Conceptual Metaphors of TIME in Translations of Rubayyat of Khayyam

Abstract

The present study aims to investigate TIME conceptual metaphors in Rubayyat of Khayyam and in ‎Fitzgerald’s translation based on Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) and the Cognitive Translation ‎Hypothesis and Conceptual Universality and Culture-specificity Hypothesis. Accordingly, the ‎following questions are asked: is there any difference between the mappings of TIME conceptual ‎metaphors in Rubayyat of Khayyam and TIME conceptual metaphors in its English translation? And ‎what are the strategies used by the translator in Similar Mapping Conditions (SMCs) and Different ‎Mapping Conditions (DMCs)? Accordingly, using metaphor identification methods, two quatrains of ‎Rubayyat of Khayyam containing TIME conceptual metaphors were selected in a purposive ‎sampling method and compared with their translations. The results indicated that in case of ‎universal and near-universal conceptualizations, the mapping topologies of TIME conceptual ‎metaphors are similar in the original and target texts because the translator faces SMCs, while in ‎case of culture-specificity, facing DMCs, the translator changes mapping topologies and ‎consequently conceptualizations. Furthermore, the translator can employ some conceptual ‎strategies to re-conceptualize conceptual metaphors in DMCs. In addition, the translator has ‎mostly employed the strategy of congruent metaphors in case of facing DMCs.‎