The Cognitive Turn in Metaphor Translation Studies: A Critical Overview

Wenjie Hong; Caroline Rossi

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Journal of Translation Studies ›› 2021, Vol. 5 ›› Issue (2) : 83-115.

The Cognitive Turn in Metaphor Translation Studies: A Critical Overview

Wenjie Hong, Caroline Rossi

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Metaphor translation has been a matter of concern in translation studies because its interlinguistic transfer can be impeded by cross-cultural and crosslinguistic differences. Since the inception of Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT), which focuses on the conceptual structure of metaphorical language, a range of studies have emerged to investigate metaphor translation from a cognitive perspective, presenting an eclectic mix of research questions and methodologies. This paper is targeted at illustrating what the cognitive approach has offered to translation studies by providing a critical overview of recent research in metaphor translation from a cognitive perspective. It is pointed out that cognitive theory can get to the heart of metaphor, an essential cognitive device for meaning-making, as well as translation, a cognitive activity. Illustrations from the literature show that a cognitive approach can account for in-depth conceptual transfer in the analysis of product- and process-oriented metaphor translation. The cognitive approach also provides important insights into translation as cross- cultural communication by offering a redefinition of culture. Within this context, the paper provides multilingual illustrations while paying special attention to translation between culturally-distant languages, e.g., English-Chinese and French-Chinese translation. Lastly, it is argued that there is potential in combining cognitive theory with translation theories such as Descriptive Translation Studies and the Interpretive Theory of Translation.

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metaphor translation / conceptual metaphor / cognitive approach to translation / translation studies / cognitive linguistics

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Wenjie Hong, Caroline Rossi. The Cognitive Turn in Metaphor Translation Studies: A Critical Overview[J]. Journal of Translation Studies. 2021, 5(2): 83-115

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