Interpreting Dynamic RDA Model

Interpreting studies now enter an era of interdisciplinary evolution after havinggone through several obvious development phases, such as “initiation andpreparation”,“speculation and exploration” and “question and adjustment” since itscommencement in1950s. The complexity and variability of interpreting activity interms of language information processing, psychological cognitive mechanism andsocio-cultural property, highlights increasingly the concept of interdisciplinarity onthe fields of studies theme and methodology, as far as the description and theexplanation of the interpreting phenomenon are concerned, both strategically andtactically. However, most of the studies still focused on the perspectives of reflectiveregulation, there haven’t appeared systematic discussion regarding the thinking rules,psychological mechanism, restrictive elements, cognitive knowledge and itscompetence evolution of interpreting in itself. In order to comb the processingprogram of interpreting systematically as a whole, Cai Xiaohong (2001) oncecategorized the studies models of interpreting into Descriptive Models represented byParis School’s Triangular Model of Interpretive Theory, and Explanative Modelsrepresented by Gile’s Effort Models. The author nevertheless argues that both of themare defective in some way from the perspectives of current interdisciplinary studies ofinterpreting. Paris School’s Triangular Model of Interpretive Theory just describes theprocedures of interpreting activity, without telling interpreter how to carry out;however, Gile’s Effort Models points out the cognitive efforts of interpreters duringinterpreting, without presenting the instruction for interpreters to mitigate and copewith the unnecessary efforts.Therefore, the dissertation attempts to explore and analyze the cognitive processof interpreting from the perspectives of interdisciplinarity concerning languagephilosophy, embodied philosophy, language psychology, cognitive pragmatics andintercultural communication theories, based on the current interdisciplinary studies ofinterpreting. The dissertation, after speculation of interpreting studies from the perspective of philosophy, concludes that interpreting activities possess the followingattributes: the intersection of Language World-views——from the perspective ofCross-culture Communication; the relevance of Language Game——from theperspective of Pragmatics; the classical embodiment of Embodied Philosophy——from the perspective of Cognitive Science, and achieves a new definition ofinterpreting to reveal its special attribute as follows: Interpreting is a kind of particularcommunicative process, which aims to promote fluent cross-culture andcross-language communication through spoken language, highlighting pragmatics asits strategy, cognition as its methods and means. Which is another presentation ofinterdisciplinary researches of interpreting, enriching the theory basis of interpretingstudies. As for the procedure system of interpreting activities, based on the RelevanceTheory and Adaptation Theory of Cognitive Pragmatics and the Deverbalization ofInterpretive Theory, this dissertation develops a “comprehensive model” focusing onthe interpreting skills studies——Interpreting Dynamic RDA Model. This model isboth descriptive and prescriptive, so it can be applied to the instruction forinterpreting teaching and practices.In this model, the dissertation applies the Relevance Theory and AdaptationTheory of Pragmatics to illustrate and instruct the cross-language and cross-culturecommunication of interpreting. The Relevance Theory points out that the listeningcomprehension of interpreting actually is a kind of “ostensive-inferential” processbecause of the communicative attributes of interpreting from the perspective ofcognition. The cognitive contexts at interpreting setting provide tools and methods forinterpreter’s pragmatic inference, which is based on the relevance principle andoptimal relevance hypotheses. So it is vital for interpreters to get to know and analyzethe “present” and “absent” contexts and to stimulate and apply interpreters oneself“knowledge schemata”. Adaptation Theory, however, regards language use as aprocess of linguistic choices, which is reflected in four aspects: contextual correlatesadaptability, structural objects adaptability, dynamics adaptability, and salience ofadaptation processes. Verschueren regards context is the integration of communicativecontexts and language contexts, which is the focus of adaptation. The acknowledge and adaptation of the communicative contexts and language contexts at theinterpreting setting are the crucial strategies and means to achieve target-languageadaptation and interpreting end. In a nutshell, the application of both RelevanceTheory and Adaptation Theory in the processes of listening comprehension andtarget-language expression of interpreting is a perfect integration. Since the target oflistening comprehension and the end of target-language expression in interpreting arethe messages and its communicative intention of the source-language speakers, themeaning of Deverbalization hence becomes the aim which relevance listening seeksfor as well as the end served by target-language adaptation expressing. Therefore, allthe memory activities and its techniques and skills of interpreting should be based onthe only object of the meaning of Deverbalization, considering the features ofon-the-spot, instantaneousness and interactivity of interpreting.Based on the above-mentioned macro overall speculation of interpreting studies,the dissertation then undertakes micro researches for the three successive phases of“listening”,“memory” and “expressing” of interpreting process. During the phase ofRelevance Listening of Interpreting Dynamic RDA Model, the dissertationcombines Schema Theory with Relevance Pragmatic Inference Theory to analyze thelistening comprehension, revealing that the dual-contexts concept of RelevanceTheory shows the direction and guideline for listening comprehension of interpreters,meanwhile the knowledge schemata within the mind of interpreters provide accessiblecontents for the listening comprehension of interpreters. At the same time, the authoralso proposes cognitive connection principle of the relevance listening comprehensionof interpreting, which connects all kinds of contexts with the relevant knowledgeschemata of interpreters by means of cognitive mechanisms, such as conceptcorrespondence, affection negotiation and meaning inheritance, so as to achievequality listening comprehension of interpreting. During the phase of DeverbalizationMemory of Interpreting Dynamic RDA Model, the dissertation explores further thehypothesis of “Deverbalization”, discusses memory mechanism, semanticorganization of interpreting memory, and the way “Deverbalization” takes shape ininterpreting memory; and then researches short-term memory capacity theory and memory unit in interpreting, fading curve of short-term memory and note-taking ininterpreting, finally proposing interpreting note-taking skills with respective cognitivemotivation. During the phase of Target-Language Adaptation Expression ofInterpreting Dynamic RDA Model, the dissertation, as far as how to express intarget-language is concerned, proposes dynamic adaptation strategy in target-languageexpression after discussing the relationship between Adaptation Theory andinterpreting studies. Under the dynamic choices of contexts and language structures,in order to achieve better interpreting effects, how can the interpreters adjust his or herawareness to adapt to target-language expression? To this end, the author exploresdynamic adaptation in target-language from the perspectives of target-languagecontexts dynamic adaptation, target-language receptors mentality dynamic adaptation,target-language culture dynamic adaptation. Among the above three aspects, thedissertation holds that dynamic adaptation is the theme, target-language contextsbeing the platform, target-language receptors mentality and target-language culturebeing the available resources for interpreters dynamically adjusting his or herawareness to adapt to target-language expression. Therefore, the language choiceswill surely better adapt to the contexts and language structures of the target-language,fulfilling successfully the cross-language and cross-culture communication ofinterpreting.The attributes of description and prescription of Interpreting Dynamic RDAModel make it a descriptive cognitive model theoretically, and a prescriptive modelfor practices as well. Therefore, the dissertation comes to explore the practice andapplication of Interpreting Dynamic RDA Model. Based on the above-mentionedtheoretical discussions and by way of description of the interpreting education andtraining and its development in China, the dissertation formulates a cognitiveevolution model of interpreting skills, and concludes the following principles foreducation: principle of interdisciplinary theories; principle of practice and experience;principle of skill cognitive evolution. And then discusses the detailed practices andapplication in each phase of the interpreting process, so as to broaden the vision andhorizon for the interpreting education and training and its practice. Since interpreting studies enter an interdisciplinary development era, we shouldemphasize the synthesis of interpreting studies strategies and methods, some scholarsproposed the application, objects and effects of quantitative method studies should bereevaluated properly in the interpreting studies, even appealed a quality method “turn”back to interpreting studies, so as to emphasize the significance of embodiment andsociality of interpreting studies upon the researches and teaching, proposing that thetheme of interpreting studies should return back to interpreting in itself. Thisdissertation of Interpreting Dynamic RDA Model: Theory and Its Application is justan attempt concerning the interpreting itself studies, with the hope that the broadmasses of scholars and experts, interpreting practitioners and teachers and students,and interested people from all walks of life will pay their attention to this area,making it grows vigorously to serve better for the increasingly frequent internationalcommunication promoting the harmonious relationship among the internationalcommunity.