英语论文——英语谚语中的比喻修辞

辅修专业学士学位毕业论文（设计）题目（中文）：英语谚语中的比喻修辞（英文）：The Tropes in English Proverbs学院年级专业学生姓名学号指导教师完成日期年月The Tropes in English ProverbsWritten bySupervised byA Thesis Submitted toShanghai Normal UniversityIn Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements forThe Degree of Bachelor of ArtsForeign Languages College, Shanghai Normal UniversityDecember 2011AcknowledgmentsI want to acknowledge the invaluable help of Ms. Shen, my constant consultant, who has made timely and useful suggestions on working out the outline, refining the earlier drafts and given me enlightening advice throughout the whole process of writing the thesis. I especially appreciate her guidance and wish to extend my sincere gratitude to her.This work also owes much to my dear friends whose encouragement and great help inspires me to make further efforts when I encounter difficulties and was sometimes at loss.My heart-felt thanks are also due to my father and mother, who have been in constant favor of me and offered me the best they could.This thesis would not have been possible without the support and assistance that I received from them. My grateful thanks go to you all.AbstractPeople all know English proverbs are charming. Proverbs are widespread. They are simple but meaningful. They are vivid and humour, which they are the typical examples of aesthetic rhetoric and represents treasure of English language. They are the wisdom of English people. Using rhetoric is an important reason why the English proverbs are charming. Among them, the tropes are the most common rhetoric. Therefore, I analyze the tropes in English proverbs in this paper. Tropes can be divided into simile, metaphor, analogy, allegory, metonymy and synecdoche. This article focuses on simile, metaphor and synecdoche.This paper is divided into four chapters. They are introduction, literature review, analysis and conclusion. The first chapter introduces the tropes of English proverbs. The second chapter makes a simple introduction about the importance of the tropes in English proverbs. Then this paper makes a brief analysis of the simile, metaphor and synecdoche in English proverbs. It includes their definition, structure and semantic effect. The article lists lots of examples to explain them. Sometimes they are explained in Chinese to make readers understand easily. The final chapter concludes the thesis.This article helps us understand the meaning of the tropes in English proverb. If we can understand the semantic effect in English proverbs, we can comprehend and use these English proverbs better than before.Key words: English proverbs; tropes; simile; metaphor; synecdoche摘要英语谚语具有永恒的魅力，英语谚语内容十分广泛，且具有言少意多、言浅意深、生动形象、幽默风趣、观点鲜明等特点，是美学修辞的典范，是英语语言的瑰宝，是英语民族智慧的结晶。

其中修辞格的广泛运用是其魅力的一个重要原因，比喻又是最常用的修辞手法。

因此在本文中，我详细介绍了英语谚语中比喻修辞的手法并分析。

比喻可分为明喻、暗喻、借喻、讽喻、换喻和提喻。

本文主要就比喻中的明喻、暗喻、提喻修辞进行深入探讨。

本文共分四章。

其中第一章对英语谚语的修辞手法做了简单介绍。

第二章介绍了英语谚语以及修辞的背景。

第三章分别对明喻、暗喻、提喻进行分析，包括他们的定义，结构以及引起的语义效果。

文中列举了大量例子来佐证这几种比喻手法，并进行了详细的分析，并在其中穿插了中文解释，帮助我们更容易理解这些谚语的意义。

最后，总结全文，这篇文章帮助我们理解了英语谚语中比喻修辞手法的涵义，如果我们能理解这些修辞手法在谚语中引起的效果，那么我们也能更好的理解和应用这些谚语。

关键词：英语谚语；比喻修辞格；明喻；暗喻；提喻ContentsAcknowledgments (i)Abstract ..................................................................... (ii)摘要 (iii)1. Introduction (1)2. Literature review (2)3. Simile (2)3.1 The definition of simile (3)3.2 The basic format of simile (3)3.2.1 "As" style (3)3.2.2 "Like" style (4)3.2.3 "What" style (5)3.2.4"And" style (5)3.3 The semantic effect of simile (5)4.Metaphor (7)4.1 The definition of metaphor (7)4.2 The basic format of metaphor (8)4.2.1Conceptual metaphor (8)4.2.2 Coalescent metaphor (8)4.2.3 Implicative metaphor (9)4.2.4 Symbolic metaphor (10)4.3 The semantic effect of metaphor (10)5. Synecdoche (11)5.1 The definition of synecdoche (11)5.2 The basic format of synecdoche (11)5.3 The semantic effect of synecdoche (12)6. Conclusion (13)Bibliography (15)1. IntroductionWith regards to the ever lasting charm of the English proverbs, there are various reasons, the most important of which is the extensive use of English rhetorical devices. The rhetorical background of the English proverbs concerns their sources and the tradition of western rhetorics. The purpose of the use of rhetoric such as antithesis, repetition, rhyme and analogy is to make the proverb spread widely.English proverb is a valuable property in British folklore. It embodies the people's experience of life and struggle, which is the most vivid, harmonious and profound but simple and popular sentence. It is accumulated by hundreds of people from generation to generation.English proverbs are created by working people. It uses short, pithy linguistic forms to express. It often uses tropes, metonymy and contrast to describe the understanding of the laws of nature. English proverbs are the summary of social practice. Therefore, English proverbs are concrete and vivid.The use of rhetoric is essential in English writing. With the rhetoric, we can express our thoughts and emotions better. English proverb is a stationary statement that widespread among the masses of people. It plays an important role in language. At the same time, the vocabulary of English proverb is often easy to understand but meaningful.In essence, most of the English proverbs contain tropes, which makes proverbs more specific, concise and euphemism. Generally speaking, the application of tropes in English proverbs can make people understand and remember them more easily.Tropes include metaphor, simile, synecdoche, allegory, metonymy, allegory etc. In some areas, the study of rhetorical is a complex and interesting subject. In this limited space, I would only discuss the applications of three kinds of tropes.2.Literature reviewEnglish proverbs come from the practice and they reflect the practice. They are charming and full of philosophy. They are popular with people and pass down generation by generation. Then why are English proverbs so charming? There are various kinds of reasons. The main reason I think is the extensive use of the rhetoric. Those simple words can tell the reader a complicated principle. That is the benefit of the use of rhetoric.According to the modern view of rhetoric, it aimed at improving the semantic effect. Rhetoric is divided into two parts. They are communicative rhetoric and aesthetic rhetoric. In communication rhetoric, we put the emphasis on the clear content, fluent sentence and strict structure. But in aesthetic rhetoric, we often pay attention to its aesthetics. In aesthetic rhetoric, we can imagine the situation in our mind through its attractive words.Proverb is a language form that all kinds of the language have. They are used almost everywhere. At the same time, proverb is a typical example of aesthetic rhetoric. It is a treasure of the English language. It is the wisdom of the English people. Because of the extensive using of rhetorical in English proverb, it is simple but vivid, pithy but meaningful. We can find many rhetorics in English proverbs. They show the beauty of the English proverbs.On the other hand, trope is the most important and common rhetoric. It is an important part in rhetoric. It is an outstanding symbol in English proverbs. In other words, no tropes, no proverbs.3.SimileSimile is the simplest and basic rhetoric. In order to depict the image of a person or something clearly, people often compare something or someone who has the same characteristics with other person or things.3.1 The definition of simileA Dictionary of Literary Terms defined simile as："A figure of speech in which one thing is likened to another．In such a way as to clarify and enhance an image．It is explicit comparison (as opposed to the metaphor where comparison is implicit) recognizable by the use of words 'like' or 'as' "(Craige 2002:36). The word "like" and "as" are called "introductory word" of the simile. The format of simile is "the signified + the introductory word + the signifier". Word like, as, as if, as though, as...as, as...so, similar to, to bear a re-semblance to are common introductory word.The definition of simile in the Word Net English-English dictionary is a figure of speech that expresses a resemblance between things of different kinds (usually formed with `like' or `as').According to this authority and broad definition of simile, it is a rhetoric which manifest one thing like the other thing. In a common way, the signified has the same characteristics with the signifier. There are lots of common introductory words like as, seem, as if, as though, such as and so on. The basic format of simile is "A is like B" or "A is as ... as B". It also has other forms: virtual style, "that" style, "than" style, the verb style and "and" style. Simile is usually used in advertisement and technology description text because it shows the similar between one thing and the other thing. Reader can understand the description of the object and spirit easily. Among them, the signified is the object to be described, while the signifier is the object which is familiar to people.3.2 The basic format of simile3.2.1 "As" styleThere are two forms. One is the word "as"which is placed after the word "be" to act as predicative. Such as: An honest man's word is as good as his bond.(诚实人的诺言, 如同他立下的契约一样可靠). Another is the word "as" which is placed after the action verb to act as adverbial. For example: Children pick up words as pigeon peas, and utter them as God shall please (小孩学舌如鹦鹉, 再次说出无口误), He bides as fast as a cat bound to a saucer (守候得牢靠就像守候食碟的猫). Sentence whichis guided with the word "as" is relatively rare in English proverbs. However, phrases which are guided with word "as" can be found everywhere. Such as: as busy as a bee, as deep as the sea, as fine as sand, as gentle as a breeze, as healthy as an ox, as hungry as a wolf , as light as a cloud, as pure as spring water, as regular as the clock, as white as snow, as wild as a tiger.As we can see from these examples, in these phrases, the word "as" is followed by adjective which describe the characteristics of something to guide the simile.3.2.2 "Like" styleSimile guided by the word "like" can either be placed after the copula or after the action verb. When it comes to the sentence, it is placed after action verbs to serve as predicative. For example: Living without an aim is like sailing without a compass.(无目标的生活,就象无罗盘的航行);A man without religion is like a horse without a bridle.(没有信仰的人就像没有缰绳的马);A man of words and not of deeds is like a garden full of weeds. (只说不做的人,犹如光长野草的花园).A face without a smile is like a lantern without a light (没有笑容的脸蛋犹如没有亮光的灯笼);A broken heart is like broken china: we can mend it , but we can never erase the scars(破碎的心好比破碎的瓷器: 我们可以修补它, 但永远也不可能消除其伤痕);and so on.In the saying, only a few simile which is guided by the word "like" is placed after action verb to act as adverbial modifier. Such as: A merry heart does good like a medicine (保持快乐的心情就像药物一样有益); They agree like two cats in a gutter. (像沟里的两只猫一样情投意合).On the other hand, English is replete with phrases including words "like". Such as: to drink like a fish, to eat like a horse, to fly like a bird, to shine like gold, to sing like a lark, to sleep like a log, to swim like a duck, to twinkle like a star, to work like a horse and so on.In these phrases, the simile guided by the word "like" is placed after action verb to serve as adverbial modifiers. At this time, the characteristic of the verb is described vividly by using something we are familiar with.3.2.3 "What" styleThere are two common styles: A is to B what C is to D and What C is to D, A is to B. For example: Reading is to the mind, what exercise is to the body(读书对身心之重,恰如运动之于身体). Intellect is to the mind what sight is to the body (智力对思想犹如视力对于身体一样重要).The word "what" also can be put at the beginning of the sentence instead of the end of sentence. They are usually used to tell the importance between two things. For example: What the blue print is to the builder, the outline is to the writer (提纲对于作家犹如蓝图对于建筑师一样重要). What salt is to food, that wit and humor are to conversation and literature (妙语与幽默之于会话与文学,恰似盐对于食物一样).The above two examples is the second style. The word "that" connects main clause and subordinate clause. But usually word "that"can be omitted.3.2.4 "And" styleIt is a special kind of simile structure, which is common in English proverbs. This particular simile compares two collocation elements which are before and after the word "and". But word "and" in this situation can not be understood as "together", it means "like" here. For example: Love and cough cannot be hid. It means Love is like cough that they could not be escaped from the eyes and ears. In Chinese, it means 恋爱如同咳嗽，难逃人耳目. For another example: Truth and rose have thorns about them.(真理象玫瑰那样多刺). Books and friends should be few but good.(读书如交友，应求少而精)3.3 The semantic effect of simileAll in all, the object's shapes, movements and states can be described vividly in a clear way by using simile.The introductory word in the simile likes a bridge, which links the signified and the signifier closely. People can imagine two things through the introductory words.For example: Ill-gotten wealth is like a palace built on the sand.In this sentence, "ill-gotten wealth" is the signified, while "a palace built on the sand" is the signifier. The two things were connected with each other with the word "like" so that people associated the "ill-gotten wealth" with "the palace build on the sand" which is familiar to people. The proverb warns people that we must make money through hard work, or we will worry everyday when we use them. Also it warns that we cannot make money by foul means even though we face difficulties. The proverb Chinese meaning is 财富来得不正当,犹如宫殿建沙上.People may know:Beauty, unaccompanied by virtue, is as a flower without perfume.Beauty is a forever topic, we can say that everybody loves beauty. However, how can we understand the beauty correctly? How can we treat the beauty in and out correctly? We must put the emphasis not only on the appearance but also on their virtue. This proverb shows "beauty, unaccompanied by virtue" as "a flower without perfume". It illustrates such a philosophy: People always praise the beauty. But they praise not only for the pretty appearance but also for pretty heart. Proverbs also touched a deeper problems that lots of people aspire to the outer so that they ignore the external things in real life. In essence, beauty is pure but skin-deep and short lived. Only the beauty with inner virtue is forever.Another example: Reading is to the mind, what exercise is to the body.The main features of this kind of structure is its direct meaning, clear and symmetrical structure, antithesis neat and beautiful sentence patterns. This style of simile is often used to reveal the deeper or abstract meaning so that people can be impressed by these deep significance. What the proverb want to tell us is the importance of reading to the mind. Now it is expressed by the simple and obvious relationship between the body and exercise. It makes people understand easily.Enough is as good as feast.Living in this society, we have lots of demands for material and spirit. Proper desire can encourage one to make bigger progress, but endless desire often can ruin him. Proverb uses the structure that "as +adjective +as" to link the "enough"and "feast" to illustrate the meaning that true happiness is in a contented mind.4. MetaphorMetaphor is one kind of the tropes. According to the common features between two things, the reader must understand the meaning by himself instead of getting it directly. There are many examples in English proverbs.4.1 The definition of metaphorMetaphor means "a comparison made between two things that are alike in certain aspect, but it is suggested rather than explicitly stated without using the word 'like' or 'as' "(吕雯2006: 132)We may summarize the definitions of metaphor as following: "in the Webster's version, metaphor is seen as a figure of speech; secondly, metaphor is the substitution of one word by another; thirdly, metaphor involves similarity between objects or concepts; finally, metaphor is regarded as a special case of simile"(陈明2003: 5).Metaphor, is an implicit comparison. It is different from the simile. There is no introductory word between the signified and the signifier. The structure of the metaphor is "the signified is the the signifier".Metaphor illustrates the objects more vividly and deeply than the simile. Its expression is more strong than the simile. Metaphors often do not use the introductory word. Usually it implies more meaning than the simile and it describe the image more obviously.When two things have the similar characteristics, we often use the word "is" to link the two things with each other, that is "A is B". The relationship between the signified and the signifier is direct and close. It is common in English proverbs.Because of the omission of the introductory word, the proverb become more brief.Metaphor has been divided into four forms. They are conceptual metaphor(概念隐喻), coalescent metaphor(结合型隐喻), implicative metaphor(含蓄型隐喻) and symbolic metaphor(象征隐喻). The use of metaphor makes English proverb vivid.4.2 The basic format of metaphor4.2.1 Conceptual metaphorAccording to the theory of cognitive linguistics, conceptual metaphor involves two parts. It has a function which is to understand one concept through the other concept. This metaphor can be applied to the formula that X (Noun A) is Y (noun B). So the conceptual metaphor has another name which is called equational metaphor. For example, in the phrase"Love is fire", "fire" is obviously used to compare to the "love". As we all know, love is high emotional intensity. The more intense the emotion is, the stronger the feeling of love is. So using the fire to describe the love is vivid and proper. Fire can be lightened, can exist and also can be crushed out. When the fire was lit, the love started. When the fire was burning, the love is existing. When the fire was extinguished, the love finished.In the proverb "Love is meat and drink", one of the two concepts is "love", and the other is "eat and drink." Here "eat and drink" means nutrition. People cannot live without eating or drinking. To put it another way, it means people cannot live without nutrition. Nutrition is essential to people. Similarly, life is not perfect without love. Love is essential to people, too. Food and drink brings us the physical nutrition so as the love brings us mental nutrition.There are many English proverbs including conceptual metaphor, such as: Life is a journey; The eyes are the window of the soul and so on.In some conceptual metaphors, the two conceptual words can be added one or two modifiers. Such as: A heart without love is a violin without strings, A beautiful face is a silent commendation, A cheerful heart is good medicine etc.4.2.2 Coalescent metaphorSome scholars believe that metaphor is a language phenomenon with two different types of words in one sentence. In other words, the coalescent metaphor is the combination of a general word and a metaphorical word. For example, in proverb "Every dog has his day", "dog" is the general word while "day" is a metaphoricalword which means joy. Similarly, in "Every cloud has a silver lining", "cloud" is the general word and "silver lining" is a metaphorical phrase which means a thread of hope. According to the structuralist, this type of sentence is called part-sentence metaphor.For example, the proverb "Laws catches flies but let hornets go free". "Flies" refers to the common people and "hornets" means VIP. Another example is "The apple never falls far from the tree". "the apple" refers to the children and "the tree" refers to their parents. The meaning of the sentence is: The characteristics of children are pretty similar to their parents.We can see from the above examples that no matter in conceptual metaphor or in part-sentence metaphor, the word or phrase refers to a designated and specific person or object.4.2.3 Implicative metaphorSome proverbs don't imply something by a word or phrase but refer to the meaning by all the sentence. For example, in "A net with a hole in it won't catch any fish", there is no word can imply a specific thing because the whole sentence is a metaphor. The meaning is: A plan with flaws can not be carried out perfectly. Another example, we cannot cut the proverb "Look before you leap" off because it is a whole. Its meaning is: You should consider the consequence of your action before you act. According to the theory of structural linguistics, this metaphor belongs to the whole-sentence metaphor.The people or the object is not specific but has different meanings in different situations in implicative metaphor. For instance, "Big thunder, little rain" can define one person who said much but did little under certain circumstances. It also can be equated with "Barking dogs seldom bite" under some circumstances. The meaning is "A man speaks much does not necessarily produce trouble to other people". For another example, in "The early bird catches the worm". "The early bird" can be pointed to different people in different situations: like the first interviewer, the inventor in some aspect, the earliest promoters of the industry and so on.4.2.4 Symbolic metaphorUsing one thing to represent another thing, using material things to represent the immaterial things and using specific things to represent abstract things is the symbolic metaphor. For example, "strike while the iron is hot" is symbolic metaphor. It uses the specific things to represent abstract things. It implies that we cannot miss any chance at any circumstance as long as the conditions are advantageous to us.Also, the proverb "Water dropping day by day wears the hardest rock away" is symbolic metaphor. It tell us the truth that we can be successful as long as we work hard at anytime anywhere. Another example is: "A bird may be known by its song". The "song" represents "the speech of a person". In "No cross, no crown", the "cross" refers to "suffer" and "crown" refers to "supreme". The proverb "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" means: The higher-value is too far away from us to get them, so we must cherish the thing we have, even it is small and cheap.4.3 The semantic effect of metaphorThere is an example, Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed.In this proverb, the signifier does not appear, but its meaning is showed by the verb "taste", "swallow" and "chew" indirectly. In the proverb, books has been said as delicious. One kind of book is for human to taste, the other kind is for people to gobble, and the third is for people to read, to enjoy and remember. We can see the meaning of the this proverb easily because of its vivid vocabulary.English proverbs often use some materials or animals to refer to some kind of people. Sometimes the signified and the signifier are omitted in proverbs. Sometimes the signified and the signifier are replaced by the materials or animals.For example: A rolling stone gathers no moss.This proverb refers to a person who frequently changes his occupations can't save money. But in this proverb, they are replaced by the phrase "a rolling stone"and"moss". People can understand the truth that one must consider more before he change his career.In addition, there are many proverbs refer to people by animal words. "He that lies down with dogs, must rise up with fleas" is one of the examples. In this proverb, the "unworthy fellows" is replaced by the "dogs". In American, although the dogs have a reputation of men's best companion, people think if someone lives with them, he may easily get diseases. In Chinese, it means "近朱者赤, 近墨者黑".5. SynecdocheAccording to the English-English dictionary, synecdoche means substituting a more inclusive term by a less inclusive one or vice versa. It is a rhetoric that use part to replace the whole or use the whole to replace the part.5.1 The definition of synecdocheSynecdoche also belongs to the trope. For example, many hands make light work. Many hands make quick work.Two heads are better than one. Great minds think alike. In these proverbs words "hands", 'heads' and "minds" refer to people. This type of rhetoric is called synecdoche. We must pay attention to the difference between the translation of these proverbs in English and in Chinese. When we translate them, we must pay attention to the target language and source language. We must translate them properly so as to make readers understand and accept them.As we all know, if these proverbs do not use synecdoche, then the whole sentence will be very boring, pale and weak, the language will be very long and complicated.5.2 The basic format of synecdocheIn the proverbs, a part of the body is usually used to replace the person. It is a common phenomenon in English proverbs. For instance, in "Blood is thicker than water", the word "blood" refers to "the relations by descent from a common ancestor".In "No ear is so deaf as one which wishes not to hear", the word "ears" refers to "person or man". In "A fair face cannot have a crabbed heart", the phrase "a fair face" refers to "a beautiful person". In "The gray hair should be respected", it use "the gray hair" to replace "the old people". In "The breasts are better at the other side of the fence", the word "breast" means "wife". In the "Faint heart never won fair lady", the "faint heart" is used to refer to "a faint hearted man". In "A false tongue will hardly speak the truth", the real meaning of the phrase "a false tongue" is "a person with a false tongue". When we translate these sentences, we must pay attention to the real meaning of these words.As the part can replace the whole, the whole can replace the part. For example: The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world. In this proverb, the word "world" refers to "family". It belongs to this structure. This proverb means that mother is the leader of family.5.3 The semantic effect of synecdocheIn English proverbs, the use of synecdoche is not uncommon. For example: Two heads are better than one. In this proverb, word "heads" refers to "persons". This proverb belongs to the style of "part replace the whole". As the "head" is one part of the body, it is usually used to refer to an individual in English. For example, we count people by heads. In addition, the English often use the body's organs to refer to a person. Such as the word "hand", "heart", "mind", "mouth" (here means population) are used to refer to "man". People can always associate the whole with the part. They can recognize the whole through observation of the part. For example: Many hands make light work. Faint heart never won fair lady. Great minds think alike.In English proverbs, the abstract meaning is always expressed by specific things. It is very common in English proverbs. Its original idea is simple but its significance is deep.For example: He who would search for pearls must dive below.The proverb illustrates the relationship between "search for pearls" and "dive". In this sentence, the。