Textual Coherence In Consecutive Interpreting

Problems are detected from interpreter's work. Misinterpretation emerges when logic seems to be confusing, i.e. the interpretation of an utterance has no connection with any of the preceding utterances. It will inevitably pose comprehension problem to listeners. Besides the interpreter's linguistic ability, the essential cause lies in what is called by text linguists textual coherence.Actually, textual coherence concerns more than logic, which is traditionally and exclusively hold by many. As an essential notion in text linguistics, coherence basically describes the feature of a text as an underlying network to unite the text as a whole. Reinhart specifies a coherent text as having three properties: connectedness between clauses realized through cohesive devices; consistency in logic and relevance of sentences to an underlying text topic, and to the context of the utterance.De Beaugrade and Dressler hold that a text makes sense because there is a continuity of senses among the knowledge activated by the expressions of the text. A senseless text is one in which text receivers can discover no such continuity. Further, the continuity of senses is the foundation of textual coherence. In the author's viewpoint, coherence is an implicit meaning network within a text, ensuring the text receivers'continuous comprehension of the text in communication; non-coherence emerges when they discover no such continuity of meaning, thus could not make sense out of the point, at which the communication breaks off.Coherence theory has crucial guiding value for interpreting. However, recent study on it is still limited within linguistics. This paper aims to explore how an awareness of textualcoherence influences interpreting, particularly Consecutive Interpreting, providing spoken text from interpreting practice to illustrate.In Introduction, an example of misinterpretation is illustrated to educe the theme of this paper- textual coherence.Chapter one is theoretical basis. There is a close relationship between text and CI segments. Physically divided, a CI segment could be analyzed from functionally defined textual approach. From retrospect of coherence theory by different schools, this paper holds that coherence should essentially be explained from a text receiver's perception.Chapter two applies coherence theory to CI comprehension. Though explicit cohesive devices contribute to explicit textual coherence, in most cases, coherence is implicit and should be resorted to human's cognition. This paper use Relevance Theory proposed by Sperber and Wilson to explain how a text is perceived by one as coherent. An interpreter should try his best to make adequate contextual effects to recognize the speaker's intention. The process of comprehension is a process of dynamical searching for relevance of new information in forthcoming utterances and old assumptions in the interpreter's cognitive environment.Chapter three explains how to make an interpreter's reformulation as coherent as possible to text receivers, i.e. to minimize their required processing efforts to comprehend. Due to difference of language, culture and logical thinking pattern between different people, adjustment should be conducted from Source Text to Target Text, from aspects like cohesion, thematic structure or information structure and logical coherence. Another aspect of textual coherence proposed by Halliday- register or the context of situation, is also explained.Chapter two and three indicates respectively contextual effects and processing effort ininterpreting, as an ostensive-inferential process. The relation is revealed by the notion of relevance. Basing on the study in the previous two Chapters, the author proposed a model of coherent text in CI communication in Chapter four. The most direct inspiration from the model is knowledge acquisition. Besides, some coping tactics is suggested to avoid non-coherence.