Inferential Patterns in the Translation of Financial Metaphors
117much meaning in Spanish, so a correct inferential response will be difficult
to attain. If target readers look up for translations in specialist dictionaries
and Internet pages, the possibilities are large: capital flotante, capital de
libre circulación, acciones emitidas puestas a disposición del Mercado,
porcentaje del capital de una sociedad que cotiza libremente en el
mercado sin estar en manos de un gran accionista, and the like. Some of
these Spanish translations use related terms, but others resort to
explanations and periphrases. In these cases, the inferential possibilities
multiply. Only having a good knowledge of finance can translators find
adequate equivalents in Spanish. The second metaphor, blue chips, is
perhaps a better known one, as it is generally applied to ‘well-established
and financially sound enterprises’, or ‘reliable stocks worth investing in’.
However, the inferences this term induces in non-professional Spanish
recipients are similar to the ones generated by the previous term. The
likely translations of such a metaphor in Spanish are: grandes sociedades,
sociedades de primer orden, empresa grande y estable, valores de primera
clase, acciones de primera línea, empresas ‘blue chip’, and so on. Again,
we lack a generally accepted term, and, again, this avalanche of likely
translations may condition the translators’ decisions.
2) Use a calque to translate metaphors:x El ICO, nuevo “caballero blanco” de la economía española. [lit. ICO, a
new “white knight” of the Spanish economy].
x Los bancos han dado préstamos con “interés globo” a muchos
compradores. [lit. Banks have given “balloon interest” loans to many
buyers].This second option causes inferential problems similar to those
described in the previous examples. In this case, translators have resorted
to the use of identical metaphors in Spanish, in an attempt to reproduce the
same cognitive effects. However, these metaphors do not typically exist in
Spanish financial discourse, and they have been explicitly used in these
examples to name financial subjects and practices which are inexistent in
Spanish. After reading example one, Spanish-speaking addressees will
possibly infer that caballero blanco is ‘somebody or something
honourable, generous, and the like’, as both caballero and blanco have
positive connotations in most cultures. However, most of them will be
unable to know the exact financial application of such a metaphor, as it has
been translated into Spanish in different ways (caballero blanco, príncipe
de las finanzas, aliado en una OPA hostil, etc.) In the second example, it
is very likely that a Spanish recipient will understand interés globo