功能翻译理论Skopos theory

方梦之主编：《译学词典》，上海外语教育出版社，第29页

功能翻译理论functionalist translation theory

又称“功能目的论”（Skopos theory）。1971年，德国的莱斯（K. Reiss）首先提出“把翻译行为所要达到的特殊目的”作为翻译评价的新模式。1984年她在与费米尔（H. J. Vermeer）合写的General Foundation of Translation Theory一书中声称：译者在整个翻译过程中的参照系不应是“对等”翻译理论所注重的原文及其功能，而应是译文在译语文化环境中所预期达到的一种或若钟交际功能。20世纪90年代初，德国学者克利斯蒂安·诺德（Christiane Nord）进一步拓展了译文功能理论。她强调译文与原文的联系，但这种联系的质量与数量由译文的预期功能确定。这就是说，根据译文语境，原文中的哪些内容或成分可以保留，哪些需调整或改写，该由译文的预期功能确定。

功能目的理论的两项基本原则是：1. 翻译各方面的交互作用受翻译目的所决定；2. 目的随接受对象的不同而变化。按照这两项原则，译者可以为了达到目的而采用任何他自己认为适当的翻译策略。换句话说，目的决定方式（The end justifies the means）。

作为受文化制约的语言符号，原文语篇和译文语篇受到各自交际环境的影响，译文功能与原文功能可相似或保持一致，也可能完全不同。根据不同的语境因素和预期功能，选择最佳的处理方法，这是功能翻译理论比以对等为基础的翻译理论或极端功能主义的翻译理论更为优越之处。翻译功能理论指导下的翻译方法表现出较大的灵活性，较高的科学性和易操作性。Toury 把“功能目的论”看作是“译文文本中心论”的翻版。

Skopos theory (plural Skopos theories)

1.(translation studies) The idea that translating and interpreting should primarily

take into account the function of both the source and target text.

o1995, Paul Kussmaul, Training The Translator, John Benjamins

Publishing Co, p. 149:

The functional approach has a great affinity with Skopos theory. The function of a translation is dependent on the knowledge, expectations, values and

norms of the target readers, who are again influenced by the situation they are

in and by the culture. These factors determine whether the function of the

source text or passages in the source text can be preserved or have to be

modified or even changed.

Introduction to the Skopos Theory

The Skopos theory is an approach to translation which was put forward by Hans Vemeer and developed in Germany in the late 1970s and which oriented a more functionally and socioculturally concept of translation. Translation is considered not as a process of translation, but as a specific form of human action. In our mind, transla tion has a purpose, and the word “Skopos” was from Greek. It’s used as the technical term for the purpose of the translation.

翻译目的论，"skopos"是希腊语“目的”的意思。其核心概念是翻译过程的最主要因素是整体翻译行为的目的。

1.Introduction to the Skopos Theory

The Skopos theory is an approach to translation which was put forward by Hans Vemeer and developed in Germany in the late 1970s and which oriented a more functionally and socioculturally concept of translation. Translation is considered not as a process of translation, but as a specific form of human action. In our mind, translation has a purpose, and the word “Skopos” was from Greek. It’s used as the technical term for the purpose of the translation. In the frame work of this theory, one of the most important factors determining the purpose of a translation is the address, who is the intended receiver or audience of the target text with their world language. Every translation is directed at an intended audience. The theory focuses above all on the purpose of the translation, which determines the translation methods and strategies that are to be employed in order to produce a functionally adequate result. Vermeer regards it as an “offer of information” that is partly or wholly turned into an “offer of information” for the target audience. From t his view, the status of the source is clearly much lower in Skopos theory than the equivalence theory.

Ⅰ.Introduction of the Skopos Theory

Skopos theory is the nucleus of German Functional School. The main idea of Skopos theory is that translators should hold the thought from the perspective of the target readers during the process of translation. Therefore, translators should bear in mind what the function of translation text is, what the target readers' demand is and even what communicative situation is. Consequently, the choice of translation strategies is decided by the purpose of the translation text,in order to achieve a better function text.

There are three main rules which are skopos rule, coherence rule and fidelity rule.

1.Skopos Rule

Skopos is a Greek word for"aim"or"purpose". "The top-ranking rule for any translation is thus the'skopos rule',which means that a translation action is determined by its skopos;that is,'the end justifies the means'"by Reiss and Vermeer.

Vermeer also stresses on many occasions that the skopos rule is a general rule,and translation strategies and methods are determined by the purpose and the intended function of the target text.

2.Coherence Rule

The coherence rule states that the target text"must be interpretable as coherent with the target text receiver's situation".In other words,the target text must be translated in such a way that it is coherent for the target text receivers,given their circumstances and knowledge.

In terms of coherence rule,the source text is no longer of most authority but only part of the translation beliefe.It is only an offer of information for the translator,who in turn picks out what he considers to be meaningful in the receiver's situation.

2.Fidelity Rule

Translation is a preceding offer of information. It is expected to bear some relationship with the corresponding source text.Vermeer calls this relationship "intertextual coherence" or "fidelity". This is postulated as a further principle, referred to as the "fidelity rule" by Reiss and Vermeer in 1984.The fidelity rule merely states that there must be coherence between the translated version and the source text

4.The Relationship among the Rules

Fidelity rule is considered subordinate to coherence rule,and both are subordinate to the skopos rule.If the skopos requires a change of function,the criterion will no longer be fidelity to the source text but adequacy or appropriateness with regard to the skopos.And if the skopos demands intra-textual incoherence,the standard of coherence rule is no longer vivid.

Skopos theory

Skopos theory is an approach to translation which was developed in Germany in the late 1970s (Vermeer 1978), and which reflects a general shift from predominantly LINGUISTIC and rather formal translation theories to a more functionally and socioculturally oriented concept of translation. (cf. ACTION (THEORY OF TRANSLATORIAL ACTION); COMMUNICATIVE/FUNCTIONAL APPROACHES). This shift drew inspiration from communication theory, action theory, text linguistics and text theory, as well as from movements in literary studies towards reception theories (see for example Iser 1978). Apart from Hans Vermeer, the founder of skopos theory, other scholars working in the paradigm include Margret Ammann (1989/1990), Hans Hönig and Paul Kussmaul (1982), Sigrid Kupsch-Losereit (1986), Christiane Nord (1988) and Heidrun Witte (1987a); see also articles in the journal TEXTconTEXT, published since 1986 by Groos in Heidelberg.

Skopos theory takes seriously factors which have always been stressed in action theory, and which were brought into sharp relief with the growing need in the latter half of the twentieth century for the translation of non-literary text types. In the translation of scientific and academic papers, instructions for use, tourist guides, contracts, etc., the contextual factors surrounding the translation cannot be ignored. These factors include the culture of the intended readers of the target text and of the client who has commissioned it, and, in particular, the function which the text is to perform in that culture for those readers. Skopos theory is directly oriented towards this function.

Translation is viewed not as a process of transcoding, but as a specific form of human action. Like any other human action, translation has a purpose, and the word skopos, derived from Greek, is used as the technical term for the purpose of a translation. Skopos must be defined before translation can begin; in highlighting skopos, the theory adopts a prospective attitude to translation, as opposed to the retrospective attitude adopted in theories which focus on prescriptions derived from the source text.

In addition to its purpose, any action has an outcome. The outcome of translational action is a translatum (Vermeer 1979:174; translat in Reiss and Vermeer 1984/1991:2), a particular variety of target text.

Vermeer’s skopos theory

Vermeer (1978:100) postulates that as a general rule it must be the intended purpose of the target text that determines translation methods and strategies. From this postulate, he derives the skopos rule: Human action (and its subcategory: translation) is determined by its purpose (skopos), and therefore it is a function of its purpose. The rule is formalized using the formula: IA(Trl) = f(Sk). The main point of this functional approach is the following: it is not the source text as such, or its effects on the source-text recipient, or the function assigned to it by the author, that determines the

translation process, as is postulated by EQUIV ALENCE-based translation theories, but the prospective function or skopos of the target text as determined by the initiator’s, i.e. client’s, needs. Consequently, the skopos is largely constrained by the target text user (reader/listener) and his/her situation and cultural background.

Two further general rules are the coherence rule and the fidelity rule. The coherence rule stipulates that the target text must be sufficiently coherent to allow the intended users to comprehend it, given their assumed background knowledge and situational circumstances, The starting point for a translation is a text as part of a world continuum, written in the source language. It has to be translated into a target language in such a way that it becomes part of a world continuum which can be interpreted by the recipients as coherent with their situation (Vermeer 1978:100).

The fidelity rule concerns intertextual coherence between translatum and source text, and stipulates merely that some relationship must remain between the two once the overriding principle of skopos and the rule of (intratextual) coherence have been satisfied.

The general translation theory of Reiss and Vermeer

In comb ining Vermeer’s general skopos theory of 1978 with the specific translation theory developed by Katharina Reiss, Reiss and Vermeer (1984/1991) arrive at a translation theory that is sufficiently general (allgemeine Translationstheorie), and sufficiently complex, to cover a multitude of individual cases. They abstract from phenomena that are specific to individual cultures and languages an account of general factors determining the translation process, to which special theories that concern individual problems or subfields can be linked consistently.

A text is viewed as an offer of information (Informationsangebot) made by a producer to a recipient. Translation is then characterized as offering information to members of one culture in their language (the target language and culture) about information originally offered in another language within another culture (the source language and culture). A translation is a secondary offer of information, imitating a primary offer of information. Or, to be more precise, the translator offers information about certain aspects of the source-text-in-situation, according to the target text skopos specified by the initiator (Reiss and Vermeer 1984/1991:76). Neither the selection made from the information offered in the source text, nor the specification of the skopos happens at random; rather, they are determined by the needs, expectations, etc. of the target-text receivers. Translation is by definition interlingual and intercultural, it involves both linguistic and cultural transfer; in other words, it is a culture-transcending process (Vermeer 1992:40).

Since skopos varies with text receivers, the skopos of the target text and of the source text may be different. In cases where the skopos is the same for the two texts, Reiss and Vermeer (1984/1991:45) speak of Funktionskonstanz (functional constancy), whereas cases in which the skopos differs between the two texts undergo Funktionsänderung (change of function). In cases of the latter type, the standard for the translation will not be intertextual coherence with the source text, but adequacy or appropriateness to the skopos, which also determines the selection and arrangement of content.

Although a translatum is not ipso facto a faithful imitation of the source text, fidelity to the source text is one possible or legitimate skopos. Skopos theory should not, therefore, be understood as promoting (extremely) free translation in all, or even a majority of cases.

Although the terms ‘skopos’, ‘purpose’ and ‘function’ are often used in terchangeably by Reiss and Vermeer (1984/1991), function is also used in a more specific sense which derives

mainly from Reiss. In this sense, it is linked to aspects of genre (Textsorte) and text type (Texttyp). The source text can be assigned to a text type and to a genre, and in making this assignment, the translator can decide on the hierarchy of postulates which has to be observed during target-text production (Reiss and Vermeer 1984/1991:196). Reiss and Vermeer’s text typology, based on Bühler (1934), includes the informative, the expressive and the operative text types, which derive from the descriptive, the expressive and the appellative functions of language, respectively. Such a typology is helpful mainly where functional constancy is required between source and target texts. However, both Vermeer (1989a) and Reiss (1988) have expressed reservations about the role of genre: the source text does not determine the genre of the target text, nor does the genre determine ipso facto the form of the target text, or, indeed, the skopos; rather, it is the skopos of the translation that determines the appropriate genre for the translatum, and the genre, being a consequence of the skopos, is secondary to it (Vermeer 1989a: 187).

Status of source text and target text

According to skopos theory, then, translation is the production of a functionally appropriate target text based on an existing source text, and the relationship between the two texts is specified according to the skopos of the translation. One practical consequence of this theory is a reconceptualization of the status of the source text. It is up to the translator as the expert to decide what role a source text is to play in the translation action. The decisive factor is the precisely specified skopos, and the source text is just one constituent of the commission given to the translator. The translator is required to act consciously in accordance with the skopos, and skopos must be decided separately in each specific case. It may be ADAPTATION to the target culture, but it may also be to acquaint the reader with the source culture. The translator should know what the point of a translation is—that it has some goal—but that any given goal is only one among many possible goals. The important point is that no source text has only one correct or preferable translation (Vermeer 1989a: 182), and that, consequently, every translation commission should explicitly or implicitly contain a statement of skopos. The skopos for the target text need not be identical with that attributed to the source text; but unless the skopos for the target text is specified, translation cannot, properly speaking, be carried out at all.

Criticism of skopos theory

Objections to skopos theory mainly concern the definition of translation and the relationship between source text and target text.

It has been argued that Reiss and Vermeer, in their attempt to establish a truly general and comprehensive translation theory, force totally disparate cases of text relations into a frame which they attempt to hold together by means of the notion of information offer (Schreitmüller 1994:105). But there should be a limit to what may legitimately be called translation as opposed to, for example, ADAPTATION. In translation proper (Koller 1990), the source text is the yardstick by which all translations must be measured, independently of the purpose for which they were produced.

In this context it is also argued that, even though a translation may indeed fulfil its intended skopos perfectly well, it may nevertheless be assessed as inadequate on other counts, particularly as far as lexical, syntactic, or stylistic decisions on the microlevel are concerned (a point made by Chesterman 1994:153, who otherwise acknowledges the important contributions of skopos theory). Such objections come mainly from linguistically oriented approaches to translation that focus on bottom-up aspects of text production and reception. For example, Newmark (1991b: 106)

criticizes the oversimplification that is inherent in functionalism, the emphasis on the message at the expense of richness of meaning and to the detriment of the authority of the source-language text.

However, proponents of skopos theory argue for a wide definition of translation (e.g. Reiss 1990). As soon as one asks for the purpose of a translation, strategies that are often listed under adaptation, for example reformulation, paraphrase and textual explication, will come in naturally as part of translation. And critics of microlevel decisions usually lift the texts out of their respective environments for comparative purposes, ignoring their functional aspects.

Reiss and Vermeer’s cultural approach has also been judged less applicable to literary translation, due to the special status of a literary work of art. Snell-Hornby (1990:84) argues that the situation and function of literary texts are more complex than those of non-literary texts, and that style is a highly important factor. Therefore, although skopos theory is by no means irrelevant to literary translation, a number of points need rethinking before the theory can be made fully applicable to this genre.

It is also possible to argue that to assign a skopos to a literary text is to restrict its possibili ties of interpretation. In literary theory a distinction is often made between text as potential and text as realization, and skopos theory appears to see the text only as realization, and not as a potential which can be used in different situations with different addressees and having different functions. However, Vermeer (1989a: 181) argues that when a text is actually composed, this is done with an assumed function, or a restricted set of functions, in mind. Skopos theory does not deny that a text may be used in ways that had not been foreseen originally, only that a translatum is a text in its own right, with its own potential for use.

Skopos theory has helped to bring the target text into focus. As a text, a translation is not primarily determined by a source text, but by its own skopos. This axiom provides a theoretical argument for describing translations in terms of original text production and against describing them in the more traditional terms of EQUIV ALENCE with another text in another language (see also Jakobsen 1993:156). Translation is a DECISION MAKING process. The criteria for the decisions are provided by the skopos, i.e. the concrete purpose and aims in a concrete translation commission.

The shift of focus away from source text reproduction to the more independent challenges of target-text production has brought innovation to translation theory. As attention has turned towards the functional aspects of translation and towards the explanation of translation decisions, the expertise and ethical responsibility of the translator have come to the fore. Translators have come to be viewed as target-text authors and have been released from the limitations and restrictions imposed by a narrowly defined concept of loyalty to the source text alone.

Further reading

Ammann 1989/1990; Newmark 1991b; Reiss 1986, 1988, 1990; Reiss and Vermeer 1984/ 1991; Vermeer 1978, 1982, 1989a, 1992.

CHRISTINA SCHÄFFNER

中央电视台主持人：芮成钢名言

世界上两件事情最难：一是把自己的思想装进别人的脑袋，二是把别人的钱装进自己的口袋。前者成功了，叫老师，后者成功了，叫老板；两者都成功了。叫老婆。