RELEVANCE AS EFFORT

1
RELEVANCE AS EFFORT REWARD

• BASIL HATIM
• Hong Kong
• 2007

2
LITERALISM

• opted for by translators who often erroneously
  assume that everything said carries equal
  communicative weight regardless of contexts of
  use

3
NON-ORDINARINESS

• should first be identified, then subjected to a
  re-assessment of what is linguistically marked
  because this may or may not be evaluative, i.e.
  functional motivated.

4
CONTEXT

• These are matters to be judged in the light of
  such contextual categories as register,
  rhetorical purpose and communicative event, but
  also on the basis a radical pragmatics that has
  the notion of relevance as its corner stone.

5
MARKED IN THE SOURCEBUT IS IT EVALUATIVE?

• No sooner had the British occupation authorities
  been ensconced than they set out to issue all
  manner of declarations and orders to secure their
  domination over the countrys economic resources
  in an attempt to recoup their losses in Iraq.

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ST NEUTRALIZED IN TT

• After the British occupation authorities had
  established their position, they set out to issue
  declarations and orders to secure their
  domination over the countrys economic resources
  in an attempt to recoup their losses in Iraq.

7
UNMARKED IN THE SOURCEBUT IS IT EVALUATIVE?

• The British occupation sapped the labors of
  povertystricken peasants, who constituted the
  majority of the working people, and it burdened
  these desperate people with all kinds of taxes.

8
ST NEUTRALIZED IN TT

• The Labors of poverty stricken peasants, who
  constituted the majority of the working people,
  were sapped and they were burdened with various
  tapes of taxes.

9
UNMARKED IN THE SOURCEBUT IS IT EVALUATIVE?

• Meanwhile, the British administration monopolised
  the food and commodity supplies. They would buy
  crops at harvest time at low prices only to sell
  them later in the year at very high prices. This
  measure finally led to a famine.

10
ST SEMI-NEUTRALIZED IN TT

• Meanwhile, food and commodity supplies were
  monopolised by the British who at harvest time
  would buy crops at low prices only to sell them
  later in the year at very high prices. This
  measure finally led to a famine.

11
UNMARKED IN THE SOURCEBUT IS IT EVALUATIVE?

• As regards supplies for the British occupation
  forces stationed in Iraq, the British authorities
  secured these either by confiscation and pillage
  in many case or through the passing of
  legislation and orders in others, and how easy
  that was!

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ST OPTIMALLY PRESERVED

• As regards supplies for the British forces
  stationed in Iraq, these were secured either by
  confiscation and pillage in many cases or through
  the passing of legislation and orders in others
  and how easy that was!

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IN THE CONTEXT OF REPORTING WITHIN ENGLISH
HISTORICAL WRITING

• AGENTLESS PASSIVE
• LINGUISTICALLY MARKED
• BUT RHETORICALLY UNEVALUATIVE
• THEREFORE NON-SALIENT
• IMMATERIAL WHETHER PRESERVED OR NOT

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IN THE CONTEXT OF REPORTING WITHIN ENGLISH
HISTORICAL WRITING

• ACTIVE
• LINGUISTICALLY UNMARKED
• BUT RHETORICALLY EVALUATIVE
• THERFORE SALIENT
• MUST BE PRESERVED AT ALL COSTS

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IN THE CONTEXT OF REPORTING WITHIN ENGLISH
ABSTRACTS

• AGENTLESS PASSIVE
• RATIONALIZED IN TERMS OF CONTEXT ONE THE NORM

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IN THE CONTEXT OF REPORTING WITHIN ENGLISH
ABSTRACTS

• PASSIVE WITH AGENT
• HAS TO BE SALVAGED THROUGH A NEW CONTEXT TWO
  SLIGHT DEVIATION FROM THE NORM

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IN THE CONTEXT OF REPORTING WITHIN ENGLISH
ABSTRACTS

• ACTIVE SENTENCE
• CAN BE SALVAGED ONLY THROUGH CONTEXT THREE
  DRASTIC DEVIATION FROM THE NORM

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IN THE CONTEXT OF ENGLISH NEWS REPORTING

• ACTIVE
• PASSIVE WITH AGENT
• AGENTLESS PASSIVE

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TWO BASIC PRAGMATIC ASSUMPTIONS

• Relevance theory focuses on testing how
• Hearers entertain the default assumption that
  speakers will not put them to unnecessary effort
• Any effort on the part of the hearer will be
  commensurately rewarded by the speaker

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SAFEGUARDED BY TWO BASIC PRINCIPLES

• Speakers almost instinctively opt for that which
  is the most efficient of scenarios and which,
  through the most effective means, is likely to
  yield maximal benefits
• Hearers normally judge this process in the light
  of general rules or conventions of
  appropriateness

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MINIMAX

• Minimal processing effort should ideally secure
  maximal effect and yield optimal rewards.
• If this effort and reward balance is disturbed in
  any way, anything in excess of minimal effort
  should be commensurately rewarded.

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MINIMAX CONTINUUM

• Ordinary, Static, Expected, Normal, Unmarked
• Non-ordinary, Dynamic, Unexpected,
  Norm-breaking, Marked

• Ordinary, Static, Expected, Normal, Unmarked
• Non-ordinary, Dynamic, Unexpected,
  Norm-breaking, Marked

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MINIMAX

• Speaker, writer, listener or reader resolves for
  that which promises maximal effect for minimal
  effort. Translators and their readers should
• do the same

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GRICE

• Say no more or less than what is normally
  required
• Say only what you believe to be true
• Say what you have to say with utmost clarity
• Be relevant

25
MINIMAX AT WORK

• She is sectioned for 28 days and became one of
  those they call specialeds which means you have a
  nurse following you everywhere you go

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THE END
THANK YOU!