On The Application Of The Cooperative Principle To Consecutive Interpretation

Although interpretation has long existed in human history, conference interpretation did not take shape until 1919 when interpretation was firstly formally adopted at the Paris Peace Conference. Since then, conference interpretation has been widely used in all kinds of meetings and many experts and scholars have been conducting enlightening studies on it from different perspectives, yet few of them are found conducting research on it from the perspective of pragmatics.With Grice's Cooperative Principle and Gile's Effort Model as its theoretical bases, this thesis makes an attempt to apply the Cooperative Principle to guiding consecutive conference interpretation with the focus on interpreters'violation of the Cooperative Principle in consecutive conference interpretation. It mainly explores the mode of Cooperative Principle in consecutive interpretation, reasons behind interpreters'violation of the Cooperative Principle and specific ways through which interpreters violate the Cooperative Principle in consecutive conference interpretation.This thesis is composed of five chapters. Chapter One briefly introduces the background and significance of the research as well as the layout of the thesis. Chapter Two covers some relevant definitions and the review of previous studies on conference interpretation and the application of the Cooperative Principle to interpretation. Chapter Three mainly discusses Grice's Cooperative Principle and its four maxims and Gile's Effort Model. In Chapter Four the mode of Cooperative Principle in consecutive interpretation, reasons for interpreters'violation of the Cooperative Principle and specific ways through which interpreters violate each of the maxims of the Cooperative Principle are elaborated upon. Chapter Five makes a summary of the major findings and introduces the limitations of the thesis and suggestions for further studies.Through the study, this thesis concludes that for most of the time in consecutive conference interpretation, interpreters strictly observe the Cooperative Principle and its four component maxims. However, there are occasions where interpreters violate the Cooperative principle for different reasons, and in most cases, interpreters'violation of the Cooperative Principle is necessary because it helps to enable the speakers and listeners better communicate with one another. Therefore, it can actually be taken as the coping tactics for interpreters to deal with the problems or difficulties arising in the course of interpreting to improve the quality of interpretation.