The translation of Event-Structure Metaphors rendered by Deaf translators from English to American Sign Language

This dissertation characterizes the handling of Event-Structure Metaphors in translation between languages that use different modalities: English (a spoken language) and American Sign Language (ASL---a signed language). Within the field of Translation Studies, the handling of metaphor has been discussed at length from a prescriptive perspective rather than from a descriptive perspective. Consequently, the focus has been on developing procedures that dictate how metaphors should be translated. But we know little about the reality of how working translators actually handle metaphors. Additionally, few studies of metaphor in translation have benefited from the insights offered by conceptual metaphor theory (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980/2003; 1999), which is situated within the fields of Cognitive Semantics and Cognitive Linguistics. Using a cognitive-descriptive theoretical framework (Samaniego Fernandez, 2011; 2013), I examine the translation of Event-Structure Metaphor (ESM) expressions that are performed and video-recorded in ASL by native signers who are Deaf.;The research is based on a small parallel corpus built from published translations of American political speeches and documents (Cokely & Fernandez, 1994/2012). I followed standard procedures for identifying and coding ESMs and how they were handled in the corpus.;In conceptual metaphor theory, it is proposed that ESMs have two main branches: Location and Object (Lakoff & Johnson, 1999). I provide evidence that the Location and Object branches of ESMs are exhibited in ASL. Additionally, translators in the corpus frequently maintain the same ESM between the source texts (ST) and target texts (TT). But they also shift from one type of ESM to another type of expression, add an ESM in the TT, or omit a ST ESM.;In examining the shifts and additions of ESM expressions in the corpus, there were many event-related expressions in the TT that do not fit the current Location or Object branch ESM paradigm. Based on an analysis of these expressions, I propose a new, third branch of the ESM: the Container-ESM. The Container-ESM appears to be more prominent in ASL than in English. Thus we see considerable variation in how ESMs are used and the impact this variation has on translation. With the proposal of this third ESM branch, I am able to more adequately describe the handing of ESMs in English to ASL translation.