In Other Words

Yiqing Liu,Caiwen Wang

doi:10.4018/ijtial.20210701.oa2

Abstract

This empirical study takes a cognitive perspective and examines the translation of metaphors in speeches by Chinese President Xi Jinping as collected in the first volume of the book The Governance of China published in 2014. The study draws upon Lakoff and Johnson's conceptual metaphor theory and Newmark's categories of translation procedure for metaphors. The researchers' data analysis has shown that (1) four out of the eight existing translation procedures for metaphors are employed in translating Xi's metaphors, and (2) while the use of one translation procedure reflects similar cognitive mapping conditions between the source and the target culture, the use of the other procedures does not always correlate with the similarities or differences in cognitive mappings between the two cultures in question. The research raises new inquiries regarding metaphor translation, and the researchers accordingly discuss the implications of their findings for metaphor translation pedagogy and future translation studies.

Highlights

In Translation Studies, metaphors are often treated as a translatability issue (e.g., Schäffner, 2004)
Four translation procedures from Newmark’s list are identified in the sample. These are: (a) reproducing the same image as in the Source Text (ST), (b) replacing the image in the ST with a standard Target Language (TL) image which does not clash with the TL culture, (c) converting the metaphor to sense, and (d) using the same metaphor combined with sense
The second most common procedure is the conversion of the metaphor to sense, suggesting that some Chinese conceptual metaphors might be untranslatable due to their different cognitive mapping conditions

Summary

Introduction

In Translation Studies, metaphors are often treated as a translatability issue (e.g., Schäffner, 2004). From a cognitive point of view, metaphors reflect the way of thinking or conceptualising of an author (speaker or writer) representing a culture (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980). It follows that the translatability issue of metaphors has to do with whether or not the concepts employed in them will be recognised for both their senses and effects in a target culture if translated literally. Examine how the metaphors in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s speeches are translated into English It seeks to answer four research questions as below: RQ1: What kinds of conceptual metaphor are used by President Xi in his speeches and what are their frequencies of occurrence?

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion