Connotation in Translation： Stable or Changeable

湖北醫药学院

【Abstract】Connotative meaning is always widely used in not only literary works but also in our leaning and daily life. In this essay， there will be a discussion about the application and main features of connotation. The analysis focus on both the variety and stability of connotative meaning through a comparison and contrast between two poetry works.

【Key words】connotation； translation； variety； stability

In terms of word meaning， there are meanings of all kings come into our mind like conceptual meaning， lexical meaning， grammatical meaning， and associative meaning. But today， the following passage will only focus on the variety and stability of words associative meanings， or more specific， connotative meanings， as time and knowledge limited.

To form a full-scale understanding of what is the “associative meaning”， first of all， we need to catch the definition of the “conceptual meaning”. Conceptual meaning is the meaning given in the dictionary and forms the core of word meaning. From this definition， it is obvious that conceptual meaning is rather fixed and stable. Thus， conceptual meaning is generally used in daily communication， as we share the common understanding of words conceptual meaning like “Mama”， “books”， “flower” or “table”. On the contrary， a words associative meaning is usually changeable and inconstant in correspondence with the speakers habit， feeling， imagine， context， setting and many other elements. According to Doctor Zhang Weiyous theory， here in this passage， all these associative meanings will be categorised into four aspects， namely connotative meaning， stylistic meaning， affective meaning and collocative meaning. Later， we will mainly talk about the connotative meaning as it is wildly used in not only literary works but also in our daily life.

When we mention “associative meaning”， mostly， we mean connotative meaning. Typically， connotative meaning refers to the overtones or associations suggested by the conceptual meaning， traditionally known as connotations. These connotations usually associated with common sense or compromise， to a certain degree， between speakers and audience. Otherwise， misunderstandings maybe the only resultes. The connotative meaning is quite vital in literary outputs staying hand by hand with metaphor. Here is a typical example in poetry creation — conceits， a kind of metaphor. Its usage within two distinct schools of poetry unambiguously illuminates the effects of connotation. Certainly， the usage of conceits marks Metaphysical poetry from Cavalier Poetry. We may see， in Andrew Marvells poem TO His Coy Mistress， the author used many fancy metaphors which are unusual or even rare in many other works， for example， “My vegetable love should grow vaster than empires， and more slow.” The word “vegetable” conveys the meaning “like vegetable” or “share some basic similarities with vegetable”. While the problem is， how could the love be vegetable or like vegetables？I suspect， many of you would question just like I did when you read the poem at the first sight.

However， to many Cavalier Poetries， metaphor will be much directly and easy to understand. Generally speaking， connotative meaning can be both changeable and rather stable. An indirect metaphor like conceit can successfully draw readers attention， leading to a deeper and further thinking. But on the other hand， it will at the risk of loosing some audience and triggering puzzles or even misunderstandings. Also， a directive metaphor sharing common connotative meaning will not bring different interpretations but till may loose its fantasy and attraction. Facing this dilemma， its hard to decide which one is wiser or more successful， but direct metaphors with clear-cut connotative meanings are much more friendly to an English learner， especially in the filed of literary creation and appreciation. Like the example before， even though words and languages are always changing in line with its time， Cavalier poetry would be passed on generation by generations， because people share the same understanding and feeling of connotative meanings on these typical little symbols—reading Cavalier poems is just like an joyful journey crossing both time and space， and finally meeting the very writer. This kind of continuity and inheritance is a great treasure itself.

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*本文为湖北医药学院研究生启动金项目， 编号2015QDJRW04。

作者简介：张颖（1991-），女，现湖北医药学院英语教师，助教，研究方向：語言学、翻译。