Report On Consecutive Interpreting At Internship Of China-Britain Business Council 2019 Under Relevance Theory

In a globalized world,international communication is prevalent.Translation and interpreting between languages are therefore inevitable.As an important means of communication,interpretation has become a hotspot research topic.In order to understand the original text to a larger extent and achieve the best conversion between the two languages in the process of interpretation,a certain theoretical basis is needed.Relevance theory is one of the theories to achieve the best interpreting and communicative effects.According to relevance theory,interpretation is a process of dual ostensive-inferential communication involving three parties: the speaker,the interpreter,and the hearer.In this process,the interpreter needs to achieve the optimal relevance of the context,infer the speaker’s intention,and take corresponding interpretation strategies in combination with the cognitive context of the target audience to achieve the communicative purpose.From June 24 to September 20,2019,the author worked as an intern in Changsha Representative Office of China-Britain Business Council(CBBC),providing services including interpretation and translation during the internship.Based on relevance theory and with the purpose of applying relevance theory in the interpretation for government departments,this report analyzes the problems in the interpreting practice and provides an improved interpreting version.The difficulties and problems encountered in this practice are discussed according to the three main dimensions of relevance theory,namely,ostensive-inferential communication,optimal relevance,and cognitive environment.In this process,each party may affect the interpretation and ultimately communication.For example,in terms of cognitive environment,there might be a cognitive imbalance between the interpreter and the speaker,or in the process of ostensive inference,the interpreter’s misunderstanding or failure in prediction may lead to ineffective communication.This report will analyze problems from these three aspects and provide corresponding solutions or suggestions.In a theoretical sense,the author hopes to deepen the understanding of relevance theory and explore its application in guiding and evaluating interpreting practices,especially in English-Chinese conference interpreting.In a practical sense,the author wishes to provide references and inspiration for better future interpreting practices,and improve interpreting quality.