A study on loss and gain in meaning in the english translations of conceptual metaphors expressing the concept of “human status” in trinh cong son’s songs

Abstract

This paper was an attempt to conduct a cross-linguistic research into the conceptual metaphors expressing “human status” in Trinh Cong Son’s songs. Based on a theoretical framework of Lakoff and Johnson (1980), Kovecses (2010), the human status in Trinh Cong Son’s songs was investigated in view of cognitive model. The samples used in the paper were gathered from many Trinh Cong Son’s songs and their English translational equivalents that were taken mainly from some official websites. The qualitative and quantitative methods were done to show their characteristics. Besides, the analytic, synthetic and descriptive methods were also used to support the process of analyzing the collected data. Based on the results of the research, it could be found that both languages have the phenomena of loss and gain features in meaning of conceptual metaphors expressing the human status. These findings showed that translational versions were more or less influenced by different languages and cultures. Therefore, it was necessary for the study to solve the problems and find out the loss and gain in meaning of conceptual metaphors in Trinh Cong Son’s songs. This investigation was also expected to be helpful for translators, language teachers and learners.