This paper proceeds with a methodological progression through seminal theories,
beginning with metaphors and followed by proverbs, translation and comparative linguistics, and
concludes with a comprehensive examination of a corpus of French and English proverb
translations. Fundamental to the entire translation process is that translation is a cognitive
activity, involving multiple processes that are sequential, simultaneous and interdependent.
Therefore, the translation model is composed of two levels, how translation occurs and what
occurs, as the processes and methods are two different, yet simultaneous, aspects of the
translation model. Proverbs were chosen as the corpus and focus of this thesis due to their
intensively cultural and metaphoric nature, as well as their received translation pairings. My
thesis will also demonstrate that proverbs offer a vast and reliable source of French to English
translations, through their use in demonstrating that a model for the translation of metaphors in
proverbs is possible.