碩士學(xué)位論文-德國功能理論視角下的企業(yè)外宣資料翻譯.doc

學(xué)校代碼：10254密 級：論文編號： 上海海事大學(xué)SHANGHAI MARITIME UNIVERSITY碩 士 學(xué) 位 論 文MASTER DISSERTATION論文題目： 德國功能理論視角下的企業(yè)外宣資料翻譯 學(xué)科專業(yè)： 外國語言學(xué)及應(yīng)用語言學(xué) 作者姓名： 申 彩 云 指導(dǎo)教師： 瞿 宗 德 副教授 完成日期： 二九年五月 Corporate Promotional Material Translation: from the Perspective of German FunctionalismBy Shen CaiyunUnder the Supervision ofProfessor Qu ZongdeA Thesis Submitted to the College of Foreign Languages ofShanghai Maritime Universityin Partial Fulfillment ofthe Requirements for the MA DegreeShanghai Maritime UniversityMay, 2009vAcknowledgementsFor the birth of this paper, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to all those who have provided me with various forms of help in my writing of this thesis. I am lucky to have Professor Qu as my tutor, who continues to be a source of courage and inspiration for all these two years. This is undoubtedly an appropriate place for me to express my sincere appreciation of his insightful suggestions and generous help both in life and in academic pursuits. His critical and careful reading of my paper has saved me from a lot of errors. Without his guidance and encouragement, my paper would have never come out in the present form.In addition, my genuine thanks must be given to all the teachers who have given me wonderful lectures on translation theory. Their lectures have given me a full view into the translation studies, and equipped me with much knowledge in my research field.摘 要隨著中國加入WTO, 在世界經(jīng)濟一體化的歷史潮流中，企業(yè)要生存發(fā)展必須要投身于國際市場競爭中。作為外宣的媒介和橋梁，漢譯英工作的重要性是不言而喻的。但目前的英譯外宣資料中存在著很多問題，有的甚至外國讀者不知所云，影響了我們的對外交流，削弱了我們對外宣傳的效果。企業(yè)外宣資料作為一種特殊文本，其最終目的是為本企業(yè)樹立良好的企業(yè)形象，推銷企業(yè)產(chǎn)品，擴大其服務(wù)范圍，提高企業(yè)的競爭力。企業(yè)外宣資料翻譯的最終目的也是如此。由于企業(yè)外宣資料翻譯目的的特殊性，傳統(tǒng)的翻譯理論無法有效指導(dǎo)企業(yè)外宣資料翻譯，因此本文采用更有說服力的德國功能主義目的論對企業(yè)外宣資料進(jìn)行分析探討。德國的功能學(xué)派翻譯理論認(rèn)為，譯者須以翻譯的目的為基礎(chǔ)，將原文本中的交際功能，通過適當(dāng)?shù)男问皆佻F(xiàn)到譯入語之中，并使這些交際功能在譯入語文化的環(huán)境中得以實現(xiàn)。目的論是德國功能翻譯學(xué)派中最重要的理論之一，它的提出為翻譯提供了新的視角。根據(jù)目的論，任何行為都具有目的性。翻譯的目的決定翻譯過程，即目的決定方法。翻譯方法和翻譯策略必須由譯文預(yù)期的目的或功能來決定。翻譯的目的不同，翻譯時所采取的策略、方法也不同。目的論中的“目的性原則”是首要原則，另外是連貫法則和忠實法則，而連貫法則和忠實法則都要服從于目的法則。這些觀點對指導(dǎo)企業(yè)外宣資料的翻譯有著重要的意義。按照費米爾的理論，譯文要依交際情景、譯入語文化以及譯文交際目的而定。因此為實現(xiàn)交際目的和功能，對原文作恰當(dāng)?shù)脑鰟h以及改變原文中的某些形象的翻譯策略是可行的。通過大量例證，本文得出結(jié)論：功能翻譯理論，尤其是“目的論”，確實對外宣翻譯實踐有很強的指導(dǎo)意義。論文共分為五章：第一章是論文的文獻(xiàn)綜述部分。簡要介紹了論文研究的寫作動機、重要性及目前企業(yè)外宣資料翻譯存在的問題。第二章是論文的理論框架部分。主要對德國功能翻譯理論的形成過程進(jìn)行了回顧，對與此相關(guān)的諾德的目的論、賴斯的文本類型、曼塔利的翻譯行為理論進(jìn)行了闡釋，并以此作為論文的理論框架。第三章 對企業(yè)對外宣傳資料做了詳細(xì)的分析研究。介紹了企業(yè)外宣資料的定義、功能與特點。從文本的詞匯特點、句法特點、篇章結(jié)構(gòu)及文化等方面對比中英企業(yè)外宣資料存在的差異，從而使譯者深刻了解這些差異，并在進(jìn)行翻譯時能夠充分考慮這些差異。第四章 描述了德國功能翻譯理論在企業(yè)外宣資料翻譯中的實際運用，詳細(xì)介紹了目的論在企業(yè)外宣資料翻譯中的體現(xiàn)。為了使研究更加實際和有效，本人綜合運用一些翻譯策略對企業(yè)外宣資料做了系統(tǒng)的研究。第五章是論文的結(jié)語部分。結(jié)語部分對全文作了總結(jié)并指出論文的理論和實際價值。關(guān)鍵詞：企業(yè)外宣資料，目的論，翻譯策略AbstractAfter Chinas entry into WTO, many Chinese enterprises have participated in the strong international competition against the background of economic globalization. The more communication between China and foreign countries there is, the greater amount of translation materials there are. It is evident that publicity becomes more and more important especially in the information age. Corporate promotional materials in English, as an essential means of communication, will surely promote and improve Chinese foreign trade. Our experience in the translation of corporate promotional materials proves that, the successful translation is the key factor in successful economic exchange with other countries; therefore well-translated works count for much in the publicity. As a special text type, the purpose of corporate promotional material is to project a good corporation image, to promote its products or services, and to improve the competitiveness of Chinese corporations in the international market. In achieving the special translational purpose of corporate promotional materials, traditional translational theories cannot guide this translation successfully. For this reason, the author intends to adopt German functionalist translation theory, especially Skopostheorie, as a new and more persuasive guiding theory, for the study of corporate promotional material translation.Functionalist approaches，put forward by German scholars，advocates production of functionally appropriate target texts based on existing source texts，whose communication function(s) can be achieved in the target culture settings. Skopostheorie is one of the most important translation theories in German functionalist approaches, which has opened up a new perspective to translation studies. It regards translation as an action which has a certain skopos. This purpose determines the whole process of translation. That is, the end justifies the means. The translation strategies should be under the guidance of the expected translation purpose. According to Skopostheorie, the top-ranking rule for any translation is the skopos rule. Besides, there are still two other principles in functionalist translation theories. That is coherence rule and fidelity rule. These two rules are subordinate to the skopos rule. The main concepts of functionalist approaches have significant meaning to corporate promotional material translation.Based on an analysis of many examples, the author comes to a conclusion: a functionalist approach, particularly Skopostheorie, is feasible to guide the translation of corporate promotional materials. In the translation process, the translator is required to bear in mind the intended function of the target text and produce a version that is comprehensible and acceptable to the target reader. Owing to great differences in language and culture, the translation process usually involves considerable adjustments or adaptations of the source text in order to achieve the intended function of the target text.The thesis is divided into five chapters. The first chapter is the literature review. It briefly introduces the motivation, the importance of this thesis, and the current problems with corporate promotional translation. The second chapter is the theoretical framework of this paper. It mainly reviews the formation of the German functionalist translation theory and expounds the related theory such as Skopos Theory, Reisss text types and Manttaris translational action, which provide a theoretical support for the corporate promotional material translation.Chapter three has made a detailed analysis of corporate promotional materials and introduced the definition, functions and features of the corporate promotional materials. It makes a comparison of corporate promotional materials between Chinese and English in lexical, syntactic, discourse and cultural aspects, so as to give a full account of these differences in the process of translation.Chapter four describes the application of the German functionalist translation theory to corporate promotional materials translation. This part elaborates the embodiment of Skopos theory in corporate promotional materials translation. In order to make the study more practical and effective, the author makes a systematic study on the translation of some corporate promotional materials by adopting some translation strategies. Based on Skopostheorie, some main translation strategies are put forward for translating corporate promotional materials.The fifth chapter is the conclusion. The chapter summarizes the whole thesis and points out the theoretical and practical value of this thesis.Key words: corporate promotional material translation, Skopostheorie, translation strategiesviContentsAcknowledgementsi摘 要iiAbstractivChapter One: Literature Review11.1 Motivation and Significance of the Research11.2 Problems with Corporate Promotional Material Translation1Chapter Two: Theoretical Framework32.1 German Functionalist Translation Theory32.1.1 Skopostheorie42.1.1.1 Skopos Rule52.1.1.2 Coherence Rule62.1.1.3 Fidelity Rule62.1.2 Translation and the Theory of Action72.1.3 Translation Brief92.1.4 Adequacy102.1.5 Function plus Loyalty112.1.6 Text Typology in Translation Theory122.2 Relevant Translation Theories132.2.1 Funtional /Dynamic Equivalence132.2.2. Communicative and Semantic Translation14Chapter Three: Analysis of Corporate Promotional Materials163.1 Definition of Corporate Promotional Materials163.2 Functions of Corporate Promotional Materials163.2.1 Informative173.2.2 Vocative183.2.3 Public Relations Promotion193.3 Linguistic Features in Chinese and English Corporate Promotional Materials213.3.1 Lexical Features213.3.1.1 Heavy Modifiers vs. Brevity213.3.1.2 Wide Use of Four-Character Phrases in Chinese Corporate Promotional Materials223.3.2 Syntactical Features233.3.2.1 Flowing Chunks vs. Closely knit Structures233.3.2.2 Paratactic vs. Hypotactic253.3.2.3 Short and Simple Sentences vs. Long and Compound Sentences273.3.3 Textual Features303.3.3.1 Covert Cohesion vs. Overt Cohesion303.3.3.2 Long Paragraph vs. Short Paragraph31Chapter Four: Application of Skopos Theory to the C-E Translation of Corporate Promotional Materials334.1 Embodiment of Skopos Theory in Corporate Promotional Materials Translation334.1.1 Skopos Rule in Corporate Promotional Material Translation334.1.2 Coherence Rule in Corporate Promotional Material Translation334.1.3 Fidelity Rule in Corporate Promotional Material Translation334.1.4 Translation Brief in Corporate Promotional Material Translation334.1.5 Adequacy in Corporate Promotional Material Translation334.2 Translation Strategies and Techniques of Corporate Promotional Materials under Skopos Theory334.2.1. Adaptation334.2.1.1 Addition334.2.1.2 Abridgement334.2.1.3 Analogy334.2.1.4 Logical Restructuring334.2.2. Domestication334.2.2.1 Domestication in Linguistic Aspects334.2.2.2 Domestication of Culture Elements33Chapter Five: Conclusion33Bibliography33Chapter One: Literature Review1.1 Motivation and Significance of the ResearchSince China adopted the reform and open-up policy and its entry into WTO, the international communication and cooperation between China and other parts of the world have increased rapidly and more and more Chinese companies will develop overseas market and make use of global resources. In order to compete in the world market, Chinese enterprises need not only the ability to produce good products and services but also effective methods of promotion. And a well-translated corporate promotional material contributes to the high reputation of Chinese enterprises in the international market, while an ill-translated corporate promotional material may damage the companys image. Therefore, the corporate promotional material translation is important and indispensable to the development of Chinese enterprises.Under such circumstances, the Chinese corporate promotional material translation deserves more attention. We should adopt appropriate translation strategies to translate corporate promotional material in order to meet the expectations of the English audience. 1.2 Problems with Corporate Promotional Material TranslationIn spite of increasing attention paid to corporate promotional materials, as evidenced by a large number of articles published in recent years, there still exist some problems.Some of corporate promotional material translations from Chinese to English are far from satisfactory. Most corporate promotional materials are still translated under the guidance of traditional translation theories; little attention has been paid to the differences at linguistic and cultural levels between Chinese and English. The features of corporate promotional materials and the intended functions of the target texts are neglected. Many obvious problems exist in the translation. According to Duan Liancheng, the current problems in the English versions of corporate promotional materials can be classified into two groups. The first includes spelling or grammatical mistakes mainly caused either by translators carelessness or poor language skills. These problems can be easily identified and corrected, and will not bring about serious trouble to the comprehension of the publicity materials. The second group is much more complicated and characterized by the difficulty for foreigners to understand the translated texts, due to the linguistic and cultural barriers. Since at present most of the corporate promotional materials are rendered by native Chinese, they tend to neglect the uniqueness of Chinese language and culture and write English in Chinese way of thinking and expression. They often give a word-for-word rendering, sacrificing intelligibility and clarity of translation. Moreover, some English corporate promotional material translations fail to take into consideration the cultural, psychological, and aesthetical feelings of English audience. Consequently, such translations are inadequate. The translated versions of corporate promotional material are difficult to understand or unacceptable for English audience. This always results in inaccurate or misleading translation, which fails to realize the original intention of these materials. 59Chapter Two: Theoretical Framework2.1 German Functionalist Translation TheoryIn order to explore this issue deeply and solve these awkward problems, there must be an in-depth study of relevant translation theories, which can provide theoretical support for the improvement of C-E translation of corporate materials. In this thesis, the author considers that the German functionalist approaches, including Skopos theory, Newmarks text-type classifications and theory of Translational Action, will provide a new insight and help the translators spot problems and derive effective solutions.When compared with previous linguistically-oriented translation theories, the skopos theory brings more valuable insights into translation practice and evaluation. It approaches translation in a functional way which broadens the definition of translation into a cultural-social frame instead of the previous linguistic one. And this shift provides translation study with a complementary and new perspective with focus on the study of external factors, or the “extra-linguistic determinants” (Reiss, 2004:66) influencing translation practice. The relationship between the source text and the target text is also overturned. The former is no longer taken as superior to the latter that has always been supposed to be “l(fā)oyal” to the former. Thus, translators in translation practice are entrusted with the right to make adjustments so far as translation skopos is considered and they are free to resort to any translation strategies and methods so long as they are the most relevant to the realization of the translation skopos.So far as the translation evaluation is concerned, the key factor of the criterion is the purpose of or the function wanted from the target text. Translation skopos, being investigated in the cultural background, offers special aid to the evaluation of translation, because this dynamic criterion is closely related to the translation process, during which translators are encouraged to process the offer of information in the source text and to make adaptations whenever necessary in order to produce the target text best serving the needs in the target culture.2.1.1 SkopostheorieGerman functionalist translation theorist Hans J. Vermeer developed the skopostheorie of which “prime principle determining any translation process is the purpose (skopos) of the overall translational action.”(Nord, 2001:27) “Skopos”, derived from Greek, is a technical term for the aim or purpose of a translation. The term Skopos usually refers to the communicative purpose of a target text. What functionalists call Skopos is the communicative function, which the target text is intended to achieve for a target-culture audience in their socio-cultural situation.Skopos Theory is the important theory of the functionalist approaches. Skopos Theory deems that translation is an intentional cross-cultural communication, which should take the expected functions to be achieved in the target culture as the primary purpose. A translator should choose translation strategies purposefully, and it should be determined by the intended function of the target text. So, it has broken the limitation of “equivalence translation criterion” and made more translation strategies and methods possible. The founder of the functionalist approaches is Katharina Reiss, who published an article titled “Possibilities and Limitations of Translation Criticism” in 1971, which suggested that the function of the version is a standard of translating criticism, and pointed out the basis of translating criticism is the relation between functions of the source and target text. She thinks that language has three kinds of functions: representational, expressive and appellative. A piece of writing seldom has only one kind of function, but usually has one function to be a major factor together with some others. She divides the version into three kinds correspondingly: attach importance to content or information, attach importance to the language form and attach importance to the effect to reader. Reiss and Vermeer wrote a book titled Groundwork for a General Theory of Translation in 1984. They suggested that translation should be controlled by the main function. Based on action theory, taking the text purpose as the first rule in the process of the translation, Vermeer created the Translation Skopos Theory. Based on the action theory, Skopos Theory takes translation as a kind of human action, which has special purposes. When were translating, we should pay attention to the purpose of the translation and the readers. Skopos Theory, which emphasizes the function of t