Inferential Patterns in the Translation of Financial Metaphors
115translation degrees, as specialized translation subjects play an important
role in academic curricula. However, we could also ask how deep this
specialization might be – but this clearly goes beyond the purpose of this
text.
It seems evident then that translators should specialize in certain
professional fields, so that their level of expertise may come with time and
practice. Meanwhile, they will need to acquire a professional perception of
the areas approached, and show an interest in mastering the fields in
question. In the specific case of financial translation, a good academic and
professional knowledge is clearly recommendable. Of course, I do not
mean that translators should be specialists devoted only to specific areas of
financial translation, such as international invoicing procedures (to
mention an example), but familiarize themselves with broader financial
fields, such as export-import documentation, banking procedures, etc.
Logically, the more trained translators are in a given field of specialist
translation, the easier it will be for them to deal with the inferential matters
presented in this chapter. Only by having a conceptual knowledge of the
subject addressed is it possible to tackle the translation process ensuring
adequate quality. Consequently, it is essential, in my opinion, that
translators – prior to engaging in purely linguistic translation tasks –
should perform an inferential effort aimed at sorting out the specific
intentional issues behind the financial – in our case – metaphors included
in a given text. Otherwise, it would seem very difficult for many
translators to find appropriate financial translations for sentences such as:
No Bite Left in the Dogs of the Dow?
Investment is an art. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to
understand how to pick stocks.
The tequila crisis: hangover or hair of the dog?Inferential aspects in the translation of English and
Financial Metaphors into Spanish: Some examples
Let us now focus on some other inferential elements that may arise in the
process of understanding and translating figurative business speech.
Summarizing what has been written so far, financial metaphors, like other
professional analogies, aim to simplify complex monetary terminology,
addressing an abstract theoretical and professional subject from a
manageable perspective, and providing the receivers with convenient
cognitive tools to approach highly specialized economic concepts.
Through metaphors, less experienced readers are able to attain new