CHAPTER ONEINTRODUCTION
1.1 Research topic
This thesis proposes to give an in-depth analysis of translating metaphors in Englisheconomic news headlines (ENHs) under the guidance of the Adaptation Theory, andtentatively puts forward an Adaptation Theory-based model for translating metaphorsin ENHs. Some practical translation strategies are also provided. It attempts to offersome insights into the field of metaphor translation as well as to broaden theapplicable scope of the theory concerned.
As Lakoff & Johnson (1980: 4) point out, metaphor is pervasive in our daily life.It appears frequently not only in our everyday conversations, but also in various kindsof written texts, with journalism being “notoriously” famous for its use of metaphor to“liven up” the texts and to “make them more colorful, dramatic and witty” (Newmark,1981: 84). ENHs are no exception. Many ENHs on some authoritative economicnewspapers and magazines adopt metaphor as a means to make the headlines conciseand attractive. That’s because the impact of headlines on the reader is likely to be allthe stronger as “certain linguistic features of titles make them particularly memorableand effective” (Develotte and Rechniewski, 2001), and metaphor is one of the devicesutilized to seek that impact deliberately. With the fast advancement of China’seconomy and the great influence it exerts on people’s daily life as well as on the worldeconomy, Chinese people are increasingly concerned about the economic, businessand financial events taking place both at home and abroad. News of overseas economic, business and some other related activities has become the daily readings ofmore and more Chinese people. In addition, how foreign media perceive those eventsin China is also a major concern for domestic readers. Against this backdrop, goodtranslations of English economic news headlines are highly important as they exertgreat influence on the quality of reading experience. However, as will be discussedlater, metaphor has long been seen as a problem in the field of translation studies. Andit cannot be denied that many English ENHs containing metaphors are not properlytranslated, which may render the translated text unattractive, or even lead to greateconomic loss for the publishers. Therefore, how to translate English ENHsappropriately is not only of great importance for those who are interested in readingthe news, but also for the stakeholders who pursue greater profits by publishing thesereadings.
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1.2 Rationale and significance
The reasons that the author decides to conduct a research on translating metaphors in English economic news headlines are as follows:
Firstly, overseas economic news has become the focus of attention for anincreasing number of Chinese people. With the acceleration of globalization and theintegration of China into the world at large, China’s economy is increasinglyinterwoven with that of the world. And for that reason, news of overseas economic,financial, business and some other related activities has become the daily readings ofmore and more Chinese people, especially for those who are in one way or anotherfinancially involved in these activities. They are eager to absorb the latest and finestinformation concerning the past, the ongoing, as well as the forthcoming economicevents taking place abroad. In addition, how foreign media perceive those events inChina is also a major concern for domestic readers. Therefore, satisfactorytranslations of English economic news is widely expected in China, especially forthose who depend on translated texts to get informed of the pertinent updates sincetheir limited proficiency in English prevents them from reading the origianl Englishversions.
Secondly, news headlines are an effective device to grab readers’ attention anddeliver important information. In an age of information explosion, news headlinesplay an indispensable role in news writing, that’s because nowadays people have easyaccess
