Studyonthemetaphorsandtranslationofbiblical.docVIP

December 17, 2014 Study on the Metaphors and Translation of Biblical Place Names Abstract As we all know, Bible plays a very important role in western culture. The place names in Bible are endowed with rich meanings, which are widely used in literary works. In this paper we’ll get to know some typical samples to show where these places are, what their metaphor meanings are’ how these metaphor has come into being and how to translate these places names when we are confront with them. Key words Bible; place names; metaphor; translation Introduction Language is an important tool to pass down culture and also a mirror that can reflect culture. And place name is an interesting and important part of a language. Place names are not only proper nouns that only have denotative meanings. For example, when we say “carry/send coals to Newcastle”, we mean doing something that is completely unnecessary. And the phrase “meet one’s Waterloo” is used to describe someone who has been defeated badly. Due to historical events or literary works, the common place names have their figurative meaning. And in Bible there are many place names that have become metaphors and been used frequently in our daily life. If we do not know the cultural background, we’ll feel at sea when we confront with them. So now we’ll see what these figurative meanings of the place names are, how to translate these place names into Chinese and where their figurative meanings came from. Metaphors and Translation of Some Biblical Place Names Aceldama means a field of slaughter and bloodshed. So the sentence “What an Aceldama, what a field of blood Sicily has been in ancient time.” should be translated as “古时的西西里是怎样一块杀戮之地，怎样一块浸满鲜血的地方啊。” And we to not translate “Aceldama” literally as “亚革大马”. According to Bible, Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver and he bought Aceldama with the money (Matthew 27:8; Acts 1:19). The betrayal of Judas led to the death of Jesus so we call Aceldama the field of blood. Adullam i