On The Hierarchy Of Discourse Translation: From The Perspective Of Relevance Theory

The thesis mainly deals with discourse translation following the guideline of relevance theory and offers some enlightenment on how to understand the hierarchy of discourse in the process of translating discourse. Translation by nature is not only the manipulation of language, but also a dynamic cross-cultural communicative progress. Translation involves a great deal of problems in life, which determine the mutli-layered characteristics in translation study. In translation, words or sentences can not fully reveal such features, and communicative functions can only be embodied by the form of discourse. The term "discourse" in the thesis collectively refers to text, sub-text and sentence group.The function of discourse is the basis for understanding the theory of discourse. Discourse, as a carrier of information transmission, can be envisaged as a kind of "communication case", therefore, discourse study must be put under the background of communicative process. Discourse is originated from the intentions of communicators, information provided for communication, communicative competence and the relevant context as well. Only in the mutual-manifest communication can discourse exert its due functions and it is in such condition that discourse is worthy of our attention. In that sense, discourse is considered as a linguistic process of communication and interaction.Relevance theory, a cognitive-pragmatic theory which explains verbal communication in the domain of linguistics and philosophy since the 1980s, has two noteworthy arguments: 1. verbal communication is a kind of ostensive-inferential process; 2. in communication, human beings always intend to be geared to the maximization of information with minimization of efforts—optimal relevance. Relevance theory focuses on the relationship between communication and cognition, which perfectly tallies with translation and can effectively explain translation, the most complicated phenomenon in universal history. Relevance theory sufficiently explains essentials of various translation activities by offering a general and unified theoretical framework, yet not contradictive, so it bears a universal explanatory power of translation phenomena. (Zhao Yanchun, 2005: 117)The thesis adopts the model of text analysis set forth by Nord, which can realize the communicative function of discourse by using intratextual factors and extratextual factors. In terms of the analysis of the hierarchy of discourse, this model, different from traditional linear system, can explain the special function and all complicated and relevant factors of source text more thoroughly and more systematically. Translators can choose their translation strategies applied to different translation purposes on the basis of such model.