A Study On The Translation Techniques Of Chinese Union Version From The Perspective Of Skopos Theory

Holy Bible, as a combination of doctrines in Christianity, is one of the brilliant crystals of western culture. As a preeminent translated version, the Chinese Union Version (CUV) has a remarkable impact in Christian. Its publication serves as a symbol of vernacular campaign and a beginning of the decline of classical Chinese. The research object, the Chinese Union Version is translated by three committees affiliated to Shanghai Missionaries Conference in 1919. Adopting Hans Vemeer’s Skopos Theory, the thesis analyzes the Skopos of CUV translation and comes out relevant translation techniques.Skopos Theory, the methodology of the thesis, holds that the translation methods and strategies depend on the function of translated text. The thesis analyzes the application of Skopos Theory in translation based on the three rules of Skopos Theory, including Skopos Rule, coherence rule and fidelity rule. The thesis also proposes the concrete methods with examples in its translation from lexical and syntactic level.The main conclusion is that CUV translation is a process containing intertextual and intratextual coherence by reaching historical Skopos, cultural Skopos, communicative Skopos, literary Skopos, and language Skopos. Therefore, the three rules of Skopos theory could be followed when we analyze the translation methods and strategies of CUV. Based on the five Skopos, literal translation is most frequently used. The techniques of CUV translation include:conversion, diction on lexical level; amplification, omission, repetition, negation, division and inversion on syntactic level. The author hopes that the thesis would inject new ideas to Bible study and provide guidance to translators and offering references for translation practices and the translation appreciation of CUV.