A Relevance-theoretic Account Of Poetry Translation: Poetics Commentary

Relevance Theory, a novel pragmatics theory, supported by D.Sperber and D.Wilson in 1980s, explain language communication process from cognitive and logic perspectives, based on Grice's Cooperation Principle. D.Wilson's student─Ernst.Gutt, is the first person who tries to apply Relevance Theory into translation study. After careful research, he finds that Relevance Theory has great power to give a unification account of all translation phenomena. Through distinguishing interpretive use and descriptive use, Gutt also figures out many academic problems by showing people that Relevance Theory can embrace every kind of translation practices.Poetry translation, the most special translation phenomenon, can be accounted under Relevance Theory's framework as well. The implications of Relevance Theory on poetry translation focus on mainly three aspects─translation process, translation principle and translation strategies. Relevance Theory enlightens us that translation is also an act of communication composed by author, translator and reader. But this process is not harmonious, that is to say, translator bears much more burden as the medium. Moreover, poetry translation is in essence an act of communication, thus poetry can be translated. Optimal relevance, the only translation principle, although with vague content, is still reasonable to guide translators. When faced with different cognitive context, different translators may adopt, according his/her personal understanding, different strategies to finish his/her work. Therefore, different versions take place. Translator's subjectivity occurs based such reason.It is necessary to choose poetics as an instrument to translation criticism work due to its natural relationship with poetry. Different translators due to their different poetics opinion will create various styles of translation versions. The conclusion earned by poetics commentary of different versions of the cases, can prove not only Relevance Theory's feasibility on poetry translation, but also can open a new poetics horizon to translation criticism.