Exploration On Cognitive Process Of Metaphor Translation In Business English News

Based on the fact that studies on metaphor translation have been focusing on static comparisons of differences between linguistic forms and cultures and that the cognitive process in metaphor translation has long been neglected or insufficiently investigated, this thesis attempts to explore the cognitive process of metaphor translation from the perspective of the thriving Conceptual Integration Theory.First,this thesis analyzes the metaphorical nature of Business English News in the sample texts from Businessweek ranging from January,2008 to July,2009.868 metaphorical expressions are picked out and then categorized into nine types of conceptual metaphors:BUSINESS IS LIVING ORGANISM,MOVEMENT, VEHICLE,FLUID,WAR,GAME,BUILDING,JOURNEY,and CONTAINER.Then, based on the identification and classification of these conceptual metaphors,the translating strategies of these metaphors employed in the corresponding Chinese texts in BusinessWeek/China are classified into three categories:(1)Translating metaphors into similar ones when the source culture and target culture share the same conceptual metaphors;(2)translating metaphors into different metaphors when the source culture and target culture do not share the same conceptual metaphor;(3) when the conceptual metaphors in source culture are absent in the target culture,two translation strategies are usually employed:â‘ reserving the metaphor from the source culture;â‘¡translating metaphors into non-metaphors.On the basis of Conceptual Integration Theory advanced by Gilles Fauconnier and Mark Turner and Wang Bin's formula for translation i.e.BTT=(ST+TS)/GS,the cognitive process of metaphor translation is regarded as a process of blending among spaces.Source text with its schema(ST) together with the target cultural schemata(TS) forms the two input spaces.After their own blending,similarities of schemas shared by the two input spaces project to a third space--the generic space(GS).The target text is presented as blend text of translation(BTT) in which both input spaces project to the blend space to produce the emergent structure under the constraints of the generic space. Agency of the translator,namely his or her language competence,personal preference and cognitive context plays an important role in the conceptual integration of metaphor translation.There are four types of networks that are applicable in interpreting the cognitive process of the three metaphor translation strategies in Business English News:(1)Frame Networks;(2)One-Sided Network;(3)Single Framing Network;(4)Revised Single Framing Network.The findings of this study,for one thing,can help the English learners get a better understanding of the metaphorical nature of business English.For another,the research on metaphor translation based on Conceptual Integration Theory sheds new light on English-Chinese metaphor translation.