A Study On Construal Operation In English Translation Of Chang Sheng Dian From The Perspective Of Cognitive Linguistics

From the perspective of cognitive linguistics, construal refers to the human ability to recognize the same situation in different cognitive ways. These various human construal ways like encyclopedic knowledge, perspective, salience information, level of specificity on expression content that people possess, make people have various language expressions even under the same situation. In Cognitive linguistics, language has an inseparable relation with human cognitive ability. Language is the product of experiential and cognitive processing; language can’t directly mirror the reality, and it must use human cognition as well as construal as carrier. And on this basis, construal theory is applied to the study of translation gradually by foreign scholars, such as Langacker(1987), Talmy(1988), Croft(2004) and domestic scholars, like Wen Xu(2007), Wang Yin(2008) et cetera. The translation process involves the transformation of two or more languages and cultures. And the translation subjects with different cognitive abilities lead to various translation results, therefore, the translation process can be thought as the construal operation process, which is dynamic cognitive process at the same time. The role of construal operation in translation studies cannot be neglected.The classic named Chang Sheng Dian is created by Hong Sheng in Qing Dynasty. It comes out in the golden age of Kunqu. Chang Sheng Dian together with The Peach Blossom Fan by Kong Shangren creates the new climax in the Kunqu creation. It is one of the most outstanding representatives in the ancient Chinese drama. Chang Sheng Dian is a historical drama with 50 scenes, taking the love story of Emperor Li Longji of Tang Dynasty and his concubine Yang Yuhuan as the main line. At present, there are only three English versions of Chang Sheng Dian, which are translated by Yang Xianyi couple, Professor He Yubin as well as Professor Xu Yuanchong and Professor Xu Ming respectively. This paper studies on construal operation from the perspective of cognitive linguistics, starting from four dimensions of construal operation, scope-background, perspective, salience and specificity to compare the two English translation versions of Kunqu Chang Sheng Dian by Yang Xianyi couple and Professor He Yubin. It tries to study the explanatory power and influence of construal operation in the translation of Kunqu with the hope to add to new perspective and enlightenment for the appreciation and translation of Chang Sheng Dian.