Cover not available

Article published In: Metaphor and the Social World: Online-First Articles

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload PDF
EPUB logo with download linkDownload EPUB

Agency in metaphor and translation

A socio-cognitive approach to deliberate metaphor use in intercultural communication

ORCiD logo with link | Hong Kong Baptist University
Open Access logo
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at rights@benjamins.nl.

Open Access publication of this article was funded through a Transformative Agreement with Hong Kong Baptist University.

Published online: 29 January 2026
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/msw.25012.won
Abstract
Cognitive approaches to metaphor translation, particularly those rooted in Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT), can be seen as overlooking the translator’s agency as they tend to emphasise the conceptual structures of metaphor in thought. As a result, very little is known about the role translators’ agency plays in their communicative decision-making. This article develops a socio-cognitive approach to metaphor translation by integrating Deliberate Metaphor Theory (DMT) with the socio-cognitive approach (SCA) to intercultural pragmatics. It proposes a descriptive taxonomy of six variations of deliberate metaphor use in translation (DMUiT). Furthermore, it incorporates SCA’s account of how individual and social traits interact in intercultural communication to explain how translators’ decision-making in metaphor translation is driven by the interplay of their intention and attention. Detailed analysis of non-literary and literary translations of deliberate metaphors demonstrates that this socio-cognitive framework highlights translators’ prior experience, salience, and egocentrism in intercultural communication, hence bringing us closer to translators’ agency. This article concludes by outlining a research paradigm of approaching translators’ agency in metaphor translation from a comprehension-oriented and a production-oriented perspective, with the help of experimental, sociological, and corpus methods.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Agency in metaphor use
  • 3.Deliberate metaphor use in translation
  • 4.Socio-cognitive approach to translators’ agency
  • 5.Analysis of six variations of deliberate metaphor use in translation
    • 5.1DM to DM
    • 5.2DM to DM2
    • 5.3DM to Non-M
    • 5.4DM to
    • 5.5Non-M to DM
    • 5.6 to DM
  • 6.Discussion
    • 6.1Further research
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgement
  • Notes
  • Source and target texts
  • References
References (76)
Source and target texts
Aiden, E. L. (2019, March). Untangling the genome. Scientific American, 320(3), 50–57. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2019, April). DNA上的生命之环 [Loops of life on DNA] (L. Chen, Trans.). 环球科学 [Global Science], (7), 44–51. (Original work published 2019)Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2019, May). 環圈讓基因不糾結 [Loops keep the genome tangle-free] (Z. Deng, Trans.). 科學人 [Science People], 2071. (Original work published 2019) [URL]
Liu, C. (2008). 三体 [Three-Body]. Chongqing Publishing Group.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2015). The three-body problem (K. Liu, Trans.). Head of Zeus. (Original work published 2008)Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Long, A. S. (2021, January). Too big for the universe. Scientific American, 324(1), 26–33. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2021, February). 宇宙难以容纳的星系摇篮 [Galaxy cradles that the universe cannot contain] (F. Xu, Trans.). 环球科学 [Global Science], (3), 30–37. (Original work published 2021)Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Zhao, H. (2011). 桦树的眼睛 [Birch’s eyes]. Zhejiang Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2018). 1923: A fantasy. In M. Song & T. Huters (Eds.), The reincarnated giant: An anthology of twenty-first-century Chinese science fiction (pp. 258–276). Columbia University Press. (Original work published 2011)Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
References
Austin, J. L. (1962). How to do things with words. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. Freeman.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2001). Social cognitive theory: An agentic perspective. Annual Review of Psychology, 521, 1–26. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bolognesi, M. (2022). Metaphors in intercultural communication. In I. Kecskes (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of intercultural pragmatics (pp. 216–244). Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bourdieu, P. (1977). Outline of a theory of practice (R. Nice, Trans.). Cambridge University Press. (Original work published 1972) Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cameron, L. (2003). Metaphor in educational discourse. Continuum.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Chesterman, A. (2009). The name and nature of translator studies. Hermes, 421, 13–22. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Chomsky, N. (1965). Aspects of the theory of syntax. MIT Press.
Davidson, D. (1980). Essays on actions and events. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
de Saussure, F. (1966). Course in general linguistics (C. Bally & A. Sechehaye, Eds., W. Baskin, Trans). McGraw-Hill Book Company. (Original work published 1916)Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
de Vries, C., Reijnierse, W. G., & Willems, R. M. (2018). Eye movements reveal readers’ sensitivity to deliberate metaphors during narrative reading. Scientific Study of Literature, 8(1), 135–164. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Diriker, E. (2011). Agency in conference interpreting: Still a myth?. Gramma, 191, 27–36. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Freeman, L. C. (Ed.). (2008). Social network analysis. SAGE. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gibbs, R. W. (1999). Intentions in the experience of meaning. Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2023). Pragmatic complexity in metaphor interpretation. Cognition, 2371, 1–11. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Giddens, A. (1979). Central problems in social theory: Action, structure and contradiction in social analysis. University of California Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Giora, R. (2003). On our mind: Salience, context, and figurative language. Oxford University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Goatly, A. (1997). The language of metaphors. Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Harvey, K. (1995). A descriptive framework for compensation. The Translator, 1(1), 65–86. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Haugh, M. (2008). Intention in pragmatics. Intercultural Pragmatics, 5(2), 99–110. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
House, J. (2020). Translation, interpreting, and intercultural communication. In J. Jackson (Ed.), The Routledge handbook of language and intercultural communication (2nd ed., pp. 173–187). Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kecskes, I. (2004). Editorial: Lexical merging, conceptual blending, and cultural crossing. Intercultural Pragmatics, 1(1), 1–26. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2013). Intercultural pragmatics. Oxford University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2016). Deliberate creativity and formulaic language use. In K. Allan, A. Capone & I. Kecskes (Eds.), Pragmemes and theories of language use (pp. 3–20). Springer. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kinnunen, T., & Koskinen, K. (Eds.). (2010). Translators’ agency. Tampere University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kövecses, Z. (2002). Metaphor: A practical introduction. Oxford University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2014). Conceptual metaphor theory and the nature of difficulties in metaphor translation. In D. R. Miller & E. Monti (Eds.), Tradurre figure/Translating figurative language (pp. 25–39). Bononia University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphor we live by. University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Latour, B. (2005). Reassembling the social: An introduction to actor-network-theory. Oxford University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Meylaerts, R. (2008). Translators and (their) norms: Toward a sociological construction of the individual. In A. Pym, M. Shlesinger & D. Simeoni (Eds.), Beyond descriptive translation studies: Investigations in homage to Gideon Toury (pp. 91–102). John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Nacey, S., & Skogmo, S. F. (2021). Learner translation of metaphor: Smooth sailing?. Metaphor and the Social World, 11(2), 212–234. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pöchhacker, F. (2022). Introducing interpreting studies (3rd ed.). Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Prandi, M. (2017). Conceptual conflicts in metaphors and figurative language. Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Reijnierse, W. G., Burgers, C., Krennmayr, T., & Steen, G. J. (2018). DMIP: A method for identifying potentially deliberate metaphor in language use. Corpus Pragmatics, 2(2), 129–147. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2020). The role of co-text in the analysis of potentially deliberate metaphor. In C. D. Biase-Dyson & M. Egg (Eds.), Drawing attention to metaphor: Case studies across time periods, cultures and modalities (pp. 15–38). John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Renardel de Lavalette, K. Y., Andone, C., & Steen, G. J. (2019). Figurative analogies and how they are resisted in British public bill committee debates. Metaphor and the Social World, 9(1), 107–130. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Rizzato, I. (2021). Conceptual conflicts in metaphors and pragmatic strategies for their translation. Frontiers in Psychology, 121, 1–8. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Robinson, D. (1991). The translator’s turn. Johns Hopkins University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Rojo López, A. M., & Muñoz Martín, R. (Eds.). (2025). Research methods in cognitive translation and interpreting studies. John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Schäffner, C. (2004). Metaphor and translation: Some implications of a cognitive approach. Journal of Pragmatics, 36(7), 1253–1269. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2008). Functionalist approaches. In M. Baker & G. Saldanha (Eds.), Routledge encyclopedia of translation studies (2nd ed., pp. 115–121). Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Schieffelin, B. B. (1990). The give and take of everyday life: Language socialisation of Kaluli children. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Searle, J. R. (1969). Speech acts: An essay in the philosophy of language. Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Seth, A. K., Dienes, Z., Cleeremans, A., Overgaard, M., & Pessoa, L. (2008). Measuring consciousness: Relating behavioural and neurophysiological approaches. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 12(8), 314–321. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Steen, G. (2008). The paradox of metaphor: Why we need a three-dimensional model of metaphor. Metaphor and Symbol, 23(4), 213–241. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2013). Deliberate metaphor affords conscious metaphorical cognition. Cognitive Semiotics, 5(1–2), 179–197. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2014). Translating metaphor: What’s the problem?. In D. R. Miller & E. Monti (Eds.), Tradurre figure/Translating figurative language (pp. 11–24). Bononia University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2015). Developing, testing and interpreting deliberate metaphor theory. Journal of Pragmatics, 901, 67–72. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2016). Mixed metaphor is a question of deliberateness. In R. W. Gibbs, Jr. (Ed.), Mixing metaphor (pp. 113–132). John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2017). Deliberate metaphor theory: Basic assumptions, main tenets, urgent issues. Intercultural Pragmatics, 14(1), 1–24. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Steiner, G. (1975). After Babel: Aspects of language and translation. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sullivan, K., & Bandín, E. (2014). Censoring metaphors in translation: Shakespeare’s Hamlet under Franco. Cognitive Linguistics, 25(2), 177–202. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
van Dijk, T. A. (2008). Discourse and context: A sociocognitive approach. Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wackers, D. Y. M., Plug, H. J., & Steen, G. J. (2021). “For crying out loud, don’t call me a warrior”: Standpoints of resistance against violence metaphors for cancer. Journal of Pragmatics, 1741, 68–77. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Werkmann Horvat, A., Bolognesi, M., & Althaus, N. (2023). Attention to the source domain of conventional metaphorical expressions: Evidence from an eye tracking study. Journal of Pragmatics, 2151, 131–144. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wong, S. (2023). Metaphor translation in science fiction: Some implications of the genre. Linguaculture, 14(2), 13–31. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wong, S., & Xu, Q. (2025). Mapping metaphor research in translation and interpreting studies: A bibliometric analysis from 1964 to 2023. Poznań Studies in Contemporary Linguistics, 61(4), 597–621. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Xu, C., Zhang, C., & Wu, Y. (2016). Enlarging the scope of metaphor studies. Intercultural Pragmatics, 13(3), 439–447. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue