Interpreting Strategies Of Hunan Folk Culture Based On Functional Equivalence Theory

Escort interpreting,as a highly comprehensive linguistic activity,plays an extreme important role in foreign exchange and communication.Hunan province,as a main province in central China,has experienced an increasingly frequent exchange of economy,culture and technology in recent years.However,it is rather difficult for interpreters to render and deliver the correct meaning of Hunan folk culture which contains highly specific cultural connotations in a real-time escort interpreting activity.Therefore,interpreters must think carefully and choose appropriate strategies to solve problems.Nida’s functional equivalence theory conceives that translation and interpretation are in nature a kind of communication between two different languages and cultures.Attaching great importance to the idea that meaning outweighs language forms,it aims to reproduce in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent of the source language message.During interpreting practices,the author have found out that the three principles of functional equivalence,namely conveying the source language spirit,smooth natural language and priority of the audience’s understanding are of strong guiding significance for processing interpreting materials of Hunan folk culture particularly culture-loaded words and expressions.In April 2015,the author worked as an escort interpreter for a PhD student delegation from Stellenbosch University,who paid a visit to Hunan province as a part of an interuniversity exchange program.Based on this interpreting practice,this report aims to describe the whole interpreting process and it consists of four parts:Task description,Process Description,Case Analysis and Task Summary.With the guidance of functional equivalence theory,this essay attempts to explore effective interpreting techniques in the rendering of interpreting materials related to Hunan folk culture.By collecting and sorting interpreting recordings and notes,the author divides the interpreting difficulties into four categories:folk proverbs and songs,Hunan cuisine,Buddhist culture and folk beliefs as well as objects specific to Chinese culture.Each example is followed by detailed analysis and discussion,interpreting strategies like supplementation,amplification,transliteration plus explanation and liberal interpretation are recommended by the author to solve interpreting problems imposed by Hunan folk culture in the end.