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A Comparative Study of Animal Metaphors in English and Chinese
ZHONG Jia-chen, ZOU Jian-lin
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DOI:10.17265/2159-5836/2025.03.014
University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
Since Aristotle expounded on the concept of metaphor, metaphor research has gradually expanded from rhetoric to the field of cognitive linguistics. Due to animal’s close connection with human activities, animal metaphor become important part of cross-cultural metaphor research. Animal metaphors in English and Chinese not only share certain cultural commonalities but also demonstrate distinct characteristics due to differences in historical traditions and social cognition. This paper analyzes the influence of cultural backgrounds on language expressions by comparing animal metaphors in Chinese and Western cultures. Research findings indicate that in the cross-cultural translation of animal metaphors, it is essential to take into account both the cultural connotations of the source language and the degree of acceptance in the target language, and to flexibly employ the strategies of domestication and foreignization to achieve the effective transmission of cultural information.
animal idioms, metaphor, cultural differences, translation
Journal of Literature and Art Studies, March 2025, Vol. 15, No. 3, 224-229
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