Translation strategies for figurative language in non-fiction : Translating metaphors, idioms, and phrasal verbs from English to Swedish

Abstract: This thesis examines translation strategies for translating figurative language with a focus on metaphors, idioms, and phrasal verbs. Translators often state that figurative language presents challenges in the translation process. This is mainly because the translator must consider the language’s pragmatic, cognitive, and aesthetic functions. This analysis combines a modified translation approach based on Liu and Zhang (2005), Newmark (1988) as well as Lakoff and Johnson (2003). Using the strategies literal translation, transference, meaning translation, omission, and addition to reduce the loss between the source and target texts, this paper seeks to map how frequently these strategies are applied in the translation of metaphors, idioms, and phrasal verbs in the source text. This paper also discusses any potential problems arising in conjunction with these strategies. The findings of this analysis show that literal translation is the most commonly used translation strategy, in line with Liu and Zhang’s recommendations (2005). Overall, the second most frequently used strategy is transference, followed by meaning translation. This analysis also highlights interesting research gaps regarding omission and addition and encourages further research on these subjects. Greater knowledge and application of these strategies could lead not only to a better and more efficient target text but also a target text that is closer in word count to the original, thereby reducing the expansion of the source text.