The Application of Cooperative Principle in the Diplomatic Translation

【摘要】隨着中国改革开放及全球化的不断深入，中国与世界联系日益紧密，中国也在国际事务中发挥着更加重要的作用。翻译作为外交的工具，重要性也日显突出。近年来，从语用学的角度研究外交翻译已成为趋势。作为指导话语交际的基本准则的格赖斯合作原则，也越来越多地用于指导外交翻译实践。

本文采用定性研究的方式，以政府工作报告、新闻发布会和政治热点词汇的翻译为例，总结外交翻译中译员如何偏离或依照合作原则的各项准则达到外交的效果。通过实例分析并对翻译文献的研究，本文发现在外交翻译中，译员会依照或偏离合作原则达到外交翻译效果的最优化，并从文化差异和利益诉求两方面探讨偏离的原因。

【关键词】外交翻译;合作原则;政治敏感

Nowadays，China has been an increasingly active role in the world. Translation，as a bridge of communication，also plays a significant role in diplomacy. Studying diplomatic translation from the perspective of Pragmatics has been even popular，so as Grices Cooperative Principle. This article，by analyzing plenty of real cases，tries to explore the application of Cooperative Principle in reports on the work of the government，news conferences and some political words. By discussing the optimal solutions，this article also tries to benefit the study on diplomatic translation in the future.

Key Words： diplomatic translation  cooperative principle  political sensitivity

1.Introduction

With Chinas enhancing national strength，it has more say on the international arena. Diplomatic translation，as an important role in mutual communication between China and other nations，is strict in the meaning and attitude it conveyed. In using proper diplomatic parlance，diplomats answer a sensitive question in a tactful way to harmonize the atmosphere and to show cooperation.

As the research on pragmatics is deepened，many scholars conducted researches on cooperative principle. Cooperative principle is an important pragmatic strategy put forward by Grice，H.P.. This thesis explores diplomatic translation on the basis of cooperative principle，and analyze some examples in which this principle appears and why translators violate this principle.

Through the case studies of Report on the Work of the Government，news conferences and analysis on political top words，the paper concludes that the CP violations occasionally occur in diplomatic translation. This paper separates diplomatic translations into these three parts because these parts are not completely overlapped. For example，the government will never appear some casual words or politically sensitive words like “the cultural revolution” or “the leadership of Taiwan”. Given the different circumstances and different forms，this paper gives these three situation separate attention.

The CP includes maxims of quantity，quality，relation and manner. Among the four maxims of the CP，the maxim of manner and quantity are most often talked about. Most CP violations observed are attributed to the culture gap and ideological differences.

The author hopes that，through such analysis，more importance will be attached in the application of cooperative principle in diplomatic translation，and further benefits diplomatic translation in the near future.

2. Literature Review

In 1967，Grice pointed out that "Our talk exchanges do not normally consist of a succession of disconnected remarks，and would not be rational if they did. They are characteristically，to some degree at least，cooperative efforts;and each participant recognizes in them，to some extent，a common purpose or set of purposes，or at least a mutually accepted direction"（1975，15）.

To be specific，the CP，Grice introduced this into four categories of maxims，which are listed as follows.

Quantity：The information must be informative as is required.

Quality：Do not say what you believe to be false. Do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence.

Relation：The information must be relevant.

Manner：The information must avoid obscurity of expression，avoid ambiguity，be as brief and orderly as possible.

Grice suggests that there is an accepted way of speaking which people all accept as standard behavior. When they produce，or hear an utterance，people assume that it will generally be true，have the right amount of information，be relevant，and be couched in understandable terms. Leech（1983，80）states “many people mistake the CPS maxims as norms，while they are not.” This shows that it may not be very proper to adopt the CP as an evaluation criterion.（Guo Xu，2011）

Relevant researches have also been done in the area of the pragmatics analysis of diplomatic translation. Hu Xiang（2013），in his paper “The Pragmatics Analysis on Diplomatic Translation”，analyzed the former premier Wen Jiabaos news conferences from 諾德（C.Nord）s text functional theory and Hallidays function theory. By analyzing the style of the text，the author concluded the pragmatics function of this text. Through a few cases，the paper revealed that source text and translated text have different pragmatics function. That paper divided the textual functions into the parts as follows：

Yet Hus paper failed to discuss the functions from the perspective of cooperative principles.

In fact，violation of CP is frequently seen in diplomatic situation. Instead of hampering understanding，they should be seen as a strategy to facilitate communication. Diplomats use it to realize their specific diplomatic purposes.

3.Case Study

Through case study，this paper presents some examples from the Report on the Work of the Government，news conference and political top words，in which the cooperative principle is obeyed or violated in diplomatic settings，and the communication effects reach their optimality.

3.1 Report on the Work of the Government

As an important communication media，Report on the Work of the Government displays Chinese governments annual reflection on the past year and its planning for the next year. Confined by its subject and style，its language has to be accurate and strict. Besides，it has to convey its meaning in a proper way so that its implied meaning and the attitude between the words can also be captured.

Because of such requirements，the translation of the Report on the Work of the Government is confronted with more challenges. Traditional criteria like faithfulness，properness and accuracy can no longer satisfy the need of its translation. It should not only properly express its planned meaning but should also express it in an acceptable way. It should maximize our countrys benefits and also finely protect it. To fully illustrate that，he author chose some examples from the Report on the Work of the Government.

3.1.1 The Translation of “三農问题”

In the 2004 Report on the Work of the Government，when premier Wen mentioned about “三农问题”，the translation is as follows.

Source text：我们加大“三农”工作力度，及时做出部署，保护粮食 主产区和广大农民的种粮积极性。

Translated version：We expanded support for agriculture，rural areas and farmers and made plans in a timely fashion to ensure the continued enthusiasm of major grain producing areas and grain producers.

Instead of translating the phrase into “Three agricultural problems”，under the maxim of quantity，the translators translated it into “agriculture，rural areas and farmers”.

For foreigners，this phrase is quite unfamiliar. They may never have heard of it，let alone fully understand it. Translated in this way，the speech fully explained what the phrase means as informative as possible.

3.1.2 The Translation of “全面建设小康社会”

In the 2010 Report on the Work of the Government，when premier Wen mentioned about “全面建设小康社会”，the translation is as follows.

Source text：？？？全面推进社会主义经济建设、政治建设、文化建设、社会建设以及生态文明建设，加快全面建设小康社会进程，努力实现经济社会又好又快发展。

Translated version：...make headway with our efforts to encourage socialist economic，political，cultural，social，and ecological development;pick up the pace of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects;and work hard to achieve sound，rapid economic and social development.

When first acquainted with the phrase “全面建设小康社会”，people feel confused about the meaning of it. What is “xiaokang”？ And what kind of society can be called “xiaokang society”？ When this phrase was first proposed in the 1970s by Deng Xiaoping（Wikipedia），it was translated into “relatively comfortable”. Yet it is the violation of the maxim of quality and quantity，for the meaning of “xiaokang” is by no means just that.

According to Wikipedia，Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping used the terms Xiaokang society in 1979 as the eventual goal of Chinese modernization. It has been loosely translated as a "basically well-off" society in which the people are able to live relatively comfortably，albeit ordinarily. The term was first used in Classic of Poetry written as early as 3000 years ago. Xiaokang may be associated with an Engel's coefficient of 40% - 50%.

Given such context，in the Fourth Session of The Tenth National Peoples Congress，the translator translated it into “build a moderately prosperous society in all respects”. This translation is more concrete and specific than the previous ones. In applying the maxim of quality and the maxim of quantity，it is well-accepted among the foreign countries.

3.2 News Conference

In the press conference，diplomats always save their ultimate benefits via floating maxims of Cooperative Principles in the passive “answering role”.（Zhang Yue，2003）Sometimes，speakers will also encounter some situations where they have to somehow violate these maxims. Here are some examples.

3.2.1 The Translation of Issues about “Tibet”

In 2009，when a foreign journalist asked the former foreign minister Yang Jiechi his attitude toward Dalais visiting European countries，this diplomats used the phrase “竄访”.

In normal cases，“visit” is translated into “访问”. However，“窜访” is a negative phrase in describing a criminal-like persons visiting other places for bad purposes. In violation of the maxim of quality，we translated it into “窜访” to show our no tolerance to such separation activity. Dailais visits are meant to persuade foreign countries to support his separation activities. In using eloquent language，he tried to cover his notorious target with blandishments.

In this case，we know that in violation of the maxim of quality，diplomats conveyed his protection of countrys interests.

Here is another violation of the maxim of quantity in replying Tibetan issue. In June，24th，2008，Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao launched a news conference. On that conference，a foreign journalist asked when the foreign media could ask questions about Tibetan issues，and when Tibet would be open to foreign tourists，he replied he totally understood foreign tourists eagerness to visit Tibet，and Tibet will welcome all people there as soon as the situations there are stabilized.

Rather than giving a specific time，the speaker use the phrase “as soon as”. Apparently，it is violation of the maxim of quantity. But it not only showed Chinas welcome to visitors from other countries but also politely showed its refusal to the requirement of visiting Tibet right now. It didnt mention exactly when but assured people that it will open to public someday. In violating the maxim of quantity，the speaker properly protected Chinas national interests.

3.2.2 The Translation of Issues about “Taiwan”

Just like the Issues of “Tibet” which has arose public interests，Taiwan issue is also a hot potato. When holding a news conference，foreign media showed great interest in asking mainlands attitude toward Taiwan and what measure would mainland take to realize the reunion. Here is an example.

In 1975，when Deng Xiaoping was holding a press conference，a foreign journalist asked what measures would mainland take to realize the reunion across the strait. And Deng Xiaopings reply was as follows：

“对于台湾问题，我们也是尽力采取和平方式解决。至于用什么方式，和平的或者非和平的，那是中国的内政问题。”

Literal translation of these sentences would be：Well try our best to solve Taiwan issue. As for the means to solve，be it peaceful or not，it will be only concerned about China itself.

Obviously，translation in this ways will definitely arouse international sensation China mainland still had the possibility to solve it in violence. Instead of translating this way，the translator translated into “We make effort to solve peacefully” . Yet it broke the maxim of quantity. The second sentence is controversial and easy to raise misunderstandings.

To avoid misunderstandings，the translator omitted the controversial part，thus conveying a message that China is a peace-loving country，which is another successful violation of the maxim of quantity and quality.

3.3 Other Political Top Word

In other cases rather than the Report on the Work of the Government or the news conferences，Chinese leadership will also have some diplomatic activities，such as a speech in a university or a company. Such activities can also convey national attitudes toward other countries. If not proper translated，it can even raise big trouble.

3.3.1 The Translation of “韜光养晦”

This phrase is constantly put forward by Chinas leadership. Literally，it means hide one's capacities and bide one's time.（The New Chinese-English Dictionary）. Because of such translation，it has been regarded as Chinas treat to the rest of the world. This translation is a successful application of the Cooperative Principle，yet raising oversea suspect that how powerful China is and how much of it is hidden，what time is China waiting and what will it do then.

So it is better to be translated into “be modest” rather than “hide one's capacities and bide one's time”. Such translation violates the maxim of quantity，yet better protects our countries interests.

3.3.2 The Translation of “自主创新”

We can often see this catchphrase in the speech of Chinese leadership. It has somehow be the slogan for advocating innovation.

This phrase is officially translated into “independent innovation”. But such translation is apparently，violation of the maxim of manner. It is ambiguous. What is “independentinnovation”？ Is it innovation without cooperating with other countries？ Will China build a secret innovation base on its own？ Or it just means keeping the initiative in our own hands？ According to the context，I can hardly give consent to the former.

In applying the maxim of manner，it may be translated into “China will keep the initiative to its own”.

4.Conclusion

Based on the Cooperative Principle，this paper has discussed some diplomatic translation cases. It has also find that in applying this principle diplomatic communication can be more smooth. More importantly，it has also provided some successful violation cases. And in some diplomatic settings，using such violation as a strategy，diplomats managed to protect national interests.

The author concluded that，the two given examples in the Report on the Work of the Government，the translators strictly obeyed the maxim of quantity;in the given examples in the news conferences，the translators violated the maxim of quality and quantity as a strategy;in the examples of political top words，the translators strictly obeyed the maxim of manner，but exerting negative impact on the foreign countries.

This paper，however，due to limited research on the CP violations in other diplomatic translation settings nowadays and time constraint，the study is not extended.

Based on such limitations，more research can be done to compare and contrast all the previous Report on the Work of the Government，all the press conferences and other diplomatic settings.

References

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作者简介：

岑忻巧（1990-），女，浙江宁波人，中国人民大学外国语学院研究生，研究方向：翻译。