The Application Of Frame Semantics To Translation Studies

The frame theory defines a cognitive frame in terms of a remembered framework to be adapted to fit reality, or of a network with frame components working harmoniously together. From a frame theoretical point of view, linguistic expressions function both as triggers to activate and as anchors to stabilize the cognitive frames on which meaning in language relies heavily for its generation. The task of translation, therefore, is to find out in the target language the linguistic expressions which help to activate the cognitive frames identical and similar to those in the source language. The application of the frame reveals the information storage and use in human being's mind and forms the comprehensive knowledge towards the psychological level of translation. In the domain of cultural frame, translation discourse is compared and contrasted to reduce the subjectivity of the translator to the translation text objectiveness. The thesis applies the frame semantics to translation practice and divides the cultural frame into five sub-frames visual frames, situational frames, text type frames, social and generic frames. In the perspective of the five sub-frames , we can find out a series of problems in translating Killing Hitler then analyze the frame semantics between Chinese and English to get their similarities and differences between them. The thesis aims at providing, hopefully, some new insights into translation research for theorists and some concrete manageable skills for practicing translators as well.