This book illustrates the potential of Relevance Theory (RT) in offering a cognitive-pragmatic, cause-effect account of translation and interpreting (T&I), one which more closely engages T&I activity with the mental processes of speakers, listeners, writers, and readers during communicative acts.

The volume provides an overview of the cognitive approach to communication taken by RT, with a particular focus on the distinction between explicit and implicit content and the relationship between thoughts and utterances. The book begins by outlining key concepts and theory in RT pragmatics and charting the development of their disciplinary relationship with work from T&I studies. Chapters draw on practical examples from a wide range of T&I contexts, including news media, scientific materials, literary translation, audiovisual translation, conference interpreting, and legal interpreting. The book also explores the myriad applications of RT pragmatics-inspired work and future implications for translation and interpreting research.

This volume will be of interest to scholars in T&I studies and pragmatics.

About the Author

Dr Fabrizio Gallai is research fellow and lecturer at the UniversitaI degli Studi Internazionali - UNINT in Rome. He is the author of a range of articles on translation and interpreting and cognitive pragmatics (Relevance Theory), including the chapter on "Cognitive pragmatics and translation studies" in The Routledge Handbook of Translation and Pragmatics.

Reviews

1. "This book stands out as a felicitous combination of explaining the significance of Relevance Theory for translation and interpreting and of providing a wide-ranging overview of its application in practice over the last three decades." -- Dr Ernst-August Gutt, author of Translation and Relevance: Communication and Cognition.

"Those considering the central problems of translation and interpreting inevitably confront the elusive nature of meaning in human communication. Relevance Theory offers a key to this door: Gallai turns the key. Informed and informative, theoretical and applied, this work is set to make a distinctive contribution to the field." -- Professor Graham H. Turner, Heriot-Watt University, UK.

"Gallai's book provides a clear and thorough account of a relevance-theoretic approach to translation and interpreting. A perfect example of research in translation and interpreting studies giving a central place to professional practice, which will be welcomed by translation/interpreting trainees, practitioners and theorists alike." -- Professor Federica Scarpa, University of Trieste, Italy.

"Gallai's volume provides a theoretically solid and empirically supported account of the complexity of translators'/interpreters' cognitive processing mechanisms from the perspective of cognitive pragmatics. He shows how translators and interpreters get close to communicators' intentions, illustrating the explanatory potential of Relevance Theory. This long-awaited volume on the intersection between Relevance Theory and translation and interpreting studies is a vital resource for researchers and students." -- Ryoko Sasamoto, Associate Professor, Dublin City University.

"In the first full-length relevance-theoretic study of translation and interpreting in twenty years, Gallai takes us a step closer to understanding the subtler features of live, situated speech and the challenges and arts of interpreting. The author makes a persuasive case for an extended interdisciplinary prism, both theoretically and methodologically, to integrate the cognitive and social dimensions of complex mediated encounters, notably in the charged settings of public service interpreting." -- Professor Robin Setton, (formerly) GITIS (Taipei), SISU (Shanghai) and ETI (Geneva).

Book Information
ISBN 9781032025728
Author Fabrizio Gallai
Format Paperback
Page Count 260
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 512g