On Drama Translation From The Perspective Of Skopos Theory

Drama is a unique art of language which is to be performed on the stage, but it is also culture-bound and highly literary, and meant to be read and judged in itself like poetry and fiction. Because of this dual nature, there are inevitably more difficulties in drama translation than in the translation of other literary forms. Namely, the adaptation to stage performance and the faithful transmission of cultural and linguistic features becomes a typical contradiction in the process of drama translation. According to skopos theory, the translation purpose determines the approaches and strategies to be employed, which, therefore, are helpful to produce a functionally adequate target text. In the mean time, the criterion of evaluating the translation is no longer"equivalence", but"adequacy"i.e. the degree to which the target text meets the purpose.As to drama translation, only by making clear the translation purpose can the translator cope with the contradiction mentioned above and adopt appropriate strategies and methods. Meanwhile, in terms of translation evaluation, the degree to which the target drama text meets its translation purpose is also the foremost criterion, hence ensuring an objective and pertinent evaluation. Based on a general presentation of skopos theory, the author of this thesis introduces two English versions of Teahouse which are of different translation purposes and makes a comparative study from four aspects in the translation strategies and respective effects achieved. Through the analysis, the applicability of the skopos theory to drama translation is testified.In the present academia, translation theories and translation criteria from various genres come forth and contend with each other. Skopos theory, though not totally complete or perfect, can provide the translators, translation learners and translation critics with some theoretical guidance. To do more research and studies in skopos theory and in the meanwhile pay more attention to drama translation is constructive to the development of Translation Studies as well as the drama civilization.