Pragmatic Failure in Interpretation and the Development of Students’ Pragmatic Competence in Interpreting

Abstract

Based on Jenny Thomas’s dichotomous classification of pragmatic failure, this study proposes a new perspective and classifies pragmatic failure in interpretation into three categories: pragma-linguistic failure, socio-pragmatic failure and malaprop-pragmatic failure. Specific examples are given to illustrate the causes and effects of each category of pragmatic failure in interpretation. Meanwhile, this study establishes the “curriculum-textbook-teacher-teaching” scheme to develop students’ pragmatic competence in interpreting with which they are able to avoid pragmatic failure in interpretation.