On Construction Of Translation Brief And Its Application To Translation Assignment

As an important constituent of the Functionalist Skopos Theory, the Translation Brief analyzes the intended text functions, the addressee, the reason for text production, the presumed time of reception and the presumed place of reception in order to produce a target text which can fulfill the predetermined functions. For years, scholars at home and abroad have studied the translation brief with stress on the directive function in translator’s production process. However, seldom studies have been conducted to realize that, in practical translation projects, the translation brief is of great instructive significance in the completion of translation assignment. For this reason, this thesis emphasizes the communicative function to the commissioner and the directive function to translator function of the translation brief in the completion of the translation assignment. And it analyzes the step-by-step instruction to prepare a translation brief and the assessment of translation quality.The thesis takes the Functionalist Skopos Theory as the theoretical basis, and employs a descriptive-analytic method to carry out the study. Firstly, it gives a basic introduction to the relevant theoretical framework of the translation brief. Then, based on the analysis of the translation brief, a clear and simple translation brief worksheet is presented, and it is regarded as the guidance to complete the translation assignment. Moreover, assessment of the quality of translation based on the translation brief is put forward. Finally, one product instruction video translation assignment is taken as an case study to indicate the practicability of the translation brief in practical translation assignments.