A Tentative Study Of English Transfer Of Imagery And Ideorealm In Chinese Classical Poetry From The Perspective Of Cognitive Linguistics

In recent years, an increasing number of scholars both home and abroad have been attracted to the translation of Chinese Classical poetry into another language. The poems written in Tang and Song Dynasties have especially drawn the attention of translators who have been engaged in the translation of Chinese Classical poetry into English, and their translations play an important role in the cultural communication between the east and the west. Chinese Classical poetry is the gem of Chinese literature, particularly noted for its simplicity, subtleness and its rich connotation. The most noticeable feature of Chinese Classical poetry is their rich images and appealing ideorealm. At present some scholars are engaged in the translation study concerning the imagery and ideorealm of the Chinese Classical poetry. However, most studies are concerned about the translation of imagery and ideorealm from cultural perspectives and traditional philological views, with little attention focused on the internal cognitive process for imagery and ideorealm transferring. This thesis aims to apply cognitive linguistics, especially the principle of salience to analyze the cognitive process of transferring imagery and ideorealm of Chinese Classical poetry. On the basis of the close connections between the translator's internal cognitive mechanism and the comprehension and reproduction process of imagery and ideorealm, we can analyze the thinking process of translators in deep going way, and understand the possibility to reproduce the original imagery and ideorealm in the translation of Chinese Classical poetry.This dissertation is composed of six parts. In chapter one, it makes a general survey on the translation study of Chinese Classical poetry and specifies the significance of this thesis. Chapter two is an overview about imagery and ideorealm of Chinese Classical poetry. Chapter three introduces cognitive linguistics into translation. A brief discussion on the relation between cognitive linguistics and translation studies is made, and special attention on the introduction of the principle of salience is paid. Chapter four analyzes the process for imagery and ideorealm transferring from the cognitive perspective. The author first analyze imagery and ideorealm from a cognitive perspective, then cognitive barriers for imagery and ideorealm transferring is analyzed and the positive effects of salience shift in the process of imagery and ideorealm translation is showed. Chapter five further the study to analyze different type of poems and their versions on the principle of salience, the influence of translator's different construal on the process of imagery and ideorealm transferring is analyzed, and it aims to find out an effective method to reproduce imagery and ideorealm of the original poem. The last part makes the main conclusion of the dissertation, summarizes the major findings, points out the limitations, and set forward the aim for the further study as well.All in all, the rise and booming of cognitive linguistics in western countries has paved a new way for the translation study of Chinese Classical poetry. To introduce the application of cognitive linguistics for translation study of Chinese Classical poetry and analyze the process of transferring imagery and ideorealm from the cognitive perspective will give us a new perspective for translation study.