On Modern Prose Translation from the Perspective of Skops Theory—Take Selected Modern Chinese Essays for Example

LENG Hui

School of Foreign Languages,Eastern Liaoning University,Dandong,China

Email:lauraleng09@sina.com

[Abstract] Skopos theory is most important in German functionalist translation theoretics.Its core contents are Skopos rule,coherence rule and fidelity principle.Among them,"Skopos principle"is the highest principle and core of Skopos theory.This paper analyzes the applicability of the three principles of Skopos Theory in English translation of modern Chinese Prose by taking Zhang Peiji's Selected Modern Chinese Essays as an example.

[Keywords] Skopos theory;Modern Prose Translation;Selected Modern Chinese Essays

Introduction

Functionalist Skopos theory has been one of the most influential translation schools in Germany since the 1970s.Since its introduction to China,the theory has exerted a lot of positive influence on translation studies in China,injected new vitality into the translation circle and promoted the formation of a pluralistic situation in translation studies in China.However,for a long time,some scholars at home and abroad think that Functionalist Skopos Theory overemphasizes the Skopos of translation,so it is not suitable to guide literary translation.This paper will takeSelected Modern Chinese Essaysby Zhang Peiji to analyze the applicability of this theory in the translation of literary works,and then reveal some enlightenment to literary translation.

The theoretical framework of Skopos Theory

The core content of Skopos theory includes Skopos rule,coherence rule and fidelity principle.Among them,"Skopos rule" is the highest rule and core of Skopos theory.Translation is "a kind of source text-based,purposeful,interpersonal and cross-cultural communicative action"(Bian,2006,p.82).

According to the Skopos rule,the purpose that the translator wants to achieve determines the translation strategies and methods adopted by the translator in the whole process of translation.On the basis of fully understanding the original text,the translator should take the expected effect of the translation as the main consideration to choose the best method to deal with the text.

At the same time,the coherence rule should be observed in the process of translation.This means that the expression of the translation must be able to make the target language readers understand and easy to accept.In the theoretical framework of Skopos theory,the purpose of translation is the most important,and the primary factor determining the purpose of translation is the target language readers,who have different cultural background knowledge and expression habits from the source language.Therefore,the translation should be the text produced for the target audience in the target language context(Vermeer,1987,p.25).

Furthermore,the translator should be faithful to the original text while trying to be consistent,for which he should also abide by the fidelity principle,which means that the meaning,style and culture of the original text needs the translator to faithfully reproduce in the translation.

Therefore,from the perspective of Skopos theory,the original text does not have the authority central position,but an open entity with unlimited possibility,which is one of the numerous information sources used by translators.The reason why translators choose certain information is that it can satisfy certain purposes in the target culture.Using skopos theory to study the translation of literary works breaks through the limitation of traditional equivalence theory,widens the criterion of "faithfulness" in translation,expands the scope of translatability of the original text,and provides a new perspective for the study of literary translation.

Prose translation from the perspective of Skopos Theory

The most obvious characteristic of prose is"various in form but unique in spirit".This characteristic determines that an excellent translation of prose must value both "form" and "spirit",and organically combine them in order to convey them to the target language readers.In addition,this also determines the feasibility of translating prose into English from the perspective of Skopos theory.Selected Modern Chinese Essaysis a masterpiece selected and translated by Professor Zhang Peiji who has been working in the field of Chinese translation for more than 50 years.It is quite representative for the translation studies of modern Chinese literature.The theme of these essays are various:some express progressive ideas and positive outlook on life,some describe interesting things in life,some criticize current problems,and many express feelings in the scenery,and express aspirations through objects,etc.In this translation work,Professor Zhang skillfully uses authentic English to deal with the original text,and successfully conveys the thoughts and style of these writers to the target readers.His methods and strategies in literary translation are perfect interpretation of Functionalist Skopos theory.Therefore,this paper takesSelected Modern Chinese Essaystranslated by Zhang Peiji as an example to analyze the applicability of the three principles in the core theory of Skopos in literary translation.

Application of Skopos rule

According to skopos theory,purposes determine strategies in translation.A particular translation purpose may require free translation or literal translation,or even a compromise state,depending on the purpose to be achieved (Nord,2001,p.29).The contribution of Skopos theory lies in"adding alternative translation strategies,loosening the tie for translators,so that they do not have to be limited to literal translation imposed on them,which is often meaningless" (Zhang,2004,p.115).Therefore,skopos theory provides a theoretical basis for "adjusting","adding","deleting"and even"completely rewriting"some parts of the original text in a specific context.

Example 1：

The original:小时候我害怕狗。记得有一回在新年里，我到二伯父家去玩。在他那个花园内，一条大黑狗追赶我，跑过几块花圃。后来我上了洋楼，才躲过这一场灾难，没有让狗嘴咬坏我的腿。

The translation:I used to be afraid of dogs when I was a child.One day during lunar new year,I remember,I happened to be chased after by a big black dog while I was playing about in the garden of Second Uncle's home.Fortunately,after running past several flower beds,I gave him the slip by rushing upstairs in a storeyed building,thus avoiding the mishap of having my legs bitten by the fierce animal.

This is the first paragraph of an essay namedDogfromSelected Modern Chinese Essays.In the translation of this paragraph,"新年"is not translated as"new year"but translated into"lunar new year",which enables the target language readers to understand that this new year is the Chinese New Year,different from the new year of English speaking countries.The translation of "洋楼"is also very noteworthy.The expression "洋"shows the cultural characteristics of that time,when everything or people from abroad would be preceded by the word"foreign".If"洋楼"is directly translated into"a foreign building",it may cause confusion to native English speaking readers.Therefore,here,the translator translates it as"a storeyed building",so that readers can easily understand that it just refers to the ordinary buildings which are quite common to them.In the translation of "后来我上了洋楼",an authentic English expression"gave one the slip"is added to mean"successfully get rid of someone".in this way,the translator highlights the lucky mood for"hard to escape"in the original text.

Application of coherence rule

In the process of translation,the translator should follow not only the Skopos rule,but also the coherence rule.The coherence rule requires that the information produced by the translator must be interpreted in a way consistent with the situation of the target recipients(Shuttleworth&Cowie,2004,p.19).In other words,in the process of translation,the translator should take full account of the social environment and cultural background of the target language readers,so as to make the translation achieve semantic coherence and readability for the target language readers.

Example 2：

The original:有时太阳走进了云堆中，它的光线却从云里射下来，直射到水面上。这时候要分辨出哪里是水，哪里是天，倒也不容易，因为我就只看见一片灿烂的亮光。

The translation:Sometimes,hidden by the clouds,the sun nonetheless shed its rays straight onto the seawater,making it difficult for me to distinguish between the sky and the sea because what I saw in front of me was nothing but a wide expanse of dazzling brilliance.

This is a description of the scenery after sunrise in the famous prose Sunrise at Sea.The translation of this passage fully embodies the coherence rule under skopos theory."太阳走进了云堆中" is skillfully translated as the passive voice"hidden by the clouds",which is naturally connected with the following expression"the sun nonetheless shed its rays straight onto the sea water".Then,it uses a present participle "making it difficult for me to distinguish between the sky and the sea"as an adverbial to make the sun,the light and the feeling of"I"which is not clearly written in the original text connected organically and compactly.It is in line with the writing habits and narrative style of the target language,and can be regarded as a model of translation under the Skopos coherence rule.

Application of fidelity principle

The third principle of Skopos theory is fidelity principle.Fidelity principle refers to the translator's fidelity to the original text,which includes fidelity to the original meaning,emotion and style.The purpose of the translation and the translator's understanding of the original determine the fidelity of the translation to the original.

Example3：

The original:为了看日出，我常常早起。那时天还没有大亮，周围非常清静，船上只有机器的响声。天空还是一片浅蓝，颜色很浅。转眼间天边出现了一道红霞，慢慢地在扩大它的范围，加强它的亮光。

The translation:I would often get up early to watch sunrise when it was not yet quite light and all was quiet except for the droning of the ship engine.The sky was pale with a bluish hue.Soon a streak of pink dawn broke over the horizon,expanding gradually and becoming brighter and brighter.

The translation of this description of sunrise follows the fidelity principle under skopos theory.Here"周围非常清静"is translated as"all was quiet"instead of"the environment was quiet",just to be faithful to the original meaning—"周围"in the original text actually refers to"all the things nearby",If it is translated literally,the readers of the translated text can not feel the extreme silence described in the original text."机器的响声"is not translated directly into"the sound of machine"but a more specific and vivid expression of"droning of the ship engine".The advantage of this translation is obvious,because"droning"is often used to express the monotonous and low hum of the machine,which makes readers feel more immersive.Meanwhile,using "ship engine" instead of "machine" also shows clearly that it is the ship's motor rather than the sound of other machines around.It can be seen that this choice of translation is not literal translation,but it is more faithful to the original meaning and atmosphere than literal translation,so it is more in line with the translation purpose of the translator.

Conclusion

To sum up,skopos theory can be used to effectively guide literary translation.In prose translation,the translator should follow the three principles of Skopos Theory:Skopos rule,coherence rule and fidelity principle.In the process of translation,translators should choose and apply different translation strategies and methods according to different translation objectives.At the same time,the translator should balance the understanding needs of the target language readers and the expression of the original.It is necessary to balance the culture of the target language and the culture of the source language to achieve the purpose of translation.

All in all,skopos theory provides a new research perspective for the evaluation and exploration of literary translation,and makes the translation standards diversified.At the same time,it also solves the binary opposition problem of domestication and foreignization,literal translation or free translation.Translators can consider the translation needs and the expected requirements of the readers of the translation according to different texts,analyze the translation purpose,and follow the three principles of Skopos,so as to achieve the maximum function and the best aesthetic effect of the translation.