ABSTRACT
This chapter is situated in a functional context but at the same time includes a detailed comparative text-analysis model based on the construal mechanism developed from cognitive stylistics. The main translation methods to adjust the focusing are direct translation, explanation, and restoration. The main translation methods for the perspective shift are the conversion of tense sentences, the conversion of sentence patterns, and the conversion between positive and negative sentences. These elements seem to be independent of one another. However, they are, in fact, closely related and cannot be completely separated. The level of specificity can be regarded as a highlighting problem: ‘to detail’ is to highlight the content through closer attention, whereas ‘to simplify’ is to ignore unimportant issues so as to focus on salient information. Scope and background can be understood as paying more attention to and highlighting the things that are understood against a familiar background. Different perspectives can be viewed as highlighting things from different perspectives. In sum, the cognitive perspective provides a relatively objective approach to the analysis of the translation process. The construal mechanism can explain some linguistic phenomena that are difficult to explain by traditional theories and is fully applicable to the study of the translation process. It is an effective means to explain translation.
