A metaforák és a fordítói szabadság

“A picture is worth a thousand words” - the well-known proverb expresses the deep connection between a picture and a word, whether written or spoken. This idea deserves to be explained in more detail. Written text, whatever its genre, always contains a large number of linguistic images. According to cognitive metaphor theory, metaphor is universally embedded in the structure of thought and, hence, in the structure of language (Lakoff and Johnson 1980). The use of linguistic images is usually considered to be a feature of fiction, although metaphors, whether in their live or fixed meaning form, can also be found in a variety of non-literary (e.g. publicistic, professional-scientific) texts. In my study, I discuss the possibilities of transporting linguistic images in different text types, paying attention to the way in which the text type sets the boundaries within which the translator is relatively free to choose between different translation strategies when transporting metaphors.