II。 A Brief Introduction to Skopos Theory

Skopos theory was first put forward by Hans J Vermeer, it is a new way of looking into translation, which is free from conventional source-text oriented views, different from the traditional equivalence or faithfulness。

2。1 The Origin of Skopos Theory

Along the history of the studies of translation, for a long time, when people evaluate the quality of a translation, they tend to employ “equivalence” or “faithfulness” to the ST(Source Text) as the most authoritative criterion to judge whether the translation is qualified or not。 This kind of translation assessment is the old talks and sometimes too wayward。 Although this method plays a positive role in refining translation practice and standardizing the translation area, other elements should not be omitted, because the act of translation is a very complicated human activity and the study of translation should be descriptive not prescriptive。 Confronted with such situations, the Skopos theory, viewing translation as an action with skopos (purpose), tends to open up a new perspective on translation field, such as the relationship and status between the ST (source text) and the TT (target text), the function of the translator, translation standards and strategies。 

The evolution of the theory has seen three different stages, with the first stage being developed by Hans Vermmeer, the second stage by Katharina Reiss and the third stage by Christiane Nord。 They all helped the perfection of Skopos Theory, and put forward new finding respectively, which will be detailed in the following paragraphs。

The first stage of the theory was in the 1970s, when Hans J。 Vermeer first put forward the technical term of Skopos theory which functions as the core of the functionalist translation theory in Germany。 It is a new way of looking into translation, which is free from conventional source-text oriented views。 Hans J。 Vermeer finds that, according to action theory, every action has a purpose, and, since translation is an action, it must have a purpose too。 The purpose is assigned to every translation by means of commission。 In Skopos theory, there are not such things as the translation being right or wrong, faithful or unfaithful, and the translation Skopos (purpose) decides the process of translation。 Skopos theory accounts for different strategies in different situations, in which the source text is not the only factor involved。 Skopos is the Greek word for “aim” or “purpose” and was introduced into translation theory in the 1970s by Hans J。 Vermeer。 As a matter of fact, the theory consists of three crucial rules(1) Skopos Rule, (2) Coherence Rule, (3) Fidelity Rule, which will be explained in detail in the following section。来:自[优E尔L论W文W网www.chuibin.com +QQ752018766-

The second stage can be found in The book Possibilities and Limits of Translation Criticism, written by Katharina Reiss, which is regarded as the “starting point for the scholarly analysis of translation in German” (Nord 31)。 In her opinion, the ideal translation would be one “in which the aim in the TL (target language) is equivalence as regards the conceptual content, linguistic form and communicative function of a SL (Source language)”。 However, she finds in some situation equivalence is impossible