修辞手法-借代

2023年12月13日发(作者：吉利帝豪15款图片及报价)

修辞手法-借代

3. 借 代

METONYMY

1. 定义

关于英语的metonymy, Webster’s New International

Dictionary是这样解释的: “A figure of speech that

consists in using the name of one thing for that of

something else with which it is associated.”这

一段话大意是说，metonymy是这样的一个辞格，即用一

事物的名称来代替另一事物，当然这一事物与另一事物是

有关联的。《韦氏大辞典》这样的解释，与metonymy的希

腊语原义 “a change of name”在主要意义上是一致的。

关于“用一事物的名称取代另一事物”这一层意思，汉语的《辞海》在定义借代时阐述得更为清楚:“修辞学上辞格之一，甲事物同乙事物不相类似，但有不可分离的关系，利用这种关系以乙事物的名称来代替甲事物的，叫借代。如‘熟读王叔和，不如临症多’(《儒林外史》第三十一回)借王叔和代王叔和编著的医书。”

2. 特点

综合上述英语与汉语两部辞典的两则定义以及metonymy的希腊语原义，笔者认为，借代(metonymy)具有这样几个特点:

1) 甲事物与乙事物不相类似。

2) 甲事物与乙事物有不可分离的关系。

3) 以乙事物的名称来代替甲事物。

例: The Peaceful Shepherd If heaven were to do again,

And on the pasture bars

I leaned to1ine the figures in

Between the doffed stars.

I should be tempted to forget,

I fear, the Crown of Rule,

The Scales of Trade, the Cross of Faith，

As hardly worth renewal.

For these have governed in our lives,

And see how men have warred(

The Cross, the Crown, the Scales may all

As well have been the Sword.

( Robert Frost )

和平的牧师

假如老天准备把天下重新安

排，

我就斜靠着牧场酒吧的柜台

设计新的人间的图案，

星光点点在我头上放射光彩。

我可能会欣然忘掉，

君王的律条，

生意场上的天平秤与十字架的虔诚，

这些几乎都值得重新推敲。

这些东西驾驭着我们的生活， 而且看着人们如何为它们争夺。

十字架，王冠，天平秤统统是刀剑。

这首诗中，Cross，Crown，Scales就是借代。是借用典型的实物来代替特定的概念。在诗中，cross是十字架，crown是皇冠，scales是天平，这些东西与它们分别所代替的教会，王权与商业贸易都是不相类似的东西，但cross(十字架)与教会，crown(皇冠)与王权，scales(天平秤)与商业贸易又都各自有着不可分离的关系，而借代辞格正是利用它们之间的这种紧密的关系而用cross代替教会，crown代替王权，scales代替商业贸易。

英语Metonymy为一种常用修辞格，其主要作用是使表达简练、具体、生动、有趣。根据本体与代体之间的关系，Metonymy的运用大致可分十类。

3. 借代类型

( 1 ) 以事物的特征代替事物、人本身。

The blue eyes walked into the office.

篮眼睛走进了办公室。

She studied in Blue Grass for four years.

她在蓝草学习了四年。Blue Grass指美国肯塔基州的

Lexington (莱克星顿)。

She said coldly, “I asked how much.”

The piggy eyes blinked. “Ten thousand dollars.”

她冷冰冰地回敬说:“我问的是要多少～”

猪眼睛眨眨眼说:“一万美元。” The piggy eyes指

the man with pig-like eyes.

A thousand mustaches can live together, but not four

breasts. ( A Proverb ) 千条汉子能共处，两个婆娘难相容。

Have I in conquest stretch’d my arms so far

To be afraid to tell graybeards the truth? ( William Shakespeare:

Julius Caesar )

难道我南征北战，攻下了这许多地方，却不敢对一班白

须老头子们讲真话吗?

Soapy stood still with his hands in his pockets and

smiled at the sight of brass buttons.

( O, Henry: The

Police and the Anthem ))

苏比不声不响地站着，两手插在口袋里，一见到警察

就露出微笑。*铜纽扣是美国警察制服的一个特征，此处

借以代指警察。

No cross, no crown. ( A proverb ) 没有苦就

没有甜。

另外，一些禁忌语既属于委婉语范畴，也属于借代范

畴，例如:美英对厕所一词创造了不少代用词:Women, men, retiring room,

washroom, ladies, gents, public comfort

station等。对女厕所的名称更多:powder room, rest room, dressing room,

cloak room, lavatory等。

( 2 ) 以工具代替动作或行为者

His pen would prove mightier than his pickax.

他的笔将证明比他的镐头力量大。pen指写作能力、文

才，pickax 指淘金的体力。马克?吐愠年轻时在内华达淘 过金，但失败了，后来开始写作，成功了。这两个词生动形

象地写出了他的不同经历。

He was raised to the bench.

他被任命为法官。这里，bench指代法官。

His pen sways over half of the civilized world.

他的作品影响着半个文明世界。

As it is clear from the City’s Guide-Book, Chester

still has many survivals of its past, both in the form of

picturesque tradition and equally picturesque bricks and stones. (大学英语第一册)

从《城市指南》可以清楚看出，彻斯特仍然有许多遗

迹，表现出优美的传统和美丽如画的砖石建筑。

“Well, Mr. Weller,” says the gentle’mn, “you’

re a very good whip, and can do what you like with your houses, we

know.” ( Charles Dickens )

“是呀，韦勒先生，”那位绅士说，“你是出色的鞭杆子，

能够任意指挥你的马，我们是知道的。”

But in spite of himself, he became deeply interested in this Polish

girl with the intense gray eyes and delicate features, who was as keen

on test tubes as himself.

他不由自主、深深地恋上了这位有着热情的灰色眼睛和

清秀面容，跟他一样热衷于化学实验的波兰姑娘。

*句中写居里如何爱上了居里夫人，因为他们有共同的事

业,都喜欢test tubes. (test tubes=chemical experiments) ( 3 ) 以特征代人或物

There is much of the schoolboy in him.

他身上还有许多小学生的气质。

The wolf and the pig mingled together in his face.

凶残与贪婪交织在一起，浮现在他的脸上。

I was up early and down late, set my own hand to

everything, took dangers as they came, and for once in

my life played the man throughout. ( Robert L. Stevenson: The

Wrecker )

我早起晚睡，亲手处理一切事情，承担一切危险。在

我毕生中，这一次才不愧为堂堂男子。

the British lion 英国人

boiled lobster 英国海军步兵队的兵

the Bear 俄罗斯

They ticked nothing, of course, for their giggling

and shouting scared every spotted thing away.

他们什么也没有抓着，那是当然的，因为他们的咯咯

的笑声与喊叫声把所有的鳗鱼都吓跑了。

上面的例子中，“狮’’代英国，“煮熟的龙虾”代英国士

兵，因为英国士兵常穿红衣，“熊’’指俄罗斯，“有斑点的

东西”指鳗鱼，因鳗鱼浑身有斑点，这些借代辞格都是借特

征代人或物。

( 4 ) 以事物活动的场所代替事物或活动者

Downing Street (唐宁街) ? the British government or cabinet

The White House (白宫) ? the President or Executive branch of the US

government

The Kremlin (克里姆林宫) ? the government of the Soviet Union

Wall Street (华尔街) ? U. S. Financial circles

Capitol Hill (国会山) ? the legislative branch of the U. S.

government

Hollywood (好莱坞) ? American film-making industry

The Pentagon (五角大楼) ? the U.S. military establishment

Fleet Street (舰队街) ? the British press

Foggy Bottom (雾谷) ? the U.S. State Department

Madison Avenue (麦迪逊大街) ? American advertising industry

Whitehall (白厅) ? the British government

Westminster (威斯敏斯特) ? the British Parliament or government

例如:

Business lobbyists on Capital Hill are keeping close tabs on what is

known as the Family and Medical Leave

Act. ( Paul Hoffmon )

国会议员门正在密切注意所谓的“家庭与病假法案”。

Capital Hill是美国首都华盛顿(Washington D.C.)的美国

国会大厦，这里以建筑物代美国国会。

A Beli or a Bailly may gain greater glory than the Brahmins, but

he’ll never equal their entrée into White

House. ( Paul Hoffmon ) 不论是伯利或贝利都可能比布拉敏家族获得更大的光

荣，但是他永远没有条件进入白宫。

Scotland Yard was called in by the Xuereb family soon after the

couple disappeared and 120 officers with

80 vehicles were put on the case under the command of

Commander William Hucklesby, head of the anti-terrorist squad.

这对夫妇失踪后不久，苏格兰场就接到了舒埃雷布家

的报警。在刑警队长兼反恐怖行动组组长威廉?哈克尔斯比

的命令下，120名警官分乘80辆警车投入了该案的侦破。

*Scotland Yard指伦敦警察厅刑侦部，原为英国伦敦

“市警察厅”总部旧址名，后泛指伦敦刑警和侦缉人员，现

总部的正式名称为New Scotland Yard，但人们仍习惯沿用

旧称。

( 5 ) 以某物的产地代替该物

He was behind the arras.

他在挂毯后面。 法国小镇Arras以产挂毯闻名于世，后来人们逐渐用arras来指代挂毯。

Would you care for a cup of Longjing? 你喝杯龙井好吧? 这里以产地代产品茶叶。

O knight, thou lackest a cup of canary, when did I see you so put

down? ( Shakespeare: Twelfth Night)?

啊，骑士!汝需一杯加那利酒，什么时候我看到你这么沉默?

* 加那利白葡萄酒原产于加那利群岛。 I’m fond of china. 我喜欢瓷器。 瓷器原产于中国，所以用了china产地指产品。不少产品以产地命名，如champagne(香槟酒)原产于法国香槟省，Maotai

(茅台)，产于中国贵州的茅台，Scotch wisky(苏格兰威土忌)，hami melon (哈密瓜)，Chinese cabbage (大白菜)，Lima bean (利马豆) ，Dutch clover (白三叶草)，Italian millet (意大利黍)，Japanese banana (芭蕉)，Japanese

flowering

cherry (日本樱花)，Russian olive (沙枣)等等。 ( 6 ) 以作者或生产者代替作品或产品

Joanne burned Player after Player in her nervousness at his

father’s eccentric and preoccupied

driving. ( John Updike: Home ) ‘

乔安娜在她父亲古怪地全神贯注地开车的当儿神经质

地一根接一根抽烟。

如果有人问你:“红塔山还是中华,”你立刻会知道这人问的是，你想要抽哪一种牌子的香烟。“红塔山”与“中

华”都是商标名，但此处都实际指商品。诚如上面这句例句

里所描写的，用香烟商标名Player指代香烟。

But you have not seen my Corots yet. They are in the music room.

( Oscar Wilde )

可是你还没有看见我收藏的柯罗的风景画。它们挂在

我的音乐室里了。

*Corot (1796-1875)，著名法国画家，擅长风景画。

Our Sony worked well. 我们的索尼很好。Sony指索尼牌收录机。

Ford company now offers buyers of its Continental Mark Vs an option called “miles to empty”. 福

特公司现在向用户提供大陆牌Vs型轿车，也叫“里程

油量计”。Continental Mark

商标名，Vs指型号，两者代指美国福特汽车公司生产的一种

新型轿车。

But after that the police will know they’re looking for a Jaguar.

但是之后警察会知道，他们在寻找美洲豹。Jaguar是英

国产一种轿车商标。

The captain had fallen in possession of a complete

Shakespeare. ( Jack London )

船长得到了一整套的莎士比亚作品。

Anton Rubinstein was renowned for his rendition of

Tchaikovsky.

鲁宾斯坦以演奏柴可夫斯基的作品而著名。

We drove a Ford to Hyde Park. 我们驾驶一辆福特到海德公园去。

( 7 ) 以容器代替其中内容

He has undoubtedly the best stable in the country.

用马棚表示马 ) (

无疑他拥有全国最好的马匹。

He is fond of the bottle.

他喜欢喝酒。

Sliced peaches and cream is my favorite dish.

奶油桃子片是我爱吃的一道莱。

What dishes would you like? 您要什么莱?

The kettle is boiling.

壶(水)开了。

We discussed the matter over a bottle.

我们边饮酒边讨论此事。

He set the room roaring with laughter.

他使全屋子爆发出笑声。

The whole village rejoiced at news.

全村的人听到这个消息很高兴。

He is in his cups again.

他又喝醉了。

The coat would be beyond his miserable pocket.

他的钱少得可怜，买不起那件大衣。

Whenever my husband has a bad day at the office,

he hits the bottle.

每当我丈夫在办公室不顺心，他就喝得酩酊大醉。

He keeps a good table and one gets plenty to eat and drink in his

house.

他总是备有佳肴美酒，人们在他家可以吃喝个痛快。

By Jove, sir, I’ve pawned my own watch in order to get her anything

she fancied; and she—she’s been

making a purse for herself all the time, and grudged me a hundred

pound to get out of quod. ( William

M. Thackeray: Vanity Fair ) 老天在上!她看中了什么玩意儿，我当了自己的表都要

给她买回来。而她呢，一直瞒着我藏私房钱，甚至于求她拿

100镑赎我出狱都不肯。

( 8 ) 以人体器官代替其功能

I have come to pick your brains. You’re a

metallurgist, and I’ve been asked this question about steel.

我是来向您讨教知识的。您是冶金专家，有人向我提出

了有关炼钢的问题。句中brains指special knowledge。由

于人脑是思维活动的器官，通常用它指代:“人才 ”、“思

想 ”、“知识”等，现在有些政府部门或公司专门设置了“人

脑办公室 ”(office for brains)和“外脑引进办公室”

(office for importing brains)，这些办公室不是指研究

人脑结构的机构，而是指人才办公室。

Mark Twain honed and experimented with his new writing muscles.

( Noel Grove )

马克?吐温磨练他的新的写作能力。 muscles在此借

指ability.

To get to know the heart that beat within Marx the scholar, you have

to see him When he had closed his books

and was surrounded by his family. ( Paul Lafargue )

要了解马克思这位学者的心，你必须在他不读书，和家

里人在一起地时候去看他。这里用heart (心脏)代指马克思

业余时间所表现出的聪明才智、心里活动和思想感情。

The practiced ear can recognize a classic favour. 有音乐修养的人能够听出古典音乐的韵味。

She has the eye for the fair and the beautiful.

她有审美眼光。

I have an opinion of you, sir, to which it is not easy to give the

mouth.

( Charles Dickens: Our Mutual Friend )

我对你有一个意见，先生，不过很难用话语表达出来。

She was, to be sure, a girl who excited the emotions,

but 1 was not one to let my heart rule my head. ( Max

Shulman )

她确实是一个使人动情的姑娘，不过我不是一个让感

情支配理智的人。

She has a ready tongue.

她口齿伶俐。

( 8 ) 以具体事物代替抽象事物

In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto

the ground. ( Holy Bible )

你必汗流满面才得糊口，直到你归了土。

*这句话为上帝在将亚当和夏娃逐出伊甸园前对他们所

说，in the sweat of thy face=with the help of your hard

work.

Soap and education are not as sudden as a massacre,

but they are made deadly in the long run( ( Mark Twain )

讲卫生与上学读书并不像大屠杀般突如其来，但结果 是更要命的。

*肥皂借指勤沐浴、讲卫生，此话出自汤姆?索亚和哈

克贝利?费恩等顽童之口。

The rather arresting spectacle of little old Japan

adrift amid beige concrete skyscrapers is the very

symbol of the incessant struggle between the kimono and

. the miniskirt

( Jacques Danvoir )

在那米黄色混凝土摩天大楼丛中，漂浮着小巧玲珑古

香古色的日本水上之家。这情景颇有点引人注目，恰好象征

着和服与超短裙之间持续不断的斗争。

*句中借和服和超短裙分别指代日本传统文化和西方现

代文化，用法新颖，形象鲜明。

He lives by the pen. (=writing).

他以写作为生。

He is too fond of the bottle (=drinking).

他太贪杯了。

I found the patriot (=patriotism)in him.

我从他身上看到了爱国之心。

Don’t act,play the fool.

不要装疯卖傻。

We make pigs of ourselves on her cakes.

我们拼命地吃她的蛋糕。

Play the man! 拿出男子汉气概来～

( 9 ) 以抽象事物代替具体事物

It was not only writers, you know, it was a

thoroughly representative gathering—science, politics, business,

art, the world.

你知道，那不仅仅是作家，而是各界人士应有尽有的聚会—科学界、政界、商界、艺术界，以及其他各界人士全都来了。

He has done me kindnesses.

他为我做了很多好事。

See, from his hands, his head, his side, sorrow and love flow

mingled down. ( Issac Watt )

瞧，从他的双手，他的头，他的腰，流下交织着哀和爱的血。

*指耶稣被钉在十字架上殉难的情形。

In the present instance, it was sickness and poverty

together that she came to visit.

( Jane Austen )

在目前这种情况下，她一并前来探望的是病人和穷人。

It is a pity that there is more ignorance than knowledge in the

country.

该国未受教育的人多于受过教育的人，真是遗憾。

Keelboats, flatboats and large rafts carried the

first major commerce.

( Noel Grove: Mark.

Twain: Mirror of America ) 龙骨船、平底船、大木筏运送着最重要的商品。

To solve the dispute, labour put forward three proposals.

为了解决争端，劳工们提出了三条建议。

The proposals were expected to be unacceptable to

capital.

不能希望资方就能接受这些建议。

( 10 ) 以“颜色词+名词”构成的名词来替代意义上与之有

关的名词

He is the black sheep in the family.

他是他家的害群之马。

He has a yellow streak.

他有着怯懦的性格。

He might be the dark horse in the swimming contest.

他在游泳赛中会意外取胜。

This prize is the blue ribbon in mathematical research.

这奖品是数学研究的最高奖。

*( blue ribbon系竞赛中第一名所得的蓝色绶带。) She didn’t want to be

looked upon as a blue stocking.

她不想被人看成是女才子。