A Study on C-E Translation of Reduplicated Words in Wandering in Light of “Skopos Theory”–On the English Version Translated by Yang Xianyi and Dai Naidie文献综述

 2022-08-29 11:04:24

Literature Review

It is essential to learn about the prior studies about this thesis, as they are helpful to make this study more persuasive and creative.

Down through the centuries, translators gradually realized that different situations required different translation, particularly many translators held that the process of translation should involve two procedures: a faithful reproduction of formal ST qualities in one situation and an adjustment to the target audience in another. They believed that it was more important to render the sense or to adjust the text to the target audiencersquo; needs and expectations. As a matter of fact, before the formation of the functionalist approaches, many definitions of translation laid emphasis on the linguistic aspect and defined translation as the replacement of textual material in one language by equivalent material in another language (Catford, 1965:20).

After 1970s when the functionalist theory sprang up, this theory explored translation under framework of action theory and cross-culture theory while other translation theorists were inclined to analyze translation from linguistic aspect. The most important founders for the formation and development of functionalist theory are Katharina Reiss, Hans J. Vermeer, Justa Holz Manttari and Christiane Nord. Like many other famous translation theory, Functionalist translation theory established in the 1970s did not come into being overnight. The theory, as we know today, is the precise fruit of the diligence and intelligence of a large number of scholars in the process of its development.

Skopos theory, as the nucleus of the functionalist theory, was first proposed by Han J. Vermeer. Skopos is a Greek word which has the meaning of “purpose” in English. Skopos theory holds that “the prime principle determining any translation process is the purpose of the overall translation”.(Nord 27) In Skopos theory, it is essential for the translator to know why a source is to be translated and what the target text is used for, in other words, what is the function of the target text. At the same time, Skopos theory is able to help translators free from argument between foreignization and domestication when it comes to translation evaluation as this theory stresses that translation action should base on the intended function of the target text rather than the traditional concept of equivalence between source text and target text. According to this theory, translator should choose the best translation skills and strategies catering to different contexts. Therefore, compared with the traditional translation concept of equivalence, Skopos theory is often regarded as more practical.

Functionalist theory was first put forward by Katharina Reiss in the early 1970s in German. Then it was improved by Hans J. Vermeer. Functional translation is a breakaway from the confinements of source text –focused equivalence theory and it set up Skopos theory as a foundation for functionalist approaches. Vermeer made a statement that he desired to break with linguistic translation theory in his Framework for a General Translation Theory in 1978. He regarded translation as a kind of transfer between signs of verbal communication and non-verbal communication; therefore, he called his theory Skopos theory, a theory of purposeful action.

Skopos theory, being the nucleus of the functionalist translation, was proposed by Vermeer. He points out that primary principle determining any translation process is the purpose of the overall translation. There are three possible kinds of purpose in the field of translation: the general purpose aimed at by the translator, the communicative purpose aimed at by the TT in the target situation and the purpose aimed at by a particular translation strategy or procedure. However, the term skopos usually refers to the communicative purpose of the TT. I think Yang and Dai translated Wandering more from the communicative purpose rather than the purpose aimed at by the translator and the purpose aimed at by a particular translation strategy or procedure.

According to skopos theory, there are three basic rules to govern the translatorrsquo;s activities in the process of translation. These three basic rules are skopos rule, coherence rule and fidelity rule. Skopos theory refers to the top-ranking rule for any translation which suggests that a translation action is determined by its skopos. However, the skopos rule can not be applied to any specific translation process.

Coherence rule implies that the TT must be sufficiently coherent to allow the intended users to comprehend it, given their assumed background knowledge and situational circumstances. Nord also points out that the “coherence rule” specifies that a translation should be acceptable in a sense that it is coherent with the receiverrsquo;s situation. Here, being “coherent with” is synonymous with being “part of” the receiverrsquo;s situation. Since a translation is an offer of information about a preceding offer of information, it is expected to bear certain relationship with the corresponding ST.

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