On Cognitive Translation Process And Translators' Game In Decision Making

Translation study can be roughly divided into product-oriented and process-oriented research. What translators care more about for a long time is the static description and interpretation of translation product, but isn't the dynamic translation process. Although many translators and theorists established various models either from the perspective of linguistic study or from the perspective of hermeneutics so as to scientifically analyze translation process or study translators'mental behavior during the whole process, they have, to a certain extent, neglected the close relationship between translation and non-linguistic factors. In addition, although translators'language application and thinking have duly obtained explanation and analysis, translators are treated as objective neutral in these models. In fact, translation is by no means a simple transformation between two languages, and with the influence of social environment, translators as social people have linguistic and cultural preference in the actual operation of translation. Therefore, this thesis attempts to study the whole translation process from cognitive perspective.1. This thesis takes cognitive psychology as a principal line to study the whole translation process, establishes a reasonable generating mode of TL text on the basis of "Game Theory" and cognitive relationship between language and thinking, studies translators'concrete behaviors within such three translation sub-processes as SL comprehension, translation strategy decision making, and TL expression. Aiming at translators'subjectivity within translation process, it is further proposed that translators could use "Game Theory" to weigh non-linguistic factors'restriction to obtain optimal translation strategy so as to realize successful translation by combining translators' personal competence and translation style with the optimal translation strategy.2. To the problem of SL text comprehension, this thesis puts forward a method of cognitive reading comprehension. Taking verbal comprehension as a basis, it studies translators'competence of reading comprehension from four cognitive aspects as visual perception, lexical access, language comprehension, and background information and cultural factors to realize translators'understanding and meaning inference of new and rare words or sentences so as to allow translators to comprehend SL text effectively.3. According to the fundamental principle of "Game Theory" and kinds of restrictions that translators face while making decision of translation strategy, this thesis establishes a mode which combines "Game Theory" with cognitive translation strategy decision making. After analyzing translators'abstractness of language transformation and generating within cognitive thinking process, and restrictiveness of other factors to translators'decision making of translation strategy, it is found that translation strategies, as special thinking activity, can't be evaluated quantitatively, choice of them should be dialectical and break through the stereotyped thinking of either this or that. So, translators are required to game with other "players" so as to get relative optimal translation strategy.4. With the help and assistance of effective original meaning and optimal translation strategy, problem of generating successful TL text is studied finally. After considering translators'personal competence, translation style, translation temporal limitation as well as the assistance of SL text meaning and optimal translation strategy, this thesis also proposes that translation formation could be carried out in the stage of "planning" and "executing" to do planning, organizing, expressing, revising, and polishing so as to fulfill the successful translation work.Through the above researches, studies on the whole cognitive translation process and decision making of optimal translation strategy based on features of "Game Theory" have been finished. Example analyses in such sub-processes of translation process as SL text comprehension, translation strategy making, and TL text expression have proved validity and feasibility of the research theories and methods, and have proved its significance of directing translation practice, teaching, and training.