A Study Of The English Translation Of The Narrative Of A Bite Of China In The Light Of Skopos Theory

A Bite of China is a culinary documentary produced by China Central Television(CCTV).Not only does it display the great diversity of food throughout the vast country,it also tells the stories of ordinary Chinese people and the changes taking place in this land.First aired in 2012,it created an unexpected sensation among the Chinese audience and was soon translated into multiple languages.With the popularity of this documentary,a growing number of scholars have begun to study its translation.This thesis studies CCTV's official English translation of A Bite of China(Season 1)from the perspective of skopos theory,a functional theory of translation from Germany.Skopos theory proposes that the translation skopos(translation purpose)decides translation methods or strategies.Apparently,the purpose of English translation of this work is to publicize Chinese culinary culture and Chinese people's values.The thesis adopts a qualitative methodology and takes skopos theory as the framework.The thesis analyzes whether the translation has provided the information,expressed the feelings or attitudes and performed the intended function under the three rules of skopos theory,namely,the skopos rule,the coherence rule and the fidelity rule.The author assesses whether the translation has fulfilled its intended function,uncovers the reason why some translation has failed to do so and gives suggestions of improving it.The thesis concludes that the translation has generally performed its function and thus realized it translation skopos.Specifically,under the skopos rule,the translation has largely provided the information although still needs improving in the expression of feelings or attitudes.Under the coherence rule,the translation is coherent with English speakers' language habits although not so with their culture.Under the fidelity rule,the translation is coherent with the source text's meaning despite some mistakes,although not particularly so with its style.Drawing lessons from the translation of A Bite of China,the author suggests future translators pay special attention to translation details to avoid errors,acquire comprehensive knowledge about source and target culture and develop sound literary competence.Innovation of the thesis is that it assesses the translation,compared to previous studies,most of which explores the translation methods or strategies of the documentary.The thesis also puts forward suggestions for future translation of documentaries.