英文中無所不在的譬喻 帶你看看相關字彙!

你以為英文中的譬喻只有 “as busy as a bee” 或 “Time is money” 嗎?
快來看看什麼是概念隱喻 (Conceptual Metaphor)
一網打盡相關字彙,讓你建立語感,就是比別人厲害!

什麼是概念隱喻? 面對許多抽象的概念,如時間、感情、知識、美、痛苦等等,人們常會用較具體的東西來形容、思考,在語言上就會看到很多隱喻。在日常英文中,就可以看到許多例子。

以 “Time is money.” 為例,在英文中我們會用”waste” (浪費)、”lose” (失去)、”invest” (投資)、”save” (省)、”profit” (利潤)等字彙去描述時間,如:  “You are wasting my time!”(你在浪費我的時間!)、”I lost a lot of time when I got sick.” (我生病的時候失去不少時間)、”I’ve invested a lot of time in her.” (我在她身上花了很多時間)、”This gadget will save you hours.” (這個小工具能幫你省下好幾小時)、”You didn’t use your time profitably.” (你沒好好利用你的時間)
有些隱喻是中文也有的,但有些則牽涉到文化背景,為英文特有,我們講中文的人比較難記住。

了解概念隱喻,能幫你加深印象,更快掌握各種詞彙的使用,用出更漂亮的英文!
以下介紹4大類常見的概念隱喻,讓你用新的整理方式學英文:

1. Emotional Effect is Physical Contact

在英文中,關於感情的抽象敘述,都會比喻為肢體上的接觸,在動詞上可以看到一些明顯的例子:

  • His mother’s death hit him hard. (他母親的死訊帶給他巨大的衝擊)
  • I was touched by his sincerity. (他的真誠讓我十分感動)
  • Her performance blew me away. (她的演出十分驚豔)

形容一個演講、旅程、一本書等非常的impressive 時,也可以用”Mind-blowing“來形容:
“The special effects in this film are pretty mind-blowing.” (這部電影的特效真的很棒)
a knockout” 可以指在拳擊比賽時,讓對方倒地的那一拳;但它同樣可以用來形容一位女生非常性感、有魅力:
Guy1: Wow check her out!  (哇,看哪)
Guy2: Yep, she’s a knockout all right. (沒錯,她是個大正妹)

2. Ideas are Food

知識、想法、概念等等常常被比喻成食物,在用字上就可看出端睨,例如:

  • “There are too many facts for me to digest them all.” (資訊太多了,我來不及消化)
  • “This plan is half-baked.” (這個計畫還未成熟)
  • “Let me chew it over for a while” (讓我想一下)
  • “Today’s lecture gave me a lot of food for thought.” (今天的演講帶給我很多值得深思的議題)
  • “Be hungry/thirst for knowledge.” (保有求知慾)
  • “I just can’t swallow that claim. ” (我就是無法理解那個說詞)
  • “She feeds the reporters with false information.” (她提供給記者假的資訊)
  • “What he said left a bad taste in my mouth.” (他說的話我不同意, a bad taste in the mouth:”a feeling that something is false or unfair, a feeling of ill will”)

3. Love/Life is a Journy

在英文中,愛情或人生常會被比喻成一段旅程,這個概念在中文中其實也存在,例如:

  • “We’re at a crossroads.” (我們正處於人生的十字路口)
  • “Our marriage is on the rocks.” (我們的婚姻觸礁)
  • “He’s gotten off the track.” (他偏離正軌)
  • “I don’t think this relationship is going anywhere.” (這段感情走不遠)
  • A dead end street is a good place to turn around” (死路就是最好的轉機)
  • “If you are facing in the right direction, all you need to do is keep on walking. ” (如果你面朝對的方向,你要做的就是繼續走下去)

4. Up and Down

在英文中用上、下來表達的概念有很多,最常見的是: happy is up, sad is down: “I’m feeling high spirit.”、”Thinking about her always gives me a lift.“、”My spirits sank.”,另外像是地位高低、道德與否、理性vs感性、好vs壞、意識vs無意識也都是同樣的概念,這些譬喻大部分都很直觀,用圖片和畫面來想就非常容易囉!舉幾個大家可能較不熟悉的例子:

  • “He drooped off to sleep.” (他睡著了)
  • “She’s at the peak of her career.” (她達到事業巔峰)
  • “The up-and-coming events are listed on the paper.” (forseeable future events are up and ahead, 接下來的活動都列在紙上)
  • “Things are looking up.” (事情漸有色)
  • “That was a low trick.” (那真是個低級的把戲)
  • “The discussion fell to the emotional level, but I raised it back up to the rational plane.” (討論陷入感情用事的層次,我把它拉回到理性層次)

了解這些概念隱喻後,以後再看到奠基於這個概念的句型和動詞,必定能馬上了解,深深記到腦海中。
使用這些片語和詞彙,讓你的英文更精確多變,更上一層樓!

想了解更多 metaphor 在文學、idioms (諺語) 上的應用,不妨看看這部有趣的小短片: (隱喻的藝術)

Source: Conceptual Metaphor in Everyday Language,  The ‘Ideas are Food’ Conceptual Metaphor, Need Some Inspiring Quotes about Life Journeys?
Photo source: 1. Metaphor, CC Licensed 2. Tax Credits, CC Licensed. 3. Christian, CC Liensed 4. Doodle Du Jour 5. Hartwig HKD, CC Licensed 6. Alex Indigo, CC Licensed

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