Translating Metaphorical Chunks In Business English Based Upon The Figure-ground Theory

Metaphorical chunks,characterized by vividness and conciseness,are ubiquitous in Business English(Hereafter abbreviated for BE).They can not only simplify the obscure economic concepts in BE,but also effectivelyconvey the information and meanings of business text.In consequence,these chunks play a significant role in business communication.However,in the practical translation of BE,especially the translation of metaphorical chunks,translators often make cognitive mistranslation,which often damage the business communication.Therefore,based on the Figure-ground Theory in cognitive linguistics and the definitional and associated characteristics of figure and ground proposed by Talmy,this thesis classifies metaphorical chunks in BE,establishes the relationship between Figure-ground and translation of metaphorical chunks,and puts forward corresponding translation methods.Based on Talmy's Figure-ground relation,this thesis first elaborates the definitional and associated characteristics of figure and ground respectively and then makes a classification of metaphorical chunks in BE according to the definitional and associated characteristics of figure and ground.They are salient metaphorical chunk,simple metaphorical chunk,perceivable metaphorical chunk,attractive metaphorical chunk and mixed metaphorical chunk.Furthermore,this thesis establishes the scale of correspondencebetween the author's figure-ground relation and the translator's figure-ground relation,and finally proposes three correspondingtranslation methods of metaphorical chunks in BE,namely keeping metaphor image,changing metaphor image and omitting metaphor image,exemplified by a large number of metaphorical chunks in BE.From the study on metaphorical chunks translation in BE,this thesis comes to the conclusion: on one hand,each metaphorical chunk has its own figure-ground relation,which is reflected in the thesis' s five types of metaphorical chunks.On the other hand,the intrinsic figure-ground relations in those five types provide a cognitive foundation for the translation of metaphorical chunks in BE.When the author and the translator share the same figure-ground relation,keeping metaphor image is preferred;when their figure-ground relations are in partial correspondence,it is proper to change metaphor image;when there is no correspondence,the translator could abandon the metaphor image.