Study on Context in College English Translation from the Perspective of Relevance Theory

Abstract

Relevance theory which was first put forward by Sperber and Wilson expounded linguistic activities in the framework of cognition. Some scholars applied this theory to translation studies and gained an inspiring result. It was once pointed out that translation is not merely a communicative activity, but also a cognitive activity. Context plays a vital role in our understanding of the text. An effective translation requires translators to reason based on the dynamic context, which is largely dependent on the relevance of the language and environment. As a matter of fact, the process of translation is a process of context reasoning and selecting, which is dynamic and developing with the circumstances changing. When translating, the main task of translators is to figure out the relevance, particularly the optimal relevance between the language and context. According to the principle of relevance, translators can understand the original text accurately, and then render it into target language properly by composing and reasoning the most suitable context. Study on context from the perspective of relevance theory provides a new view to practice translation in college English.