On The Gains And Losses Of Zero Translation In Interpretation

With the progress of human society and the rapid development of economic globalization,the communication among nations has become increasingly frequent.The society is progressing and translation as a bridge between languages and cultures is trying hard to catch up with the development.Under such circumstance,zero translation,a novel theory and strategy,has emerged,which is an attempt to overcome the problem of untranslatability.Zero translation has the advantages of saving time and energy,being concise and clear,which makes it popular in interpretation.In Foreign Ministry's press conferences or some international forums,the interpreter uses the strategy of zero translation to tackle some proper nouns and terms.Although zero translation is widely used in practice,in the theoretical field,it remains an issue of argument.The paper firstly illustrates the difficulty of translation caused by the differences between Chinese and English languages and cultures,followed by a discussion on the issue of translatability and untranslatability,and the necessity of zero translation.Secondly,it summarizes and analyses the research findings of scholars who are engaged in the research of zero translation,and further clarifies the definition and classification of zero translation,as well as its specific forms.Thirdly,it takes zero translation in interpretation as a research object and combines it with the case study of diplomatic interpretation to demonstrate the gains and losses of zero translation in interpretation,namely its feasibility and limitation.Finally,it affirms the positive effects of zero translation in interpretation,points out its limitation as well,and then puts forward relevant solutions to cope with the misuse of zero translation in interpretation.The paper aims to expand the application scope of zero translation,find effective outcomes of zero translation strategy in interpretation,and provide some new thoughts for interpretation research,so as to use the zero translation strategy effectively.As a newly-emerged conception,zero translation has only been in existence for about ten years,therefore,the doubt on it can hardly be avoided.In the past research,different scholars show different opinions on the motivation,definition,classification and specific forms of zero translation.The author puts forward her own view on the definition of zero translation by synthesizing the research of other scholars,and reclassifies the specific forms of zero translation to include more robust forms like transference,transliteration,and annotation,and to exclude controversial forms,which is one of the characteristics of the paper.In addition,the zero translation in diplomatic interpretation embodies the international image and political stand of a country.It sometimes becomes a powerful strategy to have the voice of one's country be heard and to enhance the international status,which is of great contemporary significance.Therefore,to discuss the gains and losses of zero translation in the case study of diplomatic interpretation is the other characteristic of this paper.