A Report On The Translation Of The Yearbook Of The United Nations:Special Edition (Excerpts) Under The Guidance Of The Skopos Theory

This report was written based on the study of the translation of the Yearbook of the United Nations:Special Edition(excerpts)under the guidance of the Skopos Theory.As the largest intergovernmental organization in the world,the United Nations(UN)plays an important role in international politics,economy,military,science,and culture.As a summary of the work done by the UN in the past 50 years,the Yearbook of the United Nations:Special Edition is vital for the UN to usher in the future based on its past and enables people to know about the significance of it.The Skopos Theory was proposed by German linguist Hans J.Vermeer,which indicates that the most important criterion guiding the translator’s decisions should be the aim or purpose of the translation process.The main content of the Skopos Theory includes skopos rule,coherence rule,and fidelity rule.The author of the report illustrated the guidance of the Skopos Theory in the translation practice by analyzing the application of its three rules.Firstly,the source text belongs to informative text,and its language is characterized by formality,professionalism,and objectivity.What’s more,the target text would be listed on the official website of the Yearbook Express as an authoritative reference available to all.Therefore,the skopos rule of the translation practice is to reproduce the language characteristics and all the content of the source text in the target text.The translator analyzed the application of the skopos rule from the adoption of existing translations,the translation of noun forms and passive structures,and the tone in the target text.Secondly,the application of the coherence rule should make intra-textual coherence possible in the target text,which enables target readers to understand the target text.To achieve that,the translator has adopted specific translation methods,including amplification,omission,conversion from abstraction to concretization,and sentence reconstruction.Lastly,the fidelity rule requires the translator to accurately translate the source text and make the inter-textual coherence achieved.The translator analyzed the application of the fidelity rule from the aspects of polysemy,and emphasis and the accurate presentation of grammar relations in the target text.This report enriches studies on the translation of UN documentation under the guidance of the Skopos Theory and enriches the Chinese corpus of UN documentation,which would provide a reference for future related translation and study.