笔译-词义选择与理据-内涵与外延.ppt

Lecture 3 Diction in Translation —— Denotative Meaning and Connotative Meaning 词义选择及其理据：概念内涵与外延  Denotative vs. Connotative Meaning Denotation is the surface or literal meaning encoded to a signifier, and the definition most likely to appear in a dictionary. Connotation is a commonly understood cultural or emotional association that some word or phrase carries, in addition to the words or phrases explicit or literal meaning, which is its denotation. E.g. man, woman, rose Denotative: human+male/female+adult Connotative? A Case Study Veronica Horst was stung by a bee, and it should have produced no more than a minute of annoyance and pain, but she, in the apparent bloom of health at the age of twenty-nine, turned out to be susceptible to anaphylactic shock, and nearly died. Fortunately, her husband, Gregor, was with her, and threw her fainting body, all but blood-pressureless, into their car and speeded careening through the heart of town to the hospital, where she was saved. When Les Miller heard about the event, from his wife, Lisa, who was breathlessly fresh from a session of gossip and women’s tennis, he was stung by jealousy: he and Veronica had had an affair the previous summer, and by the rights of love he should have been the one to be with her and save her heroically. Gregor even had the presence of mind, afterward, to go around to the local police and explain why he had been speeding and careening through stop signs. “It seems incredible”, Lisa innocently told her husband, “that here she’s nearly thirty and apparently has never been stung by the bees before, so nobody knew she would react this way. As a child I was always getting stung, weren’t you?” From John Updike: Delicate Wives Understanding the original text Genre Tone Main idea Main Charaters: Two couples: Gregor Veronica Horst Les Miller Lisa Main Events: Veronica Horst was stung by a bee. Gregor saved his wife. Les Miller and Veronica Horst had an affair. Les Miller was stung by jealous