Translating phrasal combinations across the typological divide

This paper will take into account a specific case of semantic combinability as it emerges when translating a conceptual construal from satellite-framed languages into verb-framed languages. With a recourse to the theoretical framework of cognitive semantics (Talmy 2000), to the linguistic description of typological matrix (Talmy 1975-2000; Berman & Slobin 1994; Slobin & Hoiting 1994; Slobin 1996, 2000, 2002, 2003), and to the imagistic thinking framework (Johnson 1987), my focus will be placed upon the translation of spatiality, and, more specifically, of motion events. The universal prime notion of spatiality motivates my research interest in motion expressions, since they help define and explain the relationships between semantic representations and cognitive structures (Bloom et al. 1996). The paper represents the first step toward a more systematic work upon the translatability of complex motion signata in the event and textual dimensions.