Relevance theory perspective in translating media implicit meaning from English into Arabic

Abstract EN

This research focuses on translating implicit meaning conveyed through media news reports within the framework of relevance theory.

Relevance theory focuses on a core concept which dictates that speakers and listeners are interested and pay more attention to information that is relevant to their basic beliefs, thoughts, ideas, etc.

In other words, a message will be optimally relevant if it is closely related to the audience points of interest, inclinations, preferences, etc.

Implicit meaning is the meaning intended by the speaker when making an utterance.

Therefore, implicit meaning shows the difference between what is said and what is meant.

The significance of this study stems from the fact that misunderstanding might sometimes occur in the communication process particularly when the hearer does not understand the meaning intended by the speaker.

To convey the implicit meaning properly, translators should render this intended meaning accurately, thus hearers would be able to easily comprehend the targeted meaning.

Most media broadcast materials are intended to convey certain messages to their viewers and listeners.

Those messages are implicitly expressed to achieve the required impact on the targeted audience.

This targeted impact might be aimed to create a public opinion or certain collective tendencies towards supporting or opposing certain issues that could political, social or economic related.

The study aims at exploring various translation options available for the translator when handling the translation of the news reports implicit and intended meaning within the framework of relevance theory.

The study hypothesizes that news reports are loaded with implicit and hidden meaning and this meaning should be conveyed to their respective audience properly and in a way that conforms to the intended targeted original message.

The study also hypothesizes that only competent translators would be able to convey the implicit meaning intended by the message sender.

The third hypothesis is that listeners and text receivers will depend on their background knowledge, beliefs, and ideas to construe and comprehend the intended message in addition to making use of the surrounding context.

Finally, within the framework of relevance theory, the study hypothesizes that the intended message will be optimally relevant for the audience and hence easily received and comprehended if it is related to their interests, ideas, perspectives, inclinations, thoughts etc.

The model adopted in this research is Grice’s linguistic model 1975.

This model provides an appropriate framework for the analysis of the implicit meaning which represents the core focus of this research.

The procedure adopted throughout this research will focus on translating some English news reports cited from BBC and CNN news agencies.

The translation versions provided have been conducted by journalistic translators employed by both news outlets.

The analysis will be mainly focused on the implicit intended meaning targeted by the news reports and how this meaning could be conveyed through the renderings of the translators to the audience within the framework of relevance theory.