This study discusses the cross-cultural re-conceptualization of the slogan ‘I’m lovin’ it’, popularized in Poland by a global fast-food restaurant chain, which occurs in the inter-linguistic transfer between English and Polish. The analytical framework for the study is provided by Cultural Linguistics and the Re-conceptualization and Approximation Theory. The analysis is based on proposals submitted by 45 translators asked to come up with a Polish equivalent of the slogan. The results indicate that because the semantic networks for the meaning of love do not overlap between English and Polish perfectly, attempts at the cross-cultural transfer of the slogan can be approached only as more or less accurate approximations of the original meaning constructed according to culture-specific norms, expectations, and attitudes.

The aim of this study is to refl ect on two notions that are often used in contemporary research, relevant to cultural linguistics: linguistic vision of the world and linguistic image of the world. We start with expressing our conviction that it is not a question of two synonymic concepts nor do we believe that they are opposite notions. In our opinion, they are two ideas that refl ect the relationship between the language and culture of a speech community but at different levels and from a different perspective. In this study we will examine the research works that, in recent years, have used both notions in order to expose their advantages. In the fi rst part of our work we will discuss the background of the discipline and then provide the defi nitions of both notions and their uses most signifi cant uses. We will draw on the studies of researchers who study Slavic languages, Spanish and English.

The onymic image of the world in a translation through an intermediary language as exemplified by the anthroponyms in a collection of short stories “Baummoos pflücken” (lit. “The Lichen Collector”) by Zhang Wei.

The article addresses the issue of the linguistic image of the world — reflected in proper names — and of its translation. Chinese onyms and their related forms of address contain information about mutual relations between the speaker and the named object, thus offering a better insight into social relations in small language and cultural communities. The challenge for the translator is not only to translate these onyms, but also to preserve their social function in the text. This has been exemplified in the article by a translation of a collection of short stories from Chinese to Polish through German, where the intermediary language adds another coherence layer. The theory of the linguistic image of the world and proper names per se are a starting point for a critical analysis of this specific translation in view of the translation of onyms and of their potential for conveying the image of the world. Emphasis is placed on the transfer of the social functions of onyms into the target language. The influence of onyms and of their consistent treatment in the translation on the coherence of the studied text has also been taken into account.