目的论视野下科技英语翻译策略研究

发布时间：2016-05-13 10:19

1 Introduction

Written EST covers the former three categories. And this thesis mainly focuses on thetranslation of written EST into Chinese.Since 1970s，English for Science and Technology has received wide attention all over theworld and has been researched by many scholars at home and abroad. After its opening up tothe outside world in 1978，，China has placed much more emphasis on foreign exchange withwestern countries. After joining WTO, China has been making continuous communication withforeign countries in the areas like business and trade. Scientific and technical exchange is asignificant part of information communication because science and technology is playing agreater role in social development. Therefore，it's self-evident that EST translation into Chinesedeserves close research.The process of EST translation often involves analysis，transformation and reconstruction.It takes place under certain context, such intentional structural units as words，sentences，paragraphs and texts realize their meanings in this context and finally realize thecommunication purpose of EST translation. However，what strategies should the translatorsapply to EST translation? How can the translation purpose be effectively realized? A possiblesolution to these issues is: finding a suitable theory as guidance to tiie translation practice.EST translation study in China traditionally starts from the micro level, which is， conducting research on translation of vocabulary or sentence. And there is a misleading viewon EST translation which asserts that EST translation is simply regular translation plustechnical terms. It's no denying that micro level study does help to EST translation. However,without a clear guidance, mistakes will be easily made. Therefore, this thesis resorts to westerntranslation theories and finds out that Skopos theory of the German school of functionalisttranslation theory is most applicable to EST translation. Skopos theory was put forward by theGerman translator and translation theorist Hans Vermeer, who considers that translation is anintentional and cross-cultural human activity. The purpose of translation determines whatstrategy the translators should adopt. That is, the end justifies the means. Science and technology plays an important role in the development of modem society. Inmodern era, some EST translation works turn into productive forces, some become useful forscience research, and some provide basis for scientific or political policymaking. ESTtranslation involves all walks of life and the amount of EST translation is enormous.EST translation, as a kind of pragmatic translation, has realistic and even utilitarianpurpose. So the purpose and function are basic for EST translation. However, the study of ESTtranslation is not satisfying enough although there are a number of papers published on ESTtranslation, because most significant theoretical papers are derived from literary translation,which can not be effectively applied to EST translation practice. Only by applying the studyachievements to practice can translation study keep fresh and meaningful. So EST translationtheories should be instructive, directive and systematic.The author of this paper holds that Skopos theory is an important translation theory whichhas exerted great influences in translation studies both at home and abroad. The practicabilityof EST demands its translation to be informative. And Skopos theory can provide guidance toEST translation from a macro perspective. Under the framework of Skopos theory, translatorsare free to utilize suitable strategies to attain the goal of translation, so as to advance the qualityof EST translation and promote the development of EST translation. With the guidance ofSkopos theory, EST translation not only transfers scientific and technical information, but italso is easier for the target readers to understand. Through an extensive exploration of Skopostheory and EST, this paper intends to combine theory with practice and make a comparison oftranslation strategies. Corresponding strategies are also clarified for the three categories ofwritten EST.
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2 Literature Review

2.1 Previous Researches on EST Translation
In foreign researches, EST is considered as one type of ESP (English for SpecificPurposes). Studies on ESP usually cover EST. Modem English grammarian R. Quirk considersEST as a variation of English，just like American English is a variation of English. In foreigncountries，scholars carried out researches by holding special academic symposiums, publishingpaper collections, setting specialized academy, writing teaching materials or books and so on.And there are many schools of translation theories developed by translation researchers.In America, a journal named TESOL (Teaching English to the Speakers of OtherLanguages) published two volumes of paper collections in 1975，which included several pieceson EST teaching. It also published a set of books titled “Special English including 18 kindsof books for teaching, and another set of books titled “English for Careers，including 29varieties of books for the need of different professions. And there were also a number ofreading materials published for ESP education.In Britain, the first volume of paper collections on ESP was published in September, 1977.In 1975，Oxford University Press published a set of teaching books “English in Focus, whichhad eight volumes. Longman published a ten volume set of books “Nucleus ” in 1976. This twoset of books had great influence on EST teaching as well as general English teaching.Lull Trong Tuan (2001) from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam has studied translation ofscientific and technical terms by combining translation theories and models. He explores twoprinciples of translating terms — recombination of semantic components and functionalequivalence. He also develops six procedures for translating scientific terms.Although these researches mainly focus on separate areas of science and technology basedand EST teaching, they laid foundation for the translation of EST.The development of translation theory studies in western countries is reflected in a number of schools, a wealth of talents and rich contents. There is the translation school of“multiple component system" represented by Holmes, the conventional translation schoolrepresented by Toury, the cultural translation school represented by Bassenett and Lefevere, thetranslator centered translation school, the post colonialism school, the functional translationschool and so on. These theories in some way promoted EST translation.Among the theorists，Peter Newmark paid special attention to the study of technicaltranslation. Although he did not particularly discuss EST translation, his research wasenlightening for the translation of scientific and technical articles. He described the technicalstyle and explained his view on technical translation methods. Through his statement, the mostdistinctive feature of technical writing is that it is closest to material reality. And as technologyis in a constant state of explosion, to be up to date with frontier technical knowledge is of greatimportance to translators. Terminology makes up 5-10% of the text and the rest is usually anatural style of language. So translators can simply convert the text into natural and elegantlanguage.Throughout the history of western translation studies, the theories turned focus fromlinguistics to literature, and then culture and even international politics. The center oftranslation research turned from source text to target text, from prescriptive translation todescriptive translation, and the status of translator turned to be crucial instead of being lowerthan the author of the original. Among these western translation theories, Skopos theory of theGerman school of functionalist translation theory receives much attention in EST translationstudy, because it is instructive for pragmatic translation, including EST translation. One of theGerman functionalist translators, Susanne Gopferich, carried out a research on the implicationof LSP (Language for Special Purposes) text typology for the translation of scientific andtechnical texts through analyzing English and German text types of science and technology. The study of technical translation in China can date back to more than a thousand yearsago, but very few research documents in this field have been left over. After the founding ofnew China, technical translation study began to receive considerable attention. In 1950, amagazine named Translators，Notes started publication, which made exchange of translationexperience and the study of translation theories much easier. Since then, technical translationstudy has gradually been developed further and further. Although the development of technicaltranslation is not always smooth, there has been a period during which translation workerswere trying to find out the direction but made no progress，a period during which new theorieswere introduced and summarized and also a period during which translators and researcherswere contending and making great advancement. According to the research by Fang Mengzhi，the development of EST translation research from 1950 to 1999 in China can be basicallyillustrated by the following table。

2.2 Previous Researches on Skopos Theory
Zhang Meifang and Wang Kefei reviewed Skopos theory in the translated version of thebook: Translating as a Purposeful Activity: Functionalist Approaches Explained and also madecomments on the value and limitation of this theory for translation study and teaching. ZhuZhiyu(2004) conducted research on the status of flinctionalism in contemporary translationresearch, relation between content and form, relation between text type and translation strategyand translation typology, which provided valuable reference for the Chinese translators tounderstand the theoretical basis of Skopos theory. Scholars such as Chen Xiaowei(2000),Zhang Nanfeng(2000), Tan Zaixi(2001)，Xie Tianzhen(2003) published papers to reviewSkopos theory from different perspectives and made this theory remarkable in translationstudies. Some scholars explained modem and contemporary translation phenomena based onSkopos theory, such as variants in translation of natural science, social science and literature,and the reason of variants, such as character, thought, and translation viewpoint of translators,environment of target language, purpose of translation，and so on.Although it is still disputable to apply Skopos theory to literary translation, it is stillemployed by some scholars to analyze and explain the intention of translation participants andtexts. And it is generally acknowledged that Skopos theory is more applicable to non-literarytranslation because this theory emphasizes the decisive function of purpose for the selection oftranslation strategies and non-literary translation is more purposive. Relevant researchesgenerally include the study of text type of the source text, function of the translation, positionof translators, multiple translation criteria，the purpose principle, the coherence principle，thefaithfulness principle, translation strategies and other aspects, to see how to apply Skopostheory to the translation of Chinese medicine documents (Zhong Weihe, Chen Yihua, 2001)，soft news translation ( Xu Quan, Wang Ting, 2001), translation of legal documents (ZhongWeihe, Zhang Changming, 2005)， pragmatic translation, including advertisementtranslation( Zhang Meifang,2004, Zheng Qiufang, 2004，Zhang Xiaoyun，2004，Shen Jicheng,2005) and so on. These researches analyzed examples in detail and generalized feasible andeffective methods like addition, omission and adaptation, which can achieve thecommunicative function of the target text on the basis of being faithful to the source text. Theypointed out that Skopos theory provided theoretical foundation for these methods which seemto be against traditional translation principles.

3 Theoretical Framework: Skopos Theory........ 11
3.1 An Overview of Functionalist Translation Theory...... 11
3.2 Theoretical Basis of Skopos Theory"“Theory of Action........ 12
4 Characteristics of EST .........18
4.1 Functional Characteristics of EST ..........18
4.1.1 Peter Newmark's Translation Typology.......18
5 Translation Strategies of EST: from the Perspective of Skopos Theory........27

5 Translation Strategies of EST: from thePerspective of Skopos Theory

5.1 Feasibility of Applying Skopos Theory to EST Translation
Based on the analysis in the previous chapter, the pragmatic function of EST requires thetranslation to transfer the essential meaning and thinking of the original. Being loyal to thecontent of the original tends to be a primary principle for EST translation. Moreover, thedifference in wording and organization of Chinese and English leaves the translators in adilemma. Sometimes it is impossible to realize the equivalence of both content and form by thetranslation.The introduction of Skopos theory to China provides translators with a new perspectiveand a possible solution. Based on the theory of action, Skopos theorists consider thattranslation is an intentional，interpersonal, communicative and cross-cultural interaction.Skopos theory is evidently reader-centered or target-culture-oriented because it tries to fulfillthe expected purpose of translation. As a type of informative text, EST aims at reporting factsand reality. The purpose of EST translation is to inform the target readers about informationand knowledge. It is indeed an intentional and communicative human action. For ESTtranslation, it's important for the target text to be understood by the readers. In this sense, thestatus of the readers is stressed in EST translation. This feature also coincides with theprinciples of Skopos theory. Therefore, Skopos theory can be instructive to the choice oftranslation strategies in EST translation. The skopos of EST is providing the knowledge orinformation to the readers. Thus in EST translation, the content is more concerned by thereaders or clients than the formal features. In this regard, Skopos theory，with its rules andprinciples, is applicable to EST translation. It settles the dilemma between content and formbecause translators can make a choice according to the purpose of translation. Strategies can beselected accordingly to fulfill the purpose.

5.2 Criteria for EST Translation
Before choosing translation strategies for EST translation, it's necessary to be clear aboutits translation criteria. Whether a translated text is good or not should be judged by the criteria.The most common accepted translation criteria in China are “faithfulness，expressiveness,and elegance" by Yan Fu. But for EST translation, Dai Wenjin, in the book Translation of Scientificand Technical Literature agrees with Professor Liu Chongde，s "faithfulness, expressivenessand closeness”, which means that the translation should be faithful to the content of theoriginal text, be as expressive as the original, and be as close to the original as possible.The author of this thesis agrees with Liu Chongde's criteria. Because based on Skopostheory，to be precise, "faithfulness, expressiveness, and closeness” can be interpreted as; thetranslation should accurately transfer the information of the original, be clear and coherent, andalso be in keeping with the style of the original text. These criteria not only take theinformative function of EST into consideration, but also stress the readability of the translation,which coincide with Skopos theory. According to the characteristics of EST and the skopos ofEST translation, these criteria are yardsticks for good EST translation. Specifically, thetranslation should be able to follow the principles and rules of skopos theory and conform tothe style of technical writing. Translation strategies refer to the translation policies translators decide to utilize beforetranslating and the methods they use in the process of translation. Complete translation andflexible translation are the two sub-systems of translation strategy. Complete translation, as isdefined by Huang Zhonglian and Li Yashu, refers to the thinking and inter-lingual activitywhich transfers information of the source language culture to the target language culture withthe style of the information staying nearly unchanged. Complete translation tries to completelytransfer the content of the original text and also keep the style. Flexible translation refers to thethinking and inter-lingual activity that adopts flexible methods like amplification, reduction,adaptation, imitation, explanation, transliteration etc. to meet the readers special needs undercertain circumstances. Flexible translation maintains to obtain best information transmissionthrough accommodating the content or form of the original.Skopos theory tells translators that many factors should be taken into consideration in thechoice of strategies in translation, such as the nature of the original text，the requirement of theclient，the purpose of translation，target readers, the translators' view toward translation，and soLiteral translation and liberal translation, foreignization and domestication are two pairsof translation strategies which receive a lot of attention as well as controversy. They aresubcategories of complete translation. Facing these strategies, EST translators should considerthe characteristics and translation purpose of EST, and select appropriate strategies.
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Conclusion

This thesis studies the strategies of EST translation from the perspective of Skopos theory.A conclusion will be drawn in this chapter, including the main findings, limitations andsuggestions for further study.The translation of EST has endured many years' development in China, especially afterthe opening policy. EST is typical informative in terms of text typology. The function of thistype of text requires the translators to be aware of the purpose of EST translation. The aim ofEST translation is transferring the knowledge and reporting the facts in the source text.Traditional theories that guide translators are primarily from the experience of literarytranslation, which are not so satisfying for EST translation because of the special functionaland stylistic characteristics of EST. The emergence of Skopos theory brings EST translatorswith a new perspective and it provides translators with instructive guidance.Based on theory of action, Skopos theory takes translation as a cross-culturalcommunicative activity which is intentional and interactive. Skopos theory attaches highimportance to the purpose of translation and concerns the readers' expectation and reaction.The principles of Skopos theory include skopos principle and loyalty principle. Translationrules include skopos rule, loyalty rule and coherence rule.The informative feature of EST demands its translation to be accurate and loyal to theoriginal. This is the first concern of EST translation. The stylistic characteristics of EST arereflected in its vocabulary, sentence and discourse. The main characteristics of EST include theextensive use of technical terms, nominalization, impersonal, wide use of passive voice andlong sentences, limited use of tense, clear logic and so on. These characteristics add to thedifficulty of translation. Therefore, effective and appropriate strategies are needed. Within theframework of Skopos theory, the criteria for EST translation are faithfulness，expressivenessand closeness. According to the criteria, comparing literal translation with liberal translation,foreignization with domestication, it is shown that liberal translation and domestication aremore favorable on the whole, because the Chinese and English technical writings are differentin many ways, which makes formal equivalence hard to reach. Literal translation is moreapplicable to translation of texts with short sentence structures, like operative means.Foreignization is adopted in cases of translating new technical terms. Liberal translation freesthe translators from the restraint of the form of the original, and domestication provides readerswith fluent translation. Moreover, these two are in line with the loyalty principle.For written EST with different functional characteristics, translators should consider thetranslation purpose and target readers at first. The translation of EST academic works，papers, experiment reports and plans often use liberal translation and domestication to suit the targetlanguage convention and follow the coherent principle in order to realize the communicativeneed. Operative means are often translated with literal translation and foreignization based onits frequent use of short sentence and concise structure, with liberal translation applied whennecessary. For the purpose of rapid transmission of information, scientific and technicalinformation and literature materials are often translated with flexible translation strategy.In EST translation practice, analysis of morphological feature, reference relations andcontext is important for word translation; embedding，cutting, splitting, recasting andcompressing methods can be used to sentence translation; logic and coherence should becarefully concerned by translators for discourse translation.It is no denying that there are certain limitations in this thesis. The broad sense of ESTincludes not just professional EST writings, but also audio works and popular science. Theapplication of flexible translation strategy is not malyzed in detail considering the focus of thisthesis is the application of Skopos theory. And the target readers of EST translation areprofessional EST workers or readers with basic knowledge of relevant texts addressed in $histhesis. But the actual readers of EST translation may not be limited to those people.Based on the limitations, the author of this thesis suggests that further studies can becarried out on translation strategies of other types of EST like popular science，and flexibletranslation is also worth further study. It is sincerely hoped that this thesis will help contributeto the application of Skopos theory to the translation of EST and enhance EST translationquality.

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参考文献（略）

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