(Sub)cultural specificity of fiction simile and the choice of translation strategy

Abstract

Abstract In this paper, we combine methodological tools of cognitive linguistics and translation studies to establish correlations between translation procedures applied to render English fiction similes into Ukrainian, and the (sub)cultural specificity of the conceptual mappings that license linguistic expression of the similes and prompt translators’ decisions in favour of foreignization or domestication. We revealed five translation procedures (retention, replacement, reduction, omission, and addition) that contribute to foreignization or domestication (complete compulsory or complete optional, and partial compulsory or partial optional). Foreignization presupposes retention of a source-text simile based on a (sub)culture-specific conceptual mapping. Complete compulsory domestication entails replacement, reduction or omission of such a simile. Partial compulsory domestication involves retention of a (sub)culture-specific simile with implicit or explicit explanation of its sense. Complete optional domestication realizes as replacement, reduction or omission of a source-text simile that does not bear any (sub)cultural specificity as well as addition of a simile in the target text to translate a source-text utterance containing no simile. Partial optional domestication implies combining retention of a simile bearing no (sub)cultural specificity with implicit or explicit explanation of its sense.