| This thesis focuses on the English translation strategies of conceptual metaphors in Biancheng from the perspective of embodied cognition.With the continuous promotion of the strategy of Chinese culture going out,the external dissemination of Chinese culture has been strengthened,and the foreign translation of Chinese literature has attracted more and more scholars’ attention.As a literary masterpiece with an important position in the history of modern Chinese literature,Biancheng has been translated by many translators.Because of its rich conceptual metaphors,it is of great research significance.Conceptual metaphor is a systematic mapping from the source domain to the target domain,which is realized through the embodied experience of human beings.Embodied cognition theory which belongs to psychology emphasizes the importance of embodiment.Therefore,the combination of conceptual metaphor and embodied cognition has high research value.In recent years,with the rise of cognitive translatology as a new discipline,cognitive studies of translation have gradually become a research hotspot.Starting from this hotspot,this thesis hopes to bring a new perspective for translation studies and bring some enlightenment for interdisciplinary studies.The research of embodied cognition is mainly concentrated in psychology,pedagogy,philosophy and other fields,among which psychology has the most fruitful research results.The combination of embodied cognition and other disciplines needs to be further deepened,especially in the integration of translation,which is still in a new stage,so relevant research is still relatively weak.Metaphor translation is mainly studied in six fields: rhetoric,component analysis,discourse analysis,pragmatics,cultural theory and cognitive linguistics.In the field of cognitive linguistics,it is mainly studied in the translation of conceptual metaphor.Research in this field is limited and its development speed is slow,and there is little research on conceptual metaphor translation based on embodied cognition.Domestic and foreign studies of Biancheng mainly focus on local culture,characters and artistic features,etc.In terms of translation studies of Biancheng,it mainly focuses on aesthetic studies,linguistic studies and translation strategies.Research on conceptual metaphor translation in Biancheng is rarely involved,and the range of corpus is relatively narrow,which is mostly seen in a single version and lack of comparative studies among multiple versions.In view of the shortcomings in many aspects,it is necessary to strengthen translation studies.Conceptual metaphor has rich cultural characteristics.Translation of conceptual metaphor is a way of cross-cultural understanding,which depends on embodied cognition.Therefore,culture in literary works is also embodied.In view of the close relationship among embodied cognition,conceptual metaphor and literature,this thesis uses the embodied cognition theory as the theoretical framework.This thesis adopts quantitative analysis,qualitative analysis,case analysis,comparative analysis and MIP metaphor recognition procedure to carry out the research.It takes Chinese-English examples to investigate the similarities and differences of English translation strategies of conceptual metaphors in Jeffrey Kinkley’s and Gladys Yang’s versions of Biancheng and explores the causes of the different strategies used by the two translators from various perspectives.It is found that for the English translation of conceptual metaphor,the two translators have both the same and different translation strategies.Translator factor and social factor are the causes that influence the two translators’ choices for different strategies.As to the same strategies,both translators adopt five strategies in conceptual metaphor translation.For the same conceptual metaphors in Chinese and English,there are two strategies: “Adopting the same conceptual metaphor and completely retaining the embodiment of the source language” is the preferred strategy for both translators.Sometimes,the first method of “Transplanting the conceptual metaphor and preserving the embodiment of the source language”,i.e.“having the same conceptual metaphor in the source language but using different metaphorical expressions in the target language”,is also used due to the differences in Chinese and English expressions.For the different conceptual metaphors in Chinese and English,there are generally three strategies: the second method of “Transplanting the conceptual metaphor and preserving the embodiment of the source language”,i.e.“having different conceptual metaphors in the source language but using the same metaphorical expressions in the target language”,“Adopting different conceptual metaphors and reflecting the different embodiment of the source language”,and “Removing the conceptual metaphor without showing the embodiment of the source language”.When there is no conceptual metaphor in the source language,the two translators will also choose the strategy of “Adding a conceptual metaphor and increasing the embodiment of the source language” when necessary.As to the different strategies,Kinkley’s version uses literal translation more,while Yang’s version uses literal translation and free translation more evenly.Except for the first translation strategy “Adopting the same conceptual metaphor and completely retaining the embodiment of the source language”,the frequency of other strategies in Yang’s version is higher than that in Kinkley’s.Kinkley tends to follow the original text and translate word by word,taking foreignization as the primary method and domestication as the secondary method in conceptual metaphor translation.He also pays more attention to the translator’s subjectivity.Yang’s translation is flexible,rich in vocabulary,concise and exquisite in words,easy to understand,and closer to the target readers’ language expression.In terms of the reasons for different strategies of the two translators,the translator factor lies in the different identities of the two translators.Jeffrey Kinkley is a typical scholar translator,so he tends to follow the expression of the original text and spread Chinese culture.As a professional translator,Gladys Yang pays more attention to the acceptance of her translation,so she prefers to use the expression of the target language.The social factor refers to the era background of the two translators.When Kinkley translated Biancheng,he was in the 21 st century.The social environment was free.He could retain as many conceptual metaphors as possible according to his own translation needs.On the contrary,when Yang translated Biancheng,it was just after the liberation of New China.In order to avoid the double sensitivity of politics and culture at that time as much as possible,she chose to focus on the target language readers and translate in combination with western culture,achieving a balance between the untranslatability of Chinese culture and politics and the acceptance of English readers.This study enriches the research content and brings a new perspective for the study of Biancheng and has certain reference value for the translation study of literary works.Translation research from the perspective of embodied cognition is a hot topic in the emerging cognitive translatology.This thesis also provides some reference for interdisciplinary translation research.In addition,this article conforms to the strategic background of Chinese culture going out and is intended to provide some enlightenment for the external dissemination of Chinese literature,helping improve the soft power and international influence of Chinese culture. |
