汉英空间-时间隐喻的深层对比研究

An In-Depth Chinese-English Contrastive Study on Spatial-Temporal Metaphor

时间是空间隐喻的产物。因此,时间如空间那样既呈流动性也呈序列性。汉英中均使用“前/后”对时间进行表征,具有两种类似的认知模式。但汉英在具体的时间概念例示和使用频率上却有差异。操汉语者认为时间序列是一个明显的连续统,从过去经现在可以贯通到将来。操汉语者较频繁使用面向过去型静态时间认知模式。相比较,操英语者往往以现在为界使用两种认知模式,并在表征将来时较频繁使用面向将来型动态时间认知模式。这种对同一现象的不同认知与不同的认识论、文化传统和不同的语言系统有关。

As a spatial-temporal metaphor, time is represented as motion and sequence. Therefore, the spatial concepts of QIAN/HOU or FRONT/BACK are used in Chinese and English respectively to represent time in two similar schemas. The two languages, however, differ in their conceptual instantiation and usage frequency. Chinese speakers regard temporal sequence as an obvious continuum in which the past is joined to the future at the present. They tend to adopt the static past-oriented schema to observe and express time. In contrast, in English speakers＇ mind, the time line is divided at the present into the past and future, which represent two separate schemas. They tend to instantiate a dynamic future-oriented schema more frequently. The different tenden- cies in question are related to differences in ideology, culture and language mechanism.