Sense/Image Appeal in Translation of Metaphorical Expressions from Cultural and Cognitive Perspectives

Abstract

Metaphor, as an often troublesome figure of speech for translators, is treated in different ways in translation. These treatments are influenced by the translators' understanding of the sense or image of the metaphor in question. The present study attempts to investigate if the cognitive processes in a translator's mind, including his cultural or linguistic knowledge, generate a corresponding metaphoric translation. Ten MA students of English translation were selected as sample translators and were given 20 metaphors contextualized in sentences to translate. They were asked to think aloud while trying to translate the sentences. The results showed that what automatically passed through their minds did not necessarily engender a corresponding translation in terms of sense or image. It appears that cultural and linguistic constraints affecting cognitive processes significantly differ from the cultural or linguistic constraints on the actual product of translation.