摘要

现今中英两种语言中存在着大量的动物隐喻，客观的文化背景和人们的主观因素又给动物隐喻的理解带来了一定难度。而很多研究动物隐喻的论文只局限于从中英文化的角度解释一些简单的文化现象，或者从认知角度探讨动物作为源域向人类和其他领域的投射。作者认为他们的缺陷在于都没有系统地讨论这些动物隐喻的理解过程。只有通过系统地分析动物隐喻的理解过程，才能找出一些可能造成动物隐喻理解困难的主客观因素，才能使人们采取有效措施避免困难并提高对动物隐喻的理解。

关键词：动物隐喻； 认知； 文化内涵； 客观因素；主观因素

Abstract

A large number of animal metaphors exist in both Chinese and English, but objective cultural backgrounds and subjective factors also bring people some difficulties in comprehension. Nowadays many papers on animal metaphors are limited to a brief list of some simple cultural phenomena from a cultural perspective or to a list of animals as source domains are mapped onto other target domains from a cognitive perspective. Only by exploring the process of understanding animal metaphors can people take measures to avoid difficulties and improve the comprehension of animal metaphors.

Key words: animal metaphor；cognition；cultural connotation; objective factors;subjective factors.

1 Introduction
1.1 Background information

Animal plays a vital role in the life of human beings. Human beings and animals have a lot in common in terms of gene, physical features and behaviors, etc. Through long-term social production and careful observation of various animals, people have collected an overall understanding and a profound knowledge of their habits, temperaments, etc, which would be embodied in human language inevitably. Owing to frequent contact with animals, human beings create many animal words in their languages, which are reflected in the description of Robert A. Palmatier’s Speaking of Animals (A Dictionary of animal metaphors):"No other nonhuman source has served as the basis for more metaphors than animals."