The Implication of DMIP on the Translation of Deliberate Metaphors in The Last Quarter of the Moon

Our paper argues that DMIP is not only a method for identifying potentially deliberate metaphors but also a process of deconstructing a metaphor by tracing back its mapping relations. We employ DMIP to identify the deliberate metaphors in the translation process of The Last Quarter of the Moon and compare the identification results to evaluate the changes in the meaning reconstruction of deliberate metaphors in the English target text. We find that the meaning construction and discourse function of deliberate metaphor in the target text is strengthened or weakened due to the increase or decrease of metaphorical expressions. To maintain the equivalent meaning of deliberate metaphor in the target text, the deliberate nature, the number and content of metaphorical expressions, and the conceptual mappings should be kept unchanged. Omitting any of these elements may alter the meaning construction of deliberate metaphor and thus undermine its communicative function in literary translation.