Translation Of Vague Language In Classical Chinese Poetry From The Perspectiye Of Relevance Theory

Vagueness is an essential character of human language. Vague language, which leaves much space for the reader’s imagination, plays a vital role in creating image and beauty. As a masterpiece of Chinese literature, classical Chinese poetry, especially Tang, Song and Yuan poems, abound with many vague expressions, which pose a great challenge to translators. If the translation of vague language is not done well, the original artistic and aesthetic value will be ruined. It would be a great loss to target language reader. Therefore, proper translations are of great significance to spread Chinese culture and promote cultural exchange between China and the world.This thesis analyzes translations of classical Chinese poetry under the framework of Relevance Theory. Linguists Sperber and Wilson proclaimed this theory in1986, and then Gutt applied it into the field of translation. According to Relevance Theory, translation can be viewed as a cognitive inferential process. The ultimate goal of translation is to achieve optimal relevance between the original text and the target text. The principle of optimal relevance ensures the match between communicator’s intention and audience’s expectation. The vague language itself reflects the speaker’s vagueness in cognition. Therefore, Relevance Theory can also be applied to the translation of vague language in poetry. Through analyzing the translation of poems chosen as research material in this thesis, the author finds out that under the framework of Relevance Theory, translators can freely choose translation strategies. In other words, any strategies can be employed as long as the communicative intention can be transferred to target language reader and the optimal relevance can be achieved between target text and its reader.