On Chinese-English Translation Of Antique Names In Museum From The Perspective Of Skopos Theory

Antique names are the precious heritage left behind with the development of Chinese nation. Various museum exhibits usually arouse the interest of foreign tourists. Therefore, the translation quality of exhibits’ names has a direct influence on their interest and their understanding of Chinese culture. Among relevant studies concerning museum texts, domestic scholars mainly focus on interpretive texts and antique names of museums, but they do not conduct them deep enough. Moreover, few scholars have probed into problems existed in Chinese-English translation of antique names from the perspective of Skopos theory.Concise and general antique names imply rich cultural information. During the process of the Chinese-English translation of antique names, how to fully reproduce their cultural information is of great significance. Li Kairong, the domestic scholar, divides the cultural information contained in antique names into three levels, which are cultural information on the surface level, cultural information on the middle level and cultural information on the deep level. Cultural information on the surface level in antique names refers to head word. Cultural information on the middle level is reflected by the modifiers before the head word, involving people’s aesthetic consciousness towards antiques and antiques’cultural and artistic value. Cultural information on the deep level reflects the psychological association produced by Chinese traditional concept, religious consciousness and local manners and practices. This classification unfolds cultural information on the three levels in antique names from the superficial to the profound.The Chinese-English translation of antique names lies in making foreign tourists produce the same or similar feelings as domestic tourists do when paying a visit to museums in China so as to transmit Chinese culture towards foreign tourists and realize communicative needs. Under the framework of Germany functionalist theory Skopos theory, the Chinese-English translation of antique names is a purposeful activity. Skopos theory emphasizes that the form of target text should be determined by function, namely the aim to be obtained in target context. Transferring cultural information on the surface, middle and deep level lies in expressing the informative function, the aesthetic function and the connotative function of antique names.Skopos theory points out that original text no long plays a dominant role in translation, but merely a source which provides target readers with part or all information. During translation activity, the translator should take into careful consideration target readers’ cultural background and their expectation of translation and give full play to the subjective initiative. On the basis of translation’s communicative aim, the translator reproduces the information of original text selectively through selecting appropriate translation methods or strategies. Therefore, regarding the three levels of cultural information, the thesis puts forward annotation as an advisable solution. That is, transliteration plus annotation is adopted to transfer cultural information on the surface level. Transliteration plus annotation and literal translation plus annotation are used to transfer cultural information on the middle level. Transliteration plus annotation, literal translation plus annotation and free translation plus annotation can all be employed to transfer cultural information on the deep level.This thesis attempts to explore the shortcomings and difficulties in Chinese-English translation of antique names in Ceramics Exhibition Hall of Shanghai Museum from the perspective of Skopos theory. The author tries to propose introductory ways so that others may come up with valuable ideas and hopes that it may arouse domestic scholars’wide attention and deep research.