“象似性”及其对翻译符号关系的认知解释——以《庄子》翻译为例

Iconicity and Its Cognitive Explanations of Symbolic Relation in Translation:Illustrated with Translation of Zhuangzi

“象似性”理论来源于皮尔斯的符号学,他对符号的三分法是基于诸如符号载体的表征与其所指对象之间的关系。雅各布森应用皮尔斯的符号学理论,将传统语言学关于非任意性关系的范围从语音拓展到词汇与句法。随着认知科学的发展,“象似性”又在当代认知语言学“现实与语言同构”的理解中不断得到深化。要理解“象似性”的特征与分类,须要结合相似性与隐喻进行整体的讨论。“象似性”表明语言具有理据性这一特征,因此它对翻译认知路径的解释具有突出的优势。通过对《庄子》的翻译分析,本文认为,在具体的翻译实践中,特征比较、关系比较相对容易操作,但意义比较最难,因为前两者与关联度及相似性关系紧密,而后者则需要认知增量的参与。综上所述“象似性”理论将会给中国文学古籍翻译带来新的启发。

Iconicity stems from Pierce's semiotics in which three types of icons are based on the relationship between a representation and its referent,such as a symbolic carrier.Jakobson extends the scope of traditional linguistics on non-arbitrary relationship from phonetics to lexicon and syntax with the application of Pierce's theory.With the development of cognitive science,iconicity continues to deepen in the understanding of contemporary cognitive linguistics with the emphasis on isomorphism between reality and language.In terms of the features and classifications of iconicity,the integrated exploration of resemblance and metaphor should be taken into consideration.Among them,the point that iconicity bears the evidence of motivated feature of language can explain the cognitive path in translation.Specifically,based on the study of translations of Zhuangzi,this paper indicates that the comparison of meaning is more difficult than that of feature and relation,because it needs cognitive increment while the other two are related to relevance and similarity.Thus,iconicity provides new insights into translation of Chinese classics.