed the unrest.
(23) In
the
teeth
of the wind, they
crossed the Atlantic.
In
the sentences above, all the metaphors are used to
describe the behaviors. Such as
the
second sentence,
“
with a
strong arm
”
can be
understood as toughly and militantly. In
the
third
example,
“
in
the
teeth
of
the
wind
”
not
only
means
the
“
upwind
”
,
but
also
explains the degree of hardship.
All
in
all,
not
only
differences,
but
also
similarities
exist
in
Chinese
and
English
metaphors on affect.
A contrastive study on them can help English
learners to understand
the different
ways that reveal
emotions
in
Chinese
and
English metaphors
and then
help
them to know how to do E-C and C-E
translation better.
3.4 Discrepancies and Similarities on
Judgment
Judgment
is
a
branch
of
attitude
and
it
belongs
to
moral
category.
It
is
a
kind
of
method
to
evaluate
behaviors
of
language
users
based
on
the
standard
of
virtue
(Wang
Zhenhua,
2001:
16).
At
present,
judgment
is
mainly
used
to
conduct
a
study
on
news
language.
Researches on news language divide system of
judgment into two parts: social
esteem
and social sanction. This thesis tries to compare
Chinese metaphors with English
metaphors from this two aspects,
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