As a carrier of information and culture, the translation of such speeches plays an overwhelming role in international communication. It functions as a bridge, connecting China and other countries and helping other countries get a better understanding of China and Chinese people. Nevertheless, translating those culture-loaded words is not that easy especially for interpreters for they need to response immediately after the Chinese version is spoken out. So it tests the interpreter’s response and extent of knowing Chinese culture a lot.
For the reasons mentioned above, this essay aims at interpreting the strategies of culture-loaded words from the perspective of Skopostheorie, taking the culture-loaded words in President Xi ’s speeches delivered at 2014 APEC as an example, to cast light for interpreters while translating such words, and at the same time helping foreign readers have a better understanding of culture-loaded words.
1.2 Significance of the Study
As mentioned above, translation plays a very important role in promoting communications among countries. To a large extent, the accuracy of the interpreter’s interpretation directly determines how much foreign countries would know about China. On one hand the paper studies whether the translations of the four speeches are in line with Skopstheorie, on the other hand it explores whether Skopostheorie is explanatory for the translation of culture-loaded words to be translated.
Chapter Two Literature Review
This chapter consists of two major sections: Skopostheorie and culture-loaded words. First of all, a brief introduction of the origin and definition of Skopostheorie will be made. And the section of culture-loaded words contains two components: definition and its three characteristics. These two sections together lay a foundation for the present paper.
2.1 Skopostheorie
The patriarch of Skopostheorie is Han J. Vermeer. After learning from his teacher, Katharina Reiss’s translation theory, Vermeer established the famous translation theory, Skopostheorie, which is based on action theory. Thereafter, Justa Holt Mantari and Christiane Nord supplemented and developed the theory. Nord, as the representative of the Second Skopostheorie, came up with the theory of “Loyalty Principle”, which inherited and developed the first Skopostheorie.
Vermeer’s Skopostheorie, which determines that the purpose or Skopos of the translation action is the most important criterion during the process of translation, which totally get rid of the bound of “equivalence”. Vermeer believes that linguistics is not panacea and it cannot solve all the problems concerning translation. In Vermeer’s opinion, translation, interpreting included, as a type of human action, transfers information implanted in communicative signs, verbal or nonverbal, from one language to another. That’s to say, translation is a kind of human action. The prior rule for translation is the “Skopos rule”, says, “The end justifies the means” (Reiss, & Vermeer, 1984, p.101). Skopostheorie is a theory of purposeful action. Vermeer defined human action as intentional and purposeful behavior in a given situation. Action, as part of the situation, at the same time modifies the situation. In the light of this explanation, translation can by no means be regarded as word-to-word information transfer between the source language and the target language. Instead, as a translational action, translation is an action, as the name implies with a certain aim or purpose. And the purpose needs to be determined before the translational action. During the process of translation, the translator should choose from translational purpose and the expectation of target receivers.
This paper studies how the interpreter, as the mouthpiece of President Xi at 2014 APEC, chose from different purposes among the speaker, the audience and the interpreter himself and finally completed the interpretation. 亚太经合组织演讲中文化负载词的汉英解读(2):http://www.youerw.com/yingyu/lunwen_21766.html