An RCG-based analysis of the Translation of Polysemous Verb ‘Yao’ in A Dream of Red Mansions

Abstract

This research investigates the applicability of a relatively new concept from cognitive linguistics, Radical Construction Grammar (RCG) (Croft：2001), as an analytical model in the study of the translation process. Based on the fundamental concepts of RCG, this article puts forward a construction-oriented view of translation and the following six construction-based translation principles: the semantic function priority principle, the conceptual space-based principle, the gestalt principle, the interactivity principle, the taxonomic principle, and the prototype priority principle. These RCG-based translation conceptions and principles will be detailed and verified in translation examples with the Chinese polysemic word 'yao' in different constructions, selected from the translation of the Chinese classic A Dream of Red Mansions (Cao & Gao:1994). The results of this study show that RCG can provide an innovative linguistic model for translation studies, particularly for the issue of polysemy.