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57Стилистический анализ образов речи в пословицах
Лун Чжичао,
доцент, заместитель декана факультета иностранных языков Шэньянского политехнического университета E-mail: zclong2008@126.com
Как определено в Кембриджском международном словаре английского языка, «пословица - это краткое знакомое изречение народной мудрости, обычно сжатое по форме, часто включающее смелый образ и часто звон, который улавливает память». Вот почему пословицы Рассел считает «мудростью многих и умом одного». Большинство пословиц краткие и исчерпывающие, пословица может передать больше философских значений в жизни, чем несколько слов, которые она содержит. Иногда пословица может принимать сразу несколько оборотов речи, уже один этот факт может показать, насколько лаконичен и превосходен язык пословиц. Вот почему пословицы часто рассматриваются как суть языка. В статье представлен краткий поэтапный анализ различных риторических форм, обычно используемых в пословицах. Анализируются формы речи пословиц на китайском и английском языках, способствующие более полному пониманию внутреннего значения пословиц и правильному их использованию. Для изучающих английский язык, пословицы также являются хорошим учебным материалом, так как они могут не только научить их кратко выражать свои идеи, но и научить эффективно писать, используя различные риторические обороты.
Ключевые слова: пословица, речевые обороты, сравнение, философский смысл, внутренний смысл.
Статья издана в рамках фонда «Проект финансирования научных исследований Департамента образования провинции Ляонин в 2020 году», на теме «Исследование использования академической лексики при написании английского языка студентами научно-технических колледжей» № LG2017.
Introduction
The charm of proverbs is achieved not only by careful selection of words and sentence structures, but also by the employment of various figures of speech. With the use of figures of speech, abstract concept becomes vivid; profound philosophy becomes easy; ordinary facts become novel; dull rules become funny. Figures of speech and rhymes make proverbs harmonious unity of profound thinking, rich knowledge and perfect artistry. There are more than ten kinds of figure of speech shared by both English and Chinese proverbs. Very few figures of one language don't have counterpart in the other, but have similar expressions. In addition, the specific application of these figures of speech is also various. The following is a detailed analysis and comparison of figures of speech between Chinese and English proverbs.
I. Comparison
Comparison is a most widely used rhetorical figure in proverbs. Based on the likeness or similarity and association between objects, as well as on the basic characteristics of analogy in the process of a man's thinking, comparison can skillfully turn an abstract and profound philosophy into a concrete and plain image. Being enlightening, fresh and impressive, comparison can set off the innate characteristics of an object better than other literary devices such as expansion, reasoning, analysis, etc.
Comparison generally has three determinants: subject (or tenor), reference (or vehicle) and indicator of resemblance (such as "like", "as", "as if", etc.) These three determinants may, or may not, appear simultaneously in a proverb, thus forming two basic patterns of comparison: simile and metaphor.
1. Simile
Simile is a direct comparison, in which subject, reference and indicator of resemblance are all present, its formula being: Subject + indicator of resemblance + reference. For example:
(1) Difference in profession makes one feel worlds apart. [1, p. 512]
(2) Autumn sun is as fierce as a tiger.
(3) A man without religion is like a horse without a bridle.
(4) A good friend is as the sun in winter.
(5) A husband without ability is like a house without a roof.
The above proverbs are simply subject, reference and indicator of resemblance without any illustration. We also have extended simile in proverbs, usually a clause or a phrase. It explains the former part, making it clearer. For example:
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(6) Study is like sailing against the stream: you either forge ahead or fall behind. [2, p. 1759]
(7) Riches are like muck; when it lay in a heap it gave but a stench; but when it was spread upon the ground then it was cause of much fruit.
An extended part is added in (6) and (7) to further explain the resemblance. In (6), "you either forge ahead or fall behind" is the explanation to "Study is like sailing against the stream". In (7), "When it lay in a heap... fruit" is the explanation to "Riches are like muck".
Similar examples are "Time is like east-flowing water, only flowing away never flowing back." "Human tongue is like the green grass, swaying with the blowing wind". "Friends are like fiddle-strings, they must not be screwed too tight." "Public money is like holy water, every one helps himself to it." "Curses are like precessions, they return to where they came." "Disgraces are like cherries, one draws another."
Besides simile with the indicator of resemblance, Chinese proverbs also have a kind of simile without indicator of resemblance. It is the juxtaposition of subject and reference, like para-tactical metaphors in English. In fact, it is the combination of comparison and antithesis. These proverbs use similar logic as reference to explain the subject with strong persuasiveness. At the same time, the proverbs are symmetrically balanced, harmoniously rhymed and easy to be on everybody's lips. Chinese proverbs of such kind of simile are of a large number, but English proverbs of this kind are few. Such phenomenon has to do with the fact that antithesis is the basic feature of Chinese proverbs with strong national flavor. For example:
(1) If there is a lot of bean curd, there will be a lot of water running out of it, and if one makes too much empty talk, no one will believe him. [3, p. 34]
(2) Just as it is not until just before dawn that people sleep best, so it is not until people are old that they learn to be wise.
(3) Many geese many birds, many women many words.
(4) An ox is taken by the horns and a man by the tongue.
(5) It has ever been the case that the realization of good things is usually preceded by difficulties, just as it has always been that melons taste bitter before they taste sweet.
(6) A man has his hour, and a dog his day.
In (1)-(4), the former is reference; the latter is subject. In (5)-(6), the former part is subject; the latter is reference. Similar examples are "Tired birds miss the woods; old people miss their home"; "The key turns in lock, the idler turns in the bed"; "Fire tests gold, adversity brave".
2. Metaphor
Metaphor is an implied comparison in which both subject and reference are used, but no indicator of resemblance. Metaphor is more advanced than simile, for comparison is implied in the structure of a proverb, instead of being expressed by an indicator of resemblance. Metaphor, compared with simile, makes proverbs more implicit, and thus achieves a stronger
figurative effect. This is because in metaphor, the feature of the reference directly refers to the subject, shortening the perception time of people. Its formula is: Subject + to be + reference:
(1) People's eyes are a scale.
(2) Words are the keys to opening the heart.
(3) What the average passerby on the street says is like words graven on stone tablet.
(4) A good conscience is a continual feast.
(5) Gold is but muck.
(6) A black man is a pearl in a fair woman's eye. "People's eyes" are not a "scale", but can accurately
evaluate things like a scale. "A good conscience" cannot be "a continual feast", but it can make people carefree every day. All the above proverbs are composed of subject, reference and link verb "be" with no more explanation.
Like simile, there are also extended metaphors. For example:
(1) The masses are a scale on which catties and ounces are weighed accurately.
(2) Money is bottomless sea, in which honor, conscience and truth may be drowned.
In the above proverbs, the latter half is the explanation to the metaphor.
II. Metonymy
"Metonymy is a figure of speech that has to do with the substitution of the name of one thing for that of another. This substituted name may be an attribute of that other thing or be closely associated with it. In other words, it involves a "change of name", the substituted name suggesting the thing meant. Metonymy is a very useful and effective rhetorical device, for it compresses much into a single word or short noun phrase" [4, p. 182-183].
1. The concrete for the abstract
(1) Better the ant's legs than the sparrow's mouth.
(2) No cross, no crown. [5, P. 96]
In (1), "the ant's legs" is for hard work, while "the sparrow's mouth" refers to gain without work. In (2), "cross" is the symbol of misery and suffering; "crown" is the symbol of glory and victory.
2. Features for feature's owner
(1) Descendants from the vermillion gates of the rich may starve to death, and the thatched houses of the poor may produce high officials.
(2) When petticoats woo, breeks may come speed. In example (1), "vermilion gates" stands for rich
family in ancient times; "thatched cottage" stands for poor family. In (2), "petticoats" for girls, while "breek" (dialect, i.e. breeches) for chaps. It uses the characteristics of attire for a group of people.
III. Synecdoche
Synecdoche is a figure in which a part is used as a substitute for the whole; or the whole as a substitute for a part. Synecdoche has often been confused with metonymy, and sometimes even treated synonymously. This is not surprising, as both figures involve substitution; only metonymy involves substitution of the name of
one thing for that of another closely associated with it, whereas synecdoche involves the substitution of the part for the whole, or the whole for the part.
1. The part for the whole
(1) A method should not be transmitted to six ears.
(2) Faint heart never won fair lady. [6, p. 87]
In (1), "Six ears" stands for three persons. In (2), "Faint heart" stands for a coward.
2. The species for the genus
(1) Even if Butcher Zhang dies, we won't have to eat the hog with its hair.
(2) Every Jack has his Gill.
In (1), "Butcher Zhang" stands for any butcher. In (2), Jack and Gill are common names for man and woman, usually used together to refer to a couple.
IV. Personification
Many proverbs use personification, a figure of speech, in which inanimate things are compared to human beings or vice versa. Being new, original and impressive, personification can make an abstract truth contained in a proverb more vivid and expressive.
In the following proverbs human attributes are given to abstract qualities, or to objects:
(1) Failure is the mother of success.
(2) Experience keeps no school, she teaches her pupils singly.
In the following proverbs human beings are compared to inanimate things:
(1) Do not bite the bait of pleasure till you know there is no hook beneath it.
(2) A rolling stone gathers no moss; constant change of one's professions accumulates no wealth.
V. Contrast
Contrast is a kind of figure of speech in which two opposite things or phenomena are set against each other in one phrase, clause or sentence, so as to make their difference or opposition seem sharper and clearer. Thus everything real, good and beautiful will appear all the more splendid, whereas everything false, ugly and evil will seem especially disgusting. We might also say this is one of the manifestations shown in rhetoric by the law of unity of opposites of objective things.
Different things are being compared in the following examples to reveal the nature of them.
(1) Rich men have a short life, but poor men a long life.
(2) One sowed and another reaped.
The following two proverbs reveal the truth through contrasting the two opposite aspects inside one subject matter.
(1) Prudence allows one to go everywhere while boldness makes it difficult to take a small step forward.
(2) Riches serve wise men, but command a fool.
VI. Pun
Pun is the use of a word, or words which are formed or sounded alike but have different meanings, in
such a way as to play on two or more of the possible applications. This figure is also occasionally used in proverbs. It carries two meanings, one literal and the other implied.
In the following proverbs, the pun is based on the meaning of the words:
(1) Patience is a flower that grows not in every garden.
(2) Those who don't know how to cook look inside the pot; those who know observe the fire. [7, p. 126].
VII. Hyperbole
By this figure, it means a statement, based on objective reality but not kept within its bounds, which is exaggerated fancifully for the purpose of creating an effect. Since exaggeration is based on the essential characteristics of things, one feels that instead of being false and absurd the effect is more typical, lifelike and truthful than that created by the objective thing itself. "Not, real, yet better than reality", this is the magical effect of hyperbole. Proverbs are rich in hyperbolic expressions.
In the following proverbs, one of the most typical features of hyperbole is its saturation, for exaggeration serves to convey the intensity of feeling.
(1) One single slip brings eternal regret.
(2) A fool may ask more questions in an hour than a wise man can answer in seven years.
(3) An unfortunate man would be drowned in a tea cup.
VIII. Understatement
Understatement, as the words implies, is the opposite of hyperbole, or overstatement. It achieves its effect of emphasizing a fact by deliberately understating it, impressing the reader more by what is merely implied or left unsaid by bare statement. This figure of speech is particularly common among English proverbs.
(1) Misfortunes never come single.
(2) Idle folks lack no excuses.
(3) A proverb comes not from nothing.
IX. Irony
Irony is the expression of one's meaning by saying what is the direct opposite of one's thoughts, in order to make one's remarks forceful. Proverbs with this figure often contain the sense of mockery, for one makes advances under the cover of retreat, or one seems to praise something highly, but in reality one is denouncing it. For example:
(1) Even thieves or robbers have a code of conduct. [8, p. 310]
(2) A woman's tongue is the last thing about her that dies.
(3) Exchange is no robbery.
The last proverb reminds us of a frequent-quoted citation from the Chinese classics, which exposes the exploiting nature of the feudal government over the laboring people in old China.
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X. Euphemism
By euphemism one speaks in gentle and favorable terms of some person, object, or event, which is ordinarily seen in a less pleasing light. What characterizes this figure is that it makes the meaning all the more mild yet implicit, thus affording much food for thought. For example:
(1) One who is always seated at the head of the table would gradually go into the ancestral temple. [9, p. 225]
(2) The best goes first.
XI. Paradox
On the surface of a statement in this figure seems self-contradictory and runs counter to the common sense and reason, but after due consideration one will find there is a brilliant philosophy under this apparent contradiction or violation of reason. Besides this, substratum of truth revealed in a paradox is much more profound than ordinary "little truth" though accepted beyond doubt. For example:
(1) A man of great wisdom behaves like a fool; a man of great skill behaves like an idiot.
(2) A carefully bedded flower may not blossom; a casually planted willow may survive and thrive.
(3) Tomorrow never comes.
(4) Best is cheapest.
This proverb means the price of goods of the best quality is high, but they last so long and give such good service that they are cheap in the long run.
(5) The child is father of the man. [10, p. 261]
In this proverb, the substratum of truth reveals the importance of the education in childhood.
Conclusion
The above is a brief item-by-item analysis to the various rhetorical figures commonly used in proverbs. But sometimes a proverb may adopt several figures of speech at once; this fact alone can show how succinct and excellent the language in a proverb is. That is why proverbs are often regarded as the essence of
a language. For students of English, proverbs also afford them a good teaching material, for proverbs can not only teach them how to express their ideas concisely, but also teach them to write effectively by using various rhetorical figures.
ANALYSIS OF FIGURES OF SPEECH IN PROVERBS
Long Zhichao
Shenyang Ligong University
As defined in the Cambridge International English, "a proverb is a short, familiar utterance of folk wisdom, usually condensed in form, incorporating a bold image and often a chime that catches memory." That is why Russell considers proverbs "the wisdom of many and the mind of one." Most proverbs are short and comprehensive, a proverb can convey more philosophical meanings in life than the few words it contains. Sometimes a proverb can take several turns of speech at once, this fact alone can show how laconic and excellent the language of proverbs is. This is why proverbs are often viewed as the essence of the language. The article provides a brief step-by-step analysis of the various rhetorical forms commonly used in proverbs. Analysis of the form of speech of proverbs in Chinese and English, contributing to a more complete understanding of the internal meaning of proverbs and their correct use. For English learners, proverbs are also a good teaching language, as they can not only teach them to express their ideas succinctly, but also teach them to write effectively using various rhetorical expressions.
Keywords: proverb, figures of speech, comparison, philosophic
meaning, intrinsic meaning
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