The Role Of Extra-linguistic Knowledge In Interpreting

Due to the lack of extra-linguistic knowledge,interpreters can encounter some obstacles when they perform interpreting tasks.It can be more difficult for interpreters to comprehend the source-language text when it is full of professional knowledge in a specific field,which adversely affects their performance.On this account,this report focuses on the role of extra-linguistic knowledge in interpreting.This report adopts Gile's Comprehension Equation to analyze the interpreting during the 2018 Seminar on China-Africa Cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative.Two interpreting tasks,namely,the on-site visit to Guang'an Sewage Treatment Plant and the lecture on China-Africa Cooperation on Infrastructure Construction,are selected.As source-language texts involve a great amount of professional knowledge,including knowledge about sewage treatment and infrastructure construction,this report discusses the importance of acquiring extra-linguistic knowledge in interpreting.Based on the research on extra-linguistic knowledge made by Gile and Bao Gang,extra-linguistic knowledge is classified into two categories:preexisting extra-linguistic knowledge(hereafter referred to as preexisting EKL)and situational knowledge.Then this report classifies preexisting EKL into professional knowledge,cultural knowledge and common knowledge and categorizes situational knowledge into the context and on-site environment in interpreting.This report analyzes problems caused by lack of preexisting EKL and situational knowledge in comprehension and then explores corresponding strategies.For each problem,the report uses the source-language text,on-site interpreting and revised interpreting to analyze shortcomings of on-site interpreting and approaches to improving it.This report presents a systematic approach to the use of extra-linguistic knowledge in interpreting in the hope of helping interpreters better understand the importance of extra-linguistic knowledge and improve their interpreting.