Metaphorical images in the mirror: How Romanian literary translators see themselves and their translations

Abstract

This study focuses on how 15 Romanian literary translators metaphorically conceptualize their own role and importance and the role and significance of their translations. The aim of the analysis is to see what kind of source text–target text and author–translator relationships the conceptual metaphors suggested reflect, to zoom in on the status of the translator and of the translated text that may be inferred based on these conceptualizations and, finally, to see whether they support the traditional source vs target-orientation dichotomy in translation or call for a more hermeneutic-oriented approach.

Keywords

• metaphors of translation
• metaphors of the translator
• literary translation
• translation as interpretation