1.The Features of Oral Translation (Can Be Stated as Follows):

• Oral translation has to be fulfilled in a short period of time.

• It is impossible for an interpreter to use dictionaries or any other instrumental books while working.

• Oral translation requires quick response.• The interpreter has to face the audience instead of the reader.

• Oral translation is more flexible than written, translation.• The style of language is less formal, more colloquial.

• Oral translation requires precise understanding of the original speech instead of memorizing every sentence.

• Oral translation functions as a medium through which the source language is immediately transferred to the target language.

• During oral translation practice, the restricted factor (reproduction of the source language) and the free factor (how to reproduce the source language) interact with each other.

2. Laws Governing the Contradictory Movement in Oral Translation

As oral translation serves to bridge the language gap between people who want to communicate with each other yet are blocked by the language barrier , the thought,the content,the feeling and the mode of speech of the speaker are the objective existence, i.e.the basis of oral translation.

An interpreter dealing with the transformation from one language to another has to face two serious problems: Reproducing and How to Reproduce. The former is the RESTRICTED FACTOR which keeps the interpreter in a passive position, the latter being the FREE FACTOR which allows the interpreter to act more freely. The two factors act on each other and interact with each other.

When a message is being sent out (Input), the restricted factor dominates the situation and the interpreter remains passive. However, as soon as the transformation starts performing, the restricted factor moves to the free factor quickly and the interpreter becomes more active. In oral translation, if we neglect the restricted factor, the interpretation will either digress from the subject, or be unfaithful to the original, and if we overlook the free factor, the interpretation will be rigid and irrelevant to the subject and convey ideas incorrectly.

The contradictory movement can be seen as a cycle in the whole process.

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