A Study On C-E Translation Of Vagueness In Diplomatic Language In Light Of Skopos Theory

Diplomatic language is the language which is used in diplomatic work. It iswidely applied to all kinds of diplomatic activities, such as social intercourse,negotiations, press conference, and external propaganda and so on. On diplomaticoccasions, speakers often employ some vague expressions out of strategic need. Theuse of vague language is not so much a means as a purpose. Whether to avoid tabooor beautify language, the use of it demonstrates that vague language is employed ondifferent occasions with unique purpose. Seeing from previous literature, manyscholars have given a deep analysis about the pragmatic functions of vague language,and some of them have related vagueness to diplomatic language, but the translationof vagueness in diplomatic language is rarely mentioned. We know the success ofdiplomacy is directly influenced by the quality of translation work, therefore, thetranslation of vagueness in diplomatic language is becoming a great challenge totranslators, for the expressions of vagueness in diplomatic language are diversified,flexible and indeterminate.Owing to all above, this thesis intends to take vagueness in diplomatic languageas the research object, and apply functionalist Skopos theory to the C-E translation ofdiplomatic vagueness. To certain extent, it is a new angle of view. The materialschosen for analysis are collected from the diplomatic scripts of leaders’ speeches,diplomatic documents in public or press conferences from the website of ministry offoreign affairs of the People’s Republic of China since January2010, and sometypical examples related to the translation of diplomatic vagueness.The introduction states the research background, purpose and significance of theresearch, and then gives a brief presentation of the organization of the thesis. Thefollowing chapter mainly reviews a survey of vagueness in diplomatic language fromtwo parts. The first part gives a brief introduction about vagueness, which includes thedefinition of vagueness, classification of vagueness, and the explanation of existenceof vague language. In the second part, the author clarifies vagueness in diplomaticlanguage, detailed in three aspects. They are the introduction to diplomatic language, linguistic realization of vagueness in diplomatic language and pragmatic functions ofvagueness in diplomatic language. Then in chapter three, functionalist Skopos theoryis introduced as theoretical framework. First, the author elaborately illustrates somekey concepts and the three rules of Skopos theory after pointing out the origins ofSkopos theory and its development. Moreover, the influence of Skpos theory totranslation is clearly presented in the end of this chapter.After theoretical framework, in the fourth and the most important chapter, theC-E translation of vagueness in diplomatic language from the perspective of theSkopos theory will be demonstrated in detail. By illustrating the three rules of Skopostheory to C-E translation of vagueness in diplomatic language through specificexamples, the feasibility of applying Skopos theory to C-E translation of vagueness indiplomatic language is verified. Then the following part is devoted to analyzing thefactors affecting C-E translation of vagueness in diplomatic language from threeaspects and proposing the principles for diplomatic translation based on Skopos theory.Combining functionalist Skopos theory and translation practice of the author, the lastpart goes to discuss the translation strategies from macro-level and micro-levelthrough analyzing a large amount of diplomatic texts. On the basis of it, the authorattempts to propose some feasible and effective translation strategies and methods totackle vagueness in diplomatic language under the guidance of Skopos theory with thehope that translators can enhance their competence in cross-cultural communicationand improve the quality of translation, and justify its rationality and feasibility. Theseare also the innovations of this research.The conclusion part starts with the major findings and academic contributions ofthe present thesis, and then limitations and further studies are revealed.