The implicit theoretical and epistemological presuppositions of German functionalist approaches to translation were revised by analyzing the conceptual metaphors that structure the two works which in the 80s established its theoretical foundations: Grundlegung einer allgemeinen Translationstheorie (Reiβ-Vermeer 1984) and Translatorisches Handeln. Theorie und Methode (Holz-Mänttäri 1984). A concordance of both books led to define two main conceptual metaphors which play a crucial role in the structure of funcionalist theoretical discourses: the transfer and the destination metaphors. These metaphors and their logical extensions were then analyzed within Lakoff & Johnson’s (1980, 1999) framework, i.e. the cognitive theory of metaphor. Results made it possible to detect several contradictions between the theoretical assumptions and the logical implications of some of the basic concepts of functionalist theories and their authors’ explicit claims. Functionalism adopted a new paradigm with respect to previous, linguistic-oriented approaches, by focusing on the production of textual equivalences. However, some aspects of Reiβ-Vermeer’s (1984) and Holz-Mänttäri’s (1984) discourses undermined this integrative approach to translational action and hindered its coherent development, limiting the the scope of research in the field of functionalism and reducing its explanatory power. The theoretical framework offered by the second generation of cognitive approaches, i.e., connectionism and situated cognition, makes it possible to expand the epistemological basis of functionalism, many of whose key concepts, such as ‘purpose’ and ‘intention’, are cognitive in nature. This extension of the functionalist theoretical foundations allows the development of the translative action models proposed by Vermeer and Holz-Mänttäri, making it possible to focus on those aspects of the translation process which were hidden for those models and to solve the theoretical contradictions and difficulties detected in the analysis.
