Skopos
Theory of Translation – A Critical Evaluation
Dr. Biswajit Mukherjee
Assistant
Professor
Department
of English
Government
General Degree College, Nakashipara
Nadia, West Bengal, India
Abstract: Translation studies
encompass various theories, each offering distinct perspectives on the
translation process. Among them, Skopos theory stands out as a functionalist
approach that not only explains but also guides numerous translation practices.
This paper seeks to explore the different nuances of Skopos theory, examining
its core principles and practical applications. Furthermore, it will assess the
strengths and limitations of the theory, providing a balanced analysis of its
impact on translation studies. Through this evaluation, the paper aims to highlight
the relevance of Skopos theory in shaping modern translation strategies.
Keywords: Skopos theory,
Translation studies, Modern translation strategies, Translation process
The practice of translation is an age old
phenomenon and it goes back to the time of Horace and Cicero. The history of
the translation of the Bible deserves a special mention in this respect. A
careful analysis of the art of the Bible
translation would inevitably throw light on the fact that the very act of
translation has never been an apolitical act. This is clearly evident in the
Reformation England when the translation of the Bible was coloured by
confliction ideologies in Europe. Though the process of translation has been
long established the study of the art of translation as an academic discipline
gained currency in the second half of the twentieth century. Before its advent
as a discipline in academia, translation has been seen as a major medium
through which language can be learnt. The contrastive analysis between two
languages also garnered interest among scholars.
Systematic theorization of the process of
translation started from the 1960’s and 1970’s. These theories were mostly
based on the issues related to the source and the target language. A diachronic
analysis of the theories of translation would reveal hat translation studies
have mostly reflected on the issues related the faithfulness of the translator
towards the source text or the element of equivalence that can be experienced
between the source and the target texts. The idea of faithfulness was probably
the single most criterion to examine the success of the translation. Presently
analysis of the work of translation from perspective of equivalence or
faithfulness towards the original work seems to be dated. It is believed that
the art of translation is a complex human activity and thus the descriptive
elements related to the process of translation needs to be brought under
careful consideration. There is no doubt to the fact that the traditional
methods of analyzing a translational work lends a standardizing impact on the
entire discipline of translation resulting into a complete ignorance of the
other major factors associated with the act of translation.
The present paper aims to highlight how the
traditional methods of translation studies have given way to a more modern
approaches where the position of the translator as well as the translated text
have been systematically uplifted with special reference to Skopos Theory of
Translation. Skopos theory of translation has been developed in Germany in the
late 1970’s. The skopos theory of
translation reflects upon the categorical shift of translation theories from
the linguistic baed approaches to functional concept of translation. The shift
is a direct result from the inspiration that translation theorists drew from
communication and action theory. Skopos theory significantly looks upon the
translation of the non-literary texts and their functions in the target
audience culture. For example in the translation of the scientific articles or
academic papers, instruction manuals and their role in a completely different
cultural environment cannot be ignored.
There several factors that need careful considerations which includes
the intended readers of the target text, the client who has commissioned the
act of translation and most importantly the function that the text has to
perform in a completely different linguistic environment. Skops theory is
directly associated with this function of translation.
Hans. J. Vermeer is
the pioneer of the Skopos theory of translation. The word Skopos is a Greek
word and it means ‘aim’ or ‘purpose’. It was in the year 1970 that Vermeer
associated the term with translation studies and thus Skopos theory of
translation analyses the aim or purpose of the art of translation. Skopos
theory thus is central to the functional theory of translation and considers
translation as an action with a definite purpose. As every action has a
purpose, the act of translation is also supposed to have a purpose and this
purpose is assigned to the process of translation by means of a commission.
With the association of words like action and purpose with translation actually
lends a new dimension to field of translation studies in general and
consequently changing the position of the source and the target text along with
the role and status of the translator as well. Skopos theory in general, is not
concerned about right or wrong translation neither it is interested in the
anatomizing the faithfulness of the translated text towards the source text. It
is only concerned with the different strategies at the different juncture of
translation and thus the comparison of the target text with the source text is
a criteria that the Skopos theory is least bothered with.
Skopos theory of
translation can be analyzed from four different perspectives:
i.
Functional category of translation as proposed by
Kathrina Reiss.
ii.
Vermeer’s Skopos theory and beyond.
iii.
Theory of Translational action as proposed by Justa-Holz
Manttori.
iv.
Nord’s Function and Loyalty Principle.
Katherine Reiss in her book Possibilities and Limits of Translation
proposes that the primary aim of target language should be to create equivalence
with the source language in matters of content, communication and linguistic
forms. But she also opines that there are some situations, where such
equivalence from all the three angles will be difficult to maintain. On the
other hand, Hans Vermeer did not emphasize on the idea of equivalence, rather
he was keener on the functional theory or the purpose of translation that is
the Skopos theory. Vermeer believes that all problems related to translation is
not based on linguistics alone. Every action of a human being, Vermeer proposes
is based on a purpose for a particular situation. Thus the action of
translation or the translational action is based on the foundation of the
source text. Hence Skopos theory of translation can be said to be theory of purposeful
action.
The
notion of ‘translational action’ was introduced by Jesta Holtz Manttari in the
year 1981. The idea of ‘translational action’ is related to the action of
translation covering all the domains of intercultural transfer. Translation, according
to Holtz-Manttari is a complex phenomenon designed to achieve a particular
goal. The aim of translational action is to transfer the source text message to
target language overcoming both the linguistic and cultural barriers. In her
work, Translating as a Purposeful
Activity, Christiana Nord puts forward the idea of ‘loyalty principle’ of
Skopos theory. She explains that this principle addresses the culture-specific
nature of translation. Loyalty, in this context, refers to the translator’s
responsibility as a mediator between cultures toward key stakeholders,
including the source-text author, the client or commissioner, and the target
audience (Nord 2001: 185). It also involves considering the intentions and
expectations of all participants in the translation process. While the client's
instructions define the translation’s skopos, they are not the sole factor
guiding the translator’s decisions. The translator must remain loyal to the
source-text author by avoiding any misrepresentation of their intended meaning
At the same time, loyalty extends to the target audience, who hold certain
expectations about the translation. To maintain transparency, the translator
may clarify their interpretative choices through footnotes or a preface. Nord
differentiates loyalty from fidelity or equivalence. While loyalty is an
interpersonal obligation between the translator and the involved parties,
fidelity and equivalence focus on linguistic or stylistic similarities between
the source and target texts, regardless of communicative intent.
SKOPOS, AIM, PURPOSE,
INTENTION AND FUNCTION.
According
to Skopos theory, the central detrimental factor that leads to translation is
the purpose behind the translation. There may be three possible purposes
related to translation. They are as follows:
i.
General
purpose of the translation that is being aimed at by the translator.
ii.
For
the purpose of communication to the target readers.
iii.
Finally
the purpose of a particular translation strategy.
But the basic premises of the skopos
remains the same and it usually points at the purpose behind the translation of
the target text. The terms, aim, intention and function are all related to the
skopos theory of translation. According to Vermeer, all these terms are more or
less equivalent and hence he has amalgamated them with the generic term Skopos.
But in order
to eliminate the confusions related to all the four concepts, Nord has
distinguished between ‘intention’ and ‘function’. Intention is analysed from
the perspective of the sender. It is the sender who aims to achieve a certain
purpose from a text. But the best of intentions do not guarantee perfect
results mostly because of the differences in the cultural background that
exists between the sender and the receiver. But this distinction between the
sender and the receiver is particularly helpful in case of translation studies.
As mentioned earlier, the aim of translation studies is determined by it
skopos. According to Vermeer, each text aims to attain a certain purpose and
the end result should serve this purpose. Thus the skopos rule advocates to
translate a particular text in the manner that should inevitably lead the
translation to function in a particular way it is desired to be used by the
people who want to use it or to be precise who has commissioned the translation
in itself.
SKOPOS IN RELATION TO INTERTEXTUALITY AND INTRATEXTUALITY
A
Skopos theories approach to a text is related to the idea of the offer of
information. The producer of the text offers this information to the receivers.
The act of translation offers information about the information, originally
found in the source text, into the target language text. It is quite obvious
that the translators are well aware that the norms of the source text will be
different from the norms of the target text. As Mona Baker suggests in her book
that there has to be an adjustment made in the target text with the source text
to find a solution to this problem. The translator thus has the burden to
transmigrate the information of the source text formulated for the source
language and culture into the target language text for the target language and
culture. A translator is thus burdened to produce a meaningful text for its
target audience in target culture.
According
to Vermeer, a target text should conform to the norms of ‘intertextuality
coherence’. A text must be understandable and it must also perform its
communicative function. It has to be coherent with the receiver’s situation.
Vermeer proposes that the idea of intertextual coherence suggests that the
target text should be equivalent in its offer of information with the source
text’s offer of information and if the translatum
conforms to this proposition an intertextual coherence is established between
the source and the target text. Intertextual coherence depends primarily upon
two factors:
i.
The
translator’s interpretation of the source text.
ii.
The
skopos of the translator.
Intertextual coherence in simple terms
suggests the target text should be faithful to the source text. This happens in
almost all the cases of literary translations. The main objective of the
literary translators has always been to remain faithful towards their source
text.
MERITS AND DEMERITS OF SKOPOS THEORY OF TRANSLATION
The basic merits of Skopos theory can
be analysed from different perspectives. Firstly,
it is Skopos theory that has changes the status of the source text and the
target text and resultantly it has also eradicated the secondary status of the
translator. Secondly, the Skopos
theory provides several opportunities to a single text to be translated into
the same language several times in multiple ways according to the purpose of
the target text and the commission which has been given to the translator.
According to Vermeer, “What the Skopos states that one must translate,
consciously and consistently in accordance with some principle respecting the
target text. The theory does not state what the principle is: this must be
decided in each specific case”. (Cited in Jeremy Munday, 228). Thirdly, the source text is just an
offer of information and the target text becomes the focus. The translator whose
primary focus was on the faithfulness of the translator towards the source text
is being freed from the restraining impact of the traditional theories. Finally, it is the Skopos theory that
has put forward the concept of adequacy in translation and whether the
translation is adequate or inadequate is absolutely dependant with regards to
the purpose and function of the target text.
Apart from the
all the merits of Skopos theory there are some demerits which cannot be
overlooked. Firstly, what is asserted as a general theory of translation is
only applicable to non-literary texts. This is because literary texts and their
translations cannot have any particular purpose or function. Secondly, the
linguistic features of the source text are not given proper attention or even
the features of the target text or the translated text are often overlooked.
Vermeer attempts to answer the first point by pointing out those goals, functions
and intentions are all related to actions. Thus a writer of a novel may have an
aim that the novel gets translated and he or she earns worldwide acclamation.
In the
conclusion it can be said Skopos theory of translation is also not flawless
like any other theories. But it has to be kept in mind that the Skopos theory
has brought the target text into focus. It is for the first time introduced the
idea that a translation is not determined by the source text, but by the
skopos. The act of translation is a decision making process and this decision
is influenced by the skopos. Thus the
skopos theory has transformed the status of the translators and they have
turned into authors of the target texts and are freed from the restrictions
imposed upon them by the source texts.
Works Cited
Baker M., editor. Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies. Routledge, 1998.
Munday . J. Introducing Translation Studies, Theories and Applications.
Routledge, 2001.
Nord. C. Translating As a Purposeful Activity, Functionalist Approaches
Explained. Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 2001.