US-China Foreign Language, August 2021, Vol. 19, No. 8, 217-222
doi:10.17265/1539-8080/2021.08.003
On the Translation of Diplomatic Vague Language From the
Perspective of Skopos Theory
XIE Xiang
University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
Ambiguity generally exists in the objective world, and language is a reflection of the objective world, so there are
also a lot of ambiguities in language. Vague language has a unique pragmatic function. The clever u of vague
language can make the expression more indirect, implicit, and flexible, leaving the speaker with plenty of room for
景拼音
maneuver, while also providing listeners with a variety of interpretation methods. Due to the special pragmatic
function of vague words, vague words are ud very frequently in diplomatic situations. How to translate the
vague words is a problem that interpreters must face, and it is also a problem worthy of scholars. This article takes
the skopos of translation as a guide, and us government press conference interpretation as an example to explore
the translation strategies of lexical vagueness in diplomatic interpretation. Through the obrvation and analysis of
the interpreter corpus of the government press conference, it was found that the interpreters adopted different
translation strategies such as amplification, literal translation, free translation, and word order adjustment.
Keywords: Skopos Theory, diplomatic interpretation, vague language, translation strategies
Introduction
Vagueness (uncertainty) is the esntial attribute of language. With Zadeh’s “fuzzy theory”, many scholars have begun to study fuzzy language and its translation. “Fuzzy with preci translation” and “Fuzzy with fuzzy translation” explain and analyze the translation of diplomatic vague language (Zadeh, 1965). When this uncertainty is reflected in people’s colloquial communication, it constitutes vague speech. In communication, people often u this “uncertainty” to improve the expression effect and avoid using negative language to produce negative elements that are not good for verbal communication. Linguistic ambiguity exists in various linguistic phenomena, such as the degree of ambiguity in mantics, the ambiguity of grammatical structures, and the ambiguity of speech. “The characteristic of action is its intentionality. If we give the same action a different Intention, it becomes a different action” (Von Wright, 1968, p. 23). In this paper, it mainly refers to the phenomenon that the connotation or extension of fuzzy language mantics in diplomatic activities is difficult to determi
ne accurately, resulting in ambiguous mantic scope. The purpo is not to make the other party unable to understand what they mean, but to hope that through fuzzy rhetorical means, they can receive better results than preci expression.
XIE Xiang, Master degree candidate, Foreign Language Department, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology,
Shanghai, China.
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ON THE TRANSLATION OF DIPLOMATIC V AGUE LANGUAGE
218 Three Rules of Skopos Theory
Skopos Rule
“The purpo of translation behavior determines the whole process of translation behavior, that is, the result determines the method” (Munday, 2001, pp. 78-79). Skopos Theory believes that the first rule followed by all translation activities is the “Purpo of Principle”, that is, the translation should be
able to function in the context and culture of the translation in the manner expected by the recipient of the translation.
Coherence Rule
“Coherence Rule means that the translation must meet the criteria of intra-textual coherence” (Munday, 2001, pp. 78-79), that is, the translation is readable and acceptable, enabling the recipient to understand the culture of the target language and the communicative language of the target makes n in context.
Fidelity Rule疯狂动物城台词
“The Fidelity Rule means that there should be inter-textual coherence between the original and the translation” (Munday, 2001, pp. 78-79). This is equivalent to what other translation theories call fidelity to the original, but the degree and form of fidelity with the original depends on the purpo of the translation and the translator’s understanding of the original.
Introduction to Vague Language in Government Press Conferences
Definition of Vague Language
Vague language, as a kind of flexible language, is a characteristic language with indefinite extension and indefinite meaning. Compared with preci language, fuzzy language is more general and flexible. This generality and flexibility is reflected in language extension. The accuracy of language existence is vagueness, which is its natural property. “A proposition is vague where there are possible states of things concerning which it is intrinsically uncertain whether, had they been implemented by the speaker, he would have regarded them as excluded or allowed by the proposition ” (Pierce, 1902, p. 142). That is, a proposition is ambiguous. If there are possible states of something that is inherently uncertain, if the speaker considers the states, he will consider them excluded or allowed by the proposition (Vermeer, 1989).
Classifications of Vague Language
Vague diplomatic vocabulary. Materialist dialectics holds that everything is dialectically unified. The same is true for precision and blur. Blur is a preci abstraction, and precision is a materialization of blur (Newmark, 2001). In diplomatic situations, language communication needs both precision and ambiguity. Lexical ambiguity refers to words that have a clear connotative meaning but a vague extension meaning.
Foreign hedges. The u of hedges can obscure the listener’s mantic understanding. Diplomatic rhetoric is even more so. When the speaker is not confident in what he is saying or is not sure what is being said, in order to avoid disputes, hedges are usually ud, such as “about”, “generally speaking”, “I think”, “maybe”, and “as far as I know”. On the one hand, fuzzy restrictive words can help the spokesperson avoid being too absolute and cau rentment from others (Nord, 1997). On the other hand, if there is something wrong, you can also leave room for yourlf.
Diplomatic euphemism. Euphemism is one of the characteristics of vague language. It gives the impression of elegance, subtlety, listening, and courteous (Eugene, 1964). The same is true of diplomatic
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ON THE TRANSLATION OF DIPLOMATIC V AGUE LANGUAGE 219
ambiguity. On diplomatic occasions, differences of opinion between leaders or diplomats are common for
national interests or curity considerations. At this point, they need to cleverly create words and ntences, and
gently express their national opinions.
Metaphor. Metaphor is different from simile. It has no figurative words and directly describes the metaphor as the ontology. Its metaphorical relationship is implicit in the meaning of the ntence. Metaphors
can explain things more profoundly, but sometimes blur the mantics.
Functions of Vague Language
To improve language flexibility. Due to the many uncertainties in foreign affairs, the development of the diplomatic situation is often unpredictable. If the discour is too absolute, once the situation changes, the
situation will become very passive. Since vague speech can be interpreted in various ways, the u of such
language can leave room for speakers to avoid unnecessary trouble.
To play a role in breaking the deadlock. When reporters ask questions, they often involve nsitive to
pics, which make the spokesman inconvenient. However, this stalemate cannot continue to affect the process
薄荷花的花语
and atmosphere of the press conference. Therefore, the spokesman also needs to u vague words to eschew
the nsitive topics. Some ambiguities are answered without substantial content.
An important means to alleviate contradictions. Foreign affairs are full of conflicts and contradictions.
Government spokesmen often face a variety of acute issues involving other countries. In order to alleviate
conflicts and maintain friendly relations between countries, the u of vague words is undoubtedly an effective
means.
To make questions more euphemistic. From a reporter’s perspective, vague language can make questions more euphemistic. The reporter hopes to dig out the most newsworthy content from the speaker, and
the contents often involve some extremely nsitive topics. If the question is too direct and sharp, the speaker
may directly avoid it, so reporters often u vagueness in their questions. Ask questions politely.
Translation Principles and Strategies for Vague Language
Translation Principles for Vague Language
To understand the meaning of vague language. Under the rule of skopos, each target text and each speech has a specific purpo (Fauconnier, 1997). In diplomatic situations, speakers sometimes prefer to u
vague language to euphemistically express certain views. It is particularly important to understand the
meaning of vague language. Becau the purpo rule emphasizes the role of the interpreter, the interpreter can
choo the appropriate interpretation strategy according to the specific situation, and then achieve a specific
purpo.
To consider acceptability of TL readers. The rule of coherence requires that interpreters have an audience-oriented consciousness, that is, when translating they should consider the acceptability of the
audience and the language and cultural background to make the translation coherent and readable.
To be faithful to SL. The rule of fidelity, as its name implies, is to be faithful to the source language. In view of the high nsitivity of diplomatic activities, interpreters must follow the speaker’s intentions and be
faithful to the speaker’s remarks when translating. Of cour, when vague language is involved, the interpreter
should accurately convey the speech under the guidance of the principle of fidelity. The implied meaning of the
person, in turn, achieves the practical effect of the speaker using vague language.
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ON THE TRANSLATION OF DIPLOMATIC V AGUE LANGUAGE
220 Translation Strategies for Vague Language
Amplification. The amplification is a method of adding supplementary translation content to meet the needs of target language readers (Tymoczyko, 1998, p. 43). Since the two languages of English and Chine have different ways of thinking, language habits and expressions, in order to make the translation more consistent with the context and pragmatics of the target language when translating, the translation needs to add some words, short ntences or ntences in order to be more accurate express the meaning of the original text.
Example
Original: ……多只大老虎落网了。
Translation: …brought down many “big tigers”, or high-ranking officials who have committed corruption (Press Conference of the “Two Sessions” in 2019)
This ntence originated from a question raid by the Voice of the People’s Broadcasting Center reporter on anti-corruption work. The original meaning of “大老虎” refers to big tigers. If translated dir
ectly according to big tigers, it will definitely cau some misunderstandings in foreign media. Here, the big tiger refers to the corruption of nior officials, so the interpreter added high-ranking officials after the big tigers, and then explained what a big tiger is, achieving the purpo of conveying the original text. According to the rule of purpo, the information delivered by the interpreter is accurate and faithful and the target language receiver can understand and accept it.
Literal translation. Literal translation is a translation method or translated text that maintains both the original content and the original form (Nord, 2001). It is estimated that about 70% of ntences are procesd by literal translation, so literal translation is widely ud by translators, which shows the importance of literal translation. The names and certain proper nouns in English are literal translations. Example
Original: ……增长7%左右
Translation: …at approximately 7 percent
(2018 “Two Sessions” Press Conference)
In this example, “7%左右” is a vague quantifier at the lexical level. It can be en from the contents o
f the ntence that under the new normal economy, the expected economic growth this year is clo to 7%, but it is true that the number is not yet clear. In view of this, the speaker ud vague quantifiers to express this approximate number, and the interpreter translated it into “approximately 7 percent” from the perspective of teleology, which was not only true to the original text, but also achieved the purpo of communication.
Free translation. Free translation refers to translation according to the general idea of the original text, and does not translate word by word (parate from “literal translation”). It is often ud when translating ntences or phras (or larger meaning groups). Free translation is mainly ud when the source and target languages show great cultural differences. From the perspective of cross-cultural language communication and cultural exchange, free translation emphasizes the relative independence of the target cultural system and the original cultural system.
Example
Original: ……打掉寻租的空间，铲除腐败的土壤
Translation: …to limit the breeding ground for corruption—including rent-eking
(2018 “Two Sessions” Press Conference)
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ON THE TRANSLATION OF DIPLOMATIC V AGUE LANGUAGE 221
When Premier Li Keqiang answered questions about the development of anti-corruption work, he mentioned about the ntence“打掉寻租的空间，铲除腐败的土壤”. It would be particularly blunt if it was
literally translated as “break the renting space and root out the soil”. Premier Li ud rhetorical ambiguity here
房屋租赁协议and ud the breeding of soil to refer to the problem of corruption. Therefore, the translator translated it into
关于生活的文章“breeding ground for corruption”, which not only vividly expresd the rhetorical intention of the speaker, but
also achieved the purpo of understanding.
卤大排的做法Word order adjustment. It is one of the language skills. U the method of changing the normal word
order to increa the expression effect, such as subject-verb position, subject-object upside-down, and
host-resident object, guest-adjective position, adverbial displacement, attributive postposition, etc. (Gold,
2004).
Example
Original: 如果我们能够注重质量、效益，促使中国经济由中低端向中高端升级，那就可以在较长时期保持中国经济在中高速水平增长。
Translation: We want to further upgrade China’s economy to a medium high level of development and maintain China’s economic growth at a medium high speed. We want to pursue growth with improved quality
and performance.
(2018 “Two Sessions” Press Conference)
In answering a question from the Singapore Straits Times reporter about the new economic normal, Premier Li ud a conditional adverbial clau of “if” to indicate a possibility. If translated according to the
original word order, it would be translated into “if ...” But if we further understand this ntence, we will find
that what Premier Li emphasized was a vision, a strong hope, with syntactic ambiguity, and the interpreter
translated the ntence into the two parallel ntences, “we want to ... we want to ...”; this adjustment of the
word order not only makes the mantics more coherent, but also allows the audience to appreciate the
Premier’s outlook on the good momentum of China’s economic development.
Conclusion
Vague language is widely ud in diplomatic situations becau of its special pragmatic functions. The government press conference is an important diplomatic occasion, and both sides of the question and answer
u a lot of vague words. For the translation of vague words in government press conferences, interpreters have
adopted different translation strategies such as vague translation, vague translation with preci translation, and
vague translation with blank translation. The choice of different translation strategies is not random, but guided
by the Skopos Theory.
References
营家Eugene, A. N.(1964). Toward a science of translating. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.
Fauconnier, G. (1997). Mappings in thought and language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Gold, B. H.(2004). Big breasts and wide hips. New York: Arcade Publishing.
Munday, J.(2001). Introducing translation studies: Theories and applications. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.
Nord, C.(1997). Translation as a purpoful activity: Functional approaches explained. Manchester: St. Jerome Publishing.
Nord, C.(2001). Translating as a purpoful activity: Functionalist approach explained. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.
Newmark, P.(2001). Approaches to translation. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.
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