The Development of Coherence in Translation: the Role of Cognitive References
Coherence does not exist in the text per se; it is rather a matter of cognitive construct. Coherence is always defined in the theories of text reception, psycholinguistics or text linguistics by the interaction between the text and its reader making inferences. Our paper deals with the manifestations of coherence as it is built by the translator. Its aim is to show that this process is based on the cognitive references of the translator, in specialized translation as in literary translation. A think-aloud protocol will be used to show that cognitive constructs take the form of conceptual networks; it highlights the need for cognitive or conceptual approaches in terminology. However, the point is also made that coherence is relative and unpredictable as it involves the reader’s subjectivity.