Interpretation Of Chinese Verses From The Perspective Of Relevance Theory-a Case Study Of Premier Wen Jiabao’s Speeches At Press Conferences

“No man is an island/Entire of itself/Each is a piece of the continent/A part ofthe main.”(John Donne,1623). Such a quotation from Devotions upon EmergentOccasions written by British metaphysical poet John Donne in the17thcentury isreflection of the poet’s thoughts on hardship and religious belief. But it also strikes achord with the globalization of the modern time. Communication drives the worldforward. As an important communicative channel, interpreting plays an indispensiblerole in China’s exchange with outside world.The press conference during the National People’s Conference (NPC) and theChinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is one of the mostimportant channels between Chinese high-rank officers and the international media.At those press conferences, consecutive interpreting is conducted to bridge theChinese-English linguistic barrier, which poses as a great challenge for the interpreterat the meantime. Premier Wen Jiabao, chairing the ten-year’s press conferences, isrenowned for his preference of quotation of Chinese verses. However, due to theimplicit, concise, abstract style of Chinese verses, it’s difficult to put forth greattranslated versions which are faithful both in the connotation and rhetoric, and it’seven more so for interpreting that requires quick and accurate response without anymaterials to refer to. Therefore, interpreters ought to learn to cope with such difficultywith effective strategies to fulfill their missions.Relevance Theory is a proposal by linguists Sperber and Wilson (1986) thatseeks to explain the implicit inference in communication. Relevance Theory probesinto the human communication from the perspective of cognitive pragmatic andbelieves that communication is an ostensive-inferential process and observes theprinciple of relevance. As a special inter-lingual cross-cultural communicative act,interpretation follows the principle of relevance as well. The core concepts such as theoptimal relevance and cognitive environment can offer guidance in the creation ofbest possible interpretation of Chinese verses. The paper introduces the basic information of interpreting and Chinese verses,elaborates the core concepts of Relevance Theory, analyzes the process ofinterpretation from the perspective of Relevance Theory, and illustrates theapplication of Relevance Theory in interpreting Chinese verses at press conferences.Based on Relevance Theory, the author puts forward a series of coping strategies forinterpreters to overcome the difficulties in interpreting Chinese verses. At last, thepaper summarizes the major points, with methodology, deficiency and thesignificance all covered.