The Syntactic Linearity Principle In E-C Simultaneous Interpreting:from A Cognitive Perspective

Simultaneous interpreting (SI) is, generally speaking, regarded as the most complicated and difficult activity of interpreting, which requires the handling of various parallel tasks, namely, receiving, decoding, storing, and delivering the message at the same time without interrupting the speaker. Due to its very high efficiency, simultaneous interpreting has been widely adopted on many important occasions. And syntactic linearity is generally recognized as one of the foremost principles to relieve the great pressure in SI and help SI go smoothly.Many key cognitive factors are involved in simultaneous interpreting, such as attention, memory, controlled and automatic processing, and cognitive context. The thesis, thus, is an attempt to probe into syntactic linearity from a cognitive perspective. After reviewing earlier theories, the author uses Gile’s Effort Model(1995), combined with an analysis of language characteristics, to explain in depth why E-C simultaneous interpreters have to and can employ syntactic linearity. Next, based on a list of difficult points caused by word order, this thesis demonstrates how a series of strategies can be used to realize syntactic linearity, including segmentation, repetition, addition, deletion and summary, and transformation of figures of speech. In order to test the application of these strategies by veteran interpreters, an exploratory study is conducted on a real-life case of simultaneous interpreting-two SI versions of President Obama’s second inauguration speech.By using document and example analytical methods, this thesis tries to give an theoretical account of the employment of syntactic linearity principle in E-C simultaneous interpreting in a relatively systematic way. Moreover, a SI case with timeliness, representativeness and authenticity is chosen to verify the application of the above-mentioned strategies. With the analysis on both theoretical and practical sides, it is hoped that the thesis will shed some light on research and teaching in simultaneous interpreting.