A Study Of Vague Language Translation Strategies From The Perspective Of Relevance Theory

Vagueness is not only an inherent feature of natural language but also a ubiquitous phenomenon in linguistic communication.In literary works,the use of vague language helps the writer to create artistic conceptions as well as to convey the writer's implications.The translation of vague language is especially complicated as it is bound up with the ostensive-inferential process of brain.Therefore,in the process of vague language translation,the translator should understand the communicative intentions of the original writer according to the context and thus provide the best version of translation.Relevance theory is a cognitive communication theory,which holds that language communication is a cognitive process and must rely on reasoning thinking.Although relevance theory is widely used in the field of translation studies,there are few applications of it to the translation study of vague language.Considering that,this thesis is conducted within the framework of relevance theory taking Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out,translated by Howard Goldblatt,as a case study.At the same time,this thesis analyzes the translator's translating methods and the ostension and inference process of informative intention and communicative intention during the translating process.Combining vague language and relevance theory,the author of the present research aims to provide a possible explanation for the translation of vague language and also to bring a new perspective to the translation study and vague linguistics.This thesis consists of five parts.The first part is the introduction of the background,purpose,significance and innovation of the study.The second part is the literature review,which gives a concrete introduction to the research status of vague language,and the book,Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out in China and abroad.The third part is theoretical framework,which fully illustrates the academic knowledge of vague language and relevance theory.The fourth part is the core of the whole thesis.The author selected some representative cases of vague language in Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out from linguistic aspect and cultural aspect,and then analyzed the translating process of those cases based on relevance theory.The last part is the conclusion which reveals that as an ostensive-referential process,the translating strategies mainly applied in the translation of vague language are literal translation,free translation,literal translation combined with free translation,literal translation with explanation,omission,etc.Also,it reveals the findings and advantages of present research as well as brings up some relevant suggestions.