Translating a Poem, from a Linguistic Perspective

Abstract

To bridge the unfortunate gap between "literature" and "language", literary critics, including critics of translation, should make use of what linguists have to say about language. Out of modern linguistic theories, Cognitive Linguistics seems particularly promising. On the basis of Robert Frost's poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay " and one of its Polish translations, the author demonstrates how intuitive interpretations and assessments are corroborated by a strictly linguistic analysis, which is carried out in the cognitivist vein. In particular, the interplay of two grammatical oppositions — between perfective and imperfective verb forms and between countable and mass nouns — is shown to be a means of direct sym-bolisation of meaning. Translation losses are then discussed — some unavoidable in view of systematic discrepancies between linguistic conventions, others a compromise imposed by the demands of versification. Résumé: Afin de réduire l'écart regrettable qui sépare "langue" et "littérature", la critique littéraire et traductive devrait tirer profit de l'apport des linguistes. En l'occurrence, la linguistique cognitive peut s'avérer très prometteuse, comme se propose de le montrer l'auteur dans une analyse du poème "Nothing Gold Can Stay " par Robert Frost et d'une traduction en polonais: interprétations intuitives et appréciations sont confirmées par une analyse strictement cognitive. L'interaction entre deux oppositions grammaticales, les formes verbales perfective s et imperfectives d'une part, les noms comptables et massifs de l'autre, est un instrument de symbolisation directe de la signification. Ensuite, les pertes de la traduction sont étudiées: les unes sont l'effet nécessaire d'écarts entre des conventions linguistiques, d'autres résultent d'un compromis imposé par la versification.

Literary Translation

“…Importantly, these fundamental grammatical categorieswhich also constitute the focal constituents of the sentential diagrams illustrated below -are based on our immediate perception of the world around us. This results in what Tabakowska (2006) refers to as 'motivated relations between meaning and form'. Different diagrammatic relations, in our terms, may thus involve 'alternate scene construals' (Langacker 1988a: 6), namely different conceptualizations of a perceived state of things.…”

“…The question I specifically address is whether and/or to what extent the order of constituents in a clause mirrors perceptual order, the order in which we experience things. This is an issue raised in linguistic research by Enkvist (1981Enkvist ( , 1989, who refers to it as 'experiential iconicism' (see also discussion in Calfoglou 2010a, b), and taken up in a number of discussions on iconicity from both a linguistic and a literary stance (Conradie 2001;Fónagy 1999;Prado-Alonso 2008Tabakowska 1999Tabakowska , 2003Tabakowska , 2009.…”

Metaphor and Cultural Models in Translation

“…A fundamental question arising in this respect is: how is it possible for a translator to establish equivalence at the metaphorical level when metaphors themselves are inextricably tied to a cultural model? Tabakowska (1993;1997) provides an answer by considering translation as a cognitive interpretation or construal, and presenting the concept of 'experiential equivalency'. This means that equivalence, which is regarded as the ultimate goal of translation, should be perceived in terms of cognitive experience and conceptualization, rather than as the outcome of merely focusing on linguistic expressions.…”

Metaphor in Translation: Cognitive Perspectives on Omar Khayyam’s Poetry as Rendered into English and Kurdish

“…Cognitive approaches to translation have revolutionized the concept of metaphor, culture and translation itself. Tabakowska (1993Tabakowska ( , 1997 presents the idea of experiential equivalency. Experiential equivalency is based on conceptualization.…”

“…It is assumed that the dilemma of the translatability of metaphor in target language is affected by cultural overlap and cultural relativism. Recently, by a cognitive study of metaphor and culture, cognitive approaches to translation have appeared (for further information see Tabakowska, 1993Tabakowska, , 1997Mandelblit, 1995;Al-zoubi et al, 2009). This new approach investigates metaphor translation at the conceptual level.…”