Typology in action: applying typological insights in the study of translation

Abstract

This paper provides arguments in favour of using Talmy's cognitive typology in the study of translation. I contrasted English motion expressions with those in Spanish and Serbo‐Croatian. English and Spanish belong to two opposing types in the typology, and Serbo‐Croatian is classified as the same type as English. I illustrate the effects that different lexicalization patterns can have in a specific context of translation, namely that of translating police interviews with witnesses and suspects from Spanish into English. I also explain the intratypological contrasts that affect translation in the case of English vs. Serbo‐Croatian. I propose a number of underlying principles to be used in translation and foreign language teaching.