A Study Of Translators’ Consideration Of Readers From Skopos Theory

Skopos Theory came into being in the1970s, which is the core of functionalist theory in Germany. It tends to study translation from the social perspective by breaking through the tradition of studying translation from linguistics. It regards translation as a purposeful action and defines translation as "to produce a text in a target setting for a target purpose and target addressees in target circumstances". In the framework of Skopos Theory, translation skopos is the essential factor that decides the translation process and it is the first rule that translators should obey. Reader is a crucial factor that decides the translation skopos, so their social and cultural backgrounds, their expectations, their knowledge about the world, etc, are all very important for translators. Therefore, translators should have the consideration of readers and consider the readers’ practical need in their translation process. Under the guidance of Skopos Theory, translators don’t have to be totally faithful to the original text. By breaking through the limitations of traditional equivalence theory, Skopos Theory meets the requirements of the times and has great practical significance. On the one hand, it can guide the translators’ translation process. Translators can decide which parts should be chosen to translate and which parts should be omitted according to their translation skopos. On the other hand, it offers a new way for translation criticism. Translation critics should consider the translators’skopos and their readers when commenting a translated text.Wuthering Heights is the only novel of Emily Bronte, who was one of the famous "three Bronte sisters" in the UK.It plays an important part in the literary history of the world and has been called "ingenious work". Its deep thought, manifestation of possibilities of life, and reflection of human nature have make people think a lot. Therefore, it is favored by a large number of readers. There have been dozens of its Chinese versions up to now. This thesis makes a constructive analysis of the two versions-Fang Ping’s complete version and Xiao Yao’s adaptation version. Under the guidance of Skopos Theory, this thesis tries to analyze the translators’ consideration of readers in the aspects of scenery translation, emotion translation, culture translation, etc.Fang Ping’s version is translated for literary researchers and literary amateurs, so his version is complete, even including some notes. It tries to give readers complete information as much as possible. Different from Fang Ping’s version, Xiao Yao’s version is translated for general readers. Taking the readers’ time, energy, interest, etc into consideration, the translator adopted the strategy of adaptation. Though his version is not totally faithful to the original one, it has achieved its translation skopos and given the general readers a good book in their leisure time. Therefore, under the guidance of Skopos Theory, these two translators both have the consideration of readers and achieve their translation skopos. At the same time, these two versions also achieve success to a certain extent.