Cognitive Harmony in the Translation of Arabic Metaphoric Scenarios into English

 

	Al-Noor Journal for Humanities
	https://jnh.alnoor.edu.iq/
Cognitive Harmony in the Translation of Arabic Metaphoric Scenarios into English
K.  Al-Azzawi1      M.  Ahmed2      1 Department of Sports Sciences, College of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, Mosul University, Mosul, Iraq. 2 Department of Translation, College of Arts, Mosul University, Mosul, Iraq.
Article information		Abstract
Article history: Received: 11 July 2025 Revised: 21 August 2025 Accepted:31 August 2026		Cognitive harmony refers to the conceptual mapping that arises in the translator’s mind when they translate a text into the target language. Cognitive harmony is crucial for maintaining the communicative impact and cultural nuances in the relationship between the ST’s intended meaning and the reader’s interpretation. The study hypothesizes that cognitive harmony can occur in the translation process, thereby contributing to conceptual matching and successful conveyance between ST and TT. The study aims to pinpoint how cognitive harmony is maintained or disrupted in the translation of Arabic metaphoric scenarios into English. The data used for qualitative analysis comprises six Arabic texts and their English translations. The translation of these texts will be evaluated using Gutt's cognitive translation model (2000), with consideration of whether they are conveyed indirectly or directly. Then, cognitive harmony will be rated as full if the translation is indirect, or partial if it is direct. Chief among the study's findings is that cognitive harmony, whether full or partial, occurs in all six texts. This confirms that cognitive harmony is consistently found in the translation process. The study also reveals that the translator’s cultural and social awareness significantly affects the rating of cognitive harmony in the translation process.
Keywords: Cognitive Harmony  Translation Metaphoric Scenarios
Correspondence: Kasim M. Basil Al-Azzawi [email protected]
DOI: https://doi.org/10.69513/jnfh.v4.i2.a7  ©Authors, 2026, College of Education, Alnoor University. This is an open-access article under the CC BY 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

التناغم الإدراكي في ترجمة السيناريوهات الاستعارية العربية إلى الإنجليزية

قاسم محمد باسل العزاوي¹      محمد نهاد احمد²

¹فرع العلوم الرياضية، كلية التربية البدنية وعلوم الرياضة، جامعة الموصل، الموصل، العراق ²قسم الترجمة، كلية الآداب، جامعة الموصل، الموصل، العراق
 الخلاصة

يُقصد بالانسجام الإدراكي هو ذلك التوافق المفهومي الذي يتشكّل في ذهن المترجم عند ترجمة النص المصدر إلى اللغة الهدف. وبهذا، يلعب الانسجام الإدراكي دوراً فعال في الحفاظ على الأثر التواصلي والدلالات الثقافية الكامنة بين المعنى المقصود في النص المصدر وتفسيره في النص الهدف. تفترض الدراسة أنّ الانسجام الإدراكي يمكن أن يتحقّق في عملية الترجمة، وأنّه يسهم في تحقيق تصور إدراكي مطابق لضمان ترجمة مؤثرة بين النصين المصدر والهدف. تهدف الدراسة إلى التحقق من نشوء الانسجام الإدراكي من عدمه أثناء عملية ترجمة الرواية من العربية إلى الإنجليزية. اشتملت البيانات المستخدمة في التحليل النوعي للدراسة إلى ستة نصوص عربية مع ترجماتها الإنجليزية، حيث تم تقييم ترجمة هذه النصوص بالاستناد إلى نموذج كوت في الترجمة الإدراكية (2000)، للتحقق من إذا كانت قد ترجمت بصورة مباشرة أو غير مباشرة الى لغة الهدف. أظهرت أبرز نتائج الدراسة الى أنّ نشوء الانسجام الإدراكي سواء كان كاملاً أو جزئياً قد حدث بوضوح في جميع النصوص الستة، وهذا ما يؤكّد أنّ الانسجام الإدراكي قد تحقق في عملية الترجمة. كما أظهرت الدراسة ايضاً أنّ وعي المترجم الثقافي والاجتماعي له أثر ملحوظ في تحديد مستوى الانسجام الإدراكي عند عملية ترجمة.

الكلمات المفتاحية: التناغم، الادراكي، الترجمة، السيناريوهات، الاستعارية

 

1. Introduction

Since language and cognition are essential components of human mental functioning and are intricately linked, their interaction is complex and multifaceted within the mind model of language users’ communication. Language is frequently seen as a cognitive tool that makes thinking and processing easier, i.e., it gives language users the ability to represent, organize, and process mental representations.

2. Rationale for Cognition

Cognition is the collective term for all the conscious and unconscious processes involved in thinking, reasoning, and stimulating the figurative tropes in the text (Cherry, 2023, p. 1) (1). Cognition paves the way for a better understanding of the text. Besides, it enables participants to reach an appropriate point in recognizing the situations of utterances, the environment of the text, and the pattern recognition of the text's inputs (Erton, 2020, p. 1910) (2). Given such a case, one is required to follow a set of cognitive processes. Among them are (Cherry, 2023, p. 2-3): (1)

a. Attention: It is a cognitive process that enables participants to concentrate on particular environmental textual inputs. Consider the following example:

(1)  ST

                              ."ديري بالك عيني سناوي من الدبيب "-

(التكرلي، 1994، ص. 7).

TT

- “Look out for the creepy-crawlies, dear”.

(Cobham, 2001, p. 12 ) (3).

The speaker here draws the recipient's attention to specific environmental stimuli through figurative expressions, e.g., "beware of creepy-crawlies."

b. Language interaction: It is a cognitive process that allows participants to understand and express thoughts via spoken and written utterances. This is crucial to enable participants to interact with the textual material. Consider the following conversation between a little girl and her grandmother:

(2) ST

                        "اوقفي عيني سناء. اريد استراح شوية " -

"نعم بيبي. آني قلت انتِ تعبانة" -

(التكرلي، 1994، ص. 6).

TT

 - “Stop, Sana, dear. I want to have a rest”.

 - “All right, Bibi. I said you were tired”.

(Cobham, 2001, p. 11 ) (3).

By using language, the grandmother (Bibi) was able to communicate with her granddaughter to express her fatigue.

c. Learning process: It is also a cognitive process that involves absorbing new information, synthesizing it, and associating it with what we already know. Consider the following advice imparted to the little girl by her grandmother.

(3) ST

                   "- "عفية عيني سناء. تعلمي تحكين هالشكل. لاتخلين اسم الله يسقط من فمك". "

."نعم بيبي"- 

(التكرلي، 1994، ص. 5).

TT

-“Good girl. That’s the way to talk. Never let God’s name be far from”.

- “Yes, Bibi.”                                       

(Cobham, 2001, p. 10 ) (3).

The little girl received new information from her grandmother, she synthesized it and associated it with what she already knows, that is, to trust in God.

d. Memory status: It is a crucial cognitive process that involves encoding, storing, and retrieving information. It is essential to the learning process and helps people remember facts about the world as well as their experiences. For example:

(4)

ST

- "واسترجع كل أفكاره وذكرياته الذاهبة ".

(التكرلي، 1994، ص. 422).

TT

-“He recalled his fading thoughts and memories”.

(Cobham, 2001, p. 339 ) (3).

One can retrieve memories, thoughts, or information through his/her memory.

e. Perception process: It is a cognitive process that enables humans to receive information from their senses and then use that information to react to and interact with their environment. Consider the following case:

(5)

 ST

“-تراه يسير فتظنهُ بشراً او رجلاً مثل بقية الرجال ".  

(التكرلي، 1994، ص. 6).

TT

-“She watched him walking away and thought he could have been anybody”.

 (3) ).

Depending on the process of perception, one can conceptualize what they perceive in the environment.

f. Thought process: It is a critical component of cognitive processes. It enables participants to engage in higher reasoning, problem-solving, and decision-making skills. Consider the following to illustrate such a case:

(6) ST

"آني عرفت ما راح يبقى بالكويت مدة طويلة. من عبدالكريم قاسم قال الكويت تعود النا تخربط وضع العراقيين هناك".

(التكرلي، 1994، ص. 10).

TT

 “I knew he wasn’t going to stay in Kuwait long. Since Abd Al-Karim Qasim said Kuwait belongs to us, things have got worse for Iraqis over there”.

(Cobham, 2001, p. 13) (3).

The speaker here predicted the length of stay by applying their line of thought to the political situation at the time.

2.1 Representing Background Knowledge 

Representing background knowledge is another aspect of communicative conditions. It is a cognitive ability that language users have, through which they can retrieve stored communicative experiences before dealing with a particular topic or situation. It serves as the cornerstone for incorporating new knowledge and shapes language users' perceptions within a context of awareness. Education, learning opportunities, cultural influences, and personal interests can all contribute to shaping background knowledge (NRC, 2000, p.117).

2.1.1 Scenarios

Scenarios are cognitive frameworks or mental structures that can be considered essential components for representing background knowledge. Scenarios are defined as imagined sets of events that represent potential future states or situations. They help participants anticipate a variety of prospects by exploring many options and their possible consequences. Scenarios provide strategic perception and decision-making by enabling participants to perform different scenarios and evaluate textual implications. For example:

(7) “A company might create scenarios to account for potential changes in technology, competition, or market conditions and then create backup plans based on such developments”.

 (Schoemaker, 1995, p. 27) (4).

Yule (1996, p. 21) claims that language users use scenarios because they ease the process of comprehending the speaker’s/hearer’s intentions in addition to the meaning involved in the text implicitly. In this respect, Mehawesh (2014, p. 258) (5) argues that meaning does not exist only in the word itself; rather, it can be established through language interaction, social interaction, and context, i.e., scenarios. For this reason, Baker (2006, p. 64) (6) asserts that the translation process does not only involve replacing word by word into TT but also the context (i.e. scenario) in which the word occurs. Understanding the scenario of a specific text means understanding its plot. For example:

(8)

 ST

"كانت الشمس تلقي بآخر أشعتها الحمراء على حائط الجيران العالي، تحت سماء زرقاء. في أوائل حزيران، تعودنا أن نصعد لننام على السطح".

(التكرلي، 1994، ص. 27)

TT

“The last red rays of the sun were falling high up on the neighbor’s wall and the sky was still blue. By now we would usually be sleeping up on the terrace. Most years we would start towards the end of May”.

(Cobham, 2001, p. 25 ) (3).

The scenarios that the translator captured in the example (8), i.e., “the last red rays of the sun” (sunset), “the sky was still blue” (sky), and “end of May” (beginning of summer) have been experienced by the translator, i.e., these scenarios are familiar and already existed in the translator’s mind. Thus, they produce a sort of cognitive harmony in the translator’s mind with the text that she works on. Consequently, scenarios facilitate understanding of the text.

2.2 Figurative Language in Narrative Style

Figurative language is the use of words in a way that departs from their typical meaning and arrangement to express a complex idea, effective writing, or an emotive analogy (Gibbs,1994, p. 85) (7). This means that the writing style is distinguished from others when works—such as letters, magazines, news articles, poems, ads, and so on—have the power to emotionally connect with readers, even when they typically use figurative language throughout (Brown, 2004, p. 335) (8).

2.2.1 Metaphor

Metaphor is a powerful literary device and one of the most significant forms of figurative language. It is a linguistic device that draws parallels or close implicit comparisons between two unlike things. Metaphor has a crucial role in the process of translation. By using familiar concepts and images, a metaphor helps translators easily understand abstract, emotional, and cultural concepts they may encounter when rendering a text. In other words, the metaphor enables translators to retain the same ST image schema and transfer it to the TT image schema (see Suszynska, 2015, p. 165 (9); Al-Hasso and Ahmed, 2024, p. 153) (10). Consider the following example:

(9) ST

" الشط على طول... على طول حتى حدود بيت السيد. هي بستان لو زيزة! الحمار يضيع بيها أربع أيام".

(التكرلي، 1994، ص. 17)

TT         

“It went from the soldier down to the river, and you could walk along beside the river right up to the neighbor’s house. It was a huge orchard, my dear, a wilderness! A donkey could get lost there for four days!”.

(Cobham, 2001, p. 18 ) (3).

The metaphor in example (9) “هي بستان لو زيزة! الحمار يضيع بيها أربع أيام.” involves the description of the orchard as a “wilderness” and that “a donkey could get lost there for four days”. This metaphor is used to describe how large the orchard is. Hence, encountering such metaphorical expressions may create a mental mapping in the translator’s mind that facilitates the process of reflecting a similar ST image schema in the TT. 

2.2.2 Simile 

A simile is another form of figurative language that compares two dissimilar things by using a conjunction like as, like, resemble, etc. It is a powerful tool for enhancing writing with feelings, emotions, and imagery (Suszynska, 2015, p. 166) (9). Simile, therefore, plays a crucial role in the translation process, as it affects how translators interpret the deeper layers of meaning and the cultural and emotional nuances that a simile conveys in the text (Toris, 1995, p. 14) (11). Consider the following example:

(10) ST

"كانت عينا فؤاد، ذلك المساء الخريفي، تتألقان كأخر شعلة من الجمر"

(التكرلي، 1994، ص. 28)

TT

 “That evening back in the autumn, Fuad’s eyes had been glowing like dying embers”.

(Cobham, 2001, p. 26 ) (3)

The writer makes use of a simile in the above sentence when he compares Fuad’s eyes to dying embers using the conjunction “like” to establish a sort of comparison. The writer seeks to evoke an emotional image schema of Fuad’s status by likening his eyes to dying embers. Such a simile might express Fuad’s sadness, or it might suggest that Fuad is gradually losing his energy or something precious. The translator's perception of what such a simile conveys will facilitate the transfer of the ST image into the TT image.

2.2.3 Metonymy

Metonymy is another aspect of figurative style applied to the tropes of everyday language. It refers to the process of substituting the name of an object or concept with a word or a phrase that is closely related or associated in some way with the original one (Radden and Kövecses, 2007, p. 335) (12). Like other figures of speech, metonymy is a cognitive tool that plays an important role in translation. It enables translators to create a conceptual mapping between ST and TT, i.e., it helps them navigate the relationships between concepts and their related components (see Zheng, 2014, p. 31; Purnima, 2014, p, 19) (13, 14). Consider the following example:

(11) ST 

"وكانت تريد أن تنتهي من العشاء ومشكلاته كي تتحدث بهدوء مع ابنتها وتفهم منها بعض أفكارها."

-"حضرت الصحون، مديحة؟"

-"نعم"

(التكرلي، 1994، ص. 15)

TT

“She wanted to get dinner over so she could talk to her daughter in peace and try and find out what exactly she was planning to do."

“Have you put the food out, Madiha?”

“Yes.”

(Cobham, 2001, p. 17 ) (3).

The metonymy in the example (11) above can be found in the ST phrase "حضرت الصحون", i.e., the broader activity of getting the meal ready. Conceptualizing such metonymy by the translators would enable them to preserve the figurative sense, i.e., to evoke a similar ST scenario in the TT, as in “Have you put the food out?”

2.2.4 Synecdoche

Synecdoche is a figure of speech that refers to the relationship between a whole and its parts; it uses a part to represent the whole, and vice versa. A synecdoche is a rhetorical device that makes use of a term or expression that refers to a part of something to represent a whole or a whole to represent a part of something (see Ali, 2015, p. 729;  Hornby, 2015, p. 1570) (15, 16). Synecdoche plays a key role in the translation process, enabling translators to achieve semantic precision when transferring ST materials into TT, i.e., to express complex ideas concisely. (see Lakoff and Johnson, 1980, p. 41) (17). Consider the following example:

 (12)  ST

"ثم احتضنتها برفق وقبلت خدها المبلل. أحست بها طفلة في الخامسة من العمر، لم ترى من الحياة شيئا ولم تذق علقمها بعد"

(التكرلي، 1994، ص. 14)

TT

 “She embraced her gently and kissed her damp cheek. She thought her daughter was acting like a five-year-old who had seen nothing of life and its hardships”.

(Cobham, 2001, p. 16 ) (3)

The synecdoche in the above example appears in the phrase “life (whole) and its hardships (parts)”, which refers to the scripts of life experiences, i.e., the lessons and challenges that shape participants’ understanding, personality, and maturity. Conceptualizing such a synecdoche by the translators would enable them to keep the figurative trope or sense intact, i.e., to evoke a similar ST image mirrored in the TT image.

2.2.5 Allusion

Allusion is a figurative trope used commonly in literature. It is a literary device used to imply meaning to create a sort of association between ideas, cultures, or historical occasions alluded to by the speakers or writers and that the hearers or the readers are expected to conceptualize and understand them (Irwin, 2001, P. 287) (18). Since allusion has no direct equivalent in the TT, it plays a key role in the translation process by providing explanations for the tasks the translator handles. These explanations, in turn, facilitate capturing the encoded meaning of the ST. (see Barnet et al, 1971, p. 4; (19) Lefevere, 1992, p. 22) (20).  Consider the following example:

(13)  ST

"قلت لك مدحت آني مو يائس، آني مفلس من الحياة .... جربت مرة أضع نفسي على المشرحة أقشرها أشوف شنو آني؟ من أي شي اتكون؟ شلون آني صاير هالشكل؟"

(التكرلي، 1994، ص. 111).

TT         

“Midhat, I’m not desperate. I’ve messed up my life …. once I tried to put myself on the dissecting table peeling the layers away to see who am I? What makes me what I am? How have I got like this?”

(Cobham, 2001, p. 86 ) (3).

The allusion in example (13) lies in the ST phrase (أضع نفسي على المشرحة أقشرها أشوف شنو آني؟). The writer employs allusion to refer to the process of self-examination or introspection, i.e., retrieving the frame of self-reproach. Such a cognitive process by the translator would facilitate recognition of the frame in the ST allusion. The translator, consequently, will be able to reflect the inferred idea in the TT that sounds the same ST echo as in “to put myself on the dissecting table peeling the layers away to see who I am?”.

2.2.6 Irony

Irony is another type of figurative language. It is an utterance or a statement that contrasts what is expected with what happens, i.e., a statement that contradicts the actual attitude of the speaker or the writer (Gibbs, 1994, p. 359)  (7). In this context, irony has an essential role in facilitating the process of translation, as the translators draw in their minds a sort of cognitive contrast between the echoed content and the writer’s/speaker’s actual stance for a given ironic expression in the ST. This will enable translators to engage with the texts’ deeper meaning, allowing them to perceive and grasp the underlying meaning of the ironic expressions (see Sperber and Wilson 1995, p. 239 ; Zakirova, 2024, p. 114) (21, 22. Consider the following example:           

(14) ST

                "عادت مديحة الى همسها: أعرف كل هل الحكي يا يوم، لكن شنو هالحياة الله يخليك؟"، "لا للموت ولا للحياة والعمر دينقضي يوم بعد يوم."

(التكرلي، 1994، ص. 14).

TT

“I know all that,” whispered Madiha again. “But I’m living in limbo, and I’m not getting any younger.”

(Cobham, 2001, p. 16 ) (3).

The irony in example (14) lies in the ST phrase (شنو هالحياة الله يخليك؟). In this phrase, Madiha expresses her impatience and frustration with the situation. The TT phrase “living in limbo” conveys a sense of urgency and a desire for change, which nearly mirrors the ST's ironic meaning in the TT. Such a cognitive analysis made by the translator enabled her to reflect the ST’s ironic scenario in the TT.

3. Methodology

3.1 The Model Adopted

The study adopts Gutt's cognitive model (2000) of the translation process. Gutt developed his cognitive model based on the relevance theory proposed by Sperber and Wilson (1986) (21) to highlight the particular significance of descriptive translation compared to interpretive translation. According to Gutt's cognitive model, the translation process is a communicative act that can be categorized into two main types: direct and indirect translation (Gutt, 2000, p. 168) (23). Direct translation is an interpretive process that focuses on the semantic meaning or the form of the word itself. In other words, the direct translation goes alongside shared linguistic properties rather than shared assumptions (Gutt, 2000, p. 169) (23). Indirect translation, in contrast, is a descriptive process that offers multiple choices for the translators, enabling them to convey the core meaning of the SL message in a relevant way in the TL. Indirect translation deals with the deeper or the implicit meaning of the addressed message (Gutt, 2000, p. 171) (23).

3.2 Data Collection

Six Arabic texts and their English translations are carefully selected from the famous Iraqi novel “The Long Way Back” by Fuad Al-Takarli (1994) (24). This novel is translated into English by Catherine Cobham (2001) (3). The selection of these six texts is based on the needs of the current study; they meet the study's analytical criteria to illustrate the occurrence of cognitive harmony in the translator’s mind during the translation of a novel from Arabic into English. To ensure the accuracy and precision of the data analysis process, the study employed two software programs. The first is the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The second is Microsoft Excel 2016, used for organizing data and analytical tasks.

3.3 Data Analysis

Text No. 1

ST

شبيك ابني كرومي؟ شبيك عيني؟

كانت ذراعاه ترتعشان، ترتعشان؛ هتف:

دم، هذا دم فؤاد. دم فؤاد هذا يوم.

ثم صرخ صرخة مجنون:

دم فؤاد.. فؤاد.

 (التكرلي، 1994، ص. 25-26).

TT

“What’s wrong, Karumi? What is it, my dear?

His hands were shaking. That’s blood. Fuad’s blood, Mother, he shouted in a frenzy.”

(Cobham, 2001, p. 24 ) (3).

A case of full occurrence of cognitive harmony arises in the above text when the translator did not literally translate the metaphorical expression “صرخة مجنون” into English as “A madman’s scream”, but instead rendered it as “in frenzy”, which evokes emotional intensity and mental turmoil for TT readers. Additionally, the effective use of indirect translation maintains the metaphor’s essence while avoiding culturally awkward expressions. This suggests that the translator’s choice of words reflects her high level of language proficiency, resulting in appropriate reflecting of figurative language.  

Text No. 02

ST

"- سناوي عيني، وينها منيرة ؟

- بالغرفة يمكن بيبي. أروح عليها أشوفها ؟

- مو هسه عيني. شوية لاخ. أريد الشيشة مال حبوب النوم. أخذتها أول البارحة وما رجعتها."

(التكرلي، 1994، ص. 465).

TT

“Sana, dear, said Munira’s mother. Where’s Munira?

She might be in her room. Shall I go and see?

Not now, dear, in a bit. I want the bottle of sleeping tablets. She took them the day before yesterday and hasn’t given them back yet.”

(Cobham, 2001, p. 322 ) (3).

An instance of partial cognitive harmony is evident in the text above. The translator conveys and maintains the surface structure of synecdoche found in the ST phrase “أريد الشيشة مال حبوب النوم” into English as “I want the bottle of sleeping tablets”. In other words, the translator avoids translating the Iraqi colloquial word “شيشة الحبوب” into English as “Bottle of tablets” rather than “Pill box”. In other words, the translator prioritizes semantic form over clarity of the intended meaning, which may prevent TT readers from understanding the relationship between “Bottle” and “Tablets”. This reflects the employment of direct translation, likely due to the translator’s limited grasp of the environmental and cultural differences, i.e., the symbolic reference of the bottle in both Arabic and English.  

Text No. 03

ST

"الله رازقهم يا أبو مدحت ليش ما يركب السيارة ويخبص الدنيا. ذاك اليوم كان أبوه فلاح وخادم في بيت حجي محمد، يركض من هنا إلى هنا ونعاله مثقوب شعليك شوفه هسه بائع مخضرات وبطنه ها لكبر عبالك شيخ عرب."

 (التكرلي، 1994، ص. 74 - 75).

TT                         

“Why shouldn’t he drive a car and make as much noise as he pleases? Not so long ago his father was a peasant and worked for Hajji Muhammad, running hither and thither with holes in his sandals. So what? Look at him now. He’s a businessman, and his stomach’s so big you’d think he was an Arab shaykh!”

(Cobham, 2001, p. 59 ) (3).

An occurrence of full cognitive harmony is evident in the above text. The translator successfully conveys and maintains the simile found in the ST into the TT. The translator, by employing indirect translation, detects the imagery and employs a legible equivalent in the TT that aligns both structurally and culturally, thereby preserving the figurative comparison, for example, between "شيخ العرب" and “Arab Shaykh” intact. This reflects the translator’s high level of metaphoric competence and sensitivity to figurative meaning.

Text No. 04

ST

"ليش هو يعرف عنده بنات؟

كانت تجلس على حافة السرير قبالة عبد الكريم، مستديرة بظهرها للجالسين، استمرت:

الأب اللي يهجر أهله سنتين، ما له حق يشوفهم.

 (التكرلي، 1994، ص. 77 - 78)     

TT

 “I’m surprised he knows he’s got any daughters, snapped his mother. She was sitting on the edge of Abd al-Karim’s bed facing him, with her back to the others. “A father who abandons his family for two years,” she went on, “doesn’t have the right to see them.”

(Cobham, 2001, p. 60-61).

The translator successfully conveys the irony found in the phrase “الأب اللي يهجر أهله سنتين، ما له حق يشوفهم” into English as “A father who abandons his family for two years, he doesn’t have the right to see them.” Although the translation may not qualify as a strict metaphor, it is delivered in a culturally and emotionally resonant way that the TT readers naturally receive, i.e., “A father abandoned his family but wants to see them.” Such conveying of the ironic nuances reflects the employment of indirect translation, likely due to the translator’s emotional insight, as well as her social and cultural awareness, resulting in a full cognitive harmony.

Text No. 05

ST

"شعر بما يشبه الفرحة تساوره وهو يلوك اللقمة الأخيرة من الخبز متطلعاً إلى ملامح مدحت يعلن له أن هنالك من يدافع عن قضيته مجاناً. عاد مدحت يسأله:

- أنت بعدك في بيت عمتك، مو ؟"

(التكرلي، 1994، ص. 96 - 97).

TT

“He felt a kind of happiness sweep over him as he chewed his last mouthful of bread and watched Midhat announce that there was someone who gave him unsolicited support.

“You’re still staying with your aunt, are you?” asked Midhat.” (Cobham, 2001, p. 75-76) (3).

A case of partial occurrence of cognitive harmony arises when the translator fails to convey the metonymy in the phrase “آخر لقمة من الخبز”. This phrase, by employing direct translation, is rendered into English as “His last mouthful of bread”, which may not evoke the same ST sense of socio-cultural connotations for the TT readers. The Arabic phrase “اللقمة الاخيرة” indicates a state of poverty and acceptance of limited means. The English version, in contrast, may be interpreted by the TT readers as a reference to eating. This is likely due to the translator’s limited cognitive engagement and inadequate cultural awareness.

Text No. 06

ST

"عمة، أصحي بيبي أم حسن ؟

نظرت إليها عمة مدحت متفحصة:

- كيفك عيني هي نومها ثقيل مثل نوم أهل الكهف ما أدري تصحى عد لو لا. كيفك.

ثم تناولت قرص الخبز."

(التكرلي، 1994، ص. 343-344).

TT

 “Shall I wake Bibi Umm Hasan? Sana asked her.

Aunt Safiya shot her a searching glance. “As you wish, my dear. She’s a heavy sleeper. Like one of the seven sleepers of Ephesus. I don’t know if you’ll be able to or not. It’s up to you. Then she reached for a circle of bread”.

(Cobham, 2001, p. 257 ).

The translator subtly conveys the allusive tone of the phrase “نومها ثقيل مثل نوم أهل الكهف”. This allusion “نوم أهل الكهف”is derived from a famous Quranic and Biblical tale called ‘Companions of the Cave’. The translator effectively conveys this allusion into English as “She is a heavy sleeper, like one of the seven sleepers of Ephesus”. Such a familiar way of rendering enables TT readers to naturally anticipate the emotional sense. This suggests the use of indirect translation, reflecting the translator’s strong religious and cultural awareness, effective use of figurative language, and careful attention to conveying the allusion’s emotional undertone, resulting in full cognitive harmony.

3.4 Statistical Results

The data analysis reveals that, across the six texts, the translator subtly retains and reflects the ST’s metaphoric scenarios in the target text by employing indirect translation in four texts (1, 3, 4, 6), accounting for 65%. In contrast, the translator, by employing direct translation, produces less effective mirroring of the ST’s metaphoric scenarios in the target text in two texts (2, 5), accounting for 35%. This similarly reflects 65% of the full occurrence and 35% of the partial occurrence of cognitive harmony. See Table (1) and Diagram (1) below for a detailed overview.

Table (1) Cognitive Harmony Rating

 

Diagram (1) Cognitive Harmony Rating

 

4. Findings and Discussion 

 The findings of this study reveal that cognitive harmony, whether it occurs fully or partially, arises in varying cases across all six selected texts.

Along the same lines, the study reveals that the translator achieved 65% of full cognitive harmony in conveying and retaining the effective weight of the ST’s metaphoric scenarios into TT across all six texts. This is likely due to the translator’s sensitivity to figurative and idiomatic meaning, i.e., her thorough command of figurative language devices such as metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, simile, allusion, and irony. Additionally, the translator’s strong cultural, social, and religious awareness, combined with her strong working memory, enables her to accurately capture the relevant ST’s metaphoric tone in the TT. Conversely, the translator’s low percentage of achieving partial cognitive harmony, which is 35%, indicates that the translator makes a less effective mirroring of the ST’s metaphoric scenario into the TT. This is likely due to the translator’s limited cognitive engagement, potentially because of some cultural, social and religious nuances in Arabic, as well as her main attention on the surface meaning rather than the deep meaning. This suggests 65% of the translator's employment of indirect translation, in contrast to 35% of the translator's use of direct translation, in conveying the ST’s metaphoric expressions into TT. See Table 1 and Diagram 1 for a detailed overview.

5. Conclusions

The general findings of the data analysis of the current study can be summarized in the following conclusions:

1- From a cognitive-pragmatic perspective, the phenomenon of cognitive harmony, whether full or partial, is evident and arises in all six selected texts. This confirms that cognitive harmony is consistently found in the in the process of translation in general, and in the process of translating literary works in particular.

2- Cultural, social, and religious awareness has a significant impact on the rating of cognitive harmony while translating a novel from one language into another. The findings show that the cases of full occurrence of cognitive harmony arise due to the translator’s strong cultural, social and religious awareness. Such a form of cognitive harmony occurs when translators evoke their cultural, social, and religious schemas in response to cultural, social, and religious differences between SL and TL.

3- The reasonable handling of figurative tropes such as metaphor, metonymy, simile, synecdoche, allusions, and ironies has a crucial role in generating cognitive harmony, as it enables translators to create a conceptual mapping between ST schema image and TT schema image. This allows them to navigate the relationships between concepts and their related conceptual structure. Consequently, the translator can find an effective equivalence in TT.

4- The employment of both indirect and direct translation results in an occurrence of cognitive harmony. Indirect translation, a descriptive process that provides translators with multiple options to convey the ST’s core meaning in a relevant way in the TT, leads to the occurrence of full cognitive harmony. In contrast to the direct translation, which is an interpretive process that focuses on the semantic meaning of the word itself, it yields only partial cognitive harmony.                     

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