Representing political attitudes through recontextualizing the metaphor ‘Shuai Guo’ in English-translated Chinese diplomatic discourse

Diplomatic discourse has garnered a share of scholarly attention in translation studies, albeit the recontextualization of its metaphoric expression has remained underexplored across languages. This present study delved into the Chinese metaphor 甩锅 (‘shuai guo’, literally means ‘throw the wok’) as a...

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Main Authors: Yang, Wei, Syed Abdullah, Syed Nurulakla, Ang, Lay Hoon, Yang, Mingxing
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Cogent OA 2025
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/120888/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/120888/1/120888.pdf
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author Yang, Wei
Syed Abdullah, Syed Nurulakla
Ang, Lay Hoon
Yang, Mingxing
author_facet Yang, Wei
Syed Abdullah, Syed Nurulakla
Ang, Lay Hoon
Yang, Mingxing
author_sort Yang, Wei
building UPM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Diplomatic discourse has garnered a share of scholarly attention in translation studies, albeit the recontextualization of its metaphoric expression has remained underexplored across languages. This present study delved into the Chinese metaphor 甩锅 (‘shuai guo’, literally means ‘throw the wok’) as a case, aiming to examine how the metaphor was recontextualized in the new context to implicate diplomatic attitudes. The data for analysis were drawn from China’s Foreign Ministry spokespersons’ remarks at regular press conferences spanning from 2020 to 2022. Utilizing a qualitative descriptive approach, this research scrutinized the patterns and forms of its English translations. Drawing upon Fairclough’s framework of recontextualization, this study discussed how the metaphors were recontextualized from aspects of absence, abstraction, addition, and arrangement. It was found that the English translations of ‘shuai guo’ predominantly revolved around blame-centered expressions, among other variations. The translations exhibited dynamic shifts in response to different contexts, shedding light on the discursive strategies to convey political attitudes towards the involved parties in the remarks, thereby aligning with the official ideologies. This study underscores the significance of the recontextualization process in translating metaphor in diplomatic discourse across languages, which may not be materialized by only focusing on the original text.
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spelling upm-1208882025-10-15T02:37:23Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/120888/ Representing political attitudes through recontextualizing the metaphor ‘Shuai Guo’ in English-translated Chinese diplomatic discourse Yang, Wei Syed Abdullah, Syed Nurulakla Ang, Lay Hoon Yang, Mingxing Diplomatic discourse has garnered a share of scholarly attention in translation studies, albeit the recontextualization of its metaphoric expression has remained underexplored across languages. This present study delved into the Chinese metaphor 甩锅 (‘shuai guo’, literally means ‘throw the wok’) as a case, aiming to examine how the metaphor was recontextualized in the new context to implicate diplomatic attitudes. The data for analysis were drawn from China’s Foreign Ministry spokespersons’ remarks at regular press conferences spanning from 2020 to 2022. Utilizing a qualitative descriptive approach, this research scrutinized the patterns and forms of its English translations. Drawing upon Fairclough’s framework of recontextualization, this study discussed how the metaphors were recontextualized from aspects of absence, abstraction, addition, and arrangement. It was found that the English translations of ‘shuai guo’ predominantly revolved around blame-centered expressions, among other variations. The translations exhibited dynamic shifts in response to different contexts, shedding light on the discursive strategies to convey political attitudes towards the involved parties in the remarks, thereby aligning with the official ideologies. This study underscores the significance of the recontextualization process in translating metaphor in diplomatic discourse across languages, which may not be materialized by only focusing on the original text. Cogent OA 2025 Article PeerReviewed text en cc_by_4 http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/120888/1/120888.pdf Yang, Wei and Syed Abdullah, Syed Nurulakla and Ang, Lay Hoon and Yang, Mingxing (2025) Representing political attitudes through recontextualizing the metaphor ‘Shuai Guo’ in English-translated Chinese diplomatic discourse. Cogent Arts and Humanities, 12 (1). art. no. 2483015. pp. 1-11. ISSN 2331-1983 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23311983.2025.2483015 10.1080/23311983.2025.2483015
spellingShingle Yang, Wei
Syed Abdullah, Syed Nurulakla
Ang, Lay Hoon
Yang, Mingxing
Representing political attitudes through recontextualizing the metaphor ‘Shuai Guo’ in English-translated Chinese diplomatic discourse
title Representing political attitudes through recontextualizing the metaphor ‘Shuai Guo’ in English-translated Chinese diplomatic discourse
title_full Representing political attitudes through recontextualizing the metaphor ‘Shuai Guo’ in English-translated Chinese diplomatic discourse
title_fullStr Representing political attitudes through recontextualizing the metaphor ‘Shuai Guo’ in English-translated Chinese diplomatic discourse
title_full_unstemmed Representing political attitudes through recontextualizing the metaphor ‘Shuai Guo’ in English-translated Chinese diplomatic discourse
title_short Representing political attitudes through recontextualizing the metaphor ‘Shuai Guo’ in English-translated Chinese diplomatic discourse
title_sort representing political attitudes through recontextualizing the metaphor ‘shuai guo’ in english-translated chinese diplomatic discourse
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/120888/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/120888/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/120888/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/120888/1/120888.pdf