On Translation Of Metaphor In English Advertisement From The Perspective Of Relevance Theory

With the development of international trade and global economy, advertising and its translation have become an important part of international communication. Metaphor, as an important rhetorical device, is frequently adopted in advertising and turns out to be a distinctive feature of advertising language. Through a detailed discussion of the importance of adopting metaphor in advertisements, the author concludes that the essence of advertising language is metaphor, and the key to advertisement translation is metaphor translation. Then the author extends a thorough analysis of metaphor and points out that the nature of metaphor is cognition. Based on relevance theory and optimal relevance, the author proposes the strategies of metaphor translation in advertisements from the cognitive perspective and they are: metaphor to metaphor, metaphor to simile, and metaphor to nonmetaphor. Considering the target receptor's cognitive environment, the resultant omissions, additions, and creative alterations are necessary in translating so that translated version is optimally relevant to the target audience at minimal processing effort and achieves the same contextual effect. The thesis is intended to enrich the study of metaphor translation, from the angle of advertisement which embodies a far vivid feature of metaphor.