AN ANALYSIS OF ANIMAL IDIOMS IN ENGLISH FOR

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VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY - HO CHI MINH CITYUNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES & HUMANITIESAN ANALYSIS OF ANIMAL IDIOMS IN ENGLISH FORTRANSLATION IN THE LIGHT OF COGNITIVE LINGUISTICSPresentersNGUYỄN THỊ NHƯ NGỌC, PhD. & VŨ THỊ HUYỀN HỒNG, MA.

Contents Introduction Key concepts Methodology Findings & Discussion Conclusion

Introduction Being one of the most concerns of language translators. Formed in a particular historical period and reflects unique culturalelements such as religions, customs and habits.à certain hindrances to the full understanding for English learners &translation majors. Traditional linguistics concentrate on exploring the structural andformal aspects of idioms. Cognitive linguistics apply a systematic method to review the natureof semantics in idioms.àThe nature of idioms is not arbitrary, and idioms are systematized byunderlying principles of human language, thought and perception.àConceptual metaphors

Key concepts Metaphority in idioms Conceptual metaphors Idiom translation

Key concepts Metaphority in idiomsüOne of the essential semantic features of idiomsüTraditional linguistics: idioms as dead, frozenmetaphors that were once metaphorical, then havelost their metaphorical over time and now areequivalent to simple conventional expressionsüCognitive linguistics: Many linguists confuse “deadmetaphors” with conventional ones. The idiomaticmeanings may be determined by the arbitraryconventions of usage (Gibbs, 1994: 273)Lack of good knowledge of metaphorical roots of an idiom à belief that thecomprehension of idioms is the same as knowing the meaning of individualwords, which is based on convention.

Key concepts Conceptual metaphorsü “The essence of metaphor is understanding and experiencing onekind of thing in terms of another” (Lakoff and Johnson, 1980: 5)ü Idioms are based on conceptual metaphors (with two domains ofknowledge through a set of systematic correspondences – mappings)ü HUMANS ARE ANIMALS ( Source D ANIMAL, Target D HUMAN.à characteristics of a person (physical and mental states, spiritual andmaterial life) an animal’s traits.ü GREAT CHAIN metaphor: humans are understood metaphorically asanimals and inanimate things (Somatic, Behavioral, and Emotionalcharacteristics).à useful and efficient for choosing appropriate translation strategies and translationequivalents for animal idioms from English into another language.

Key concepts Idiom translationü The non-literal meaning of an idiom is motivated by a certainconceptual metaphor.ü In idiom translation, translation strategies are employed as tools fortranslators to deal with any rising problems. Several strategies havebeen proposed: Nida and Taber (1982) - 3 strategies; Baker (1992) 4 strategies; Ingo (1991) - 4 strategies; Svensén (1993) - 4 strategies.ü Svensén (1993): (1) Idioms with identical metaphors in SL and TL. (2)Idioms with related metaphors; (3) Idioms with different metaphors; (4)Translating idioms in SL with no metaphorical counterparts in TL.à Identify a conceptual metaphor with its source and target domains, establish itsmapping systemà Find out its equivalent conceptual metaphor in the target language, andsuccessfully deal with difficulties in idiom translation.

MethodologyStatisticalmethod Identify AI in aspecificdictionary ofidioms, classify& calculate theirnumbersDescriptivemethod Describelinguisticfeatures of AI inthe view of CL.Comparativemethod Find outsimilarities &differences inthe Eng. AI &their equivalentsin Vnese.

DATA SOURCES AND DATA COLLECTIONOxford Idiom Dictionary for Learners of English(2006) (2nd Ed.) with over 10,000 idioms that arefrequently used in English221 animal idiomsTừ điển Thành ngữ Anh- Anh- Việt (SaigonTranslation and Book Center, 2008), providingVietnamese equivalents of English idioms from theOxford Idiom Dictionary for Learners of English

DATA ANALYSIS PROCEDURESCategories of AI based on the animal species(vertebrates & invertebrates).Frequencies of animal constituentsDescription & analysis of AI characteristics in theCognitive linguisticsReference sources for better argumentsIdentification of Idiom Translation strategies(Svensén, 1993) for analysis and translation productbased on the mapping systems

Findings & Discussion Categorization of animalidioms Construction of mappingsystems A case study on the mappingof English idioms withconstituents being the mostproductive animals

Findings & Discussion Categorization of animal idiomsTable 1. The distribution of the animal idioms collected from the Oxford IdiomsDictionary for Learners of English (2006)Animal speciesVERTEBRATESAmphibian (frog, newt)Bird (bird, chicken, cock, crow, duck, eagle, goose, hawk, hen, lark, owl,parrot, pigeon, robin, swallow)Fish (eel, fish, herring, mackerel, sardine, sprat)Mammal (ape, ass, bat, bear, beaver, bull, calf, camel, cat, cow, dog, donkey,elephant, goat, hare, horse, kitten, lamb, leopard, lion, mare, mickey, monkey,mouse, mule, pig, rabbit, rat, rhinoceros, sheep, tiger, wolf)Reptile (crocodile, snake, turkey)INVERTEBRATESant, bee, bug, butterfly, flea, fly, hornet, oyster, snail, 2219%100%

ü 68 speciesü 201 idioms - vertebrates, and 20 idioms – invertebratesü Specifically, dog (20/221), cat (17/221), horse (17/221), bird (14/221),fish (10/221), pig (10/221), ass (10/221) are more frequently-used asthe most productive in English idioms (others: 1 to 6)ü Some idioms with two-species components (two animals beingopposite in characteristics or not co-existing, e.g. cat - dog, cat - mice,bird - worm, wolf – sheep à a remarkable feature for translators’lexical choice in their productsThe early bird catches the wormWhen the cat’s away, the mice will playFight like cat and dogA sprat to catch a mackerelA wolf in sheep’s clothing

Findings & Discussion Construction of mapping systemsCharacteristicsAnimalstrength and health being strongSomaticmotionhungervisionmoving fast/ slowlybeing hungryseeing well/ poorlydiligencebeing busy for workdirtinessroughnessbeing dirtybeing rough, clumsystubbornnessunwilling to perform anytaskeating and drinking toomuchbeing madbeing happy to inessHumanbeing healthy/unhealthyExamplesAs strong as a horseSick as a dogAs weak as a kittenacting/reacting fast/slowlyAt a snail’s pacebeing hungryEat like a horsesee well/poorlyAs blind as a batAn eagle eyebeing hard-workingAs busy as a beeAn eager beaverliving/ behaving in a bad way Pig itbehaving unpleasantlyLike a bull in a china shopLike a bear with a sore headbeing stubbornAs stubborn as a mulebeing greedyMake a pig of yourselfbeing angrybeing happyAs mad as a March hareLike the cat that got the cream

Findings & DiscussionA case study on the mapping of English idioms with constituentsbeing the most productive animals – DOG, CAT, HORSEConceptual metaphors in dog-related idiomsü Dog an embodiment of faithfulness and guardianshipü In nomadic cultures: helping human beings with a lot of work(watch their houses, keep their farm animals.)ü In the world: “human’s best friends”.HUMANS ARE DOGStarget domainsource domain

DOG’S BEHAVIORS/ACTIONS AREHUMAN’S BEHAVIORS/ACTIONSAs sick as a dogSomaticBe like a dog with two tailsLet sleeping dogs lieDog eat dogA dog in the mangerDog somebody’s footstepsBehavioralWork like a dogWhy keep a dog and bark yourselfYou can’t teach an old dog new tricks.Top dogThere’s life in the old dog yet.EmotionalSource domainbeing sickwelcoming someone withwaving tailssleeping eating fellows keeping a mangerfollowing one’s footsteps working during day andnightbarkingbeing an old dog being topbeing active and lively Target domainbeing in bad health statebeing extremely happyexpecting no disturbance thatmay cause troublecompeting fiercely withoutcare of other people’s feelingspreserving a benefitfollowing someone closelyeverywhereworking very harddoing normal tasksbeing an old/ experiencepersonbeing powerfulbeing active and enjoy life

DOG’S UPS AND DOWNS IN LIFE ARE HUMAN’S UPS AND DOWN IN LIFEGive a dog a bad nameA dog’s lifeGo to the dogsEvery dog has his/its dayA dog’s breakfast/dinnerSource domaingetting a bad namehaving a controlled lifehaving good daysgetting leftovers of all typesfor breakfast/dinner Target domaingetting a bad reputationhaving no freedomhaving success and luckgetting disorder or messy thingsat work

IDIOM TRANSLATION STRATEGIESDistribution of translation strategies of animal idioms (ITSs) proposedby Svensén (1993)No.Idiom Translation StrategiesQuantity Per. (%)1Idioms with identical metaphors in sourcelanguage and target language (ITS1)125.42Idioms with related metaphors (ITS2)2511.33Idioms with different metaphors (ITS3)2812.64Non-idiomatic equivalent with nometaphorical counterparts (ITS4)15670.7

ExamplesEnglish AIMeaningVietnameseequivalentSống khổ như chóA dog’s lifeA life in which there is notmuch pleasure or freedomDog eat dogFierce competition, with no Cá lớn nuốt cá béconcern for the harm done orother people’s feelingsITSITS1ITS2Every dog has his/its dayEveryone will, at sometimes Sông có khúc, người có ITS3in their life, be successful or lúcluckyBe like a dog with two tails Be extremely happySướng rơnITS4vui như tết/ trẩy hộiSướng quá hoá cuồng/ sướng như điên

Conclusion A general picture of animal idiomsü About 64 species employed, especially dogs, cats,horses, birds and fishü A considerate number of idioms with two animalscontrasting in characteristics and existence.à All of these features should be considered carefully inthe process of any translation of animal idioms fromEnglish into another language. Translating AI - a big challenge due to different cultures with differentcognition of specific animals.à Require a deep insight of culture, a good understanding and appropriateanalysis of the SL idiom and its metaphor for accurate and flexible translationequivalent in the TL.

Conclusion The conceptual metaphor HUMANS ARE ANIMALS - a good way tounderstand idiomatic meanings for equivalents with the similarmetaphorical meanings in the TL. Good analysis of animals’ traits and mapping onto humans’ based on theGREAT CHAIN metaphor.à Search for translation equivalents would no longer be the search foridentifiable linguistic features, but the search for a complex set of links inthe translator’s mind and a certain extent of freedom in choosing ofmetaphorical images and lexical items.à Analyzing idioms for translation under the view of cognitive linguistics isquite applicable and considered a flexible and effective choice fortranslators/ translation students.

ReferencesBaker, M. (1992). In Other Words: A Coursebook on Translation. London and New York: Routledge.Cacciari, C. & Tabossi, P. (1993). Idioms: Processing, Structure and Interpretation. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence ErlbaumAssociates.Gibbs, R. (1994). The Poetics of Mind: Figurative Thought, Language, and Understanding. New York: CambridgeUniversity Press.Gibbs, R., Bogdonovich, J., Sykes, J., & Barr, D. (1997). Metaphor in Idiom Comprehension. Journal of Memory andLanguage, 37, 141-154. doi: 10.1006/jmla.1996.2506.Helleklev, C. (2006). Metaphors and terminology in social science: A Translation and an analysis. Sweden: VaxjoUniversity.Kövecses, Z. & Szabó, P. (1996). Idioms: A view from cognitive semantics. Applied Linguistics, 17(3), 326-355. doi:10.1093/applin/17.3.326.Kövecses, Z. (2010) Metaphor: A Practical Introduction (2nd Ed.) New York: Oxford University Press.Lakoff, G. & Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors We Live By. Chicago: Chicago University.Lakoff, G. (1987). Women, Fire and Dangerous Things: What Categories Reveal About the Mind. Chicago: University ofChicago Press.Langacker, R. W. (1986). Foundations of Cognitive Grammar. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.Nida, E.A & Taber, C.R. (1982). The Theory and Practice of Translation. Leiden: The United Bible Societies.Svensén, B. (1993). Practical Lexicology: Principles and Methods of Dictionary- making. Oxford: Oxford UniversityPress.Yan, W. (2017). On Cultural Connotations of English Idioms. Advances in Social Science, Education and HumanitiesResearch, 121, 156-159.

The distribution of the animal idioms collected from the Oxford Idioms Dictionary for Learners of English (2006) ü68species ü201 idioms -vertebrates, and 20 idioms –invertebrates üSpecificall

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