Keeping track of motion events in translation. A case of Spanish translation of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

The main concern here is the cognitive analysis of motion events in translating from English (a satellite-framed language) to Spanish (a verb-framed language). Briefly presented is an overview of the theoretical background which forms the framework for the study, namely Talmy’s typology of lexicalization patterns and Slobin’s ‘‘thinking for speaking” hypothesis. The data sample of 88 motion events (143 with satellites) has been selected from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and from its Spanish translation, considering the quantitative and qualitative criteria. It is here argued that typological differences between S-languages and V-languages lead to numerous problems in rendering the aspects of Path and Manner of Motion. Special attention is also given to the possible translation strategies of compensating for typological restrictions.