Application of Relevance theory to translation

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[Abstract] Within the framework of relevance theory， translation is regarded as a relevance-seeking communication. It involves three participant relationships： the source speaker， the translator and the target hearers. The translator is supposed to create a context that the target hearer can infer the intention of the source speaker. Comparing translation theories which fail to pay attention to the relevance between the source speakers and the target hearers， Relevance Theory is a relatively overall account of translation. For one thing， some points concerning the Relevance Theory are capable of facilitating the researches to the present translation field. For another， the information of the original text will be understood and comprehended accurately and promptly on the basis of the relevant theory.

[Key words] Relevance Theory；translation；pragmatic theory

Initially， Sperber and Wilson put forward Relevance Theory in 1986. It is a totally new approach to pragmatics， which not only explains the nature of communication， but also the interpretation process takes place in hearer’s thought. Five years later， Ernst August Gutt advocated combining Relevance Theory with translation. He put forward his own theory which regards translation as an interlingual interpretive process. Later， he perfectly worked out the publication Relevance Translation Theory in Translation and Relevance： Cognitive and Context. Within the framework of Relevance Theory， an individual’s specific cognitive target is always to maximize the relevance of the information in communicative interaction. The behavior which makes manifests clear is called ostensive behavior or ostension. Ostension provides two layers of information to be noticed： the first layer is the information that has been referred to； the second layer is the information that the first layer of information has been intentionally made manifest. If a kind of behavior is conducted ostensively， then the proof will have direct relationship with the individual’s intention， and only indirect relationship with the primary layer of information. Ostensive communication and inferential communication are actually the same process， but seen from diverse viewpoints： the speaker takes place in ostensive communication and the hearer is involved in inferential communication.

In order to figure out what sense humans share information， and to what extent they share information， Sperber and Wilson presented the concept of cognitive environment. An individual’s entire cognitive environment consists of the physical environment and the cognitive competence. As long as the cognitive environment provides adequate evidence for assumption adoption， any assumption may be manifest to an individual. According to the notion of “manifest”， all facts in one’s cognitive environment can be distinguished and comprehended by him. People share a common cognitive environment does not mean that they make the same assumption. It only implies that they are capable of doing so. In a mutual cognitive environment， for every manifest assumption， the fact that it is manifest to the people is itself. In other words， in a mutual cognitive environment， every manifest assumption is what we will call mutually manifest. It means that mutual manifestness refers to a set of facts or topics that are comprehended or shared by both parties in communicative interaction. When it comes to the audience， he is supposed to use the representative and contextual information to discern the communicator’s intentions. Ultimately， their mutual cognitive environment is enlarged as a result of smooth communication.

The concept of contextual effect means a lot in the relevance theory. An assumption is relevant in a context only if it has some contextual effect in that context. And the contextual effect is a necessary condition for relevance， the greater the contextual effects， the greater the relevance. Contextual effects are acquired when new information interacts with a context of existing assumptions. It is general that the following two cases would occur. For one thing， new information together with the existing assumptions produce a contextual implication. As a result of interaction between the previous and new information， it is a synthesis of the combined information. Therefore， new information can provide further evidence for the existing assumptions. For another， new information may provide evidence against the existing assumptions， which may abandon the old assumptions. Therefore， three exist three contextual effects： contextual implications， strengthening， and contradictions .The contextual effects and processing effort are two dispensable parts to assess the extent of relevance of an assumption in a given context. Processing effort is a negative element， in other words， the greater effort， the lower the relevance.

Since Sperber and Wilson put forward Relevance Theory， it has become a new-brand pragmatic theory and frequently researched in translational phenomena. Relevance Theory provides an cognitive and feasible explanation of communicative activities. It fundamentally sees communicative activities as an inferential process. Distinguishing from other theories， Relevance Theory advocates two principles of relevance. For one thing， individuals’ cognition turns to the maximization of relevance. The communicator should yield a stimulus-verb that the hearer can infer what thoughts the communicator intended to express. For another， every act of ostensive communication communicates a presumption of its own optimal relevance theory. The presumption of optimal relevance is connected with human psychology and therefore is emphasized by ostensive communication. The principle of relevance inspires the hearer to focus on the most accessible contextual assumptions that contribute to adequate contextual effects.

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