Meeting-the-mind Approach And Interpretation

After the World War Two, interpretation research has developed quickly. Many interpretation theories and effective approaches have been taking shape. These theories have guiding significance towards interpretation research. Many interpretation approaches have offered help for people with different languages to communicate with each other. The author of this thesis, according to the basic knowledge of Relevance Theory and many years of personal interpretation practice, put forward"Meeting-the-Mind Approach". The author thinks Schema Theory should be combined with other approaches in the preparation for the upcoming interpretation and the summary stage of interpretation. Situational contexts should be built in order to store information for communication. In the process of interpretation, interpreters should adopt the Relevance Theory to look for information, produce effects for situational contexts and provide best service for listeners.The first chapter of this thesis gives a brief introduction to the background of the study, necessity and urgency of further study and the purpose as well as significance of the research.The second chapter is a historical review. General introduction is given concerning the main schools of interpretation and their achievements at home and abroad. Views concerning the trends of development for interpretation are put forward.The third chapter discusses the shaping of the Meeting-the-Mind Approach and describes its preliminary definition of the approach. The theoretical bases of the research are Schema Theory and Relevance Theory.The author elaborates the relationship between Schema Theory, the relevance theory, particularly the application of the Meeting-the-Mind Approach. The author thinks that the theoretical bases are foundations for this research.The author focuses much of his attention on the chapter four, which constitutes the main part of this thesis. The author gives a lot of examples to the function of the Meeting-the-Mind Approach in preparation for the upcoming interpretation, the process of interpretation and the summary after interpretation.Descriptions concerning the coordinating ability of listening, thinking and speaking in the process of on-the-spot interpretation are given. The suggestions concerning the significance of the timely summary for interpreters in their professional career are put forward.Chapter five is a summary in which the author summarizes his research. Limitations are stated. Suggestions for further studies are put forward.