中文味覺隱喻中文化意涵之初步探討

A Preliminary Study of the Cultural Implications of Chinese Taste Metaphors

隱喻是一種以具體經驗引介抽象概念的語言表達方式，它們常是充滿了文化內涵，並反映出人類生活中最根本的價值，因此隱喻可被視為一種了解特定文化價值觀的管道。而因為食物及飲食經驗在中華文化裡所擁有的獨特價值，以至於它們常出現在中文的隱喻中，且食物的滋味也經常被運用於情感描述及認知層面，也因此與其在英文中的運用有所不同。本文以線上語料庫：中央研究院現代漢語平衡語料庫中的真實語料為研究資料，並以中文的五味：酸、甜、苦、辣、鹹為關鍵字於語料庫中進行搜尋，結果發現中文的鹹、辣與甜常用於味道的描述，苦味則多以隱喻的形式呈現，而酸味的用法則較為多樣。其中酸及苦有其特定的文化隱喻意涵，常有負面含意，如情感及磨難等，同時以苦味隱喻所付出的努力時，其正向鼓勵意涵也反映出苦難在中華文化中所被賦予的獨特地位。本研究的發現呼應了Zhengdao Ye在2007年提出的說法，證實中文的味覺常用來描述情感、思考以及理解等與智能及情感相關的意義，而這些文化特定意義可能來自於中式獨特的烹調方式、中華文化對味道／味覺的看法、以及中式飲食、人的體內協調、健康三者的不可分割性。最後，本文對未來研究提出一些建議，以利於對味覺的文化內涵與隱喻之間的關聯性建立更完整的圖像。

Metaphors are commonly used linguistic expressions that introduce abstract concepts through concrete experiences. They are often culture-laden, reflecting the most fundamental values in human life, and thus they can be a gateway to understandings of cultural values. In Chinese metaphors, food and gustatory experiences are frequently found because of their unique values in Chinese culture, and food tastes are often used to describe human emotions and cognition, in a way which marks the difference between Chinese and English tastes. This paper explores the cultural implications of Chinese taste metaphors through the use of the Academia Sinica Balanced Corpus of Modern Chinese, which is an online collection of authentic texts. Using the five Chinese taste words, “suān (sourness), “tián” (sweetness), “kǔ” (bitterness), “là ” (spiciness), and “xián” (saltiness), as the keywords, the findings reveal that the usage of Chinese saltiness, spiciness, and sweetness was mainly taste-based, bitterness was mostly used metaphorically, and the use of sourness appeared to be mixed. In particular, Chinese sourness and bitterness had their culture-specific metaphorical meanings, which linked to negative connotations, including sad emotions, suffering, and difficulties, and the positive encouraging connotation of bitterness-related metaphors that indicated efforts also reflected the unique value of suffering in Chinese culture. The findings echo Zheng-dao Ye’s claim that in Chinese, taste is used to describe feelings, thoughts, and knowledge that involves intellectual and emotional meanings, which may derive from the Buddhist influences, Chinese culinary styles, and also the inseparability of Chinese diets, inner harmony, and health. Finally, this paper proposes some suggestions for future studies for a fuller picture of the relation between cultural values of tastes and metaphors.