1、iThe Application of the Iconicity to the Translation of Chinese PoetryAbstractThe arbitrariness theory of language signs proposed by Saussure is severely challenged by the study of language iconicity in recent years. The theory of iconicity is put forward in contrast to that of arbitrariness and has
2、 been developing gradually. Iconicity, which is an important subject in the research of cognitive linguistics, refers to a natural resemblance or analogy between the form of a sign and the object or concept. This thesis mainly discusses the application of the iconicity to the translation of Chinese
3、poetry. The paper is better described from the following parts: (1) The development of the iconicity; (2) The definition and classification of the iconicity; (3) The standards of the translation to Chinese poetry; (4) The application of the iconicity to the translation of Chinese poetry, mainly disc
4、ussed from the following aspects: sound iconicity, order iconicity, quantity iconicity, and symmetrical iconicity. Through in-depth discussion of the above aspects, this paper could come to the conclusion that the iconicity is very important in the translation of poetry. It is conductive to reach th
5、e ideal effect of “the similarity of form and spirit” and “the three beauties”.Key words: the iconicity; poetry; translationii象似性在中国诗歌翻译中的应用摘要索绪尔提出的语言符号任意性，近些年不断受到质疑，来自语言象似性的研究是最大的挑战。语言象似性理论是针对语言任意性理论提出来的，并在不断发展。象似性是当今认知语言学研究中的一个重要课题，是指语言符号的能指与所指之间的自然联系。本文以中国诗歌英译为例，探讨象似性在中国诗歌翻译中的应用，从以下几个部分阐述：（1）象似性的
6、发展；（2）象似性的定义及分类；（3）中国诗歌翻译的标准；（4）象似性在中国诗歌翻译中的应用，主要从以下几个方面论述：声音象似、顺序象似、数量象似、对称象似方面。通过以上几个方面的探究，探讨了中国诗歌翻译中象似性原则的重大作用，在诗歌翻译过程中有助于得到“形神皆似”和“意美、音美、形美”的理想翻译效果。关键词：象似性；诗歌；翻译iiiContents摘要iAbstractiiChapter 1 Introduction.1Chapter 2 An Overview of the Iconicity3 2.1 The Iconicity and the Arbitrariness.3 2.2 D
7、efinition of the Iconicity.42.3 Classification of the Iconicity5Chapter 3 The Standards of the Translation to Chinese Poetry.63.1 The Similarity of Form and Spirit.63.2 The Three Beauties.73.3 The Principle of the Iconicity.7Chapter 4 The Application of the Iconicity to the Translation of Chinese Po
8、etry.84.1 The Application of the Iconicity to the Translation of Chinese Poetry on the Phonological Level 9 4.1.1 Sound Iconicity and its Translation on Chinese Poetry9 4.2 The Application of the Iconicity to the Translation of Chinese Poetry on the Textual Level94.2.1 Order Iconicity and Its Transl
9、ation on Chinese Poetry.94.2.2 Quantity Iconicity and Its Translation on Chinese Poetry.12iv4.2.3 Symmetrical Iconicity and Its Translation on Chinese Poetry.15 Chapter 5 Conclusion.17Bibliography.18Acknowledgements191The Application of the Iconicity to the Translation of Chinese PoetryChapter 1 Int
10、roductionThe ancients left a lot of poetry in China which reflects the broad and profound Chinese literature. With the development of Chinese literature, more and more scholars have been widely studied about the translation of Chinese poetry. Among the standards of the translation to Chinese poetry,
11、 the iconicity has aroused more and more concern. The theory of iconicity was first proposed by C.S.Peirce, founder of American practicalism and semiotics. Since then this theme has been discussed and studied by many famous researches like Jakobson, Haiman, and so on. Iconicity is one of the hotly-d
12、iscussed issues at present in the linguistic and semiotic field. The theory of iconicity is a great challenge to “Saussurean theory of arbitrariness” and a forceful complement as well. Iconicity in language falls into the category of cognitive linguistics, which is regarded as an essential part of c
13、ognitive linguistics. Iconicity is not only a challenge but also a complement to Saussures arbitrariness of linguistic sign. The discussion over arbitrariness and iconicity is a hot topic in the field of language research, which is actually a problem about the relationship of the signifier and the s
14、ignified. In fact, the study of iconicity has been carried out in recent years, Many philosophers, semioticians and linguists have been concemed with such phenomenon in language for a long time. Iconicity can be found not only in natural language, but also in literary language, especially in poetry,
15、 which is said to have the richest presence of iconicity in all literary genres, because poetry allows the most complex and innovative use of language on the typographical 2level(such as special use of fonts and spacing), on the sound level (such as sound symbolism, metre and rhyme), on the morpholo
16、gical and syntactic level (such as changes in regular word order and distancing), and on the textual level. This thesis attempts to analyze Chinese poetry and its translation from a more integrated and original perspective, an iconic perspective. Much Chinese poetry can be translated from the perspe
17、ctive of iconicity. The iconicity is an important feature of poetry and should be reproduced in its translation. In the application of the principle of iconicity to the translation of Chinese poetry, it is advisable to grasp the expressive features of iconic discourse in the source version and prope
18、rly present them in the target version. This article through the following aspects: sound iconicity, order iconicity, quantity iconicity, symmetrical iconicity so as to realize the re-creating in the form as well as in the spirit. 3Chapter 2 An Overview of the IconicityThe theory of iconicity is reg
19、arded as a great challenge to Saussures arbitrariness of linguistic sign. The theory of iconicity was first put forward by C.S.Peirce, the founder of American practicalism and semiotics. According to Peirce and Haimans classification of iconic signs, this paper gets six subclasses of iconicity: the
20、sound iconicity, the distance iconicity, the order iconicity, the quantity iconicity, the graph iconicity and the symmetry iconicity.2.1 The Iconicity and the ArbitrarinessThe arbitrariness theory of language signs proposed by Saussure is severely challenged by the study of language iconicity in rec
21、ent years. The view that the language sign is arbitrary is the core of Saussures linguistic theory. Saussure found the nature of language symbol but he left the link unexplained between the signifier and the signified. The theory of iconicity is put forward in contrast to that of arbitrariness and h
22、as been developing gradually. Iconicity, which is an important subject in the research 4of cognitive linguistics, refers to a natural resemblance or analogy between the form of a sign and the object or concept.Iconicity has been discussed hotly at present in the linguistic and semiotic field. The th
23、eory of iconicity is put forward in contrast to that of arbitrariness and has been developing gradually. Meanwhile, it is a forceful complement to Saussures arbitrariness as well. Iconicity in language means that the form of the word or sign conveys the meaning of the word or sign. The theory of ico
24、nicity is regarded as a great challenge to Saussures arbitrariness of linguistic sign. The study of iconicity has been carried out in recent years. 2.2 Definition of IconicityThe theory of iconicity was first put forward by C.S.Peirce, the founder of American practicalism and semiotics. Since then t
25、his theme has been discussed and studied by many famous researchers like Haiman, Givon, and so on. The following are some of the representative definitions of iconicity. Haiman characterizes iconicity as a set of “signs whose meaning in some crucial way resembles their form”. He also claims that “li
26、nguistic forms are frequently the way is because, like diagrams, they resemble the conceptual structures they are intended to convey”. The relationship between form and meaning is to a considerable extent motivated. Cognitive linguists maintain that linguistic structure is a reflection of cognitive
27、or experiential structure. Newmeyer argues that iconicity “embodies the idea that the form, length, complexity, or interrelationship of elements in a linguistic 5representation reflects of communicative strategy that the representation encodes.” Givon claims that any non-arbitrary relation in langua
28、ge qualifies an iconic relation. Therefore, some scholars usually conclude that iconicity is the similarity between the signifier and the signified. Language iconicity refers to the phenomenon of imitation between the sound, meaning, and form of language and what they signify in the real world. From
29、 the above-mentioned definitions, this paper can find that there is still no fixed definition of iconicity so far. Although researchers have made many attempts, none of their definitions is so perfect as to explain all the phenomena in language, and to some extent, its application is dependent on th
30、e subjectivity of the researchers and scholars themselves. 2.3 The Classification of the IconicityOutside world is the source of signs meaning, according to Peirce, signs can be placed in to three classes. Peirce identifies three types of signs: icon, index and symbol. The three kinds of signs are d
31、ifferent from each other in terms of the degree of arbitrariness. He also further divides icons into three types: images, diagrams and metaphors, which differ from each other according to the similarity between the sign and its objects. In accordance with these he concludes three types of iconicity:
32、 imagic iconicity, Diagrammatic iconicity and Metaphorical iconicity.Haiman further develops Peirces theory and regards diagrammatic iconicity as “a systematic arrangement of signs, none of which necessarily resembles its referent, but 6whose relationships to each other mirror the relationships of t
33、heir referents.” Haiman further classifies diagrammatic icon into two types: isomorphism and motivation.According to Peirce and Haimans classification of iconic signs, this paper gets six subclasses of iconicity: the sound iconicity, the distance iconicity, the order iconicity, the quantity iconicit
34、y, the graph iconicity and the symmetry iconicity. The iconicity can be found on the phonological level, lexical level, syntactic level and textual level. This thesis will analyze the four iconicity principles of them. Chapter 3 The Standards of the Translation to the Chinese PoetryThere are many st
35、andards of the translation to the Chinese poetry, and among them these three standards are famous. “The similarity of form and spirit” or “the beauty of sense the beauty of sound the beauty of form” are the ideal standers and goals of 7translation, but the iconicity is the most important and effecti
36、ve rhetorical device in poetry creation.3.1 The Similarity of Form and SpiritIn the case of literary text, the most optimal state is “the similarity of form and spirit”. However, it is very hard to both express the verve of the original texts and represent the form of the original texts in the trans
37、lation practice. Sometimes, it is impossible to get the translation effects with “both form and content integrated” And for exactly that reason, Mao dun propose spirit likeness and Fu lei stands for “spirit is much more important than form” if you cant have your cake and eat it, you should give up t
38、he “shape” and leave the “spirit”. Compared to other literary form, poetry has its unique features on the sound, word, sentence, text structure of its organization and selection. Poetry emphasized on the outside world imitation, through mimicking the outside world of sound, form and structure to rea
39、lize its stylistic effects. 3.2 The Three BeautiesProfessor Xu Yuanchong proposes that “Three beauties” are the highest standards for poems translation. The “Three beauties” are the beauty of sense, the beauty of sound and the beauty of form. The “Three beauties” are an organic whole; none of them c
40、an be ignored. Its basic meaning is: Poetry translation in meaning, sound, form structure these several levels, should use the corresponding and appropriate target language to convey 8vividly the poetic charm. That will give us the beautiful enjoyment of art in vision, feeling and hearing.Professor
41、Xu Yuanchong stressed that you should put your hand to the meaning, sound and rhymes these three aspects to translate poetry successfully. Cognitively, the principle of “three beauties” is consistent with the iconicity of poetry. The “three beauties” and the “the similarity of form and spirit” are c
42、onsistent. “Beauty of sound” “beauty of form” correlate “the similarity of form”; “beauty of sense” correlates “the similarity of spirit”.3.3 The Principle of the Iconicity As “the similarity of form and spirit” or “the beauty of sense the beauty of sound the beauty of form” are the ideal standers a
43、nd goals of translation, but how to attend it. Lu Weizhong thinks people should adopt the viewpoint of iconicity and throughout the translation of form especially form of extra meaning to achieve the ideal translation effect of “similarity of form and spirit”Among the types of literature, poetrys ic
44、onicity is the most prominent iconicity. Iconicity is the most important and effective rhetorical device in poetry creation. So, pay attention to recognize and analyze the applying of iconicity technique in the original poems when to translate the poetry that can be able to achieve the ideal goal of
45、 “similarity of form and spirit” The iconicity now prevails in the literary works, which is a fact can not be negated. From the perspective of sign iconicity, scholars consider iconicity into literature, which reflects the real life in various ways.Iconicity is ubiquitous in literary language. It is
46、 emphasized as one of the constraints in poetic text structure.9Chapter 4 The Application of the Iconicity to the Translation of Chinese PoetryThis chapter is about the application of the iconicity to the translation of Chinese poetry. According to Peirce and Haimans classification of iconic signs,
47、this paper gets six subclasses of iconicity: the sound iconicity, the distance iconicity, the order iconicity, the quantity iconicity, the graph iconicity and Symmetry iconicity. The iconicity can be found on the phonological, lexical, Syntactic and textual level. This chapter will analyze the four
48、iconicity principles in poetry just from the phonological and textual level with examples.4.1 The Application of the Iconicity to the Translation of Chinese Poetry on the Phonological LevelThis part is about sound iconicity and its translation on Chinese poetry. Sound iconicity usually includes onomatopoeia and sound symbolism, which belong to the category of imagic iconicity.4.1.1 Sound Iconicity and Its Translation on Chinese Poetry10Sound iconicity usually includes onomatopoeia and sound symbolism, which belong to th
