Article published In:
BabelVol. 63:1 (2017) ► pp.21–42
Quality in consecutive interpreting
A relevance-theoretic perspective
Given the lack of sensitization to the multi-dimensional concept of quality, and given the versatility of the concept of relevance, the present investigation attempts to examine the premise that Relevance Theory (RT) can function as a standard or a benchmark for maximizing and/or optimizing quality in CI. Whilst the theoretical part relies heavily on Ernst-August Gutt’s seminal work Translation and Relevance: Cognition and Context (2000), the practical part draws on some empirical data obtained from trainee-interpreters’ recorded sessions at the Hashemite University (Jordan) in order to provide a relevance-driven account for some semantic, syntactic, and cultural difficulties and problems in CI. The study arrives at the main conclusion that the degree of quality in CI largely depends on the degree of relevance achieved by the interpreter’s TL version, i.e., quality in CI would rise exponentially with the degree of relevance achieved by the interpreter’s TL version. The study also concludes that the pragmatic RT can be considered a reliable instrument, a reliable frame of reference, or a reliable screening system that can ensure both relevance-building and a correspondingly concomitant quality-building in CI, i.e., RT can possibly fine-tune the interpreters’ performance in the booth.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Relevance-theoretic background
- 3.Methodology
- 4.Discussion
- 4.1
Relevance-driven quality in semantic properties
- 4.2Relevance-driven quality in syntactic properties
- 4.3Relevance-driven quality in interpreting culture-bound expressions
- 5.Conclusion
- Acknowledgements
-
References
This article is currently available as a sample article.
References (38)
References
Blakemore, D. 1987. Semantic Constraints on Relevance. Oxford: Blackwell.
Blakemore, D. 1992. Understanding Utterances: An Introduction to Pragmatics. Oxford: Blackwell.
Carston, R. 1999. “The Semantics/Pragmatics Distinction: A View from Relevance Theory”. In The Semantics/Pragmatic Interface From Different Points of View, 85–124. Oxford: Elsevier Science.
Derrida, J. 2001. “What is a ‘Relevant’ Translation”, transl. by Venuti, L. Critical Inquiry Winter 27 (2): 174–200. 

Fauconnier, G. 1985. Mental Spaces: Aspects of Meaning Construction in Natural Language. Cambridge (Mass.) -London: The MIT Press.
Gutt, E.-A. 1988. “From Translation to Effective Communication”. Notes on Translation 2, (1): 24–40.
Gutt, E.-A. 1991. Translation and Relevance. Cognition and Context. Oxford: Blackwell.
Gutt, E.-A. 1992. Relevance Theory: A Guide to Successful Communication in Translation. Dallas and New York: Summer Institute of Linguistics, United Bible Societies.
Gutt, E.-A. 1998. “Pragmatic Aspects of Translation: Some Relevance-Theory Observations”. In Pragmatics of Translation, ed. by Hickey, L., 41–53. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters Ltd.
Gutt, E.-A. 2000. Translation and Relevance: Cognition and Context. Manchester: St Jerome Publishing.
House, J. 1981. A Model for Translation Quality Assessment. Tübingen: Gunter Narr Verlag.
Kaufert, J. and Bowen, S. 2003. “Assessing the ‘Costs’ of Health Interpreter Programs: The Risks and the Promise”. In The Critical Link 3: Interpreters in the Community, ed. by Brunette, L. et al., 261–272. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Mikkelson, H. 1996. “The Professionalization of Community Interpreting”. In Global Vision. Proceedings of the 37th Annual Conference of the American Translators Association, ed. by Jerome-O’Keefe, M., and Alexandra, V.A., 77–89. American Translators Association.
Oda, M., and Diana, A. 2000. “The Cultural/Community Interpreter in the Domestic Violence Court- A Pilot Project”. In The Critical Link 2: Interpreters in the Community, ed. by Roberts, R. et al., 165–189. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Pöchhacker, Franz. 2004. Introducing Interpreting Studies. London and New York: Routledge. 

Reboul, A. 1989. “Relevance and Argumentation: How Bald Can You Get?” Argumentation 3 (3): 285–302. 

Shlesinger, M. 1997. “Quality in Simultaneous Interpreting”. In Conference Interpreting: Current Trends in Research, ed. by Gambier, Y.; Gile, D., and Taylor, C., 123–131. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company. 

Snelling, D. 1989. “A Typology of Interpretation for Teaching Purposes”. In The Theoretical and Practical Aspects of Teaching Conference Interpretation, ed. by Gran, L. and Dodds J., 141–142. Udine: Campanotto.
Sperber, D. and Wilson, D. 1985, 1986. “Loose Talk”. Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society LXXXVI1: 153–171.
Sperber, D. and Wilson, D. 1986. Relevance: Communication and Cognition. Oxford: Blackwell.
Sperber, D. and Wilson, D. 1987. “Précis of Relevance: Communication and Cognition”. Behavioural and Brain Sciences 101: 697–710. 

Sperber, D. and Wilson, D. 1995. Relevance: Communication and Cognition (2nd ed.). Oxford: Blackwell.
Sperber, D. and Wilson, D. 1997. “Remarks on Relevance Theory and the Social Sciences”. Multilingua 161: 145–151. 

Watts, H. and Straker, J. 2003. “Fit for Purpose? Interpreter Training for Students from Refugee Backgrounds”. In The Critical Link 3: Interpreters in the Community, ed. by Brunette, L. et al., 163–176. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Wilson, D. and Sperber, D. 1988. “Representations and Relevance.” In Mental Representations: The Interface Between Language and Reality, ed. by Kempson, R., 133–153. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Wilson, D. and Sperber, D. 1993. “Pragmatics and Time.” In UCL Working Papers in Linguistics 5, ed. by Harris, J., 277–298. London: University College London (Dept. of Phonetics and Linguistics).
Wilson, D. and Sperber, D. 2004. “Relevance Theory”. In The Handbook of Pragmatics, ed. by Horn, L. and Ward, G., 607–632. Oxford: Blackwell.
Vianna, B. 2005. “Simultaneous Interpreting: A Relevance-theoretic Approach”. Intercultural Pragmatics 2 (2): 169–190. 

Cited by (3)
Cited by three other publications
ARSLAN, Okan
2023.
Diplomatic Interpreting Within the Context of Relevance Theory.
Söylem Filoloji Dergisi :Çeviribilim Özel Sayısı
► pp. 559 ff.

NATUKUNDA-TOGBOA, Edith Ruth
2021.
La dynamique de l’interprétation à l’église : les défis de la pratique et les stratégies de professionnalisation sur la base de l’expérience des interprètes en Ouganda.
TAFSIRI. Revue panafricaine de traduction et d'interprétation / Panafrican Journal of Translation and Interpretation 1:1

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 9 december 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers.
Any errors therein should be reported to them.