Application Of Creative Treason In Press Conference Interpretation

Traditional theory considers "fidelity" as the paramount principle of translation. As aresult, the translated work becomes the simple copy of the original one. And the translatorsare labeled "the servant" of the author, a dancer "dancing on ropes with fettered legs", andthe "invisible man". The term "creative treason" proposed by Robert Escarpit (1987:137)provides a new perspective to viewing the standard of translation. Escarpit believes thatcreative treason is inevitable in the translator’s effort to place the original work into a newsystem of reference so that it can be accepted by a wider range of readers. It declares thattranslation is an act of selective treason rather than the blind copy of original work, whichprovides the translator the right to display his/her subjectivity to some extent. Despite thefact that the concept of "creative treason" was put forward about40years ago, the majorityof studies on it are on written translation, especially on literary translation, and the study ofcreative treason in interpretation is still few.Press conference interpretation has such features as contemporaneousness,independency and high pressure. Its themes are related to politics. The interpreters on theseoccasions are supposed to be proficient in both two languages and knowledgeable invarious fields, as well as have a good short-term memory and a quick mind. Consideringthe tremendous linguistic and cultural differences between English and Chinese, it isimpossible to be one hundred percent faithful to the source text. As a result, the interpreteris confronted with "uninterpretability". Therefore, in order to facilitate communicationbetween two parties, the interpreter is supposed to adapt the interpreted text subjectivelyaccording to the objective conditions while retaining the speaker’s intention as much aspossible. Therefore, creative treason is a necessary skill for the interpreter to better achievecross-cultural communication.Although creative treason entitles the interpreter to some subjectivity, this does notmean that interpretation can be done randomly. Such principles as faithfulness, concisenessand clarity should still be followed during interpretation. Excessive freedom on theinterpreter’s part may cause deviation from the speaker’s intention. For successful application of creative treason in press conference interpretation, theinterpreters are expected to master a series of strategies to cope with linguistic and culturaldifferences, including simplification and restructuring which help reconcile linguisticdifferences, as well as borrowing, addition and explanatory interpretation which aim toreconcile cultural differences.This paper focuses on the application of creative treason in press conferenceinterpretation, with particular attention on reasons, principles and strategies for itsapplication. The author of this paper believes that while paying respect for the speaker’sintention to the largest extent, proper creative treason can facilitate cross-culturalcommunication as well as overcome linguistic and cultural obstacles in interpretation.Based on the analysis of successful PCI practices, this paper provides strategies for theapplication of creative treason, which the author hopes may be of some help forinterpretation practice and the training of interpreters.