Skopos Theory And The Translation Of Chinese Tourism Texts Into English

Thanks to the rapid development of tourism in China, millions of foreign tourists flock to our country for sightseeing every year, which raises a huge demand for well-translated tourism texts. Therefore, it is quite necessary to research into the important topic of the translation of Chinese tourism texts into English. This thesis discusses this topic from the perspectives of translatology, linguistics and intercultural communication.First, the thesis explores definitions of tourism texts and their functions before it surveys relevant literature available and points out the necessity of making further studies of the translation of Chinese tourism texts into English. Next, the thesis introduces the basic concepts of the Skopos Theory, which proposes that the purpose of the translation determines the translation strategies to be adopted. Then, it discusses the major linguistic characteristics of Chinese and English tourism texts and analyses the main differences between them. In addition, under the guidance of the Skopos Theory, the thesis deals with such major translation approaches as literal translation, liberal translation, transliteration with addition, omission, and translation by analogy, which are shown to be necessary and practical for and applicable to the translation of tourism texts by way of ample exemplification. Finally, the thesis investigates the English versions of some Chinese tourism texts in accordance with the Skopos Theory. The author attempts to prove that the Skopos Theory is applicable to the translation of Chinese tourism texts into English, and that this theory is feasible enough to be used as the translator's guide to the translation of Chinese tourism texts into English.The thesis concludes that the Skopos Theory may serve as the quality standard for the translation of Chinese tourism texts and that a good grasp of the theory and the main translation approaches as well as the distinctive language features of Chinese and English tourism texts will contribute a great deal to the good quality of translated tourism texts. It is sincerely hoped that this research will enlighten translators of tourism texts and make a little contribution to the prosperity of translation studies and to the progression of translation of tourism texts in China.