magazinelogo

Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science

ISSN Online: 2576-0548 ISSN Print: 2576-0556 CODEN: JHASAY
Frequency: monthly Email: jhass@hillpublisher.com
Total View: 4723227 Downloads: 1458338 Citations: 301 (From Dimensions)
ArticleOpen Access http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2025.07.006

Reframing Science: Cultural Adaptation and Cognitive Shaping in Cross-cultural News Translation

Jing Wang*, Danni Xia

School of Foreign Languages, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Chongqing 400065, China.

*Corresponding author: Jing Wang

Published: July 23,2025

Abstract

In the era of globalization, the cross-cultural translation of scientific news plays a vital role in shaping public scientific literacy and constructing national image. Based on discourse analysis and framing theory, this study investigates how scientific news translated and published in Reference News in 2024 differ from their original English versions in terms of discursive framing. The analysis reveals significant shifts in key areas such as responsibility attribution, conflict representation, cultural symbolism, and ethical stance. These shifts suggest a strong tendency toward cultural adaptation and cognitive steering in the translation process. Such reframing practices not only reflect the ideological underpinnings of media discourse strategies, but also underscore the recontextualizing role of translation in cross-cultural communication. Scientific news translation, therefore, should be understood not merely as a linguistic transformation, but as a dynamic process of reconstructing the social meaning of science and reshaping public cognition.

Keywords

Scientific news translation; Framing theory; Discourse analysis; Cultural adaptation; Cognitive impact

References

Entman, R. M. (1993). Framing: Toward clarification of a fractured paradigm. Journal of Communication, 43(4), 51-58.

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.1993.tb01304.x

Fillmore, C. J. (1977). Scenes and frames semantics. In A. Zampolli (Ed.), Linguistic structures processing (pp. 55-82). North Holland.

Gambier, Y. (2006). Transformations in international news. In K. Conway & S. Bassnett (Eds.), Translation in global news (pp. 6-21). Routledge.

Goffman, E. (1974). Frame analysis: An essay on the organization of experience. Harvard University Press.

Kong, X. (2021). A critique of “Understanding news framing through English Chinese translation: A comparative study of media discourse.” Eastern Translation, (04).

Lakoff, G. (2006). Thinking points: Communicating our American values and vision. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Lu, J. (2024). Revisiting the dual origins of framing theory in news communication. China Broadcasting and Television Journal, (03).

Valdeón, R. A. (2014). (Re)Framing news translation: An analysis of thematic and discursive shifts in the translation of news. Target, 26(3), 442-463.

Van Doorslaer, L. (2009). How language and culture affect media contexts: Perspectives from translation studies. Perspectives, 17(2), 83-92.
https://doi.org/10.1080/09076760903125051

Wu, X., & Xiong, Z. (2017). Reconstruction of frames in news translation in Reference News. Journal of Hebei Normal University of Science & Technology (Social Sciences), 16(4).

How to cite this paper

Reframing Science: Cultural Adaptation and Cognitive Shaping in Cross-cultural News Translation

How to cite this paper: Jing Wang, Danni Xia. (2025) Reframing Science: Cultural Adaptation and Cognitive Shaping in Cross-cultural News Translation. Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science9(7), 1280-1286.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2025.07.006