Popular Literature Translation Under The Influence Of Skopos

This paper, under the guidance of Skopos, discusses translation techniques such as addition and subtraction during choosing exact words and processing long sentences. The section discussed in this paper is from The White Queen, a popular literature fiction. Unlike serious traditional literal works, this fiction is promoted with a tendency to please readers instead of educating them. Therefore, during its translation, translators should give more considerations to readability of the translated work instead of faithfulness to the original piece.Skopos is a goal-oriented theory. Its main idea is that the end justifies the means. There are three rules under the theory:Skopos Rule, Coherence Rule, and Loyalty Rule. Under Skopos Rule, The White Queen, as a popular literature piece, should meet readers’ appetite for pleasure, so translators should consider more about the language habits of readers. For example, when processing long English sentences, translators have to take the sentences apart and rearrange them to meet Chinese readers’preferences. The Coherence Rule requires the translated work to be fluent and understandable, which is in line with the requirements of the Skopos Rule. As to the Loyalty Rule, translators need to take all parties of the translation activity into consideration such as the author, the proprietor, and the reader. Sometimes, in the original piece, there are words that contain history background that is only known to English speakers. To manifest the background information to Chinese readers, translators need to adopt the technique of addition to fulfill their duty to both the author and the reader.