何琳琳

【Abstract】 Since China joined the WTO， various activities like international conference are becoming more and more frequently. Simultaneous interpreting is one of the usual interpreting forms in these cases. In the practice of simultaneous interpreting， syntactic linearity is a method which is easy to be ignored. It is necessary to introduce this skill， analysis its advantages and discuss its theory support， which is language universal.

【Key Words】 Simultaneous interpreting syntactic linearity language universal

1. Introduction

Syntactic linearity is to keep original structure of the target language that is not to change the sequence of phrases or sentences. The feature of syntactic linearity is time-efficient and conversational. Under the time pressure in simultaneous interpreting， using syntactic linearity to interpret based on the order of source language could reduce the pressure of predicting speakers words. Hence it is considered the best way of interpreting. However， Chinese and English have few same structures and grammar， for this reason， syntactic linearity is rarely adopted by most translators for it is like mission impossible.

2. Advantage of Syntactic Linearity

If an interpreter is equipped with the right tools and strategies， it is rational for him to produce satisfactory interpretation. Syntactic linearity is an important strategy in simultaneous interpreting which facilitate the interpreting process. During the interpretation， the interpreter segments the inputs， identifies， or encodes the chunks of speech as uttered in the source. In this way， he can save time and memorize the information as much as possible.

Now consider the following examples：

1） Increasing domestic demand is the key to maintaining high growth and a healthy economy.

interpreting 1： 促進(jìn)國內(nèi)需求是保證持續(xù)快速、健康發(fā)展經(jīng)濟(jì)的關(guān)鍵。

interpreting 2： 保證經(jīng)濟(jì)持續(xù)快速、健康發(fā)展的關(guān)鍵是促進(jìn)國內(nèi)需求。

Interpreting 2 shift the postpositive attributive to the start， but its hard for interpreter to use this method in the simultaneous interpreting. They have to wait until the speaker gave the whole sentence. The jet lag between listening and writing would reduce the efficiency in the process of simultaneous interpreting. While interpreting 1 which used the method of syntactic linearity expressed the meaning in a fast and proper way， and also reduced the burden of memory.

3. Theoretical support——Language Universal

Compared with each other， Chinese and English， as two languages of human being， represent similar even same content of human thinking pattern. The same features of two languages create possibility of transferring the two without changing the sequence. “Language universal exists in human language” is put forward by A. Arnauld and C. Lancelot in 17th century. They argue languages represent the thinking， and the two connected with each other. It is the task of grammar to study language rules， and it is the task of logic to study thinking pattern. If language and thinking have inner connections， grammar and logic must be connected with each other in the same way. The logic of human being is in coherence with each other； hence， human language must be working in the same way. It is the common features of different languages that make communications possible.endprint

Look at the following example：

國際金融危機(jī)的/陰霾/仍未散盡，局部地區(qū)的/社會(huì)動(dòng)蕩/尚未結(jié)束。

Interpretation 1： International financial crisiss / dark clouds/ have yet to fully recede and local parts / social turmoil / has not calmed down.

Interpreting 2：The dark clouds of the international financial crisis have yet to fully recede and social turmoil in some parts of the world has not calmed down.

Though some sentences need to change the order for a better interpreting style， people could understand through the application of syntactic linearity， even the expression is not so unnatural.

It is true that interpreting 2 is the better way for translating， but it needs to wait the word after “的”，it may influence the translation latter. And interpreting 1 is totally well for understanding， it used the “possessive case” substitute for the “of ” phrases .This should owe to the language universal that people could understand each other within a limited time by using syntactic linearity.

References

[1] 林峻明. 從“順譯觀點(diǎn)”看英中同步口譯以演說稿為例[J]. 長(zhǎng)榮大學(xué)學(xué)報(bào)， 2005.

[2] 張維為. 英漢同聲傳譯[M]. 北京： 中國對(duì)外翻譯出版公司， 1999.endprint