TITLE:
A Study on Cognitive Transformation Mechanism from Implicitness to Explicitness—Mental Space Analysis of the English Translation of Idioms in Mo Yan’s Novels
AUTHORS:
Yue Shen, Zhenqiang Zhao
KEYWORDS:
Chinese-English Idioms, Cognitive Mechanisms, Mental Space, Semantic Explicitation, Implicit Agent/Patient
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.13 No.3,
March
3,
2026
ABSTRACT: Based on the Mental Space Mapping theory from Cognitive Linguistics, this paper investigates the cognitive transformation mechanisms involved in translating Chinese idioms into English in Mo Yan’s novels. The study focuses on the pervasive implicit agentive and patientive meaning in the semantic construal of Chinese idioms, and examines how these are explicated in cross-linguistic transfer through mental-space operations of mapping, integration, and elaboration. The main findings are as follows: 1) Owing to their strong spatiality, paratactic features, and holistic mode of thinking, Chinese idioms frequently contain implicit agent and patient elements in the source domain or input spaces; 2) Explicitation strategies in English translation display a continuum distribution, with specific methods including supplying implicit agentive/patientive meaning, making implicit passive semantics explicit, and adding conjunctions or verbal elements to complete the syntactic framework; 3) The degree of explicitation is significantly correlated with idiom type, cultural load, and narrative context, with translators dynamically balancing the retention of “heterogeneity” and reader acceptability to accomplish the cognitive transformation from implicitness to explicitness.