A Study on the Translation of Chinese Idioms from the Perspective of Skopos Theory

By Wu Siyu

In partial fulfillment of the requirement

For the B. A. degree

Department of English

School of Languages and Cultures

Nanjing University of Information Science amp; Technology

May, 2018

Acknowledgements

First of all, I am indebted to my supervisor professor Lu Huaguo. He gives me many instructive opinions. Without his scholarly attainments and patience, I cannot finish this thesis. His rigorous academic attitude and the high degree of professionalism give me a deep impression.

My cordial thanks meanwhile extend to the teachers who have taught me during my university life. Without their help, I would not have mastered so much professional knowledge.

Last but not least, I want to thank my classmates and my family members. Their company and encouragement motivated me to complete this thesis.

Contents

1. Introduction 1

1.1Research Background 1

1.2Literature Review 1

1.3 Research Significance 2

1.4 Thesis Structure 2

2. An Introduction to Skopos theory 3

2.1 The development of Skopos theory 3

2.2 the three principle rules of Skopos theory 6

2.2.1 The skopos rule 6

2.2.2 The coherence rule 7

2.2.3 The fidelity rule 8

2.2.4 Summary 8

3. A Brief Analysis of the Chinese idioms 9

3.1 The definition of Chinese idioms 9

3.2 The features of Chinese idioms 9

4 The application of Skopos theory in the translation of Chinese idioms 10

4.1The application of foreignization 11

4.2 The application of domestication 12

4.3 Summary 12

5. Conclusion 14

5.1 Major Findings 14

5.2 Limitations 15

5.3 Suggestions for Translators 15

References 16

A Study on the Translation of Chinese Idioms from the Perspective of Skopos Theory

Wu Siyu

Department of English

School of Languages and Cultures

Nanjing University of Information Science amp; Technology

Abstract：With the instant development of globalization, our country and Western countries are building increasingly close intercultural relationships. Chinese idioms play a crucial role in cross-culture communications, because Chinese idioms are the essence of Chinese language. However, because of the differences of the culture traditions between Chinese and other Western countries, the English translation of Chinese idioms is facing some potential roadblocks. If Chinese idioms are not translated properly, it will bring about misunderstandings in international communications and will cause adverse effects on international relations. Skopos theory is an important theory which is applied in Chinese idioms translation. Using Skopos theory can help target readers create a better understanding of the connotation of Chinese idioms. The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the application of the three principles of Skopos theory and to demonstrate how to translate the Chinese idioms correctly in combination with specific translation methods. Overall, translating Chinese idioms successfully is very important for China to achieve cross-culture communication. Translators should use appropriate translation techniques and strategies to promote cross-cultural communication.

Key Words: Skopos theory; Chinese idioms; translation methods

摘要：随着全球化的发展，我国与西方国家的文化交流日益紧密。汉语成语是我国语言的精华，在中西方文化交流中起着重要的作用。但由于中西民族的历史文化背景不同，汉语成语的英译面临一些的问题。如果汉语成语翻译不当，便会导致交流误解，给国际关系带来麻烦。目的论是汉语成语英译过程中的重要理论。运用目的论可以让目的语读者更好地理解汉语成语的内在含义。本文旨在分析目的论的三个法则的运用并结合具体的翻译方法来论证如何进行正确的汉语成语翻译。总而言之，成功翻译中国汉语成语对中国进行跨文化交际十分重要，翻译人员应该采用合适的翻译技巧和策略来促进我国与各国的跨文化交流。

关键词：目的论；汉语成语；英译方法；

1. Introduction

1.1Research Background

Along with the shift and violent development of science and technology, the diversification of the trip mode and the modern communication methods help people from all over the world communicate each other more and more frequently. When people of the two languages come across, they need “translation”. Translation is the necessary activity to realize trans-cultural communication. Chinese idioms become a kind of Chinese traditional fixed phrases through hundreds of years of polishing and improvement. They can express essentials in simple language. Therefore, translators have great difficulty in translating idioms. At the same time, it is indispensable to make the correct and proper translations to achieve a successful intercultural communication. Skopos theory provides a new perspective for translation and free the idioms from the slavery of the source language. It provides a great reference for the translation of Chinese idioms. This article, based on the characteristics of Chinese idioms and the purpose of Chinese idioms translation, uses Skopos theory as a reference to discuss the methods of translation of Chinese idioms.

1.2Literature Review

There are a great number of researches on translating methods, which demonstrates people’s great attention to the improvement of the quality of translating. In addition, the book A Reductionist of Approach to Translatology written by Zhao Yanchun puts forward two principles: the first principle based on the idea of relevance theory, take the relevance as the basic principle in the process of translating. The second principle is the convergence theory, that is, the translators are required to reach the greatest degree of “equivalence”. In addition to this theory, Jia Wenbo(2004) also introduces the benefits of Skopos theory in his work A Functionalist Approach to Pragmatic Translation. He also creatively puts forward the meaning “functional domestication” and “industrial naturalization”. And in western country, for example, Christiane Nord has put forward the theory “Function plus Loyalty Theory”. These domestic and foreign theoretical works have greatly promoted the development of translation teleology. As analyzed above, it is necessary for us to have a proper attitude towards translation methods. In translation practice, we ought to learn to adopt translation methods masterly according to specific conditions.

1.3 Research Significance

The English translation of Chinese idioms not only involves both Chinese and English forms of expression but also involves the blend of Chinese and Western culture. That means the conversion of the culture connotation is the principal element in creating successful translation. Meanwhile, with the continuously quickening of economic globalization, China's status and the leading role in dealing with international affairs have improved. Therefore, only by successfully translating Chinese idioms into English can we better advance and enrich the essence of Chinese excellent traditional culture and promote development of intercultural communication.

1.4 Thesis Structure

This thesis is comprised of five parts. Part one is an introduction to the research background, literature review, and research significance. Part two describes Skopos theory, including its meaning, origin, development and its three principle and the relationship between the three principles. Part three gives an introduction to the Chinese idioms. Pare four is an analysis of the application of Skopos theory in the translation of Chinese idioms. We discuss the application of foreignization and foreignization. The last part summarizes all the previous parts, pointing out the limitations, and providing suggestions for translation.

2. An Introduction to Skopos theory

Skopos is a Greek word for “purpose”. According to Skopostheorie (the theory that applies the notion of Skopos to translation), the prime principle determining any translation process is the purpose(skopos) of the overall translation action. (Nord, 1997:27)

2.1 The development of Skopos theory

From the process of the development of translatology, we can find that the modern western translation theory has grown rapidly and has shown a thriving situation. By the beginning of the 20th century, many famous translation theorists have begun to set about studying and analyzing translatology from many perspectives of the Hermeneutics, the Reception Aesthetics Theory, the Structuralism and the Audience Response theory. As a result, Nida's the sociosemiotic translation theory, Catford’s the theory of translation shift and other translation theory have been emerged as the times require. Among them, the Skopos theory which is created by the German Functional Approaches to translation stands out in the vast western translation theories and opens up a new point of view for translation practice and study. (张锦兰,2004:37)The functional translation theory subverts the definition of translation. The functional translation theory indicates that translation should focus on communication theory and behavioral theory, pointing out that translation is a translational interaction and a trans-cultural interpersonal interaction behavior which is based on the purpose of original text. From the standpoint of Skopos theory, the concept of "purpose" should be incorporated into the practice of translation activities. All translation behaviors are related to "purpose".

Translation is a cross-cultural communicative activity which has the strong purpose. (汪欲晓，2011:1)Translators should work out the relevant translation strategies according to the purpose of translation. In the course of translation, the essence of Skopos theory should be generalized into the external research of translation. Therefore, the core of translation transforms from the relevance between the translations and the original text to the expectation effect of the translations. This transformation overcomes the insufficiency of traditional translation and develop a new exploration angel for translation. (仲伟合,钟钰,1999:47)

剩余内容已隐藏，请支付后下载全文，论文总字数：30052字