A Study Of The Translation Of Metonymy In Yu Hua's Works:A Cognitive Linguistic Perspective

At present,China is committed to building its image in an all-round way.The translation and dissemination of excellent Chinese literary works are effective ways to build a strong nation of culture and for the implementation of the Chinese culture's “going global” strategy.Therefore,telling Chinese stories in English opens a window for the world to know more about China.Through a comprehensive exploration of literature and its relationship with dissemination,it is rather striking that translation practice plays an indispensable role in spreading sophisticated literary works.Preceding studies have shown that the translation of metonymy is a key and difficult point in translation practice.From observation,it might be inferred that efficient translation on metonymy can guide translation practice.Current studies on metonymy translation,both at home and abroad,mostly regard metonymy as a figure of speech.In other words,the translation of metonymy is considered as an equivalent exchange among the different languages by which the corresponding translation strategies are explored.In recent years,the rapid development of cognitive linguistics has sparked a vast number of researches on metonymy.In fact,the point of view that metonymy is a rhetorical device has revolutionized.Metonymy is more a fundamental and cognitive phenomenon to pervade in our language,thoughts,actions even the culture instead.Yu Hua,a writer who has created many rich and diverse characters showing vivid Chinese reality,has made great contributions in promoting Chinese literary works moving towards the western readers.Among them,To Live,his representative work,is also one of the splendid Chinese literary works which enjoy high reputation.To Live is translated into English by Michael Berry and sparks heated debate once it is published.Rich metonymic expressions are used in many dialogues of the novel providing valuable linguistic materials for the study of metonymic translation.The research questions are listed as follows:1.What are the types of metonymy translation in To Live and its English translation?2.What are the cognitive mechanisms of the translator underlying translation strategies?3.What are the special metonymy types and corresponding translation strategies in the work?This thesis,from the perspective of cognitive linguistics,takes Yu Hua's To Live and its English translation as data,adopts qualitative research method,and studies the translation of metonymy and translation strategies as well as working mechanisms of the translator.Firstly,the thesis identifies and classifies the metonymies on the basis of the theory of metonymy.Secondly,it explores metonymies and the translation strategies used by Michael and cognitive mechanisms in the process of translation.The translation strategies adopted include preserving the metonymic vehicle,adding the target meaning to the metonymic vehicle,replacement with a vehicle unique,preserving the partial metonymic vehicle as well as abandoning the metonymy.In addition,the study finds that there are some special metonymy types in To Live,such as culture-related metonymies and chain metonymies,etc.The translation of these metonymies is influenced by cognition and culture.In brief,from the perspective of cognitive linguistics,it is effective and exhaustive to explore the translation of various metonymy types and the cognitive mechanisms for choosing corresponding translation methods.