A Study On Explicitation In The English Translation Of Wen Xin Diao Long:a Cognitive Linguistic Perspective

The phenomenon of explicitation has attracted much attention and interest from various scholars in Translations Studies (TS) ever since the emergence of the concept, which has been developed through efforts to explore its definition and classification from different perspectives. Previous studies suffer to a certain extent from the defect of confusing the nature of explicitation with certain translation strategies or linguistic means to bring about the shifts in translation. The question essential to explicitation is how implicit information in the source text (ST) has the potential to be given explicit representation in the target text (TT).A new perspective may help to shed more light on studies on explicitation. In light of the illuminating insights provided by Cognitive Linguistics (CL), the present thesis intends to conduct a comparative study on Wen Xin Diao Long (《文心雕龙》) and its English translation, Dragon-Carving and the Literary Mind, within the framework of explicitation constructed on the basis of construal (Langacker’s model), a fundamental operational model in CL. The framework makes use of three dimensions of construal:specificity, focusing and prominence. Within the framework, explicitating shifts are deemed to take place as a result of the changes imposed by the translator on the dimensions of construal concerning an ST item, which leads to the increased explicitness in the way the item is construed in the TT. Increased explicitness can be realized in three ways corresponding to the three dimensions:detecting more details (enhancing specificity), discerning the background (altering focus) and giving close-up (adjusting prominence).In this comparative study, the author aims to examine the existence of explicitation and its distribution in the English translation of Wen Xin Diao Long, to identify different types of explicitation triggered by alterations in construal and the motivations for the choices made by the translator to bring about the explicitating shifts. Through both qualitative analyses and quantitative analyses, three categories of explicitation have been identified and their respective proportions obtained: Focusing-altering explicitation, which is realized by foregrounding conceptual domains formerly kept in the background; prominence-adjusting expiicitation, which is realized by profiling a segment within the domains already foregrounded; specificity-enhancing explicitation, which is realized by adding specific details unable to be derived from the ST but existing objectively. Via close scrutiny, each type of explicitation can be further defined by their specific motivations. Focusing-altering explicitation is largely motivated by the translator’s desire to grant readers direct access to the metaphorical, symbolic or implied conceptual content in the ST. Prominence-adjusting explicitation is mainly motivated by the translator’s inclination to highlight or emphasize one particular element among others, or the underlying relations between two things, or the path of motion in an event. Specificity-enhancing explicitation is generally motivated by the translator’s attempt to facilitate comprehension as regards culture-loaded expressions such as historical events, literary works or allusions and idioms. The proportions of different kinds of explicitation indicate the tendency to operate on conceptual levels and restrain from unnecessary additions. From a cognitive linguistic perspective, this comparative study hopes to demonstrate at a more abstract level the applicability and usefulness of construal operation to future studies on explicitation in TS.