On The Translation Of English And Chinese Electronic Product Instructions —from The Perspective Of Skopostheorie

At a time of rapid economic and social development, speedy scientific and technological progress as well as faster and easier information transmission and access, the world’s high-technology industry is developing vigorously and unprecedentedly. Electronic product is playing an increasingly important role in all aspects of our daily lives. Many famous foreign brands of electronic products are familiar to Chinese consumers, for example, iPhone, Samsung and Dell. Meanwhile, many domestic brands also have entered foreign markets to expand the international influence. Quality and consumer satisfaction have become the key competitive weapons of enterprises. Therefore the quality of the translation of instructions is crucial to both consumers and manufactures of electronic appliances.However, contradiction between the fast development of electronic product industries and the limited researches on the translation of electronic product instructions is becoming increasingly obvious. Based on the data collected from CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure), Skopostheorie is applied by more than seventy percent of translators in the translation of product instructions. But studies on the translation of electronic product instructions are very limited. What’s more, in the field of Skopostheorie study, translators have paid more attention to the pragmatic text. So this thesis takes Skopostheorie as the theoretical foundation.According to Skopostheorie, the purpose or function determines the translation process. The main purpose of instructions is to convey the product information accurately and stimulate people’s desire to purchase the products. To achieve this purpose, translators should apply translation strategies flexibly during the process of translation. And due to different purposes, one original source text can be translated into different versions and styles to meet different needs. An excellent translated text of electronic product instruction must achieve the original function of the instructions, namely informative function, aesthetic function and appealing function.By systematical analysis on previous studies of the translation of electronic product instructions, unlike the former monotonous translation strategies, the author puts forward systematical and creative translation strategies from five aspects, including the lexical, syntactic and textual aspects, as well as local culture and market requirement aspects. The author also takes a case study of the translation of iPhone 5 instruction, which sets a good example of translation flexibility under the guidance of Skopostheorie. The author aims to contribute to the innovation of the translation of electronic product instructions and eventually promotes the translation quality.This thesis includes six chapters.Chapter One presents the background, purpose, significance, research questions, research methodology and data collection of this study.Chapter Two is the studies on the translation of product instructions and literature review of Skopostheorie. It analyzes the overall trend and applied theories of previous studies on the translation of instructions and points out the limitations of previous studies. Then it introduces the development of the Skopostheorie in detail from Katharine Reiss’works, Vermeer’s Skopostheorie, HoIz-Manttari’s translation and Christiane-Nord’s translation to Chinese scholars’ researches.Chapter Three offers the definition, components, classification, functions as well as the similar and different characteristics between English and Chinese electronic product instructions.Chapter Four is the theoretical foundation of this thesis, which introduces the Skopostheorie comprehensively.Chapter Five is the most important part, which is the application and analysis of Skopostheorie in the translation of electronic product instructions. The author intends to analyze the feasibility of the application and analyzes three aims of translation and the phenomenon of mistranslation. Finally, the author puts forward constructive and practical translation strategies from five aspects and conducts a case study of the translation of iPhone5.Chapter Six is the conclusion of the research, including the summary of the study, the research findings, limitations of this study and suggestions for further studies.