Motion events and the strategies of translating path: The case study of Hobbit

زبانشناسی و گویش های خراسان

Article 6, Volume 7, Issue 13, September 2015, Pages 109-134   

Document Type: علمی - پژ‍وهشی

DOI: 10.22067/lj.v7i13.58963

Authors

Azita Afrashi^* ; Tahere Hemmati

mo

Abstract

1-Introduction
Languages employ different strategies to represent motion as one of the basic human cognitive abilities. In Talmy's typological dichotomy (1991; 2000b) languages are of two types according to the way they represent path either in verb roots or in satellites, accordingly languages are either verb framed or satellite framed. Slobin (1991;1996 a,b.1997;2000) performed corpus based and cross-linguistic studies to examine the representation of motion events and their translation strategies in different languages, thus he revised the Talmy's typological dichotomy(1991;2000b) and showed the significance of corpus based methods in the study of motion events and their translation strategies from the source to target language. Verb framed and satellite framed languages show varieties in the representation of path in the process of translation (Slobin 1996a; in Ibarretxe - Antuñano 2003;153).

2- Methodology
The present study is quantitative in nature. The research data is derived from the chapter six of Hobbit (1937) and its translation into Persian (Alizadeh 2004 ). It is worth mentioning that in the existing researches regarding the translation of motion events, the same chapter from the above mentioned novel are analyzed for two reasons, first for the considerable array of motion events represented in this text and second for the possibility of cross linguistic analyzes made possible. The theoretical frame work adopted in the present paper is based on Slobin(1991;1996a,b.1997;2000). Thus 175 sentences from the source and target texts were analyzed in which path features were represented.

3- Discussion
Adopting a corpus based and cross linguistic approach to the study of motion events and their representations in languages not only shows the differences and similarities of the conceptualization of motion in languages but also unveils the translation strategies adopted during the process of translating motion concepts from source to target language. In this research we examined how the translation strategies of path proposed by Slobin (1991;1996 a,b.1997;2000) justify the representation of path in the translation from English to Persian. Accordingly we found that the P 1(the deletion of certain path elements ), P2(the insertion of a new path verb) and P3(statement of all the information of path ) are used both in English and Persian. The present paper introduced two new strategies here named P 4(the substitution of a path verb by another motion verb) and P 5(the substitution of a path verb by a manner verb ). The strategies P6 (translating a different type of path) and P 7(the extension of information regarding path) has been previously suggested in Ibarretxe- Antuñano 2003.

4- Conclusion
In this research the frequency of occurrence of the translation strategies of path mentioned in section3 are as follows:
P1: 10/28% ; P2: 13/71% ; P3: 66/28% ; P4: 0/57% ; P5: 0/57% ; P6: 5/14% ; P7: 4/57%.
As it is obvious, the P3 strategy shows a considerable distribution compared with other strategies. Therefore the translation of all the information of path in motion events has had prevalence over other path translation strategies.

Key words:


References
Berthele, R. (2004). "The typology of motion and posture verbs: a variationist account". in B. Kortmann (ed). Dialectology Meets Typology: Dialect Grammar from a Cross- Linguistic Perspective. Berlin / New York, Mouton de Gruyter. 93-126.
Cifuentes Férez, P. (2008). "Motion in English And Spanish: A Perspective from Cognitive Linguistics, Typology and Psycholinguistics". Ph.D. Dissertation. University de Murcia.
Ibarretxe-Antuñano, I. (2003). "What translation tells us about motion: A contrastive study of typologically different languages". Unpublished paper, University of Deusto – University of the Basque Country: Bilbao.
Ibarretxe-Antuñano, I. (2012). "Linguistic typology in motion events: Path and manner". In Anuario del Seminario de Filología Vasca ‘Julio de Urquijo’. International Journal of Basque Linguistics and Philology.
Lackoff, G. (1987). Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things: What Categories Reveal About the Mind. University of Chicago Press.
Noguchi, H. (2011). "Talmy’s Dichotomous Typology and Japanese Lexicalization Patterns of Motion Events". in TESOL and Applied Linguistics, Vol. 11, No. 1. 29-47.
Oh, K. (2003). [Unpublished analysis of Korean translation of The Hobbit.]. Dept of Psychology, University of California: Berkeley.
Sinha, C. Kuteva, T. (1995strategies, study of Hobbit, Motion events.). "Distributed spatial semantics". Nordic Journal of Linguistics, 18. 167-199.
Slobin, D. I. ( 1997a). "Mind, code, and text", In Joan Bybee, John Haiman and Sandra A. Thompson. (Eds). Essays on Language Function and Language Type. Dedicated to T. Givón. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. 437-467.
Slobin, D. I. (1991). "Learning to Think for Speaking: Native Language, Cognition, and Rhetorical Style". Pragmatics 1. 7- 26.
Slobin, D. I. (1996a). "From thought and language to thinking for speaking". In John J. Gumperz and Stephen C. Levinson. (eds). Rethinking Linguistic Relativity. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge. 70-96.
Slobin, D. I. (1996b). "Two ways to travel: Verbs of motion in English and Spanish". In Masayoshi Shibatani and Sandra A. Thompson. (eds). Grammatical Constructions: Their Form and Meaning. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Slobin, D. I. (1997b). "The origins of grammaticizable notions: Beyond the individual Mind", In Dan I. Slobin, (ed). The Crosslinguistic Study of Language Acquisition, Vol. 5. Expanding the Context. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. 265-323.
Slobin, D. I. (2000). "Verbalized events: A dynamic approach to linguistic relativity and determinism". In Niemeier, S. and Dirven, R. (Eds). Evidence for linguistic relativity. Berlin, Mouton de Gruyter, 107-138.
Slobin, D. I. (2005). "Relating Narrative Events in Translation", In Ravid, D & Shyldkrot, H. B. (Eds). (2005). Perspectives on language and language development. Essays in honor of Ruth A. Berman. Dordrecht: Kluwer. 115-129.
Slobin, D. I. (2008). "Typology and Usage: beyond Verb-framed and Satellite-framed". Talk given at Frames and Constructions: A Conference in Honor of Charles J. Fillmore. University of California: Berkeley.
Sugiyama, Y. (2000). "Expressing manner in the Japanese translation of The Hobbit: A preliminary study of comparison between Japanese and English stories". Unpublished paper. LIN 636 Seminar on Space, Time, and Force, SUNY Buffalo.
Talmy, L. (1985). "Lexicalization patterns: Semantic structure in lexical forms". Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press
Talmy, L. (1991). "Path to realization". Proceedings of the Seventeenth Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society. Berkeley Linguistics Society. University of California: Berkeley. 480-519.
Talmy, L. (2000b). Toward a cognitive semantics, vol. 2. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Talmy, L.(2007). "lexical typologies". in T, Shopen. (2007). language typology and syntactic universals .vol. 3. 2nd edition. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge. 66– 169.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (1937). The Hobbit or there and back again. London: George Allen and Unwin.
Walchli, B. (2001). "A typology of displacement". Sprachtypol. University .forsch (STUF), 54. 298- 323.
Wälchli, B. (2008). "Review of Yu, Alan. A Natural History of In fixation". Oxford: Oxford University Press. ( 2007). (Oxford Studies in Theoretical Linguistics, 15). Linguistic Typology 12.1. 167-179.

Keywords

strategies; study of Hobbit; Motion events

References

References

Berthele, R. (2004). "The typology of motion and posture verbs: a variationist account". in B. Kortmann (ed). Dialectology Meets Typology: Dialect Grammar from a Cross- Linguistic Perspective. Berlin / New York, Mouton de Gruyter. 93-126.

Cifuentes Ferez, P. (2008). "Motion in English And Spanish: A Perspective from Cognitive Linguistics, Typology and Psycholinguistics". Ph.D. Dissertation. University de Murcia.

Ibarretxe-Antuñano, I. (2003). "What translation tells us about motion: A contrastive study of typologically different languages". Unpublished paper, University of Deusto – University of the Basque Country: Bilbao.

Ibarretxe-Antuñano, I. (2012). "Linguistic typology in motion events: Path and manner". In Anuario del Seminario de Filologia Vasca ‘Julio de Urquijo’. International Journal of Basque Linguistics and Philology.

Lackoff, G. (1987). Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things: What Categories Reveal About the Mind. University of Chicago Press.

Noguchi, H. (2011). "Talmy’s Dichotomous Typology and Japanese Lexicalization Patterns of Motion Events". in TESOL and Applied Linguistics, Vol. 11, No. 1. 29-47.

Oh, K. (2003). [Unpublished analysis of Korean translation of The Hobbit.]. Dept of Psychology, University of California: Berkeley.

Sinha, C. Kuteva, T. (1995). "Distributed spatial semantics". Nordic Journal of Linguistics, 18. 167-199.

Slobin, D. I. ( 1997a). "Mind, code, and text", In Joan Bybee, John Haiman and Sandra A. Thompson. (Eds). Essays on Language Function and Language Type. Dedicated to T. Givon. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. 437-467.

Slobin, D. I. (1991). "Learning to Think for Speaking: Native Language, Cognition, and Rhetorical Style". Pragmatics 1. 7- 26.

Slobin, D. I. (1996a). "From thought and language to thinking for speaking". In John J. Gumperz and Stephen C. Levinson. (eds). Rethinking Linguistic Relativity. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge. 70-96.

Slobin, D. I. (1996b). "Two ways to travel: Verbs of motion in English and Spanish". In Masayoshi Shibatani and Sandra A. Thompson. (eds). Grammatical Constructions: Their Form and Meaning. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Slobin, D. I. (1997b). "The origins of grammaticizable notions: Beyond the individual Mind", In Dan I. Slobin, (ed). The Crosslinguistic Study of Language Acquisition, Vol. 5. Expanding the Context. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. 265-323.

Slobin, D. I. (2000). "Verbalized events: A dynamic approach to linguistic relativity and determinism". In Niemeier, S. and Dirven, R. (Eds). Evidence for linguistic relativity. Berlin, Mouton de Gruyter, 107-138.

Slobin, D. I. (2005). "Relating Narrative Events in Translation", In Ravid, D & Shyldkrot, H. B. (Eds). (2005). Perspectives on language and language development. Essays in honor of Ruth A. Berman. Dordrecht: Kluwer. 115-129.

Slobin, D. I. (2008). "Typology and Usage: beyond Verb-framed and Satellite-framed". Talk given at Frames and Constructions: A Conference in Honor of Charles J. Fillmore. University of California: Berkeley.

Sugiyama, Y. (2000). "Expressing manner in the Japanese translation of The Hobbit: A preliminary study of comparison between Japanese and English stories". Unpublished paper. LIN 636 Seminar on Space, Time, and Force, SUNY Buffalo.

Talmy, L. (1985). "Lexicalization patterns: Semantic structure in lexical forms". Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press

Talmy, L. (1991). "Path to realization". Proceedings of the Seventeenth Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society. Berkeley Linguistics Society. University of California: Berkeley. 480-519.

Talmy, L. (2000b). Toward a cognitive semantics, vol. 2. Cambridge: MIT Press.

Talmy, L.(2007). "lexical typologies". in T, Shopen. (2007). language typology and syntactic universals .vol. 3. 2nd edition. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge. 66– 169.

Tolkien, J. R. R. (1937). The Hobbit or there and back again. London: George Allen and Unwin.

Walchli, B. (2001). "A typology of displacement". Sprachtypol. University .forsch (STUF), 54. 298- 323.

Wälchli, B. (2008). "Review of Yu, Alan. A Natural History of In fixation". Oxford: Oxford University Press. ( 2007). (Oxford Studies in Theoretical Linguistics, 15). Linguistic Typology 12.1. 167-179.