Translating Economic Texts From The Perspective Of The Skopos Theory

In 1978,Hans J.Vermeer,the German Functionalism representative,put forward the Skopos Theory in the book "A Framework for a General Theory of Translation "in which illustrated translation approaches were decided by the aim of translation action.He proposed that the Skopos rule be the core and top-ranking rule for deciding translation strategies,to be more specific,and the translation process should be oriented to the culture and acceptance of the target readers.The Skopos Theory was really a great hit in the translation field for it was clearly classified and practical,breaking through the limitation of equivalence.Examples in this article are selected from the Chinese translation of the first chapter of How Asia can shape the world:from the era of plenty to the era of scarcities,authored by Danish Economic professor,Jorgen Orstrom Moller.Based on the special features of the economic texts,differences at lexical and syntactical levels as well as ways of expression and thinking between English and Chinese,this thesis intends to discuss the translation of economic texts from the perspective of the difficulties in lexicon,syntax and discourse using the "three principles" of the Skopos theory.After analyzing relevant examples,the paper aims to find whether the Skopos Theory is of great significance in avoiding the "translationese" and render a smooth translated version.Through analysis,the author points out the translation of economic texts should attach importance to its own features and communicative purpose,focusing on eliminating barriers to the reader's understanding of translation.And the "three principles" of the Skopos Theory plays a significant role in guiding the English-Chinese translation of economic texts,and it's useful in helping the translator explore the most appropriate translation strategies in the translation process.