metaphor and political discourse
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Masaryk University
Faculty of Arts
Department of English and American Studies
English-language Translation
Petr Dvok
Translating Metaphors
within Political Discourse:
The Case of EU
Masters Diploma Thesis
Supervisor: Mgr. Renata Kamenick, Ph.D.
2011
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I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently,
using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography.
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I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Mgr. Renata
Kamenick,Ph.D., for her patient guidance and immense help throughout the
creation of this thesis. I would also like to thank my family for the support which
made my studies possible.
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction .................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Remarks on the scope and aims of the thesis ......................................... 3
2. Area of interest and the research questions ................................................... 4
3. Method ........................................................................................................... 7
4. Metaphor as an issue in translation studies ................................................. 10
4.1 Prescription versus Description .............................................................. 10
4.2 Two main issues .................................................................................... 10
4.3 Translatability ......................................................................................... 12
4.3 Classical versus conceptual perspective ............................................... 13
4.4 Translatability revisited .......................................................................... 16
4.5 Types of metaphors and strategies of translation .................................. 19
5. Metaphors in political discourse. Context and challenges ............................ 24
5.1 Agenda setting and persuasion .............................................................. 26
5.2 Concepts and transitivity in politics ........................................................ 28
5.3 Intercultural communication ................................................................... 30
5.4 Specifics of the EU ................................................................................. 32
6. The Corpus .................................................................................................. 34
6.1 Selection procedure ............................................................................... 37
6.2 Time range ............................................................................................. 38
7. Qualitative analysis of metaphors ................................................................ 39
7.1 General information on metaphors ......................................................... 40
7.2 Nature and type of metaphors ................................................................ 44
7.2.1 Unlexicalised metaphors proper ..................................................... 45
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7.2.2 Lexicalised metaphors proper ......................................................... 48
7.2.3 Metonymy and synecdoche ............................................................ 51
7.3 Translation strategies ............................................................................. 54
7.4 Concepts and intercultural communication ............................................ 58
7.4.1 Concepts changed by translation .................................................... 61
8. Discussion. Avenues for future research ...................................................... 64
9. Conclusion ................................................................................................... 66
10. Sources and works cited ............................................................................ 69
List of schemata and tables ............................................................................. 74
Abstract ............................................................................................................ 75
Length of the text: about 115,400 characters
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List of abbreviations
SL (L1) Source language
ST Source text
TL (L2) Target language
TT Target text
EN English
CS Czech
UK United Kingdom
CZ Czech Republic
EU European Union
EP European Parliament
CE Council of the European Union
MEP Member of the European Parliament
MIP Metaphor Identification Procedure
TS Translation studies
Subcorpora:
PRES Speeches and texts of highest representatives of the Council
DOC Texts and press releases from the Presidency of the Council
EP Speeches from the floor and texts from the European Parliament
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Motto
And this is the office of the supreme Figure of all: Metaphor. If Genius, & therefore
Learning, consists in connecting remote Notions & finding Similitude in things
dissimilar, then Metaphor, the most acute and farfetched among Tropes, is the only one
capable of producing Wonder, which gives birth to Pleasure, as do changes of scene in
the theater. And if the Pleasure produced by Figures derives from learning new things
without effort & many things in small volume, then Metaphor, setting our mind to flying
betwixt one Genus & another, allows us to discern in a single Word more than one
Object.
Umberto Eco: The Island of the Day Before
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1. Introduction
Metaphor is a highly important tool of communication and quite a difficult phenomenon
to study. It often does not allow fully equivalent translation; it therefore provokes
important questions about its nature and possible transferability across languages and
cultures. These questions are being handled in many different ways by various scholarly
approaches, where most of them do not offer more than partial explanations and a
considerably limited scope of operation. For that reason, translation of metaphors will
be always seen as problematic no matter which approach to metaphor is chosen
(Olivera 1998: 5 as cited in Fernndez 2003: 66).
Moreover, metaphor is a topic where growing interest can be perceived, which is
given for one thing by the increasing importance of non-literary texts and the
implications of using English as lingua franca (Stlhammar 2006), for another by
increasing heterogeneity and multidimensionality of scholarly disciplinessince
metaphor as such and particularly its practical use is a topic located on the borderline of
more fields, including linguistics, social science, anthropology, and philosophy.
However, this masters thesis does not aspire to cover the topic in its entirety and
complexity. It primarily employs the viewpoint of translation studies and it focuses
mainly on the practical perspective of everyday translation process within one particular
context, namely European Union, and more specifically between two different
languages, English and Czech. The thesis shall empirically analyse the features of
metaphors and the strategies of their translation in these settings. Knowledge of ways of
treatment of metaphors and creative language in general within EU (and possible
detection what the obvious priorities are) could tell us something about typical features
of intercultural communication within this peculiar entity.
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The positive contribution of the thesis to TS should ideally consist in adding
some modest yet tangible results to the list of works dealing with the phenomenon in a
rather practical way. It seems that analytic papers of this kind are rather rare in terms of
quantity. Moreover, in my humble opinion, they rarely offer in-depth analysis of
complex features. These articles which are not openly theoretical often do not go
beyond the level of pure description of metaphorical concepts used by a particular actor.
These works which would dare to directly apply another, translation-related layer of
questions, such as the question of equivalence or interculturality, are truly sporadic.
This is, of course, no surprise with regard to the procession of problems which are
connected to the phenomenon and which tend to emerge during any serious analysis of
it.
Therefore, specifying the outline and desired practical outcomes of the research
was not an easy task. Having done an initial research of existing resources, I am of the
opinion that there currently is no such methodological tool available which would be
universal, clear-cut and robust enough to product results directly comparable with other
similar analyses.
This analysis focuses on both novel and older metaphors within political
communication, particularly such ones which bear some kind of metaphorical tension
and could be thus used strategically to provoke an intentional semantic shock or to
portray a particular concept in a desired way.
The thesis is divided into four logical parts:
I. Introductory part (covering aims and methods): chapters 13
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II. Theoretical part (covering relevant concepts and specifics of the material analysed):
chapters 45
III. Information on corpus: chapter 6
IV. Results and conclusions: chapters 79
1.1 Remarks on the scope and aims of the thesis
Firstly, I would like to point out that the aim of this thesis is to apply selected
tools to one particular discourse in an attempt to explore the details discussed only
sporadically so far; in other words, the thesis should focus on a relatively narrowly-
specified area and it has no far-reaching theoretical or meta-theoretical goals. The
questions dealt with tend to open deeper epistemological and ontological problems, but
these are at any case beyond the frame of this text. The thesis does not lay a claim to
define general explanatory laws, and the results of the work should be interpreted as
such.
Secondly, the topic of metaphors raises the problem of multidisciplinarity. One
cannot escape the socio-political and socio-cultural factors which need to be addressed
when the analysis is to be carried out. This analysis of metaphor draws on the
perspective of linguistics while staying open to the perspective of social science, so the
conclusions of the analysis shall not be strictly limited to a single scholarly fielda
certain overlap is expected.
Thirdly, the thesis also explores themes located on the borderline of approaches,
some of them having direct links to political reality, particular world views, social-
scientific agendas and so forth. Not only for this reason should the strategy of the
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argumentation be neutral, compatible with multiple scholarly disciplines, and
descriptive and empirical rather than prescriptive and normative. The search for the
essence of metaphor can even make researchers take extreme philosophical or political
positionssomething undesirable in the world of research. I personally have no
attachment to one particular approach, strategy, or even ideological interpretation.
2. Area of interest and the research questions
Metaphor is, without doubt, a practical challenge to a translator, as well as a theoretical
problem of translation and therefore a phenomenon worth studying, since transferring
metaphors across languages and culture systems is not a simple, straightforward
process.
At the same time, metaphor is literally ubiquitous: For instance, the analysis
carried out by Steen et al. (2010) discovered that one in about every seven and a half
lexical units in the British National Corpus is related to a metaphorical mapping
structure. Impressive as this figure may seem, it is of course not my intention to explore
that deep levels of language. The underlying problem is that a large part of our
communication has originated in metaphors, yet this is more a subject-matter for
theoretical linguistics than for translation scholars. Analysing the basis of the
phenomenon would require immensely intricate research, well beyond the framework of
this study.
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To carry out a modeststudy, it is therefore crucial to define a portion of the
problem to look at. In this case, this tip of the iceberg (metaphorical pun intended)
shall be represented particularly by those metaphors used within political discourse
which may have pragmatic or strategic effect on general audience. These metaphors
may be novel (unlexicalised) and also older (lexicalised), provided their effect can be
interpreted as contextually relevant in political discourse.1In other words, bearing the
inevitable risk of including even ambiguous cases, I will try to pick up those metaphors
which are capable of provoking intentional or unintentional effect or those that can be
regarded as strategic tools within the discourse. The analysis is thus focusing on such
language tools which constitute the figurative, creative layer of communication which
can have other, less known consequences in political environment.
Moreover, when picking up the metaphors to analyse, the complementary,
equally important criterionapart from relevance to political discourse and persuasive
strategiesshall be the interestingness for real translation processes within the
European institutions, as metaphorical expressions are specific and can pose a challenge
to a translator who is supposed to transfer the meaning paying attention to various
traditions and intercultural differences. The European Union is classed as an entity
where distortion of culturally-specific message can be a real risk. The analysis of
metaphor is a good way to look at this problem, since some metaphors can be easily
regarded as conceptualizations of culture-bound phenomena or memes.
The phenomenon of metaphor translation can be studied from various points of
view, for example that of traditional linguistics (Is the metaphor equivalent as closely
1See the terminology explanation and typology outlines in chapters 5 and 7.
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as possible?) or functionalism (Does this strategy fulfil the intended function in the
text?). This thesis shall adopt the empirical and descriptive approach, paying attention
to both mentioned aspects.
The general key issue of the thesis is how important metaphorical constructions
are used in political discourse in EU. What are the specifics of metaphors used here and
what are the biggest perks and perils of their translation? Should a translator working
for EU be concerned about a specific set of problems? More specifically:
Is there any profound difference in applying metaphors and their strategic use
(see chapter 5) between the official (supposedly neutral) EU bodies and the
broad political actors representing European voters?
If so, do the translators tend to preserve the differences by adopting different
translation strategies? Which metaphor types, patterns, and translation strategies
are most common?
Which conceptual patterns are most common? Can any particular transitive
structures (structures describing types of relations between concepts) be
identified?
Is there a tendency to get rid of metaphors in EP altogether?2
Is the approach to translation of figurative tropes within EU ad-hocor rather
uniform?
How are cultural differences tackled?3
2There may be a tendency in case of simultaneous interpreting (used in EP) to kill [sic] metaphors,
owing to the effort for minimising the risks and (unlike the typical translation of texts) limitedness ofresources available in this particular type of inter-lingual mediation (SpinoloGarwood 2010 as cited inPrandi 2010: 305).3Cultural differences have often been mentioned as obstacles to successful translation of metaphorical
expressions. The strategy used by a translator should probably reflect the difference of associations, the
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Are there any particular high-risk areas to be identified?
The analysis should allow setting and comparing variables dependent on input
parameters and even their combinations. The results should be straightforward enough
to allow comparison with ease. The aim to bear in mind is to focus on typical patterns
and to find the most widely used types and strategies.
3. Method
My thesis shall make use of an empirical, descriptive approach integrating several
established approaches to the phenomenon of metaphors. I am going to create a research
material of my own, namely a parallel bilingual corpus compiled exclusively for the
purpose of this work (for the composition of the corpus, see chapter 6). Using this
corpus, I am going to perform an analysis of the metaphors found. This research process
should allow me to gain complex information about the types of metaphors used within
the corpus, the underlying conceptual metaphors, and strategies of translation.
The method of the thesis is largely inspired by the approach of Christine
Schffner (2004), who argues in favour of applying cognitive approach (drawing from
Lakoff and Johnsons theory) to the field of descriptive translation studies. In her
analysis of the treatment of metaphors (Schffner 2004: 1258 ff.), she used authentic ST
unfamiliarity of the concept to a foreign reader etc. (Schffner 2004: 1264). A plethora of other variableshas been mentioned as well (Fernndez 2003: 66), where most of them, I presume, could be assigned tosub-topics of either cultural or language differences (the other ones being related to problems of contextor translators competence).
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and TT pairs to analyse and describe the strategies to handle metaphorical expressions
with regard to both cross-linguistic and cross-cultural featuresmaking use of the
cognitive approach to compare possible effects of particular expressions on a reader.
Likewise, this thesis shall make use of the orientation of the research which she
describes as product-oriented, i.e. focused on functions of metaphors as agents in the
texts, with the explanation being linked to text, discourse, and culture(ibid.).4
Moreover, the thesis shall make use of Lakoff and Johnsons famous concept to
examine the metaphors analysed in terms of conceptual metaphors used (see chapter
4.3). I am convinced that this aspect of metaphors in use is one of the common
denominators of translation studies and other scholarly fields.
Throughout the thesis, such metaphors are discussed which do not pass
unnoticed when the text is readi.e. dead metaphors hidden in the literal expression
which cannot cause any kind of tension were usually unnoticed. The corpus shall be
searched for these interesting cases of metaphors and their translations, the metaphors
will be manually marked and analysed for (typical) conceptual patterns and translation
strategies using the procedure which has been inspired by the Metaphor Identification
Procedure (MIP) developed by the Pragglejaz Group (see Steen et al. 2010: 769 ff.),
which, according to its coordinator, provides an operational way of finding all
conventional metaphor in actual message(ibid.: 770).
The original MIP was developed over several years and tested by the Group on
various texts. It was an attempt to construct an explicit and systematic inductive 5tool of
4The other side of the problem (not to be discussed here) is process-oriented part of analysis (focusingon cognitive processes in translators mind).5In this respect, inductiverefers to the analysis moving from the linguistic structures towards conceptual
ones (first, a word or phrase is found, then tagged and assigned). The opposite way of analysis, deductive,would start with a set of metaphorical concepts which would be searched in the text analysed (the set of
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metaphor identification. I will follow the basic logic behind the MIP, albeit with
regard to the obvious limits of resourcesnot in the same depth as the Praggejaz Group
did. The (rather simplified) MIP can be summed up as follows:
1. Reading the text in its entirety,
2. Determining lexical units,
3. Establishing meaning and meaning connections,
4. Deciding about the existence of contextual contrast (such contrast can be used
both directly and indirectly)in my case, including the judgment about a
possible strategic and contextual effect from the point of view of political
discourse.
The metaphorical expressions marked will be then recorded along with their possible
metaphorical concepts and other data related to their use (possible transitive relations,
remarks on context, possible shift in meaning, cultural issues etc.). To sum up, the
resulting information on each metaphor should contain its nature and type, strategy (see
chapter 4.5), conceptual frame and perhaps transitive relations (see chapter 4.3 and 5.2),
and, if justified, a note on context. It is quite clear that the weakest spot in this strategy
is the identification of the expression itself. There are inevitable risks of ambiguity,
omission, or misinterpretation. Nevertheless, I cannot think of a better way of creating
the corpus, given the current circumstances.
possible metaphors would be defined even before reading the text). See Steen et al. 2010: 768 for moredetails.
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4. Metaphor as an issue in translation studies
4.1 Prescription versus Description
The problem of translating metaphors can be addressed both by prescriptive (as
advocated by e.g. Nida, van den Broeck, Newmark) and descriptive (Toury, Snell-
Hornby, and Baker) approaches (Fernndez et al. 2003: 61). Those approaches seeking
ST faithfulness have been increasingly disregarded in favour of target-oriented studies,
which had an impact on the concept of equivalence. Translemic equivalence thus does
notpursue perfect but rather acceptable renderings (Rabadn lvarez1991: 45 as
cited in ibid.), and the whole concept of faithfulness has become increasingly relaxed
there are authors who tend to see previously condemned choices as rather innovative.
4.2 Two main issues
So far, with regard to the phenomenon of metaphors, translation studies has been
concerned with two main questions (cf. Schffner 2004: 1256), namely
1. The problem of translatability(which somewhat resonates with the question
of equivalence). This is a question of the very nature of the metaphor as a figure,
as a part of communication, and as a tool used (in semantic and pragmatic sense)
with a particular purposeall of this in different systems (be it grammar, langue
/ parole, culture etc.). In short, there is a problem of equivalence versussystemic
difference. The important thing to realise is that the transfer of such a
complicated entity as a metaphor cannot be simple by definition.
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2. The problem of procedure, strategy of translation.Once we admit that there
is a way to recreate the semantic entity (or purpose) of a metaphor in a target
text (depending on the approach one prefers), a myriad of other, practical
difficulties appear. Is there a general way to deal with the translation of
metaphors, based on their nature, type, or function in the text, or is this an ad-
hocprocess? Can a typology of strategies be constructed, or is it a foolish vanity
to try to capture such an individual flash of imaginative insight(Dagut 1976:
22 as cited in Schffner 2004: 1256)? For more information on translation
procedures, see chapter 4.5.
Both questions can be addressed from significantly different scholar positions.
Schffner herself (2004: 1254) warns that arguments brought forward need to be seen
within the context of a heterogenous disciplinewhich translation studies indisputably
is. As for the first question, among possible sub-disciplines of translation studies
preoccupied with the problem of equivalence (ibid., 1254 ff.) are:
Linguistics:Preoccupied with translation as transferring meaning. The notion of
equivalence: Transfer of a text should be as faithful as possible, both in content
and form.
Text linguistics:Metaphor as a unit of translation. Treating source text and
target text in context of situational factors, conventions, text functions etc.
Equivalence is of communicational nature.
Functionalism:Translation as trans-cultural interaction, translation strategy is
dependent on appropriateness to purpose (in other words, importance of
equivalence is reduced).
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The whole sub-domain is further complicated by the fact that no universally accepted
notion of equivalence exists, especially if various post-modern and cultural approaches
are to be incorporated to the discussion in their entirety and with all consequences.
4.3 Translatability
With regard to translatability, three or four main positions have crystallised inside TS
(according to Fernndez 2003: 67 ff.):
1. Metaphors are untranslatable(as argued by Nida (1964) or Dagut (1967), i.e.
any translation of metaphor brings about a different metaphor;
2. Metaphors are fully translatable(e.g. Kloepfer (1981) or Mason (1982)), i.e.
there cannot be a theory of metaphor as such, just a theory of translation applied
to metaphors;
3. Metaphors are translatable with a considerable degree of interlinguistic
inequivalence(e.g. van den Broeck (1981), Toury (1995) and Newmark
(1988));
4. Fernndez lists as a distinct fourth typeso called Conciliatory approach
proposed by Snell-Hornby (1988), who claims that the range of renderings will
depend on the type of text and ad-hocfactors.
I reckon that for our purposes, this could be regarded as a variation of the third type
(depending on the strictness of definition of equivalence, which is, after all, not a
primary issue here).
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As we can see, no universal definition of equivalence (and therefore no simple means of
measurement of it) has been provided so far (cf. Lotfipour-Saedi 1990). Also, we are
always dependent on which approach we take, as each theory focusing on one issue is
condemned to be partial or inadequate (cf. Prandi 2010).
As for the question of translatability seen from the point of view of metaphor
types (see chapter 4.5), Newmark (1988: 48-49 in Fernndez 2003: 68) argues that
metaphors most translatable are the deadones, whereas the translatability of stock
and originalones is proportional to the proximity of the two polysystems involved. Van
den Broeck (1981: 73 in ibid.) suggests that not all metaphors pose the same risks, and
their translatability thus depends on their communicative function and cultural bounds
the larger the quantity of information and the degree to which this information is
structured in the text, the lower the translatability.
For the purpose of this thesis, lets assume that approaches No. 3 and 4 (lets call
this position metaphors are carefully translatable with important reservations) are
valid and that both are a part of the empirically-constructed model which is going to be
applied here.
4.3 Classical versus conceptual perspective
General study of metaphors is drawing on two equally important sources, that of the
classical and the conceptual approach. Whereas the principles of the two approaches are
fundamentally different, various attempts have been done during quite a lively debate in
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the recent decades to combine and mutually inspire these two traditions. What are
their main features?
First of all, metaphor can be defined in various ways, among the particularly
interesting being textual interpretation of a conflictual complex meaning, or putting
strange concepts into interaction etc. (Prandi 2010: 305). If we yield to a certain level
of simplification, one of perhaps the most general and often quoted definitions is
Aristotles definition of metaphor as a transfer of a word into a strange domain
(ibid.).
See the chart below featuring the same concept described by various terms and
points of view, none of them being truly universal (cf. SlingerlandBlanchardBoyd-
Judson 2007; Prandi 2010). Each of the four pairs comprises a term of its own:
Fig. 1: The principle of metaphor
Metaphor / Frame / Transfer / Interaction
1. Tenor2. Subsidiary subject3. Strange domain4. Extension
1. Focus2. Vehicle
3. Word4. Meaning
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In the classical view, metaphor has been primarily seen as a rhetorical figure or as a
device to add interest to the text. At the same time, metaphor has been treated as
something albeit interesting, yet rather peripheral and difficult to study, as an object in
realm of poetics rather than empirical analysis.
Nonetheless, the traditional understanding of metaphor as a figure of speech
(whose main function is the stylistic embellishment of a text) has been recently replaced
with a more complex conceptual, cognitive6approach (Schffner 2004: 1254) which
tends to see this phenomenon in context of broader aspects of communication. Whereas
this shift is very interesting, it inevitably leads to further methodological confusion.
With publication of Lakoff and JohnsonsMetaphors We Live By(1980), the
whole world of study of communication was once again significantly moved. In recent
years, the new conceptual paradigm has been, according to e.g. Schffner (2004: 1257-
1258) taking root also in translation studies as such. In their remarkable work, Lakoff
and Johnson argue that metaphors are nothing less than demonstrations of the whole
system of experience and thought of human societyin other words, that metaphors
permeate and pervade both language and thought(Fernndez 2003: 65).
From this point of view, each metaphor is an expression of conceptual mapping
(from the sourcevehicle to a targettenor conceptual domain). Whereas this
may terminologically resemble the classical view, the crucial importance is that
metaphorical mapping is not regarded as a finite object. It is only a surface
demonstration of a relation existing on a much deeper level, firmly set in the
experiential system of human beings who are capable to seeor understand one
domain by means of another. This changes the whole perspective.
6Schffner is among those scholars who use the term cognitive to describe the conceptual approach.
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Moreover, the conceptual approach does not regard metaphors as optional
linguistic tools or language devices that may be easily replaced by other means (as had
been tended to in older, classical times)instead, they are ubiquitous signs of the
ways people think just demonstratedthrough linguistic means (cf. Slingerland
BlanchardBoyd-Judson 2007: 55-57; McElhanon 2006: 37; Chaban et al. 2007: 81),
they are absolutely central to ordinary language(Lakoff 1993: 203 in Candel 2005:
10).
Common utterances seen from this point of view become the expressions of
underlying conceptual models. From this perspective, even completely novel, original
metaphors have to be compatible with already established concepts in order to be
comprehensible for a receiver of information (Because, after all, each metaphor ever
used is only a surface demonstration of a more abstract concept which lies somewhere
much deeper; SlingerlandBlanchardBoyd-Judson 2007: 57).
4.4 Translatability revisited
If true, this brings immense consequences for the problem of translatability of
metaphors. As Schffner (2004: 1258) argues, [t]ranslatability is no longer a question
of the individual metaphorical expression, as identified by the ST, but it becomes linked
to the level of conceptual systems in source and target culture.
As I see it, this revolutionary shift may imply that at least older (such as
stock or recent, see chapter 4.5) and a considerable part of original or novel
metaphors are translatable (conceptually transferable), not because of the relative
closeness of the SL and TL, but because basic human experiential concepts are
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universal (as proclaimed by Lakoff and Johnson). The remaining ones might perhaps be
reproducible provided a certain level of compatibility between cultures can be
found (which is, after all, not incompatible with both Newmarks and van den Broecks
notions mentioned in chapter 4.3). In this context, different types of metaphors should
be identified with regard to the level of their universality / specificity (cf. Stienstra 1993
in Schffner 2004: 1264) for instance, one could expect the metaphors based on
human body to be universally understandable, whereas metaphors originated in local
traditions as specific.7
This actualised approach is rather optimistic with regard to the question of
possibility of intercultural communication. It can also serve as an intermediate position
between the extreme points of view on the problem of translatability of metaphors, as
represented by the debate every metaphor is translatable versus metaphor cannot be
translatable implicitly.
Prandi (2010: 305 ff.) nevertheless warns against simplified solutions. She notes
that no strategy to tackle the translation of metaphors can be universal. She rather
argues for a much more complex and differentiated approach where the final decision is
dependent on the kind of metaphor used (for instance, consistent versus conflictual,
openness to substitution, coincidence to lexical versus textual interpretation etc.). For
her, metaphors in general have the same originconceptual interactionbut many
7McElhanon (2006: 45-47), inspired by Kvecses (2005 in ibid.), proposes using three elementarymodels of translation of image-schemas and conceptual metaphors:1. Universalism: Translate a metaphor that reflects a universal, human conceptual process so as topreserve the underlying image-schema structure. (This principle reflects Lakoffs invariance hypothesis i.e. image-schematic elements and structure of the metaphor should be preserved.)2. Human physiology: Translate a metaphor that reflects common human physiological processes so asto preserve the sense of a psychological basis.3. Experiential cultural models: Translate a metaphor that has an underlying cultural model with asimilar model ensuring that the coherence and integrity of the underlying translation model is notcompromised.
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possible outcomes. Also, a mere co-existence of different concepts (signalled by putting
a word into a strange domain) does not automatically mean that a true metaphor is
present unless a real conceptual interaction (with an identifiable conceptual balanceof
the result) is proven.
For Prandi, there are 1. consistent metaphorsthat are integrated in our ways of
thinking and there are 2. conflictual,living metaphors containing an overt conceptual
conflict (Prandi 2010: 311). The difference might be summed up as follows: Whereas
consistent metaphors are used automatically and we are not aware of them unless we
focus on them, conflictual metaphors have a striking effect, they attract attention.
Prandis underlying argument is that each theory focusing only on chosen aspects is
therefore condemned to be partial and inadequate, and it would also be problematic to
come up with such definitions which would cover such different phenomena as these
two kinds of metaphor, whose cores actually directly oppose each other.8
This distinction between metaphors has also highly relevant consequences for
translation (Prandi 2010: 318 ff.): Whereas a conflicting expression may actually be
translated immediately and it is almost impossible to kill it,9a metaphorical sense of a
(highly language-specific) polysemous word or an idiom is notit cannot be.
Therefore, as Prandi states, it is actually not a novel metaphor which is challenging for a
translator; it is the consistent and conventional one.
8It should be noted that Prandis terms should not be mistaken with Newmarks. For Prandi, the
difference is given by the distance between particular concepts; for Newmark, the difference is based ontemporal dimension. Whereas Prandi sees some metaphors as inherently conflictual on, say,psychological grounds, for Newmark, all metaphors could eventually become dead after some timethequestion of their effect is dependent mainly on the time they have been used. Prandis approach to originsof metaphor is listed here as complementary theory.9The only real risk being the usual engagement in over-interpretation and explicitation; cf. e.g. Blum-
Kulka (1986) as cited by Prandi (2010: 321).
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On a side note, as has been stated earlier, metaphors are truly ubiquitous. Modern
languages in their use are constructed by sediment, petrified, metaphors, including those
which are already dead (i.e. not perceived as metaphorical expressions at all). There are
scholars who take the discussion one step further and argue that there actually cannot be
such a thing as a proper distinction between literal and figurative language at all
everything we perceive as literal had in fact roots in metaphorical nature, and words
commonly used are in fact troped, i.e. lacking one exclusive meaning.10If metaphors
are indeed everywhere, if they []cannot generally be regarded as something
literary or creative and they [exist]rather in clines and also include expressions
whose metaphorical meaning can be found in a dictionary(Mller 2005: 55), the
resulting complexity of this perspective is truly overwhelming and one has to be
extremely careful when drawing general conclusions. The fact that there could be
interference between all concepts mentioned above and the way whole language
systems work is a real possibility.
4.5 Types of metaphors and strategies of translation
As for types of metaphors, the criterion of time, or in other words, novelty or originality
of expressions proposed by Newmark has been often applied. At one hand, there are
non-lexicalised (i.e. newer) metaphors which are absolutely or relatively novel and
creative, at the other hand, there is a whole world of lexicalised (i.e. older) metaphors
10One of the first things that a student of etymology [] discovers for himself is that every modern
language [] is apparently nothing, from beginning to end, but an unconscionable tissue of dead, orpetrified metaphors. [] If we trace the meanings of a great many words [] about as far back asetymology can take us, we are at once made to realize that an overwhelming proportion, if not all, of
them referred in earlier days to one of these two solid thingsa solid, sensible object, or some animal(probably human) activity.(Barfield 1928: 63 as cited by Kntsson 2008)
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whose metaphorical nature is still apparent but which are already established in the
language.11
The Newmarks (1981, 1988) typology of metaphors is as follows:
Newmarks typologyof metaphors
(Newmark
1981)
Dead Clich Stock Recent Original
(Newmark
1998)
Dead Stock Recent Adapted Original
Lexicalised metaphors Non-lexicalised
metaphors
Table No. 1
The meanings of the typology categories as described by Newmark (1988: 196 ff. as
cited by Dickins 2005: 16-18 including examples) are:
11On a side note, Dagut (1976: 23 in Candel 2005: 10) strongly opposes this view and argues that allmetaphors are new and unique creations by definition. For him, solely Newmarks original metaphorswould qualify as proper metaphors at all. The discussion has evidently been complicated, not only across
different paradigms but also in the scope of particular approaches. All attempts to deal with the topic thushave to be partial and limited, no universal tool to classify procedures is at hand.
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Newmarks typology of metaphors explained
Type Description Examples
Dead Metaphors where one ishardly conscious of the
image; universal terms of
space and time etc.
space, field, top, bottom,arm, fall, rise...
Clich Metaphors that havetemporarily outlived their
usefulness; substitute to
clear thought
[schools] traditionswillhelp and it may well
become ajewel in the
crownin the countrys
education.
Stock Established metaphors; in
informal context
referentially and
pragmatically efficient
oil the wheels
Recent Metaphorical neologisms
which have spread rapidly
in language
groovyas good,skintas
without money
Adapted Metaphors which involve
an adaptation of an existing
(stock) metaphor
the ball is a little in theircourt(R. Reagan)
Original Non-lexicalised and non-
adapted metaphors
Table No. 2
A similar principle in a less rigorous way is noted by Mller (2005: 55), who argues: a
procedure of metaphor identification has to differentiate between rather conventional
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metaphors and creative metaphors which occasionally exploit the principles of
conceptual mappings.However, as Mller points out, drawing real distinctions
between these types is not an easy task. This problem therefore calls for establishing a
set of criteria which could be used during the process of determination and
classification.
Along with Mller, I suppose that creative metaphors in political discourse are
those that [depend] on deviation from what might be expected in a given situation or
[challenge] discursive or linguistic norms (ibid., 56), with regard to appropriateness
and usefulness, and strategic value of the term used. This is relevant for the analysis
of discourse, where even an established, say, stock metaphor can have a shocking effect
if used creatively and/or with attention to the context.
The thesis shall make use of Newmarks typology (especially with regard to the
distinction between unlexicalised and lexicalised expressions) but will pay attention to
Mllers pragmatic criterion as well. Lexicalized and unlexicalized metaphors will be
analysed separately. I shall search for possibly all cases of non-lexicalised metaphors
and, at the same time, for those cases of lexicalised metaphors which can be
contextually (or pragmatically) relevant in political discourse. As a rule, dead metaphors
without any relevant function in the text will be omitted. It is, of course, expected, that
lexicalised metaphors in the corpus will be much more common than the other type.12
12It remains an inconvenient truth that the distinction cannot be always clear-cut, which holds true for the
issue of typology as well as strategy. There is no easy way to solve this problem. In doubtful cases, notesor short in dataset are provided in the dataset.
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As for the question of technique, procedure, or strategy of translation applicable to
metaphors, relatively many strategy typologies based on ideal-typical models exist. 13
Perhaps the most frequently cited among the source oriented14approaches are:
1. A descriptive approachelaborated by van den Broeck (1981: 77 in Schffner
2004: 1256 ff.) operating with three possible strategies:
a. Translationsensu stricto(both SL tenor and vehicle are transferred
into TL)
b. Substitution (replacement of SL vehicle by a different TL vehicle with
the same tenor)
c. Paraphrase (rendering a SL metaphor by a non-metaphorical expression
in the TL)
2. A prescriptive approachadvocated by Newmark (1981: 87-91 in ibid.; 1985 in
McElhanon 2006: 35)15(English-German and English-French examples taken
from Schffner 2004). Newmarks typology is one of the most comprehensive
ones and it was applied in this thesis.
a. Reproducing the same image in TL
golden hair // goldenes Haar
b. Replacing the SL image with a standard TL image (which is compatible
with TL culture)
13It should be noted that whereas these typologies have been largely constructed as a part of prescriptive-
based works, I mention them in order to use them just in an empirical, descriptive wayI am not tryingto favour any of them.14
As for target-oriented perspective, Toury (1995: 81 ff) adds two other scenarios, namely (1) Use of ametaphor in a TT for a non-metaphorical expression in a ST, and (2) Addition of a metaphor in a TTwithout any linguistic motivation in a ST. In this respect, Toury is clearly interested in viewing metaphornot only as a translation problem, but also as a translationsolution. As this thesis is inherently source-oriented, thus focused on ways of translating already existing tropes, this additional set of strategies is
mentioned only for the purpose of context.15In Newmarks work, the term objectcorresponds to topic, imageto vehicle, andsenseto grounds.
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other fish to fry // dautres chats fouetter
c. Translating metaphor by simile, retaining the image (Effect: metaphors
shock possibly modified)
Ces zones cryptuaire o s labore la beaut // The crypt-like
areas where beauty is manufactured
d. Translating metaphor (simile) by simile plus sense (simile plus sense
statement) (Effect: loss of shock, compromise solution)
tout un vocabulaire moliresque // a whole repertoire of medical
quackery such as Molire might have used
e. Converting metaphor into its sense (Effect: possible loss of emotive
aspects)
sein Brot verdienen // to earn ones living
f. Deletion (if metaphor is redundant)
g. Using the same metaphor combined with sense (Effect: enforcing the
image)
5. Metaphors in political discourse. Context and
challenges
To some extent, political discourse is driven by underlying conceptual metaphors. These
metaphors are, on the other hand, partially rooted in ideologies and cultural models.
Simple examples of such metaphors include the conceptual dualisms such as right and
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left,progressive and conservative,and other everyday terms, such asgreen orpolitical
spectrum.There is a myriad of various terms from the scope of war, sports etc. In fact,
each political commentary in the newspaper is a noteworthy aggregate of political
metaphors. Also, it is not uncommon that a simple metaphor becomes a meme, a
shorthand term for a complex social phenomenon. Such term can then become a
standard term of its own. When performing the analysis of the political discourse,
pragmatic aspects should be taken into consideration and the analysis has to be of
critical nature, exploring the intentions of a speaker and the strategies they use to win in
the never-ending negotiations.
In general, metaphors are absolutely central to our understanding of many
political concepts, which are usually too abstract, remote, and complex to grasp to an
average voter. The more distant the object, the more important vehicle of understanding
and comforting ones mind metaphor is. In my opinion, metaphor, regardless if novel or
established, then bears the function ofprejudice,i.e. of the tool to deconstruct and
internalise reality.16
As we can see, the issue of expressions typical of political discourse is complex
and has been approached from various perspectives. Mtt (2007: 168), making use of
Foucaults (1969) insights, defines the goal of [political] discourse analysis as to
determine why a certain fragment of discourse (statement or nonc) and no other has
appeared in a given place in a given time. This Foucaltian and pragmatic perspective
makes the reader pay attention to the subtle yet omnipresent variables of contextual
meaning, ideology, relations of power and coercion, audience-specificity, and so forth.
16On a side note, this is one of the reasons why deliberate, participatory democracy has empirical limits
and cannot be employed successfully in real conditions.
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All utterances need to be looked at with regard to their role in vast networks of concept,
meanings, and desired aims.
Following Foulcaltian logics, we could define analyzing metaphors as a
particular method of discourse analysis, which in turn would be a method of analyzing
either likely intentions of the players in the political system (which is the case of this
text) or political ideology in general (which would require a much more sophisticated
analysis).
In the context of EU, this is particularly relevant with regard to the fact that the
Union is a relatively young17and still evolving entity. It is a project still in the making.
There is an ongoing debate whether its future lies in converting the Union into a
somewhat integrated, centralised supranational project or rather going back to the
intergovernmental, loosely-federated approach. Recall past employing and successful
introducing (i.e. lexicalizing) of such metaphors as Common European house, Three
Pillars of the European Communities, two-speed Europe, democratic deficit and so
forth, which undoubtedly influenced the way EU has been portrayed in the media and
thought over by political actors as well as voters (cf. e.g. Chaban et al. 2007, Hlsse
2006).
5.1 Agenda setting and persuasion
In 1946, in his famous essayPolitics and the English Language,George Orwell
noted: By using stale metaphors, similes, and idioms, you save much mental effort, at
17Despite having roots as far as in the 1950s, EU in its current form and subjectivity has been in existence
only since 1993.
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the cost of leaving your meaning vague, not only for your reader but for yourself.
(Orwell 1968: 134 as cited by Mller 2005: 54).
For Orwell, the term stale was primarily a question of style. He viewed using
vague language and clichs as a sign of decay of English rhetorics, not as rudimental
presence of the change of foundations of public politics which can be traced back to
these times. On the other hand, as Mller interestingly points out, Orwells definition go
against the traditional view of metaphors as a mere stylistic ornament, for his
conception is also connected to the condition of mental efforts and ethics of a
speaker. This might have been a nodal point in the evolution of understanding of
metaphor.
Since WWII, an increasing attention has been given to the problems of
persuasion, strategies, self-portraying, and targeted use of concepts in political
communication. Nowadays, hardly anyone questions the fact that political discourse is
characterized by its predominantly persuasive function and argumentative, often
market-oriented style. Under typical circumstances of a democratic political system,
language used within political discourse is a strategic tool directly employed in political
battle. This has never been so much true as now, in the gold age of political marketing.
All utterances should be regarded as possibly strategically chosen ways of setting and
promoting the agenda. Use of metaphor in political discourse is a fundamentally
persuasive discourse act (Charteris-Black 2004: 13 as cited in Candel 2005: 16).
In the agenda setting theory (see e.g. McCombs 2009), strategic framing18
refers to intentional emphasizing of those elements of a problem which are considered
18In this thesis, strategic use of framing is strictly called strategic framing. This is not always the case in
theoretical works. This choice is motivated by the effort for terminological charity (strategic framing is a
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as important by an actor, or those definitions and views of the problem which are
strategically advantageous, particularly using media. The aim is making such solutions
or topics salient, i.e. widely discussed and perceived as important (e.g. McCombs 2009:
133). Using metaphors is one of the way of persuasion. By highlighting some aspects,
and ignoring others, conceptual metaphors located in media discourses are claimed to
form cognitive models which organize thought and action(Gozzi 1999: 10 as cited
by Chaban et al. 2007: 88).
Strategic framing usually works with direct, intentional linkage of source and
target concepts, thus creating a metaphor which can be used to make a particular socio-
political issue salient or, alternatively, to portray the speaker as an agent capable of
resolving the problem perceived. Hypothetical examples include conceptual frames
such as TERRORISM IS A DISEASE +CANDIDATE IS CURE;or POLITICAL OPPONENT IS A
CRIMINAL +CANDIDATE IS A GUARDIANetc. Metaphor may play a key role in addressing
a voter because it can be used as a shortcut for delivering a message using a concept
familiar to the voter.19
5.2 Concepts and transitivity in politics
If the validity of the conceptual (cognitive) model is accepted, one could also argue that
important societal changes are accompanied by large shifts in conceptual sets (and vice
versa). In this respect, it might come in handy to recall George Orwells 1984and all
pragmatic act, portrayingwith the help of concepts, whereas framing (without an attribute) is a generalor theoretical term referring to working with concepts.19On the other hand, the notion that metaphor is an undoubtedly effective tool of persuasion has notremained uncontested and needs to be viewed as a qualified hypothesis rather than a fact. There were also
scholars who argued that metaphor-free speech was more persuasive than the other kind. Both parties hadempirical proofs of their position (cf. Mller 2005: 55).
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sorts of wag-the-dog remarks. Societal discourse and power structure are clearly
interconnected systems. I am far from saying Change the meaning of words and
empires will fall, I just want to remind the reader of the ever-faster changes in public
discourse and the nature of the power relations which we have been seeing since the 2 nd
half of the 20thcentury. As Lakoff (2004: xv in Helln Garca 2010: 59) indicates: In
politics our frames shape our social policies and the institutions we conform to carry
th[ese]policies. To change our frame is to change all of this. Reframing is social
change.
Metaphor plays a prominent role especially in the post-modern approach to
political and societal reality. As Hlsse (2006: 397) sums up, [m]etaphors are a means
of imagining and by the same token constructing social reality. This has to do with their
very logic of operation: they project the meanings of a familiar issue onto a less
familiar and abstract one, thus constituting the unknown in terms of the known.
Analyzing discourse of a particular political actor thus touches upon the belief and
conceptual constructions hidden in their expressions. By decoding and interpreting
metaphorical concept, we may arrive at finding out the speakers intentions.
Accepting Lakoff & Johnsons theory of conceptual systems in its entirety, we
can assume that metaphors, once said, work also subconsciously, thus making the
message accessible on multiple levels simultaneously. A clever use of metaphors may
thus enable an informed political actor to kill twoor possibly morebirds with one
stone.
Possible use of conceptual metaphors may also include working with transitive
relations as defined by Systemic Functional Grammar of English (Halliday 2004). The
distribution and mixture of different process types gives a particular flavour to a text
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and contributes to determining the text typeand the discourse genreto which it
pertains. In addition, the transitivity grammar construes a particular world view
specific to the text in question (Halliday 2004: 174, 283): it inscribes the text within a
particular discourse typeby encoding ideologies in the textual grammar. (Mtt
2007: 169-170). A general idea of types of relations used in metaphors can help to
discover which values are presented in speeches and texts, and how the political issues
are constructed by various speakers.
5.3 Intercultural communication
Let us not forget the other side of the equationthe acceptability and comprehensibility
of the message. Clearly, even most unusual metaphors must be compatible with the
established conceptual system if they are to be decoded by the receiver of the
communication.
Thats where the factor of shared culture, context, experience, and translation
across different cultures comes into consideration. All metaphors, whether novel or not,
must be used in accordance with the (long established) conceptual system in order to be
recognized and interpreted appropriately. One can assume that this does not pose a big
problem in case when the speaker and receiver live in the same cultural system.
However, what happens if the strategic, subtle, conceptually salient, and politically
important metaphor needs to be translated to someone coming from a completely
different background? A failure in transfer may have a number of dramatic
consequences, form unnatural feel to logical incomprehensibility to misinterpretation of
speakers intention.
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The role of language and translation and interpreting in international politics is
therefore crucial and cannot be overestimated. Negotiations take place under
circumstances with a great scope for misunderstanding, and different conceptualisations
of the world are inevitable (Sharifian 2007: 413-414). That is why the role of translators
as mediators is so important in this field.
The relationship between translation studies and political discourse has not been
widely discussed yet. Most analyses have focused on textual or (critical) discourse
analysis. The role of a translator has been largely seen as mediatory in the process of
intercultural (contextual) communication (Lande 2010; Xiaoqian 2005: 85). There is a
shared belief among the scholars that broader societal and political framework in
which such discourse is embedded has to be taken into consideration(Schffner 1997:
119 as cited in Lande 2010.). In the recent years, there has also been a growing
appreciation of usefulness of the models of cognitive science for the fields such as
political science or international relations (SlingerlandBlanchardBoyd-Judson
2007: 57).
In the last decades, such an approach to translation in the context of
interculturality has prevailed that translation is always connected to interpretation, or
that translation means cross-cultural understanding(RubelRosman 2004: 1 as
cited by Shore 2005). As Shore correctly points out, this shorthand definition is
somewhat idealised and does not touch upon serious problems of intercultural
interpretation. The main issue is the risk of misinterpretation and meaning lost in
translation due to the inevitable ambiguity of cross-cultural references and the lack of a
universally understood language system. The impacts are crucial because there are
examples when questions of war and peace depend on which language version one
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reads. And, of course, in our increasingly globalised and multi-cultural world, the risks
are more and more common (ibid.: 13-14).
5.4 Specifics of the EU
The EU project accounts for an environment sui generis unparalleled anywhere in the
world, today or in history. On one hand, it is a conglomerate of many (often
fundamentally) different cultures and languages. One the other hand, a process of
creating sharedpolitical institutions and political lite has quite advanced in the last
decades and the todays Union may thus be considered to be an entity with many
features typical of a common western polity.
European Union is worth analysing for several important reasons: I believe that
EU is a good example of a novel socio-political structure where the processes of
intercultural communication play a key role. Moreover, the questions and rules
discussed are of political nature, thus inherently dealing with relations of power,
economics, international security, and so on. The importance of translations of such
discussions and documents cannot be questioned. Last but not least, the discourse
originating inside and among European institutions inevitably influences discourse in
other fields and in other levels.
The highly complex system of internal translation in EU itself, with 23 official
languages possessing (formally) the same status, is unique in the world and should be
thus studied from various scholarly perspectives. The costs of translation and the
logistic complexity of the system are extraordinary. The number of language
combinations and types of communication is so high and the incidence of high-risk
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areas and sensitive topics so common that the system is prone to having issues of inter-
cultural misinterpretation and ambiguity. This is the case not only from the theoretical
point of viewthe problems can be documented by a number of translation blunders
and misinterpretations: Hence, the metaphors of the Tower of Babel and a game of
Chinese whispers (Shore 2005: 17) are indeed pertinent.
From the intercultural point of view, there are three working languages (English,
French, and German), which are used primarily within the European institutions such as
in the Commission, and enjoy a special status. As the website of the Department
(Directorate-General) for Translation states,
[...]the only documents produced in all 23 official languages are pieces of
legislation and policy documents of major public importanceaccounting for
about a third of our work. [...]Internal documents are all written in (and
sometimes translated into) English, French and German. Similarly, incoming
documentswhich may be drafted in any languageare translated into one
of these three languages so they can be generally understood within the
Commission.(DG Translation 2011).
This (technically certainly understandable) custom creates a possible imbalance within
EU and may contribute to the predominance of the cultural perspective of chosen big
European countries, which may shape the discourse and lead to the additional cultural
gaps between the big players and those countries with non-dominant languages.
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6. The Corpus
One of the most difficult tasks when dealing with given research questions is securing
available material, i.e. finding suitable (i.e. political, non-legal) texts from a rather
narrowly specified area which would be available in both English and Czech. I tried to
create such a corpus which would possibly contain at least traces of creative
communication, persuasion, and other features typical of political discourse. Out of
question thus were purely or predominantly technical and procedural materials (laws,
notes, memos); priority was given to such texts where higher occurrence of tropes was
assumed.
As a rule, not all potentially interesting material could have been used due to a
simple fact that the amount of material translated into Czech is substantially limited. A
surprisingly acute problem was that the suitable textual materials produced in EU are
really scarce. For instance, a significant part of documents is being produced only in
widespread working languages, i.e. French, English, and German. On a similar note,
absolutely out of the question did prove to be political manifestos and platforms of the
party fractions existing in EPthe primary political materials where most metaphors
can be expectedthe reason being simply non-existence of their translations to minor
languages such as Czech.20
The final, compromise version of the corpus contains two sets of texts:
20With no doubt, declarations and electoral manifestos of political fractions would fulfil the criteria of
political discourse like no other comparable material, but these were unfortunately not available in Czechat all. Also, it has been tried to add other, not purely translated texts (Schffner (2004): In order to findout more about universal, culture-overlapping, and culture-specific metaphors, the analysis oftranslations can also be of use. A potentially good source for empirical analyses are multilingual
documents that have come into being in a text production process, involving a combination ofmultilingual negotiations. However, these are extremely difficult to obtain as well.
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1. Official press-releases from top European institutions,21as available from the
official internet portal of the EU [http://europa.eu/rapid/searchAction.do].
Unlike legislation, press-releases are expected to contain at least traces of
figurative language and creatively used metaphors. When building up the text
bank of press releases, two criteria were applied:
An institution must offer a significant part of its press releases in Czech,
Priority must be given to (quasi)political institutions (such as the
Commission) over those of purely technical nature (such as European
Personnel Selection Office).
With regard to the nature of the material published from particular institutions
and availability of its translations, two types of texts were taken into account, 22
namely (in the EU jargon):
a. Presidency of the Council of the European Union(DOC) 11 pairs
(i.e. all available texts from the term which fulfilled the criteria). Texts
from this domain have been published by the Commission and usually
resume the outputs of what the particular session of the Commission:
what was debated and what conclusions and recommendations were
achieved. In each DOC text, an introductory (preamble) chapter plus one
randomly selected chapter from the paper itself was analysed. As the
initial pre-research revealed certain stylistic uniformity of these texts and
21In case of official press releases, the original source language of the documents cannot be determined.
Although the English source texts are presumably prevalent (as traceable from the variety of texts nottranslated), another possibility cannot be ruled out that certain texts were originally formulated in in otherlanguage (usually French). This is implied by the nature of practice of the European institutions.22The selection of the EU institutions is rather narrow because typical press releases of most offices arein fact based in journalistic discourse rather than political (which is no surprise after all), PESC press
releases are rather public memos and statements on various happenings in the world at large, and CJEtexts are full of uninteresting legal jargon.
http://europa.eu/rapid/searchAction.dohttp://europa.eu/rapid/searchAction.dohttp://europa.eu/rapid/searchAction.dohttp://europa.eu/rapid/searchAction.do -
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a relatively lower incidence of tropes, it has been decided that the
analysis of the texts in their entirety was not necessary.
b. Council of the European union(PRES) [sic]8 pairs. These texts
contain the speeches, conference opening remarks, published opinion
and so forth by the highest EU representatives. In other words, this part
of the text bank contains the press releases of the European Council
including the occasional semi-political declarations of the highest
representatives of the Union, the President of the EC Mr van Rompuy
(up to 7 pairs) and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign
Affairs and Security Policy, baroness Ashton (1 pair).
2. Selected plenary speeches from the floor of the European parliament.
Exclusively British and Czech representatives were selected. As a rule, these
speeches tend to be semi-prepared; traces of expressive language and a certain
level of lively discussion, thus a larger role of figurative tropes are to be
expected. The speeches are available on the EP website
[http://www.europarl.europa.eu/members/expert/groupAndCountry.do?language
=EN]. There are seven British and four Czech fractions in the current term. The
speeches from the whole period were selected, with regard to length and the type
of speech. If possible, speeches marked as Explanations of vote were not
preferred (a decision based on their shorter form and technical nature), but had
to be taken into account in cases of less active MEPs in whose profiles no proper
speeches were at hand. In case the randomly selected text was not long enough,
the next suitable one on the list was chosen.
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/members/expert/groupAndCountry.do?language=ENhttp://www.europarl.europa.eu/members/expert/groupAndCountry.do?language=ENhttp://www.europarl.europa.eu/members/expert/groupAndCountry.do?language=ENhttp://www.europarl.europa.eu/members/expert/groupAndCountry.do?language=ENhttp://www.europarl.europa.eu/members/expert/groupAndCountry.do?language=ENhttp://www.europarl.europa.eu/members/expert/groupAndCountry.do?language=EN -
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1. As for the British MEPs, speeches of members from five fractions (S&D,
ALDE, G-EFA, ECR, EFD) plus one solitary member from the
remaining fraction (GUE-NGL) were taken into consideration.
Unattached members (NI) were ignored. That makes a total of 11 people.
2. As for Czech MEPs, an analogous procedure was carried out. In this
case, the speeches of nine members from three fractions (S&D, ECR,
GUE-NGL) plus two members of one remaining fraction (EPP) were
analysed, which makes us arrive at the same result, 11 people.
As a presupposed rule, Czech representatives tended to formulate their speeches
and written answers in Czech. This part of the corpus can thus be practically
considered as a bilingual corpus of a mixed nature23where L1 is Czech and L2
English. The same (vice versa, needless to say) holds true for the British
members.24
6.1 Selection procedure
The selection of the official press releases was as follows:
1. Select the press releases available from chosen institutions in both languages.
2. Apply random sample selection (only applicable for PRES; in case of DOC, all
11 text pairs were taken).
23Most texts are transcribed speeches, however, some texts are provided in writing and the ratio of both
types varies from person to person.24It should be noted that the number of MEPs analysed is too small to allow full statistical analysistheaim of the selection procedure is to have a balanced corpus rather than trying to reach statistically
significant results for all groups. Moreover, the distribution of members across groups in both parties isby definition irregular.
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The selection of the parliament speeches was as follows:
1. Select the UK and CZ MEP group in the chosen term (7thEP)
2. Select all fractions except from Non-attained representatives (NI).
3. Select two (UK) or three (CZ) most active representatives of each fraction. If
there are not so many representatives in a particular fraction, take all and skip.
(For obvious reasons, disregard those MEPs whose contributions are largely
technical, typically the chairmen of EP committees.)
4. Apply random sample selection of those texts which have been translated to L2.
(In order to sort out too short and technical questions: If the text is not at least
two paragraphs long, skip it and select another article in the queue.)
6.2 Time range
After consideration, I decided to analyse solely the material from the current EP term,
which effectively started on 14 July 2009 and has been continuing till today. The final
time range covers the period between July 2009 and September 2011, i.e. about 2 years.
Whereas it would be most interesting to extend the time range to more terms, the
differences in composition of the EP would make the complexity of the corpus too high
and, consequently, the analysis rather unfeasible.
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7. Qualitative analysis of metaphors
First of all, the results and other information on the research stated in following
subchapters deserve several notes: As outlined in the text above, it was not the aim of
the analysis to capture all metaphors in the corpus (this effort would be, after all, futile
due to the pervasiveness of metaphors in language) but to arbitrarily pick up those
which bear the semantic or pragmatic tension with regard to the functions of political
discourse. The same set of criteria has been applied to all three subcorpora, so the
difference between the numbers of metaphors in all three sets really should correspond
to the differences in nature and discourse.
The dataset contained living (i.e. not dead) metaphors whose tension was
implicit along with usually less interesting, dead metaphors recorded solely due to their
potentially important conceptual frame or contextual relevance. If a metaphor was not
likely to bear either of these two kinds of tension, it was usually not recorded. This was
the case particularly for the sedimented expressions which currently are either dead or
established as technical terms (provided they did not bear any contextual significance)
at any case, not perceived as figurative very much. Examples of real cases of tropes
(metaphors, metonymy, synecdoche) found in the corpus and usually deliberately
omitted from the analysis include:
In English:We have important work ahead; We focused our debate; Tailored to
one's own needs; The way forvard; Third-country nationals; Frozen conflict;
Collapse of the banking system / Soviet Union etc.; Sister parties; In the light of
progress made; Play a key role; Arab world; Schengen
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In Czech: as uke / dozrl; Krok k vt ochran spotebitel; Vyslat signl
spolenosti; Boj proti nsil na ench; Transparence financovn; Rozpotov
krty; Legislativn rmec; Sttn pokladna; Pd berlnsk zdi; Sametov
revoluce
The metaphors have been recorded using the ST perspective. Whereas the source texts
were scanned through in their entirety, target texts were read only selectively. That
means that solely those metaphors found in the source text have been compared to their
translated counterparts in the L2 version. Even when an inverse case of translation was
found (lexical language translated as figurative, for example have double standards //
mit dvojm metrem), these cases were omitted.
Perhaps needless to say, the terms metaphor, metaphorical expression etc. in
all following subchapters refer solely to those terms which have been found interesting
enough and subsequently recorded to the dataset and analysed, even if, for the sake of
simplicity, the text refers to features of texts and EU practices in general. In other
words, the data and conclusions presented are related to metaphors bearing pragmatic or
conceptual significance, not all metaphors in the corpus.
7.1 General information on metaphors
The analysis of the corpus showed that metaphors really are widely used in various
types of political texts within EU. That means that figurative tropes and expressions
presenting conceptual relations indeed are a real issue of communication, which means
that translators have to deal with them on a daily basis.
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As has been already mentioned, the corpus comprised three parts or subcorpora
of texts: PRES, the texts presented by Mr van Rompuy and Baroness Ashton on
various occasions; DOC, the press releases of the Councilof EU; and EP, the texts
and speeches from the floor of the European Parliament. In a simplified way, PRES and
DOC are texts published by the executive, supposedly neutral EU bodies, and EP texts
come from the only (quasi-)legislative body EU has. Whereas PRES and DOC
subcorpora were unidirectional (EN-CS), the EP part contained the same number of
Czech-to-English and English-to-Czech translations. The length, number of texts, and
general number of expressions recorded are summarised in the table (all figures are
related to the L1 version of the subcorpora):
Information on corpus
Subcorpus Number of
texts
Total length Average length
of a text
Number of
expressions
PRES (Van
Rompuy,
Ashton)
8 35,371
characters
(19.7 pages)
4,421
characters (2.5
pages)
46
DOC (Council
of EU)
11 58,320
characters
(32.4 pages)
5,301
characters (2.9
pages)
69
EP (European
Parliament)
215 243,147
characters (135
pages)
1,130
characters
(0.63 page)
181
Total 234 336,838
characters (187
pages)
302
Table No. 3
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As already partially apparent from the table, the presence of metaphors was uneven and
not uniform. In the texts published by the executive bodies, about 2.2 metaphorical
expressions per page were found (2.33 and 2.1 respectively); in the EP part, it was only
1.34 metaphors per page. The last figure is slightly misleading because it ignores the
considerably higher heterogeneity of EP texts (with regard to length, purpose, and
individual style): the differences in general use of language among individual
representatives were fundamental (and naturally so). 110 out of 215 texts analyzed did
contain no metaphor at all. If we take them away and focus only on those texts
containing at least one metaphorical expression, the incidence increases to 2.6
metaphors per page. In other words, those texts which did not lack figurative language
altogether were considerably richer in metaphors than those produced by the
(stylistically rather uniform) executive bodies. As for possible differences between the
CS-EN and EN-CS texts in the EP subcorpus, both parts proved to be exceptionally
similar, with 93 expressions distributed across 108 texts and 88 expressions across 107
texts respectively.
Overall, only a part of the texts included in the corpus could have been marked
as typical, recognizable political discourse which was to be expected in these settings.
There were considerable differences in the styles of usage of metaphors among different
representatives, which follows from different personal styles of expression, and
seemingly from the differences between spoken and written communication in EP. It
probably goes without surprise that several representatives even did not use political
discourseproperand confined themselves to general or technical discourse featuring
technical terms and jargonese, yet no creative and figurative lexical units. This was the
case primarily among those MEPs with higher percentage of answers provided in
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writing, i.e. so called explanations of vote,25and particularly relevant in case of those
MEPs not very much active on the floor at all. Consider the following example taken
from one of the explanations of vote and note the distinctive technical style, overly
complicated structure and the obscurity of the actual message:
Nemn dleit je vzva Komisi ke zven potencilu strukturlnch fond
zjednoduenm a zlepenm postup a prunosti s drazem na dimenzi sociln
integrace s clem pomoci lenskm sttm optimalizovat vsledky sociln
politiky a politiky zamstnanosti a dosaen udritelnho rstu. // No less
important is the Commissions call to boost the potential of structural funds by
simplifying and improving approaches and flexibility, with an emphasis on the
dimension of social integration, in order to help Member States optimise the
results of social policy and employment policy and achievesustainable growth.
Speeches on the EP floor were relatively less technical and also richer in metaphors
than answers provided in writing which lacked tropes or pragmatic markers. The nature
of discourse in both types of communication is different. Another thing to mention is
the natural difference among individual styles. Even in cases where all texts were likely
delivered on the floor, there were MEPs whose using metaphorical expression was
rather an exception in the stream of factual or technical speech. On the other hand, for
some of the MEPs, using tropes was a frequent strategy or a common way of
expression.
25The types of texts were not known and thus not recorded for the purposes of statistical enquiry but werequite noticeable nonetheless, because explanations of vote differed considerably from speeches in terms
of style as well as in structure and different choice of expressions (I decided to vote for this billbecause).
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7.2 Nature and type of metaphors
As outlined in the methodological chapter (4.5), Newmarks typology was used to
examine the kinds of metaphors in the texts. The most important distinction was drawn
between older, lexicalised (LEX) expressions and newer, unlexicalised ones (UNL).26
When in doubt whether a metaphor was lexicalised or not, British National Corpus27
was consulted.
Whereas the borderline between lexicalised and unlexicalised is comparatively
easy to draw, assignment to specific subcategories is more problematic and involves a
certain degree of risk. Several cases were possible to assign to more subcategories than
one, contextual meaning had to be taken into consideration and in some cases, and the
rules had to be specified in an arbitrary way. For example, when discussing economy,
the term The wayto recoveryis a relatively established and common, thus classified
as stock metaphor, whereas the economy infected by the crisisis a metaphor
reintroduced not so long ago and shaping current discourse relatively strongly, hence
classified as recent. When in doubt which particular category to assign, a borderline
category X/Y was planned. This is no surprise due to the impressionistic nature of
Newmarks categories and the dynamics in the metaphors evolution. (On the other
hand, just one transitional category type, namely STOCK / RECENT, had to be
established in the end.)
Summary of metaphor types found in the corpus:
26In the dataset, this variable is referred to as Nature.
27BNC Interface: http://www.natcorp.ox.ac.uk
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Metaphor types in the corpus
Unlexicalised Lexicalised Synecdoche,
metonymy
Total
Subcorpus Adapted Original Dead Clich Clich /
Stock
Stock Recent
PRES (Van
Rompuy,
Ashton)
4 0 1 3 3 17 6 12 46
DOC
(EuropeanCouncil)
0 0 12 0 8 31 5 13 69
EP
(European
Parliament)
12 19 19 10
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