从温家宝答记者问的翻译看口译中的最佳关联毕业论文文献综述

从温家宝答记者问的翻译看口译中的最佳关联毕业论文文献综述论文题目从温家宝答记者问的翻译看口译中的最佳关联ThesisTitleOntheOptimalRelevanceReflectedintheInterpretationofPremierWenJiabao’sPressConferencesIntroductionInterpretationisacross-language,cross-culturalandcross-socialcommunicationactivity,theprocessofwhichisnotonlyaconversionprocessoflanguages,butalsoofculturesthatreflectdistinctsocialcharacteristics.Itisakindoftranslation.Ithelpspeopleovercomelanguagebarrierandservesasabridgeforcommunicationamongspeechcommunitiesofdifferentcultures.Withtheglobaleconomicintegrationapproaching,especiallyafterChina’saccessionintotheWTO,therehavebeenmorefrequentexchangeswithothercountriesinsuchareasaspolitics,economics,culture,sportsandcommerce.(HuangXiuqing,2009)Interpretationisplayingamoreimportantroleatbothformalandinformalconferences.Aswehumanbeingsenterintothe21stcentury,interpretationstudieshaveregisteredacross-disciplinarytrendofcomprehensiveresearcheswithfindingsofothersubjectsborrowedupon.Asaspecialmeansofverbalcommunication,interpretationisintendedtopavethewayforexchangesofideasbetweenpeoplespeakingdifferentlanguagesandfromvariousbackgrounds.Viewedfromitscharacteristics,interpretationisahighlycomplicatedmentallabor.Althoughitisaprocessofexpressionandreproductionofthesourcelanguagebythetargetlanguage,interpretationhasitsuniqueoperationmodelandinherentrulescomparedwithtranslation.Intheinterpretationprocess,theinterpreter,thespeakerandthehearerbelongtothesamecontext.(HuangXiuqing,2009)Theinterpreter,astheprincipalbodyoftheinterpretationprocess,isconstantlyintheprocessofchoosingandswitchingbetweenthesourcelanguageandthetargetlanguage.Inordertoachieveaperfectinterpretation,theinterpreterstendtoseekcontextualassumptionofoptimalrelevanceinaccordancewiththepurposeandexpectationofbothparties,inferbasedonhisorherownbackgroundknowledgeanddeliversuchoptimalrelevancetothetargetaudiencesothatsoundcommunicationeffectcouldbeachieved.TheconceptofOptimalRelevance,abovementioned,isfromRelevanceTheorywhichisputforwardbySperberandWilsonresearchesonthecommunicationprocessofhumanbeingsfromacognitivepointofview.Relevancetheoryisapopulartheoryappliedintheinterpretation.Thispaperaimstodiscusstheconcreteapplicationsofrelevancetheoryintheinterpretation,especiallytheoptimalrelevance.Theoptimalrelevanceamongthespeaker,theinterpreter,andtheaudiencecanberealizedandthepositiveroleoftheinterpreterinrealizingthebestcommunicativeeffectinachievingoptimalrelevanceduringtheprocessofinterpreting.InAnalysisoftheInterpretationinPremierWenJiabao’sPressConferences,itproceedstofindthathowtheinterpreterachievestheoptimalrelevanceandthusachievingthebestcommunicationeffect.2.BodyToimprovethedevelopmentandeffectofinterpretingasawhole,andcultivatetheutmosttranslationefficiencyoftheoraltranslators,expertsandresearchershavebeenseekinginallaspectsofthelanguagefield,developingtheoriestoapplyinthefieldsoftranslationandinterpretation.ThelogicianH.P.Grice’stheoryofconversationalimplicatureisthefoundationofmodernpragmatics.Griceholdsthatspeakersinaconversationnotonly‘saysomething’(conveynaturalmeaning),butalso‘implicatesomething’(conveyunnaturalmeaning)(Sperber,1986).ThisopinionwasfurtherdevelopedinGrice’slaterworksandhistheoryofconversationalimplicaturethustookshape.AccordingtoGrice,akeyproblemtobesolvedbypragmatistsishowthelistenercanfinallydeterminetherightimplicatureofanutterancefromaseriesofpossibleinterpretations.Soifwesaythatthetaskofthecommunicatorsistocorrectlyunderstandtheintendedmeaningsoftheircommunicativepartners,thenwemustalsosaythatthetaskofpragmatistsistocorrectlyinterprettheprocessofthecommunicators’inferenceofthosemeanings.Forthispurpose,Griceestablishedhisfamousco-operativeprincipleandinferentialcommunication,whicharestillwidelyappliedanddiscussedinthecircleofpragmaticsandbecomethemosttheoreticalfoundationofrelevancetheory.(XuJu,2000)Grice’sco-operativeprinciplewasbasedonthebeliefsthathumanconversationisnotmadeupofutterancesthatareirrelevantwitheachotherandthatinordertosmoothlycommunicatewitheachother,theconversationalpartnerswillvoluntarilyobservesomepragmaticprinciples,whicharereferredtobyGriceasco-operativeprinciple.Oneoftheprincipleswasexpoundedasfollows:ThemaximofRelevance—makeyourcontributionrelevant.ToGrice,thosewhoseoralcontributionsarenot‘relevant’or‘perspicuous’shouldonlybeslightlyblamed.Grice’scommunicativetheorymakesgreatcontributiontothesuccessfulestablishmentofpragmaticsasanindependentbranchoflinguistics.Manyofitsideas,especiallyitsnotionsof‘relevance’and‘communicationintention’arelaterborrowedanddevelopedbySperber&Wilson(1986).ButGrice’stheoryalsoleavesmanyunsettledproblemsforrelevancetheorists.Forexample,ithasnotinterpretedtheinferentialapparatusofconversationalimplicature,norhasitclarifiedthesourceandnatureofco-operativeprincipleaswellasitsmaxims,soitleavessuchdoubtsaswhetherpeopleshouldreallyobserveco-operativeprincipleinpracticalcommunication,suchasinterpretation,andwhetherthespeakersreallyaimattruthfulness,informativeness,relevance,andclarity.Besides,thedefinitionofrelevanceinGrice’stheoryisnotgiven.Whetheritispossibletoapplyhistheorytoallkindsofhumanverbalcommunication.TotheinadequaciesofGrice’scommunicativetheory,LiuYafei(2009)madeameaningfulexploration.HepointsoutthatGrice’sconversationalprinciple,towhichtherearemanyexceptions,containssomearbitraryquality,soitisnecessarytosubstituteitwithaprinciplewithgreatergeneralityandrelevancetheorycanmeetsuchademand.Sperber&Wilson(1986)setouttogiveananswertotheseproblemsintheirrelevancetheory.RelevanceTheoryisaveryimportantpragmatictheoryinthefieldoftranslationandinterpretation.HuangXiuqing(2009)hasmentionedthatRelevanceTheoryputforwardbyDanSperberandDeirdreWilsonprovidesanenlighteningtheoreticalframeworkthatcouldgiveoutareasonableexplanationforhumanlanguagecommunication.TheTheorywasdevelopedonthebasisofinteractivecommunicationtheoryandtheoryofconversationalimplicatureproposedbyH.P.Grice.InthebookRelevance:CommunicationandCognitionwrittenbySperberandWilson,relevancetheorywasincisivelyexpounded.Thesecondeditionmadesomerevisionstothefirstoneandcompletelyproposedthetwoprinciplesofrelevancetheory.TheFirstPrinciple,alsoknownastheCognitivePrinciple,advocatesthathumancognitiontendstobeorganizedsoastomaximizerelevanceandtheSecondPrinciple,alsocalledtheCommunicativePrinciple,holdsthateveryostensivecommunicationbehavioritselfshouldbeenvisagedasoptimalrelevance.SperberandWilsonbelievethatpeopleseekoptimalrelevanceofutterancesthroughtheostensive-inferentialprocessinlanguagecommunication.(HuangXiuqing,2009)LiZhanxi(2007)mentionedthatSperberandWilsongiveanewinterpretationofstyle:styleistherelationship;anotherdimensionalongwhichstylesmayvaryisinthedegreetowhichtheyconstrainorguidethehearer’ssearchforrelevance;stylearisesinthepursuitofrelevance.Theauthorsdefinepoeticeffectaspeculiareffectofanutterancewhichachievesmostofitsrelevancethroughawiderangeofarraysofweakimplicatures.Thewidertherangeofpotentialimplicaturesandthegreaterthehearer’sresponsibilityforconstructingthem,themorepoeticisobtained.RelevanceTheoryinvestigateshowthehearerunderstandsthespeaker’sintentionsinlinguisticcommunication.Thus,accordingtothistheorywecangodeeperintohowtheprocessingfacultiesofthetranslator’smindworkwhenheprocessestheauthor’sinformativeintentionandcommunicativeintention.ThecentralconceptinRelevanceTheoryisoptimalrelevance.Accordingtotheoreticaldevelopment,SperberandWilson(1986)concludetheprincipleofrelevance:"everyactofostensivecommunicationcommunicatesapresumptionofitsownoptimalrelevance".E.A.Gutt,SperberandWilson’sstudent,furtherdevelopedtherelevancetheory.Hefirstappliedrelevancetheorytotranslationfield.HepointsoutthatRelevanceisnotatranslationtheory.Itplaysanimportantpartinexplainingandguidingtheprocedureoftranslating.What'smore,Guttalsodevelopstheideathatinterpretiveusecanaccountfortheconcerntodeservebothmeaningcontentandstyle."Thetranslationisintendedtorestateinonelanguagewhatsomeoneelsesaidorwroteinanotherlanguage"(Gutt,2000)andrelevancetheoryprovidesafairlyexplicitaccountoftranslationasinstancesoftheinterpretiveuseoflanguageacrosslanguageboundaries.InGutt’sbookTranslationandRelevance:CognitionandContext,hemadebrandnewtheoreticalexplanationsoftranslationfromtheperspectiveofrelevancetheory.Guttputforwardtheconceptofrelevancetranslationtheory,whichheclaimedinthebook,isabletoexplainanyphenomenaintranslation.Relevancetheoryadvocatesthattocorrectlyunderstandthenaturallanguage,itisamustforpeopletoseekrelevancebycontextandtomakeinferenceasappropriate.Toachievepragmaticequivalenceintranslation,theprerequisiteistocorrectlycognizeandunderstandthenaturallanguageinthefirstplace.Suchconceptoftranslationregardstranslationasaninferentialprocessthatrelatestobrainmechanism,inotherwords,translationisdeemedasakindoflanguagecommunicativebehavior.Gutt’srelevance-theoreticapproachtotranslationhasgainedaplaceinthefieldofWesterntranslationstudiesandarousedmoreandmoreattentionfromtranslationscholars.Hispragmaticapproachtothetranslationprocessfocusesonthecommunicativecompetenceoftheparticipantsinvolved.Itthereforeseekstobemorethanmerelydescriptive:itclaimstobeanexplanatorytheory.Gutt’sapproachgivesapowerfulexplanationofhowthetranslator’smindworksduringtheprocessingoftranslation.HuangXiuqing(2009)agreedthatinterpretationisaspecialwayofcommunication.Theinterpreter,astheprincipalbodyoftheinterpretationprocess,isconstantlyintheprocessofchoosingandswitchingbetweenthesourcelanguageandthetargetlanguage.However,giventheuniqueculturalprecipitationandembodiment,switchesbetweendifferentlanguageshavebecomeextremelycomplicated.Asfarasrelevancetheoryisconcerned,intheprocessofinterpretationtheinterpretershouldseekcontextualassumptionofoptimalrelevanceinaccordancewiththepurposeandexpectationofbothparties,inferbasedonhisorherownbackgroundknowledgeanddeliversuchoptimalrelevancetothetargetaudiencesothatsoundcommunicationeffectcouldbeachieved.Therefore,relevancetheoryhasprovidedanewguidanceforinterpretation.RelevanceTheoryadvocatesanewpragmaticopinionoflanguagecommunicationasviewedfromacognitiveperspective,whichcouldwellaccountforlinguistics,philosophy,psychology,translationandetc.Sincetheendof1980s,therehavebeenrelevantintroductionsaboutrelevancetheoryinouracademicjournals,wheresomefamousscholarshavemadequiteafewcommentsandconductedresearchesonrelevance-theoreticinterpretationandtranslationstrategies.In1980s,Chineselinguists,primarilyShenJiaxuanandHeZiranintroducedRelevanceTheoryintoChina.HeZiran(2007)probesintotherestrictiveandguidingfunctionsofdiscourseconnectivesduringtheprocedureofpragmaticinference.LiZhanxi(2007)pointsouthumancognitiveactivitiesrequirepeopletouseleastefforttoachievegreatestcognitiveeffectsandconcentrateonthemostrelevantinformation.Theyexplainthecognitiveprocessasostensive-inferentialcommunication.Togetthehighestdegreeofrelevance,peopleshouldchoosethemostsuitablecontext.Relevanceisdependentontheinterplayofthesetwofactors.Asatypeofcommunication,successfultranslationdependsonthetwo.Maybeitissodifficulttoreachaperfectstateinwhichthetwofactorsortwoconditionsareperfectlyfulfilledatthesametime.Duringtranslationdecision-making,translatorissupposedtoharmonizethetwofactors.Ondifferentoccasions,translatorneedstoconcentrateondifferentaspectsaccordingtodifferentrequirements.3.ConclusionInaccordancewiththeaforementioned,relevancetheory,asapragmatictheoryplaysacrucialrolesinthefieldsoftranslationandinterpretationbothinChinaandaboard.Inpracticeofthetheory,thegreaterthecontextualeffectsachievedandthesmallertheprocessingeffortrequired,thegreatertherelevanceofinputtotheindividualwhoprocessesit.Thus,itisapparentthattherealizationofoptimalrelevanceisbymaximizingthecontextualeffectsandminimizingprocessingeffort.Tosomeextent,thesuccessofinterpretationdependsonthedeliveryofoptimalrelevancefromthespeakertothehearer.Aninterpretationissaidtobesuccessfulinthatitsho