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Study On Semantic Representation Based On Bell’s Translation Model

Posted on:2013-06-07Degree:MasterType:Thesis
Country:ChinaCandidate:P ZhengFull Text:PDF
GTID:2235330374955879Subject:Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics
Abstract/Summary:PDF Full Text Request
With the development of people’s cognitive capability, the emphasis of translation study has transferred from translated product to translation process. Bell has employed systematic linguistics to describe translation process, explained the brain mechanism during translation from the perspectives of psychology and information processing, and set up a translation model. Bell’s model can be divided into analysis, semantic representation, and synthesis. Semantic representation belongs to the typical "black box" problem, and is separated from language form. Bell’s model points out the position of semantic representation and considers that the semantic representation takes place in the environment of memory. However, the exact operational mechanism of semantic representation in the memory system is not detailed.In the realm of memory, the human memory system can be divided into sensory memory, short-term memory and long-term memory. Short-term memory and long-term memory can process certain information. According to information processing theory, the processing course of human brain can be viewed as the interaction and integration of short-term memory and long-term memory. Schema theory and mental space are related to long-term memory and short-term memory respectively and possesses strong power to explain translation phenomena within their own domains. Long-term memory manipulates the process of semantic representation in the form of schema, while short-term memory can realize semantic representation through the generation of emergent structure.Based on Bell’s translation model, this thesis employs Schema Theory (ST), Mental Space (MS) to construct a framework for analyzing semantic representation in the light of information processing, and tries to explore the semantic representation in translation process. The present research manages to answer the following two questions:1) How is semantic representation realized in the light of schema theory within long-term memory?2) How is semantic representation realized by emergent structure within short-term memory?This thesis employs Introspection method apart from conventional descriptive methods. Arbitrary technical and engineering materials are selected to check the feasibility of the analysis framework of semantic representation, and the results show that semantic representation in the translation process can be explained with this framework. This thesis is just a preliminary exploration of the operational mechanism of semantic representation in Bell’s translation model, and such a study helps to deepen our understanding of the translation process. However, this thesis also has some limitations. Because memory system is very complex, the interaction of short-term and long-term memory in the translation process is not discussed thoroughly, and the role the translator plays in translation process is not dealt with. So, there is still room for further study.
Keywords/Search Tags:Bell’s model, semantic representation, schema theory, mental space, emergent structure
PDF Full Text Request
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