A Critique Of Two Different English Versions Of Huangdi Neijing From The Perspective Of Skopos Theory

Skopos Theory developed by German functionalists breaks itself away from such traditional linguistics-oriented translation conceptions as equivalence and shifts, conducting translation studies from the perspectives of function and communication. Under the framework of Skopos Theory, translation is evaluated from more macroscopic views of action theory and cross-cultural communication, which provides translation practice and criticism with a fresh perspective and renders the translator more freedom. According to Skopos Theory, any translational action is a purposeful activity and the translator should decide on translation methods or strategies on the basis of the intended Skopos of the translation. In other words, the paramount status enjoyed by the intended Skopos of the translation can justify any translation method or strategy as long as they can satisfactorily serve it.The author of this thesis attempts to analyze and compare the two different English translations of the Chinese medical classic Huangdi Neijing from the perspective of Skopos Theory. Through making a critique from the angles of the intended Skopos of the translation, linguistic elements and culture, it is hoped to uncover the reason why the translators adopt different translation methods and techniques.Through carefully analyzing and comparing the translation examples selected from two translations, the author draws the following conclusions:Firstly, in order to fulfill the intended Skopos of the translation, translators adopt literal translation and free translation respectively. Secondly, taking into consideration the intended readers’ cultural background, expectations and communicative needs, they apply some effective compensative measures such as extension, annotation and syntactic readjustment. Thirdly, different translations bear the translators’individual imprint such as their knowledge scope, education background and modes of thinking. Fourthly, culture poses the biggest obstacle in translation practice, so the translator is confronted with the dilemma between preserving appropriate cultural distance and just pursuing non-distance. Lastly, linguistic forms play an indispensable role in the fulfillment of the intended Skopos of the translation; running counter to the conventions operative in the target language will lower the acceptability of the translation and hamper the fulfillment of its intended purpose, so the translator should carefully deal with the matters at the linguistic level.Finally, the author comes to the following conclusions:Firstly, Skopos Theory opens up a completely new perspective for the development of translation theories, provides effective guidance for translation practice and lays down more feasible and objective criteria for translation criticism. Secondly, Skopos Theory is altogether fitting and proper for a critique of the translations of Huangdi Neijing which covers a great number of culture-specific lexicons and was compiled in the ancient times. Thirdly, for one reason or another, there are some translation errors in the two translations which need improving.