A Cognitive Approach To The Translation Of Metaphors In Huangdi Neijing

This thesis explores the English translation of metaphors in Huangdi Neijing(Neijing for short), investigates the cognitive basis for the translation of metaphors,analyzes and evaluates the translation strategies and possible factors that influence thechoice of strategies from the perspective of cognitive approach, and sums up a generalrule for the translation of metaphors in Neijing. The cognitive model of translation andsome relevant theories of conceptual metaphor are employed in analysis.120metaphorsin Neijing·Suwen and their corresponding English translations in two English versionsare collected for quantitative and qualitative analysis.The study finds that the metaphors in both TCM and western medicine sharesimilar source domains, and the cognitive processes to understand the metaphors arealso similar, which form the cognitive basis for the translation of metaphors. Boththeoretical analysis and statistical data indicate that the metaphorical images and thesenses of most metaphors can be transferred into the target language. The strategies totransfer these metaphors include keeping the original image, omitting the image andreplacing the original image with another image. Keeping the original image is usedmost frequently in both versions through diversified specific methods. Omitting theimage is used sometimes and is mainly realized through free translation. Replacing theoriginal image is rarely used. The choice of translation strategy depends on severalinteractive factors: the source text, the source text writer, the translator, and the targetreaders. All these strategies and the occasions to use them are analyzed and investigatedfrom the perspective of cognitive approach. At the end, a general rule for translatingmetaphors in Neijing is summed up as follows: to keep the original metaphorical imageas much as possible with the condition that the senses contained in the metaphor can betransferred successfully into the target language. In some particular occasions, imageomission and image replacement can be considered.In general, this study investigates the translation of metaphors in Neijing from anew perspective–the cognitive perspective. It is significant both for the practice andstudy of TCM translation and for the cognitive approaches to translation studies.