Evaluating the Cognitive Dimension of Translation in Light of the Six Phases Proposed by Wilss (1996) in the Decision-Making Process: A Case Study

Abstract

The present paper addresses the evaluation of the cognitive dimension of translation considering the six phases proposed by Wilss (1996) in the decision-making process. Its importance springs from the fact that it is pivotal to view translation as a cognitive activity rather than a mere linguistic process and evaluate it by carrying out cognitive analysis based on the six phases propounded by Wilss (1996) in the decision-making process. This is particularly useful in understanding the mental processes operating in the cognitive system of the translator through the pitfalls he/she has in his/her translation, which epitomize the translation problems that he/she has encountered during the translation process. The paper seeks to answer the following main research question: how can the cognitive dimension of translation in light of the six phases proposed by Wilss (1996) in the decision-making process be evaluated? The paper draws on Wilss’s model to provide a cognitive analysis of English-Arabic translation. The paper argues that any pitfall the translator has had in her translation typifies failure of identifying the translation problem cognitively, which is the first phase proposed by Wilss in the decision-making process. Hence failure of passing the first phase brings about failure of completing all the phases for cognitive analysis. The pitfalls that represent the translation problems can be categorized into five categories, namely: the use of inappropriate equivalence, culture-specific elements, translation by omission, translation by addition and the use of borrowing in a dialect of Arabic. Each category features the translation issue, the cognitive analysis conducted thereon and the recommended translation(s).