Critique On Two Chinese Translations Of The Kite Runner From The Perspective Of Relevance Theory

Relevance theory is a cognitive pragmatics theory that uncovers the behavior of communication. It is developed by Dan Sperber and Deirdre Wilson in their book, Relevance: Communication and Cognition. The relevance theory has been applied in broad fields including teaching, public relations, communication and translation. In1991Ernst-August Gutt published translation and Relevance: Cognition and Context, which builds a relevance theory framework for translation study.Translation, as a trans-language communication behavior, follows the general principle of communication. Relevance theory can be well applied in explaining translation behavior. This thesis analyzes two Chinese translations of The Kite Runner from the perspective relevance theory, demonstrating the effectiveness of the relevance theory in translation studies.This thesis studies two Chinese translations of The Kite Runner. The author of this book is Khaled Hosseini, an Afghan-born American novelist, whose work is mixed with western, Afghanistan and Islamic features. In light of this cultural diversity, this thesis focuses on translating strategies in its two Chinese translations.This thesis consists of five parts. The first part is an overview; the second part introduces the relevance theory and its role in translation studies; the third part briefs on the background of the original work and its translated versions; the fourth part contains translations analysis from the relevance theory perspective. Based on the equal inferential distance principle, translator should adjust his ostensive approach according to the cognitive environment of his readers and offer meaningful inferential clues. The evaluation of translation should focus on whether the translated version is capable of reproducing the intention and the way of conveying intention of the original author, and whether the optimal relevance is achieved between the original work and the readers of the translated version; the fifth part is the conclusion.