1. Introduction

Explored the transformation of cognitive translation studies from objectivism to embodied cognition, emphasizing the application of 4EA cognition in translation research. Identified the challenges in current research, such as the multidimensionality and dispersion of cognitive categories, as well as the disconnect from modern translation theory. It is proposed that cognitive translation studies need to establish a comprehensive theoretical framework to integrate translation phenomena from different dimensions and levels. Based on the general understanding of cognitive science and reflection on the essence of translation, this article attempts to propose the theory of cognitive truncation in translation, and discusses its concept, conceptual system, and relationship with existing translation theories.

2. Articulation as a language description construct

Deeply explored the importance and application of truncation as a language descriptive construct. Langacker (1987) defined truncation as the process of attaching the lateral aspect to the base, where the base is the underlying matrix of the cognitive domain and the lateral aspect is the prominent substructure in the base. This basal lateral relationship is crucial for understanding language expression. Langacker (1999) further elaborated on the necessity, psychological rationality, and fundamental role of truncation in semantic description. Truncation can not only depict the conceptual content of specific expressions, but also reflect the cognitive ability of attention focus state.

3. Truncated representation as a construction for translation description

Deeply explored the theory of cognitive truncation in translation, as the core concept of cognitive translation studies. Firstly, the chapter discusses the shift in understanding of the relationship between the original text and the translated text, shifting from traditional concepts of equivalence, movement, and transmission to the essence of cognitive truncation translation. Halverson and Tan Yesheng respectively proposed new perspectives on the relationship between the original text and the translation, emphasizing the importance of schema exemplification relationships and intermediary concepts. There are three basic schema exemplification correspondences between the original text and the translated text in semantics, which reflect the base side relationship and achieve the correspondence between translation units through truncated cognitive operations.

4. Translation cognitive truncation theory

Deeply explored the theory of cognitive truncation in translation, and regarded it as the core theoretical concept of cognitive translation studies. Truncation theory holds that translation is a process of extracting the side of the original text on the basis of its activation to reproduce the original text, breaking through the traditional binary oppositional thinking framework and emphasizing the diverse variant relationship between the source language and the target language. Translation cognitive truncation theory acknowledges the distance between two texts to address the equivalence dilemma and entanglement caused by ambiguity or polysemy.

5. Conclusion

The system elaborates on the connotation of translation cognitive truncation theory, emphasizing its role in bridging micro language cognition and macro socio-cultural cognition, which helps to construct a highly operable translation cognitive analysis system. The theory of truncation breaks through the binary opposition of traditional translation theory and provides a new perspective for modern translation theory. It regards translation as a practice of raising awareness, providing tools for analyzing political and socio-cultural consciousness, revealing cognitive differences between source and target languages, and the role of translators in cultural integration and reconstruction. In addition, the chapter also explores the interrelationship between the truncated salience construct and other core theoretical constructs of cognitive translation studies, as well as how to guide systematic new knowledge through empirical methods.