Modern Social Science Research

Based on the theory of cognitive construal, this study focuses on the English translation of cultural relic names in the Shandong Museum, analyzing translation strategies and issues from the dimensions of specificity, scope and background, perspective, and prominence. The research finds that in the translation of cultural relic names, specificity is manifested through cognitive translation strategies such as “detailed translation,” “simplified translation,” or “omission.” Correctly construing the scope and background of cultural relics requires translators to possess extensive interdisciplinary knowledge of both Chinese and Western cultures. Shifts in perspective influence the choice of translation strategies, thereby affecting the cross-cultural construal difficulty of the translated text and the dissemination of the source culture’s heterogeneity. Prominence is reflected in the translator’s selective emphasis on certain aspects of the content, highlighting key concepts while downplaying secondary ones. This study validates the explanatory and guiding role of cognitive construal theory in the translation of cultural relic names. Further exploration is warranted on how to efficiently convey cultural relic information and disseminate culture through limited textual transformation, thereby enhancing cross-cultural construal effectiveness.

Museum; Cultural relic translation; Cognitive construal; Translation strategy