Relevance Theory: A Guide to Successful Communication in Translation

This book, Relevance Theory A Guide to Successful Communication in Translation, describes the nature of communication, the implications it has for the theory of translation, and its application to Bible translation.

About the Author

Ernst-August Gutt and his wife Eva joined SIL in 1970 and were involved in a translation project in Ethiopia. He completed his M.A. studies in linguistics at University College London (UCL) in 1983. From 1974 until 1996, he worked as translation advisor, linguistic researcher, and administrator in Ethiopia, specializing on Silt'e, an Ethio-Semitic language. He pioneered the application of the relevance theory of communication to translation, for which he received a Ph.D. from UCL in 1989. Since 1998 he has been carrying out a research program for SIL International into foundational notions of translation. He has been Honorary Reader at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology and Honorary Senior Research Fellow of UCL. He has authored several books on his research on the cognitive foundations of translation. Besides this research, Ernst-August is also Translation and Linguistic Consultant for the Ethiopia Branch and an International Translation Consultant.