PECULIARITIES OF TRANSLATION OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF METAPHORS IN PUBLICISTIC TEXTS

The present research is an attempt to investigate the translation of
different types of metaphors in publicistic texts. The study aims
to analyze the translation of metaphor from English into Russian.
It is proved that metaphorical aspects and messages presented in
publicistic texts must be adequately translated and cannot be
ignored. The study is also interested in complex cases of the use
of different metaphors. The research shows the role of
linguacultural aspect in the process of translation. Language
material was collected by the method of continuous sampling.
The findings got from the analyses of the data show that there are
some mismatches between the metaphorical elements. It is shown
that there are no “one to one” correspondence between the
metaphoric elements in English and Russian.
Metaphors in publicistic texts are integral tools of the speech as
they help to present in a short and expressive form the attitude of
the speaker to the situation. They do not only provide certain
information, but also form public opinion. Thus, the metaphors
become not just a figurative unit of speech, but play a conceptual
role.
The realities of social and political life, the balance of power in
the struggle for power are reflected in metaphors presented in
publicistic texts. Since the main feature of these texts is a high
degree of manipulation on people’s minds, it is very important to
determine the role of metaphors as a specific mechanism of
communication.
Metaphor in publicistic texts is an effective tool through which
the speaker’s speech becomes more expressive and associative.
In modern studies of metaphor, there are two approaches to its
description:
 Semasiological (metaphor is defined as one of the types of
figurative meaning, which is based on similarity).
 Cognitive (related to metaphorical human thinking).
According to semantic classification of metaphors there are:
 sports metaphor (election race, final straight);
 medical metaphor (healthy competition, symptoms of a crisis);
 financial metaphor (trust);
 theatrical metaphor (political duet);
 construction metaphor (to make a fortune);
 technical metaphor (pull down on the brakes);
 meteorological metaphor (political climate);
 military metaphor (army of the unemployed).
The main problems translators face in translating metaphors in
publicistic texts is the complexity in understanding, interpreting,
and recreating. One should take into consideration the fact that
metaphors have many hidden meanings that should be taken into
account.
The translator should try to bring his translation close to the
connotative meaning. It is really difficult to find an equivalent
which totally and equally matches the original or concept if the
translator sticks to the mere denotative equivalents of the
metaphorical words. To clarify the point, it should be added that
the images should be selected according to their underlying
meaning. The translator should comprehend the differences
between various cultural and social structures. In fact, there
should be a reasonable relation between the translator’s selected
images and the original ones.
Let us analyze the following example of the translation of
metaphors from English into Russian.
1) Take it from those of us who’ve been on the front line of that
culture war: Old media won. // Заберите это у тех из нас,
кто был на передовой этой культурной войны: старые
СМИ победили.
Presented above figurative speech elements relate to a military
sphere (front line of that culture war… won). They are connected
and actively used to express the problems and attitude to the
situation. Connection of metaphors used in the example leads the
text to a new deep sense and new hidden plot («front line of that
culture war… won» («передовой этой культурной войны…
победили»).
It should be noted that the main concern in translating metaphors
is how to best convey their hidden message and beauty.
Keywords: metaphor, translation, publicistic texts, equivalents