Research on C-E Interpretation from Adaptation Perspective
——Taking the Chinese Premier’s Press Conferences During NPC and CPPCC for Instance

School of Foreign Languages,Jilin Institute of Chemical Technology,Jilin,China Email:893942145@qq.com

[Abstract]The study on the Chinese-English interpretation carried out on Chinese Premier’s Press Conferences during NPC and CPPCC is the main direction and content of this paper,which is based on the adaptation theory.The application value and specific representatives of the adaptation theory in Chinese-English interpretation were analyzed from multiple perspectives,including the material world,social world,psychological world,lexical adaptation,syntactic and textual adaptation,and clarifies the application value and specific manifestation in Chinese-English interpretation.The overall study was conducted by literature survey method,combining with the contents of the prime minister’s answers to reporters’questions.Meanwhile,the basic concept of adaptation theory and the characteristics of prime minister’s answers to reporters were introduced and analyzed respectively to explore indepth the application of adaptation theory in Chinese-English interpretation for premier’s press conferences.

[Keywords]adaptation theory;premier’s press conferences;Chinese-English interpretation

Introduction

China’s rapid development in politics,economy,and culture have also promoted its exchanges with other countries around the world,which guarantees the effective implementation of the“going out”strategy,and the international influence improvement of China.The Chinese premier answered reporters’questions on the press conferences,concerning current hot topics of politics and affairs in various fields and industries.In order to accurately convey the ideas and contents expressed by the premier and reporters during this process,the Chinese-English interpretation must be maintained at a high level.Therefore relative materials of premier’s press conferences could be taken as the basis for study on Chinese-English interpretation,thus to make clear about the characteristics,requirements,and development trend of Chinese-English interpretation,thereby consolidating foundation for the future work.Especially,the adaptability of Chinese-English interpreting has been significantly improved from the perspective of adaptation theory,which could not only improve the overall work,but also ensure appropriate strategies retrieved for the interpreting activities.The adaptation theory was firstly applied in foreign language teaching and pragmatics,and has been using widely in Chinese-English interpretation during recent years.

Overview of Adaptation Theory

Adaptation theory mainly refers to the selecting and adapting processes when using language.The language could be affected by multiple external factors,so abiding by the adaptation theory is vital for improving the expression accuracy,and enabling parties of communication to know the exact meaning and intention of the counterparty faster.As a matter of fact,factors like the communicative occasions,cultural factors,and language habits have direct impact on language choice.Therefore,the topic characteristics,context characteristics,specific occasions,and social etiquette should also be taken into consideration when applying adaptation theory(Li&Zhang,2020,p.170).Negotiability,variability,and adaptability are all the basic characteristics of language.Therefore,as for the adaptation theory,it should also be analyzed based on the characteristics,thus to make language selection and adaptation more reasonable,and help to promote better communication.The research on adaptation theory usually needs to be started from the cut-in perspectives of contextual factors,language structure,dynamic process,and awareness highlighting,thereby achieving smooth communication.

Features of the Premier’s Press Conference

A great number of words and phrases concerning current affairs could be heard on the Premier’s press conferences,for which,the actual meanings are also subject to contextual factors.For example,the phrase of“streamlining administration and delegating authority”might vary in different expressions according to different occasions.Therefore,we should fully consider the characteristics of the Premier’s press conference occasions,thus to make sure to interpret and convey the exact political features and the basic stand of the state,avoiding any misunderstanding.The Premier’s press conference actually concerns various fields and a large coverage of vocabulary,among which,many are featured in distinctive Chinese characteristics.Therefore,it is necessary to enhance the cultural awareness to fully express the cultural connotation embedded in words(Yi,2020,p.45).As for sentences,in addition to rigorous sentences,we should also pay attention to those humorous expressions and expressions embedded with large amount of rhetorical techniques.Therefore,the Chinese-English interpreters should be able to figure out the prime minister’s main ideas and reorganize the structure of sentences.The textual characteristics are mainly reflected in three aspects:repetitive discourse,contextual coherence,and emphasis on subject participation.The Chinese-English interpretation should also accurately present the logic relationships.

Application of Adaptation Theory in Chinese-English Interpretation of the Premier’s Press Conferences

Context Adaptation

Adaptation to Material World

Time and space,speech theme,speech object and theme are the basic factors affecting language selection and use.Therefore,strengthening the study on material world adaptation is vital for Chinese-English interpretation analysis from the perspective of adaptation theory.Especially the Premier usually uses lots of words with Chinese characteristics on the press conferences and unique speech style,therefore the Chinese-English interpreting needs to adapt to reporters from various countries to accurately convey what the prime minister wants to express.For example,the Premier said,“現(xiàn)在美國(guó)正在進(jìn)行大選，很熱鬧，吸引眼球”,which was interpreted:“As for the ongoing general election in the United States,it has been lively and has caught the eyes of many”(Hou,2017,chap.3).When interpreting the words of“很熱鬧”and“吸引眼球”which are with extreme Chinese characteristics,the interpreter adapted to the audience on the spot to translate these words into the ones that the audiences could understand,thereby preventing misunderstanding.In any case that no corresponding word can be figured out in English,we should consider the cognitive characteristics of the listeners from the perspective of adaptation theory instead of interpreting word for word.

Adaptation to Social World

Adaptation to the social world is also a key for applying adaptation theory in Chinese-English interpreting,such as social roles,social groups,social etiquette,and social customs.Meanwhile,the cultural characteristics,values,customs and habits of different countries should be considered comprehensively in order to achieve accurate Chinese-English interpretation in specific contexts,and avoid contradictions and misunderstandings.For example,when the Premier answered the question of a reporter and said“讓群眾少跑腿”,among which,the word“少跑腿”is also a very difficult word to translate.The interpreter did not translate it literally,instead,it was interpreted as“with greater ease”.This could be deemed as Chinese-English interpretation from the English culture perspective.And journalists on the scene could accurately understand the meaning of the Premier.Another point is that expressions in different fields have certain features and rules,therefore it is necessary to understand the specific application scope in Chinese-English interpretation.

Adaptation to Psychological World

Affective factors and cognitive factors are the basic components composing the psychological world.As for the Chinese-English interpreting,the affective orientation and cognitive level of the subject and object should be fully considered to ensure rational language selection and adaptation.Therefore,the adaptation to the psychological world also becomes a key point for applying the adaptation theory in Chinese-English interpretation,thus to highlight the communicative intention.Besides achieving the purpose of language conversion,a more important thing is to explain the body of knowledge of the language.For example,the Premier said in answering the question of a reporter,“這里我想做個(gè)安民告示”,in which the word“安民告示”is actually a difficult term to translate.The interpreter must know the basic function of the“告示(a kind of notice)”,thus to accurately convey the cultural connotation and the value of such notice in modern society to the reporters on the spot.It was finally interpreted as“a message of reassurance”,which is based on sufficient consideration of listeners’psychological world factors and follows the basic principles of psychological adaptation,thereby conveying the meaning of the Premier’s expressions to the reporters on the scene and audiences around the world accurately.

Structural Adaptation

Vocabulary Adaptation

The principle of vocabulary adaptation should be followed when using words to compose a sentence.That’s the key for guaranteeing the accuracy of Chinese-English interpretation.The Chinese and English languages vary in cultural connotations which makes the cross-culture exchange comparatively difficult.Especially,the two languages are quite difference in vocabulary order,classification of parts of speech,and vocabulary meaning.This requires the interpreters to be able to know well about the differences between the two languages and select proper ways of expression.For example,the Premier once said,“那就會(huì)闖過(guò)困難的關(guān)口，躍上希望的高原”,if the interpreter conducted literal translation of“關(guān)口”and“高原”,the audiences would feel confused about what they heard.As a matter of fact,the interpreter abstracted the concrete objects,and interpreted the two terms into“difficult”and“promise”(Zhang,2019,p.112),thereby making the audiences understand and receive the meaning of Premier’s speech by means of vocabulary adaptation,and eliminating deviations and misunderstandings in Chinese-English interpretation.

Syntactic Adaptation

Syntax is also a key element that should be fully considered in Chinese-English interpreting because it guarantees more rational sentence composition and understanding.Especially,compared with English,Chinese often uses active sentences and has no long clauses like English,so the interpretation should follow the principle of syntax adaptation to express the main ideas of the speakers while ensuring the interpreted sentences meeting the speech habits of the listeners.Therefore,the passive sentences commonly used in English could be adopted to interpret active Chinese sentences,and sentences with subject could be used to interpret subjectless sentences.As for Chinese expression,it often emphasizes the main characters first before explaining the main events or actions.But for English,the emphasized part is always placed at the beginning of the sentence.In this case,the sentence structure should be rationally adjusted in interpretation,thus to highlight the emphasizing style(Huang,2020,chap.4).The interpreter is required to grasp the logic relation of the Chinese sentence rapidly,thereby applying proper English clauses in interpretation.

Textual Adaptation

Besides the vocabulary and syntax,the Chinese-English interpreting should also be based on the comprehensive consideration from the textural perspective,and follow the principle of textual adaptation,thus to maintain a consistent internal logic and avoid inconsistencies.A big feature of the Chinese expression is that it isn’t restricted by limitation of grammatical forms and has comparatively flexible structure in personal pronoun,logical relational words,and tenses.On the contrary,English is just opposite.Therefore,the Chinese-English interpretation could be improved by making clear the differences in textural composition,and comprehensively combining the features of English hypotaxis and Chinese parataxis.In particular,Chinese expression usually lack certain logical relational words,so in order to make foreign listeners understand the meaning expressed by the speaker more accurately,it is necessary to add reasonable logical relational words in the interpretation,and make it more consistent with the habits of foreign listeners.In this case,reasonable adjustment should be made according to the specific context to achieve effective conversion from parataxis to hypotaxis.

Dynamic Adaptation

Dynamic Adaptation to Time

The Chinese-English interpretation,which is a process of translating a language into another language through cross-culture approach,is dynamic and ever changing.Therefore,the principle of dynamic adaptation should be followed to fully convey the communication intentions of both parties.Since the adaptation of language could be affected by factors like the times background and the practical status,the dynamic adaptation of time should be analyzed to avoid time confusion in interpretation(Hao,2015,p.160).For example,the Premier once said“這本是個(gè)一年一度的會(huì)晤機(jī)制”,which was interpreted as“This meeting should have been an annual event”.Such interpretation not only reflects the time feature of“once every year”,but also makes clear the tense that the premier meant to express,and guarantee the accuracy of the conveyed time information.Meanwhile,habits of using Chinese and English are different,so it should make clear about the information output order and the structure order in Chinese-English interpretation,thereby achieving the purpose of dynamic adaptation of time.

Dynamic Adaptation to Context

The context includes three types:situational context,linguistic context,and cultural context.Mastering the context changes is beneficial for the application of adaptation theory in Chinese-English interpretation and for the accurate conveying of specific context.Only by analyzing the context comprehensively can the affective orientation,value,speaking attitude,and viewpoints of both parties be reflected.The Chinese-English interpretation could be directly affected by the speech contents,the relationship between the parties,time and space,etc.Therefore,in addition to the characteristics of the language,the look,tone,and gestures of the subjects should also be considered and analyzed,thus to guarantee accurate conveying of viewpoint,stand,and affective orientation,and make listeners feel the context changes of the speakers.A variety of abstract and concrete factors have impacts on the context,including cultural background,speech habits,affective orientation and geographical location,occasions and climate,etc.(Shi,2014,chap.4).Therefore,it should try to figure out the timing and tone of language output in Chinese-English interpreting,so as to ensure the dynamic adaptation of the context.

Dynamic Adaptation to Variety

The variety shows the characteristics of language using,such as the sentence structure and rhetoric methods,etc.It can be affected by environmental factors and conversation objects.As for the Chinese-English interpretation,the basic characteristics of the variety should also be clarified in order to ensure that the interpreted expression,vocabulary,and style are more in line with the source language style.For example,in the Premier’s press conference,a reporter asked“據(jù)了解現(xiàn)在有些地方養(yǎng)老金發(fā)放已經(jīng)出現(xiàn)困難”,and the interpreter translated the question into a commonly used English sentence-“It is learned”,which meets the English variety feature and conveys the information of the question to the foreign listeners more truthfully.Meanwhile,a fixed sentence pattern“have difficulty in doing something”was also adopted to interpret“養(yǎng)老金發(fā)放已經(jīng)出現(xiàn)困難”,which guarantees the consistency of expression.

Consciousness Salience

The purpose of Chinese-English interpreting is to show the viewpoints of the concerned parties,so the consciousness can be represented all through the whole exchange process.Therefore,the consciousness salience shall be highlighted to fully exert the adaptation theory advantages in Chinese-English interpretation.The speech information of the subjects should be integrated,thus to conduct overall analysis on the cultural background,social status,and cognition features of both parties,thereby guaranteeing appropriateness of expression and sentence formation.It is usually a conscious act to select relative strategies in interpretation.And the salience degrees vary according to different speech contents(Lu&Ding,2013,p.362).Especially for the interpretation on Premier’s press conference,great attentions should be paid on the conveying of ideology and political position to avoid misunderstanding.For example,the interpreting of“打小算盤”,should also contain its connotation of disregarding the overall situation and seeking self-interest in Chinese.The interpreter finally translated it as“for personal gains”,which is the representation of the interpreter's consciousness.

Conclusion

The application of adaptation theory could be seen everywhere in the Chinese-English interpretation of the Premier’s press conferences during the NPC and CPPCC,which effectively guarantees the interpretation accuracy,makes Q&A between the Premier and reporters smoother,and avoids obstacles or misunderstandings in communication.The contents of Premier’s press conference concerns various fields,so the vocabulary,sentences and text are all characteristic,which makes the Chinese-English interpreting quite difficult.The contextual adaptation,structural adaptation,dynamic adaptation and the degree of consciousness salience should be taken as the cut-in points to show the good application effect of adaptation theory and improve the Chinese-English interpretation level.

Acknowledgements

This paper is one of the research results of the project Research on Chinese-English Interpretation Strategies from Pragmatics Perspective(2020 No.54)of Social Science Research Project of Jilin Institute of Chemical Technology.