Metaphor? What Metaphor?A Case-Study of Discrepancies in Rendering Terms and Conventional Metaphors in L2 Italian-English Translations of Specialised Discourse

This case study indicates that conventional metaphor is a neglected aspect of L2 translation training, especially as regards specialised discourses. The purpose of conventional metaphors in all varieties of discourse is to lexicalise or to give linguistic expression to abstract concepts and meanings. This tendency is also reflected in the essentially metaphorical nature of diverse specialized terms. Thus when the trope is employed in specialised discourse, it is reasonable to expect trainee translators to recognise it and to activate effective translation strategies, even when working into their L2. Nevertheless, conventional metaphor identification is far from unproblematic, and in the case of L2 translation it can be a considerable obstacle to effective, unmarked renderings. The starting-point for this article is the parity of terms and conventional metaphors identified in a set of specialised texts used in a course for L2 translation in the Italian-English pairing. Although term and metaphor-density were virtually the same, trainees rendered terms far more competently than conventional metaphors. The article considers probable reasons for this and the advisability of developing awareness of this trope in L2 translation training.