{"id":5055,"date":"2015-04-23T02:29:50","date_gmt":"2015-04-23T02:29:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/?p=5055"},"modified":"2015-04-20T02:46:40","modified_gmt":"2015-04-20T02:46:40","slug":"the-marvelous-world-of-chinese-metaphor-when-you-cant-see-the-point-and-all-compasses-point-north","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/the-marvelous-world-of-chinese-metaphor-when-you-cant-see-the-point-and-all-compasses-point-north.html","title":{"rendered":"The Marvelous World of Chinese Metaphor &#8212; When you can\u2019t see the point, and all compasses point north"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5057\" src=index-1603.html alt=\"tmwocm\" width=\"849\" height=\"445\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/tmwocm.jpg 849w, https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/tmwocm-300x157.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 849px) 100vw, 849px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>In my posts, I&#8217;ve touched\u00a0<a href=index-1604.html>before<\/a>\u00a0on how important it is to approach language as a structure, not as a laundry list. When you learn phrases and sentences, rather than piecemeal words, you learn faster, and better. The analogy I like best is a room full of marbles. It will take a while to pick them up one by one, but much less time if you scoop them up in bags. (Leaving open, of course, the question of why you&#8217;re trying to clean up a room full of marbles. Wild night?)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>But below the level of grammar, there&#8217;s something deeper at work. This deeper level is the underlying metaphors of the language you&#8217;re approaching\u2014the ideas and concepts that anchor its vocabulary. Native speakers take these for granted. Second-language learners don&#8217;t always have that luxury.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>For example, most languages tend to associate warmth with emotion, particularly affection. You can meet with a <em>warm welcome<\/em> (\u70ed\u70c8\u6b22\u8fce r\u00e8li\u00e8 hu\u0101ny\u00edng) or a <em>cold reception<\/em> (\u51b7\u9047 l\u011bngy\u00f9). Indifference is <em>cold<\/em>, <em>frigid<\/em>, \u51b7\u6f20 (l\u011bngm\u00f2). When we get angry, we get <em>steamed<\/em>, <em>hot under the collar<\/em> (\u751f\u6c14 sh\u0113ngq\u00ec).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Looking at the two languages in terms of their shared figurative language makes it much easier to remember grammar and vocabulary. Rather than memorize thousands of individual phrases, you only need to recognize a few dozen underlying patterns.\u00a0For example:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>We also tend to associate weight with importance. In English we ponder <em>weighty<\/em> matters, or worry over a <em>grave<\/em> (see: <em>gravity<\/em>) situation. So too the Chinese words \u91cd\u8981 (zh\u00f2ngy\u00e0o)\u3001\u91cd\u70b9 (zh\u00f2ngdi\u01cen)\u3001\u91cd\u89c6 (zh\u00f2ngsh\u00ec), etc., associate what&#8217;s heavy with what deserves attention.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Both languages tend to see the past as something <em>behind us<\/em>\u2014it\u2019s \u8fc7\u53bb\u7684 (gu\u00f2qu de)\u2014and the future as something <em>ahead of us<\/em>\u2014\u524d\u666f (qi\u00e1nj\u01d0ng). Progress, too, <em>steps forward<\/em>: we \u63a8\u8fdb (tu\u012bj\u00ecn) new initiatives, and \u8fdb\u4e00\u6b65 (j\u00ecn y\u00ed b\u00f9) when we&#8217;re<em> making strides<\/em>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Noticing these patterns can also help English speakers make sense of directional complements, a notoriously tricky business. As Perry Link notes in his indispensable\u00a0<a href=index-1605.html>Anatomy of Chinese<\/a>, both languages see more as up, less as down. So inflation <em>soars<\/em> (\u901a\u8d27\u81a8\u80c0\u4e0a\u53bb\u4e86 t\u014dnghu\u00f2 p\u00e9ngzh\u00e0ng sh\u00e0ngq\u00f9 le) and temperatures <em>rise<\/em> (\u6e29\u5ea6\u964d\u4e86 w\u0113nd\u00f9 ji\u00e0ng le).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>So take heart! At a deep level, English and Chinese are profoundly similar. Of course, there are also significant differences. And when you notice these differences, you can begin to avoid gaffes and errors. To name just a few:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>In English we <em>fall asleep<\/em> and <em>wake up;<\/em> in Chinese, we <em>sleep away<\/em> (\u7761\u8fc7\u53bb shu\u00ec gu\u00f2qu) and <em>wake towards<\/em> (\u9192\u8fc7\u6765 x\u01d0ng gu\u00f2lai). So English sees consciousness as <em>vertical<\/em>, while Chinese sees it as <em>horizontal<\/em>, a line that we step across.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Light is associated with knowledge; when we understand, we are <em>enlightened<\/em> (\u660e\u767d m\u00edngbai) and the situation is made <em>clear<\/em> (\u8868\u660e bi\u01ceom\u00edng). On the other hand, difficult or abstract things are dark: <em>obscure<\/em>, \u6666\u6da9 (hu\u00ecs\u00e8).But there\u2019s a key difference here. In English, seeing is understanding (<em>I see your point<\/em>), but not in Chinese: \u6211\u770b\u4f60\u7684\u610f\u601d (w\u01d2 k\u00e0n n\u01d0 de y\u00ecsi) is not acceptable.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>As crucial as music may be to English metaphor, its place in Chinese culture is much more deeply rooted. Particularly when it comes to politics. Consider the old idiom \u793c\u4e50\u5d29\u574f (l\u01d0 yu\u00e8 b\u0113ng hu\u00e0i): literally &#8220;rites and music are in ruins,&#8221; it refers to a society in disarray. And, of course, a stable society is <em>in harmony<\/em> (\u534f\u548c xi\u00e9h\u00e9).When it comes to <em>political theater<\/em>, Chinese draws extensively from opera. When a politician begins her career, she <em>gets on stage<\/em>\u4e0a\u53f0 (sh\u00e0ngt\u00e1i). If she falls from grace, she <em>gets down from the stage<\/em> (\u4e0b\u53f0 xi\u00e0t\u00e1i), or even <em>falls off the stage<\/em> altogether (\u5012\u53f0 d\u01ceot\u00e1i). When she announces a new policy, she <em>puts it onstage<\/em> (\u51fa\u53f0 ch\u016bt\u00e1i). She probably has plenty of <em>behind-the-scenes help<\/em> (\u540e\u53f0 h\u00f2ut\u00e1i). If she dissents, she may <em>sing a different tune<\/em> (\u5531\u53cd\u8c03 ch\u00e0ng f\u01cendi\u00e0o) or <em>put on a rival show<\/em> (\u5531\u5bf9\u53f0\u620f ch\u00e0ng du\u00ec t\u00e1i x\u00ec).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As you advance as a language learner, you&#8217;ll notice more and more of the metaphorical language that draws Chinese together. Try to notice broad patterns. Rejoice in similarities, but also in differences. You&#8217;ll start to look at the world with a refreshed, inquisitive eye.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In my posts, I&#8217;ve touched\u00a0before\u00a0on how important it is to approach language as a structure, not as a laundry list. When you learn phrases and sentences, rather than piecemeal words, you learn faster, and better. The analogy I like best is a room full of marbles. It will take a while to pick them up&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":5057,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[79,122,78,84],"post_series":[],"class_list":["post-5055","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-learn-mandarin-online","tag-advanced","tag-chinese-culture","tag-intermediate","tag-vocabulary","entry","has-media"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Marvelous World of Chinese Metaphor --- When you can\u2019t see the point, and all compasses point north<\/title>\n
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