A cognitive approach to the translation of metonymy-based humor

Abstract

This paper proposes an approach to the translation of humorous texts based on Cognitive Linguistics, one of the few linguistic theories which have attempted to unveil and understand the cognitive mechanisms that underlie the use of language for humorous purposes. More specifically, we argue that a model focused on the frames or knowledge structures activated in the text and on the metonymical mappings that guide humorous inferences may help us gain useful insights into the cognitive mechanisms used during humor production and understanding. This model is applied to the analysis of a number of examples from three different novels and their translations into Spanish: Small World by David Lodge, Money by Martin Amis, and The Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi.The approach suggested here has centered on the metonymical patterns which have been most relevant to explain the humorous examples found in our corpus. In this sense, we have specifically focused on the analysis of four of the most productive types of metonymical mappings: part for whole, material for object, cause for effect and producer for product . Following Peirsman and Geeraerts’ (2006) prototypical organization of conceptual contiguity, these mappings have been classified into two different domains: a) contiguity in the spatial and material domain and b) contiguity in the domain of actions, events and processes. We will argue that such a model can guide translators, helping them to develop a systematic method to solve the problems implied in the translation of humor. In this way, it will be easier to adjust the comprehension mechanisms of the ST audience and those of the TT audience and elaborate a translation that achieves an equivalent effect to that of the ST.