ABSTRACT

Metaphor, a figure of speech that identifies something as being the same as some unrelated thing for rhetorical effect, is newly defined from the perspective of cognitive linguistics as a means to conceptualize the world by understanding one thing in terms of another. In recent years, the conceptual metaphor theory has been widely applied to approach the translation as well as linguistic issues. Based on the framework of conceptual metaphor theory, this paper is aimed at exploring the E-C translation of those metaphorical proper nouns in Harry Potter series.

After classifying proper nouns in the series, the paper dwells on revealing the reasons why the readers from different cultures have different feedback of Harry Potter series and answering how to translate metaphorical proper nouns in view of the ideology of both the author and the readers. The translation methods typical of the E-C translation of the series are summed up with a view to providing beneficial guidance to future relevant studies.

Key Words: Conceptual Metaphor; Proper Nouns; Translation; Harry Potter

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABSTRACT

摘要

Chapter One INTRODUCTION-2

1.1 Purposes of the Research-2

1.2 Significance of the Research-3

1.3 Organization of the Thesis-4

Chapter Two LITERATURE REVIEW-5

2.1 Previous Studies Abroad-5

2.2 Previous Studies in China-6

Chapter Three HARRY POTTER UNIVERSE--THE WIZARDING WORLD-7

3.1 A Brief Introduction to Harry Potter Universe-7

3.2 Features and Classification of the Wizarding World-9

3.2.1 Features of the Wizarding World-9

3.2.2 Classification of the Wizarding World-10

CHAPTER FOUR CONCEPTUAL METAPHOR THEORY-11

4.1 A Brief Introduction to Conceptual Metaphor Theory-11

4.2.1 Metaphors and translation-12

4.2.2 Principle of metaphor translation-13

4.3 Brief Introduction of Conceptual Metaphor Theory-13

4.4 Classification of the Conceptual Metaphor-14

Chapter Five TRANSLATING THE PROPER NOUNS IN THE HARRY POTTER SERIES-16

5.1 Translating Proper Nouns of Humans’ Names-17

5.2 Translating Proper Nouns of Magical Terms-20

5.3 Translating Proper Nouns of Incantations-22

Chapter Six CONCLUSION-24

REFERENCES-26