Study Of Interpretating From The Perspective Of Relevance Theory

Interpretation is a communicative process where source language information is transmitted to the target language listeners. It helps communicators from different cultures speaking different languages understand each other and connect despite obstacles. Especially when China and the rest of the world enter the information age, with globalization as a trend, interpretation is playing an increasingly significant part in international and interregional communication and exchanges. Ever since China's opening up and reform, particularly after her entry into WTO and successful hosting of 2008 Olympic Games, China has enhanced her ties with the rest of the world further. When the demand for it is ever increasing, interpretation research naturally draws more interest and attention from scholars in different fields. Western researchers have explored into interpretation from the perspectives of linguistics, psychology, neurotics and other disciplines, with their numerous research findings published. Nevertheless, here in China, interpretation research developed much later than the west. In addition, early research was mainly on the basis of practical experience or on linguistic theories, with relatively weak support from theory. In the 21st century, China opens up and exchanges more with other countries, and consequently interpretation research also benefits from the change and acquires international and interdisciplinary characteristics. The Relevance Theory developed by Sperber and Wilson provided a new approach to deal with human communicative activities. The two scholars claim that the process of communication is in nature ostensive-inferential, which contains ostensive behavior and inferential behavior. Ostension refers to the fact that the speaker communicates his/her intention in such a way that is ostensive to the hearer while inference refers to the fact that the hearer makes inference according to the information provided by the speaker and the context that he/she can find. While the information conveyed in communication can be categorized into informative intention a communicative intention. On the basis of Relevance Theory, the communicators'behavior stems from the assumption that an optimal relevance exists, that is, the communicators assume their behavior can create optimal contextual effects with the least effort caused. Relevance Theory has been applied to many fields of studies ever since it was put forward. Since interpretation belongs to communication, this communication theory should also be applicable to it. In interpretation, the interpreter acts as a medium of communication. The task of seeking or establishing optimal relevance is fulfilled with the help of the interpreter. To comprehend and reproduce the speaker's intention, the interpreter has to select a proper context, combine it with the ostensive information and make inference. This thesis attempts to study interpretation process and interpretation methods from the perspective of Relevance Theory.