An Analysis Of Strategies In Translating English Song Lyrics Into Chinese Under The Guidance Of Skopos Theory

With cultural exchanges expanding in the context of globalization,English songs,one of popular cultural forms,has been increasingly favored by the public in China.The lyrics serve as the medium for Chinese audiences to enjoy English songs.However,lyrics translated by amateurs can not fully convey cultural connotation and emotions of the songs.This lyric translation report focuses on solving the problems mentioned above.A large number of English song lyrics are translated in the lyric translation practice in the way of subtitle translation and a study on features and techniques of lyric translation is made under the guidance of Skopos Theory,offering some translation strategies for overcoming problems encountered during the process in English-song-lyric translation.Its value lies in providing some practical experience and case studies for English-song-lyric translation.The report mainly introduces,analyzes and summarizes the process and the completion of the translation task of English-song-lyric translation.The report consists of five parts: translation task description,research background,main research content,tentative conclusion and summary of the translation practice.The first chapter mainly describes the translation task from the general perspective,clarifies the purpose and significance of the translation,and lays the framework of the whole report.The second chapter starts from the current research status all over the world,analyzes the environment of lyric translation comprehensively,and introduces “Skopos rule”“coherence rule” and“fidelity rule”,three principles of Skopos Theory,which serves as the guiding theory of this translation practice report.The third chapter introduces translation requirements and parallel texts.The fourth chapter classifies and then analyzes different types of song lyrics,i.e.,image-centered songs,narration-centered songs and emotion-centered songs.The fifth chapter summarizes the whole report.A set of steps for translating English popular songs is given after researching.Firstly,appreciate the melody together with the lyrics to categorize the songs(image-centered,narration-centered and emotion-centered,focusing on conveying images,narrating stories and expressing emotions respectively).Secondly,translate the lyrics according to the three principles of the Skopos Theory.Among them,“Skopos rule” takes the lead,determining translation strategies for different purposes in translation(“form first”,“connotation first” or “rhyme first”).Then,ensure better understanding of Chinese audiences on the basis of the “coherence rule”.Finally,make adjustments in order tobetter retain the connotation in the source lyrics on the basis of the “fidelity rule”.The above translation steps,based on the author's translation practice,aims at helping translators standardize the process of lyric translation.