Translation: universals or cognition?

Target ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Szymor
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Translation Studies ◽  
Corpus Analysis ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
Translation Process ◽  
Ongoing Debate ◽  
Basic Assumptions

Abstract This paper contributes to the ongoing debate on the existence of translation universals by investigating the use of aspect in modal contexts in translated and non-translated legal Polish and by analysing the observed differences with reference to insights from cognitive linguistics. Corpus analysis highlights significant distributional differences in the use of the two aspectual forms of Polish verbs (imperfective and perfective) in modal contexts. I argue that cognitive mechanisms called ‘chunking’ (Langacker 1988; Bybee 2006) and ‘entrenchment’ (Bybee 2010) underlie these differences. I show that what may at first glance seem as behaviour unique to the translation process, is in fact caused by general cognitive processes. The study has implications for both translation studies and cognitive linguistics: it offers support for the basic assumptions about the usage-based nature of linguistic knowledge and highlights the importance of taking these assumptions into consideration when investigating the translation process and translation universals.

scholarly journals Stative Format of Linguistic Knowledge: Cognitive Linguistics Perspective

2020 ◽  
pp. 407-412
Author(s):  
Anna V. Pavlova
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Matrix Analysis ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
Basic Assumptions ◽  
The World

The article discusses issues revealing cognitive bases of stative formatting of knowledge about the world. In line with Cognitive Linguistics commitments and basic assumptions the paper highlights the problems pertaining to 1) a universal ability of human cognition to construe the world in language statively, 2) the principles and results of stative interpretation of knowledge about the world. Conveying the necessity of investigating a set of stative forms in language within the cognitive linguistics perspective, the article introduces a conception of stative formatting of knowledge about the world. Combining cognitive-matrix analysis of the stative concept with conceptual-configurative analysis of the category of linguistic stativity the study deciphers the structure and contents of stative concept in contemporary English. The elaborated conception contributes to the problem of ascribing possible ways of construing the world in language

Chinese scholarship in Cognitive Translation Studies

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-146
Author(s):  
Sanjun Sun ◽  
Kairong Xiao
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Cognitive Psychology ◽  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Translation Studies ◽  
Chinese Mainland ◽  
Process Research ◽  
Translation Process ◽  
Chinese Characteristics ◽  
The Chinese Mainland ◽  
Current Lines

Abstract In the last two decades, cognitive translation studies in China has been gaining momentum, which is spurred by three lines or perspectives of inquiry: psychology (especially cognitive psychology and psycholinguistics), cognitive linguistics, and translation process research (TPR). Despite the limited numbers of researchers in the first two lines, their increasing number of monographs reflects their influence. Also, while the first two lines have distinctive Chinese characteristics, TPR has been quite parallel to its Western counterpart. This paper offers a survey of Chinese researchers in the three lines, mainly including those in the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. It briefly presents dissertations, publications and current lines of work. As many of the researchers publish in Chinese only, this paper provides a window for looking at the Chinese research scene in cognitive translation studies.

Translation teams as cognitive systems

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 307-327
Author(s):  
Richard Pleijel
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Cognitive Process ◽  
Time Perspective ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
Translation Studies ◽  
Cognitive Systems ◽  
Group Level ◽  
Cognitive Artifacts ◽  
Archival Material

Abstract This paper aims to bring research on different forms of group-level cognition into conversation with Cognitive Translation Studies (CTS), the focal point of the paper being cognitive processes in translation teams. It is argued that an analysis of cognition in translation teams, which exhibit the properties of a cognitive system, needs to be placed on group-level. A case study of a team, translating the Hebrew Bible Book of Psalms into Swedish in the 1980’s, is presented. The empirical base for the case study consists of archival material in the form of draft translations and paratexts. The methodological question is thus raised whether, and if so in what way, cognitive processes may be analyzed retrospectively, and not only from a real time perspective. By treating the archival material as cognitive artifacts which have constituted an integral part of the team’s cognitive process, the question is tentatively answered in a favourable way. This, it is finally argued, opens up interesting possibilities for joining CTS with translator archives research, Genetic Translation Studies (GTS), and cognitive archeology.

Simple and complex cognitive modelling in oblique translation strategies in a corpus of English

Target ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Sandra Peña-Cervel ◽  
Carla Ovejas-Ramírez
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Cognitive Modelling ◽  
English Drama ◽  
Translation Process ◽  
Translation Strategies ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Cognitive Operations ◽  
Translation Techniques ◽  
Peninsular Spanish

Abstract This article provides a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the translation of English drama film titles into Peninsular Spanish, drawing on cognitive modelling and following preliminary findings in Peña-Cervel (2016). Our study is consistent with the epistemological and ontological grounding of Cognitive Linguistics (Samaniego-Fernández 2007) and contributes to satisfying one of the major challenges Rojo-López and Ibarretxe-Antuñano (2013a, 10) identify for present-day Translation Studies: To reveal the conceptual substratum that guides the translation process. Our approach does not rely on an exhaustive classification of clear-cut and well-defined translation techniques, but rather on a broad distinction between direct and oblique strategies. We demonstrate how the notion of cognitive operation, as proposed by Ruiz de Mendoza-Ibáñez and Galera-Masegosa (2014), can help elucidate the sometimes seemingly arbitrary relationship between original English titles and their counterparts in Spanish, especially in cases of traditionally so-called free translations. Stands-for relations, such as expansion and reduction, are shown to play a fundamental role in the translation process and the fruitful combination of cognitive operations into conceptual complexes is explored. Our study attempts to go beyond descriptive adequacy in order to achieve explanatory adequacy.

Creativity from paradoxical experience: a theory of how individuals achieve creativity while adopting paradoxical frames

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 397-418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Goran Calic ◽  
Sebastien Hélie ◽  
Nick Bontis ◽  
Elaine Mosakowski
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Computational Simulation ◽  
Current Theory ◽  
Superior Performance ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Important Benefit ◽  
Paradox Theory ◽  
Stored Information ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeExtant paradox theory suggests that adopting paradoxical frames, which are mental templates adopted by individuals in order to embrace contradictions, will result in superior firm performance. Superior performance is achieved through learning and creativity, fostering flexibility and resilience and unleashing human capital. The creativity mechanism of paradox theory is limited by a few propositions and a rough underlying theoretical logic. Using the extant theoretical base as a platform, the paper aims to develop a more powerful theory using a computational simulation.Design/methodology/approachThis paper relies on a psychologically realistic computer simulation. Using a simulation to generate ideas from stored information, one can model and manipulate the parameters that have been shown to mediate the relationship between paradoxes and creative output – defined as the number of creative ideas generated.FindingsSimulation results suggest that the relationship between paradoxical frames and creative output is non-monotonic – contrary to previous studies. Indeed, findings suggest that paradoxical frames can reduce, rather than enhance, creative output, in at least some cases.Originality/valueAn important benefit of adopting paradoxical frames is their capacity to increase creative output. This assumption is challenging to test, because one cannot measure private cognitive processes related to knowledge creation. However, they can be simulated. This allows for the extension of current theory. This new theory depicts a more complete relationship between paradoxical frames and creativity by accounting for subjective differences in how paradoxical frames are experienced along two cognitive mechanisms – differentiation and integration.

scholarly journals Should I stay or should I go? Evidence accumulation drives decision making in human drivers

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arkady Zgonnikov ◽  
David Abbink ◽  
Gustav Markkula
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Cognitive Process ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Process Models ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
Naturalistic Decision Making ◽  
Dynamic Constraints ◽  
Evidence Accumulation ◽  
Out Of Sample

Laboratory studies of abstract, highly controlled tasks point towards noisy evidence accumulation as a key mechanism governing decision making. Yet it is unclear whether the cognitive processes implicated in simple, isolated decisions in the lab are as paramount to decisions that are ingrained in more complex behaviors, such as driving. Here we aim to address the gap between modern cognitive models of decision making and studies of naturalistic decision making in drivers, which so far have provided only limited insight into the underlying cognitive processes. We investigate drivers' decision making during unprotected left turns, and model the cognitive process driving these decisions. Our model builds on the classical drift-diffusion model, and emphasizes, first, the drift rate linked to the relevant perceptual quantities dynamically sampled from the environment, and, second, collapsing decision boundaries reflecting the dynamic constraints imposed on the decision maker’s response by the environment. We show that the model explains the observed decision outcomes and response times, as well as substantial individual differences in those. Through cross-validation, we demonstrate that the model not only explains the data, but also generalizes to out-of-sample conditions, effectively providing a way to predict human drivers’ behavior in real time. Our results reveal the cognitive mechanisms of gap acceptance decisions in human drivers, and exemplify how simple cognitive process models can help us to understand human behavior in complex real-world tasks.

Una aproximación empírica a la ­clasificación y traducción de las figuras retóricas en la publicidad

Babel ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Calzada Perez
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Investigation ◽  
Great Majority ◽  
Translation Studies ◽  
The Other ◽  
Translation Process ◽  
New Rhetoric ◽  
Rhetorical Figures ◽  
Ancient Times ◽  
The One

Since ancient times the suasive value of rhetorical figures has been vastly studied. In fact, Aristotle himself argued that the aim of rhetoric was not just to persuade but to find the best methods of persuasion (Aristotle, Retorica, ed. 1990). These methods have been frequently used in advertising, where they are employed to capture the consumer’s attention and, consequently, to sell the advertised product. However (despite the frequent appearance of rhetorical figures in advertising), there is a scarcity of studies on the role of these persuasive mechanisms in the translation of publicity. Bearing upon the “new rhetoric”, the present paper has a twofold purpose. On the one hand, it aims to import a clear taxonomy of rhetorical figures from advertising into translation studies and subsequently to illustrate the transfer of these figures. On the other hand, it analyses the behaviour of rhetorical figures in the translation process by means of an empirical investigation whose goal it is to further categorise them in a systematic and rational way. Drawing upon the seminal work of McQuarrie and his collaborators, the paper performs a quantitative analysis of a corpus of 120 matching pairs consisting of English advertisements and their existing Spanish counterparts. Results evidence that a great majority of rhetorical figures are “translated”, thus confirming the globalising tendencies of advertising.

The concept «reality» in John Berger’s essay about Vincent Van Gogh as an instrument of fine artworks interpretation

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (21) ◽  
pp. 141-147
Author(s):  
Tetyana Lunyova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Conceptual Metaphor ◽  
Critical Discussion ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
Vincent Van Gogh ◽  
The Third ◽  
Artistic Representation ◽  
The World ◽  
Art For Art's Sake ◽  
World Image

The article investigates the interpretative function of the concept REALITY in John Berger’s essay about Vincent van Gogh’s art by applying the methodology of cognitive linguistics. Following Nikolay N. Boldyrev, the interpretative function of the language is considered in the article as the third main linguistic function. The theoretical and methodological foundations of the study are further developed with the idea, which is expressed by several researchers (V. V. Feshchenko, Ye. A. Yelina, U. A. Zharkova), that discourse about art performs an interpretative role. The aim of the study is to reveal the linguo-cognitive mechanisms that enable the concept REALITY to operate as a means of interpretation of van Gogh’s art in Berger’s essay. The research has demonstrated that before the concept REALITY is applied to the analysis of van Gogh’s paintings and drawings, this concept is explicitly interpreted in the essay. The following linguo-cognitive mechanisms are employed to make the content of the concept REALITY clear to the reader: actualization of the commonly known sense «reality is opposed to imagination», critical discussion of this sense, introduction of the conceptual metaphor REALITY IS THE OBJECT THAT SHOULD BE SALVAGED, and actualization of the selected fragments of the philosophical world image as well as scholarly world image, especially the conception of art for art’s sake and the conceptual metaphor REALITY IS SOMETHING THAT LIES BEHIND THE SCREEN CREATED BY THE CULTURE. Thus, having been thoroughly interpreted in the essay, the concept REALITY is used as an instrument of the interpretation of van Gogh’s artistic principles and artworks. The following linguo-cognitive mechanisms support the concept REALITY in its interpretative function: applying the conceptual metaphor REALITY IS SOMETHING THAT LIES BEHIND THE SCREEN CREATED BY THE CULTURE to read van Gogh’s letters, using the conceptual metaphor REALITY IS THE OBJECT THAT SHOULD BE SALVAGED to analyse the facts from the painter’s life, introducing the conceptual metaphor REALITY IS THE CONSUMING ITSELF PHOENIX, actualizing of the concepts WORK and PRODUCTION as the key concepts in the artist’s world image, utilizing the concepts WORK and PRODUCTION to interpret several of van Gogh’s paintings, applying the actualized conception of art for art’s sake to reveal van Gogh’s artistic principles, constructing the conceptual metaphors VAN GOGH’S ART IS APPROACHING THE WORLD and VAN GOGH’S ARTISTIC REPRESENTATION OF REALITY IS DISSOLVING IN REALITY, and constructing the conceptual metaphor VAN GOGH’S PAINTINGS ARE LASERS.

scholarly journals Sensorimotor brain dynamics reflect architectural affordances

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (29) ◽  
pp. 14769-14778 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zakaria Djebbara ◽  
Lars Brorson Fich ◽  
Laura Petrini ◽  
Klaus Gramann
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Cognitive Neuroscience ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Physical Structure ◽  
Ongoing Debate ◽  
Head Mounted Displays ◽  
Actual Movement ◽  
Imaging Approach ◽  
Essential Function ◽  
The Brain

Anticipating meaningful actions in the environment is an essential function of the brain. Such predictive mechanisms originate from the motor system and allow for inferring actions from environmental affordances, and the potential to act within a specific environment. Using architecture, we provide a unique perspective on the ongoing debate in cognitive neuroscience and philosophy on whether cognition depends on movement or is decoupled from our physical structure. To investigate cognitive processes associated with architectural affordances, we used a mobile brain/body imaging approach recording brain activity synchronized to head-mounted displays. Participants perceived and acted on virtual transitions ranging from nonpassable to easily passable. We found that early sensory brain activity, on revealing the environment and before actual movement, differed as a function of affordances. In addition, movement through transitions was preceded by a motor-related negative component that also depended on affordances. Our results suggest that potential actions afforded by an environment influence perception.

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