An Experiment-based Study Of The Reformulation Strategy In C-E Simultaneous Interpretation

With strict time constraints,a simultaneous interpreter often needs to deliver the message within a few seconds after hearing the source language(SL).The common training strategy of simultaneous interpretation in China is syntactic linearity,which means to closely follow the information flow of the speaker.It can reduce the burden on memory and improve the performance of simultaneous interpretation.However,in real translation practices,we will inevitably encounter scenarios where words and expressions cannot find equivalents in the target language(TL),and the order of information in the TL is inconsistent with that in the SL,or even a hundred percent opposite.According to the Interpretive Theory of Translation,the interpreter should convey the “meaning” of speech rather than the “structure” of the source text(ST).This is similar to the strategy of reformulation.Proper reformulation enables the interpreter to deliver the message with little interference from the SL.Guided by the Interpretive Theory of Translation,the strategy of reformulation in C-E simultaneous interpretation contributes to the performance of the interpreter.In the theoretical part,the author has learned from the previous studies at home and abroad that the Interpretive Theory of Translation is widely applied to interpretation practices.The author has also confirmed that the Theory lays the foundation for reformulation strategy and grading criteria for simultaneous interpretation in this thesis.At the same time,different categories of reformulation strategies are put forward by some knowledgeable scholars,so as to better interpret words and phrases.However,reformulation at syntactic level is worth discussing even more.By conducting experiments and carrying out qualitative and quantitative analyses,the author has summarized different scenarios of reformulation and the corresponding techniques that student interpreters encounter at the lexical and syntactic levels.At lexical level,when faced with category words,redundant twins and semantic repetition,the interpreter has chosen to either omit or simplify the redundant information.In this way,precious time can be saved in simultaneous interpretation.And it’s also been proven that these techniques are widely used by student interpreters.At syntactic level,the sentence with wei(为)as preposition can be interpreted directly to “provide…with/for”;long prepositive attributives with subject-predicate structure can be interpreted as a subject-predicate sentence;the structure of “A is the C of B” can be converted to “For B,A is C”;the structure of“noun+ de(的)+nominalized verb” can be converted into subject-predicate sentence.This experiment has proven that in the face of redundant information and sentence structures that are difficult to achieve syntactic linearity,reformation does cut off the interpreter’s waiting time and improves the quality of simultaneous interpretation.