On The Translator’s Ubjectivity From The Perspective Of Skopostheorie

In traditional translation theories, the translator was regarded as a "parrot", a "humble servant of the source text", a piece of "transparent glass", etc. He/She should faithfully reproduce the source text [ST], and be invisible in the translated works, so his/her status and role was in a much lower value than that of the ST and the author. Thus the translator’s subjectivity was ignored. However, as more and more people has come to regard "translation studies" as an independent subject in recent years, an increasing number of theoretical explorations of the translation have been progressed accordingly. The discussion on the identity and status of the translator has been attracting an increasing attention. And the "culture turn" in "translation studies" has led people discuss the subject about the translator in more diverse ways, and the translator’s status and identity have been greatly improved, resulting in the general recognition of the translator’s subjectivity in translation practice.In the discussion on the translator’s subjectivity, people have directly or indirectly defined the translator’s subjectivity and described its demonstration through their own understanding. This thesis is intended to join in the discussion and to interpret the translator’s subjectivity from the perspective of "Skopostheorie", which is established by the German scholar Hans Vermeer. According to "Skopostheorie", the translation is a human action designed to achieve a special goal. Thus, the translator, as the agent of translation, is surely the subject with the specific purpose. And this special identity indicates that the translator’s subjective initiative is of great importance in the translating activity. This thesis attempts to employ descriptive and analytical method to probe into the relationship between the translator’s subjectivity and Skopostheorie and how the translator display his/her subjectivity in the level of translator’s roles, in the level of whole translation process from ST selection to target text [TT] evaluation and in the level of choice of translation strategies under the framework of Skopostheorie. Skopostheorie has its merits in research on the translator’s subjectivity. And this research will serve as an important addition to translation studies and broaden our horizon of the translator’s subjectivity.