A Report On Agriculture Seminar Interpreting Under The Guidance Of The Cooperative Principle

The Cooperative Principle(CP)is one of the core theories in Pragmatics.Philosopher H.Paul Grice formulated this principle in his essay Logic and Conversation.Grice(1975)believed that the listeners and the speakers would follow certain principles and mutually consider each other in order to be understood in a particular way.Interpreting is commonly perceived as a communicative activity between the speaker,the listener,and the interpreter.Therefore,the study of interpreting under the guidance of the CP can not only enrich the interpreting theory but also reveal the close relationship between the observation of the four maxims and the improvement of the quality of interpreting.The report can be divided into six chapters.Chapter One briefly introduces this report,including a brief introduction to agriculture interpreting,the motivation for researching the applicability of the CP in interpreting studies,and the importance of this research.Chapter Two introduces the background of the task,basic information about the speakers,and the requirements for the interpreter.Chapter Three analyzes the whole task process from pre-task preparation,to on-spot challenges,and to post-task reflection.It identifies the difficulties in agriculture interpreting and explains the interpreter’s role as an intercultural mediator.It also analyzes the characteristics of agricultural interpreting.Chapter Four introduces the CP and its applicability in interpreting studies.Chapter Five selects several typical cases and analyzes how the observance and violation of the CP can influence the quality of interpreting,i.e.,the accuracy,fidelity,relevance,and perspicuity of the interpreting.Chapter Six is the summary of the report.It discusses the theoretical and practical contributions of the CP in interpreting studies.The innovation of this report lies in analyzing the interpreting transcript and selected cases under the guidance of the CP.This report proves that the four maxims of the CP can help the interpreter find out the factors influencing interpreting quality,choose interpreting strategies accordingly,and optimize the standards for assessment.Experience can be drawn from the interpreting practice and the author hopes that this report can serve as a reference for the future interpreting studies.