Between Scylla And Charybdis: Analyzing Humor Interpreting

Interpretation is a pivotal hub for exchanges of ideas and information from differentcultures and nations. The increasingly diversified demand for up-to-date information callsfor a higher caliber of interpreters. In addition to capacity of quick and proper switchbetween languages, a capable interpreter should be equipped with encyclopedic knowledge.However omniscient the interpreter is, he or she has know-how vacuum. And humor is ofsuch an uncharted place for interpreter.As a culture-specific phenomenon, humor is usually entertaining for exclusive groupsor nations. Confined within a small area, humor tends to travel badly to a foreign land. Thusfor whoever attempts to transport it to another soil, like the interpreter, he or she willdefinitely be challenged by the risk of a whole fiasco.Illuminati in philosophy have long casted their interests on humor since ancient Greektimes. Psychologists have made contributions to studies on humor. Sociologists andlinguists have pushed researches on the field developing in full steam. Despite this, studiesin light of interpreting are scarce expect for those relating to literature humor in translation.Both a horizontal comparison with humor interpreting studies between English and otherlanguages and explorations for humor interpreting between English and Chinese are jejunein number and less rubric in terms of results. All these lead to the legal necessity of a studyon humor interpreting. Feasibilities of such a study on humor interpreting coexist with thelack of explorations for humor interpreting. Linguistic theories serve as foundation foranalyzing humor interpreting; a multiple of explorations for comedies in films and TVdramas can be borrowed as methodologies for research, and video clips and audiorecordings in real world interpreting can provide substantial materials for a study on humorinterpreting.In light of Dynamic Equivalence and General Theory of Verbal Humor, this thesismakes an analysis on jokes and verbal humor. Adopting a method of grouping, analyzingand coping with materials, main strategies including preservation, substitution and compensation are tentatively proposed. Concrete steps concerning six knowledge resources(KRs) including Language/LA, Narrative Strategy/NS, Target/TA, Situation/SI, ScriptOpposition/SO and Logical Mechanism/LM are accordingly inducted. Preservation must beprimarily adopted. KRs involved in humor should be preserved to the largest extend; if sucha preservation is unavailable, compensation must be made with other uninvolved KRs in SLor suitable KRs in TL. Substitution as a strategy secondary to preservation should followwith compensation added. Compensating strategies are multiple and complicated; usually,LA and NS are two most invited KRs for compensating. Besides strategies, coping tacticsexclusively available to interpreting situations such as alternating tones, asking andmotivating the audience are tentatively discussed. Comparing with similar studies, theresults of this one are expected to be more rubric and more applicable in producing humor.