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Part of
Translation in Transition: Human and machine intelligence
Edited by Isabel Lacruz
[American Translators Association Scholarly Monograph Series XX] 2023
► pp. 104–129

Chapter 6
In the eye of the beholder

A sentiment analysis approach to readers’ reception of translated metaphors in Fortress Besieged

| Southwest University
| Southwest University

Frequent use of metaphors is a distinctive feature of the Chinese scholar Qian Zhongshu’s popular novel Weicheng (Fortress Besieged). Its English translation by Jeanne Kelly and Nathan K. Mao was well received in the English-speaking world. What are readers’ responses to and comments on the metaphors in this novel, and how are the translated metaphors received by target language readers, compared to their reception by source language readers? Our big data based study uses sentiment analysis to break new ground and improve our understanding of English readers’ reception of English translations of Chinese metaphors, which inevitably impose a heavy cultural load. We also discuss the implications of the differences with Chinese readers’ reception of metaphors in the original work.

Keywords: Weicheng , Fortress Besieged , metaphor, translation, reception, sentiment analysis, Python
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Empirical approaches to translation reception
    • 2.1Conceptions of translation reception in linguistic and functional approaches
    • 2.2Conceptions of translation reception in cultural and literary approaches
    • 2.3Cognitive approaches to translation reception
    • 2.4Big data driven research on massive readership’s reception of translation
  • 3.Research design and data collection
    • 3.1 Weicheng and its English translation
    • 3.2Data sources and collection tools
      • 3.2.1Data sources
      • 3.2.2Data crawling and processing tools
    • 3.3Data collection and processing steps
      • 3.3.1Web crawling
      • 3.3.2Data cleaning
      • 3.3.3Sentiment analysis
  • 4.Results and discussion
    • 4.1Chinese readers’ comments on metaphors in Weicheng
      • 4.1.1Sentiment polarity of Chinese readers’ comments
      • 4.1.2Dominant topics in Chinese readers’ comments
        • i.Chinese readers’ comments on the author’s use of metaphors
        • ii.Chinese readers’ comments on the use of the marriage metaphor
    • 4.2English readers’ comments on translated metaphors in Fortress Besieged
      • 4.2.1Sentiment polarity of English readers’ comments
      • 4.2.2Dominant topics in English readers’ comments
        • i.Prominent discussion of “Chinese”
        • ii.Prominent discussion of “People”
        • iii.Prominent discussion of translation”
    • 4.3Readers’ acceptance of translated metaphors in Fortress Besieged
      • 4.3.1Overall acceptance of translated metaphors
      • 4.3.2Prominent topics concerning translated metaphors
        • i.Focus on Chinese culture embodied in metaphors
        • ii.Focus on characters depicted in metaphors
        • iii.Less focus on theme interpretation of metaphors
      • 4.3.3Problems of metaphor translation
  • 5.Conclusion
  • References
Published online: 26 July 2023
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ata.xx.06xia
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