Reproduction Of Painting Beauty In The English Translation Of Wen Yiduo’s Poems From The Perspective Of Cognitive Models

Translation is a creative thinking process. Traditional translation researches focus on linguistic analysis and semantic equivalence in the process of text analysis, text reproduction and text evaluation. However, limitation of sheer linguistic analysis and sheer linguistic reproduction in translation practice may become obvious when translation goals vary and when there appear huge cultural differences or even cultural conflicts between the source text and the target text. Cognitive models provide a new horizon for translation researches. Under the cognitive framework, meaning is not just derived from a linguistic system but involves people’s subjective experiences. Moreover, translation process under cognitive models is a visualized thinking process. In this process, many details and blind spots are unveiled and various tough translation problems are creatively solved. Cognitive models have comprehensive guiding significance in translation and in evaluating translated works. This thesis, starting from cognitive models, aims to discuss the adequacy of the reproduction of painting beauty in the English translation of Wen Yiduo’s poems and to explore relevant strategies for the reproduction. The author hopes that the thesis may be conducive to the acceptance and appreciation of the English version of Wen Yiduo’s poems in the English World. This thesis is composed of four chapters besides an introduction and a conclusion. The introduction clarifies the significance of the research and describes the main research methods. Then, it gives a brief review of the research status of the subject covering such aspects as the reproduction of painting beauty as well as the combination between cognitive models and translation.Chapter One first gives a brief introduction to Charles Fillmore’s scenes-and-frames semantics, Ronald Langacker’s figure/ground alignment and Roger Schank’s thematic organization points (TOPs). Then it expounds their specific functions in text analysis, text reproduction and text evaluation during the process of translation.Chapter Two dwells on the connotations of "Painting Beauty" and its manifestations in poetry. When Wen Yiduo put forward the principle of painting beauty in poetry creation, but he only gave a rather blurred explanation of "diction" to annotate painting beauty, which caused some misunderstandings and brought about different interpretations as well. Therefore, this chapter will clarify the connotations of painting beauty and discuss its manifestations in poetry. Then it will analyze the concrete manifestations of painting beauty in Wen Yiduo’s poems in terms of colors, visions and lines.Chapter Three discloses different roles of three cognitive models in the reproduction of painting beauty. Charles Fillmore’s scenes and frames semantics is most helpful as it promotes the reproduction of painting beauty to its greatest extent. Ronald Langacker’s figure/ground alignment helps to reproduce painting beauty by changing the perspective of observation. And Roger Schank’s thematic organization points (TOPs) is useful mostly when there appear cultural differences or intercultural fault lines between the source text and the target text.Chapter Four analyzes the adequacy of the reproduction of painting beauty in the English translation of Wen Yiduo’s poems in terms of colors, visions and lines from the perspective of cognitive models. The reproduction of colors mainly concerns that of the colors selected from natural world and those endowed with the poet’s emotions. The reproduction of visions is about significant themes of life including love, death and life. The reproduction of lines involves straight lines, curved lines and broken lines. Both concrete lines and imaginary lines for describing formless thoughts, emotions and concepts will be examined in this section.The conclusion in the thesis points out that it is an effective way to explore the reproduction of painting beauty in Wen Yiduo’s poems from the perspective of cognitive models. This thesis discusses the connotations and manifestations of painting beauty proposed by Wen Yiduo, expounds the adequacy of the reproduction of painting beauty in the English translation of Wen Yiduo’s poems, and analyzes possible translation strategies based on the cognitive models. It is helpful in solving specific translation problems by applying cognitive models.