3704双关语及其翻译

本质特点

;

作用

;

翻译

1. Introduction

In a certain context, a word or phrase that is relevant to two or more

conceptions, ideas or feelings is often employed to make an expression more

effective or humorous. This is achieved when there exists identity or similarity

between certain words in such aspects as pronunciation, formation or meaning.

This identity or similarity produces double meanings, which enables people to

connect naturally the literal meaning with the implied meaning. Of these two

meanings, the implied meaning is the principal part.

This is what we call the use of pun. “The use of pun dates back to ancient days.

Shakespeare favored pun particularly. It is estimated that there are about 3000

puns employed in Shake

speare?s works [1].” The employment of pun in English

novels, poems, speeches, advertisements and riddles makes them highly readable

and prompts people to appreciate the beauty of language. And the translation of

English puns into Chinese enhances the charm of the original works and the

understanding of the version.

2. Definition and classification of puns

2.1 Definition of puns

Looking at the same issue from different perspectives, we may often come up

with different definitions of the thing under discussion. And, not surprisingly, pun

can be thus defined in many ways. There is such a humorous explanation about

pun: “punning –

to torture one poor word ten thousand ways (John Dryden)”[2].

In Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, pun is

defined as “An amusing

use of a word or phrase that has two meanings, or words with the same sound but

different meanings”[3] . According to The Oxford English Dictionary, pun is

defined as “the use of word in such a way as to suggest two or more meanings

or

different associations, or the use of two or more words of the same or nearly the

same sound with different meanings, so as to produce a humorous effect”[4]. In

Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics, pun is defined as “A figure of speech

dependin

g upon a similarity of sound and a disparity of meaning”[5].

From the above definitions, we can see that homonyms, homophones, and

homographs all are available to construct puns with.

2.1.1 Homonyms

A homonym is a word that is identical to another word in pronunciation and

spelling but not in meaning [6].

For example:

(1) Can:

n. & v.

Put something in a container

sp; Be able to

(2) Change:

v.

To become different

Change:

n.

Money in the form of coins

(3) Bear:

v.

Sustain responsibility; endure difficulty, etc

Bear:

n.

A kind of animal, having thick fur and walking on its soles

(4) Book:

n.

A written or printed work

Book:

v.

Engage (a seat etc.) in advance; make a reservation of

2.1.2 Homophones

A homophone is a word that is identical to another word in pronunciation but

not in spelling and meaning.

For example:

(5) Bale:

n.

A large bundle

Bail:

v.

To remove water from a boat

(6) Knew:

v.

Past of know

New:

adj.

Of recent origin or arrival

(7) Soul:

n.

Spiritual or immaterial part of man, held to survive death

Sole:

n.

Lower surface of human or other foot

(8) Pair:

n.

A set of two persons or things used together or regarded as a

unit

Pear:

n.

A yellowish or brownish-green fleshy fruit, tapering towards the

stalk

2.1.3 Homographs

A homograph is a word that is identical to another word in spelling but not in

pronunciation and meaning.

For example:

(9) Minute:

n.

Sixtieth part of an hour

Minute:

adj.

Very small; trifling

(10) Digest:

v.

To change food in the stomach into a form your body can

use

Digest:

n.

A

short

piece

of

writing

that

gives

the

most

important

facts

from a book, report etc

(11) Lead:

v.

Guide by the hand, direct movements of

Lead:

n.

A kind of metal

(12) Wind:

n.

Air in more or less rapid natural motion

Wind:

v.

Go in circular, spiral course

2.2 Classification of English puns

Concerning

the

classification

of

puns,

different

linguists

have

different

standpoints.

As

He

Shanfen

states

in

“Contrastive

Studies

of

English

and

Chinese-L

anguages”,

puns

can

be

roughly

divided

into

three

kinds.

They

are

named

antalaclasis,

paronomasia

and

syllepsis

[7].

Here

the

author

uses

two

examples to explain the first two parts.

Antalaclasis refers to a word used twice or more, but each time with a different

meaning. For example:

(13) To England will I steal and there I?ll steal.

The first “steal” means “to go to England secretly without being noticed”, while

the second “steal” is used in its most commonly used meaning.

Paronomasia is the use of two words, which are similar in pronunciation but

different in meaning. For example:

(14) Catch the Raincheetahs and cheat the rain.

Here “raincheetahs” is the brand name of the product. It is pronounced similarly

to “raincheater” which

echoes to “cheat the rain”.

In “English Writing and Rhetoric” written by Prof. WenJun, a more specific means

of classification brings about five categories of puns [8] : homophonic pun,

paronomasia, antalaclasis, Sylletic pun and asteimus.

H

owever, according to Li Xinhua, in his work, “A Detailed Study of Figures of

Speech

in

English”,

he

points

that

those

five

categories

classified

by

Prof.

Wenjun are clear but over-elaborate. In summary, it is clearer to divide into these

two types: one is homophonic pun, the other is homographic pun. He also points

out that, in those five categories, No1 and No2 belong to the homophonic pun; the

others belong to the homographic pun, which is the wayto bring complication into

simplicity.

And

it

is

easier

to

master

the

characteristics

of

figure

of

speech.

However,

as

Lv

Xu

states

in

“Practical

English

Rhetoric”,

according

to

the

characteristics and functions of their formation, puns can be divided into three

types[9]: homophonic puns, homographic puns, puns on both pronunciation and

meaning.

2.2.1 Homophonic puns

It

is

the

use

of

words

with

the

same

or

similar

pronunciation

but

different

spellings and meanings. It also called phonetic puns, and phonetic pun is the basic

form

of

English

pun.

In

our

daily

communication,

phonetic

is

the

carrier

of

transferring information. According to psycholinguistics, speech communication

is a process of psychological activities from encoding to decoding. When speakers

employ

the

order

of

?thinking

-meaning-

voi ce?

to

transmit

outside,

it

is

called

encoding;

when

listeners

employ

the

order

of

?voice

-meaning -

thinking?

to

process and

try to understand,

it

is called

decoding. The

inter- processing only

relies

on

hearing,

lacking

visual

sense,

and

it

will

cause

ambiguity

in

understanding.

For example:

(15) “How is bread made?”

“I know that!” Alice cried eagerly. “You take some flour…”

“Where do you pick the flower?” The white Queen asked. “In a garden or in the

hedges?”

“Well, it isn?t picked at all.” Alice explained. “It?s ground…”

“How many acres of ground?” said the white Queen.[10]

(Lewis Carrol: Alice?s Adventures in Wonderland)

In

this

example,

“flower”

and

“flour”

have

the

same

pronunciation

but

quite

different in meaning. The adoption of the homophonic pun makes the dialogue

more vivid, humorous. Moreover, “ground” can be understood as “solid surface of

the earth”, and also can be understood as “the past of grind”.

(16) Drunk drivers often put the quart before the hearse.

Here,

“quart” is similar to “cart” in sound, while “hearse” is similar to “horse”.

This sentence can construct homophonic pun by borrowing from the idiom “put

the cart before the horse”, which means “put or say things in the wrong order”.

This pun is driving at warning the addicting drivers that driving after drink is a

kind of suicide.

(17) “Waiter, there?s a hair in my soup.”

“So sorry, sir. Did you order it without?”

“Hair” here means “one of the fine thread

-like strands that grow from the skin

of

people and animals”, while the waiter understand it on purpose as “hare”. “Hare”

means “an animal cooked as ordered food”. The customer is complaining about

the bad condition of the restaurant, but by using the homophonic pun, the waiter

is being humorous to ease away the complaint.

2.2.2 Homographic puns

It is the crafty use of the features of homonyms or polysemy to express the

double meanings. Take the following as an example,

(18)

–

Some boys think I?m pretty and some boys think I?m ugly. Wha

t do you

think, Tom?

- A bit of both.

- What do you mean?

- Pretty ugly

As

an

adjective,

“pretty”

means

“pleasing

and

attractive”,

therefore,

the

last

sentence can be understood as “she is both attractive and ugly”, while as an adverb,

“pretty” means “rather, fairly”, so the sentence also means “she is very ugly”. Tom

employs

the

“pretty”

beautifully,

it

is

a

polysemy.

And

we

can

learn

about

the

humor in the dialogue.

(19) The clerk: Are you engaged?

Augustus: What business is that of yours? However, if you will take the trouble

to

read

the

society

papers

for

this

week,

you

will

see

that

I

am

engaged

to

Honorable Lucy Popham, youngest daughter of

–

The clerk: That isn?t what I mean. Can you see a female?

Augustus: Of course. I can see a female as easily as a male. Do you suppose I

am blind?

The clerk: You don?t seem to follow me; somehow, there is a female downstairs,

what you might call a lady. She wants to know, can you see her if I let her up.[11]

- G. B. Shaw Augustus Does His Bit

In the play, two puns are employed. First, the phrase “be engaged in sth” means

“be occupied or busy”; “be engaged to sb” means “agreed to marry sb”. Second, the

verb “see” is understood as “have an interview with sb; meet sb” in the c

lerk, while

Augustus interpret it as “whether he has the power of sight”. “Are you engaged?”

here according to the clerk, he wants to ask Augustus whether he is busy or not?

But

Augustus

understands

it

as

“agreed

to

marry

sb”.

We

can

learn

from

this

dialogue sparkling with humorous and wit that Augustus is thinking about women

all day long.

(20) The number of attorneys who die without a will is amazing.

Even where there is no will, there is a way. [12]

The

first

“will”

means

“statement,

document”;

the

second means

“a

person?s

power can direct his thoughts or influence others”.

Michael Demarest uses this homographic pun to tell us the difference between

chronic procrastination and purposeful postponement and make a great satire.

2.2.3 Puns on both pronunciation and meaning

This kind of pun often embodies the special names of figures in the literary

work. When the authors want to portray a person, they often employ this kind of

pun to give the person a special name in order to reveal

the figure?s character,

behavior and fate. Lv Xu expounds this kind of pun with originality; he thinks that

the use of this kind of pun can be vivid in stressing the figure and portraying the

character of the figure. Take the following as an example,

(

21) In Shakespeare?s “King Henry IV”, Sir John Falstatff is not a character who

thinks and acts in one or the same way. “In appearance, he is kind, noble, wit and

brave, however, in fact, he is a selfish, coward, licentious and wicked man

–

a truly

false s

tuff [13]. And the word “Falstatff” is similar to “false stuff” in pronunciation.

Another

example

goes

like

this:

In

Gilbert

Highet?s

“The

Philosopher

and

the

Conqueror”, this sentence “A titter broke out from the elegant Greeks, who were

already beginning

to make jokes about the cur that looked at the king.”[14] Here

“the cur” refers to Diogenes –

the philosopher on one hand, Diogenes acted very

rudely toward the great conqueror that everyone else respected and admired, and

on the other hand, Diogenes is a cynic philosopher. And the origin of the word

“cur” is the Greek word kunikos, meaning “a dog”. So “cur” is a typical feature of

Diogene, and the image of Diogene is vivid to us. In an?s “The School for

Scandal”, Lady Sneerwell, Sir Benjamin Back

bite and Captain Boastall are famous

for their respective features: Sneerwell does well in sneering, Benjamin Backbite

usually spreads calumnious rumors behind one?s back; and Captain Boastall likes

to talk big.

From the above examples, we can see the feature of this kind of pun is to use

an object?s traits to express the object itself. And this feature also can be found in

another figure of speech

–

metonymy. For example,

(22) The boiled lobster walked into the office.

Here

“boiled

lobster”

re

fers

to

Britain

soldier,

because

Britain

soldiers

often

wear red uniform.

(23) Soapy stood still with his hands in his pockets and smiled at the sight of

brass buttons.

“Brass buttons” is one of the features of American cop uniform, so here it refe

rs

to police.

The

above

analysis

indicates

that

pun

is

in

a

certain

extent

connected

with

metonymy,

about

this

point;

Li

Xinhua?s

point

is

good

for

understanding

the

interrelation. He thinks, “English pun belongs to the category of metonymy [15]”.

Metonymy is a figure of speech that has to do with the substitution of the name of

one thing for that of another, in essence, so does pun. Pun is the use of a word

with same or similar pronunciation to express the different meanings, or the use

of

the

same

word

to

suggest

different

meanings.

In

a

word,

no

matter

it

is

pronunciation or spelling, it always does with the substitution of the name of one

thing for that of another. Therefore, “the substitution of the name of ?A? for ?B?” is

the

common

feature

of

pun

and

metonymy.

However,

we

can?t

mix

them

up,

because the formation of puns possesses the following two characteristics.

3. Characteristics of English pun

The

formation

of

English

pun

needs

two

fundamental

conditions:

ambiguity

and

double context.

3.1 Ambiguity

The

first

characteristic

of

a

pun

is

that

the

focus

of

its

meaning

lies

in

its

ambiguity. No matter whether they are homophones or homographs, the speaker

aims to achieve an ambiguity. Ambiguity can be divided into positive and passive

ambiguity. Putting the word in the wrong place to cause ambiguity and impairing

the effectiveness is called passive ambiguity, while using the polyseme on purpose

to

enhance

the

effectiveness

is

called

positive

ambiguity.

In

our

daily

communication,

we try

to

avoid

the

presence of

ambiguity,

but as

for

puns we

deliberately

create

ambiguity.

That

is

because

the

essence

of

a

pun

lies

in

its

ambiguity. For example,

(24) - What kind of money do girls like the most?

- Matrimony

we must admit that it is very difficult to translate the pun in this example into

Chinese withoutlosing its original flavor. However, it is a perfect example of puns

in English. The ending element “mony” of the word “Matrimony” has the similar

sound with that of the word “money”, which is considered as a homophonic pun. It

is

implied

to

us

that

girls

expect

to

change their

social and economic

statuses

through

marriage.

This

pun

is

very

humorous

and

ironic.

Let?s

look

at

another

example,

(25) King: …my cousin Hamlet, and

my son… How is it that the clouds still hang

on you?

Hamlet: Not so, my lord, I am too much in the sun.[16]

- Shakespeare, Hamlet

Here

“sun”

and

“son”

have

the

same

sound

but

ambiguity,

Hamlet

used

this

ambiguity skillfully to hint his complaining emotion in the indirect way. The king

pretended

to

be

intimate

with

Hamlet

and

call

him

“son”,

however,

Hamlet

responded that “I am too much in the sun”. The surface meaning is that he dries in

the sun for a long time, but actually, it suggests that H

amlet couldn?t bear to be

his uncle?s son any longer.

Keep in mind that the central and basic phenomenon on which puns operates is

ambiguity.

A

pun

intentionally

employs

phonemic

or

semantic

conditions

to

suggest one meaning on the surface while hiding another. We can find theoretical

support

for

the

ambiguity

of

puns.

Li

Xinhua

maintains

that

language

unit

has

both form and content, while there is not a one-to-one relationship between form