Cognitive aspects of the translation process

LINK TO OUR FINAL TEST (This link  is active now and will remain active until  8:00 AM on Friday, May 30. Once you open the test form, you will have 45 minutes to complete 20 questions, which include both open-ended and multiple-choice formats. The questions will be based on Exercises 1–9 below. Your semester grade will appear in USOS on May 30. If you score below 50%, I will contact you individually to arrange a resit.)

Class 1. Translation, they say (you know- "them"  - the anonymous collective), is transferring meaning from SL to TL. But what is linguistic meaning? How is language connected with human thought (reasoning, memory, perception of the world around us and so on, in one word - "cognition")? Is there a connection at all? Can meaning ever be transferred? Here is the link to your first task:  presentation/exercise form 1. (submit by March 13th).     Exercise 1 feedback

Class 2. Last week we enjoyed a lecture by Lera Boroditsky, this time we will host an even more prominent and vocal cognitive linguist - prof. Stephen Pinker, who will be summarizing the findings of his blockbuster book "Human Nature and the Blank Slate". If we, as translators, are to translate human thought coded in language - what are the other factors (beside the language) shaping the way we think? presentation/exercise form 2. Submit your answers by our next meeting (March 20th).

Class 3. We are continuing our traslatology quest to find "the meaning of meaning". After all - meaning is every translator's bread and butter, this is what we do. Boroditsky and Pinker, brilliant as they both are, are still considered a young , third generation of cognitive linguists. This week our class is based on "Metaphors We Live By" - a seminal book by the "founding fathers" of cognitive linguistics: George Lakoff and Mark Johnson. ; presentation/exercise form 3. Submit your answers by our next meeting (March 27th).

Class 4 Guest lecture, https://ifa.uwr.edu.pl/2025/03/20/wyklad-prof-andrew-lee/, 12.30, room 208

Class 5.  (Apr 3rd) Metaphor as we already know is not just a figure of speech but a crucial cognitive operation and as such, it features prominently in the translation process. This is why we will stay for a while  in the enchanted woods of "visual metaphor", guided by the leading authority on the subject, the absolutely brilliant Prof. Charles Forceville. Presentation/exercise form 5  I will not repeat my usual "I hope you'll enjoy it" this time because I know you will. I have to warn you though - after several doses of Forceville, your perception of the world around you may change irreversibly. It is an eye-opener, yes, but it also requires some careful reading and reflection. Submit your answers by Apr. 17th

Class 6. Pictorial and mutimodal meatphor 2. We will have a closer look at what forms a pictorial metaphor can take. Presentation/exercise form 6, submit your answers by Apr. 24th.

Class 7. Pictorial and mutimodal meatphor 3.  Pictorial and multimodal metaphors in commercials; presentation/exercise form 7 - submit your answers by May 8th (no class on May 1st, obviously). Group feedback

Class 8. Language  and social relations. We know the difference between direct and indirect speech acts (ask AI if you are not sure). The indirect kind is where things get interesting — it's all about beating around the bush, hemming and hawing, talking in circles, and generally taking the scenic route instead of getting to the point. But why do people do this? Are they just being polite, or are they trying to avoid stepping on toes (or egos)? And what does all this verbal dancing mean for our relationships with others? Do this exercise and find out: Exercise 8. Submit by May 15th.

Class 9 - Lexicon and social variation. Bevvie, jar, booze, pint, cold one or brew? How is jargon different from slang? What are the social markers?  Exercise 9.  Submit by May 22nd. 

Well done, thank you. This was our last exercise this semester. Next Thursday, May 29th, we'll have our on-line test. Kind regards, JW. 

Always submit your answers before our next class. It is mandatory but don't feel too stressed, this is not a test yet. I even dare to hope (deep down) that you might sometimes enjoy it - after all, studying should be fun. 

Contact me if you have any questions at jacek.wozny@uwr.edu.pl

metaphors in mathematics (optional classroom material for class 3)