Novel Translation From The Perspective Of Skopos Theory

Based on the translation task of Sara and the Gift of Life written by Robert Jaunsen, this essay will deal with questions of the novel translation from the perspective of Skopos theory. Novel translation, a typical kind of literary translation,aims to recreate the writing style and concepts of the author by conveying the accurate information of the original text. It is noticeable that the translator should gain insight into the author's writing purpose to know how to translate in a proper way.Accordingly, Skopos theory, which removes translation obstacles oriented by the purpose, is a best choice for studying novel translation.Sara and the Gift of Life, a representative work of Robert Jaunsen who is a autobiography novel writer from America, perfectly presents the unique writing style of the author. The translator experienced lots of challenges as the original text covers two different fields which are literature and medicine; however, she also acquires some academic concepts about novel translation. Meanwhile, it is useful for Chinese readers who want to broaden their vision and get knowledge on organ donation.Another crucial point is that Chinese readers can pay more attention to the medical field by reading the Chinese version of this book.This essay includes four parts as follows: the first part is task description, which will illuminate the background and the purpose of task; the second part is process description, which will introduce the pre-translation preparation oriented by the background knowledge preparation and the translation schedule, and illustrate the process of proofreading; the third part is the key content--case analysis, which will present obstacles appeared in the translation such as the translation of medical terminology and difficult sentences, and examine the Skopos theory applied in the translation based on three rules of Skopos theory; the final part will explore the translator's reflections and academic understanding.