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Description of Force Dynamics and Cognitive Retention in Literary and Audiovisual Translation

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The presented research is concerned with the notion of Force Dynamics in the context of Cognitive Retention in translation. The main aim of the study is to find out whether Force-Dynamic event structures are retained in translation and subtitling based on different language pairs. The global aim of the entire research is to model certain aspects of the cognitive process of translation based on ideas derived from Cognitive Semantics, with a special focus on Force Dynamics. The study follows the theoretical framework mostly developed by Talmy, as well as the schema coined by Mäkisalo and Lehtinen in which the linguistic and cognitive information retention level is distinguished. The idea is to explore the extent to which information is retained at both these levels in literary and audiovisual translation. The study aims at testing the results against the Cognitive Retention Hypothesis, according to which translation is likely to retain more cognitive than linguistic similarities. Based on the existing research and available evidence, it is anticipated to prove its validity. The stated issues are being investigated based on small-scale self-compiled corpora of fragments of literary texts and subtitles by taking a multimodal approach in which the stated hypothesis is to be validated or discredited with the use of quantitative data obtained, whereas the qualitative part of the study is to analyse how Force Dynamics is expressed if it is retained in the translation process.

Once upon a time, translation studies parted with linguistics; yet, as they say, the quarrel of lovers is the renewal of love. The gap, widening for decades, between the two disciplines can now be bridged by applying cognitive linguistics and its embodiment theories as useful tools to gain more insights with respect to the cognition of translation process.

The project Description of Force Dynamics and Cognitive Retention in Audiovisual and Literary Translation constituted a PhD thesis, successfully defended in November 2022. It examined force dynamics – a theoretical concept imported from cognitive semantics – within the context of offline observations of cognitive retention in the translation product, with the further aim of seeking opportunities for translation training and development through venturing into online investigations of cognitive processes specific to translation of different text types.

During the project, the author built self-compiled corpora of fragmented literary texts and film dialogues along with their respective translations and subtitles, and used mixed methodologies to investigate information mediation in translation both on the lexico-syntactic surfaces and in the cognitive depths.

In the manuscript yet to be published, the results of corpus-based qualitative data analysis and quantitative hypothesis testing are explained and discussed with respect to the relation between linguistic form and semantic meaning, but also in terms of the elements fundamental to usual translation practice, such as translators’ decision-making strategies, style and creativity, as well as other critical factors involved in achieving translation equivalence.

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