Open Collections

A model for translating metaphors in proverbs (French to English) : a cognitive descriptive approach

University of British Columbia

This thesis presents a model for the translation of proverbs which is multidisciplinary in that it draws on an analysis of theories of metaphor, connotations, context and translation. The culmination of various viewpoints, such as those of cognitive science, translation, semiotics, and comparative linguistics substantiates, in conjunction with the support of a detailed analysis of French and English proverb translations, that translation is a multidisciplinary process, and that a multidisciplinary viewpoint is necessary for the understanding of the translation process. The diversity of premises included in this thesis offer insight into various aspects of translation. Each premise relies on its own area of expertise and jointly they form an overall process that represents the translation of proverbs from French to English. A concept, as well as its components, must be translated in the translational process, including, but not limited to, the message, meaning(s), connotations and linguistic structure of the original text, as well as the information derived from sources external to the linguistic structure, such as information located in the text or in the readerřs own knowledge of the world. This paper proceeds with a methodological progression through seminal theories, beginning with metaphors and followed by proverbs, translation and comparative linguistics, and concludes with a comprehensive examination of a corpus of French and English proverb translations. Fundamental to the entire translation process is that translation is a cognitive activity, involving multiple processes that are sequential, simultaneous and interdependent. Therefore, the translation model is composed of two levels, how translation occurs and what occurs, as the processes and methods are two different, yet simultaneous, aspects of the translation model. Proverbs were chosen as the corpus and focus of this thesis due to their intensively cultural and metaphoric nature, as well as their received translation pairings. My thesis will also demonstrate that proverbs offer a vast and reliable source of French to English translations, through their use in demonstrating that a model for the translation of metaphors in proverbs is possible.

Thesis/Dissertation

application/pdf

2009-09-21

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/12923

Interdisciplinary Studies

University of British Columbia

UBCO

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/