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11IntroductionLeninsaid:“languageisthemostimportanttoolinhumancommunication.Languageisanexclusivemediaforhumantoexchangethoughts.Duetotherapiddevelopmentinscienceandtechnologyanddeepeninginterdependenceamongcountries,nocountrycouldalienatefromtheworld.Becausethedifferentcountrieshavetheirowndistinctivelanguages,theexchangesbetweendifferentcountriesleanupontranslation.Translationcanbridgethegapinvariouscommunicationactivities,forinstance,inforeignaffairscommunication.Thecorepartofdiplomacyistohandletheinternationalaffairsandsettledisputesviaconferences,talksandnegotiations.Andoraltalkingandpaperwritingaretwomajorwaysinforeignaffairs.Inasense,theinterpreteristhemouthandearfortheleadersininternationalarena.Translationplaysanindispensableroleinbidirectionaltransferringlanguage,eliminatingthelanguagebarrierandconveyingtheinformation.Diplomacyalwaysmattersalotsinceancienttimes,sothelevel,qualityoftranslationdirectlydeterminetheforeignactivitiesaswellastherelationshipbetweenthetwonations.Tosomeextent,theinterpreternotonlyactsasthetranslator,butalsoasadiplomatwithdeepunderstandingaboutbothpoliticsandculturalbackground.Diplomaticlanguageistheembodimentofthenationalpolicyandthesolemnpromisetoothergovernments.Therefore,diplomatictranslationshouldscrupulouslyabidebythecriterionoffaithfulness”,whichmeanstoconveytheexactmeaninginanaccurate,completeway.Thetranslatoralmosthasnorighttoshiftthemeaningofthesourcelanguage.Buteverycountryholdsitsowndistinctivefeaturesinpolitics,economy,culture,religionandcustoms,meanwhile,thesenationsalsobeholdtheirownlanguages.Soinforeignaffairs,itwillmakenosensejusttoexplaineverywordbyroteinsteadofpolishingit.Withnoaidfromtheexplanatorytranslation,thetranslationwillconfuseforeignersandevensparksomemisunderstandings.Exchangeandcommunicationarealwaystheaimoftranslation(Nida,1993:111).Anyinformationwhichcannotbeexchangedisuseless.Aqualifiedinterpretershouldnotbeaslaveofwordformation,butabridge-builderinexchangingthoughts.Heshouldknowhowtomakeitcleartothereaders.Inthisrespect,tocomplementsomeunknownbackgroundinformation,hecouldaddoneortwowordsormakesomeexplanatorytranslationthathethought2arebeneficialforthediplomaticwork.SinceChinacarriedouttheopening-upreform,ontheonehand,thesocialandideologysystemshavetakenworld-shakingchanges;ontheotherhand,thelanguage,asthesymbolofexchanginginformation,thoughts,notionandfeelingalsoexperiencestremendouschanges.SomeuniquewordscannotfindtheirequivalenceinEnglish,soitissignificanttotranslatethesewordswellwhenintroducingdomesticpolicies.Theso-calledexplanatorytranslationoramplificationtranslationmeanstotranslatesomeambiguousmeaningbyaddingsomephrasesorsentencesinordertomakethetargetlanguagemoreacceptable.Thus,inthisinternationalarena,toimplementtheexplanatorytranslationisofgreatimportance,especiallyindealingwithculturalconflictsandreligiousconflicts.Theexplanatorytranslationisjustlikeabridgetoconnectpeoplefromdifferentnations,withnoregardtodifferentcolors,evendifferentbeliefs.32ExplanatoryTranslationfromthePerspectiveofRelevanceTheoryInthispartwhatwillbediscussedistheexplanatorytranslationfromtheperspectiveofrelevancetheoryandthenecessityofusingexplanatorytranslationinforeignaffairscommunication.2.1ExplanatoryTranslationTheso-calledexplanatorytranslationoramplificationtranslationmeanstotranslatesomeambiguousmeaningbyaddingsomephrasesorsentencesinordertomakethetargetlanguagemoreacceptable.2.1.1TheFunctionofExplanatoryTranslationFunction1:CulturalTransmitterDifferentlanguageshavedifferentculturalbackgrounds,whichconstitutetheobstaclesintheinter-culturalcommunication.Therefore,explanatory-translationisplayingacrucialroleintheculturaltransplantbyexplainingtheculturaldetailscontainedinatext.Thewell-knownBritishtheoreticaltranslatorPeterNewmarksaidAsalastresort,explanationisthetranslation.Theprocessoftranslationactuallyistousetargetlanguagetoexplainsourcelanguage,conveyingthemeaningcontainedinit.(PeterNewmark,1981:13)Butculturalshockhasagreatimpactonus,thuswe'rerequirednotonlytotranslatetheliteralmeaning,butalsotheuniquemeaningofculturalbackground.Inotherwords,withtheculturalglobalization,translationisnolongerexplainingwordbyword,sentencebysentenceanditalsoactsasaculturaltransmitter.Whenonetalksaboutaplacetotheforeigners,onehadbetteraddsomewordstoexplain,althoughChinesereadershavealreadyhadattheirfingertips.Forexample:里边有一洞，叫白龙洞，传说白蛇传的白娘子在这修炼。(Theversionshouldbe:NeartheforestistheWhiteDragonCavewhichissaidtobetheveryplacewhereladywhite,thelegendaryheroineofthestoryoftheWhiteSnake,cultivatedherselfaccordingtoBuddhistdoctrine).4Andthewesternersdonotknowwholadywhiteis.UnderthiscircumstanceweshouldexplainthatitisalegendaryfolkloreofChina,andsheisapersonwithasnakeprecursor.However,manytranslatorsareinterferedbytheirmotherlanguage,theyareoftenlackofsenseofmeaning,thustheymaycauseaseriesofproblems,likewrongtranslation,impropertranslation,misunderstanding,evenconflicts.Inodertoconveythemeaningtothewesternersclearly,explanatorytranslationisnecessaryasthebridgeconnectingdifferent