A Report On Chinese-english Translation Of Swordsman Fiction The Storm Before The Daybreak From The Perspective Of Skopos Theory

As China’s cultural soft power increases,people of other countries become more and more interested in Chinese culture.In recent years,swordsman fictions which are widely popular among Chinese readers have received more and more attentions from English readers.As a unique type of literary works in China,swordsman fictions are successful combinations of Chinese traditional martial arts and Chinese chivalrous spirit.It is one of the important channels for English readers to know about Chinese culture.Therefore,the translation practice of the swordsman fiction The Storm Before the Daybreak is of great importance.Based on the sufficient analysis on the features of the original text,the translation practice is accomplished under the guidance of skopos theory proposed by the German translation theorist Hans Vermeer.The translation of swordsman fictions has a clear purpose,that is,to enable the target language readers to correctly understand the plots of the novels and learn about unique Chinese chivalrous culture through smooth and fluent expressions.Skopos theory believes that each translation act has a purpose that plays a decisive role in the whole translation process.Therefore,the author of this report chooses skopos theory as the guiding theory of this translation practice.To realize the translation purpose above,the author follows the requirement of the skopos rule first and makes the translation conform to the fidelity rule and the coherence rule,giving consideration to the accuracy and readability of translation.At the level of word translation,the author takes the realization of translation purpose and the fidelity rule as a goal,flexibly choosing translation strategies like transliteration plus annotation,amplification and domestication.In this way,the author accurately conveys the meanings of words and clears the obstacles for target language readers.At the level of sentence translation,the author follows the fidelity rule and the coherence rule on the basis of correctly understanding the writer’s intention,truthfully expressing the meaning of the original text through translation strategies like explicitation,literal translation and readjustment of word order while paying attention to the readability and acceptablity of the translation.At the level of discourse translation,under the guidance of the skopos rule and the coherence rule,the author adopts amplification and literal translation to make the translation more logical and fluent,so that the target language readers can easily understand the translation.The translation practice report consists of four parts.The first part is the description of the translation task,including the source of the translation task,the features of the original text and the requirements of the entrusting party.The second part is the description of the translation process,including pre-translation preparation,translation implementation and post-translation revision.The third part is the analysis of the translation cases.The author gives an overview of skopos theory first and analyses the translation strategies and techniques adopted in the cases from the perspective of words,sentences and discourses,exploring the applicability of the three principles of skopos theory.The fourth part is the summary of the translation practice.The author summarizes the gains and introspects the shortcomings of this practice.