A Studv Of Performabillity In Drama Translation From The Perspective Of Skopos Theory

Susan Bassnett, the eminent British translation theorist, described the drama translation as labyrinth, because it is a relatively special area of translation studies. The dual nature of drama bring translators many problems, and the performability of drama translation is one of the most controversial questions..Whether the drama translation should conform to the standard of performability, or fucuses on the readability? This thesis will analyze the performability of drama translation from the functionalist perspective, namely the skopos theory, and prove that the extent to which the notion of performability can be applied to drama translation depends on the purpose of translation, which is determined by the initiator of the translation task. Different translation strategies should be chosen according to different purposes and the importance of performability.This thesis analyzes the translation strategies and effects of the two Chinese versions of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman by comparing the translation of cultural words, rhetorics, colloquialization and the action of language. It draws the conclusion that performability is not an absolute principle in drama translation, nor the absolute standard to evaluate the translation, instead, the translation approaches and standards to assess the quality are determined by the purpose.