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Comparative Analysis of Metaphors of Animal Idioms in Chinese and English
作者：张婧宇
来源：《校园英语·上旬》2019年第07期
【Abstract】Lakoff and Johnson provide a new perspective to study metaphor from the angle of cognitive， that is the conceptual metaphors defined by them. The current research attempts to discover the differences and similarities of the way of understanding metaphors in Chinese and English comparatively through the analysis of animal idioms from the point of view of cognitive. Therefore， it can not only uncover the different cognitive patterns and cultural values of the two countries， but also help learners to mater the other language better. 【Key words】Animal idiom; Conceptual metaphor; Cultural difference
【作者简介】张婧宇（1994.12.07-），女，汉族，河北张家口人，长安大学外国语学院2017级外国语言学及应用语言学专业，硕士研究生，研究方向：认知语言学。
Metaphor can be regarded as an important tool for ordinary people to understand the world around them. In 1980s， the approach of cognitive has been adopted to the study of metaphor. With the occurrence of Conceptual Metaphor Theory （CMD）， it is held that metaphor is grounded in the constant interaction with the physical and cultural environments of human beings. Later， Shu Dingfang （2002： 128） distinguishes “the cross-cultural and within-culture variations of metaphor. There has been built a close relationship between human beings and animals. With the purpose of enlarging their vocabulary and expressing certain emotions， people tend to use more and more metaphors with animals. However， few attentions have been paid to the study of animal idioms. The current research makes a contrastive analysis of English and Chinese through the analysis of metaphors of animal idioms. Animal idiom metaphors are classified into the ontological， the
humanistic and the overt types in the current research. Ontological metaphor refers to human being’s physical entities and the experience of the world so that people can express their abstract feelings. For example， “害群之馬” in Chinese symbolizes the evil who wants to disintegrate the entity. Ontological metaphor can describe state， modify action and state quality. For example， “鸠形鹄面” in Chinese symbolizes the skinny， white-faced of a man’s physical state. Humanistic animal idiom metaphors reflect the ideology of human center. For example， “Monkey Around” in English means that someone behaves in a casual and silly manner， “鹤立鸡群” in Chinese means the man’s outstanding and brilliant among the peers...Overt animal idiom metaphors refer to the prominent part in the perception of the things. For instance， “初生牛犊不怕虎” in Chinese. It should be mentioned here that in traditional Chinese culture， the term “牛” and “虎” represent the opposite position. So the idiom is used to express the young man with little experience in a certain field will fear nothing.
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There are also many other idioms related to “牛”， such as “牛脾气” refers to the bad temper and stubborn characteristic of a man…
The thesis lays emphasis on the animal idioms metaphors in English and Chinese. The two
languages have some cultural overlap for certain animal idioms are embodied with similar connotative meanings. However， the differences between the two countries are more obviously. There are some similar meanings but embodied in different animal images， for example， in order to describe the timid and faint-hearted of a man， in Chinese people tend to use the term “膽小如鼠”， whereas in English they tend to use the term “chicken-livered”. Besides， there are also the same animal with opposite meaning in English and in Chinese.
It can be concluded that animal idiom metaphors are of great importance in enlarging the
vocabulary of daily language. Then， in terms of the different views on the images of animals， it is the factors of religion， culture and customs that affects the explanation of the idioms. Therefore， the thesis uncovers the different cognitive patterns and cultural values of the two countries， so that it can help learners to mater the other language better.
[1]Cameron， L. Researching and Applying Metaphor[M]. Shanghai： Shanghai Foreign Languages Press & Cambridge University Press， 2001：37.
[2]Murray， K. & Rosamund， M. Introducing Metaphor[M]. New York： Routledge， Taylor & Francis Group，2005：7-11.
[3]Lakoff， G. & Johnson， M. Metaphors We Live by[M]. Chicago： University of Chicago Press，1980：17-23.
Comparative Analysis of Metaphors of Animal Idioms
