On English For Science And Technology Translation From The Perspective Of Relevance Theory

Relevance Theory, proposed by Dan Sperber and Deirdre Wilson in 1986, is a cognitive pragmatic theory, in which verbal communication is considered as an ostensive-inferential cognitive process. In 1991, basing on it, Ernst-August Gutt presented the relevance-theoretic account of translation which provides a totally new perspective for the field of translation and which intends to explain translation activity.From the relevance-theoretic perspective, translation is defined as an activity of double ostensive-inferential verbal communication, which involves the source text (ST) author, the translator, and the target text (TT) readers. The translator plays a double role in translation. On the one hand, he is an audience to make inference of the ST author's communicative intention; on the other hand, he is a communicator attempting to convey his interpretation to the TT readers. The success of communication largely depends on the translator's important role. What's more, in the framework of Relevance Theory, translation falls under the interlingual interpretive use of language. Accordingly, the translated version should resemble the original one to make it optimally relevant to the TT readers by producing adequate contextual effects.The key elements and normal of EST translation are the best effect of information transfer, accurate content and standard expression. From the viewpoint of cognitive psychology, Relevance Theory suggests that verbal communication is a kind of cognitive activity conforming to certain inference thinking, under the control of relevance principle, thus we should interpret communication from the view of ability but not from behavior. On the basis of analysis on the nature of EST translation, this theory shows the proper guidance on the development of EST translation. Relevance Theory is a kind of interpretive theory; it mainly focuses on logic and speculation but not the concrete translation methods. Moreover, it offers judgment standard to stylistic translation:the transfer of optimal relevance, besides, it provides a dynamic, coherent and organic theoretical method for ontology and methodology research in stylistic translation. On the basis of the primary points of Relevance Theory, this thesis gives concrete analysis on the guidance of Relevance Theory on EST translation from three points:interpretation for the nature of EST translation, guidance on typical grammar issues as well as semantic issue in EST translation.Based on the research of relevance translation, this thesis tries to probe into its limitation, however, it really gives effective guidance on EST translation from a certain important points in order to reach optimal relevance and proper translated version from optimal perspectives.