A Study Of Translation Of Chinese-specific Expressions From The Perspective Of Translation As Adaption And Selection

In the past decades, China has achieved remarkable economic and social development. With its international status improving day by day, China is now increasingly integrated into the international community and has become a focus of the world. China and the outside world wish to gain a better understanding of each other. The NPC and CPPCC sessions (the Two Sessions) in March every year focus on China's economic and social development. The press conferences during the Two Sessions become important platforms for both Chinese and western journalists to get information directly from the government for details about China's development landscape, policies and positions concerning certain issues. The quality of the interpretation in these conferences has great bearing on the image of the country and the government. In recent years, Chinese-specific expressions are commonly used in the speeches of Chinese's leaders in many occasions, including the press conferences. It brings greater challenges to the interpreters. This paper discusses the translation of the Chinese-specific expressions with Professor Hu Gengshen's theory, translation as adaptation and selection. Based on that, the paper further discusses the role of the interpreter in the press conferences and the requirements for a competent interpreter for such kind of task. The Chinese-specific expressions refer to expressions formed in China's unique background and development for thousands of years. The Chinese-specific expressions in the 2015 press conference where Premier Li Keqiang meets Chinese and foreign media are divided into three categories in this paper:expressions with Chinese traditional culture, expressions concerning economic and political reforms and expression of grassroots culture. Interpreter should play subjective initiative to adapt to different cultural backgrounds, fully explore the deep connotation of cultural expressions and choose appropriate translation strategies and expressions in the target language. Given the distinct features of Two Session press conferences, especially with the frequent use of Chinese-specific expressions, interpreting task for press conferences during the Two Sessions is quite demanding for interpreters. Therefore, attention should not only be paid to the interpretation, but more importantly to the interpreters themselves.