修辭手法(figure of speech)

修辭手法是通過(guò)修飾、調(diào)整語(yǔ)句,運(yùn)用特定的表達(dá)形式以提高語(yǔ)言表達(dá)作用的方式和方法。修辭不僅僅在中文里很常見(jiàn),在英文里也是多種多樣。這篇文章里,我們就來(lái)談一談?dòng)⑽闹谐R?jiàn)的修辭手法。

明喻

A simile is a figure of speech in which two fundamentally unlike things are explicitly compared, usually in a phrase introduced by like or as.
明喻是常用as或like等詞將兩種不同事物通過(guò)比較而連接起來(lái)的一種修辭手法。

讓我們看幾個(gè)例子:

Good coffee is like friendship: rich and warm and strong.
好的咖啡如同友誼,豐厚,溫暖,熱烈。

Life is rather like opening a tin of sardines. We're all of us looking for the key.
人生就像一罐沙丁魚(yú),我們大家都在找開(kāi)啟的起子。

He was like a cock who thought the sun had risen from him to crow.
他這人就像一只驕傲的公雞,以為太陽(yáng)升起是為了它的啼叫。

or暗喻

A metaphor is a trope or figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between two unlike things that actually have something in common.
暗喻是將兩種有共同點(diǎn)的不同事物進(jìn)行隱晦比較的修辭手法。

明喻與暗喻的不同點(diǎn)就在于是否有出現(xiàn)like或者as(像)這一類(lèi)比喻詞,下面這幾個(gè)句子都是暗喻:

Humor is the shock absorber of life; it helps us take action.
幽默是生活的減震器,它可以鼓舞人們付諸于行動(dòng)。

Time, you thief.
時(shí)間,你這個(gè)小偷。

But my heart is a lonely hunter that hunts on a lonely hill.
可是我的心是孤獨(dú)的獵手,在孤獨(dú)的小山上狩獵。

ification擬人

Personifiation is a figure of speech in which an inanimate object or abstraction is endowed with human qualities or abilities.
擬人是一種為無(wú)生命或抽象物體賦予人類(lèi)特質(zhì)與能力的修辭手法。

Oreo: Milk’s favorite cookie.
奧利奧:牛奶最喜愛(ài)的曲奇。

The wind stood up and gave a shout.
大風(fēng)凜冽,發(fā)出怒吼。

The only monster here is the gambling monster that has enslaved your mother! I call him Gamblor, and it's time to snatch your mother from his neon claws!
這里唯一的怪物就是賭博怪物,它將你母親淪為奴隸!我叫它賭棍,該把你母親從他的霓虹燈魔爪下救出來(lái)的時(shí)候了!

ism委婉語(yǔ)

Euphemism is the substitution of an inoffensive expression for one considered offensively explicit
委婉語(yǔ)是使用較委婉含蓄的語(yǔ)言替換強(qiáng)烈冒犯的話語(yǔ)。

這種修辭可能聽(tīng)起來(lái)陌生,但在日常生活中的使用頻率其實(shí)很高。比如,老人去世的時(shí)候我們會(huì)采用“過(guò)世”、“走了”這一類(lèi)的話語(yǔ),這其實(shí)就是委婉語(yǔ)。英文里也有類(lèi)似的用法,了解委婉語(yǔ)背后真正的含義對(duì)閱讀英語(yǔ)文章也是很有幫助的哦~下面我們就一起看幾個(gè)例子:

elder citizen老年人(不用old people)

pass away逝世(不用die)

You've got a prime figure.你的體態(tài)豐腴。(不用fat)

雙關(guān)語(yǔ)

A pun is a play on words, either on different senses of the same word or on the similar sense or sound of different words.
雙關(guān)語(yǔ)是指利用同詞不同義或是同音不同詞來(lái)制造文字游戲的一種修辭方式。

部分電視劇的幽默效果就是通過(guò)雙關(guān)語(yǔ)來(lái)實(shí)現(xiàn)的。

You?earn?your?living?and?you?urn?your?dead.?
生前勞碌奔命,死后化灰入土。?

(earn與urn(火化)同音異義,用在一起顯得俏皮,別有趣味。)?

Seven?days?without?water?makes?one?weak.?
七天不進(jìn)水,人就會(huì)虛弱。?

weak和week是同音異義詞。因此這句話聽(tīng)起來(lái)可以理解為:

Seven?days?without?water?makes?one?week.?

ration頭韻

Alliteration is the repetition of an initial consonant sound.
押頭韻是指重復(fù)單詞第一個(gè)輔音的修辭方式。

頭韻是英語(yǔ)語(yǔ)音修辭的一種,體現(xiàn)了語(yǔ)言的音樂(lè)美和整齊美。廣為熟知的一本名著《傲慢與偏見(jiàn)》(Pride and Prejudice)的書(shū)名就體現(xiàn)了頭韻。常見(jiàn)的例子還有:

first and foremost首先

with might and main 盡全力地

saints and sinners 圣人與罪人

in weal and (or) woe無(wú)論是福是禍

on矛盾修辭法

Oxymoron is a figure of speech in which incongruous or contradictory terms appear side by side.
矛盾修辭法是一種修辭手段,它是用兩種不相調(diào)和,甚至截然相反的詞語(yǔ)來(lái)形容一件事物。

這個(gè)定義是不是聽(tīng)起來(lái)云里霧里的呢?讓我們先用中文的例子來(lái)理解一下~

寶玉道:“我呢?你們也替我想一個(gè)?!?/em>

寶釵笑道:“你的號(hào)早有了,無(wú)事忙三字恰當(dāng)?shù)煤埽 ?/em>

上文的“無(wú)事忙”就是矛盾修辭法,“無(wú)事”和“忙”不就是兩種截然相反的狀態(tài)嗎?

再來(lái)看幾個(gè)英文例子:

We have to believe in free will. We have no choice.
我們只能相信自由意志,除此之外我們別無(wú)選擇。

His honour rooted in dishonour stood.
他那來(lái)源于不名譽(yù)的名譽(yù)依然如故。

ole夸張

Hyperbole is a figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect; an extravagant statement.
夸張是對(duì)事物著意夸大的修辭方式。

我們?cè)诳谡Z(yǔ)中常常會(huì)夸大自己的情緒,比如:

I was scared to death
我嚇?biāo)懒恕?/div>

男男女女在表達(dá)愛(ài)意的時(shí)候經(jīng)常也很夸張:

You are the whole world to me, and the moon and the stars….
你是我的全世界,是我的月亮,我的星星……

另外,值得一提的是,你知道hyperbole這個(gè)單詞怎么發(fā)音嗎?不知道的話就動(dòng)動(dòng)手指查一查吧。

聲明:本內(nèi)容為滬江英語(yǔ)原創(chuàng),嚴(yán)禁轉(zhuǎn)載。