An Empirical Study Of The Strategy Of Syntactic Linearity In English-Chinese Simultaneous Interpreting

Syntactic linearity is one of the most essential strategies of simultaneous interpreting. It requires the interpreter to chop up sentences uttered in the source language into separate information units before stringing them up with appropriate linking devices. Syntactic linearity enables interpreters to reduce pressure from working hard to achieve immediacy of information transference, and minimizing information loss.Based on previous theoretical explorations by linguists, Chomsky proposes the Minimalist Program and its principles which constitute the Economy Principle. The author argues that the Economy Principle is applicable to the research on simultaneous interpreting strategies.From the perspective of the Economy Principle, this thesis explores the strategy of syntactic linearity in simultaneous interpreting. By analyzing the main concepts of the principle with concrete examples, the thesis makes a case for the feasibility of syntactic linearity in simultaneous interpreting, followed by analyses of six techniques, i.e., the salami technique, conversion, repetition, addition, deletion and generalization which are crucial for syntactic linearity.Scripts of the simultaneous interpretation of the Malaysian Prime Minister’s media statement on the missing aircraft broadcasted on China Central Television are chosen as data for a case study in this thesis with a view to examining how the six techniques are applied and how syntactic linearity enables the interpreter to come up with the best translation in the most economic way in real-life events. The case study demonstrates that proper application of syntactic linearity can ensure output quality while reducing pressure on the interpreter.